We Clean High and Low

I had to come up with a project for CC in a hurry this week, because Shannon's hubby was home from work sick and she thought it would be better not to have the Club descend on their home when he needed to rest. So we looked around and found a few things that were in need of some work.



We settled on this little cabinet to start with. The picture at the top of the page is the view underneath (yuck!) and as you can see, the cabinet was such a mess inside that the door wouldn't even close properly. I wanted to clear it out and put back only the basic drawing and coloring supplies, so that we could easily get to them.

So Rachel fished for lost treasure with a yard stick,



And we sorted through all the papers and old coloring books in the cabinet.



Of course, Michael was close at hand barking out orders and trying to keep us slackers in line.



It wasn't long before the shelves were wiped out and we were putting things back into place. A quick and easy project! But one that will make a HUGE difference in our day to day lives. When we have drawing supplies within easy reach, it provides a quick and easy activity and helps transition us from one thing to the next. All 4 of my kids love to draw so much, and this makes it so much easier.



After we had some lunch, we checked my list and decided to tackle the other job I had written down, which was to clear the tops of my kitchen cabinets. This may not be a problem area for some people, but at nearly 6 feet tall, I tend to stick things up there to get them out of the way or just to deal with them later. I didn't even REALLY notice how much junk was up there until we started taking it all down. In fact, I suffered from an attack of camnesia there for a minute and did not get a photo until all the stuff was actually on the countertop. I almost made Rachel put it all back up there just for the sake of the picture, but that's another good thing about working in a group- they don't let you do ridiculous things like that. (Yes, I probably would have done it if I were working alone. It's the photo-perfectionist in me. And you thought all my photos were candid! HA!)



Rachel did all the dirty work this time. My hero! She got up there with the vacuum and a rag and knocked out the cleaning while Shannon and I put all the stuff where it belonged.




Michael was so proud of us, he was kicking his legs and doing cheers!



After everyone left, I stayed in the groove and got the stove cleaned and took out the compost (both long overdue) and loaded the dishwasher. My kitchen feels so great!

 







Another excellent meeting of the Cleaning Club. We got a lot accomplished and had time to sit and chat too. And my family felt the difference immediately- that clutter up above our heads was weighing us down! Everything feels more balanced and I can close my little corner cabinet again, which was completely messing up the chi in my special room. Yay!

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Pimp My Ride, Mama Style

That's right. We took Cleaning Club outside this week in order to hook up the mini van with some sweet new rims and a custom flame job.



Oh all right, you got me. We didn't do any of that, but we DID scrape mystery crud out of the back seat cup holders and clean gum off the seats. Not to mention all the vacuuming, scrubbing, wiping, and Q-Tip detailing that went on (All Hail Shannon, the Queen of the Q-Tip!)


Front seat cup holder. You don't even wanna know what the back seat ones looked like.

I am serious, the inside of my van has never been so clean. At least not since we bought it and proceeded to road-trip from TX to GA during the first week of ownership. Add 2 kids to the 2 we had already, and it's pretty much stayed a mess ever since.


Nasty carpet and 10 year old road atlas we unearthed beneath the basket that sits here.



Get those old ketchup packets OUT of the glove box.

We emptied everything out first- the glove box and all other compartments, throwing trash away as we found it and setting the rest aside. We took the seats and floor mats out, and even tossed the car-seat covers into the wash. Shannon detailed the car-seats themselves, while Rachel and I Armor-Alled the hell out of every surface in there. Now, I am usually a fan of plain old soap and water or maybe a bit of vinegar or perhaps a natural cleaning product or two. But that stuff really makes the car feel all new-ish again. The dash is shiny! And it got the grimy crud out of the faux leather grain on the armrests too.



Which reminds me: take a look at the armrests and steering wheel in your vehicle sometime. Especially if they are beige or some other light color. Yuck! The other thing that really surprised me when I took a closer look was the area between the door interior and the edge of the actual door. Blech! I was able to clean that grime off on all the doors and the back hatch, and it makes such a difference! I've completely overlooked that so many times when washing the car or cleaning the inside. It was so great being able to take the time to clean those off because of all the help I had.



Rachel vacuumed the entire thing out while I finished the doorways and washed the windows.



Luke took an interest in the vacuuming around the edges of the back hatch.



And Andrew was completely enthralled with the vacuum hose and tools.



Michael once again served as our overlord, keeping a watchful eye out for places we missed.


 "I can see those smudges from here! And don't forget the rear view mirror!"

 
"Can I get a little help here?"

We got the floor mats and seats back in, sorted through the rest of the stuff to bring in the house or put back into the van, and called it a day. Just look at the floors in there!

