Ever notice.....

How wonderful (and rewarding) it feels just after you've cleaned house?!?!?!?

I mean one of those deep cleans...where you go beyond what you normally do.  Not just a quick dust, then a run-through with the vacuum and a swish of the mop. 

Seems like lately I just haven't had a lot of time to devote to housekeeping.  I try to run the vacuum a few times a week - that is an absolute necessity with three dogs in the house most of the time.  And I dust about once a week; mop about the same unless there is a spill.  By the end of the week, it's just starting to feel sorta disgusting to me.....my Momma raised me better than that!

This morning, though, I got in a MOOD!  I felt the NEED to go into the corners and do some Spring-like cleaning.  So, I hit it early - and hard. 

I even laundered and pressed my kitchen curtains!  They were beyond looking a little dingy....but, they're WHITE again now. 

Ahhh, white again.....no more dinge!

I cleaned blinds, windowsills, baseboards.  Vacuumed lampshades and furniture.  Wiped down ceiling fans. 

Whew!!!  I almost finished, too.  All I lack is one room - Eddie's "man cave".  But, you know, I don't think he will mind it being "dirty" one more day.  I just hope I wake up tomorrow with the same inspiration to tackle it that I had today!

Enjoying the fruit's of Mommy's labor....or waiting for her to turn back on Animal Planet?

And, now, I have flat run out of steam.  When you let it go for too long, it takes a lot longer to get it back to CLEAN. 

Of course, the payoff - it feels great!  And I fall a little deeper in love with our little cottage each time it sparkles and shines like this!

How about you?  Ever get in one of these moods and feel the NEED to CLEAN?!?!?  Got a special tip that speeds it up or makes you more efficient in your cleaning?  If so, I hope you will take a moment to share. 

Enjoy the weekend!

Janie

New Year's Day, 2010

Well, here it is. 2010, in all its newborn glory. And we are off to a running start around here!

Sorry to say that we didn't stay up last night to welcome in the new year. Nope, we were all snug in bed before 11:00 pm because we are still catching up on our sleep from the holidays. But the extra sleep paid off because we had the energy to get a heckuva lot accomplished today.

Come Monday, our house will be on the market...a big "For Sale" sign out in the front, folks. So, this 3-day weekend is devoted to getting the place in tip-top shape.

We started in the kitchen by cleaning out cabinets and packing up some of the gazillion pots and pans we really didn't have room to accomodate. Scrubbed down cabinets, organized our cookbooks, put fresh paper on the shelves and did touch-ups on the paint. Wow! I wish we had done this sooner because it just sparkles...feels so good!

We moved from there into the mudroom/washroom and reorganized the cabinets, putting in new shelf paper and touching up more white trim paint. Now when prospective buyers come through and are tempted to peek in cabinets, they will think I am superbly organized. Ha!



Eddie put a pot of pinto beans seasoned with smoked ham on to simmer this morning and we made a skillet of cornbread and oven-fried potatoes for supper. I know, I know...the tradition is to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, but my husband just abhors black-eyed peas. It's a shame, too, because I could eat a big ol' pot of them all by myself. But, the pintos turned out very tasty and the cornbread and taters were absolutley divine. Guess we have started our own little New Year's tradition.



So, this was day one of the push to get this place ready to sell, and it went very well. We are definitely ready to hit the floor running again in the morning for day two. Working as a team, the two of us can accomplish anything!

A special thanks to all of you who have sent words of encouragement and support my way! It means more than you'll ever know.

Wishing you much happiness in the New Year!!!

Jane