Simple. Cheap. Delicious. What more could you ask for? Here's how I do it:
Put 1 cup of cooked brown rice into vitamix (a normal blender will probably work too, it just might not blend it as smooth; no worries though, just use a fine mesh strainer) and add about a cup of cold water. Add also 1/8c (2T) of sweetener, a little stevia if desired (I use about 1/8t), and 1/4t vanilla. Start on low, then move to high and blend till really smooth. While it's running, gradually add in about 3 more cups of cold water. Mix well, strain in a fine strainer, store in fridge. It will still have some rice bran in it; just make sure to shake or stir before using.
If you need a larger amount, make each batch separately until you have the desired amount.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Garden progress
(see my previous post for our first garden post of the season)
I cannot believe it ... I ordered seeds yesterday from Baker Creek and they came TODAY. Brianna brought them out to us while we were working on the garden.
Today the boys are working hard sifting the dirt for a new spot. Corban designated this area for tomatoes. He was very pleased with how well his rock-sifting contraption is working. I am working on cleaning out some of the old beds and getting one ready for a new spinach crop. I also am cleaning the garden area in general - mostly raking leaves so the boys can mulch them and put them into the compost pile.
Here are a few pictures that were taken today:
Ok, back to work!
I cannot believe it ... I ordered seeds yesterday from Baker Creek and they came TODAY. Brianna brought them out to us while we were working on the garden.
Today the boys are working hard sifting the dirt for a new spot. Corban designated this area for tomatoes. He was very pleased with how well his rock-sifting contraption is working. I am working on cleaning out some of the old beds and getting one ready for a new spinach crop. I also am cleaning the garden area in general - mostly raking leaves so the boys can mulch them and put them into the compost pile.
Here are a few pictures that were taken today:
Here are a few pictures of Corban's dirt/rock sifter. The boys scoop up dirt, dump it at the top, the rocks roll down and the dirt falls through.
They are mixing the layers of dirt - the rocky soil is on top I think and then under it is sandy soil. Soon it will all be mixed together, free of larger rocks (rocks bigger than 1/2" I think?).
Time out to look at the seeds.
Here are some pictures of the green houses Corban put up (with Tylor's help).
A view looking south towards our church.
A close up of a door latch - Corban found a bag of these things at the thrift store.
Kale. There was a lot more of it but we just picked some.
Ok, back to work!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Gardening Season
Well ... it's here again. Gardening season. If you are like my son though, garden work never ends.
A few months ago he was busy designing and building new green houses that cover the raised beds in the church parking lot, and the hard work paid off - it's january and we are still getting fresh kale, spinach and lettuce. The beets are not doing as good, but we hope they hang in there long enough to go to seed. The lettuce and spinach were planted from seeds he saved last year :) so no cost was involved there. The soil has been greatly enriched with the home-made compost. The bugs have been kept under control with his home-made bug spray (consisting of garlic and cayenne).
Over the last few weeks he has been pouring over the seed catalog and his various gardening books getting all sorts of ideas. He has made graphs and maps of all kinds and [somewhat?!] carefully calculated how many plants will go where. I ordered seeds today from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Corban has been reading "Seed To Seed" and knows a lot about saving seeds ... he has put some of his knowledge into practice but is hoping to do a lot more this year. We'll see. Another book he uses a lot is "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible". And one more favorite: "The Winter Harvest Handbook". Of course there are so many more though; I think he has checked out every book the two-county library has to offer on gardening!
You may not know that we live in a house right next to our church in a smaller town called Monett in SW MO. We have a few raised beds across the street from the church in the church parking lot. These have been a great blessing to us. Last year the boys turned the front and back landscaped areas of the house into beds for lettuce and spinach. Last year also the boys and some brothers planted 6 peach trees and 2 apple trees in the church yard. :) We are so thankful.
The boys work on several farms in the surrounding area, but there is one farm in particular that they are usually at every day for at least a quick stop. This farm, named Hemphill's after the former owner's last name, has a lot of land. A brother here at church (David) tilled up a nice big spot with a tractor for the boys to plant corn, squash, potatoes and beans. There are A LOT of rocks here in SW MO and the boys have been busy picking them. After the first round of picking, David tilled the land again and turned up more rocks. More picking, another tilling, and more picking. Now it's ready for the boys to use their tiller and also add in some compost.