 

I followed through with the car seats and got them out of the wash and hanging to dry before I went to bed that night so I could re-install them in the morning. And of course, I was hit with a massive surge of the Cleaning Club Effect when the sun came out on Wednesday and I realized how grimy the outside of the van was now in comparison. A trip to the $4, all automated, water recycling car wash took care of that though, and made Stella & Lyle happy besides (who doesn't love a ride through the carwash?) I even brought an old towel with me and stopped to wipe the van off afterwards, which enabled me to get a few spots the auto wash missed AND shine my car up all pretty. 


Now it's so shiny I can take cool pictures of the trees reflecting in it.

It feels so great to get into a nice clean vehicle. Especially when it's yours. The kids didn't seem too impressed when they first got in, but then I directed their attention to the cup holders and storage pocket in the sides of the back seat. "WOW! OHMYGOD THIS IS SO AWESOME!!" was the basic theme of the conversation for several minutes thereafter.

It's very cool to now be able to take my Cleaning Club project with me everywhere I go. This is just another example of something I wouldn't have done as well or as quickly had I done it myself. And my entire family will be reaping the benefits for a long time to come- if for no other reason than Mom being a happier chauffeur!

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The Armless Woman

This week's project will resonate with anyone who's ever had a three month old baby in the house. One of my biggest struggles with having a baby in the house is seemingly losing the ability to use my arms for any length of time. This post has been delayed for days waiting to not have to type it one handed, and in bits and pieces. Alas--I am here between nursing sessions typing one handed.

After much consideration, and procrastination, and failure to get stuff for the original project I wanted to do--I decided that what I really needed help with this week was just an all over, top to bottom cleaning. My daughter, Jane, had her 7th birthday on the weekend. My son, Andrew, had his 3rd birthday on Wednesday. I knew that amidst so much partying, there'd be no way I could nongrumpily clean the house.



So on Monday we busted out the vacuums and dust rags, the toilet brushes and window cleaner. One of the awesome Cleaning Club Effects is that a job that you normally would do kind of half-assed, you do really well. I know Jennifer and Rachel vacuumed places in my house they'd not only never do in their houses, but that I also wouldn't do in my own house. For my part, knowing how hard they were working helped me to not slack while working on the bathrooms, which hadn't had a hardcore, deep cleaning since Michael has been born. If they weren't cleaning along with me, I wouldn't have had the (guilt) motivation to do as good of a job as I did.



I was also able to prepare our big meal for the day while I had help around. I'd been craving spinach and feta pie, but knew it was a little more time consuming to prepare than many of the meals which I make. What a great gift to get to prepare a great meal surrounded by love!

It turned out to be a great project, since Michael decided this week that he pretty much wanted to be in my arms nearly all day. And while I am an avid user of various slings and carriers, there is just no way to really clean the tub with a baby strapped to your body.





We finished Cleaning Club with a double round of Happy Birthday and blowing out candles for Andrew and Jane. Not only did the kids love it, but it helped us to eat up cake from Jane's birthday, before there was new cake for Andrew's birthday. Good thing #163 about Cleaning Club: they help you eat cake.

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Crowded with Clutter

I have been especially aware of the crowded and cluttered state of our front hall closet recently, probably because we've had a lot of guests in and out of the house over the holidays. I knew that it would only take our little club a few minutes to get it emptied, swept out, and reorganized though, and I wanted to maximize the amount of work we could get done during our time together (uh, because I'm selfish like that).



So I looked to the recently half-vacated wardrobe, where our movies used to live before we rearranged or house a few weeks ago. The kids' coats and sweaters were still in there and I wanted to reclaim that cabinet for some craft supplies, so it seemed logical to get those moved into the hall closet. 

And then just for fun, I threw the bathroom drawers into the plan, in case we had enough time. Because they have been bugging the crap out of me. And because I wanted to get as much done as possible (again, with that whole selfish thing.)




There was definitely a different vibe at club this week- we had 3 less kids than usual due to other plans, and my husband Jason was home that day as well. So there were just fewer kids in the house AND I was able to use the command, "Go ask Daddy!" several times to my advantage- allowing me to keep right on working instead of having to stop and assist with things like getting bikes down from their ceiling hooks because of the 65 degree weather on a January day. 


The closet and wardrobe got emptied, with a significant amount of stuff going straight out to the van to be dropped off at the Goodwill, which has already been dropped off at the time of this post. Making this a regular stop for us has really helped us get in the habit of getting rid of unwanted items. I always offer to take the giveaway boxes and drop them off after Cleaning Club, as well as the cardboard recycling from our projects. It is so important to just get that stuff OUT and be done with it. 



Where IS the most sensible place to store old MRI scans of your kid's brain...?

We put together a new lower bar for the hall closet and got it hung, which made just the perfect spot for the kids' coats. Now they easily reachable, and not taking up space in my wardrobe. I also dug out an ironing board hook that was not being used, so now my board has it's own home again. I am going to make a huge effort to keep it hung up instead of always leaving it standing near my workspace. 



