Light Cleaning Day

If you need some motivation for a light cleaning day, come with me as I spend an hour or so doing a maintenance day.

Every other week, I do what I call light cleaning, meaning the bare minimum.  Here is what I tackle and what I skip.

Kitchen

The kitchen is the big time commitment on light cleaning day.  Especially if we have been doing a lot of cooking or meal prep.

I wipe out the microwave and fridge with hot water, Dawn and white vinegar.  And by hot water, I mean I heat the mixture in the microwave for 1.5 – 2 minutes and let it sit to loosen any soil and deodorize. 

The cabinet fronts and countertops all get a good cleaning.  When I prepare meat, I will use Comet to disinfect and clean the sinks.  If I haven’t done that in a few days, I’ll cleanser out the sink.

If I haven’t cleaned the fronts of the stainless appliances, this is the day they get cleaned and polished. Believe me, if they don’t need it, I don’t do it. I hate that chore.

Bathrooms

The bathrooms get a quick clean brushing out toilets, wiping down the sinks with Clorox wipes and mopping the floors.

Floors

Light cleaning day doesn’t mean vacuuming day.  Unless it really needs it, I skip vacuuming and let the robot do its job.

However, I do use the steam cleaner and am always amazed at how much dirt I get up.

Air

We always have our air filter on, but when I get going early in the morning, I like to get the diffuser going with some yummy Aromatech Santal. 

After everything is finished I take some Mrs. Meyer’s room spray (peony is my favorite scent) and give everything a little spritz.

The chemicals I use for light day are not considered green by any means, but they get the job done quickly and I feel like the house is clean and smells nice.

So now you know what I do on light cleaning day. What I don’t do is dust, vacuum the floors (unless it really needs it), vacuum the furniture, light switches, etc.

I do have a couple big vac days during the week and I have my everyday morning tidy routine.

Keeping on top of the cleaning chores makes life a lot easier.

What I’m Eating

We have found prepping in batches and having food we like on hand is a great way to keep on track and make better eating choices.

This week I made a batch of breakfast bowls for hub.  Instead of freezing them in containers, I used freezer Ziplocs. That saved some room in the freezer.

For myself, I made a batch of European style granola.  I will say that when I make it, I use about double the amount of applesauce and just let it bake a little longer.

Sunday I made a big batch of bean and beef chili in the crockpot.  I thought it was to be a cold football day.  But it turned out to be a beautiful day and I went for a long walk and didn’t really need a bowl of hot chili.

Oh, well, I’ve never turned down a bowl of chili in my life.

I tried a different sourdough recipe this week and it turned out great.  Making bread has been so surprisingly satisfying to me.  It makes me happy to fill the house with the smell of baking bread and reduce consuming unknown chemicals.

Simple Sourdough for Lazy People is the recipe and I recommend it if sourdough is your thing.

What I’m Reading

There is nothing Ray Porter could do to make me stop loving him.  He is most likely the best audiobook narrator ever.

I listened to the last of the Cordell Logan series he narrated (but not the last in the series) and I am so disappointed!  The series started off strong and enjoyable. But the last book? Voodoo Ridge had a ton of holes in it. 

Will I read more?  Probably.  Is Logan comparable to Orphan X?  Sadly, not.

So, for me, it’s back to the Slow Horses series.  Jackson Lamb had better not disappoint me.  My list of irresistible bad ass, bad boys is dwindling.

What I’m Doing

Dancing.  Yep.  My best buddies joined me for 80s night at the club and we danced the whole time.  Of course, I channeled my inner Whitney, Madonna and Pat and wore some big jewelry and a pair of leg warmers.

Fantastic night.

Shira took a trip to the photo booth with me. Ah, good friends!

Wrap Up

Thanks for spending a chatty morning with me.  Let me know what you are doing this last week of joyful January!