Cleaning the Way to Free and Easy

Last night was a fabulous evening....and it all was because of cleaning. I know, what a way for a 28 year old to want to spend an evening, but I have to say the only way I don't clean the house on Friday evening and/or Saturday morning is if the hub begs me otherwise or we already have other scheduled plans. To me a clean house just sets the relaxing tone for the rest of the weekend and the ready status for the coming week. When I come home on a Friday and whip through the house organizing, dusting, clearing the junk away from the week before, and spic spanning most everything in sight then the rest of the weekend just feels free and easy. When there's no more cleaning to do, then I'm free to enjoy the restful nature and spontaneity of moments of two days ahead....and I'm still prepared for the work week to come.

Now if you're a germ-a-phob then you probably wouldn't be super thrilled at my approach to cleaning. I'm much more into the appearance of my home and leaving the house looking spic and span. I've learned how to easily get it done in about two hours but I don't focus on killing every bacteria and germ. I believe in the ol' adage that God made dirt so dirt can't hurt--I just don't want to see it!. So we spray the counters and wipe them down, I dust the shelves and chairs, we vacuum up canister after canister of dog hair, we scrub the toilet and the bathtub surfaces, and we throw the clothes and towels through the wash. If hub's work clothes are particularly grungy from the field then we'll use a bit hotter water, if we've had guests I always change the sheets, and every other week we use a bit harsher of chemicals to scrub mineral build up off the tub.....but for the most part we try to use "green" and easy cleaning methods. We don't stress out about 100% germ free nor about deep cleaning most anything.

Nightly I wipe down kitchen counters, pick up around the house, water outdoor plants, and we wash larger dishes by hand. Twice a week we pick up the yard from the animals and clean out the litter box (they use it about once a week right now since they're outside 50%). About once a week we dust, launder clothes and kitchen/bath towels, vacuum, organize, take inventory of the fridge, clean the bathroom, run the dishwasher, and take out the recycling and trash. Every other week I wash our sheets and sweep the patios. About once a month I wash the rest of the blankets on our bed and used as throws, vacuum out the car, wash the dogs (if we haven't taken them somewhere to swim). Once a season the hub mops the kitchen floor (a job I loathe, it gets vacuumed weekly), we clean up the garage, I wipe down the baseboards, and we vacuum the corners and under things.

So while I'm sure we wouldn't win any "most clean" prize, it never fails to look and be comfortable and presentable regardless of unannounced visitors. I quite enjoy the mad dash of the Friday evening cleaning spree as it makes great closure for the last week and leaves us prepared for the week to come. Free and easy for two days of enjoyment just focusing on each other, the dogs, and fun.