A few blankets and toys stayed in the wardrobe, while I figure out exactly what I want to live in there. But at least it is cleaned out and ready to go.  

 

And we did make it to the bathroom drawers, which were quick as well. We pulled them out, vacuumed behind them, and used the big table to work at for the sorting and cleaning process. Being in a well lit room and not bending over the drawers in the cramped space of the bathroom made this so quick and easy. We were putting the drawers back in no time!



I even set aside the paint from my bedroom walls (being relocated from the floor of the closet to the basement where it belongs) and got the outlet covers painted that should have been done a long time ago. The Cleaning Club Effect helping me break those old habits of excuse-making and procrastination.


They're already on the walls, too!

Now, these weren't like some of the really big, daunting tasks we have taken on sometimes at CC. But they were examples of those jobs that you know need to be done and you keep procrastinating and making excuses and just somehow never get around to doing yourself. And to walk through my house this evening it doesn't look much different in here. It's when we are going about our day tomorrow and the day after that, when we open these spaces to access the things we need, and we can do so with ease- that's when the benefits really become obvious. When you open a closet that used to make you swear under your breath, and instead a smile spreads across your face? That's when you know that a project doesn't have to be "life-changing" in order to make a big difference in your life.

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We Do Floors

The wood floors in our place have been needing to be cleaned for some time- with 3 bedrooms plus the dining room, hall and entryway being un-carpeted, it feels like such a huge and overwhelming job. It also feels gritty and grimy underfoot, thus making it something I am constantly aware of even as I continue to put it off for another day. Ah, the guilt that comes with procrastination. It can truly eat away at your soul.

Never fear. Cleaning Club is here! (Can someone cue the trumpet fanfare please? And then picture if you will: Rachel and Shannon in their super hero tights with satin capes billowing from their shoulders, fists firmly planted on their sturdy hips, standing on my doorstep surrounded by their combined throng of offspring, ready to tackle whatever challenge my house can present them with... you get the picture...)

So I thought ahead (read: my parents were coming into town and as I was frantically preparing for their arrival and getting sidetracked by cleaning things that really should not matter for such a visit, I decided I could at least put this extra work to the good use of maximizing our Club efforts...) and did a thorough vacuuming job with my trusty Kirby bare floor attachment the day before, making sure to run the brushy attachment along the baseboards as well so they would be ready to receive a good scrub down. I also spent a small amount of time worrying about what Shannon would do since she wanted to come over but I did NOT want her to be on her hands and knees scrubbing my floors at not-quite-three-weeks post partum. I settled on planning for her to detail the dining room chairs, because not only did it really need to be done but she could do most of it sitting down AND she is the queen of detailing. Just ask us about her and small appliances and Q-tips sometime. For real.

When Rachel arrived we got right to work moving furniture and running the dust mop over the floors to remove the layer of what had amazingly appeared in the short 24 hours since I had vacuumed them. When Shannon arrived I snatched up the baby for a quick cuddle before passing him off to Rachel. Three weeks in and we are all still fighting over him- it almost got ugly there for a minute. The kids took him though and then he settled in with my Mom, who happily held him pretty much the rest of the time he was there, thus providing Shannon with a much needed break as well as feeding her own need for holding little babies that all grandmothers have (especially when there will be NO MORE grandbabies in their own immediate future...) We moved the chairs into the kitchen for Shannon to work on, and provided her with sprays and rags and small brushes with which to remove the lovely food buildup and paint/marker/glue residue that plagues the dining room chairs of large families with very relaxed dining room etiquette. Ahem. The felt pads on the bottoms also needed to be cleaned in order to return them to their easy-glide state when put back in place on the shiny clean floor.




And so we scrubbed. On our hands and knees, with a bucket of hot soapy water between us, removing stickers and modeling clay residue as we went. In the dining room, down the hall, and in one of the bedrooms, saying that we would finish the remaining planned bedroom after lunch. We also did the baseboards where they needed it, and managed to catch a number of splatters and drips on the lower part of the walls and doors as well. It is truly amazing what you see when you get down on the floor and really look around. Blech!

Of course, time flew like it often does and before we knew it we had drained our cans of Coke and reached that point where everyone is ready to wrap it up and get going- Shannon was needing to get home and rest and it was past Lyle's naptime. When we realized that we had not gotten back and done my bedroom, I started my regular thought process which involves such self-sabotaging gems as "Don't worry about it- I'll finish it later by myself" (yeah, right) and "You've already helped me too much as it is", etc. But then in a flourish of brilliance, Rachel demonstrated another facet of what we like to call The Cleaning Club Effect. Wherein she was able to alert her children to their impending departure, talk me into just finishing up that one bedroom "real quick", and then proceed to suggest that we could even do the adjoining bathroom in no time at all. We were in fact done with both those rooms in under 10 minutes, replaced the furniture in the dining room and hall, and they were on their way.

