Baby Steps To A New Normal

Yes. I know we are no longer preparing for the holidays, and you may still be tired from the extra activity. However, do you want all that hard work in 2015 to go to waste? Do you want to keep things up, or to have to work much harder than you should have to do the next time you expect company? Would you like to have a cleaner house in 2016? The zone for this week is the Kitchen. What a great way to start the year. The habit for this month is to shine your sink. It's not too late to start. http://www.flylady.net/d/zones/zone-2/

I am putting in another plug in for FlyLady, because quite frankly, I would rather use my energy for living, than figuring out new ways to do jobs that can be done using her methods and encouragement. The important thing is to remember that this is a guideline. It is up to you to manage your time and body. Let's aim for better, not perfect.  I know I won't do it just like she does it, and you do not have to either.  However, each day you are able you have something you can aim for.   Baby Steps will get you there

Make an uncluttered house your new normal for 2016. 

November 2015 Kitchen Challenge

Breaking your housework into small steps works in all rooms of your house.  For the month of November, I am sponsoring a Kitchen Challenge on my Facebook Page:  Fatigue, Creative Decluttering, and a New Life .  I will be posting suggestions several times each week for your encouragement. If you want to be an active participant in the comments, you could share what you have done in your kitchen and how you think making cleaning your kitchen a priority has freed you to do other things in your home or elsewhere.

The Home's Launchpad

Image Courtesy of  Appolonia
freedigitalphotos.net

Whether preparing a holiday feast or just keeping up with the day to day tidying, a clean kitchen is a launch pad for raising our spirits and enjoying our homes.  Nobody likes to work in a cluttered kitchen with dirty dishes piled in the sink and in some cases on the counters.  Wiping off the counters and table tops in your kitchen are so much easier to handle when done after every meal and each cooking task in the kitchen.  I know this sounds difficult to some of you, and I do not want you to fall into the perfectionist trap that you have to do it perfectly every time.

Every time you work on the task of cleaning the kitchen, you are building better habits, particularly when you make an effort to do it throughout the day, rather than letting things pile up.  Some people think they have to do housework in wholes:  clean the entire refrigerator, scrub both sides of the sink, wipe off all the counters, etc.  However, not everyone finds that an acceptable and easy thing to do.

The truth is that whether you are bursting with energy, whether you are 18 or 80, whether you have a chronic illness or not, whether you would just rather do something else -- it is easier and quicker to spend short amounts of time working on the kitchen.  It frees you to do other things you need to do or you want to do.  Whether you have a very messy kitchen or it is not bad at all, this is an excellent time to concentrate on this area.  If you have family coming for the holidays, it may be just the thing to get a kind of rhythm  going in your life, where it just seems like the norm to spend 10 or 15 minutes cleaning up the kitchen  several times a day.

Join me for the Kitchen Challenge during the month of November.  I think you may actually be surprised at how easy tidying your kitchen can be.  And remember, baby steps will get you there.  Perfectionism is not an option.  Let it go.

The Heart of the Home: Finishing for the Present and Moving On

It seems that the more I get reorganized in my kitchen, the easier it gets.  Last week, I didn't get every single job done I wanted to do, because I ran out of energy.  The neat thing is I was able to maintain what I did. Moreover, I have continued to do small jobs in the kitchen that lead toward better organization.

I have to admit that I sometimes think when I start taking pictures of this old kitchen in the house I rent, the thought will occasionally come to me that there are probably people looking at these pictures, who have modern, gorgeous kitchens. I have had very nice kitchens, one with granite counter tops and tiled walls, but when it got messy and unorganized, it became hard to clean and unpleasant to work in.  However, the point is not that you have a fancy kitchen with the walls freshly painted or beautifully tiled, but that you have a kitchen you can have ready to work in every day, whether you cook that day or not.  

I wish I could promise my kitchen will not ever get out of hand again, but the truth is that I am on a journey.  And there are those times, I have a relapse or flare-up.  I would like to say this will never happen again, but it has happened too many times in the past few years for any guarantees.  But maybe--just maybe, this time will be different.  I have learned I don't have to give up.  I might be down for a while, but every time I start getting my house back in order it seems a little simpler.  It is true I hit bumps in the road, but that's to be expected.  The point is not giving up.  Moreover, I believe that as long as I keep getting rid of the clutter and organizing better, I will see great improvement in my ability to keep the house reasonably clean.  I want our home to be our own personal bed and breakfast.  When we walk in, it will not only be home, it will be a delight, a place to rest, work, and play.



Lastly, just a word is due about my kitchen cart.  When I had my hip replacement, the literature I was given suggested getting a kitchen cart so I could gather together the things I needed for food preparation and push them to the area I wanted to work.  This was an absolute lifesaver, and it has given me more work space in a much smaller kitchen than which I am accustomed.  Last week, my cart was full of unnecessary clutter.  Here it is now.



Everyday, for a week, I have done small jobs to get the kitchen in shape.  It's not exactly where I want to be.  I want to do some inexpensive home improvement jobs.  However, it is time to talk about other subjects and other rooms.  Later, I can come back to the "extra special" work in the kitchen.  God bless you all as you continue making your house a home.

