Greetings all,
Hands up who does the psycho clean in the school holidays?? Not sure why i wait until the break & always kick myself that anything gets out of control, but each quarter i do a traditional Spring clean.
On Sunday it was the pantry & under the sink which were my target areas. While i was doing the pantry, i rediscovered my beautiful Nigella Lawson mixing bowls . . . why don't i use them daily??
Of course when you have a big cleaning job ahead, you need at least one distraction/ procrastination . . . da dah, i'll make those DIY Donna Hay Macarons/ Macaroons - whatever you want to call them, they are easy & delicious.
I was fine with the macaron part but i'm well known for burning chocolate so i tasked my husband to make the chocolate ganache filling. Look what he left me, ahhhh . . .
Yes, he's home & he cleaned the stove!! Soldiers get an A+ for scrubbing, cleaning & polishing shiney things. The macarons were delicious, i quickly took these snaps (poorly) before calling the children. I think i'll give Donna's from-scratch recipe a go, i can bake a mean meringue & pavlova, macarons are nothing to be scared of.
Now with a belly filled with sugary delight, i tackled the pantry. I'm talking . . . disinfect every single Tupperware lid . . . sort all those things i never use to the very top (frying pans, coffee plunger, hand mixer) & sigh, the Nigella glass dome cake stand to the bottom . . . i may or may not have lit a fresh smelling candle in there afterwards??
There was a heated discussion on tossing all baby-related Tupperware. Handsome soldier actually said these words "can we hand it down to Posh Spice" - the fact he even knows who Victoria Beckham is was surprising & he was simply using the fact he just found out she was pregnant, 9 months buddy (& i'm pretty sure i made a fuss about how fabulous she looked at the Royal Wedding!!) Ok, we did toss the chewn baby sippy cup lids & all the drink bottles from under the sink & a few old tea towels + broken containers = 2 garbage bags. I have such a strict policy on junk not coming into the house, what/ how/ why/ when 16+ extra drink bottles (those free ones you get from your bank/ health insurance/ fairs)?? Argh!!
We did have a superior conversation about our new home - only using homemade cleaning products as the way to go. Why not, with 4 tweens/ teenagers & their enthusiastic, healthy attitude to helping around the house, it's just a no brainer punishment chore. As i made my own baby wipes, when i had babies to wipe, i never knew the cleaning power the commercial ones had. We use them at Shop Handmade, they are magic, i forgot i even bought a packet earlier this year, but used a couple on the weekend, pretty handy for dirty-finger-mark-removal-on-walls.
Any green cleaning secrets?? Do you wait for a break to psycho clean too?? Love Posie
Any green cleaning secrets?? Do you wait for a break to psycho clean too?? Love Posie
26 comments:
As I type this I'm actually covered in dust balls {and sneezing} from a spring clean of the book boxes that live in our rumpus room.
There are just a couple more to go and I'm done & St. Vinnies are looking at a whole box worth of great new reads for their shelves.
xx Felicity
PS: Loving that you zap up on sugary treats before tackling the dreaded pantry clean - very clever.
I psycho clean sporadically when the mood strikes. A soldier to polish things does sound rather handy! I tend to send hubby and bub out in the yard when I am stuck into cleaning. Stops them from adding to the mess! :)
I actually think it's a no-brainer to clean thoroughly during winter as the activity warms you up..summer in Australia is way too hot..but great for getting all those textiley things like doonas cleaned 'cos they dry so fast in the hot air. By the way how far up are you coming? When?
I had my psycho clean a bit over a week ago, it felt great to get through all that accumulated stuff we don't need not do we ever use!
My major clean happened recently when we moved, but I do like to get in every few months and have a good clean out.
I am big on natural cleaning and only ever really use baking soda and white vinegar...the same as my nana's used :)
x
Well since the kids aren't in school yet, I just seem to wait for the moment to take me (Or for the mess to drive me a little crazy), and away I go!
I actually started washing windows the week before I got sick, so I'm a little on the way - I think with all the cold weather, you get a lovely sunny day, and your brain just goes "Time to clean". Mine does anyway.