Cleaning Club this week reminded me of the lesson once again that a job is often not nearly as big or scary as it seems, and once you get started it is over before you know it. The satisfaction of being finished far outweighs that nagging, guilty feeling you get from thinking about the need to do a job but not doing it, and then you can just get on to enjoying your newly clean or organized space.

I smile and think of both my friends now as I walk through the house- I can just FEEL the clean even through my socks. And the chairs glide in and out on that non-sticky floor just like a dream. Ahhhhhhhh

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The Office of Slack

The fact that I am a slacker may not be evident immediately upon entering my home. With a minimalist decor, my house generally looks fairly tidy (could I use any more qualifiers in that sentence?). But, deep in the bowels of my home lies my office. And then my inner slacker-dom is glaringly evident.

My office being a cesspool has been true in every home I've had an office in. My office in my last house was a coat closet that just fit a large desk, which was usually shit piled. Despite the fact that I enjoy order in other parts of my home, I am able to function just fine thank you at a desk surrounded by chaos. I just focus on the task directly in front of me and ignore the rest.

In my new home (as of six years ago) I upgraded to a walk-in closet for an office. Because it is the only office space in the house, it it where all our office equipment lives, as well as homeschool supplies (that sit collecting dust), piles of paperwork from a job I no longer hold, toys, games, books, photos, children's artwork. It generally looks like where secretaries go for eternity when they get booted from heaven.

When it has been my turn for Cleaning Club, I mentally scroll through possible projects in advance, often landing first on something that seems do-able. Then I force myself to think about what I really DON'T want to do, that thing that keep jumping up with its hand raised going oh! me! me! me!--clean under my bed, tackle closets that would make Martha Stewart have a seizure, that kind of thing--and after telling that thing to shut up several times I finally go oh ok fine! And that's when I know I have a project that truly needs doing.

My office had been that project on my list a few times, but I'd dismissed it as too big, too gruesome, too hard. This week, though, I decided to just jump in and at least get started. Then I broke out in a cold sweat.



The thing is, I often underestimate what we can accomplish in a short amount of time, and I wondered with one clubber down--Shannon was home with the lame excuse of having just crammed an eight pound body through her delicate lady parts--what we could do. But, Jennifer and I jumped in to tackle the hell-hole nonetheless.

We took everything off a big set of shelves that housed kids games and activities. We put random pieces where they belonged, and got rid of a few (good-bye Cooties! You soul sucking creatures will not be missed!). We moved the shelves out of my office and in to my den, and rearranged all the games and puzzles on it. We pulled everything from the floor of my office out into the den. (A bonus from this is the ability to inflict your nostalgia on your friends in the process. Oh look, a collection of my poetry from high school! And this? This is an original copy of the first Ms. magazine? Impressed? Awwww, look at this cute picture!)



We took out a big piece of broken plastic that was supposed to facilitate my office chair freely rolling in and out from my desk, but since breaking into pieces, had only served to catch my chair wheel (and often my poor pinky toe) making me push even harder to get the hell out from behind my desk, and then sending large pieces of plastic soaring about on a windstream of profanity. We vacuumed the newly clean floor, discarded the chipped up plastic, and moved a small bookshelf into the corner. With everything deposited all over my once tidy den, Jennifer went home.



I will say, that this is unusual. In fact, unprecedented. We usually don't leave until the project is done. These were extreme circumstances, though, and we had accomplished what I had set out to accomplish in that session. The rest was up to me. But a strange thing happens in the Cleaning Club vortex, known by scientists as The Cleaning Club Effect. Once you are empowered by what you can accomplish, you ride that high for a few hours and no beast is any match for you. The beast had been immobilized, now it was time to go in for the kill. I tackled the shelving up high in the room that had previously been under a sort of Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. I won't look at you, and you will pretend not to exist. Shining light into this dark corner was to open Pandora's Box. Brazen from my earlier victory, I pressed on. I discarded. I reorganized. I moved. And, eventually, I'd done it!



Over the course of the rest of the day I processed through the contents of my office and den and filled my trash can and recycling container, cleaned off and organized my desktop and shelves. Now, as I write this, I'm sitting in a space that actually feels spacious and organized. An office that for the first time ever feels intentional. And the extension of the Cleaning Club Effect is that not only does it empower me to tackle and follow through on what seemed an insurmountable task, but it often has unforeseen emotional benefits. I feel different in this space. My space makes me feel more like a grown-up; makes my work feel more valued. The process wasn't just an exercise in organization, but one that made my inner slacker feel a little less slack.

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