This year I will try to be more diligent about posting garden information ... not just for readers but mostly for US to keep track of what we are doing.
That's all the time I have for now though.
A few months ago he was busy designing and building new green houses that cover the raised beds in the church parking lot, and the hard work paid off - it's january and we are still getting fresh kale, spinach and lettuce. The beets are not doing as good, but we hope they hang in there long enough to go to seed. The lettuce and spinach were planted from seeds he saved last year :) so no cost was involved there. The soil has been greatly enriched with the home-made compost. The bugs have been kept under control with his home-made bug spray (consisting of garlic and cayenne).
Hmmm, what kind of bug is it?
This concoction should take care of them! (and it did)
Fresh salad tonight! (this is about 1 1/2 years old, so maybe it's not so fresh?!)
Here is a recent picture of greens from our garden beds:
Over the last few weeks he has been pouring over the seed catalog and his various gardening books getting all sorts of ideas. He has made graphs and maps of all kinds and [somewhat?!] carefully calculated how many plants will go where. I ordered seeds today from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Corban has been reading "Seed To Seed" and knows a lot about saving seeds ... he has put some of his knowledge into practice but is hoping to do a lot more this year. We'll see. Another book he uses a lot is "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible". And one more favorite: "The Winter Harvest Handbook". Of course there are so many more though; I think he has checked out every book the two-county library has to offer on gardening!
You may not know that we live in a house right next to our church in a smaller town called Monett in SW MO. We have a few raised beds across the street from the church in the church parking lot. These have been a great blessing to us. Last year the boys turned the front and back landscaped areas of the house into beds for lettuce and spinach. Last year also the boys and some brothers planted 6 peach trees and 2 apple trees in the church yard. :) We are so thankful.
The boys work on several farms in the surrounding area, but there is one farm in particular that they are usually at every day for at least a quick stop. This farm, named Hemphill's after the former owner's last name, has a lot of land. A brother here at church (David) tilled up a nice big spot with a tractor for the boys to plant corn, squash, potatoes and beans. There are A LOT of rocks here in SW MO and the boys have been busy picking them. After the first round of picking, David tilled the land again and turned up more rocks. More picking, another tilling, and more picking. Now it's ready for the boys to use their tiller and also add in some compost.
Here is an older picture of the boys working at Hemphill's. It's SO BEAUTIFUL there! This picture was taken in early spring last year I think, so it's not really in full splendor yet.
And just for the fun of it, here is a recent picture of Corban:
This year I will try to be more diligent about posting garden information ... not just for readers but mostly for US to keep track of what we are doing.
That's all the time I have for now though.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Aldi
Do you have an Aldi in your area? If so, do you go there? If not, why?! We do not have an Aldi in our town, but we do have one to the east about an hour in Springfield, MO, one to the north about 45 minutes in Carthage, MO, one to the south about 1 hr and 15 min in Rogers, AR, and we used to have one about 45 minutes away in Joplin but the tornado took it down :( I pray they are rebuilding it? Well, I just checked on their website and it's completed!
I have to wait till I have business to attend to in one of those cities before I can go to Aldi, but I look forward to the times I get to go. Yesterday we went and got some good deals. Pineapples were 99 cents each (big, juicy pineapples!) so we got 21 of them. Sweet potatoes were on sale for .25 a pound a few weeks ago, but now they are .33 a pound (which is still a great price). When we got them last time, I 'wished' I had gotten more because these things are YUMMY! and good for you too. I got 42 pounds this time. Sunkist oranges were 4lbs for $1.50. I only got 24lbs of them because we still have several pounds left from our bulk food order. They wont last long though. Bananas are going for .44/lb right now, which is pathetic if you compare it to a few years ago, but really good if you compare it to right now (.59/lb where we are). During the summer Aldis had cherries for .59 or .69 a pound, I forget which. Either way, it was a great deal. I bought a lot of them. A lot. Blueberries too ... .99 for 12oz. Grapes have been going for less than .80/lb but they just stopped that deal recently. We like grapes. A lot.
We like fruit. We like Aldis. Aldis is a good way to support our fruit habit.
