Here’s a fun-fact about yours-truly. I DESPISE CLEANING.

Now before you go getting all judgy and assuming I’m a slob, I would like to proclaim that I am VERY organized and love to be tidy. Everything has a place! And I’m proud of all my organizational strategies! But having a ‘clutter-free’ house is a far cry from an ACTUAL CLEAN house.

So recently, I started making a list of things that should be done WEEKLY… that way I’m not all ‘I can’t remember when I washed bedding last’ (sheepish grin)…so today’s post is more for me than for you.

1) Wash Bed sheets

I already mentioned this… but since I haven’t ever really had a ‘schedule’ for changing sheets, I can’t always remember how long it’s been. And that is GRODY. Especially in the summer when these grubby kids are dirty and sweaty after a fun day of frolicking on our acreage. Because bathing the minions is not a daily occurrence. But if I’m in the habit of washing the sheets weekly, I can have one less thing to have mommy-guilt about! *three cheers!*

Fainting Couch Beds from the Twins’ Room

2) Trash

The main garbage in our house is in the kitchen (in the rolling kitchen island we built), and it gets changed OFTEN as it fills up… almost daily. But all the other random small trash cans scattered around the house slowly fill up throughout the week without us even noticing. So I’m making a point to pick a day each week to walk around the house and empty those little trash cans EVEN IF THEY AREN’T ALL THE WAY FULL. Then it’s just taken care of.  It’s way more inconvenient to change them each individually as they fill up because then it seems like it constantly has to be done. Or they end up so full and overflowing while we’re still trying to jam another piece of wadded-up paper in.

3) Vacuum

Until recently, our one and only vacuum was one that I acquired in college… roughly *cough-12-years-ago-cough*. I don’t even remember where I got it, but I would put money on the fact that I didn’t get it new. It was probably a hand-me-down from a friend, or a thrift store find. So a few weeks ago, when Oreck reached out and asked if we wanted to help them promote their new Elevate Conquer Vacuum, I was SO ON BOARD. Because vacuuming is ‘one of those things’ that I should do at least weekly, but JUST DON’T. And that’s gross because my giant toddler-baby puts every little microscopic piece of nasty in her mouth. Check out this beaut:

It even lights up. And is seemingly self-propelled. And feather light. And I love that it’s filtration allows it to pick up THE TINYEST OF PARTICLES while still protecting our family from allergens, mold spores, pollen, dander, dust… all the things. It’s low profile glides smoothly and maneuvers sooooo easily with the swivel head. I also love that there’s no dirt cup to empty …and because of the size of the bag, I don’t have to replace it very often at all. Convenience at it’s finest!

There’s also a handheld version that is soooo handy for getting the stairs, little corners, furniture, and things of that nature. This has been a perfect thing to add to the girls’ chore list, because it’s not too heavy for them. It also comes with every attachment you could possibly think of, and shoulder strap! I’m thinking about DIYing some smaller straps so they girls can wear it like a backpack, and I can sing the Ghost Busters theme song while sipping my ice tea and watching them clean. #parentinggoals.

4) refrigerator

I like to think I’m not alone when I say ‘I dread cleaning out the fridge’. But it’s also one of those things that is easier to try to maintain …rather than waiting for it to look like a potluck hit by a nuclear warhead. If I can remember JUST ONCE A WEEK to wipe down the shelves, it would save me a really gross hassle later. Doing this also helps me check for leftovers that need to be thrown away, or items that may have expired. We need all the room in our fridge we can get. Especially since I only go grocery shopping once a month.

5) Shower/tub

Finally, let us discuss the shower-slash-tub situation. You may have noticed a theme today that I’m pretty much confessing how gross my house is and need to start doing a better job. And keeping our bathing station clean is no exception. Isn’t it absolutely fascinating how fast a sparkly clean shower can get yucky? I just can’t get over it. And this one also falls under the category of ‘things that are easier to clean weekly than waiting… longer’. And since I’m not going to leave you with a poorly-lit image of my not-pretty shower, I’ll just drop this gorgeous pic of the bathroom of my dreams:

source

If I had that bathroom ^^ …FOR SURE would keep it immaculate. I would hand my grubby children a bar of soap and send them outside to play in the rain.

Now it’s YOUR turn to make me feel better and confess things that you know you should clean more often… but don’t.

~Bethany

PS! You might also enjoy this post about how I shop for groceries once a month… and I’m not even the ‘planning TYPE!’

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Huge thanks to Oreck for sponsoring this post! I only partner with brands that I love so much I want to TELL THE WORLD! All opinions and gross confessions are my own. #ElevateYourClean #CleanAndHealthyHome #OreckElevate