Weekend Outlook: The Single Girl Edition



 Normally I write a post with a specific topic in mind.  I don't feel like it today.  I guess if I have to label it then we will go with "weekend".

Mark left this morning for a guys' weekend in the mountains.  He really deserves the mini-vacation so I am happy for him.  That means, however, that I will be single until Sunday. 

Mark is definitely not one to get in the way when I am trying to clean or organize or anything but yet I always get excited when this weekend rolls around annually.  I get the chance to not cook full meals, organize/clean at whim, and read hours on end.  It's my own little retreat, too.

I set out yesterday making my to-do list for the weekend; a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish on my own timetable and without distraction.  Unfortunately, everything might not get done as I planned (surprise. surprise.) because I woke up this morning with a cold.  Right now I am just looking forward to quickly swinging by Target for a couple things and then going home to bed.  NOT how I planned to start my weekend.  I am kind of bummed about it because I haven't been sick since April.  I was hoping to go a full year but no cigar. Maybe I will get a second wind when I get home.

Nevertheless, I have a to-do list and I am sticking to do.  I may not complete the whole thing but at least some is better than none.  In the spirit of organizing my thoughts and making myself accountable to my goals, here is my to do list as it stands now:

~ Read 1 book (maybe 2)
~ Detail inside of my car
~ Start (complete?) taxes online
~ Deodorize/clean carpet
~ Finish organizing and decorating the guest suite and "lounge"* from the room swap a couple weeks ago
~ Come up with an appetizer for the Super Bowl party (and then attend said party)
~ Laundry
~ Come up with menu/grocery list for the week
~ Clean the house (dust, bathrooms, etc.)
~ Go to a birthday party for a little friend that is turning 1 (this depends on the sick status .. no need to spread germs!)
~ Go to Target for items to complete tasks above.

I think that is about it.  There are ton of little individual tasks on my written list in front of me but they all generally fall under the categories above.  Honestly, the list is totally doable.  It's actually pretty doable with a cold (minus the birthday party) but you never know.  I may wake up tomorrow healed or I may wake up feeling dead.  We'll see. 

The point of all this is that I plan on having a productive, happy weekend.  I wish the same for all of you. Whether you are hammering out a to-do list like me or just want to sit on the couch for 48 hours...  I hope it's everything you want it to be.  I will report back and let you know how I did.  Happy Weekend!

* Ever since the man room moved downstairs it has kind of lost it's exclusivity.  It's not longer separated from the main living space and so "man room" or "man cave" just doesn't feel appropriate.  Right now it holds two lounge chairs, a bookcase and a small beer fridge.  (It used to have a couch, TV, etc but those were repurposed for other rooms)  Since its main purpose right now is reading or listening to music, we jokingly deemed it "The Lounge" .... and it kind of stuck.  It's embarrassing but we really just don't know what to call it.  So with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek .. I will now be referring to the former office as "The Lounge".

The 10-Minute Quick Clean

Have you ever invited someone over to your house and it wasn't until you hung up the phone that you realized your house is a wreck!?  It happens to the best of us.  Here is my list of things that I do in this exact situation.  Got 10 minutes? Ready, Set, Go!

My focus is primarily on three places:  living room, kitchen and guest bathroom.  When friends/family drop by, these are the three rooms they would most likely frequent. 


Living Room:

• Check to make sure couch cushions are straightened and pillows are placed where they should be.
• Fold any blankets and put away. (I have a storage ottoman I throw them into.)
• Gather magazines, books, etc and either place them in a neat stack or take them to another room.
• Take all cups/dishes/shoes/jackets/etc to the rooms they belong in.  (If the rooms have doors, i.e. the bedroom, just throw the items on the bed and shut the door.)

Do you have a few extra minutes?  Run a dustcloth over sidetables and coffeetable.  You can also do a quick vacuum of the high-traffic areas.


Kitchen:

• Are there dirty dishes on the counter/in the sink?  Quickly load the dishwasher.  If the dishwasher is full, and it would take too much time to unload/reload, then just rinse all the dishes off to remove the food residue and stack neatly in the sink. 
• Wipe counters down to remove crumbs and smudges.
• Clear the kitchen table or stack everything neatly.

Do you have a few extra minutes? A clean sink really makes a world of difference so do this task if you can.  You can also do a quick sweep/vacuum of the floor to remove crumbs and dirt.


Guest Bathroom:

• Check toilet and maybe do a quick swipe with the brush if necessary.  Don't worry about cleaner.  You can sanitize later.
• Wipe down counter surfaces and mirror.
• Straighten towels and floor mats.

