Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday... Shoveling while it's snowing

My favorite quote:
"cleaning while you have children living in the home is like shoveling show while it's still snowing."

Cleaning is a constant never ending job. Some people enjoy it. I'm not one of those people. I have four small children. The youngest people are 3 1/2, 2 1/2 and 11 months. It's these three that are the snowstorm. By the time I have one room cleaned then next four rooms have been destroyed.

Another issue I have is that I moved into my house eight months ago. I still feel like there are things that don't have homes and like I'm still not organized completely- but the day to day stuff with all the crazieness makes it hard to get to that stuff. Anyway....









So here was my solution (here is where "Works for Me Wednesday" comes in):
What you need:
-one messy needing to be organized house
-one stressed out needing help mom
-one friend good enough to see your house in not a perfect (or near perfect) state
-two days with a 3-4 hour block of time (preferably naptime so kids will be out of the way)

We decided to help each other out so that we can 'shovel faster'. So twice a month we spend about four hours at my house 'shoveling' (yesterday we tackeled organizing the new toy room, the food storage closet under the stairs, the loft and the laundry room- all of which had piles of things without homes) then we spend the same time on different days at her house doing the same.

The benefits?
I also have cleaning ADD (self diagnosed) since I get easily distracted and can't seem to focus for extended amounts of cleaning (probably none of you have this problem) so having a friend there keeps me focused.

Also, it's more pleasant to have conversation and 'hanging out' time while working.

Two of us can work fast enough that several rooms get cleaned at once- before kids can destroy our efforts- YAY!

Also, I was on a 'cleaning roll' and kept going after she left and did a ton more. So YAY! There is my 'works for me Wednesday!'

For more 'Works for Me Wednesday' ideas visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

15 comments:

momofalltrades said...

TWINS. I'm tellin' ya, TWINS we are. I used to do this with my friend C when I lived in Laramie. That is also my favorite house cleaning expression. Have you tried some Flylady?

Amber said...

I've tried flylady. She's too bossy for me. Also the 50 emails a day is enough to make me want to drink. I'm trying to come up with my own 'plan' though. Something so that everything gets done on a monthly or weekly basis. I'm open to suggestions.

Anonymous said...

OH man that is a great system!! that is cool.

Arlyn said...

I'd love to get in on that. Too bad it's a 10 hour drive between our houses! I made myself a chart so that the most important things to do get done weekly. After two weeks, my house is ready for overnight company with only 30 minutes notice. But since I live so far from anyone, that never happens. Mon: Fold laundry (if left over from Sat.), clean bathrooms (excluding tubs); Tues: clean family room and library, then vacuum, empty garbages; Wed: clean tubs and showers; Thurs: Clean kitchen/fridge; etc... I can have these jobs done by 9 or 9:30 and have the rest of the day to do the little things.

QueenMeadow said...

Yay for a clean house and for a great friend!! I'm totally jealous :)

sheri said...

That is a lame idea. Totally sounds like when I was 10 and my friend would come over to help me clean my room. ;)
(kidding!) I think that's a great idea! I'm glad it worked out so well!

Amber said...

Dear Sheri,
It's a good thing I heart you.
Amber

Nettie said...

What a fun idea! Cleaning goes so much faster when chatting on the phone with a friend, having her help as you chat would be even better!

Sugarmama said...

I usually save my most onerous cleaning tasks for when I can call a friend for a long chat. They really DO go so much faster that way. I can only imagine the fun if the friend was actually there with you!

Sabra at Sew a Straight Line said...

so...who wants to be my cleaning buddy? Too bad I live in BFE.

And I think that quote about the snow all the time. Why even bother?

KAT said...

Gordon's Grandmas had that quote framed and hung in her house.

Anonymous said...

boy did it snow today... and i should be out shoveling through the filth in the living room right now... but alas, my shoveling partner is busy paying bills... not the best time to interrupt.

Lei said...

Wow - yeah it's all about us women pulling together!

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day!
(found you from Lolly's blog)
WHat a great idea for cleaning.

Anonymous said...

dude

blog already. or i'll kill myself. and i really don't think you want my death on your hands... er blog.