Keeping the House Clean 101

What I have learned through failing in every way.

1. There are no days off. A day off will add up to three times the work the next day. More than one day off, unless the house is empty in the duration, will multiply by a factor not yet worked out, but the exponential growth of any mess left for those days is huge.

2. Children do not clean naturally. Children can be forced to clean by a parent devoting more to the process than it would take to simply do it alone. Yet children will, at times, live (with the support of a parent and later alone) in a way that is beneficial to the household. This is a good thing. If I could learn to live in a way that is beneficial to the household every day, then I would stop cleaning and never regret it.

3. Every object you keep must be worth every inch of dirt that must be cleaned off it for its lifetime. What is not used regularly must be stored. What is stored must be considered from time to time as to the value of the space it is taking vs. the possibility it will ever be used again while it's still useable. Those objects not worth cleaning or storage are not worth keeping, though others may value them highly. What will be valued by others should be given to those who will value it.

4. Loose paper and pamphlets are only as valuable as their worth when you don't have them. Keep the stuff the government will hang you over, and put the rest on a disk or find a relevant site to bookmark. This will save you from much clutter. The trash can is your friend. Keep it close and fill it often.

5. Every task is small, when taken alone and performed early. Clean happens, not by scrubbing off the filth, but by whisking away the lightest dust or scattered crumbs and wiping each spot as it arrives. Shining surfaces occur when this is habitual rather than visually incited. When performed routinely each task will take less than ten minutes on average, very likely far less.

6. Bathrooms aren't a marathon. They are a short task every time they are entered. If you don't enter them often enough to maintain them without a marathon, then you need to drink more water.

7. Kitchens will eat you if you let them. To keep down this monster, only one thing will do. Clean every item touched as soon as its use is past. (Oh, for the follow-through for this one! If I ever accomplish it, a reward is in order to mark the occasion.)

8. Laundry, also, must be controlled early and often. Any stage from washing to putting away, when left undone, will breed into a disastrous mess.

9. Keeping the home is important. It is not vital. It is not exclusive. But the degree to which it is managed and the attitude with which each task is accomplished affects all other processes within the home.

10. Cleaning is not an impossible task, merely an unending one. It should be, like breathing, a natural part of each day. Excellent habits and good attitudes are the only defense for a household attacked by dirt and clutter.

May God help me manage my home in this way. I certainly have failed to follow these points enough to know the truth of them.

A Month of Cakes - 3

This was my nephew's cake. His lighthouse is rice-krispie treats, which are lighter and (I hoped) wouldn't fall down like cake. It did, (thankfully at home) and I had to hack off the green portion of fondant and do some creative restructuring. However, fondant GOOD! I like the smooth texture it had on the house and will use it again.

You do not see the green bushes I put around the base of the tower, because that was done after transport, and the tower was carried seperately in a cup, so as to prevent a rerun of the previous collapse and an end to my sanity.

My DH is right. I need to stop baking my own cakes. This one turned out to be more of a cookie in texture. However, it did NOT split in half before we reached the party. I wish someone would make a boxed cake that would hold it's shape for carving. *grin*

 

A Month of Cakes - 2

This was Pixie's cake. It isn't particularly impressive because we decided to have the party for her on Father's Day (when everyone would already be there) the day before. So I ran to the store, picked up a bundt cake, and cut and pasted far into the night. She liked it, anyway. But next year her cake will be extra special just to make up for this monstrosity.

 

A Month of Cakes - 1

I didn't bake the cake, or the cookies that were chopped up and painted for the butterfly, but I'm now convinced that store-bought is the way to go in June, anyway. Too many cakes!!! Do you know how many birthdays our family has in June? Not telling. But I didn't make cakes for some of 'em.

Well, this one was for our neighbor's daughter. The only hard part was the butterfly, and that was just fun. If it had worked right, (meaning I could figure out how to make things stand up) then you'd be able to see the painted underside of the wings too.

 

Oh, it's Colcannon...

That wasn't too hard, really. Check it out! The title is linked to the recipe site.

I wonder if soda bread is hard to bake?

Chopped cabbage!

Ok, so maybe the above title doesn't deserve an exclamation point, but my discovery in the produce aisle has prompted me to make a recipe from my childhood. That is worthy of an exclamation point. *grin*

Tonight I make Chop Suey, which DH says is a misleading name. *shrug* Who knows what it would be called otherwise, so Chop Suey it is.

