Sunday ~~ January 19, 2014 ~~ How do you keep things tidy in your home?
Posted 01-19-2014 at 09:46 PM by CSD610
An odd thought I suppose to some however, this thought crossed my mind this evening when I was putting away dishes. I do certain things when other things are in the process of being brewed, boiled, baked, broiled or fried.
In the kitchen anyway since I don't do any of the things listed in any other room in our home. For example: while my coffee is brewing I will wash the dishes and I mean actually wash the dishes with my two hands. We do not have a dishwasher and have never had a dishwasher so we have to wash dishes the old fashioned way. By the time I get dishes washed and rinsed my coffee is done. Later when I am fixing another cup of coffee (I brew one cup at a time), I put away the dishes because they have completely air dried by then and by the time my coffee is done the dishes are put away.
When I am baking or cooking which is often I like to run a fresh pan of all hot water in the sink. That way when I am done using a measure cup or spoon or spatula or whatever I have used I put it in the clean dishwater to soak. When the dish goes in the oven or is simmering and is going to take a while I will start a cup of coffee and get the dishes washed again while my coffee is brewing. This cycle repeats often throughout my day.
Other rooms are done differently because of the rooms they are. In other rooms one task at a time is done except for laundry. Once laundry is put in the washer there is nothing left to do downstairs while the washer is going so we tackle something that needs to be done upstairs. Generally it is the living room. It does not take long to get the living room tidied up since it consists of taking any dirty glasses or cups into the kitchen. Folding the blankets to toss over the back of the couch, loveseat and chairs. Running the sweeper and putting away any books that have been left out. A bit of dusting but not much since we have two end tables, one television stand and two completely full floor to ceiling book shelves.
Our office is hopeless so I usually just run the sweeper in it and move on but honestly the office is the most used room in our home. Next is the dining room which I am sure has a dining room table in it somewhere. I know we paid for a beautiful dining table with chairs and we brought it home I just haven't seen the top of it for a week or so. Our dining room table seems to be our go to flat surface for well, everything that needs to be set down. We got very lucky though because our dining room table is not just a dining room table. It is a sewing table, a fabric measure and cut table, a file cabinet, a grocery holder, a sorting table, a packing table and a fuss at the cat to get off of the table table. The amount of money we paid for our dining room table that we discovered has hidden talents is well worth every penny.
The next room is the extra bedroom otherwise known as the never ending rotating of the furniture room. I just can't seem to get the absolute best way to have that room configured for the most practical as far as use and practicality. It has a double bed it in, or maybe it is a queen size bed. Honestly I'm not sure, anyway, it also has two 4' tables that I use for cutting and sewing. It has two shelf units that hold cast iron pots and pans, a food processor, the kitchen aid attachments, water, fabric that is waiting to be used, a lamp and other various items that I don't remember what they are at the moment. Then there are the cubbies which are actually the legs to my 48" X 48" craft table top that I currently cannot use because it takes up too much room. There are also four tall stools in there, three of them are stuffed in the closet, the fourth one has something in it. There are also two, two drawer filing cabinets, one on top of the other that have nothing in the drawers but an electric rice cooker and a steam iron on top. There is also an old sewing table with an old sewing machine from 1963 residing inside the table. I have no idea if the machine works and it is currently not an actual sewing table but a night stand.
The next room on the list is the very small bathroom. Not much to be done about a bathroom so I'll just skip over that room.
The last room is our bedroom and I have only moved the furniture in that room a few times. Well actually I haven't moved all of the furniture in that room a few times. The bed has pretty much stayed where it is currently since we moved in. The dressers and treadmill are another story all together and the chair and tea tray. There are three dressers, one tea tray with wheels, one old ugly yellow rocker, one treadmill and one queen size bed. That room is the second worse to keep tidy behind the office. I will right now admit it is all my fault as well.
My favorite place to put my dirty clothes is the floor, yes I wrote it right here and I am admitting I use the floor instead of the empty dirty clothes basket that sits by the bedroom door. I'm not sure why I use the floor but I do, the part of the floor right next to my side of the bed. I think it is because I do not get dressed or undressed by the bedroom door. Perhaps I should consider putting the dirty clothes basket next to my side of the bed in the future.
The bed itself is sometimes made as soon as I get up and other times it isn't made properly for days or weeks. Honestly nobody in this home cares much either way. Yes I know it takes a few minutes but it just isn't that big of a deal any more. It used to be a huge deal but the last few years trivial things like that are not that big of a deal. Things in our lives have changed and little stuff overall isn't that big of a deal.
