Clean Enough for Madonna?

For those of you readers who don't know me personally (all two of you), I have a very vivid and bizarre dream life.  For example, last night I had a dream that Madonna (the material girl, not the virgin) was my house guest.  I hadn't been expecting her, so my house was in pretty pathetic shape.  For some reason, I wasn't worried about this.  I think I was in shock that Madonna showed up in the first place.  It started to sink in at breakfast the next morning how ill-prepared I was.  I offered her bacon (as if!), and she politely declined. I offered her eggs, she politely declined.  I offered her pancakes, she politely declined.  Then I started wracking my brain about what the heck her crazy macrobiotic diet was all about.  Fail.  Then I followed her back to the guestroom, where I started to notice how utterly dirty and cluttered the place was.  Madonna hadn't said anything the first night, so I told myself it wasn't as bad as it looked.  Then she started telling me in a very positive life-affirming way that cleaning things up would make me feel better.  So while she took a shower, I picked up.  And it looked better.  And I felt better.  The end.

When Madonna is entering my dreams to lecture me on keeping a clean house, perhaps it's time to step up my game.

I Love Goop!

Solution to my grease stains?  Drumroll please...

GOOP!

No, I'm not talking Gwyneth.  I'm talking the little tub of wonder, Multi-Purpose Goop Hand Cleaner.  It's been in the back of my mind for a long time; I've seen Goop used for years on grease stains, watching my mom slather it all over my dad's work clothes.  I can still remember the smell.  Yet it never occurred to me to try it for my own tiny spots.  I don't know why.  I finally asked my mom for the details, and remembered to buy some on our last trip to Menards.  It didn't take long for me to find my first test pieces--two shirts, worn layered, that my daughters little greasy fingers pawed.  I was wearing one of the shirts for the very first time. 

Surprise, surprise it worked! 

There's nothing fancy about Goop.  The marketing copy on the side of the container says, "Try it for difficult and stubborn stains on shirt collars, blouses, skirts, slacks, vinyl, canvas, woodwork, rugs."  Apparently there is no limit to which specific item of clothing (or material) it can clean.  Essentially you rub it on the stain, let it sit for 20 minutes, and wash your clothes as you normally would.  The instructions emphasize that both your hands and the material should be dry when the Goop is applied.  It does stink, so I washed my stained shirts in a separate load.  I've since washed some Gooped clothes in a full load and didn't really notice any smell on the other clothes.

It's also non-toxic and biodegradable.  That sounds good, right?

The directions suggest testing for colorfastness, but really once you've got a big grease spot on your shirt this is pretty much your last resort.  Next stop, garbage.

Give it a try.  It's 4 for 4 at my house.

Embracing the Magic

I'm convinced the Magic Eraser was invented just to removed dog slobber from white painted woodwork.  And thank goodness for that.

Also, I found a solution for grease stains that works!  More to come.

Together is Better

I could probably count on one hand the number of times my husband and I have done dishes together.  We did it tonight.  I'm not even talking washing and drying, just loading up the dishwasher.  Finishing up my work for the evening and looking at the kitchen full of dirty dishes, I sighed, and then my husband offered to do them for me (shock, joy, love!).  Sold.  Then for some reason I decided to take a few minutes before bed and unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher.  Just a little help to get the process started.  As I was finishing up, hubby walked in, got to work, and said "If we do this together, we can get it done fast."  True.  And knowing in my heart of hearts my husband isn't the most efficient dishwasher loader (lots of wide open space), I agreed.  And it was fast.  In probably just over 5 minutes of working together rinsing, loading, and wiping we got a very messy kitchen transformed into pretty good shape. 

So often married couples work on separate tasks (cleaning vs. yard work) or work together on huge remodeling projects that can span days, weeks, or even months, with plenty of time for disagreements, grudges, and gripes to surface.  There was something sweetly satisfying about getting in there, working together for a few minutes, and getting a job done.  I can't quite put it into words, but it felt right.  Or, maybe it's my subconscious trying to glorify the experience so I don't have to be stuck with the dirty dishes for the rest of my life.  Or maybe it was just my husband's sneaky way of getting some extra help.  Damn!  He's good.

