FLY LADY - Week 4 - Office

 Good morning, friends!

I'd love to say I'm diving hard into the office this week, but there's a slight change. The weather is finally cooling down here in the southern Ozarks and I can work on the 'warehouse' where the overflow of craft supplies as well as holiday decor is stored. I am sooo ready to dive in to see what can go to the thrift store, trashed or reorganized. Primarily the Christmas decor.

We've been in this house twenty years and have figured out the decor for each holiday in the various rooms that I am happy with. Everything else can get donated so maybe someone else can use the items.

Reorganizing the Christmas decor will also make room for the four big village tubs I have in the basement in our 'safe' corner. I'd love for Bob to be able to build a storage bench where they are now that we can put stuff to be protected in case of a tornado and that we can sit on. 

Over the course of forty-one years of marriage we've developed an amazing working relationship. Either I design something and he builds, we design and he builds, or we design and build together. This office desk I'm working on was an 8' kitchen island with storage I designed and he built over 35 years ago. Nothing fancy but served as a kitchen island initially that could seat 12 people if needed as well as store all of my baking pans. Then it served as an island against one wall in our first purchased home turning our narrow kitchen into a galley kitchen. In this house it was a crafting/ sewing table downstairs before we built the office/ studio almost 11 years ago. Here it remained a craft table until about 3 years ago when the cat took over my writing desk and I moved my 'office' space to this huge work table. I can move stuff easily enough if I need the 4'x8' space to cut fabric and one side still functions as space for my die-cutting machines when necessary. 

That's me for the week. Next week, I'll be back in the kitchen/ laundry with a bit more of a detailed list of what I do there.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 1 December

  The holidays are in full swing! That means while many of you did a massive Spring Cleaning, I am doing my deep cleaning in preparation for holiday decorations.

My room schedule stays the same. The only difference is that after I deep clean, the Christmas decorations for that room go up. While this week is the Laundry & Kitchen, I'm also doing the Bathroom. I need the towels and wash cloths put in place. All of the fall/ Halloween linens are packed away and I'm working with emergency back-ups until the Christmas ones get unpacked.

Before I start with the regular routine, let's tackle the bathroom. This is probably the easiest/ fastest room in the home to clean but is often the room left behind until company is expected. When you consider that aside from the kitchen, this is the germiest room in the home, the bathroom really needs routine attention.

Everything gets wiped down by spraying with a vinegar water solution. I vacuum out the tub before wiping that down. 

The bathroom sink drain gets the montly drain cleaner solution. If you've not done this before, a monthly routine of this task will keep all of your drains running smooth and fresh.

Pour 1 cup of baking soda over the drain opening

Add 2 cups of hot vinegar

Flush through with hot water

     Note: Don't use the tap water as it won't be hot right away. I use a 4-cup pyrex cup.

     Note: To keep the water from boiling over and creating a safety hazzard, place a 1/2 of a bamboo                      skewer in the cup before putting in the microwave. You can also heat your water in a pan 

                or tea kettle on the stove.

If you've not done this before, the drain may still be sluggish. Just repeat the process then plan to do this once a month.

I also sweep/ mop the bathroom floor. 

Now I'm ready to decorate!

Laundry room/ Kitchen

These two areas are really one long room separated only by a double arch opening. 

For the washing machine, I run 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 gallon of white vinegar through a HOT water wash. If you have an Heavy Duty setting, use this for the added agitation time. After you've run the vinegar/ soda rotation, run the washer again with just a hot water cycle.

I also wipe the lids and the machines on the outside with a vinegar cleaner solution. 

Everything gets taken off the shelves above the laundry side of the room and wiped down. While the shelves are drying completely I repeat with the cat counter on the opposite side of the room. 

The rug beneath the cat box is taken outside and shaken out then put in the washer. While that is running, I empty the litter box, wash it with pinesol and allow to air dry outside completely. 

I move the recycling baskets to the front deck, clearing the floor completely of any opstacles, allowing me to sweep/ steam/ mop/ rinse mop the floor. Once the floor is dry, everything goes back in place. This entire process takes me about half of a day but the results are worth the time.

On Day 2 of this week I'll tackle the kitchen. The baking counter seems to become a catch-all so that all as to be sorted out/ put away or pitched. Then the appliances are removed so I can detail the counter with the vinegar solution. Once dry, the appliances go back in place. 

Additionally this week, I will strip everything out of the coffee corner, wipe everything down, refill the tea bag jars and detail my coffee pot. I don't clean Bob's Bunn. That's his department. I don't mess with his coffee pot except when I need strong coffee to dye paper :-D

On Day 3 I will give the oven a good cleaning in preparation for the annual Christmas Cookie baking I'll be doing on Saturday/ Sunday

After the oven is cleaned, the floor will receive the same detailing as the laundry room and my kitchen will be ready for decorating and baking season!

Come back on Friday to see these rooms done and ready for Christmas!

Country Blessings!

~ Kelly