Cleaning Checklists

 

Ah, I almost hesitate to post this since I know next to nothing about cleaning/organizing, but I have mentioned this a few times to various friends and several of them have asked me for my list.
Be aware that you will have to tweak this to fit your exact needs. This reflects my downstairs bathroom. I have to have a different one for the upstairs one, etc.

I would like to explain how I came to this method of teaching.  One of my children in particular must have concrete parameters.  "Clean it up" has no meaning for him.  If he has a list, then he will accomplish all of it just fine...but it must be concrete.   I don't think this just him, as I remember 20 years ago trying to get my crew in a pizza store to clean and restock to my satisfaction.  Checklists are great.

I have had it mentioned to me that surely I want to teach the kids to do a task without a checklist telling them the nth degree, and yes I do.  But I have found another benefit to this list. Like I said, one child absolutely must have it, the others though are learning a process that can be applied in other rooms.  For example, if we are cleaning the kitchen, they have learned that they start with the least dirty/gross surface and then can reuse the cleaning cloths vs. cleaning up something disgusting and then having to get a new cloth to prevent cross-contamination ('cause I can't  keep a clean house worth squat, but I am pretty obsessive about my universal precautions!).
The other benefit to this is that you will notice that they clean the whole bathroom with 1-2 paper towels and only 4 lysol wipes. If left to their own devices, the entire roll and canister would be used. Of course as we have worked together I also teach them to recognize the point of no return and throw that wipe away even if it isn't in the script :-)

Of course there are limits to this type of tool, I can't use something this concrete for most other rooms in the house because they have too many variables. I'm working on one for the library/computer room, and for the dining room.

and yes, step 12 really does say to "throw the dirt away"  and this instruction isn't just for looks.

                      How to Clean the Downstairs Bathroom

o       Spray a little bit of window cleaner on the mirror, wipe off with a paper towel.

o       Use the same paper towel to clean the light switch plate and the wall around it.

o       Clear everything off of the sink, counter, and soap dishes.

o       Use a cleaning wipe to wipe off the counter, the faucet and handles, the soap dishes, and the sink.  Rinse out the cleaning wipe and wipe it all again with the rinsed wipe.  Put the wipe in the sink.

o       Use a new cleaning wipe to wipe off the door knob and the door right around the knob (where all the fingerprints are).

o       Put items back onto counter or put them away where they should go.

o       Use that same wipe to wipe off the top back of the toilet and the edge of the bathtub.

o       Rinse that wipe and use it to dust off the top of the toilet paper roll and the wall heater. Put the wipe into the sink.

o       Use a new cleaning wipe to clean the top of the toilet lid and behind the toilet seat.

o       Use that wipe to clean the outside bottom of the toilet and the floor right around the toilet.  Throw this wipe away.

o       Use one more new wipe to clean the seat, then lift the seat and clean the bottom of the seat, then the rim of the toilet. Throw this wipe away.

o       Sweep the floor really well. Throw the dirt away.

o       Use the two wipes that are in the sink to mop the floor with, then throw them away. You may need to rinse them a few times when mopping.

o       Throw those last two wipes away and empty the trash can.

o       FINISHED, go have mom come check your work J

Freezer meals revisited

I posted some of these recipes back in 2008. I was in a conversation today and promised to share the link, but when I looked it up, realized I only had two of my recipes up. I do a few more things as freezer meals, but these three are all chicken and all share the same base sauce so I usually cook them together.

Here is a link to the first post. I tried to copy and paste to this post and for some reason, it eluded me. I hope this doesn't get confusing, but I do want to add a few notes to those first recipes.