Of course they have other veggies too besides sweet potatoes. Broccoli was less than a dollar a pound yesterday, but during the summer they had that and cauliflower for less than fifty cents a pound. I stocked up; chopped them and froze them all. I don't care much for frozen broccoli or cauliflower, but I really appreciated the price, so I'll just deal with the frozen part. Carrots usually go for .50 a pound, but I've seen them for .25 a pound.
Here is a link to the Aldi store locator. Check it out!!!
And in case you are wondering "wow, what do they do with all that fruit?!" the answer is, we eat it! We eat what we can raw, but then as it starts to get too ripe we freeze it and have it in smoothies.
And sweet potatoes ... I wash them, throw them whole (skins on) into the crock pot and set the heat to high. I let them bake about 3 hours, maybe four depending on the size, and then eat. YUM! The children like to put homemade applesauce (unsweetened) and cinnamon on top. I just like mine plain, but the other stuff tastes good on it too.
p.s. don't forget to bring your own bags and a quarter for the cart deposit!
I have to wait till I have business to attend to in one of those cities before I can go to Aldi, but I look forward to the times I get to go. Yesterday we went and got some good deals. Pineapples were 99 cents each (big, juicy pineapples!) so we got 21 of them. Sweet potatoes were on sale for .25 a pound a few weeks ago, but now they are .33 a pound (which is still a great price). When we got them last time, I 'wished' I had gotten more because these things are YUMMY! and good for you too. I got 42 pounds this time. Sunkist oranges were 4lbs for $1.50. I only got 24lbs of them because we still have several pounds left from our bulk food order. They wont last long though. Bananas are going for .44/lb right now, which is pathetic if you compare it to a few years ago, but really good if you compare it to right now (.59/lb where we are). During the summer Aldis had cherries for .59 or .69 a pound, I forget which. Either way, it was a great deal. I bought a lot of them. A lot. Blueberries too ... .99 for 12oz. Grapes have been going for less than .80/lb but they just stopped that deal recently. We like grapes. A lot.
We like fruit. We like Aldis. Aldis is a good way to support our fruit habit.
Of course they have other veggies too besides sweet potatoes. Broccoli was less than a dollar a pound yesterday, but during the summer they had that and cauliflower for less than fifty cents a pound. I stocked up; chopped them and froze them all. I don't care much for frozen broccoli or cauliflower, but I really appreciated the price, so I'll just deal with the frozen part. Carrots usually go for .50 a pound, but I've seen them for .25 a pound.
Here is a link to the Aldi store locator. Check it out!!!
And in case you are wondering "wow, what do they do with all that fruit?!" the answer is, we eat it! We eat what we can raw, but then as it starts to get too ripe we freeze it and have it in smoothies.
And sweet potatoes ... I wash them, throw them whole (skins on) into the crock pot and set the heat to high. I let them bake about 3 hours, maybe four depending on the size, and then eat. YUM! The children like to put homemade applesauce (unsweetened) and cinnamon on top. I just like mine plain, but the other stuff tastes good on it too.
p.s. don't forget to bring your own bags and a quarter for the cart deposit!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Apple/Pear Sauce Pie or Butter & Applesauce pie
The other day we picked a whole lot of pears for free :) We are so thankful for them. Today Brianna and I processed one sack of them ... we turned them into pear butter and just for the fun of it, I made up a pear butter or pear sauce pie. It seems to have turned out real well ... we'll do the taste test later after supper.
Nearly any kind of fruit similar to apples or pears can be used to make fruit butter. We've used apples, pears, peaches, nectarines and probably more with great success. The seasonings are nearly the same and of course adjusted to your taste. I prefer a mixture of spices (mostly cinnamon with a little nutmeg, ginger and cloves) as well as some kind of sweetener (usually a mixture of a little bit of honey or molasses or brown sugar and some stevia) and some kind of extract flavoring (vanilla, orange &/or maple work well). A little lemon juice can be added too.
