I FINALLY ADMIT IT!

willow

Tue, Mar 11 2008, 12:05 pm

Fox wrote:

I would make this book a requirement. It could easily be used it as the starting point to teach chemistry, biology, certain math skills, and a host of other subjects. And no one could kvetch, "When am I ever going to need this?"

I could not agree more. I always wished that my H. School would have taught more "feminine" subjects (cleaning, cooking, health, the importance of a WOMANS role...) but thats for another debate I am sure Wink

willow

Tue, Mar 11 2008, 12:05 pm

Fox wrote:

This book is one of the few resources I've seen that doesn't minimize the hard work, training, and intelligence that is really required to keep a home functioning on the physical level.

"

When I read that, a feeling of serenity spread from my head and down my body. Thank you for that.

Ima'la

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 12:41 am

Once a week, but I have 3 toilets for the 4 toilet-trained members of the family. And if one gets dirty earlier, I usually let it wait. embarrassed

But it only takes a minute or two, so if it bothers you more, just do it whenever it gets dirty. You don't have to do a full job every time.

Quote:

Wow ima'la you seem to be really good at it.
Would you like to come clean my toilet when your done with yours.
I pay $10 an hour and I give hot lunches too.

The hot lunch sounds tempting, but I'm actually pretty squeamish about other people's toilets!

MotherOf4

Sun, Jun 15 2008, 11:09 am

Laundry tips anyone?
Although I have been married for nearly eight years I'm embarrassed to admit that when it comes to laundry, I really don't know what I'm doing. My (European) washing machine has all kind of settings that I have no idea what they are for (the instruction manual does little to help).
In general, I find Israeli appliances to be rather complicated with numerous confusing buttons.

queen

Sun, Jun 15 2008, 8:48 pm

Wipes are great. Use it to clean dirty windows, glass table tops, and mirrors.
and best of all they are disposable!

When cleaning a room- start in one corner and work your way around until you're back at where you started. EVERYTHING has to be put away in the right spot- no picking up of an item just to dump in another place.

When you have time, declutter!!! Throw things out that are broken or you don't use. You'll have less mess/stuff to clean up and your house will be neater. Throw out whatever you can!!!!

flowerpower

Sun, Jun 15 2008, 10:07 pm

murphy-parquet floors or other wooden floors

mr clean-linolium(sp?) and all other floors including bathroom

windex-mirrors and windows

comet-sinks and bathtubs

shmata with mr clean-woodworks, windowsills...

soft scrub-washing dirty spots on doors, walls, floors before washing that area

dishwashing soap-dishes and counters

Motek

Tue, Jun 17 2008, 10:12 am

pacifier wrote:

I found that the big difference b/w my cleaning and my ceaning lady's cleaning is the fact that she won't stop cleaning until it's clean, it'll take her at least one hour to cleant the kitchen and its a small one!!!! I don't have that time!!!

Some cleaning ladies will keep on cleaning the same area endlessly ("sorcerer's apprentice") unless you tell them to MOVE ON!

I find that cleaning ladies do a great job though they need supervision unless they're well-trained by some other frum lady! They are used to/willing to work very hard for hours. I'm sure I can do as good a job as them but there's no way I'm putting in that kind of effort.

anonmommy

Tue, Jun 17 2008, 1:36 pm

regarding laundry I like to separate it into a few piles-whites, darks, colors, towels,linens, light delicates and dark delicates. I make sure to spray any stains as soon as they happen, if not I do it then and spray a few times. in israel oxygen spray is the best. in america shout works well too. then load the machine pour in a generous amount of detergent, put in the fabric softener and wash. the whites can be done hot. the darks I do a warm wash,cool rinse, the colors warm/warm and the delicates all cold. linens and towels I do warm/warm. good luck!

RedRuby

Tue, Jun 17 2008, 1:45 pm

Thanks for a very helpful thread...

One practical thing that helps me very much, is having a box of disposable gloves in the house. It's so much easier to tackle something dirty/messy/dusty if you have your hands covered.

An absolute necessity for cleaning bathrooms, but even makes dusting/mopping/wiping down surfaces less of a chore.

ruth

Thu, Sep 18 2008, 3:02 am

Housecleaning is a LEARNED SKILL. Unfortunately, its not taught anymore.

We were sleep over guests at someone home for Shabbat. I offere to take their girls out on Sunday for an outing. The baalat habayit told me the younger girls could go but her oldest stays with her on Sundays "to learn how to clean up after Shabbat." she specifically said "to learn how..." not "to help me."

Personally, I don't understand why home-ec isnt' taught in our frum day-schools. Forget the Algebra and Lit (and btw, I taught History & Lit at BY). I've seen the Cheryl Mendelsohn book. I respect the her for the book. I really liked the Intro best though. She tells her personal story about how she deviated from her law career to put this book together. Personally, though I like the "hand-holding" style of FLYLady. But as said previously, her book is mostly about creating and maintaing a routine and not a how-to guide.

A friend of mine took it upon herself to educate herself about this -- just like you are doing. She took out books from the library and I found a video on how to clean by a woman who runs a housecleaning service. My friend especially loved the book she got by an owner of a janitorial service. I don't know the titles -- but try getting help from the library. Don't be shy about this your not asking for something immoral.

Its great that you are asking (and its great that others are responding) for help, but don't be ashamed. I belong to the Yahoo group, JewishFlybabies (which is a frum alternative to FlyLady.)

mom21n2

Thu, Sep 18 2008, 10:53 am

It's true. You really do need to actually learn how to do this stuff to do it well. My Mom once taught me step by step how to clean the bathroom and now -- when I do it -- the result is sparkling clean. But, she didn't really teach me all the other stuff, so there is something missing. Fortunately, my DH learned how to clean clothes I think from his Mom, and so if I have anything with spots, I just hand it to him and, presto, very clean. Floors for me are the most difficult. I sweep, but it just seems like I am pushing the dirt around. The same thing when I mop. My most recent attempt to solve this problem was my purchase of a floor steamer. It does a better job than swiffer of getting off the schmutz. It still has to be done quite often though. My Dad says I should just wait about 18 years until I expect to be able to walk around the house without stepping in some type of food. Other than the steamer, I think the most effective other option is gloves, hands and knees.

pinkbubbles

Thu, Sep 18 2008, 1:10 pm

You know what? I remember finding it difficult getting certain parts of my house clean so I would look up a lot of stuff online like 'how to manage dust' or 'how to get rid of rust on metal' and I found loads of info, even video tutorials!! The next thing I did was hang out in the cleaning aisle of my supermarket and look at all the stuff they had and figured out what I basically needed. There were some other things I added to my 'cleaning ammunition suppliers' later on, like a mold/grot remover.
Basics for me include some kind of antibacterial spray for kitchen, bathroom cleanser, dish soap, bleach spray or gel (don't like the big bottles or liquid bleach), toilet gel, floor cleaner, remove carpet stains, and an oven cleaner. I think thats most of it..

I also like to look up natural cleaning solutions online (like using vinegar or baking soda)

I love baby wipes for small cleanups as well Smile

I keep a roll of paper towel and cleaning spray out on the kitchen counter all the time so its easy for me to grab and do a quick cleanup, without giving me an excuse to be lazy about it.

What else.. I find it easy when I do certain things on certain days - like the laundry, dusting, mirrors, vacuming, bathrooms, etc... Kitchen/dishes is every day, as well as neatening the whole house (very basic) before I go to sleep.

The bathtubs I like to bleach every 2 weeks or so? Depends really.

I also clean the garbage at least cans once a month, and the fridge I just wipe down whenever theres a spill or I clean it when I see dirt starting to build up anywhere.