And Now I Breathe

And I exhale.

Three months of 14 credits worth of grad classes, weekly 500 mile commutes, and extensive travelling by McNASA have come to a close. I finally feel as though I can breathe. Nothing hanging over my head, no legal-pad sized to-do lists, no more dinner from a can!

So what now? So much was left undone while we were gallivanting across the Eastern Seaboard. Laundry has piled up, dust has built colonies under the radiators, and I don't remember the las time I cleaned the bathroom. Thanks be that Christmas is not at our house this year!

I have tried the FlyLady program, but I am afraid that I couldn't stomach the tchotcky aspect of it all. Cutesy names for dusting and videos of shined sinks set to music do not inspire me to tidy my "Hot Zones". What follows is a list of steps from my pick for bastion of homemaking, Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse:


Simple Guidelines for Deep Cleaning One Room at a Time:

•Deep breath.
•Put away everything that's out of place, throw away trash.
•Do anything that's going to make a mess, like trimming plants.
•Collect loose items and set them outside the door so they're not in the way.
•Can anything go in the laundry (curtains, rugs), or dishwasher? Do it.
•Dust walls and ceiling with a long duster. Dust everything else within reach with a microfiber cloth. Wipe baseboards and quarter-rounds.
•Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.
•Vacuum upholstered furniture.
•Get a bucket of hot, soapy, fragrant water. Wipe everything that needs it--edges of floors where the mop doesn't get, light switches, any painted walls with fingerprints or smears. Then use bucket to:
•Mop the floor.
•Polish furniture with lemon oil.
•Clean mirrors and glass.
•Put everything back.

Number one room for me? The living room, where McNASA and I camp out whenever we're here together. Then the bathroom, then the kitchen.

After a quick lunch of clementines with walnuts, stilton cheese, and balsamic vinegar (seriously, trust me it's great), I am going to try and put this place back together.

Oy.