Week one, day two

I've decided that maybe blogging frequently about this new method of staying productive will help me be successful. It will help me figure out what about my system works and what needs tweaking. Right now I am finding that one aspect of my "plan" is definitely going to help me stick to it.

This one thing that I think will help me a lot is that I don't have a set task for every single morning. I purposely left half of my mornings open so that we would have time for walks, playdates, appointments, etc. Well, it will also help for when I have an off night, like tonight. Let me explain...

Today during McKaleigh's nap, her diaper leaked. I stripped the bed to wash everything. Had the mattress cover in the dryer and the sheets in the wash and then totally forgot about it! Bedtime rolls around and then I remember... CRAP! So bedtime gets delayed by almost two hours because they need to be dried on low heat and it takes for-ev-er. Also, today I vacuumed half of the house, and since it's been awhile, I moved all of the furniture. As a result of this, my back is killing me! So now there are dishes on the counter, McKaleigh's toys are everywhere, and I just don't think I can bear to be on my feet anymore than is necessary.

But it's okay, really it is. The reason this system will work is that I'm allowed to have an off night. Tomorrow morning I will clear all the dishes and tidy up the play area. I won't let this one slip up ruin everything, because really it doesn't have to. I've done so great in just these two days, and not in the way I usually do. Normally I have a few days where I get so much stuff done and then I'm just so exhausted and get bored with it. I haven't gotten all that much done, just regular stuff, and only what I have scheduled to do. I think that makes such a big difference. I am making my expectations much more reasonable. Now I will end this post with a cleaning tip:).

Carpet spot/stain removal: This is for stains that have been around for awhile, not sure what to do when a stain is happening.

-First, I vacuumed over the area(necessary around here with all the dog hair.)

-Second, I sprayed with a solution of one part water and one part white distilled vinegar, then went and did some other stuff and let it set.

-Third, I scrubbed with a brush and a solution of warm water and Dr B's (I think the real key here is using a scrub brush and not trying to use a rag or sponge.)

-Then I just let it dry! I had these weird dark dirt spots in the middle of my living room that wouldn't come up from vacuuming alone, and then also had some bigger spots in the hallway from where the chihuahua likes to pee. These steps totally removed the stains! I'm going to be doing this on all of the spots in my carpet from now on:).