It isn't that I don't try to keep good control over my inner slob that battles with my inner OCD often but it just isn't that important to spend so much time making sure that everything is absolutely spotless all the time. That isn't saying that I don't want our home to be clean, I do want it to be clean but sometimes I just cannot physically keep up everyday.
In other parts of our lives things have changed as well and things that were once very important are not as important. It is more important to spend an excessive amount of money for gasoline in the motor home to spend a weekend with our grandsons, daughter and son in law and stop to visit my Mother and Brother than it is to get that new, shiny, pretty whatever caught my eye on amazon.
It is more important to spend time with a friend on her birthday than go and check the mail at the post office. It is more important to spend time with God (if you believe) in quiet reflection about your own life, love, family, failures and accomplishments. It is more important to take a few minutes and pet your animals than to get into the shower right at that moment. It is more important to spend time alone with your spouse than have your part time housekeeper come over and help get the house tidied up. It is more important to welcome guests who have stopped to visit than get that electronic payment set up right at that moment.
There are things that are more important than paying bills, making money, buying new clothes, buying new vehicles and putting money in savings. I know so many will disagree which is their perogative. I can only write for myself, my life, my experiences and the things I have come to know in my real life.
It is nice to not have to worry about money, jobs, vehicles breaking down, savings for emergencies and have material items.
It is a lot nicer to know what is real and what is important and what cannot be bought or lost in a financial disaster or natural disaster. When someone loses their home to floods or fire they rarely ask if their very expensive sweeper survived. Most ask if their family is safe and secure, the important stuff. Family, friends, animals, life, love.
Not all family, friends, animals, life and love is going to be easy though. Some days all of it is one big pain in the rear but that is just how things go. Everyone is different every moment of every day and there is really nothing that can change that.
So in the end what is important to you?
What needs tidied up in your home or your life?
Is it something that can be accomplished while your coffee is brewing or will it take more time?
Is it something that you have been putting off because the task of getting it tidy is too hard?
Is it physically hard or emotionally hard?
Maybe it is religiously or spiritually hard?
Is it a truth that you don't want to face or a lie that needs to be cleared up?
Is it something that will hurt you alone as you face it or something that will hurt others when you admit it?
So thoughts to ponder if you choose to and as usual I wish you all you deserve in your lifetime and rest well and peaceful dreams when it is time for you to wander your timbers of slumber.
In the kitchen anyway since I don't do any of the things listed in any other room in our home. For example: while my coffee is brewing I will wash the dishes and I mean actually wash the dishes with my two hands. We do not have a dishwasher and have never had a dishwasher so we have to wash dishes the old fashioned way. By the time I get dishes washed and rinsed my coffee is done. Later when I am fixing another cup of coffee (I brew one cup at a time), I put away the dishes because they have completely air dried by then and by the time my coffee is done the dishes are put away.
When I am baking or cooking which is often I like to run a fresh pan of all hot water in the sink. That way when I am done using a measure cup or spoon or spatula or whatever I have used I put it in the clean dishwater to soak. When the dish goes in the oven or is simmering and is going to take a while I will start a cup of coffee and get the dishes washed again while my coffee is brewing. This cycle repeats often throughout my day.
Other rooms are done differently because of the rooms they are. In other rooms one task at a time is done except for laundry. Once laundry is put in the washer there is nothing left to do downstairs while the washer is going so we tackle something that needs to be done upstairs. Generally it is the living room. It does not take long to get the living room tidied up since it consists of taking any dirty glasses or cups into the kitchen. Folding the blankets to toss over the back of the couch, loveseat and chairs. Running the sweeper and putting away any books that have been left out. A bit of dusting but not much since we have two end tables, one television stand and two completely full floor to ceiling book shelves.
Our office is hopeless so I usually just run the sweeper in it and move on but honestly the office is the most used room in our home. Next is the dining room which I am sure has a dining room table in it somewhere. I know we paid for a beautiful dining table with chairs and we brought it home I just haven't seen the top of it for a week or so. Our dining room table seems to be our go to flat surface for well, everything that needs to be set down. We got very lucky though because our dining room table is not just a dining room table. It is a sewing table, a fabric measure and cut table, a file cabinet, a grocery holder, a sorting table, a packing table and a fuss at the cat to get off of the table table. The amount of money we paid for our dining room table that we discovered has hidden talents is well worth every penny.
