Cleaning the Bathroom and Other Impossible Tasks

After much fasting and praying, I have come up with a bathroom cleaning list for my children to follow. Please note that all my children are readers now so I have ditched the pictures. Also this really helps if another child must 'pinch hit' even when it is not their regular job. Sometimes they 'forget' how to clean it properly.

You may be wondering why it is do detailed. Well, after many conversations in which the children have exclaimed, 'I didn't know putting the dirty rags in the laundry and putting away the cleaning supplies was part of cleaning the bathroom' or my personal favorite 'So when did cleaning behind the toilet become part of the bathroom job' (Hmmmm.. I don't know...Maybe when it became part of the bathroom...Ya think?), I decided to write out exactly what I meant by cleaning the bathroom so no one could misunderstand my expectations.

After several months of this method, I must raise my hands in the air and shout 'Hallelujah!' because it it working. Jessica was my apprentice for several weeks and now has the job exclusively. Our bathrooms has never been cleaner. Hope this is helpful to someone else who is bathroom cleaning challenged.

Steps to Cleaning and Beautifying the Bathroom

Items needed: Toilet Cleaner Tilex
Window Cleaner Cleaning Wipes
Toilet Brush Foot Stool
Shower/Floor Rag (wet) Mirror and Faucet rag (dry)
Hand Broom and Dust pan

 Step 1: Roll up rug and carefully remove. Take outside and shake. Turn on the fan.

 Step 2: Remove items from top of toilet. Put cleaner in toilet.

 Step 3: Remove soap, shampoo and other items and spray Tilex cleaner on shower walls and in tub.

 Step 4: Use brush to clean inside toilet. With a cleaning wipe, clean outside of toilet and around the floor by toilet base. Put items back on top of toilet.

 Step 5: With a rag or brush, clean tile in the shower. Wipe along the top of the tile. Clean around top of tub. Clean inside of tub. Shine faucet with a dry rag. Rinse out thoroughly. Replace soap, shampoo, and item items.

 Step 6: Remove all items from the floor. With rinsed shower rag, wipe along baseboards and the outside and inside of the door and frame.

 Step 7: Dust all pictures, light fixtures and other items on walls

 Step 8: Use a dry rag and clean and shine mirror. Watch for streaks.

 Step 9: Sweep the floor and behind the door and toilet. Spray a light coat of cleaner on floor. Start in corner behind toilet and clean with a rag moving toward the door.

 Step 10: Clean out top drawer and 1 other drawer per week.
Every week: Top drawer: organize all hair items, throw away trash, clean out toothbrush container, wipe out drawer.
Weeks 2 & 3 : Second and third drawers: Remove items – organize, put things away that don’t belong, rinse and dry containers, wipe out drawer.

 Step 11: Remove/put away items and soap dispenser from counter. Spray lightly with cleaner being careful to avoid the mirror. Wipe down counter and sink. Shine faucet. Put items back on counter

 Step 12: Put dirty rags in laundry. Put away cleaning supplies. Replace rug

Feeling Faint About Feet

We had a bizarre feeling in our house last week. Daniel, age almost 13, and Andrew officially age 16 were both gone to different camps. Camp Loll Scout Camp was Daniel's home for the week while Andrew spent the week at Astro Academy Camp here in Ogden. Andrew has been to about 10 various types of Astro Camps over the years and so I knew it would be an exciting yet not too stressful event for him.

When we picked him up on Friday, he was exhausted but exhilarated at his "fun, awesome, amazing" experience. He was awarded to top boy participant of the week and was also voted top team member on his Beta team. On the way home we stopped to buy some shoes for his upcoming law camp.

Andrew attended a financial workshop for teens several years ago taught by Janine Bolon and has really become a fanatic saver of his money. I told him I would buy his new dress shoes but he had to purchase any others he wanted. He really needed a some new sports shoes and some sandals so we headed off to the mall.

Shopping with boys is really quite simple. Get in. Get out. Get some food. We picked up his dress shoes at the first store we went into. They just happened to be exactly like the ones that he had just worn out.

"Don't you want to try another style?" I asked trying to get him to expand his horizons.

"Why?" he looked at me puzzled. "That would mean we would have to go to another store. I like these just fine."

O.K by me. I had to refrain from thumbing through the clearance racks on the way out. We were on a mission. Since they didn't have any sizes of the athletic shoes he liked we were off to the next store.

Store number two had several styles he liked but he about had a stroke at the price tag. "50.00 for a pair of dumb shoes? You've got to be kidding." I pointed out the other styles that were significantly more. He feigned a heart attack. I took a paper from my purse and fanned him back to consciousness.