Love and Prayers going up, 

Deborah Bolton

Cleaning the Heart of the Home -- Part 4

Image courtesy of [Iamnee]/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How does it feel to cook in a clean kitchen?  Does seeing the counter and sink cleaned off encourage you to continue the process?  Do you feel a little more energized when you go in your kitchen?  I do.  However, I have also felt the pain from the work I did.  That goes with the territory when you have Fibromyalgia.  In fact, I have not done as many things as I would like to do in the house, but that goes with the territory of being ill.

Despite all that, I feel encouraged.  Just seeing the progress in the kitchen tells me I can do this somewhere else.

There are a few areas I have not mentioned in the last few days' cleaning hints.  However, if you are like me, you are going to have to make choices concerning what is most important to do in your kitchen and other areas of your home.  There are times we have to draw a line and stop, so we can go on to another area of the house.

For the purposes of finishing your cleaning of the kitchen I am going to give you a list of things that can be done in one, two, or three days.  What you do depends on the condition of your kitchen, your time, your pain levels, and your energy levels.  The key to pacing your self is knowing when to rest and when to be physically active.  

Cleaning Hints for Today:  The Kitchen

1. Continue the daily process of unloading your dishwasher and dish drainer. (I admit to not always putting away the few dishes in the dish drainer after they have air dried.  Then, I am forced to do so when I don't have any place to put something I have just washed.)  
2. If you have a table, cutting block, or kitchen cart -- it is time to throw away, give away, and put away everything that doesn't belong there.
3. Don't forget to wipe your counter tops and wipe out your sink. 
4. Omit cleaning the oven, even if it is a self clean oven.  This should be done in cold weather, rather than overheating your house.  Cleaning the oven, no matter what kind you have takes a great deal bending, reaching, and sometimes getting on your hands and knees.  This is a one thing a day job or a shared job (get someone to  help you).  If you do the oven, spread it over several hours.  Who said you have to wipe every surface of the oven out all at once?  That might be what you prefer, but you are less likely to end up with pulled muscles and misery if you spread out the extended movement of your body.  This has to be met according to personal preference and physical ability. 
5. Cleaning the top of your refrigerator can be dicey if you have trouble with balance or arthritis.  However, something that helps keep the top of the refrigerator clean is using a duster with a long handle.  I am particularly fond of Swiffer long handled dusters.  Please be cautious about climbing on step stools, but if you still do that:  dust the top of the refrigerator first.  Then, use a spray cleaner and wipe it off.  If you cannot reach the very back of the fridge, you might consider wrapping a rag around something with a long handle.  This is a good job to do when someone else is home.  (Hint:  put your cleaner on top of the fridge before you climb on the stool--if that is how you plan to clean your refrigerator.)  Caution:  if you get shaky or dizzy, just dust the top of the refrigerator and leave the spray cleaner to someone else.  You should not be climbing on step stools or chairs.
6. Sweep or vacuum the floor.  
7. Mop the floor.

The last two jobs (#6 and #7) can be divided up into two days.  However, it is logical to sweep then mop.  Don't worry about baseboards or wiping cabinets. You can do that next week.  You have been working hard.  You deserve a break! 

Cleaning the Heart of the Home - Part 3

Rubbermaid Expandable Organizer

Today, I started working in the kitchen drawers, because I got an idea for rearranging them from a magazine.  Also, I had visited my sister, and she had utilized a plastic receptacle like one of mine a little differently.  My cooking utensil drawer also needed straightening, so I decided to make some changes.  I pulled the old switcheroo:  my husband just loves tolerates that.   Cheerfully, he said, "I know you're feeling better when you start reorganizing."  I'm not suggesting you switch items in your drawers;  but every once in a while, it is nice to take the utensils out and wipe out the organizers and the drawers.  I am always amazed at how a drawer that is usually closed gets crumbs, hair, and drips, but it happens.

Cleaning Hints for Today: The Kitchen 

1. If you have not finished cleaning off counters,  you need to work on that today.  Use the directions from yesterday for that. 
2. Unload the dishwasher.  
3. Load the dishwasher and hand-wash the things that cannot go in the dishwasher.
4. Wipe out your sink and wipe the counters.
5. Remember, you should work in 15 minute increments or less.  
6. Rest.
7. Look at your kitchen and decide if anything needs to be reorganized.  Aim for one drawer or cabinet a day.  I did three drawers today with breaks in between, because I was switching items into different drawers.  I ended up with some things sitting on a counter without having decided where to put them.  If I have enough energy, I will finish after dinner.  If not, I will finish tomorrow. 

This is a Rubbermaid Organizer with
a sliding section on top.  You can
also lift the top off the bottom section.

*Note:  This is a good time to get rid of the clutter.  Utilize the principle of throw away, give away, put away.  If you have not used an item in a year, it is likely you won't use it.  However, I know there are items you only use a few times a year.  You might want to put these things in their own drawer or shelf, rather  than with your everyday utensils.

It's easy to see your cutlery, even
with a "second story."

Top section.

Bottom Section:  I still have room.

Room for a few items on the side,
 outside the organizer.