Chicken pot-pie filling:
-if you omit potatoes, make sure to add more of the other vegetables.
-this is great in a pot-pie, or as a casserole with stuffing on top, or served over rice or noodles.
-Quart size plastic containers such as they sell soup in chinese takeout work great for freezing this filling. If those aren't available, quart freezer bags work fine. Lay them flat to freeze and once frozen, they will stack well.
Chicken Burritoes:
- These may be frozen in aluminum pans, there are rectangle pans that are very thin, I forget what they are called, (perhaps brownie pans? but I don't think that is right) that work well, you should be able to get 6-8 burritoes in each pan. Freeze them carefully at first as the pans are flimsy, but once frozen you can stack them.
- these also work very well frozen individually! wrap each burrito in a sheet of foil (the pop-up foils make this easy). freeze and once they are frozen, store a number of them in a ziploc bag. To use, unwrap from the foil and thaw in the microwave, then rewrap in the foil and cook in the toaster oven to make them yummy and crispy.
- Sometimes you end up with more sauce than you know what to do with (hey, I get a little carried away when I make a roux!). If this happens to you, you have a few options:
- if you are out of chicken and just have the sauce, you can use the sauce as a dip, add some crumbled, browned ground beef and serve with tortilla chips.

- if you still have chicken in it and are just out of burritoes, thin the mixture with a little chicken broth, add a can or two of corn, and call it "Southwest Chicken & Corn Chowder" It is super yummy!

chicken cordon Bleu lasagna
The recipe I had not posted before is Chicken Cordon-Bleu Lasagna.
The link is from 30day Gourmet.
I have made several changes from their recipe:
-I do not precook the noodles. It is not needed, the sauce will have enough liquid that the noodles will soften when you bake it.
-I think that the sauce per their recipe is bland. I add a bit of garlic, either powder or minced fresh.
-I do not always use that much milk/cream/half and half, I do add cheese during the layering though.
-I add broccoli to the filling.
-For layering I do a bit of sauce, then noodles, then more sauce (with the chicken, ham, and broccoli) and mozzerella cheese, noodles, repeat. I'm not sure how they can call it cordon Bleu with no swiss cheese, so I put that in, either just on top or in one of the layers. It doesn't take much, just to add a bit of richness.
**I have now decided that I like to keep the meat and broccoli separate. I layer with sauce then can more even distribute the chopped chix, ham, and broc. to the layers if I keep them separate and put them on by hand. Other than that, layer as usual.

other notes
now that I've made all of these recipes so many times, I have refined my process.
- I cook all my chicken the day before. I have found that I can usually get the best value by buying large portions of skinless, boneless breasts at Walmart. They have them for less than $2 a pound. They bake easily and dice up beautifully. Also there is NO waste as there might be if you are paying for whole chickens or even for bone-in pieces.
-I make a huge pot of roux (white sauce) to begin with. Sautee diced onions in butter, stir in flour to make a paste, then add the chicken broth and whisk until your arms fall off or it is thickened, whichever is first. Then I use this same base to make all three of the previous recipes.
Divide out a portion for the potpie filling, add the additional spices, veggies and chicken. You are done.
Divide out a portion for the lasagna, add a little cream if you like (or cheat and add a jar of premade alfredo sauce!), stir in a bit of garlic, the chicken, ham and broccoli, make the lasagna in pans, and you are done with that one.
To the remaining sauce you will add the cream cheese, rotel, chili beans and chicken and make your burritos.
Any sauce that is left is now flavored like the burritos and can be used for dip or for the chowder as I noted above.

Before you begin make sure you have pans and ziploc bags, oh, and freezer space. :-)


Unfortunately, I do not have measurements for how I make my initial white sauce base... I just do it. Again, I've been making these three for so long now that it just works. Follow the recipes the first few times and I'm sure that you'll get your own rythym as well.

Raw

This week I saw two bits in the news that broke my heart. One mother who killed her own two little children and one father who killed his baby, pregnant wife, and then himself.

When I see these kinds of stories, they seem to work themselves into my heart and mind and linger with me for quite a while. The more life I experience, the more I wonder about the true back-stories on these situations. Who were they? What little “life thing” was it that piled on top of all the big “life things” that finally caused them to go past the point of no return in their utter hopelessness?

Excuse me for a moment while I open my closet and let some of my junk spill out.

I’ve been married for ten years. During that time we’ve been through unemployment, health crisis, joy, and heartbreak.

I struggle with a chronic illness that I don’t talk about too much. I don’t know until I get up in the morning if I’m going to be able to function on this day or not. It has not only effected me physically, but mentally in the slowing of my thoughts and abilities, and of course emotionally.

