Staying Sane in the Summertime Trina12:23 PM 0 comments

One of the immediate blessings of being a teacher is the vacation time.  Not many professions offer the time off that my job offers.  For two months every year, I get to live as a stay-at-home mom!

This of course means that the household things fall back on my shoulders to get done.  When the summer first started, I found myself spending all day cleaning the house and doing chores and having no time for anything else.  We couldn't go anywhere because I still had to vacuum or disinfect something or fold laundry or whatever.  When would I read to Fallon?  When would I get to watch a movie?  When would I get to go to the pool or exercise or give myself a pedicure??  And then I still never finished the job.

True to who I am, I turned to the internet for answers.  Good ol' Google.  Surely, other women must be capable of maintaining a decent home while still able to leave said home.  And then, I found an article at Real Simple magazine that answered my prayers.

So now, I spend an hour or two each day cleaning my house (depending on the chore), and in general, I could welcome company any day....assuming that I've showered. 

I do a quick clean of the whole house every day which takes about a half hour and consists of the following:

Kitchen: declutter, clear out the sink, wipe it and the counters down, and clean up any spills on the floor with a quick swipe of the wash rag

Bathrooms: declutter, wipe down the sink, clear off any spots on the mirror, wipe down the toilet seat and swish the toilet bowl to eliminate any rings or unsightly marks, spray shower/tub with daily shower spray

Bedrooms: declutter, make the beds

Common/Living area: declutter, wipe down tables

And yes, that's a lot of decluttering, but I have a man and a three year old in this house along with me.  Tidying up is necessary. 

Then, each day, I add a little something so that the other stuff gets done as well:

Monday: I give a little extra attention to the kitchen and I vacuum the kitchen floor.  Then just some general dusting.  Maybe adds up to an hour total of cleaning time.

Tuesday: The extra attention goes to the bedrooms and the bathrooms.  I wash the sheets, scrub the tub/shower, and empty the bathroom trash.  I also vacuum the bedroom and bathroom floors  This one really adds up to about two hours, mostly because laundry takes time.

Wednesday: Extra attention to the rest of the floors.  I vacuum the stairs, the basement, and the common areas.  Sometimes I'll even pull out the dust mop...but not often.  Probably a total time of an hour and a half.

Thursday: Laundry day.  I usually limit the efforts to three loads just so I'm not babysitting the laundry room all day.  So...up to three hours or so.

Friday: Yardwork...which I've grown to hate so much that usually Mr. Almeda does this part or it doesn't get done at all and I'm only doing the quick clean for a half hour.

Saturday: Bill paying, couponing, meal planning, and grocery shopping.  Takes forever because I'm meticulous and I shop three different stores for our groceries, but I actually think I like Saturdays the best. 

Sunday: Church, laundry (again...but no more than two loads), and taking the trash up to the curb (pick up is Monday morning).

Also, my favorite cleaner so far is the Method All-Purpose Cleaner for the quick cleaning stuff...it's nice to just walk around the house with just one spray bottle.  It also happens to smell nice...no toxic fumes!  I pretty much use the same brand for everything else as well (toilet cleaner, shower spray, disinfectant, and floor cleaner).

So with this plan, I do get to take Fallon to the pool, exercise, read her stories, attend parties, and even *gasp* blog about it!  I wonder if I'll be able to keep it up when it's time to go back to work...