Spring Cleaning Take 2 or is that 3?

The great thing about a blog or journal is being able to look back and see what has happened in the past and then knowing how to improve things.

Last year I tried to do my spring cleaning in early September after it had warmed up.  This year I am doing it earlier when it hasn't become fully spring yet, trying to avoid the heavy spring rains that the BOM is predicting for my area, and avoiding the warmth that makes all the grass very happy and me very miserable.

Yesterday I started pulling curtains down to wash them.  It is a little disheartening to clean only the inside of the windows and not have that joy of clean windows outside but it is still too cool to be washing the outside of the house just yet.

 Another job to do before it gets too warm is to weed the front garden beds.  I put down a nice thick layer of mulch but the weeds were persistent, giving me a front garden more full of weeds than flowers.  Nice job to do when the sun is shining on that part of the yard.  Wonder if I can get up early enough to do that this week?!

How is your spring cleaning  going?

Best wishes
Jen

A Frank Update and School Plans

So did anyone notice I never did post more of my Spring Cleaning list?  Well, I did, and the guilt has been weighing heavily.  I really think I bit off more than I can chew at this time of year with that huge list.  I need a reality check - spring is not the time for me to be taking on any major tasks.  I am allergic to 3 biggies that flower/seed at this time of year prolifically, Rye, Bahia Grass and Plantain.  Seeing as I live on the edge of cow farmland (plantain is often used as cow pasture) it is not nice when they all decide to spread their seed.

I am now getting to see a pattern and I will be making sure that next spring does not include any big plans for any thing.  I get huge sinus headaches that last for days, I am tired, lethargic and my eyes water and I sneeze a lot.  I get blocked sinuses, ear aches and sometimes sinus infections.  I know others have worse health issues, I am not whining.  I just need to be realistic about my abilities at this time of year.

So now, guilt over!  Moving on!

I have been printing out maths sheets by the batches for the boys' clipboards.  Thank you to Tracey over at Little Men in My Library for her heads up about Math Resource Studio.  I still need to organise more clipboard activities. 

I am working on a rotating theme of extra pages of maths on Monday, art on Tuesday, language arts on Wednesday, mazes on Thursday, science on Friday.  Most of my ideas for maths, language arts and science are coming from a Morning Message book from Scholastic.    The art pages are another tip from Tracey.  The boys get one page each week to work on from the Drawing Practice Sheets.  I have a ton of mazes printed as they are a favourite for big and small here.  I got mine from KrazyDad. 

What are these clipboards for?  Well, some days I have to take my dh to work if I am going to be needing the car later.  I put on the boys' clipboards pages that they can work on independently while I am gone.  It also keeps them quiet for a bit on the days I am at home to give me some time to sort myself out before we get on with school.

In addition to their clipboards I am also creating some individual binders (just slim ones) with pages in them of memory work.  As each child is at different stages I am going to work with each one individually on their binder.  Included will be poetry and scripture memorisation to match their curriculum, map pages (ranging in difficulty from Australian states to continents and major cities and land marks around the world) and times tables.  In our individual time we will work on some handwriting too.  I have tried teaching them all at once for handwriting but I just can't give each child the attention they need in a group situation.

I hate how much prep is needed for school.  I find myself worrying about ink cartridge and paper costs even though I have an ample budget for home school supplies.  It is just one of those things though.  If I want to have a half way reasonable home school experience then I need to put in the time and money now.  It will cost me more than those later on if I don't.

So there you go, I am still here, just foggy, over tired and a little depressed.   I think things will get better now, isn't half the solution recognising the problem?

Best wishes
Jen

Spring Cleaning Day 2

KITCHEN

Inside microwave - done

__ Pantry shelves

Walls - done down to bench height except near oven

__ Windows

__ Window sills and frames

__ Exhaust fan filters

__ Stove top

__ Bench tops

__ Under sink

__ Appliances cupboard

__ Oven

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

Hmm, not a lot done this time.  I did have a busy day though.  My eldest and I fold and deliver junk mail so a lot of time was taken up by that.  I also did 2 large sinkfuls of dishes, oops, catch up time, and dispatched one sickly female rat, thankfully immature.  I hate dispatching babies and always pray as I do any of it, nasty task that it is.