Cut and core the fruit. I do NOT like to go through all the work of pealing, so I leave the peals on. Put the fruit in a large kettle and add about a cup of water. Cover & simmer till soft (lots of liquid will form). Batch process in a blender to make it smooth. You can stop here, put it in quart jars, process it for 20 minutes and call it apple or pear sauce, or you can move on to the next step and call it apple or pear butter. Pour the batches of blended sauce into a large kettle and add seasonings. Simmer UNCOVERED for several hours till it cooks down and becomes nice and smooth. Stir frequently to prevent burning (4 or more times an hour should do it). Taste it after a few hours and adjust seasonings if needed. When you think it's done, dip out a spoonful and let it plop down on a cool plate ... it should kind of look like a smooth goopy blob ... I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?! Now is a good time to fill your water bath pot and set it to boil. Next you put your fruit butter into pint jars, add the lid and band. Once the water bath pot is boiling, add the jars and bring to a boil again. Cook at a full boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars, let cool.
Ok, so while we were waiting for the apple/pear butter to cook down, I decided to make an apple/pear sauce / butter pie. We were already planning to make two sweet potato pies but then found out we only had enough sweet potatoes for one pie ... that's where the thought of making the pear sauce pie came in. Here is what I put in it:
- 2 1/2c of apple/pear sauce or butter
- 3 eggs
- a little molasses (the fruit butter was sweet enough already, so I added a few tablespoons for flavor)
- 1/4c melted butter
- 1t vanilla
- 1T lemon juice
- 2T flour
Mix all together, pour into an unbaked shell, cook at 350 for an hour or so. Here is a picture ... I don't think the picture turned out well, but the pie sure looks and smells good.
Nearly any kind of fruit similar to apples or pears can be used to make fruit butter. We've used apples, pears, peaches, nectarines and probably more with great success. The seasonings are nearly the same and of course adjusted to your taste. I prefer a mixture of spices (mostly cinnamon with a little nutmeg, ginger and cloves) as well as some kind of sweetener (usually a mixture of a little bit of honey or molasses or brown sugar and some stevia) and some kind of extract flavoring (vanilla, orange &/or maple work well). A little lemon juice can be added too.
Cut and core the fruit. I do NOT like to go through all the work of pealing, so I leave the peals on. Put the fruit in a large kettle and add about a cup of water. Cover & simmer till soft (lots of liquid will form). Batch process in a blender to make it smooth. You can stop here, put it in quart jars, process it for 20 minutes and call it apple or pear sauce, or you can move on to the next step and call it apple or pear butter. Pour the batches of blended sauce into a large kettle and add seasonings. Simmer UNCOVERED for several hours till it cooks down and becomes nice and smooth. Stir frequently to prevent burning (4 or more times an hour should do it). Taste it after a few hours and adjust seasonings if needed. When you think it's done, dip out a spoonful and let it plop down on a cool plate ... it should kind of look like a smooth goopy blob ... I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?! Now is a good time to fill your water bath pot and set it to boil. Next you put your fruit butter into pint jars, add the lid and band. Once the water bath pot is boiling, add the jars and bring to a boil again. Cook at a full boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars, let cool.
Ok, so while we were waiting for the apple/pear butter to cook down, I decided to make an apple/pear sauce / butter pie. We were already planning to make two sweet potato pies but then found out we only had enough sweet potatoes for one pie ... that's where the thought of making the pear sauce pie came in. Here is what I put in it:
- 2 1/2c of apple/pear sauce or butter
- 3 eggs
- a little molasses (the fruit butter was sweet enough already, so I added a few tablespoons for flavor)
- 1/4c melted butter
- 1t vanilla
- 1T lemon juice
- 2T flour
Mix all together, pour into an unbaked shell, cook at 350 for an hour or so. Here is a picture ... I don't think the picture turned out well, but the pie sure looks and smells good.
Monday, October 10, 2011
How Low Can You Go?
I challenge everyone to ask yourself "how low can I go?" Here are a few examples of what I mean:
- How low can I turn my heat down? (put on more clothes ... you'd be surprised how low you can turn your heat down)
- What is the smallest amount of [toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.] that I can use and still feel like it is cleaning properly?
- How much expensive food do I really need? Can I stick to cheaper, more healthier options like rice and beans? [unless it's home raised, meat and dairy products can get very expensive]
- Do I have to have air conditioning? (most in the world do not, and they live in some really hot places)
- Do I have to have hot water in my house? (most in the world do not ... and they seem to get by)
- (if you do have hot water) Do I have to wash my clothes in hot or warm water, or will cold work? Before you use the hot water, ask yourself if you could use warm or cold water instead.
