cleaning day.

 

Mother Rabbit believes you give yourself a gift when you set one day apart for cleaning.  Does that sound crazy?  Think about this...

The first stage of any decorating process is clearing the clutter.  Having a day earmarked for that sort of thing will make everyone happier.  Even your house.  Keeping your house (or car or clothes) clean is part of protecting your investment.  So now that we have established why cleaning your house is important, let's get back to discussing why it is genius to set one day a week to do it.

Having a day established as CLEANING DAY is helpful because you can plan for it.  You know to wear old clothes that can manage the sweat and Softscrub bleach.  You can mentally prepare to "workout" for about two hours... and you can mentally anticipate how good it will feel when you are done!  I recommend setting a timer so that 1.) you are not tempted to be distracted from the tasks and 2.) you know that it is not going to last all day.

The best part about having your own set Cleaning Day, is that the need to clean does not tempt you all week.  When you see the watermarks on the bathroom sink, you can say "I will take care of that on Monday during my designated cleaning hours".   It is truly freeing!  It frees you from thinking you should be hard-core cleaning every day.   Note: It is still necessary to do the dishes and laundry on a daily basis - and make your bed every morning.  What I am suggesting is having a couple hours set aside every week where you go deeper.

My cleaning day is MONDAY.  I like Monday because I can enjoy the clean for a whole week before a weekend happens again.  I learned long ago to 'clean for me' and not for company.  And every Monday, my goal is to clean all the floors in the house and clean all the bathrooms.  I will usually pick one other 'extra' to tackle.

We will talk about more
cleaning specifics later.  But for now, what is your day?

summer movie picks.

Need some entertainment for a lazy summer night?  May I recommend a couple favorites?

No one told me what a beautiful movie "Iron Lady" was.  It is a captivating depiction of Margaret Thatcher's life, told through memories of an aging Mrs. Thatcher.  Meryl Streep plays the Iron Lady and I had to keep reminding myself that I was not watching the former Prime Minister herself.   I realized that I loved Margaret Thatcher's politics, and admired her strength of character more than I realized.  This movie is also a touching love story.

"The Intouchables" is one of the best movies I have seen in years.  It is a French film (with subtitles) based on a true story about an eccentric French aristocrat who is also a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic.  He hires an ex-con from the projects to be his personal aide, and the adventures begin.  The story of their friendship is exciting, funny and touching.  It will leave you feeling good.

fruit fly trap.

Few things are more annoying than fruit flies buzzing around a kitchen.  They are too small to swat and their presence makes a kitchen feel "dirty". 

Some Not-So-Fun Facts:
Fruit flies are common in homes, restaurants, supermarkets and wherever else food is allowed to rot and ferment. Adults are about 1/8 inch long and usually have red eyes. The front portion of the body is tan and the rear portion is black. Fruit flies lay their eggs near the surface of fermenting foods or other moist, organic materials. Upon emerging, the tiny larvae continue to feed near the surface of the fermenting mass. This surface-feeding characteristic of the larvae is significant in that damaged or over-ripened portions of fruits and vegetables can be cut away without having to discard the remainder for fear of retaining any developing larvae. The reproductive potential of fruit flies is enormous; given the opportunity, they will lay about 500 eggs. The entire life cycle from egg to adult can be completed in about a week.

Fruit flies are especially attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. But they also will breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash containers, mops and cleaning rags. All that is needed for development is a moist film of fermenting material. Infestations can originate from over-ripened fruits or vegetables that were previously infested and brought into the home.
From article by Michael F. Potter, Extension Entomologist
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture

I feel a little sick after reading that.  Rid your home & kitchen of these annoying pests by LOCATING AND ELIMINATING ALL POTENTIAL BREEDING AREAS.  This means that any produce that is over-ripe, cracked or damaged needs to be sealed in a Ziplock bag or thrown away.  We must prevent the fruit flies from laying more eggs on the fermenting food - and starting the whole cycle over.  (My apologies that this post is creepy to read.)

Once you have done a LOCK DOWN on all sketchy fruits and veggies in your kitchen, you can make a little "fruit fly trap" with some common ingredients.

Set out a dish containing wine + vinegar + Dawn dish soap.  And say good riddance to the little pests.