Monday, May 11, 2015

Housekeeping Hacks



Is your family about to walk in through the door, starving, looking at you as the one responsible for keeping them alive? And you're happy to see them, you really are, but there's one small thing you didn't get to today: dinner.

And no groceries, either.

I've been at this family caretaking thing for 20 years, and it's been baptism by the fire learn as you go, BUT here are some of my tried and true tricks of the trade to help you pull it together, because somebody needs to:

--When you pull laundry out of the dryer, don't let it sit in the basket; instead spread it out everywhere. It's a work in progress and wrinkles won't set in. Promise.

--Keep an 8-qt pot with water on the stove and a wooden spoon near by. At the first opening of a few minutes of cooking possibility, dump some pasta in and get it going on before something shows up to take you away from the homestead. Because, it will.

--Have your hair pulled up in a work-ponytail. “Hair in my face” is the biggest excuse I give for not being able to do something.

-- Keep Windex, a roll of paper towels, a toilet scrub brush, and a bottle of Scrubbing Bubbles in a plastic shoebox container under every sink in the house. No more staring at black toilets, thinking, too bad the cleaning supplies are nowhere nearby.

--Have a cutting board on a kitchen counter, a knife behind it. If by any chance you have fresh groceries coming in your house, have at it! Chop whatever it is up and toss it in a pan, along with the pasta you've got going from the water you keep on the stove, dinner is served.

--Keep a notebook and pen handy for those moments (ha! Moments -- more like eternal inner monologue) that tell you what to do what not to forget things due today who needs to be picked up remember to return library books...

--Never lie down during the day. Never. Just do that one thing and you'll be OK.

--My ace in the back pocket that I save for when the day has been a total bust and it's only me to blame: accept it.

Tomorrow is another day. What a gift, one more chance to discover another life hack.(Stretching the bedspread over the pillows looks pretty good, right?
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12 comments:

  1. Ha Ha! I think I could add a few of my own to this. xoxox

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  2. Love these and every woman can relate. I especially admire the boiling pot on the stove. Just keep throwing things in. You're bound to find dinner in there sometime!

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  3. No, but seriously I leave myself notes all day long, mostly in via siri.

    Love the laundry work in progress. ;)

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  4. You're my housekeeping hero!

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  5. When in doubt, spray Febreeze everywhere right before your family walks in the door.

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    Replies
    1. YES. scents are underrated! Yankee candles for the win!

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  6. Hello, my friend! I also have a housekeeping hack: Ignore the laundry until everyone runs out of clean underwear. It works if you like a succession of days without laundry and then just one day of furious washing. Also?I firmly believe in the power of rotisserie chickens. A staple around here since we live in a town that has been influenced by Cuban culture, is Yellow rice in a rice cooker, tear up a r. chicken, add it to the cooker and press the on button. Add some black beans on the stove and you have the simplest but best dinner. And, I too, believe in powering through, never lie down and if you need it, coffee in the afternoon, a miracle cure.

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    Replies
    1. That dinner sounds amazing and is a definite Life hack, Joann!!

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