Do you have a few extra minutes?  Empty the trashcan and light a candle!


Don't be afraid to ask family members to help!  Even kids can get in on it.  They can certainly take shoes to closets or stack magazines.  Also note that most of the 'dirt' in your home only you can see.  You know what it looks like at its cleanest so that is what you are judging against.  No one is going to care at the end of the day if there was a spare sock you missed or a bowl in the sink.  You live in your house.  It's not a museum.  Relax and enjoy your company.

Please Bow to Your Inner Cleaning Sensei

If you've never been to bluntcard.com .. now's the time .. h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s!



It's that time of the year!  Time for Spring Fall Cleaning!  You may be scratching you heads and going "Um, Jess, you are a little confused.  It's totally the wrong time of year.  That's why it's called Spring cleaning .. you do it in the Spring!".  Well yes and no.  Yes, you do a major clean-athon in the springtime but it's important to do it right before winter, too. Hence my "Fall Cleaning" post.

Now, I could totally write something and try to be witty and motivational but why reinvent the wheel?  My friends over at ApartmentTherapy have already compiled the perfect list and broken it down for each of us.  Happy cleaning!

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Apartment Therapy believes that cleaning, like karate, has different levels of mastery. There are those who can drop-kick a closet full of dust bunnies in seconds, and those (like us) who aren't the sloppiest kid in the class, but fall way behind the black belts. Whether you're a beginner or a master, we've provided a fall cleaning checklist that will match your skill level.

- White Belt: It's not exactly a seasonal checklist, but FlyLady's Crisis Cleaning Guide breaks up the art of the binge clean into 15-minute intervals. Baby steps.

- Yellow Belt: You probably thought Martha Stewart's seasonal cleaning checklist would require the skills of a brown or black belt, but it's a surprisingly simple guide with only one or two feats of strength. (We'd personally skip the suggestion to wipe down the ceiling.)

- Orange Belt: TLC Home's fall cleaning guide is broken up into 5 major categories. You'll feel the burn with tasks like cleaning the furnace and deep-cleaning the carpets.

- Blue Belt: The fall cleaning guide from How Stuff Works has a long list of indoor and outdoor tasks, ranging from wiping down light fixtures to cleaning the gutters.

- Green Belt: Zabitatz includes a lot of the same suggestions as the other checklists mentioned, but steps it up a notch with instructions to clean the grill, chimney, refrigerator coils, and storm window screens.

- Purple Belt: In comparison to the rest of the bunch, Real Simple's fall cleaning checklist is surprisingly complex, with tips to touch up exterior house paint, declutter the attic, and caulk around doors and windows.

- Brown Belt: Not for the novice cleaner, Organized Home provides a detailed checklist that covers everything from stocking up on sidewalk salt to draining sediment from hot water heaters.

- Black Belt: The Home Know-It-All provides a list that's deceptively short. They expect some serious cleaning skills from their readers, with tasks that include cleaning out the garage, inspecting the chimney, and checking the roof shingles.

It really is a little magical!

I am a total sucker for marketing sometimes.  I soothe myself with the fact that, at least I acknowledge it, right?

Well anyways, when Mr. Clean came out with the magic eraser a few years ago I HAD to have it.  At first I only used it "as directed" and it worked like it claimed, however, over the years I have begun to experiment with getting more bang for my buck.  Let me tell you .. this little sponge can do a lot more cleaning than advertised!

One of the many ways I have found it useful is actually regarding dishes!  I have a couple hand-me-down casserole dishes and sheet pans.  I don't know about you but no matter how much I scrubbed mine there were always a few stains left.  They weren't food stains but usually left from baked in non-stick cooking spray or something over the years.  Either way, although it was sanitary, it left my dishes showing their age and I didn't like it.

So, one day (totally fed up, mind you), I decided to give them one last chance before tossing them in the trash and getting new ones.  Enter ... the magic eraser!  It removed the stains, albeit with a little elbow grease, and left them sparkling like new!  I couldn't believe it! I even took my nail and tried to scrape at the stains and nothing but the eraser took care of it.  After the dishes were clean I ran them through the dishwasher to sanitize them since I am pretty sure you're not supposed to ingest whatever magical ingredient makes them work so well.

Anyways, I just thought I would share this little tip.  It also works well on smooth-surface cook tops and fabric!  (As far as fabric is concerned, this truly is one of those products you should test on an inconspicuous spot first.  I know most products say that but this time it actually matters.)  Happy cleaning!