Summer Cleaning Frenzy

I don't really know how, but I got into some sort of cleaning frenzy this summer! Maybe it's an indication of the level of filth that had become normal and acceptable to us, ha, ha! Seriously, have you ever noticed that as soon as you clean one thing, you notice five other things that are also in need of attention? This is how it happened in our home.

I started with my favorite room in the house, the kitchen. The kitchen is to me like the garage is to David. It is my safe haven.  I like it to be clean because I spend so much of my time there!  After almost a year of neglect, though, the cabinets were looking pretty dirty, so I started by taking everything out and cleaning the shelf paper and putting everything back. Of course, in the process, cabinets and drawers got reorganized, extraneous jars recycled and three champagne flutes broken. After the kitchen cabinets were cleaned inside, though, I noticed that they were really dirty on the outside. I tried just cleaning them with soap and water, but they still seemed kind of lackluster, so I splurged on Murphy's oil soap. Ahhhh...beautiful cabinets (of course, they are already dirty again, but I enjoyed them for a short time.) Then, I cleaned the dishwasher, the refrigerator and the oven. I even cleaned the stove to an impressive shine with vinegar! It was really nice to look at, so nice that I avoided cooking anything for a little while. I know...don't you feel bad for my family???

I'm kind of an all-or-nothing type person, so I moved on to the rest of the cabinets. We have a big cabinet in the hall used for linens, one in each of our two bathrooms, one in the living room used for books and games, and several in the laundry room. Everything came out. Shelves were cleaned. Almost everything went back in a more orderly fashion. And, again, Murphy's oil soap made the cabinets beautiful, for a little while at least!

Cabinets done!  Next, I really wanted to tackle the grout. Our neighbors, Bob and Terry, held an open house as an opportunity to meet everyone on the block. All I could think about the whole time we were there was, "Wow!  This grout is really clean!"  Oh, the deep thoughts that I have as a mom!  I am ashamed to admit that never before had I even contemplated cleaning grout. That's pretty bad considering we lived previously owned a house with floor tile in the kitchen and living room, the most heavily used areas! To give you an idea of how big this task was I think I need only tell you that we have floor tile in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room and that I have five children. I was encouraged, though, when I read a few blogs indicating that Oxi-Clean will clean floor tile effortlessly.  Ha, ha, that was funny, right? Sure, it may have worked if I put some blinders on!  Maybe the fact that this didn't work for me is some indication of just how dirty my grout was!  Regardless, I resorted to  the bleach and baking soda solution.  I made a paste by mixing bleach and baking soda and applied it to the grout with a toothbrush and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Then, I just wiped it clean with a cloth and water. Ahhhh...clean grout!

Once the floors were clean, though, the grout on the bathroom counters and in the shower looked really dingy.  Then, I noticed the shower door had a lot of soap scum on it. You may be wondering why I didn't notice that all these things were dirty before?  Ummm...don't go there!  I found an amazing solution for the shower door online: a paste of baking soda and vinegar. I applied the paste to the door and let it sit for 15 minutes and then wipes it clean with a wet cloth.  Yay!  An effortless solution that actually works!  Afterwards, I cleaned the door and window with Rain X 2-in-1 glass cleaner to help repel water and prevent the soap scum build-up, not my idea, of course I found it online somewhere!

About this time, I think my husband started asking me WHEN I was going to be done with the spring cleaning! He reminded me that I have five children!

But, the walls were covered with marks from little fingers, toes, tongues, and noses, not to mention the occasional runaway marker.  I really tried not to worry about them, since we are planning to repaint next summer anyways, but my OCD kicked in!  My mother-in-law had given me some magic erasers for Christmas, which I thought were at least worth a try.  I thought I would just use the one package and be happy with semi-clean walls.  I used the entire package on the kitchen walls.  Mr. Clean now has a loyal customer.  I seriously spent a small fortune on the magic erasers and cleaned every mark off of the walls in this house.  My husband was so impressed that he said, "Wow!  This house hasn't been this clean since we moved in."  My revelry in cleanliness was very, very brief.  Somehow, the little fingers, toes, tongues and noses have already gotten to the walls:(

Then, I tackled baseboards and doors!  One nifty trick I read online was to go over the baseboards with a dryer sheet after cleaning to repel dust and dirt in the future.

Again, my husband asked WHEN I was going to be done spring cleaning. He reminded me that I have five children.

Since the Murphy's oil soap made the cabinets look so nice, I decided to clean all of the furniture with it. In the process, I even cleaned up all the glops of wood glue. I came to realize two things. First, I really like the smell of good ole Murphy's. Second, my husband's handiwork is all over our house! I'm so thankful for him and all the hard work he has put into sanding and finishing and staining just about every piece of furniture we own!

Somewhere in the process, I reorganized closets and bookshelves and drawers...and then I tackled the blinds and windows. Can I just say right now that we have way too many windows! Light is so overrated! It took forever to clean the blinds. First, I dusted them off with a brush. Then, I cleaned each individual slat with a paper towel soaked in vinegar. Some blogs say you can do this with a sock or a glove, but it didn't work for me:( Then, I went over each slat with a dryer sheet to repel dust build-up in the future. After the blinds were clean, I cleaned the screens with soap and water in the bathtub. Since we are in the process of landscaping the backyard, cleaning them outside was not an option! Then, I cleaned the windows inside and out.  Of course, there are streaks, but, eh, I was getting kind of burnt out by this point.

Again, my husband asked WHEN I was going to be done with the spring cleaning.  He reminded me that  I have five children.

But, I just couldn't live with myself if I continued to allow my children to play with dirty toys, so I decided that they really needed to be cleaned!  Ordinarily, I think the disinfecting wipes are a huge waste of money for household purposes, but I bought them for the kids to use to clean the toys. When I started to clean the wooden blocks, my husband stepped in and told me I was taking things a bit too far. I thank God for that man!

The downside of spring cleaning is that I have come up with a lot of home improvement ideas for my husband to execute in 2014!!!  The upside is that the kids are going to be really happy for school to start!!!

Mary cleaning the shopping cart!

Maggie cleaning the stacking rings!

Matthew cleaning the magnets!

Jonathan cleaning the magnets!

Cute picture of Josiah and Daddy!