And that is how I spent yesterday. Running errands in the morning, and sleeping it off in the afternoon. We had sandwiches for dinner. Yum. Ugh.
I woke up this morning determined to get off the pity pot and do something I know how to do. Clean the house. Well, guess what? My house is a disaster! Not just your regular disaster, but the disaster that comes from having a bored, sick man in your domain for the past 2 months. I'm not saying I didn't clean during that time, but I had to do it on someone else's schedule and at someone else's pace.
Everyone knows that mom's way of cleaning is different than dad's. Mom cleans things Dad and the kids have never even seen before. Did you know that a lot of stove tops lift up and have a kickstand like the hood of a car? They had no idea!
All I can say about my mess is "Well, at least it's fresh!" My house regularly gets hit by a 'torhurriquake!" For anyone who has no children that is a tornado (toddler), hurricane (teenagers), and earthquake (daddy!) all rolled into one.) Okay, so I'm responsible for all the half empty coffee cups scattered throughout the house by the end of each day. Blush!
Anyway, the one thing I know how do to, is clean up a disaster area. The first thing I like to do is clean the floors. Once that is done, I know that everything else will fall into place.
My carpets were a mess this morning! I vacuum nearly every day, but life is sticky. Our dining room is carpeted, so every little piece of food that drops, sticks to the floor. Under the highchair is the worst! Don't believe me? Here is a picture of what it looked like this morning AFTER vacuuming. Twice. Normally, it would never get this bad, but I've only been able to do the bare minimums to keep my house from looking like hoarders live here.
Now this is where experience comes in handy. Like the name of my blog, we have a big family and live on a baby budget. When I was younger with a sticky mess like this (yes it's sticky!) I would have pulled out the steam vac. Now I know better. All that will accomplish is mud. Plus, you will have wasted money on expensive soap that you really need for toilet paper.
So how does one clean this mess on a budget. A fork. Yep, a fork. When I vacuum I always have a little salad fork on hand. If you lay it flat and skim the top of the carpet, you can get a lot of the surface gunk loosened so it will vacuum easily. If you have a shag carpet, you have to adjust your method. Kind of poke at the sticky spot with the fork to loosen it, then use your fingers to gently pry it out.
Here is what the miracle a fork (and a vacuum) can perform. For how much? If you don't have a fork, you can get one at a store like Walmart or Target for a dollar.
It looks way better, but now the snags in the carpet left by the cats from the previous tenant really stand out. That's why I also keep scissors handy. Don't just pull the snags out. You will eventually end up with bald spots in your carpet. Just get the snag to stand up and snip.
Looking so much better. But, I'm worried about that red spot. Please let it be washable marker.
I took a damp rag and spot mopped all the spots on the floor. I don't let it get it too wet. Trust me, you'll make mud.
Good news . . . the stain came right out! That's not always the case. But don't fret, you can get those out too. I'll write about it later. Yes, even red kool-aid stains can be removed - for a dollar!
My whole dining room, all the way up to the living room couches was like the first picture. Oh there where some good spots too, but 2 months of just vacuuming (no fork, no scissors, no rag) really messed my carpets up!
I feel so much better! Now I have a clean place to stand. Maybe now I can start coming up with a plan to get my life back on track.
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