1 lb. Hamburger
2 c. Lightly toasted macaroni
4 c. Chopped cabbage
1/2 c. Ketchup
2 T. Brown sugar
2 T. Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Cover with Water

Maybe I could call it Sweet and Sour Something or Other, as that's the flavor.

Mmmm! It'll make a delicious supper! I wonder if the kids will like it?

That reminds me... Maybe I'll use any leftover cabbage and boil it with potatoes. Last time I had that it was delicious. Maybe I'll even look for a recipe and see if there's something else I'd need to add. I think it's Irish, so a search for Irish recipes in the potato category might pull something up. Hmmmm... Then I need to figure out soda bread. I think I'll go drool elsewhere. Good evening.

A tea swilling by one who knows nothing of tea...

I bought a package of assorted TWININGS tea last week, which is the cause of my current experiment.

Today I intend to discover which tea I like best. *laugh* And you're being dragged along because I was trying to figure out what to blog about while the tea steeped. So... ahem!...

First, we have Earl Grey. According to the package, this is a light blend of Oriental teas, scented with bergamot. Though I do like it, this is not my favorite. Delicate it may be, but to me it seems tart; not what I'm looking for in a tea.

Lady Grey is supposedly light-bodied and scented with bergamot and other citrus flavours. This I believe, as it, too, tastes tart to me. Perhaps it's the bergamot that adds the hint of flavor I'm detecting here. To me it's a detractor.

English Breakfast tea is full-bodied (*grin*) and they suggest serving it with lemon. Hah! I'll take the milk and sugar suggestion instead. Like I said, tart is not for tea. This is a better flavor than the first two, though.

Irish Breakfast tea. Yum! Robust is a good description from the package. Maybe I don't like tea with bodies?

Last, I'll test Prince of Wales, an assortment of China teas, selected for their delicate flavor. It's good, but I like Irish Breakfast tea better.

To clarify, I've been drinking each of these flavors, excepting the Irish Breakfast and Lady Grey for many years without a wince. They are all good. This idea was prompted by the memory of a tea I used to drink in a little English Tea Shoppe on the corner of downtown Waukesha. I wondered if I'd find anything as good in my taste testing.

The result? I have no clue what the flavor was in that tea shop. Perhaps it was English Breakfast or something I haven't tried recently. Either way, I think I'll be buying Irish Breakfast tea for my own enjoyment from here on out.

I've been fighting the inclination to purchase loose-leaf tea and become hoity-toity about the business for years. Perhaps this is the first step in my downfall.

I made chocolate syrup, as we're out of chocolate milk mix

I used the cheap vanilla, not thinking. Ick! Nasty stuff! There IS a difference in vanilla flavors... and this is supposed to be the real thing. *sigh* I will NOT be purchasing off-brand vanilla again!

Also, the whole chocolate syrup vs. powdered mix thing is resolved in my opinion. I like the chunks you get when you don't stir the powder enough. *grin* Drinking the syrup straight is a little too sweet... Yeah, I tried that once.

I finished the last of the black licorice from my Christmas gift last night. *sigh* I think I need to drop by a specialty candy shop and pick up some of the good stuff.

And, in other news: my brother MAY come by for a visit. I do hope to hear from him soon in regards to this possibility, as Mom said he's heading out for Arid-zona soon... like early next week.

Kids cleaning house

Oooh! That reminds me! (Tina, thanks for prodding my memory. This is a story worth sharing.)

Yesterday, while Princess was away with MIL, my two youngest decided the livingroom needed vacuuming. Munchkin (5) came to me, offering to do the job. I told him not unless the floor was clean. (Toys were everywhere!) Half an hour later, all toys had been picked up and the floor cushions were on top of the side table as I usually do when I vacuum.

"Mommy, can I vacuum please?" Munchkin already had the vaccum out, so I nodded.

Together, he and his sister (3) took turns driving the vacuum around the livingroom, enjoying the noise. Then Munchkin decided his bedroom needed vacuuming also. Again, I told him his room needed to be clear of toys first.

Yes, he cleaned his room... and did a pretty good job of vacuuming also, if the assessment of a proud mother counts for anything.

