Trying to keep it clean

I spent an hour and a half cleaning my bathroom today.  Some would say "Wow,  you got that bathroom sparkling clean!  Good for you!"  

Actually, not good for me.  It means my bathroom was so dirty it required 90 minutes to clean it.  And I didn't do anything with the floor or rugs.  

I have given my email over to www.flylady.com.  The woman who developed the Flylady housekeeping philosophy emails you a list of chores to do daily, plus an additional small task for one room in the house.  She tells you, if you are tackling a big job (cleaning out your junk room, a really big pile of laundry to be folded, a lot of clutter laying around) don't do it for more than 15 minutes.  Use a timer and then you may set it for another 15 minutes.  She stresses that you are not catching up, you're just going to jump in where you are and make progress slowly.  The house didn't get into this state in 15 minutes, it will take longer than that to get it into shape.  Once the house is good to go, it's a matter of daily maintenance. 

Daily, I should be brushing out and wiping down the toilets,  using a rag and spray cleaner on the bathroom counters, doing a load of laundry, decluttering for 15 minutes, clearing a hot spot for 2 minutes, unloading the dishwasher and shining my kitchen sink.  Her thought is that if you can walk into your kitchen and see your sink shiny clean, it means you accomplished something that day. 

I like this idea.  It goes right along with my motto "Sometimes, you have to give life some red lipstick and tell it to kiss your ass".  Even if you don't complete the massive list of things we're all 'supposed' to do in a day, you can walk into your kitchen and see that you are indeed making at least a little progress.  Put on some lipstick and you have taken care of yourself today.  You like yourself enough to put on some lipstick.  

Some days you put on lipstick, make a pouty mouth and strut around the house.  Some days you shine your sink and clean out the junk drawer.  Then there are the big days where you put on lipstick, a cute outfit and go to the store for the ingredients for a yummy dinner.  Or a day when you shine your sink, clean out the junk drawer, put all the laundry away and toss one hundred items that need to go.  

Small things can make a big difference.  A cup of tea and a deep breath.  A ten minute walk.  Driving a little farther/sitting in the driveway/making an extra turn in order to sing along with your favorite 80s song on the radio before going into your destination.  Any and all of these can help a person keep their sanity in the face of a day that would be committed to in-patient care were it a person. 

In may case, lipstick and a shiny sink.  Both of which I'm going to go do now.

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  When you do dishes, put some lotion on your hands and then put on rubber gloves.  The big, old style kind that come up past your wrists.  The heat from the water will help the lotion penetrate and you'll protect your skin from chapping.