My Neglected Home

One of the things that is not good about having so many appointments is that my housework falls to the wayside.
That is also true about the weather turning nice-there is so much to do outside,and after winter,we want to enjoy the warm sun as much as can,so it seems like a crime to stay inside and clean.
Not that my house was filthy by any means,but it just was....well...perhaps a bit on the neglected
side.
Yesterday was the first day in a couple of weeks that I didn't have to go anywhere for longer than 10 minutes. What was even better was that I had the house TO MYSELF!!!!!
Zach spent the night at a friends house,and Rick and Brian left early to help Rick's friend slaughter his sheep ( his friend raised them for food).
So, I had most of this day stretched out before me. I didn't have to pick Zach up until around 1:30,and I only had to drive a few minutes.
I woke up early,and saw the menfolk off,and did my morning ritual-coffee,newspaper,and computer time.
I cleaned my kitchen,bathroom,and living room,washed my floors, decluttered my computer desk,swept my front screen porch,the steps,and my flagstone landing. I also washed,folded,and put away four loads of laundry.
The weather was nice,sunny and cool. It had a feel of fall to it,and there is nothing like the air in New Hampshire on a fall like day. I seem to be more invigorated,and get more accomplished. It certainly is easier than having the heat and humidity that has been surrounding us for a couple of weeks.
Now that I am almost caught up with housework ( our bedroom and Zach's need a going over) I can get back to my cleaning schedule.
Yes,I had a cleaning schedule!!
It all started back in the beginning of the year. My dear friend Michelle and I started emailing each other about wanting to get in better shape. We called ourselves the "DB's"- Diet Buddies. We would tell each other what we ate,get excited about good choices,and moan about bad ones. The rule was we never passed judgement-after all, we were having the same struggles! We then invited our friend Shelley to join,and the DB's became three.
Michelle then started sharing her favorite home organization blogs,and I became very interested in ways of keeping the house up and running in an efficient way.
One of the the blogs was by Flylady. She suggested writing down a schedule for the week,so you have specific days to do specific tasks. On her blog ( well, it's actually a website,I believe),she has a room ( she calls them "zones") each week that is thoroughly cleaned over that week. This does not take the place of maintaining the rest of the house,mind you. This is to eliminate the need for spring or fall cleaning. You can check out her website at www.flylady.net.
Well, Michelle felt it would work better for her if she could do a zone in one day,rather than break it up.At that point, I was spending 20 minutes a day in the zone of the week. That was part of my schedule. However, I now agree with Michelle. It is easier just to either get the zone done in one day,or break it up into two,depending on what needs to be done.
The only thing with a schedule,especially when we have so many Dr appts,is that we have to be flexible. For example, my grocery shopping day is Tuesday. I like Tuesday mornings because the store is not crowded,and ever since I was pregnant with Zach, I tend to get claustrophobic. ( You can imagine what it's like for me at Christmas shopping time-I never go on the weekends).
Well, for the last two weeks,we have had appts on Tuesdays,so I had to shop on Wednesday. This of course,throws a big wrench in my planned week,so I have to adjust. I might have to drop something I had originally planned,if it's not important.
Next post I will share my schedule.