I’ve been the caregiver and main worrier-in-chief through the hospitalizations and surgeries on my children and spouse (8 times in ten years), 5 pregnancies and 4 deliveries, more sleepless nights than I can ever remember.

I have a child who is walking that maze of being nuero-diverse in a world that caters to the nuero-typical.

Deaths in the family.

Harm done to those in my care that results in more anger and pain than I can describe.

Feelings of betrayal; hurts done by the hand of those I thought were friends.

Depression, feelings that I am completely lost and gone and not sure I would recognize myself if I did ever find my way out.

Of course there are many good times, times of joy. But my point is that even in my life, a life that I count as very blessed and supported, not a bad life at all, I have been pushed to the brink of very dark thoughts.

When I try to imagine facing all that life in this sinful world brings and NOT having my faith in God, NOT having the enormously supportive circle of friends that I do have, NOT having a stable (not perfect, but stable) marriage, basically NOT having all the lifelines that I do have… I simply can’t.

I think of the father who was so overwhelmed with all that he had been through facing war, and then coming home and feeling like he couldn’t handle One. More. Thing. The story I read commented that there was no evidence of financial woes or other major issues. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t take major financial trouble or other “major” stress to push you over the edge. It just takes enough little things, normal things even, and the feeling that you are empty, spent, completely drained and turned inside out, the feeling that there is no more of you left to deal with any stress, no matter how small.

The mother who killed her two little children, a single mother, young, facing day after exhausting day with no end in sight. The article I read mentioned that she had just had an argument with her mother. I am in no way blaming the mother, heaven knows she’s probably blaming herself, poor woman, but if her mother was her only support system as she walked through this life with two very young children and she felt that she was losing that support… I can almost taste her feelings of helplessness. Of exhaustion. Of futility.

Some would say that she got herself into this by having children outside of marriage and that there is a reason that God planned for children to be born within a family and church. To you, I would have to say, “thank you Captain Obvious for that extra-special glimpse into your perfect world.” But those of who live out here know that it doesn’t always happen that way. In fact, it often doesn’t happen that way. And as I have lived and know, even when it DOES happen that way, there is still stress, overwhelming stress that when coupled with other normal life events, equals absolute exhaustion.

Something has to happen. Something must be done to extend a hand, in a real way, a way that can pierce even the darkest darkness, and reach out to those who are on borrowed strength and simply can’t take another step. I don’t know what, or who, or how. I know I’ve asked God to give me a softened heart to those who are at the edge of darkness and he has… and to be honest, now I don’t quite know what to do with it.

I know that there is a sensible side that also must be addressed, the part that says there must be a balance, that knows that people have to be reachable in order to reach them, that we have to count resources. I’m not discounting that.

I am saying that more brokenness and less accusation would light a fire under “us” to find a way to reach someone.

The people who live on that dark edge and finally fall over are not dirty or scary or necessarily evil. They are me, your sister, your friend… but they are me without you.

They are tired, mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted, utterly spent and completely vulnerable.

And that can be good news.

Don’t you imagine that a person in such desperation would be open to just about any answer? We’re talking trying to reach the thief on the cross or the woman about to be stoned vs. the rich young ruler.

Maybe if no one is taking that hand we are extending it is because we are extending it to someone who is already standing and not to someone who is losing their last grip?

Find someone, ask God to give you someone, and then extend that hand. Don't be afraid... that someone may end up looking a lot like me.

8 months?!

Wow. it has been a really long time.

I guess I dropped the poor blog in favor of that hussy facebook.

Sorry.

Remembering

http://ladyluck-stuffandnonsense.blogspot.com/2007/08/its-been-while-since-i-posted-anything.html

It has been two years now. I will say that this year, there is so much less pain, lots more remembering. TinyJ was only with us for a few weeks, but was recieved with so much love.

Hugs to all mommies who have a tiny empty spot in their hearts due to pregnancy loss.

Can I get some input?

Church...
Yeah, yeah, I know WE are the church. What I'm talking about --or would like to talk about with your help, is the church gathering that we attend.

What is church for? Is it for the believers to come and be fed, equipped and encouraged? is it for outreach to bring sinners into so they will find Jesus? What should our non-negotiables be when it come to choosing a church?
How dedicated should a "good christian" be to their church? Is it ok to go to one church for Sunday worship and to a different church for weekly meetings and activities?