- Do I have to use my dryer, or can I hang clothes outside?
- Do I have to have a closet full of clothes, or can I get by on only a few options?
- Do I have to have convenience foods, or can I make things from scratch at a much lower cost?
- Do we have to go out to eat when we are 'out and about' and hungry? Why not just stop at the grocery store and grab some yummy fruit? It will be cheaper and much healthier.
- Do we have to take vacations? Why not just find something free or nearly free to do that is near by?
These are just a few examples. The list could go on and on. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR MONEY. If you are a professing follower of the Lord, ask yourself another question, "Do I have to spend this money on ______ or would it be better spent giving it to someone who is in need?" Every dollar spent selfishly on YOU that could have been used to help someone else out is not pleasing to the Lord.
- How low can I turn my heat down? (put on more clothes ... you'd be surprised how low you can turn your heat down)
- What is the smallest amount of [toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.] that I can use and still feel like it is cleaning properly?
- How much expensive food do I really need? Can I stick to cheaper, more healthier options like rice and beans? [unless it's home raised, meat and dairy products can get very expensive]
- Do I have to have air conditioning? (most in the world do not, and they live in some really hot places)
- Do I have to have hot water in my house? (most in the world do not ... and they seem to get by)
- (if you do have hot water) Do I have to wash my clothes in hot or warm water, or will cold work? Before you use the hot water, ask yourself if you could use warm or cold water instead.
- Do I have to use my dryer, or can I hang clothes outside?
- Do I have to have a closet full of clothes, or can I get by on only a few options?
- Do I have to have convenience foods, or can I make things from scratch at a much lower cost?
- Do we have to go out to eat when we are 'out and about' and hungry? Why not just stop at the grocery store and grab some yummy fruit? It will be cheaper and much healthier.
- Do we have to take vacations? Why not just find something free or nearly free to do that is near by?
These are just a few examples. The list could go on and on. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR MONEY. If you are a professing follower of the Lord, ask yourself another question, "Do I have to spend this money on ______ or would it be better spent giving it to someone who is in need?" Every dollar spent selfishly on YOU that could have been used to help someone else out is not pleasing to the Lord.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
On chores and schedules.
I have always been good at making schedules, even designing spreadsheets, charts and so on, but never good at following through with them. I’d start off with the best intentions, go at it for a while, and then for some reason, at some point things would just slip away. We’d get busy, or something pressing would come up or whatever. There was always something that came in the way.
Not too long ago I devised a cleaning schedule that we all really like and honestly it’s the best one I’ve ever done. My health has had its ups and downs here lately and it’s been a blessing to have this routine in place so things were not being too neglected or overlooked completely when I’m not feeling up to par. It’s been a blessing … so I thought to share it with the blogging world with the hopes of helping others as well.
It all started when I saw some 3x5 chore cards on a sister’s refrigerator … that gave me the idea to try something similar by suited to fit our family. I have one 3x5 card for each day and one 3x5 card for a few things that must be done daily. These cards can have jobs added on to them as things come to mind. There are only a few things I assign to specific people, other than that, we all just pitch in and do what we can. The cards are on the side of the fridge and we try to do the cleaning for the day in the morning to be sure it gets done. If I had younger children I might rotate them through each different job or assign jobs according to ability … but … my children are all nearly adults now so we just pitch in and do all we can each day and things get done.
This first part is written on each day:
- Sweep all public areas
- Keep all rooms picked up
- Weed garden for ~15 minutes each
This next part is unique for each day:
MONDAY:
- Wipe baseboards, tops of windows and doors, and ceiling fans
(while wiping baseboards, the floors around the perimeter of each room get wiped as well; this does a much better job than the mop)
- Dust
- Clean the church
TUESDAY:
- Clean backsplash and cabinet faces in kitchen
- Clean trash can
- Clean refrigerator inside and out (including the top)
WEDNESDAY:
- Organize kitchen cabinets and shelves
- Wipe cabinets and shelves
- Dining room chairs
THURSDAY:
- Organize ALL shelves in the house
- Organize hallway closets
FRIDAY:
- Mop
- Organize living room closet
- Clean the Brother’s bathrooms
SATURDAY:
- Yard work (usually the boy’s job)
- Garage and breezeway (usually the boy’s job)
- Clean church
- Clean tire shop
SUNDAY:
- Organize bedroom closet
- Sweep bedroom (under beds too) and mop as needed
(oftentimes these jobs get done on Saturday)
The other cards we have are one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen and one for the church. These cards break down more specifically what is expected each day and week in these areas. For instance, I expect the bathroom to be swept daily and the surfaces wiped real quick. This could be as simple as taking a piece of toilet paper and quick running it around the rim of the toilet. Brianna has this job and she keeps a cleaning rag in the bathroom to wipe off the sink and uses t.p. to wipe the rim of the toilet. I expect everything in the bathroom to be scrubbed thoroughly once a week.