Making Progress

Sorry for the long absence. I don't have any great excuses, just life! I'm not quite as diligent in keeping the counters clean (as Traci can attest), but overall my house is probably staying at least 50% cleaner than it did 2 months ago. I call that progress! When I slide it's usually only for a day or two and then I feel a push to get back on track. The thrill of a cleaner house has worn off a little, which I attribute to my new higher standards. Darn you, higher standards!


I've been working my way through Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred. I realize based on when I originally started, I'm about 30 days in. I hit a road block early on with a stretch of travel, however, so I'm more like about halfway. I'll be the first to admit I'm not doing it every day, but I am doing it at least 4 or more times a week. Considering I didn't work out at all 30 days ago, this is great progress. I find the 20 minutes pretty manageable, even in my busy schedule. I haven't changed up my eating too much yet--just fewer sweets and better carbs, although I did chow down on taco pizza tonight. I've lost 3 lbs so far and have majorly toned up. My arms, which I usually try to keep covered as much as possible, are looking respectable (to me). I usually do a few extra minutes of abs at the end of the video (got that post-baby tummy to tighten up). My muffin top is already much less noticeable. In fact, while cleaning out my younger daughter's closet last night, where I keep my out-of-season clothing and stuff that's too small, I found 3 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of shorts that now fit! Keep in mind this is my fourth summer in a row either pregnant or post-baby, so the little things excite me.

Better and more frequent posting to come! There. I just put it out into the blogger universe. I guess now I will have to follow through.

Bathroom Drawer Revisited

In a previous post, I added a before photo of the last holdout in my bathroom purge: a bathroom drawer.

And here it is now.

I have no idea why we have such an abundance of oral hygiene products, but we do.  We also have a disturbing number of lighters (11) considering neither my husband nor I smoke.  Actually, a couple times a year he picks up the bad habit for a few weeks.  Apparently he's not good at keeping track of lighters. Anyone have any good ideas for getting rid of them?  Do I just toss most of them in the garbage?  Is that even safe?

Since the bathroom is pretty well in shape now, I'm going to be moving on to my daughter's bedroom.  The biggest obstacles there are a drawer of sentimental stuff (ALL of the cards from my first daughter's birth and a bunch of manuals for baby gear) and her closet (a catchall for all kinds of random family stuff).  Now I'm very practical when it comes to the sentimental stuff.  I have no problem throwing out those cards.  My husband, on the other hand, thinks it's imperative that we keep it all.  I know from experience (thanks, Mom!) that someday we will need to get rid of this stuff; we'll be downsizing to a smaller place or just needing to use our space more efficiently.  And we'll have to pass along this stuff to our daughters.  And then they'll have to find a place to store it.  I've got the proof, handed down by both sets of parents, in our basement storage room (the last room in the project, for good reason).

So, any suggestions on how to handle the sentimental overload and convince my husband it's a good idea to pare down?  Or will I regret it someday?

My Name Is Joanna, and I Have a Problem

I can't put my finger on it.  Something has changed.  Once again, I'm losing steam.  I've learned that, much as in my experience with my children, just as you get into a really good groove, something changes--a new found ability to crawl, climb, or walk, the ability to suddenly reach higher drawers, an incoming tooth, a bad cold, potty training--and things get thrown out of whack.  My maintaining is out of whack.  I'm not sure why.  A busy week?  My husband out of town for a few days?  The sweltering heat and humidity?  New planting and gardening projects? A renewed commitment to exercise?  An increasingly alert (and therefore demanding) baby?  I know that those really aren't good excuses.  I had free time this week.  I read an entire magazine in one sitting, people!  So am I just tiring of the tedium that is housekeeping?  After all, it's one of the things that really is never ending.  I guess the key to to just take it one day at a time.  Is it bad that I'm comparing housekeeping to overcoming addiction?  Huh.  Is there a 12-step program for laziness?

How do you all stay motivated to keep it up day after day?  Ideally a clean house (or at the very least, clean countertops) would be reward enough, and initially it was.  But I'm slipping.

On the positive side, I did get my final bathroom drawer cleaned out this week.  After photo to come.  Granted, this blog is the ONLY reason I cleaned that drawer.  Whatever works, right?

Oh, and I prettified the blog.  Just more proof of my procrastination.  Uff.

UPDATE:  After posting this entry, I looked around at my messy place and immedately started shopping online for a new swimsuit.  What do you do when you want to procrastinate?