the elements of clean

[This post submitted to SortaCrunchy's Your Green Resouce.]

The arrival of Real Simple magazine used to be the highlight of my month.  I would prowl the mailbox and snatch it from the mailman's hands, eagerly devouring each page and advertisement within a day or two.  Before I realized it was neither real nor simple, I believed I could live in the clean, sparse, non-cluttered reality that was presented in the publication.  As my adult life took shape, I saw that this was not to be.  My life was not, and will not be, really simple.  It is full of complicated situations and feelings. 

There are a few holdovers from the days of Real Simple, though.  Every fall and winter, I make a rendition of their butternut squash soup with sage that is just killer (although on second thought I think that one actually came from Meals Made Easy).

The main thing I've held onto is a print-out from a 2005 article called The Elements of Clean.  Appealing to the dorky chart- and table-loving side of me, it presents as a periodic table, but instead of the elements from chemistry (which I had to memorize in 10th grade!), it has cleaning tasks divided into categories of frequency:  weekly, monthly, every three months, every six months, annually. 

[Click here for an enlarged .pdf version of the image above.]

For starters, I love the fact that I can mark off about twenty percent of the chart right away because it does not pertain to our home setup.  We have no stove burner grates to clean since we have a glass-top range.  We don't have a microwave.  We certainly don't have curtain or drapes - only blinds.  Leather furniture . . . ha.  Stove hood:  a "someday" dream involving cutting a hole in our kitchen ceiling.  No slipcovers, fabric shades, stove hood filter, pantry, or carpeting. 

I try to stick to the schedule for the more infrequent cleaning tasks, but I must say that I use the "weekly" list most of all.  I basically just divided the tasks by room and try to do each room once a week.  I dust all the furniture and hard surfaces weekly.  I do the bathroom (the shower, bathtub, mirror, and toilet) weekly.  I do the sheets each week as part of our regular laundry.  I try to sweep, mop, or dustmop all the floors weekly (if not everywhere, definitely in the kitchen and bathroom, which are tiled).  And although I wipe the counters, kitchen sink and appliances pretty much every day, once a week I give them a more intense washing.  Except for our stainless stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher, for which I have special polishing wipes, I do this all with baking soda, vinegar, water, and elbow grease.  Cheap and safe. 

So now you know my housekeeping secret.  My special periodic table, which I've carried with me now for almost eight years.  Hope it's as useful for you as it has been for me!

moving moving moving

Just trying to do one thing at a time over here, and maintain some sanity!  In the grand scheme, we are on the final step of the packing-loading-driving-unloading-unpacking series.  We had plumbing, electrical, and construction that needed done.  Plumber is finished!  Electrician will be next week, and contractors will finish the addition by August 1.  We have had such splendid help every step along the way.  Friends in Topeka, Jeff's mom, friends here in Nashville.  We are so marvelously fortunate.

In the meantime, this makes me happy:

A perfectly organized cupboard . . . it won't stay that way for long!

storage!

We are short on closets in this old house, and we have no real basement or garage.  Technically, we actually have both, but the basement is just a dirt hole and it freaks me out (plus feral cats live down there in the winter . . . don't ask), and the garage is out across the backyard and not very secure.  So, we are limited to pretty much just keeping our stuff in our two floors of the house.

I despise clutter, and feel that I'm constantly battling it.  Anytime I can find a way to get some things up off the floor or another surface, it feels like a triumph!  I got this idea from my sister, who did it in her old guest bathroom with extra toiletries.

I took an over-the-door shoe organizer and filled it with baby supplies:  lotions, washes, medicines, thermometer, brush, comb, diapers, etc.  Works like a charm for diaper changes without the extra space taken being taken up by a changing table!

evidence

Here is proof that I am dreadfully frugal cheap.  If plastic bags haven't had anything horrendous in them like raw meat or onions, I wash and reuse them:

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Am I the only person on earth who does this?  I guess I don't think it's that weird because my mom did it too!

the clutter murders

For those who are not fanatical Kansas natives (called Jayhawkers - there's your crossword trivia for the day) and don't know about the horrific Clutter murders of 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas:  the Clutters were a well-off farm family.  Two marauders were convinced that they had bunches of money and valuables hidden in their house, so they broke in, held them hostage, then savagely axed the whole family to death.  Turns out there were no valuables.  Oops.  The murderers were found pretty immediately, tried, and neatly dispatched (hanged).  Truman Capote came to Kansas and wrote a little story about called In Cold Blood.  I'm sure he shocked the hell out of Southwestern Kansas with his gayness.

My mom grew up not fifty miles from Holcomb, and all she would ever remark on this incident (that happened when she was eight) was that that was when they started to lock their doors at night.

But, happily for you, this post isn't actually about the Clutter murders of 1959.  It's about the clutter murders of 2011.  That's right, folks.  I'm taking you on a tour of the dark bowels of my home.  These four areas that I'm determined to clutter-bust before the year is out.

Don't know about you all, but clutter makes me feel chaotic.  Watching "Hoarders" is scary.  Some of my relatives have been on the line of problem "collecting," and I've had to clean out too many great-grandmas' and grandparents' houses to ever, EVER become a packrat.  Unfortunately, my husband hasn't had the same experiences, and loves to come home with new little tidbits of junk.

We moved homes every year from 2007 through 2010, and moving is an fantastic motivator to get rid of all your old crap so you don't have to U-Haul it anywhere.  I've made it my mission to only have one of anything, so Goodwill has benefited mightily from my prunings.  Alas, we've been in our home in Topeka for almost fifteen months now, and some detritus has begun accumulating.

First:  Jeff's closet.

We have a bad habit of just leaving things in the big plastic Rubbermaid bins, rather than storing it more attractively.  This is a symptom of my frugality, as I'm hesitant to buy shelving even though we need it.  This just needs a good once-over.

Next up, the pantry:

Our house is old and funny and has lots of nooks and crannies that are perfect for tossing junk when you're in a hurry.  The pantry sits under the staircase, and extends its entire length.  We use the top shelf for food, and the bottom for the stuff we would put in a garage if we had a garage (dog food, Jeff's tools and milk crates, charcoal for BBQ, etc).  I'm not totally sure how to solve this space issue until we have a garage, but I can at least neaten it up.

Then, upstairs:

This one is really Jeff's to deal with, since for some reason he absolutely despises putting his clothes away after I launder and fold them.  But he won't do it until I twist his arm, so I just need to get started on the arm-twisting.

And this.  Kind of like the pantry-garage, this is the stuff I would put in the basement if we had a basement.  Old journals, baby and maternity clothes I'm saving for next time (!), art supplies.  Instead of a basement, they live in a corner of our giant upstairs loft-bedroom.  Again, just need shelving to neatly store this stuff.  In fact, I'd kind of like to see if I can't consolidate it into the pantry-garage and use this corner for the baby's "prepared environment."

Wish me luck!  I feel like to really complete this endeavor, I'll have to take a few days off work with the baby at the sitter.  And there's the small matter of getting Jeff on board . . .