Happy Cleaning! Oh, and send me some of those macaroons!!! LOL
Love S&R xo
I do this every school holidays too - tackling the oven tomorrow:)
I'm so impressed that you can make macaroons!! I need to get on that spring clean bandwagon more often. Looks very satisfying!
I wait until the kids go back to school to clean and reclaim my house, but good on you Posie for doing the winter 'spring' clean.
Thanks sweetie for my lovely giftie which arrived last week.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
Having a day off work means that I manage to actually get some general cleaning done. As we only moved 2 months ago the cupboards don't need a big going over, but I was thinking one each Sunday would keep me on top of everything.
As for cleaning, my enjo fibres were put to work today & I placed an order with my enjo lady for more method dishwasher tabs.
oh, i need a psycho clean here. but alas, it's not in me. i 'dabble' clean just enough to keep living!
I get the holiday spring clean... for us it's usually sorting through the boys wardrobes, putting into storage what does not fit no.1 for when it will fit no.2 and retrieving from storage what would now fit no.2... and there is ofcourse the garage reshuffle, for some reason school holidays are always when we reshuffle the contents of the garage to make it a more user friendly space!!! We do not always succeed, but then there's aways the next school holidays to refine it :-)
Glad to hear you're having fun with your family these holidays (hubby included).
xx
I am impressed with your larder.
We ahve been on a whirlwind of a clean to.
happy week to you.
xx
Good girl, I love having a good clear out. Now if I could only send the kids away someone where nice so I could do it undisturbed!
Mich x
Well done!
I'm cleaning my workroom in the hope of streamlining production for the rest of the year. There's lots of "What was I thinking?!" fabric joining the 'sell on ebay' pile.
My reward was finding the giant red ric rac that has been MIA since, oooh, the final market I did before Christmas last year? Oh, and several yards of out of print fabric that is one of my best sellers - score!
Yep, Yesterday I did the t towel drawer, the infamous bottom kitchen drawer, all my wardrobe including the shoes. I was on fire.
Today we are going on an outing, which is lovely for the kids but a bit of a nuisance for me because I am seriously motivated!
I did have a debate with myself about the baby cutlery, throw or keep?
My kids have just gone back to school after 3 weeks on holiday and this week is my JACK-IS-BACK (aka the Shining) clean! My pantry needs to be restacked - 3 kids unpacking groceries for their level does not work. All chocolate and biscuits are at eye level and I have given up looking for tea and vitamins!!!
ahhh Posie, I love holidays for this very reason(crazy?) I am most impressed with your organised pantry and your Soldier for being up with all things Posh Spice related. Hold onto the tupperware, it can have all sorts of uses.
Kellie xoxo
Wow - I am impressed at your pantry - room to move. The one in our current house is so tiny I have overflow sections in the linen cupboard and cleaning supplies cupboard. I never thought of using baby wipes for general cleaning duties - but can say the ALDI brand (which I notice yours are) are the sturdiest I have come across.
IN terms of big cleans, I tend to deep clean a room every couple of months. Interestingly, I find myself more inclined to 'spring clean' pre-winter than post. Perhaps, because I am preparing the den for hibernation:)
On the baby wipes, i do wonder what they do to babies bottoms, i never used them & my babies never got nappy rash - using cloth nappies too. Maybe they have industrial skin?? I can assure you these wipe thingies are very tough & yes, the Aldi brand is what i bought. I might pop some in the car too, for spot cleaning. Love Posie
It doesn't have to be spring to be spring cleaning. It's lovely to have everything in order. Have a wonderful day, Kellie xx
You're on a real cleaning frenzy!! Good on you. I'm going through my little energetic nesting phase at the moment so getting lots sorted here too :)
I just recently did the same clean out and yes I parted with the chewed sippy cups that haven't seen the light of day forever.
The macaroons look yummy too.
I am doing a bit of a clean at the moment:) Vinegar, bicarb and water and elbow greese never hurt anyone. I am doing away with all of the chemicals here (as they run out) and have started buying Norwex (like ENJO but a 1/3 of the price)
Aslo have found a few good homemade recipes here: http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/clean-up-your-act-all-natural-homemade-cleaners/
I definitely wait for a moment of peace to Spring clean. I can't stand doing it with others about. Naptimes are often power surge times to get scrubbing!
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