Daily Archives: December 31, 2007

Dec 31

The Clean and the Not So Clean

Today the weather was pretty nice for this time of the year, and my hubby was going out to clean up the backyard. Recently we found a new home for our dog, and now we are reclaiming the outdoors. James even volunteered to take Thade outside as well to help with the clean up. It was pretty nice, I got to clean up a little around the Living Room, and I even got all of the indoor and outdoor windows washed in the Dining Room.

When Thade came back in, he brought the backyard with him:

mudshoes-1.JPGmudshoes-2.JPG

Oh my goodness I have never seen that much mud on a little boy. His hands were covered, his legs were covered, I even found some mud on his new Winter coat. I’m thinking about picking up a new pair of shoes for Thade, and leaving the muddy ones for the backyard only 😉

Dec 31

Finding a Cleaning Schedule That Works

Mid-Summer I started a Homemaker’s Journal filled with cleaning routines, shopping lists, and menu plans. I stuck to the chopping lists and menu plans, but the cleaning routine just wasn’t working. I’m working on a schedule to keep up with it all. I have a small daily to do list, but there is a lot that needs to be added to the schedule. Here is the old set of Daily Chores:

  1. Feed and Water Cats A.M.
  2. Feed and Water Cats P.M.
  3. Put away Clean Dishes
  4. Wash Dirty Dishes
  5. Wash at least One Load of Laundry
  6. Make Breakfast
  7. Make Lunch (hubby is usually home for lunch)
  8. Make Dinner
  9. Clean Kitchen Surfaces A.M. and P.M.
  10. Get the Coffee-Pot ready for Tomorrow (very important)

With Dylan crawling, and trying to eat everything off the floor I need to add:

  1. Sweep Kitchen A.M. and P.M.
  2. Sweep Dining Room A.M. and P.M.
  3. Vacuum the Living Room 2-3 times a Week
  4. Clean the High Chair as needed
  5. Put away yesterday’s laundry
  6. Clean off the Dining Room table daily
  7. Clean the Living Room daily (pick up the toys, wipe surfaces)

I’m sure that I can think of a few more things to add to the list, and I’ll keep you posted on how the progress is going.  Wish me luck on my new Homemaker’s Journal 😉

Dec 31

Nico’s New Year’s Resolutions

I’m so excited about the New Year 🙂 I love writing New Year’s Resolutions, but I’m not so good about sticking to them, I hope to do my best this year to keep my Resolutions the whole year through.

  1. Nico is going “Green” in 2008! I want to have our big old drafty house environmentally friendly,  and I’ll be setting up a recycling station outside to help cut down on out waste.
  2. Work extra hard to save money on the Grocery Budget! With 4 members of the family with different tastes it is hard to save $$$ 😉 I’m going to keep using coupons, and searching for the best deals.
  3. Become a Morning Person. This one is going to be hard, Dylan is still not sleeping through the night, and Nico is not too pleasant in the morning. James will greatly benefit from this one, as he will get yummy breakfast in the a.m.
  4. Be a better Home-maker! Keep up with the cleaning, make more items from scratch, and get all of those projects that I’ve been putting off completed.
  5. Plant and Grow a Garden with Organic Veggies, YUM 🙂
  6. Take a little “me time” every now and then.
  7. Spend more time with my Hubby!

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? Are you good about keeping them the entire year through?

Dec 31

Midwest Walgreens Deals

I saw some pretty great Walgreens deals that I can’t wait to stock up on. Here is what I’ll be shopping for this week:

  • Deerfield Trading Co Beverages 3 for $3.00 James loves the Vanilla Cream Soda
  • TUF Paper Towels 85 ct. $.59 ea (must use store coupon, limit 3)
  • Softsoap Liquid Soap 7.5 oz $.99 ea (must use store coupon, limit 3)
  • Puffs Facial Tissue 60 to 108 pack $.89 (must use store coupon, limit 3)

I hope the weather will cooperate so I can get some shopping done 😉