One of the blogs I check out from time to time is Thrifty Mom in Boise, by a single woman with two girls. They all pitch in for only 15 minutes a day to do housecleaning chores to keep on top of things. Well I can tell you right now that 15 minutes a day would not begin to cut it for me. It takes me forever to get things done. It would take me the whole 15 minutes just to wash down
one of my kitchen shelves. But yesterday morning, I decided to give it a try anyway.
In my Daybook post, I identified a few little jobs that needed doing in my "around the house...". I said that I still needed to make my bed, vacuum up the front door hallway, wash down the kitchen counters, and pick up the paper strips and scraps that littered my dining table. If I set a timer, surely I could do that in 15 minutes. Here is how that experiment went.
It started out great. I started out making my bed and then I grabbed the vacuum cleaner from the closet in the back bedroom. I vacuumed the mat and the surrounding tile at the front door, and as long as I already had the vacuum out, I could quickly do the kitchen floor and the mat at the side door. It would only take a few seconds more. Since my deep cleaning job for the day was to scrub down the spice cabinet shelves, I should take the opportunity to vacuum out those shelves before I washed them. But first I would need to take all the spice jars out. Well, I could do that and just take that time off the 15 minute time limit. And if I was going to prepare the spice cabinet for a scrub, I should also remove all the items from the top of my pantry cupboards, so when I ran my bucket of hot water I could just do both jobs quickly. I could spritz my homemade cleaner on the surfaces to begin the process. But as I was removing the potted aloe, the top heavy plant shifted in the clay pot and spilled over.
Now I had aloe plants and dirt all over the floor that I had just vacuumed. Thank goodness I had bags of potting soil and empty plant pots in the back bedroom. I repotted the aloe into a bigger container and the little babies were put back into the smaller clay pot, so now I could redo the kitchen floor and wipe up all the kitchen counters. My experiment was already shot, so I gave up and began my deep cleaning of the cabinets.
The top of these cabinets took a lot of work, so after they were scrubbed and dried, I lay down pieces of rubberised shelf liners. Next time I will just throw those in the washing machine to clean. By this time, it was 12:45 and I was expecting company to arrive after one o'clock. The papers were still on the dining table, so I made lunch instead.
One of my afternoon visitors was my sister. We went down to the craft room and I finished off my first mini scrapbook.
The covers are pages of a child's board book. I pick them up very cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales, and then cover them with scrapbook paper. The binding is layered duct tape (I used white for this book, and hot glued some brown twill ribbon over the seam.)
Here is a picture inside the first page. There are 3 page "assemblies" in this book. I use the envelope mini scrapbook by Kathy Orta on You Tube and I use her hinge and binding system. These are 5x7 inch black envelopes and notecards from Michaels.
One page assembly holds 18 large photos, not counting the little mats. ("This is my story" card you see in this photo) These smaller mats that I have included, can be tucked into the bottom pockets. These are also matted on both sides to include smaller photos or some journalling. The double pocket insert with the two larger photo mats seen here is made from one 12x12 inch piece of black cardstock. The double pocket is attached to the flaps of the two envelopes, and then matted with decorative paper to hide the "mechanics" of gluing the envelopes and card stock together.
Different sized photo mats are included within the album. The note cards hold photos as large as 4x6, four photos per notecard. The tall photo mat (mustaches) is 7x4 1/2 inches, so could hold one large photo with journalling, or two smaller photos, on both sides. The next size is also for a 4x6 photo, and the small tag is just under 3x4 inches. All the mats are decorated front and back to hold photos. The actual envelope pages are for 5x7 photos. I have made several of these books as gifts. Some I have already filled with photos, and some are for filling by the recipient. I have decorated for masculine, girly-girly, every day and graduation pictures. Some have been 3 pages assemblies and some hold only two (for 36 plus).
These are easy to make, but time consuming and repetitious. So I will be making Easter cards now for a while before I begin my next mini photo album. Today's activity will be snow shovelling. It is really coming down right now.
Oh, Susan, you had me in stitches with your house cleaning saga as that is usually what happens with me, too! I start something and that leads to another! LOL. Well, now you have a nicely vacuumed kitchen floor as well, and newly repotted aloe plants!
ReplyDeleteI think, because we are a one-person crew, we need to allow ourselves 45 minutes to accomplish what 3 people working for 15 minutes could accomplish. But, I remember, when I was part of an online organizing group, we were encouraged to work in 15 minutes blocks of time, because it was easier to manage.
I really like your mini scrapbook! Now, I want to try and do something similar! My next project! LOL.
I hope you have a good day, today. Be safe while you are out there, shoveling that snow!
The Emergency wards are usually full on snowy mornings like these, so I know to take it slow and easy. There was only one day this winter (so far) that I had to do my driveway in TWO shifts. I always start with the bottom of the driveway (from the sidewalk to the road) because it is the worst part of the job, and my energy level is higher. I push the snow to where I will need to lift it up and throw onto the snow bank. I take lots of rests and remember that I have all the time I need. It is not a race.
ReplyDeleteIf I still feel good, then I will tackle the snow behind the car to the sidewalk. I also push that snow down the sidewalk and lift it up onto the bank that is my front yard. It is great exercise. When I'm done, I plug in the kettle for tea and hit the shower. If I don't do anything else for the day, I give myself permission to slack off.
I have tried the 15 min cleaning tip and usually end up like you. Something makes my plan go sideways and an hour later I still haven't done the few chores I should have been able to get done in 15 min!!
ReplyDeleteI agree if you get all that snow shoveled then I would call that good for the day!!!
I like the notion of limiting the housework to a time limit. It is kind of motivating in a way to see how successful you could be. You would have to be very focused and not let yourself get distracted. But then, there is this thing called "Murphy's Law" It always seems to single me out.
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