Figured It Out

Most people jump on the Resolution bandwagon for January 1st. I know, from plenty of experience, that my New Year’s decisions may last a few months at best. But there have been a few that have worked.

Generally, first I need to recognize I would be better off doing something that could become a healthier routine. Deciding I need to lose weight as a vague concept has not worked. The decision HAS to be more reachable than that for me.

About 20 years ago, for example, in the middle of kids-in-elementary-school-and-a-partner-whose-standard-of-what-was-acceptable-as-clean-was-lower-than-mine I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the state of my kitchen. Counters were cluttered.  Stuff in drawers and cabinets were jumbled. 

So that year I spent 10 more minutes in the after supper clean-up. I straightened ONE drawer one day and wiped it clean the next. Small steps. I could fit them in.

By the end of the year it was a better habit. Not full time and not constant, but definitely something that I was able to change.

So today, as my husband and I spent about an hour cleaning, it occurred to me that I am starting a real business this year where I will be in a commercial kitchen preparing food for other people to buy and eat. That kitchen will HAVE to be kept very clean and sanitary. 

And it is time to be better at home. All the time. Let’s see how I do.

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Not a Cleaning Diva

My mom had us clean house every Friday afternoon. No exceptions. No time off for early cleaning permitted. The house MUST be clean for Shabbat. 

Before they left for college, my older sisters and I generally divided up the chores the same way weekly. I dusted (which meant EVERYTHING came off every shelf and we had a LOT of books and things we collected on all our travels) and cleaned the two bathrooms. One sister vacuumed the upstairs, the other vacuumed the downstairs. I don’t remember us having kitchen cleaning chores….probably because Mom had us clean it every day.

My sisters got into the cleaning habit. I didn’t. Oh, I keep my house clean enough, picked up enough. No one is going to get ill joining us for dinner or anything. But pristine?  Eat off the floor? Forget about that!

So, for some reason this morning, I decided to clean the refrigerator. Got the music going (if I can complete the job in one CD I win.) First the freezer. Threw out some ice-encrusted freezer burned somethings. Started a huge pot of chicken pieces simmering to make stock. Actually discovered some mostly eaten homemade chocolate ice cream, too old to keep. If nothing else made me sad at the waste, that did.

The frig itself got some order overhaul as well. Salad dressings are now together. Beverages ditto. Produce in the drawers and not just indiscriminately tossed on the other shelves. 

My sisters better come visit RIGHT NOW because the frig won’t stay looking like this after a few hours!