Where’s the laundry on my list? Well … we do that as needed. I am very careful to keep up on laundry and found it impossible to have a set day or days to do it. I usually go through the whole house and collect all the towels on Friday or Saturday and wash them all together. On Monday I usually have someone gather all the kitchen and cleaning towels from the house and the church and wash them all together. A lot of cleaning towels are usually used each Sunday evening during fellowship time.
Sometimes we skip things … like wiping the baseboards for instance. No one will notice if we skip a week of wiping the baseboards, but they will notice if we skip one day of not sweeping. Sometimes I do things out of order - like the Brother’s bathrooms. If they happen to be around, I will not clean their bathrooms. I wait till they are gone … but just seeing it there on the card reminds me that I must do it that day or soon before or after. If these items are all kept up with regularly, then the time it takes to do them is minimal. A good example: If you hardly ever clean the tops of your windows and doorways, dust will build up and really cake on there and it will take you quite a while to get them clean, however if you do them every week or every other week, all it takes is a quick swipe of a cloth and they are done. If you have a tall child, this is a great job for them I used to strain and have to drag a chair around with me as I went through the house doing this job … and then one day I realized that my oldest son had really sprouted up and all he had to do was simply raise up his arm and his hand was right there at the tops of the doors and windows. This has generally been his job ever since. I’ll include a list of often neglected or overlooked jobs at the end of this post.
I was thinking how there are some jobs that do not need to be done weekly. A few days ago I washed all the curtains in the house – this seems to be a job that might only need to be done 2 or three times a year. So on the day I washed the curtains, I was thinking of putting the ‘once in a while’ stuff on the BACK of the card. I could put “Curtains: Aug. 15th and Feb. 15th” or something like that.
OFTEN NEGLECTED OR OVERLOOKED JOBS:
- The trim on the tops of windows and doors
- Baseboards
- Bathroom fixtures such as behind the toilet, under the sink and the shower head. These items are often left to collect years of dust!
- Ceiling fans and other fans
- Window sills (we leave ours open all summer long and often there is quite the collection of flies if we neglect to clean them out!)
- Cobwebs … these can collect quickly in corners and in various areas on the ceilings and fixtures. A quick run through the house with a broom will take care of them.
- Under the beds and other furniture
- Bathroom and kitchen faucets … did you know they can look good as new with a little bit of scrubbing? Comet and a toothbrush work well for this.
- The base of the toilet – you know … where it’s bolted down to the ground? I like to use toilet paper for this, that way I can just throw it in the toilet and flush it down when I am done.
- The top of the fridge
I’m sure there are more, but that’s what I came up with in a hurry. Maybe you have some ideas to add?
Not too long ago I devised a cleaning schedule that we all really like and honestly it’s the best one I’ve ever done. My health has had its ups and downs here lately and it’s been a blessing to have this routine in place so things were not being too neglected or overlooked completely when I’m not feeling up to par. It’s been a blessing … so I thought to share it with the blogging world with the hopes of helping others as well.
It all started when I saw some 3x5 chore cards on a sister’s refrigerator … that gave me the idea to try something similar by suited to fit our family. I have one 3x5 card for each day and one 3x5 card for a few things that must be done daily. These cards can have jobs added on to them as things come to mind. There are only a few things I assign to specific people, other than that, we all just pitch in and do what we can. The cards are on the side of the fridge and we try to do the cleaning for the day in the morning to be sure it gets done. If I had younger children I might rotate them through each different job or assign jobs according to ability … but … my children are all nearly adults now so we just pitch in and do all we can each day and things get done.