I would greatly appreciate some thoughts... biblical thoughts even better.

Happy Birthday Jules!

Today I am old. I know that I am old because my baby sister is 29 today. I am older than she is, so if she is 29... Heaven only knows how old that makes me!

It seems like for women 29 is more of a milestone birthday than 30 is. We get plagued with all these thoughts about what we have accomplished and if we are really ready to enter middle age and all that other stuff. If the 20's are about finding your place in this world, then the 30's are about being secure in that place we seem to have found ourselves.

I remember when my mom was expecting Julie, I believe she told us as we were coming home from a birthday party for Denise Bazo. I don't know if that is correct, but for some reason that is what I have in my head. I do know that mom was pretty sick, especially the few months before Julie was born. I remember cooking for the family. Now, we did have some older girls from church who came in some, and I'm sure my dad (who was an EXCELLENT cook) cooked a lot, but I know that I also cooked, standing on a chair in the kitchen, producing the 2 or 3 things I knew how to do. Scrambled eggs, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese. And please let me point out that the mac and cheese was REAL, not from a box with powdered cheese. Now... the eggs may or may not have been embellished with the addition of food coloring, and it's quite likely the mac and cheese had worcstishire sauce in it (I had a rather long "stage" of doing that to nearly everything), but it worked. I can only hope that my poor bedridden mom didn't have to eat these things and that someone was slipping her real food.
But I digress, this is about Julie. Anyway, I was sent to spend the night with the Massingill family while my grandma took Mom to the hossy to get Julie out. I got a call early in the morning letting me know that "cuddles" (as we had dubbed her in utero) was born and that she was a sister. I believe that was the last time she was called cuddles. No offence Julie, but you were a bit on the long and bony side.

There are a few other memories of Julie in her babyhood that I will not share, although for the right price, you may email me for details.

I am 7 1/2 years older than Julie, so by the time she was an actual person (as opposed to a cute little toddler kid) I was heading out for college. The times we did cross paths were a bit rocky at times, but even then ( as I was a SO mature college student and she was going through her own series of "stages") I was proud of her.

The summer she was 14 we went on TLC together. This is one of those things that was a mistake but was in fact, a "God-thing" The age limit for TLC was 15. I was supposed to go, but started feeling like I really belonged at home to spend time with Julie instead of trotting off to Guatemala. On the other hand, our team was made up of several of my very dear friends and I really wanted to go. I talked to Tom (team leader) about it and he told me to go talk to Mrs. B. Well, I did. And she said yes. Although I think I found out later that she didn't realize that Julie was too young. Anyway, we went together and I really started getting to know her. She also got to spend a lot of time with some of the best people I knew and I know that it was a very positive thing for her to get to know them.

I have so many other memories I could share, but that wasn't what I was intending to write about.
Julie, I have been in awe of you since you were a kid. We are so very different, in nearly every way, and in you I see so many things that I admire and wish I could be. You march to your own drum (forget the different drummer, you just play your own darn drum), you are strong, you stick up for the underdog, you see the worst in people but continually have faith in the best. You make your own rules and throw convention out the window. You are fiercely loyal. You are honest.... painfully so. I'd never want to meet you in a dark alley, but can't think of anyone I'd rather have beside me if I ever had to go down one myself. You ARE the caped avenger. You are an amazing friend, you give and give and give again. You have become an outstanding daughter (hmm, can I say that seeing as how I'm just a bystander and not the actual mother?) and I'm so proud of you.

You have made a place for yourself in your career. You have enough confidence to get the job done and enough humility to never stop learning more. I hope that the people who work beside you every day realize how fortunate they are to be around such an excellent human bean as you are. My prayer for you on this birthday is that you would find the same confidence in your "Julie" life as you have in your "medic" life. You knew even before you got out of high school what you wanted to become and you have done it. My challenge for you on this birthday is for you now to know who you want to become... and do it. My assurance for you on this birthday is that you are surrounded by people who love you and believe in you and are so stinkin' proud of you that we can hardly talk about you without sounding cheesy.

I love you Spotser, Happy 29th Birthday.