What is the biggest pet peeve you have when it comes to the housekeeping habits of others? Because let’s face it. There is probably something that others in our home do that we wish they wouldn’t do. For instance…I wish my family wouldn’t leave the empty cardboard tube on the paper towel holder. And instead they would throw it out and put a new roll on. I wish my family wouldn’t keep stuffing garbage into the can, when it is clearly starting to fall out, and instead see it needs to be taken out. I wish I wouldn’t go into … Continue reading →

Are you a good housekeeper? What would others in your home say about that? I would guess it’s not something most of us think about too much. We have way too many other important responsibilities in life to give much thought to it. But for whatever reason, one day I decided to ask my family if they thought I was. Believe it or not, I had to explain to my teens what a housekeeper was. They had no idea what I was talking about. “What’s a housekeeper?” they asked. So I had to rephrase the question. “What kind of a … Continue reading →

If you are a fan of the “Jungle Book,” you might be familiar with the tune “The Bare Necessities.” It is a cute little ditty with some lessons about life. It starts off this way: “Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities…” What exactly are the bare necessities of life? They are the things you need at the most basic level. If it helps, here is another line from the song: “And don’t spend your time lookin’ around, for something you want that can’t be found, when you find out you can live without it, and go along … Continue reading →

Guess what the first week of August is? It is “National Simplify Your Life Week.” How many of us could use some of that? Although this could apply to a variety of areas in our lives, I can’t help but think of how we could simplify things in our home. Everything from the clutter we collect to the chores that overwhelm us. I think sometimes we make things in life, including the keeping of our home, to be so much more complicated than is necessary. We can’t find things yet we do nothing about the fact that our closets are … Continue reading →

Are you a busy mom? I know…that’s an oxymoron. What mom isn’t busy? Just thinking about this upcoming week has my head spinning. A full workload, preparing paperwork and other documents for my son’s leave for basic training, finishing touches on a creative writing class I will be teaching for a week, professional pictures being taken, a going away party for my son, appointment with the recruiter and well, you get the picture. Although the details are probably different, I would guess you have a lengthy list as well. So when we have days, weeks or even months where it … Continue reading →

I want out of the kitchen, the only problem is I love to eat. Also, there’s that whole starving to death thing if you don’t eat. Living in Utah there are so many wonderful things to see and do outdoors, I just need to figure out how to get out there. Making dinner can be the biggest time consumer of my evening. If I forgot to thaw something or I have nothing quick on hand, I just pick up the phone, pizza, sandwiches, or Chinese, all on speed dial. This is bad for both my wallet and my waist. There … Continue reading →

In my original blog, which started this “series,” I looked at defining the word housekeeping and introduced the concept of being the manager of your home. I then went into the three main tasks of a manager…planning, coordinating and organizing. Now we are going to look at the second definition to housekeeping, which is “the routine tasks that must be done in order for a system to function or to function efficiently.” In this blog we will focus on the importance of a routine and in my next blog we will focus on “functioning efficiently” in the home. The word … Continue reading →

Sabrina Soto is the queen of decluttering. Seriously, every time I watch the HGTV star work her magic on “Get It Sold” or “Real Estate Intervention,” I want to purge my home of all its contents, save for the couch, the beds and a tiny desk and chair set. According to Soto, clutter is a bad thing. If you’ve ever seen the TLC show “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” then you know she’s got a point. Excessive TV references aside, experts say clutter is a sign of bad habits: lack of organization, overspending, and attachment issues, just to name a few. Fortunately, … Continue reading →