Drip Drip Drop

How much do you like cleaning out the shower stall?

Do you lie in bed at night and think, “Golly, I hope I have the chance to scrub that shower tomorrow”?
Me neither. Hate it. Hate it more than I hate someone trying to convince me that sugar free chocolate tastes the same as regular chocolate.

So, I was taught a tip (from an old boyfriend’s mom and at the time I thought she was a little eccentric... hmmm, that’s something to think about now) to keep that serious cleaning job at bay and I have been doing it for 20 some-odd years.

First, and you’re not going to like this, you have to do a thorough cleaning. Use your lime/scale/mold remover-- whatever it takes and give every bit of elbow grease you have (oh, and btw, for those of you worrying about our ecological footprints-- this may not be the blog for you. I am stomping around with cleats when it comes to getting my house clean).*

Give it a good rinse. If you have hard water, you may want to swing by this site first for tips on cleaning the shower head. I promise, you are NOT going to have to do that again for a long time. (Swinging by that site is also a good idea if you have black stuff growing on your grout or sealant).

Hang a squeegee in the shower stall and train your family how to use it (squeegee all surfaces, tile or glass). My nine-year old even squeegees his shower off every time. Believe it or not, it is in a child’s programming to want to help. If you approach this task in a way that he feels he is helping, and praise him when he does it, your job becomes that much easier. My four year-old likes to wipe the base boards. A job I dreaded like the plague because I would either get sore knees or a stiff back every time. Children like to help, so work them like dogs! No Child Labor Enforcer is going to see you let them help.


In addition to imitating a window washer, wipe the faucets with a soft towel. Don’t kid yourself that you’ll come back after you get a towel from the airing cupboard. Keep one in the bathroom. Wipe the faucets and get a little buzz from the sparkle. You could let this shower go for weeks without another chemical if you just do these two steps with every shower.
Sparkling faucets give the impression of clean. And it's all about the impression...

Now, you could sit back and pop a few bonbons, but wouldn’t you rather leave the bathroom first?

Until next time!

Dust in the Wind, All we are is Gone With the Wind...

Once a week, we all need a little relaxation, don’t we?


First, pick out your favorite chick flick.
This won’t work if your husband has ripped you a copy, so get out your purchased dvd please. I like to watch things like Becoming Jane, or the new BBC version of Sense & Sensibility (just released in a cool new box set through Amazon dot com)-- movies my Hubby and boys would ruin with heavy sighs of boredom if they were around.

Next, get your dusting cloth, furniture polish, swiffer duster-- whatever you use.

Ready? Put in the dvd and while it plays the movie previews, dust like your life depends on it. Start high and work your way down. Get the cobwebs out of the corners, blow the dust off of the books. See how much you can finish before the movie starts. And, when the movie starts--

Stop.
You heard me. I don’t care if you got three shelves out of four. I don't care if you only finished half of the room. We're retraining you to not dread cleaning. Tell yourself you’ll do better next time. Think about it, if next week you know that you only have the previews to do this task, will you put it off as long? And on the bonus day when your dvd doesn't have previews-- Who Hoo! Throw a party!

Now, quit complaining about the dusty TV screen and sit down and enjoy your film.


Until next time!

It's NEW and Still in progress

Welcome to my new blog!

This is where you'll read confessions
of a Neat Freak: Bon Bon style

There are blogs out there that defend children’s rights, blogs to educate us on social injustices, blogs helping us to understand the peril the world is in and the personal blogs of journeys through life (and sometimes death).
I was floating around, enjoying some, learning from others, agreeing with a few but belonging to none. I had nothing to share. Not much to stand up for... until it hit me.
Somewhere during the last movie preview on a recently purchased dvd for the kids.

I clean.
All of the time.
It’s not because I like to...well, maybe I do get a little high from it here and there (the chemicals), but because I have to. My 5 kids could give Hurricane Hector a run for it's money.

You know that saying: “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing”?

Well, I agree.
However, if I sit back and watch the flakes fall, pretty soon I’m buried in the drifts. And quite honestly, I’d rather shovel while it’s falling than to have to spit on myself (to figure which way is up) so that I can shovel my way out of the avalanche.

When I’m not cleaning, I like to watch shows about cleaning. My heros are Aggie and Kim, from “How Clean Is Your House?” Some of those houses they visit? I've been in worse.
Before I moved to England, it was TLC's Clean Sweep. I longed for the chance to haul out every thing I owned to sit on a tarp in front of the entire neighborhood.
Yeah, I have a problem. So....

I could just write a blog about cleaning, and how to do it quickly--but I won't.
That’s what the Fly Lady is for (I've heard great praise for the Fly Lady).

I’m going to post tips.

On cleaning.

SAH, Bon Bon-eating, Soap Opera-watching style
That IS all we SAHMs do all day, right?

It might get a little silly--so grab your bonbons, wave at the dust bunnies and get ready to tackle the job, one goofy suggestion at a time.