Cleaning is so not fun

I feel like I finally caught up a bit on my cleaning fiasco over the weekend. At least enough that the dishes aren't talking smack as I walk by anymore. If anything I'm a little smug when I pass the empty sink, thinking to myself, "Ha! Take THAT!"

So I get all the general housework caught up and I realized how far this house still has to go to be, well, CLEAN. In a nutshell (pun intended,) we're finishing up remodeling the other house. So, this one has to do in the meantime. Putting all the time into the other one, there's a lot of odds and ends here being neglected.

I really hope Santa brings me one of those Shark floor cleaners this year for Christmas. The linoleum is old and has cracks and tears in many places, making it a nightmare to mop. It will be perfect for the new house, too, as it will have hardwood and tile floors. 

So this week, I'm focusing on getting these floors in shape. Or at least, not so gross. There's still a long way to go to achieve that! Thankfully, Mother Nature is cooperating with me, so I can hang the rugs out to dry and freshen up while the floors dry. Did I mention how much I like the Fabuloso cleaner? It's not the best product on the market, but wowza it smells fresh!

Playtime is over, it's back to the grind. Or the mop, as the case may be.

Taking care of business

In my switch to stay at home mom, I've been so focused on trying to make money I've lost sight of the primary job I have: taking care of the houe and family! I feel that the time I've put in this week toward earning money hasn't really brought enough reward to justify a messy house. So, today I'm cracking down on housework!

First on my agenda is the ginormous mound of laundry on the bed. I sure would like to sleep in my bed this evening, so the laundry must be folded and put away ASAP. Catching up the rest of the laundry won't be much of a problem, I've kept up with washing it this week for the most part. It's the folding and putting away that's got me stuck!

Next job: tackling the kitchen. Ick, I've fallen behind a little too much on that! The dishes are piled halfway to the ceiling, it seems. I'm almost positive I heard them mocking me this morning as I walked by. Time to dig in!

I think I need to go back to my old way of housework, which was making a list every day of things I wanted finished pronto. No smoke breaks or phone calls until certain points on the list. Kind of silly, but it worked. Sooo, I'll be making a list, and checking it twice...

Break time is over, time to get down and dirty with housework!

Ladybug invasion!

Since housework takes up much of the day of the typical stay at home mom, I've been digging in today as much as humanly possible. And because it's a beautiful Autumn day, we've been invaded by ladybugs. Egads, they're everywhere!

This is my preferred method of avoiding and getting rid of those pesky little buggers. And lady luck must be shining on me today, Gracie actually let me vacuum without too much of a fit. It was like the heavens opened and the angels sang!

I haven't had the chance to take lice or bug spray around to discourage ladybugs from entering just yet. Spraying down will be my next step. I just had to get those smelly ladybugs out of here before doing anything else. Those things are just plain disgusting!

With my efforts of vacuuming them up today, I have about a half a shop vac full of ladybugs. One other tip I've heard was to take a half cup or so of rubbing alcohol and when you find them, drop them right in. No muss, no fuss. That's probably what I will do with the ladybugs I find throughout the evening. 

  It figures. Mother Nature gives us a beautiful fall day, the sun is shining, the temperature just right. And in flies a ginormous swarm of ladybugs. Ick, ick, ick! Hopefully spraying down all the windows and doors will do the trick and they'll be nothing more than an unpleasant memory!