This first part is written on each day:
- Sweep all public areas
- Keep all rooms picked up
- Weed garden for ~15 minutes each
This next part is unique for each day:
MONDAY:
- Wipe baseboards, tops of windows and doors, and ceiling fans
(while wiping baseboards, the floors around the perimeter of each room get wiped as well; this does a much better job than the mop)
- Dust
- Clean the church
TUESDAY:
- Clean backsplash and cabinet faces in kitchen
- Clean trash can
- Clean refrigerator inside and out (including the top)
WEDNESDAY:
- Organize kitchen cabinets and shelves
- Wipe cabinets and shelves
- Dining room chairs
THURSDAY:
- Organize ALL shelves in the house
- Organize hallway closets
FRIDAY:
- Mop
- Organize living room closet
- Clean the Brother’s bathrooms
SATURDAY:
- Yard work (usually the boy’s job)
- Garage and breezeway (usually the boy’s job)
- Clean church
- Clean tire shop
SUNDAY:
- Organize bedroom closet
- Sweep bedroom (under beds too) and mop as needed
(oftentimes these jobs get done on Saturday)
The other cards we have are one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen and one for the church. These cards break down more specifically what is expected each day and week in these areas. For instance, I expect the bathroom to be swept daily and the surfaces wiped real quick. This could be as simple as taking a piece of toilet paper and quick running it around the rim of the toilet. Brianna has this job and she keeps a cleaning rag in the bathroom to wipe off the sink and uses t.p. to wipe the rim of the toilet. I expect everything in the bathroom to be scrubbed thoroughly once a week.
Where’s the laundry on my list? Well … we do that as needed. I am very careful to keep up on laundry and found it impossible to have a set day or days to do it. I usually go through the whole house and collect all the towels on Friday or Saturday and wash them all together. On Monday I usually have someone gather all the kitchen and cleaning towels from the house and the church and wash them all together. A lot of cleaning towels are usually used each Sunday evening during fellowship time.
Sometimes we skip things … like wiping the baseboards for instance. No one will notice if we skip a week of wiping the baseboards, but they will notice if we skip one day of not sweeping. Sometimes I do things out of order - like the Brother’s bathrooms. If they happen to be around, I will not clean their bathrooms. I wait till they are gone … but just seeing it there on the card reminds me that I must do it that day or soon before or after. If these items are all kept up with regularly, then the time it takes to do them is minimal. A good example: If you hardly ever clean the tops of your windows and doorways, dust will build up and really cake on there and it will take you quite a while to get them clean, however if you do them every week or every other week, all it takes is a quick swipe of a cloth and they are done. If you have a tall child, this is a great job for them I used to strain and have to drag a chair around with me as I went through the house doing this job … and then one day I realized that my oldest son had really sprouted up and all he had to do was simply raise up his arm and his hand was right there at the tops of the doors and windows. This has generally been his job ever since. I’ll include a list of often neglected or overlooked jobs at the end of this post.
I was thinking how there are some jobs that do not need to be done weekly. A few days ago I washed all the curtains in the house – this seems to be a job that might only need to be done 2 or three times a year. So on the day I washed the curtains, I was thinking of putting the ‘once in a while’ stuff on the BACK of the card. I could put “Curtains: Aug. 15th and Feb. 15th” or something like that.
OFTEN NEGLECTED OR OVERLOOKED JOBS:
- The trim on the tops of windows and doors
- Baseboards
- Bathroom fixtures such as behind the toilet, under the sink and the shower head. These items are often left to collect years of dust!
- Ceiling fans and other fans
- Window sills (we leave ours open all summer long and often there is quite the collection of flies if we neglect to clean them out!)
- Cobwebs … these can collect quickly in corners and in various areas on the ceilings and fixtures. A quick run through the house with a broom will take care of them.
- Under the beds and other furniture
- Bathroom and kitchen faucets … did you know they can look good as new with a little bit of scrubbing? Comet and a toothbrush work well for this.
- The base of the toilet – you know … where it’s bolted down to the ground? I like to use toilet paper for this, that way I can just throw it in the toilet and flush it down when I am done.
- The top of the fridge
I’m sure there are more, but that’s what I came up with in a hurry. Maybe you have some ideas to add?
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