Cleaning a bathroom is VILE work

Now I've heard of people who clean their bathrooms so well that people could eat off the floor without fear (grant me this opinion: the sort of people who clean that well wouldn't consider eating a chocolate bar that had touched a freshly bleached and boiled tabletop). I am NOT that sort of cleaner. Each time I approach the bathroom, it is with fear and trepidation lest it be in sufficient state as to FORCE me to clean it. With three small children in the household, this happens far more often than is comfortable.

However, today I cleaned the bathroom! I pulled everything off the shelves and scraped off the toothpaste. I sprayed down the toilet with foaming cleanser and cleaned it from top to base... well, that part happens frequently (in my estimation)... but it's clean! I even pulled everything out of the medicine cabinet and tossed the bath crystals (whose scent gave me that horrible headache) and the ancient cough syrup that would probably kill anyone who tried to drink it.

*grin* Now just try and persuade me that it'll need cleaning before next week!

Uhoh, the kids have been in there... *sigh* One day I'll clean a room and put up hazard tape. Maybe it'll stay clean for a whole day!

I should probably let you know...

Our water heater is working again. There is a possibility that the heater they were so faithfully lighting was that of the upper flat and not mine. Hmmm.... Whatever. It has been solved since the day of my last post on this subject.

When things get done...

Incredible! I washed my floor today.

I also made dozens and dozens of chocolate treats right afterward... not the best planning, but the floor simply had to get washed.

I believe I'm about chocolated out. My entire table was covered with waxed paper as I made little stacks of white chocolate and chow mein noodles (yummy) and continued the madness with ground walnuts in dark chocolate. Unwilling to stop there, I melted a bag of caramels with a can of sweetened condensed milk (which makes a lovely soft caramel) and dropped the caramel atop the chocolate-nut mounds. It wasn't very pretty, so I occupied some time experimenting. Wrapping the chocolate-caramel-nut chunks in waxed paper does NOT work (sticky). I finally solved the visual issue by pressing more chopped nuts on top and losing the whole waxed paper idea.

Now my kitchen counter is covered with tins half-full of goodness. Should I have the inspiration tomorrow I will make rice krispie treats and chocolate dipped pretzels. Having solved the problem of not having an oven for Christmas gifts, I find myself wondering whether I'll ever make a sugar cookie again. *grin* It was a good day.

Peanut Butter

Yes, peanut butter...

Someone said that it's good to write everyday, to practice. I do anything someone says... LOL However, I have had opportunity to meditate on peanut butter recently, so it's as good a subject as any.

Have you ever run out of peanut butter in your home? It's a disaster, let me tell you. David, who only makes peanut butter sandwiches about twice a year, will suddenly decide 'today is the day'. The kids will all whine. The hamster...well, IT won't care. I...care very deeply. Feeding one's family is an ancient and honorable rite, made possible with the invention of the sticky mass called peanut butter.

Now, to explain, I don't serve the family peanut butter every day. No, running out is devastating simply because it is my official backup for when I'm out of chocolate. A dollop of peanut butter on a spoon is a wonderful pick-me-up. And when do I need energy the most? Why, when planning meals and attempting to keep back the kitchen enough to allow me to work there. The kitchen is a vicious place, with gunky plate-shaped teeth and sticky silverware hair. Clanking pots, exuding foul odors, hover in dark corners waiting to attack like the massive arms of some ancient beast, lost to time and memory. Every time I enter, I'm like an intrepid explorer...lacking the intrepid part. But back to peanut butter...

Though, have you noticed that it's no longer made of peanuts, but rather sugar and more sugar with a little bit of ground peanut for flavor? I make that worse with a delightful recipe called Peanut butter balls, where you mix in equal amounts of powdered milk and powdered sugar until the peanut butter is stiff enough to roll. This can be dipped in melted chocolate, but around here, it never lasts long enough. I get the chocolate all melted and the balls are gone. Mysterious, but true. If it weren't for the fact that I know the kitchen only eats intrepid explorers, I'd suspect it of having a hand in the process.

Even better is when I make chocolate pancakes, topped with a smooth layer of peanut butter and finished with a light drizzle of chocolate milk concentrate. Mmmmm! Kids love it too, and it's no more unhealthy than the traditional syrup combo. You could even argue that you use less of the chocolate than the syrup, saving the kids (and yourself) from sugar shock.

From peanut butter to chocolate...so much for my topic... You know, maybe it's not really a leap after all. Peanut butter and chocolate will always mix well in my book.