Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Tuesday at Home...





During this school year, Tuesdays have been the day most likely to find me at home with no outside commitments. So, Tuesday is cleaning day, laundry and ironing day, and my one real chance for "down time" all rolled into one. I manage that by cleaning in 45 minute sessions, then giving myself a break with the computer, a novel, or a walk in the garden for 10 or 15 minutes before tackling the next cleaning task. Now that I am substituting for the paraprofessionals at our local school system, my Tuesdays at Home sometimes turn into Tuesday on the Run and the house looks a little worse for the wear until the weekend (if i have time to clean) or the following Tuesday.


This morning I brought order to a chaotic kitchen, sprinkled essential oil infused baking soda on the living room carpeting and vacuum-cleaned it, and washed a few windows and floors. I took time on one of my breaks to pick some flowers for the kitchen table. I put a lot of clutter away and did a few loads of laundry. In a few minutes, Tanka and I will eat lunch and then I will pull out the week's ironing. Before that though, I think I will squeeze in a few minutes of reading The Samurai's Garden. I'm very good to my cleaning lady, aren't I? Flowers, lots of breaks, and some reading time built right into the work day! *grin*



photos by Aisling, May 8, 2007: 1) Black Parrot Tulip 2) tidy kitchen and dining room, Tiggy at the window

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love how you seem to make even cleaning house sound fun. We too, use the oil-infused baking soda. Hope and Joy love mixing up their own scent combinations. Our current favorite is orange and peppermint together.

Michele said...

Aisling, I love your cleaning method! I treat my cleaning lady the same way, when she shows up. ;-)

Marcie said...

Grace, It's not really always fun and I get very frustrated when the kids mess it up before "the dad" gets to see it sparkling clean. *sigh* That said, it is much more tolerable with a good attitude and some little incentives and rewards along the way! :) Orange and peppermint sounds delicious! I used jasmine, patchouli and ylang ylang - kind of a standby unless I am doing sweet orange and lavender in the summer to deter the whole concept of fleas! LOL!

Marcie said...

Rapunzel, GMTA! And, by the way, your cleaning lady deserves the very best treatment! I love the "when she shows up" quip. lol!

Catherine Mary said...

I do the same thing when I clean house but (drat) I'm always caught when I take a break. I'll clean for a couple of hours and then sit down to check something on the computer or have a drink (of coffee) and my husband catches me sitting on the couch.

Marcie said...

Catherine Mary, lol! That happens here too. So much so, that when I sit down at the computer after I've been working hard, I say to the kids, "Your dad will be home soon." Because, sure enough, as soon as I sit down at the keyboard, he'll come in from work and catch me "at play." *grin*

Nan said...

I love The Samurai's Garden. I loved the carefully chosen words, the slow pace of the story, the descriptions. Wonderful book. I hope your mention will lead people to read it.

Marcie said...

Nan, I hope my mention will lead people to read it also. I plan to do a book review of it, if I have time this weekend (while it is still fresh in my mind.)