Thursday, February 18, 2010

Flight of the Bee



Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who cleans her shower less than once a week! (By the way, my sister recommended Scrubbing Bubbles + Magic Eraser for easy shower cleaning and it did a terrific job!)

My cleaning habits lately have somewhat taken a nosedive. Okay, maybe not a nosedive, but a serious drop in altitude. Last week I spent one whole day getting the house in order--clothes washed, kitchen scrubbed, bathrooms cleaned, floors mopped, carpets vacuumed, sheets changed, etc. By the end of the day I was pooped.

And by the end of the next day, it looked the same. Sticky spots in the floor...all over the floor. Laundry back in the baskets (where did it come from?!), crumbs tracked everywhere, etc. I sat down and lamented the loss of my clean house.

As I was lamenting, I thought about the saying which used to be on the side of my blog which said,"Settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep." So cheesy. So true. But, I'm trying not to sweat the little things. It's crazy to try to make my house look like a toddler doesn't live here!

HOWEVER, I cannot get rid of that urge that my mother buried deep within me to clean like mad when someone announces he/she is coming to my house in a few moments. You know that call...

"Hey, Audra! It's grandma! I was just in town and wanted to see if I could drop by?"

"Oh sure!" (Oh shiesh! I need to pick up the living room. At least it's just grandma.)

"Okay. Well, I've got your two great aunts with me and they want to see Drew too. So we'll be there in about 10-15 minutes!"

"Okay! Super!" (Oh my stars. Grandma! A little more advance notice if the entire family tree is about to sit in my living room!)

Enter: Flight of the Bee. This is where I start darting around the house in a mad frenzy. Children and husbands better move out of the way or they just might accidentally get thrown in the laundry bin or garbage can.

Do you have a plan for emergency situations? My flight goes something like this:

1. Pick up junk from living room. Throw socks into laundry bin. Toss toys into a pile. Kick the 500 computer wires underneath the couch. (I'm married to a computer nerd. Most of you probably don't have that problem.)

2. Quick! Clean the kitchen! Or at least stack all the dirty dishes in one side of the sink.

3. What if great aunt Mary needs to teetee while she's here?! Check the toilet for cleanliness. Soap on counter? Check. Hand towel? Check. Close the shower curtain and pray she's not nosy.

4. Close the bedroom doors.

5. 30 seconds remaining? Light that Yankee Candle.

So I'm relaxing a little on attempting to hide the fact a 19 month old lives in our house. And two adults. We add to the clutter; I won't lie. But those are the things that MUST be done before someone pops their head in my front door.

What's on your emergency cleaning list? Or are you one of those people who have mastered not worrying what other people think?


4 comments:

Hilary Gresham said...

mine are about the same as yours!! I've actually tried to turn my nosedive on household duties around. I aim to have the floors vaccumed and mopped, bathroom cleaned and laundry done by Wednesday, then I can enjoy my "long weekend." So far I've done pretty good. This week I have not cleaned the bathroom though...

Leslie G said...

If money weren't an issue, I'd hire a housekeeper just to do the bathrooms! I hate cleaning them.
I'm usually pretty good at keeping our main living area/kitchen picked up. We have people over pretty frequently- our neighbors are always in and out of our house, and likewise. I do have a few decorative baskets w/lids around the house that I can do a quick sweep of Cam's toys, and then I usually make sure the surfaces in the kitchen are clean. That usually does the trick! And if I have 5 minutes, I'll run the vac, which always seems to give the appearance of a clean home.

Kacie said...

The first thing I do is clean the kitchen. It's the first room they see when they walk in. Next is shut the bedroom doors and toss any stray laundry into those rooms. Then pick up any clutter (or diet coke cans) from the living room and light a candle. The bathroom usually comes last because hopefully they won't have to use it. But I pick up any clothes out of there and wipe down the sink and toilet and close the shower curtain. I can do all of this in about 10 minutes. :)

And yes, scrubbing bubbles foaming shower cleaner + industrial strength magic eraser = EASE in cleaning the shower!

Ben and Audrey said...

this is a funny post!! i do the same thing! i toss all the papers (bills, coupons, whatever) on top of my dryer & shut the laundry room door. then i pick up the kitchen b/c, like kacie, its the first room people see when they walk in the door. then i rush through the living room & stash all the toys in the toy box, fix the throw pillows & blankets and pick up any visible large crumbs, from Jack's meals & snacks. then i make sure the bathroom has TP, a hand towel & soap. i close the shower curtain & check the toilet bowl for scuz. i shut all the doors to the rooms & pray that i have a candle or some febreze somewhere!!

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