Nothing better...

In my mind, one of the best things in life is a clean house! It feels amazing and makes me feel so happy and comfortable. My anxiety level increases as the dust increases or if things aren't in their place. I examined some of my chores, products and pet peeves as I was cleaning over the past couple of days and wanted to share.

What is YOUR favorite chore?
Or do you have one? I think mine would be vacuuming. The steps leading upstairs aren't so pleasant and certainly works up a sweat. But I LOVE vacuuming. It is very therapeutic for me. Silly things I love about it like the lines that it creates on the carpet. It makes everything feel so clean and fresh. I use Arm & Hammer pet deodorizing powder on the carpets before I vacuum which leaves a fresh scent in the air. I used to be crazy about Glade Plug-Ins but, since being pregnant (with a nose that is ultra sensitive), I can't stand how strong they are right now. But the deodorizing powder makes the house smell fresh but not strong.

What is YOUR least favorite chore?
Mine, bar none, is bathrooms. I absolutely HATE cleaning bathrooms. I think it is the tub and toilets that really gets my goat. Especially now with a belly in my way while I am trying to clean our garden tub. Currently I am using Arm & Hammer bathroom cleaner as well as Mr. Clean magic sponge. The Mr Clean magic sponge is incredible for cleaning tubs. I swear I can remove any bit of dirt, stain or water spot with this thing. Mix it with the cleaner and you have one heck of a sparkling tub!! And it doesn't take much elbow grease.

With my newfound gut, I have to spray the wall side of the tub first and actually get in the tub to clean it so that I don't have to lean over the side. Then I do the other half. It isn't convenient but I have to learn a system. I'm not sure how I will continue this chore easily as I get larger and larger. But I am sure I will make due.

Then there are the toilets. Since moving out to Tucson, I have noticed that not all toilets (or toilet water) are created equal! Out here, for some reason, the bowls gets really stained. I can only assume it is from the quality of water in the bowl. In Kentucky, I never had to use a pumice stone to scrape off the nasty on the sides of the bowl. A simple scrub with a toilet brush and some cleaner did the trick. Not here. At some point during your cleaning life, you will have to snap on the rubber gloves and pumice the grime off of the sides of the bowl. It is so disgusting - I HATE cleaning toilets.

For regular cleanings, we use the Clorox wand with the little round refills. My Kentucky cleaning used to consist of toilet bowl cleaner with a toilet scrub brush. T turned me against them when he brought to my attention the nasty germs that can collect on those brushes...makes sense. So we now go with the disposable refill thingies. The only thing is, I don't feel like I can get as much grime off as I want with those things. But that takes us back to the convo regarding the pumice. It probably wouldn't come off even with a steel brush!!

How do YOU feel about laundry?
Well, I happen to enjoy laundry...most of the time. It is probably the most cyclical chore that I know of...you can NEVER truly be done with laundry. Unless you are doing laundry naked!! And, no I do not do laundry naked.

But laundry doesn't offend me and, once I am caught up, I try to stay that way. I have a system. There is a laundry bin in our closet and a small hamper in Tay's room. I empty both when they are full (I usually empty Tay's after she leaves) and take them to the laundry room. I sort the clothes into the three part hamper in the laundry room. Once that hamper gets half way full, I do the loads.

I think my favorite part is probably the part most people don't like - the folding and putting away. I love folding clothes and have a certain way everything has to be folded. That's because the way I fold the items is how they best fit in their final destinations.

My other favorite part of laundry is the smell. I love how it makes the house smell fresh and the fact that you can smell it on the outside of the house thanks to the dryer vent. Mix the smell of good laundry with a crock pot dinner and you have my own little heaven.

What are YOUR daily chores?
Mine are:
*Let Jack outside, clean his ears, feed him
*Give each cat their "snack" (wet food) along with Jazzy's meds
*Make bed
*Empty dishwasher
*Wipe down counters
*Water the front plants

I make our bed every morning and, when Tay is here, I make her bed every morning (and even pick up her room a bit to make it less of a chore after she leaves). I swear there is nothing better than slipping into a made bed at the end of the day. It makes me crazy if my bed isn't made before lunch time! I am usually on it as soon as T gets up for the day! There have been a couple of weekend mornings when he was planning on getting back in bed after using the bathroom but, when he came out of the bathroom, the bed was already made. Oops.

I remember when I was a kid, I hated making my bed. I never understood why anyone would make their bed when it was just going to be unmade by the end of the day. Now I know why. It definitely makes the house look buttoned up and straight but it also keeps the sheets and comforter in place. I don't know. There is truly something about getting into a made bed...

As for dishes, this is another "thing" of mine (maybe in the category of household pet peeve). I hate dishes left in the sink overnight. I do not like getting up to crusty dishes piled up in the sink. Again, it raises my anxiety level. So, every night after dinner, I clean up which includes getting the dishes in the dishwasher, washing the pots and pans/knives, etc that don't go in the dishwasher and then starting the dishwasher before heading to bed. The next morning (every morning) I empty the dishwasher and put everything away (including the pots and pans, etc). This has become such a routine I was able to keep it up most of the time during the first trimester when I felt like a dog just crapped on my head.

Finally, I use antibacterial spray and wipe down all of the counter tops as well as the items that are sitting on the counters. This is probably a little overdone because I wipe everything down after dinner the night before as well. However, our cats eat their "snacks" (wet food) on the counter every morning while I am emptying the dishwasher so it doesn't hurt to give everything another wipe down.

I bought Lysol Antibacterial All Purpose Cleaner at my last grocery run because I had a coupon. We usually use the Windex All Purpose AntiBac but I thought I would give the other brand a try since I could use a coupon. I am not happy with it. I definitely prefer Windex. Especially since you can use the Windex on glass as well. But I will make due until this bottle is gone.

Then, when all of that is done, I water the front plants that aren't on irrigation. There are five bushes/plants that need to be watered. I need to add to this mix sweeping off the front landing. We have an exterminator that comes once a month to keep our bug population to a minimum and, especially lately, it has been a bug cemetary out the front door. I need to get a good broom and sweep the carcasses away.

What are YOUR favorite cleaning products?
My faves are:
*Werner Stainless Steel cleaner - it is a miracle worker on our appliances
*Good ol' Pledge
*Windex All Purpose Antibac

What chore do YOU refuse to do?
The only thing I refuse to do is litter boxes and that's only because the President of the Pregnancy Club might hunt me down and off me. So T does that for now...well, he sometimes does it...with a lot of "reminders" from me. Once I am able to do that again, I am happy to handle all of the chores.

But, things that T takes on that I really don't do...he handles the backyard which includes pulling weeds, fertilizing the plants, picking up Jack poop, etc. He also enjoys washing the cars which I really don't so much. So I guess he handles more of the outside chores (including trimming trees and such) and I handle the indoor chores (minus the litter boxes for a couple more months). It works out quite well.

If you have any tidbits, tips or cleaning product reviews, please let me know. I am always open to new ideas!!