****I must add a disclaimer here. I claim to be expert in one thing - Yard Saleing. My children have raised wearing second hand clothes their entire lives and have no probem with it. It all started when we were poor students and I just never have stopped. They have listened to my excited utterances of the great deals I got on things for many years. (My husband has learned to smile and nod and act interested lest I get offended.) I rarely pay full price for anything. Shoes are however the only thing, as my children have gotten older, that I rarely can find second hand.

Anyway back to the shoe story... He ended up plunking down about $75.00 for both some sandals and athletic shoes and I let him lean on my ample arm as we exited the store. He felt a little faint. I felt a little giddy watching all the drama. He kept muttering about how expensive stuff was and that $75.00 would pay for a lot a milk shakes.

Two stores and mission accomplished. Not bad. But of course he started in with the "Mom, I am so hungry; I seriously am going to pass out unless I get some food." Hmmm let's see that was an original one. NOT. I took pity and offered to buy him some pizza. He flinched and grimmaced. After 5 days of pizza, pop tarts and fried chicken, he begged for some "real" food.

"How about a salad?" I offered.

"Yes, oh yes, living food," he begged.

We picked up a salad (he actually passed on the milk shake) and he savored every green bite. When we got home he had to tell everyone the story about how he paid $75.00 for shoes. The other children gasped in amazement. They were sympathic to his financial setback but they did oggle over the shoes enough that I think he felt comforted.

"How do girls spend so much time shopping?" he queried. "That was downright painful. I could stand shopping if I could skip the stores and just go for the food."

I'm not sure the retail stores would appreciate his philosophy but at least the food court would be busy.

Bye for now.

Matching Shoes

Today was one of those defining moments as a parent. (Sounds serious huh?) At approxmately 7:00 p.m. 16 years ago I gave birth to my first born son, Andrew, in Portland Oregon. He was born, all 9lbs and 10oz of him at home with an amazing midwife. I remember the flood of emotion (and his huge head) like it was yesterday.

I was flung back in time by a small incident in a church meeting I attended today. I walked in late and sat next to a young mother balancing her newborn son on her lap. Today was his blessing day and he was dressed all in white. I flashed back to a similiar day nearly 16 years ago when I was that same mom.

Because we were living away from all our family and friends, the only family who attended Andrew's blessing were my brother and his wife. The small little circle that surrounded our precious (although screaming) baby was a snapshot in my life photo album I will never forget. It was perfect. Surreal but perfect.

Later in the church meeting I looked down at my feet and to my HORROR realized I had on two different shoes. I had taught a class earlier to a group of young women and had interacted with many church members during the services. I felt so inadequate. Those kind souls didn't embarrass me to my face but I am sure they had some great dinner conversation that afternoon.

"Anything interesting happen at church today?" Dad asks the family.

"I don't remember any of my lessons but my teacher had on two different shoes," replies teen age girl chuckling.

"Oh, she's a new mom and they get kind of overwhelmed sometimes," says kind mom taking a trip down memory lane. "It gets easier over time."

As I watched this young mother today (who by the way did have on matching shoes), I thought it does get easier but it is never simple. I felt as if I had blinked and my life moved into warp drive and propelled me through a worm hole 16 years into the future. Where had the years gone?

I must say I don't stress about unmatching shoes anymore (since I still do on occassion venture out in public with mismatched shoes) and I realize that most people are too busy worrying about their own crazy lives to judge me. Relationships matter more than the external stuff and the more I focus on relationships the less I care about the external stuff. I am going to chant that to myself next time I trip over underwear in the bathroom.

Welcome to My World

Hello friends,

I want to apologize for the lame layout of my blog. I have tried to monkey around and make it more visually appealling but I lack the time and technical brain cells to do this. I set this up weeks ago and have been stalling writing anything because of the layout but I just decided to proceed lame design and all. Maybe some kind soul reading this will take pity on my sad graphics and help me out.

Why start a blog?

Well mainly because I am a terrible journal keeper and thought this may be a way to inspire me and my family to get with it. Also I have been told by others that they think I am kind of funny. (Writing that your are funny does not sound very funny - not off to a great comedic start here.)

I write an annual Christmas letter that seems to tickle the funny bone of my patient family and friends so someone encouraged me to write about my daily family musings. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction around our joint. I seriously could not make this stuff up.

I will say in advance I will have no central theme. If you need information about removing popcorn kernels from nostrils or explaining to a policeman why your sons are out toilet papering at 2:00 a.m., you may have to look elsewhere. (But wait.... I am an expert on those two things.) I will likely have some things to say about family work, teenagers, daredevil boys, emotional girls, dieting, education, organization, relationships, politics, books and sleeping but really the sky is the limit.

This blog is mainly for me but I hope you will find something to chuckle about, relate to, and feel uplifted by.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you.