Mom Tip Monday: Housework 101

Now I know you all want me to tell you that Housekeeping 101 starts with "Hire a maid!" And then reality sets in and you realize that with everything else going on with the economy, a maid is probably a lottery winners pipe dream. That means we have to come to grips and try to streamline it. Here's your favorite (I am your favorite right?) Zookeeper's Housekeeping 101.

#1. The Bathroom.
How many times a day are you REALLY in there? And I'm not talking about the occasional pit stop. Probably twice that are of any consequence, right? So here's the tip. Stash a roll of paper towels and some Windex under your cabinet and keep your toilet bowl cleaner of choice in the linen closet. When you are done with your shower, shoot the toilet with the cleaner. Finish your morning routine at the sink. While you are brushing teeth, clear the counter top putting everything where it belongs. Spray it down with the Windex and give it a wipe. Give the toilet brush a quick trip around the bowl and voila! You're done! Is is perfect? No. But imagine how much less you have to do on Saturday when you do a "deep clean." In the evening just clear the counters.

#2. The Bedroom (s).
Just make the bed. I mean it! Just the bed. It makes your room look clean and tidy even if it's not perfect. Now I have a bad habit. When I make the bed it is natural to toss the shoes in the closet and make sure the laundry is in the hamper. But really! How much does that add to my routine? Nothing!

And don't think that children can't make their own beds because they are too young. Mine are 5, 4, and 2. Mo and Tuck make their beds and Munch is in charge of laundry round up. It can happen. And it only takes 5 minutes when everyone is cooperating.

#3. The Kitchen
I hate cleaning the kitchen. It never ends! There is always a meal going on or cooking for the next meal. It's the most cyclical room in the house and it drives me crazy! But here's a little trick I learned. Load the dishwasher all day, run it at night, and unload it during breakfast in the morning.

Here's another one that works for me. I run a sink of water before I even start cooking. Then as I cook I can wash and let dry. If it can go in the dishwasher guess what? The dishwasher is already being loaded with dirty dishes so I can just toss them in there. If all your prepware is done while you are cooking it's incredibly easy to throw those dinner dishes in the dishwasher, fire it up and you're done!

But that's just three that work in our house for Housekeeping 101! Do you have a handy housekeeping tip? E-mail me at ineedthezoo(at)yahoo(dot)com and maybe you'll see your tip here in an upcoming Mom Tips!

And while you're sending me mail, toss me your challenges. Next week we're looking at menu planning and simple dinners so look into those pantries and let's see what I can make with YOUR ingredient list.

Mom Tip #54

Motherhood is gross!

I know I posted a vlog along this line during Motherhood Means (which you may have guessed by now was nixed due to lack of interest). In case you missed it and need a lesson in how NOT to empty a training potty, here you go!

But the point was driven home to me today. I was cleaning the bathroom and had already had to pull one child (Marmoset) and a dog out of the toilet! So you can guess that I was less than thrilled when I turned around to see Marmoset brushing her teeth with the Lion's toothbrush and B-Dog's teeth with MY toothbrush! I am having a hard time expressing just how nauseated I was when I saw this. I of course have disposed of the toothbrush but the heebie jeebies are still stalking me.

I went about my business cleaning the bathroom only to realize that the job "Mom" is, by its very nature, gross. Let me tell you all the gross things I have done in the past week that fall under my job title.

*Cleaning out the fridge. We all know what that is like so I will refrain from going into detail.
*Cleaning the toilets - potty chair included. All I can say for commentary on that is - Men! Of all ages!
*Changing butts. ::sigh::
*Washing the dog. I wash him because he smells. Somehow I always forget that I end up smelling like him every time I wash him.
*Sippy cup hunting. That funky smell in the bedroom is not coming from the laundry basket or the diaper pail.
*Sippy cup washing. Once you find them you have to so something with them.
*Playroom cleaning. Have I ever told you that Cheeze-Its will be the food of the cockroaches after the nuclear holocaust?

If anyone ever asks you why mothers shower at night rather than in the morning, I will give you the easy answer. To wash the crud off! We do not shower in the morning "to wake up" because we are already awake - probably before the rest of the house. We do not shower while everyone else is napping. That's when we get all of our gross stuff done without interruption. We wash up to our elbows before cooking dinner because we know that we are going to get the rest of our bath while we do baths in a little while.

The old hymn says "And they'll know we are Christians by our love." The mom version says, "And they'll know we are mothers by our stench."

Motherhood Means...Gross!

Not for those of a sensitive stomach! Not really that bad but it's all about "gross" - what did you expect?