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For the wood floors I recommend one of those silly little swiffers. They really should make a larger size. They pick up dust bunnies, dog/cat hair and small "dirt" in one swipe. Dirt from the yard is another thing, but it sounds like you are getting that taken care of.
I have just about everything Swiffer makes. I have no problem using them but I lose my breath really fast so it's very slow going for me anymore. I also have an indoor/outdoor vacuum I just bought to replace my ten year old one and it works great for getting up most of the dust. Then I clean them with a damp mop that gets the rest. THEN I get to apply the 'shine', if needed, but that's only a once a month thing. Still, it takes three 'swipes' to clean each room and my rooms are fairly big. So I am getting someone else to take care of those. AND take care of the constant dust!
Are you arguing that being retired or disabled means persons should be held to a different standard when choosing to hire household help?
If so I respectfully disagree. IMO no one should ever have to justify their choice. Legions of retired and disabled persons do their own house cleaning, legions of retired and disabled persons hire it out. It's not a right/wrong issue.
Actually I didn't think I was arguing. Where do you think I should have put this?
I put it here because I've been debating this for some time & believe I'd shared that in this forum. Yes, anyone can hire help. I was debating because I wanted to do my own cleaning but it finally got to be too much.
I've debated for months whether I needed some help but realized I would not open my door far when neighbors knocked. I was so embarrassed by the disorganization.
Then a friend of mine, whose mother does cleaning/organizing for a living needed a client & I said to myself, why not?
Today was our first day & although from here on out it will be less time, (today was $60 for three hours) she really made my dining area look great. Plus, we got along really well so it was a win/win.
We'll tackle the kitchen next week but I did tell her I couldn't afford three hours so we'll work with what I can afford. The kitchen will be a challenge as the cupboards are really designed wrong, I can't bend so that limits where I can place things and, since I love to cook, I have gadgets. Has been really difficult to cook here.
To top it off, my friend, who is her daughter, is both of our favorite person. So we started out with good attitudes, she knew my limitations & it was good for both of us.
If you have grown children who never know exactly what to get you for your birthday- now is the time to drop some hints! Let them know you found someone you really like. (And find out if she sells "gift certificates" that they can buy for X number of hours of cleaning.)
Mary, my son just died. That's in the grief section.
Robyn, I'm renting in a senior building so can do nothing about the cupboards, although my helper may come up with some solutions. I did buy some shelving that fits in my closet & I do use that for canned goods, pasta, etc. I also have a swifter and other handy cleaning tools and reaching tools.
There are some kitchen things I should probably get rid of. I love to cook so don't like parting with things. I have to get over that!
This place is so small and whoever designed some of these things should be strung up, or at least be made to cook here, lol.
But, a lot of the folks don't cook and get meals delivered, at quite a discount for seniors. I tried that program but just didn't feel it was super healthy. I'm really into good nutrition, chicken, fish & vegetables, fruit smoothies, etc. I use spices instead of sauces and try to stay away from processed food.
I do need more organization help & hopefully she can teach me the best way to utilize this space.
Mary, my son just died. That's in the grief section.
Robyn, I'm renting in a senior building so can do nothing about the cupboards, although my helper may come up with some solutions. I did buy some shelving that fits in my closet & I do use that for canned goods, pasta, etc. I also have a swifter and other handy cleaning tools and reaching tools.
There are some kitchen things I should probably get rid of. I love to cook so don't like parting with things. I have to get over that!
This place is so small and whoever designed some of these things should be strung up, or at least be made to cook here, lol.
But, a lot of the folks don't cook and get meals delivered, at quite a discount for seniors. I tried that program but just didn't feel it was super healthy. I'm really into good nutrition, chicken, fish & vegetables, fruit smoothies, etc. I use spices instead of sauces and try to stay away from processed food.
I do need more organization help & hopefully she can teach me the best way to utilize this space.
This is kind of how I feel about my kitchen. My house isn't so "small" but my kitchen sure is. I have very little counter space and seem to 'make do' but I'm going to add to it. My pantry used to be the laundry and it's pretty good sized. I want to replace it with an insert of overhead and underneath cabinets with a nice counter top. I could really use the space and all my pantry items would still fit perfectly. It's also my small appliance storage and then some! There is an empty space above one counter that they just built two shelves into and it looks dumb but the only place I have to store my larger bowls. I want to put a regular cabinet in there. I have a couple of 'extra' cabinets over the stove and fridge but they are so high I can't reach them so, pretty much, useless. I keep my flour and sugar canisters in the one over the stove.
I used a few of those wire dividers in my pantry as well. I can store twice the 'stuff' in half the space using those.
If you plan to stay in your house for a fair amount of time - consider re-doing/retro-fitting your kitchen so it's more accessible. Our lower kitchen cabinets are all fitted with full-extension drawers (small top drawers for silverware/spices/knives/gadgets/etc. and 2 larger bottom drawers for pots/pans/other larger items). Everything is visible when you open the drawers and very easy to reach.
I remember my late mother and MIL dealing with those awful bottom cabinets that were simply big empty boxes stacked with all manner of pots and pans from front to back. Actually saw my mother fall down a few times trying to get stuff out of those cabinets.
Also try to commandeer a closet or two that you can use as a pantry/storage area for foodstuffs/kitchen items you don't use that often. Who doesn't have at least some closet space that is being used for old ratty towels or clothing you'll never use again? Have some shelving installed and - voila - instant pantry.
Of course - there's probably kitchen stuff that should be tossed too. Don't simply move things around - get rid of things you never use.
FWIW - I know some people like open wall storage - like pegboard systems. Julia Child was an early champion of them:
On my part - I found that they weren't a great way to store things that I didn't use all the time. Because the things on the wall just got greasy and dirty and dusty.
Overall - it sounds to me like you have more of an organizing project than a cleaning project. And I would approach it as such (using outside help if you need/want it). When we built our house - I was in my late 40's - and I planned my kitchen with the thought that I probably wouldn't be as flexible when I got older as I was then (and I was right ). Robyn
These are some pics of Julia Child's kitchen that show how much she really had sitting out!
I have stuff hanging all over my kitchen, but I use it all the time too. Nothing has time to get greasy or dirty.
These are some pics of Julia Child's kitchen that show how much she really had sitting out!
I have stuff hanging all over my kitchen, but I use it all the time too. Nothing has time to get greasy or dirty.
Ah, back before I lost my house, because my company downsized, I had the freedom to hang things on the wall & built some open cabinets which held a lot. Then I put up pegboard & hung up my utensils. A tiny kitchen but it worked.
I don't think I'll be staying here because my back really did not do well with the cold this winter. I am investigating Tennessee next month & hope that may work.
The point is, I may not always have a tiny kitchen so I don't want to get rid of things I'll end up needing and have to buy again. Makes no sense to me.
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). Robyn