Better day tomorrow,
Jen

Spring Cleaning Day 1 Achievements

KITCHEN

Wash curtains - deferred, done recently

Ceiling - done

Light fitting - done

Outside of microwave - done

Spice shelf - done

Top of fridge - done

__ Inside microwave

__ Pantry shelves

Walls - done down to bench height except near oven

__ Windows

__ Window sills and frames

Exhaust fan outside - done

__ Exhaust fan filters

__ Stove top

__ Bench tops

__ Under sink

__ Appliances cupboard

__ Oven

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

Curtains - see top of list

I use Enjo for all my cleaning.  Especially after  a recent experience with bleach.

I must admit to being a bit casual about how I dilute bleach and this one time I had just sploshed a bit in a container of warm water.  I started cleaning a door with lots of hand prints and found it was working great but because I had blocked sinuses due to my grass allergy I couldn't smell how strong the mixture was.  I ended up bleaching all the little hairs off my hands, so much so that a half hour of keeping my hands under running water didn't alleviate the pain.  It took days to heal all the little burns.

Today I have been using my 2 kitchen gloves in the most part.  For the last few areas I used a multipurpose cloth so I will be interested to see if I notice any difference long term on the ceiling.  The one thing I find challenging with using Enjo is remembering to wipe in a circular fashion instead of in straight strokes.  The gloves really do work better if you change the direction you use it often.  And wiping the area dry after with an old cloth nappy is important too.

My kitchen walls are looking a lot less dull, and even though I can still see where someone has done some paint patching in the past it is nice to know I have done what I can to make it look better.

A little tip for the top of the fridge - I line it with a toweling bath mat, much like those you might get in cheap motel chains.  I then sit a basket on top with all my wraps and plastic bags etc.  The bath mat lets the basket slide off easily when I am reaching up to get into it and also keeps that horrible dusty kitchen grease at bay.


Best wishes
Jen

Spring Cleaning

Well, I have decided that the way to beat the grumpies is to get busy.  I have created myself a Spring Cleaning Checklist that I will work through over the next 3 weeks before we go away.  It will be very nice to come home to a clean house after our holiday.

Spring Cleaning

Checklists

KITCHEN

__ Wash curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting

__ Outside of microwave

__ Spice shelf

__ Top of fridge

__ Inside microwave

__ Pantry shelves

__ Walls

__ Windows

__ Window sills and frames

__ Exhaust fan outside

__ Exhaust fan filters

__ Stove top

__ Bench tops

__ Under sink

__ Electrical cupboard

__ Oven

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

__ Curtains

BACK ROOM

__ Curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting

__ High shelves

__ Top of dryer

__ Household shelves

__ Pantry shelves

__ Brewing shelves

__ Walls

__ Windows

__ Desk

__ Floor

__ Curtains

TOILET

__ Curtain

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting

__ Shelf

__ Walls

__ Window & Screen

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

__ Curtain

BATHROOM

__ Curtain

__ Louvers

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting

__ Mirrors

__ Walls

__ Shower walls

__ Screen

__ Shelf

__ Washing machine

__ Sink

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

__ Curtain

BEDROOM - CHRIS AND JEN

__ Curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting/fan

__ Windows

__ Top of wardrobes (J)

__ Shelves (J)

__ Top of dresser (J)

__ Top of drawers (C)

__ Walls

__ Bed vacuum

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bins

__ Curtains

BOYS’ BEDROOM

__ Curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting/fan

__ Windows

__ Top of M’s wardrobe

__ Top of J’s wardrobe

__ Top of H’s drawers

__ Walls

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

__ Curtains

 

LOUNGE/SCHOOL ROOM

X Curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting/fan

__ Windows

__ Shelves/cupboards

__ TV Unit

__ Desks

__ Walls

__ Lounge and chair

__ Floor

__ Rubbish bin

X Curtains

DINING AND FIRE SPACE

__ Curtains

__ Ceiling

__ Light fitting/fan

__ Windows

__ Shelves

__ Cupboard

__ Sideboard

__ Drawers

__ Walls

__ Fireplace

__ Lounge

__ Floor

__ Curtains

Best wishes
Jen