Tuesday, March 5, 2013

How I learned to LOVE to clean!

I don't know about the rest of the mom's that work outside the home but this mom was a mess when it came to keeping up with cleaning our home.  



I cleaned the bathroom because it was resembling a gas station bathroom, did laundry because we were running out of clothes and who washes the windows or cleans the blinds (not this mom!)

I was in constant crisis management mode when it came to cleaning house and I HATED every minute of it.

I entered into being a work from home mom using the same cleaning techniques that I used when I worked outside the home for 18 years.  We had a blast, don't get me wrong, but I was feeling like I was not fulfilling my role of being home.  I dreamed of taking care of our home and loving every minute of it, I just didn't know what to do to get there and had many years of practice the other direction.

So...I did what any other blog addict does, I cruised blogger and got me some ideas!  I came up with a cleaning schedule...who would of thunk it, clean the bathrooms because it is Monday instead of when they resemble the corner gas station!  

I also searched into my heart to figure out what would help me want to clean and LOVE it.  First of all, I figured out I needed it to be easy and not give me an asthma attack.  First thing I did was to remove toxic cleaners from my house.  That was a big ah ha moment to understand why I was so exhausted after cleaning.  It's amazing what bleach and ammonia can do to the old lungs.  I found products that did a great job, didn't waste resources and cost less than other green cleaners on the market.  SCORE!



The next thing I needed to do was to make it easy to grab my cleaning supplies so when I have 10 minutes it wasn't a big production to get it all gathered up.


My Organizing Utility Tote has every thing I need, to clean anywhere in the house.  When I find a few minutes between running errands, folding a load of laundry or hanging out with my kiddos I can grab my tote and get a little something done.  It is always loaded with micro fiber cleaning clothes, an assortment of scrub brushes, gloves (absolutely not necessary with the cleaning products I use unless I'm avoiding a chipped nail), and all of my non toxic cleaning products - I can clean my entire house from top to bottom with this little tote!

Last week it hit me, I have learned to LOVE to clean.  I can clean anytime I find a few minutes and I find a few of those every day.  My house stays cleaner all the time, we are no longer a crisis management crew, except when the kids decide to carry everything they own to the living room.  And I have clean blinds and windows!