We live in a hard water area so limescale is really problematic.
Today I got out my trusty bottle of white vinegar and some kitchen towel. I soaked pieces of kitchen towel with the vinegar and wrapped them around the bathroom taps.
Also cleaned the shower hose and removed the shower head to also soak that with some white vinegar.
Chucked all the bathroom towels, the shower curtain and bath mat in the washing machine too.
That didn't take long so also made a note to buy some limescale remover for the kettle and also googled the best way to remove a patch of mould that I have just noticed in the bathroom.
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
15 minute challenge Day 3
Just recently I have noticed that several walls are looking a bit grubby where either sticky hands have been or where something has slashed, or a small person has scribbled. I keep thinking to myself 'I must wash that wall down' and then I promptly get distracted by something more pressing.
Well not today. I decided this morning that the 15 minute challenge for today was to finally tackle those horrible walls with a cloth and some warm soapy water.
However, after collecting the kids from school we had to trawl around three different DIY stores to buy wood and hinges for Seb's DT project. By the time I cam home and had started cooking the dinner I didn't particularly feel inclined to start cleaning. But I reminded myself it was only fifteen minutes and donned my plastic gloves.
Now feeling very satisfied.
It was quite hard work as I had to use a lot of elbow grease on some particularly bad scribble but various walls now look a lot cleaner with fewer horrible marks.
Actually once I got started and was taking a close look at each internal wall in the house, I realised how bad some of them were actually looking - eek! Quite embarrassing to look at your own house from the perspective of how visitors must view it.
And there are definitely some walls that really need a fresh coat of paint but at least now I can tell the difference.
Glad I made myself stick to the challenge today. Would have been so easy to duck out of it but in the end it didn't seem to take very long at all. now I can reward myself with a cup of coffee and a phone call to my best friend.
However, after collecting the kids from school we had to trawl around three different DIY stores to buy wood and hinges for Seb's DT project. By the time I cam home and had started cooking the dinner I didn't particularly feel inclined to start cleaning. But I reminded myself it was only fifteen minutes and donned my plastic gloves.
Now feeling very satisfied.
It was quite hard work as I had to use a lot of elbow grease on some particularly bad scribble but various walls now look a lot cleaner with fewer horrible marks.
Actually once I got started and was taking a close look at each internal wall in the house, I realised how bad some of them were actually looking - eek! Quite embarrassing to look at your own house from the perspective of how visitors must view it.
And there are definitely some walls that really need a fresh coat of paint but at least now I can tell the difference.
Glad I made myself stick to the challenge today. Would have been so easy to duck out of it but in the end it didn't seem to take very long at all. now I can reward myself with a cup of coffee and a phone call to my best friend.
Monday, 17 November 2014
15 minute challenge Day 2
Today I tackled the cutlery drawer. Removed everything, cleaned the drawer and the compartmentalised tray and returned everything in it's right place. Found several things I had misplaced.
Am feeling very smug and pleased to have made this one small step towards creating a more pleasant home environment and the short time limit is a fun challenge - ensuring the job does not become an unpleasant or onerous responsibility.
Am thinking I might extend this to include 15 minutes a day on a Christmas related task. Today's contribution - a bit of Christmas present wrapping!
Am feeling very smug and pleased to have made this one small step towards creating a more pleasant home environment and the short time limit is a fun challenge - ensuring the job does not become an unpleasant or onerous responsibility.
Am thinking I might extend this to include 15 minutes a day on a Christmas related task. Today's contribution - a bit of Christmas present wrapping!
Sunday, 16 November 2014
15 minute challenge Day 1
When you are a working mum it can be really difficult to stay on top of all the household chores. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of jobs and tasks that I just don't seem to get around to.
Things are especially tricky this year as with Seb's GCSEs coming up I seem to be spending every spare minute helping him with revision or writing out revision cards.
I do hate to feel out of control though so have decided to be realistic about what I can actually achieve.
The fact is that I am not going to have an entire day, half day or often even a full hour to tackle some of the niggling tasks around my home but I don't want to do nothing either.
Solution - identify little jobs I can manage in no more than 15 minutes a day to start chipping away at that oh so long to do list.
15 minutes a day is very achievable and hopefully will make me feel satisfied that I have improved at least one tiny corner of my home.
Day 1 - a lovely mild November day so I took the opportunity to sweep up the leaves in the drive. I even took up the cover from the drainage ditch and used a trowel to clear out all the dead leaves and detritus. Now the next time it rains the water can drain away and there is no longer a risk of a flood seeping under the front door. yay!
Things are especially tricky this year as with Seb's GCSEs coming up I seem to be spending every spare minute helping him with revision or writing out revision cards.
I do hate to feel out of control though so have decided to be realistic about what I can actually achieve.
The fact is that I am not going to have an entire day, half day or often even a full hour to tackle some of the niggling tasks around my home but I don't want to do nothing either.
Solution - identify little jobs I can manage in no more than 15 minutes a day to start chipping away at that oh so long to do list.
15 minutes a day is very achievable and hopefully will make me feel satisfied that I have improved at least one tiny corner of my home.
Day 1 - a lovely mild November day so I took the opportunity to sweep up the leaves in the drive. I even took up the cover from the drainage ditch and used a trowel to clear out all the dead leaves and detritus. Now the next time it rains the water can drain away and there is no longer a risk of a flood seeping under the front door. yay!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)