The next room is the extra bedroom otherwise known as the never ending rotating of the furniture room. I just can't seem to get the absolute best way to have that room configured for the most practical as far as use and practicality. It has a double bed it in, or maybe it is a queen size bed. Honestly I'm not sure, anyway, it also has two 4' tables that I use for cutting and sewing. It has two shelf units that hold cast iron pots and pans, a food processor, the kitchen aid attachments, water, fabric that is waiting to be used, a lamp and other various items that I don't remember what they are at the moment. Then there are the cubbies which are actually the legs to my 48" X 48" craft table top that I currently cannot use because it takes up too much room. There are also four tall stools in there, three of them are stuffed in the closet, the fourth one has something in it. There are also two, two drawer filing cabinets, one on top of the other that have nothing in the drawers but an electric rice cooker and a steam iron on top. There is also an old sewing table with an old sewing machine from 1963 residing inside the table. I have no idea if the machine works and it is currently not an actual sewing table but a night stand.
The next room on the list is the very small bathroom. Not much to be done about a bathroom so I'll just skip over that room.
The last room is our bedroom and I have only moved the furniture in that room a few times. Well actually I haven't moved all of the furniture in that room a few times. The bed has pretty much stayed where it is currently since we moved in. The dressers and treadmill are another story all together and the chair and tea tray. There are three dressers, one tea tray with wheels, one old ugly yellow rocker, one treadmill and one queen size bed. That room is the second worse to keep tidy behind the office. I will right now admit it is all my fault as well.
My favorite place to put my dirty clothes is the floor, yes I wrote it right here and I am admitting I use the floor instead of the empty dirty clothes basket that sits by the bedroom door. I'm not sure why I use the floor but I do, the part of the floor right next to my side of the bed. I think it is because I do not get dressed or undressed by the bedroom door. Perhaps I should consider putting the dirty clothes basket next to my side of the bed in the future.
The bed itself is sometimes made as soon as I get up and other times it isn't made properly for days or weeks. Honestly nobody in this home cares much either way. Yes I know it takes a few minutes but it just isn't that big of a deal any more. It used to be a huge deal but the last few years trivial things like that are not that big of a deal. Things in our lives have changed and little stuff overall isn't that big of a deal.
It isn't that I don't try to keep good control over my inner slob that battles with my inner OCD often but it just isn't that important to spend so much time making sure that everything is absolutely spotless all the time. That isn't saying that I don't want our home to be clean, I do want it to be clean but sometimes I just cannot physically keep up everyday.
In other parts of our lives things have changed as well and things that were once very important are not as important. It is more important to spend an excessive amount of money for gasoline in the motor home to spend a weekend with our grandsons, daughter and son in law and stop to visit my Mother and Brother than it is to get that new, shiny, pretty whatever caught my eye on amazon.
It is more important to spend time with a friend on her birthday than go and check the mail at the post office. It is more important to spend time with God (if you believe) in quiet reflection about your own life, love, family, failures and accomplishments. It is more important to take a few minutes and pet your animals than to get into the shower right at that moment. It is more important to spend time alone with your spouse than have your part time housekeeper come over and help get the house tidied up. It is more important to welcome guests who have stopped to visit than get that electronic payment set up right at that moment.
There are things that are more important than paying bills, making money, buying new clothes, buying new vehicles and putting money in savings. I know so many will disagree which is their perogative. I can only write for myself, my life, my experiences and the things I have come to know in my real life.
It is nice to not have to worry about money, jobs, vehicles breaking down, savings for emergencies and have material items.
It is a lot nicer to know what is real and what is important and what cannot be bought or lost in a financial disaster or natural disaster. When someone loses their home to floods or fire they rarely ask if their very expensive sweeper survived. Most ask if their family is safe and secure, the important stuff. Family, friends, animals, life, love.
Not all family, friends, animals, life and love is going to be easy though. Some days all of it is one big pain in the rear but that is just how things go. Everyone is different every moment of every day and there is really nothing that can change that.
So in the end what is important to you?
What needs tidied up in your home or your life?
Is it something that can be accomplished while your coffee is brewing or will it take more time?
Is it something that you have been putting off because the task of getting it tidy is too hard?
Is it physically hard or emotionally hard?
Maybe it is religiously or spiritually hard?
Is it a truth that you don't want to face or a lie that needs to be cleared up?
Is it something that will hurt you alone as you face it or something that will hurt others when you admit it?
So thoughts to ponder if you choose to and as usual I wish you all you deserve in your lifetime and rest well and peaceful dreams when it is time for you to wander your timbers of slumber.
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