Culling the Chaos

Good morning,

There are people that say that slaves/submissive (whatever you want to call them) shouldn't have any sort of ego.  If they do, it should be remedied by breaking the slave/sub.  Some describe it as when a horse is broken to accept a saddle, or when a prisoner is broken to give-up information or accept what they did wrong.  Everyone has that breaking point where they can't take anymore (mouse reached that point years ago when she was with Alpha -- but that's another topic for another time or not).

Daddy surrounds himself with very capable people, he wants them to have personal strengths to do whatever their job is.  This is also too true for mouse.  It's taken a long time to put away the ego of assuming just because mouse has tits she must instinctively know how to clean house.  Or having a uterus means she'll naturally know how to be a good mom. It's got to be instinctive, inborn into her right?

Well, wrong, but the ego got in the way.   Over our time together we've tried so many things to keep mouse focused and on task.  None of them worked in any (long term way) until Daddy really examined what mouse was doing.  See, for Shabbat on Friday, the house is supposed to be very clean and mouse just couldn't pull it all together by Friday.  Too much to do and not enough time in that one day.  It was like mouse was constantly just circling the drain.

What Daddy noticed was that mouse was doing fine with her rituals, especially the nighttime ones.  So he knew mouse could follow a routine.  He started talking to mouse about things to do on a daily basis rather than trying to clean everything at once (normally weekly), he simply said somethings should be done daily.  They don't take very long to accomplish and will make the cleaning easier.  He looked at how mouse was cleaning and decided that she was over cleaning some areas but not cleaning other areas enough.  He said that mouse should be only be spending a half hour - to an hour at the most on the housework each day.  Impossible, mouse really thought.  He suggested a few things that should be cleaned daily, and other things that could be cleaned on a weekly basis.  Taking his initial ideas mouse started (begrudged) on the routine.  During the summer when we're too busy to worry about keeping the house up.  An amazing thing was discovered, by doing those little things daily, mouse found they took less time than if they were left to go just weekly or longer.   Even vacuuming, which mouse truly hates, takes less time because it's done more frequently.  The best part is once its done for the day, it's done for the DAY!  Meaning if Daddy takes a huge stinky shit after mouse cleans the toilet, there's no going back in to do again...It's DONE.

So we broke things down...into daily and weekly tasks.

Daily cleaning products

Daily, would be what mouse calls the swish/wipe/dust.  Swish the blue stuff into the toilet (just a few drops are needed instead of covering the whole inside of the bowl, because it's done daily).  Using only one wipe per bathroom mouse cleans the sinks, the counter tops, ending with the toilet--down to the floor...Yes, just one Lysol wipe cleans two sinks, counter tops and toilet...but only if you do it everyday.  Dry dusting the floors daily too.  Also, another tip is instead of cleaning the whole shower daily, get a spray bottle with a little bleach mixed with water and spray the shower after it's used.  Not only will that help cull mold growth but it also keeps soap scum under control.  Or look for a leave on or rinse free shower spray (Method brand, available at most stores in the US) works great too.  The inside of the toilet gets a few drops of toilet bowl cleaner (seriously just a few drops) a quick swish of the brush and it's done.  To help cull the chaos, mouse keeps a toilet brush and holder in each bathroom of the house.  We have three and half bathrooms.  The whole process including dusting the floors and swishing/wiping sinks, counter tops and toilets takes two minutes per bathroom.


Dusting too, just dry dust those areas that tend to get super dusty, everything else weekly.  What a concept!?  One load of laundry per-day, at the very least, will help to keep the chaos away.

Dust the hardwood floors daily (no sweeping or vacuuming unless there's a spill) Wash the floors at least weekly (now because of our wet winter months mouse will do the floors more often then).

Weekly cleaning products

Weekly tasks include cleaning the showers (plus the swish, wipe and dust),  bathtubs, vacuuming and changing sheets.  Replacing towels and dusting those areas that are only touched weekly.  Even the weekly tasks do not take vary long.  You could choose to do them all in a single day or you could break it up across the week.

For example:

On Mondays: mouse vacuums the downstairs, plus the swish/wipe/dust routines.

On Tuesdays: the upstairs hallway and bedrooms are vacuumed plus the s/w/d routine.

On Wednesdays: cleaning the showers, tubs and washing the floors, plus mouse will add another 10 minutes to clean the doors, cabinet fronts and baseboards if needed.  Empty all wastebaskets and purge crap from the fridge.   Don't worry about extra cleaning around the toilet because that's done daily now and ditto the sinks.  Wipe the mirror of oocky stuff and your done.  It takes mouse roughly 20 minutes per bath, if the extra 10 minutes is added.  If not they're good enough to go.

On Thursdays: Weekly dusting and vacuum the house (upstairs and down)

On Fridays: It's all about bedrooms, decluttering, changing and washing sheets.

Other daily tasks include, making the beds and emptying the dishwasher...

Ahhh the kitchen...that is a clean-as-you-go room, you make something and clean it up afterward.  If you own a dishwasher, use it.  If you don't, ask yourself this, is it easier to wash a few dishes (like 2) or a whole sink-full?  If your answer is the first, then wash as you use them.  Take and extra minute to wash that plate or bowl, fork or spoon, cup whatever you use; dry it and put it back where it belongs, this is opposed to leaving the plate in the sink all day and allowing them to pile up.

If you believe it doesn't matter, then try washing those few dishes up after each time you dirty them.  Truthfully when our dishwasher died over the summer (just before the 4th of July) mouse learned the hard way its much easier to just do a few than a whole sink-full and it really made mouse appreciate her dishwasher all the more.

If you do own that dishwasher, stick it inside the machine.  The kitchen cleaning is not added to the daily or weekly lists because like it most houses it's a big hot spot that is cleaned/tidied up multiple times a day.

Wipe down the counter tops, close the cabinets and drawers and you might be surprised how much cleaner it feels.


See mouse NEVER ever did any of these things, she tried everything, making lists, but it felt like she spent everyday the whole day just cleaning...just cleaning everything and nothing ever getting done.  Nothing ever feeling like it was actually cleaned.  Now with this system, if mouse has plans on a Wednesday and can't clean the shower they can wait until the next week.  The rest of the bathrooms are done daily so it's not a big deal to let it go.  On weekends it only takes her a few minutes to get everything tidied up and she's ready to leave the house.  The basics are just wipe/swish and dust...every day.  If mouse can do 4 toilets, 7 sinks and dust 4 floors in just 8 minutes total...why not do it daily?

Now, if someone called and said to mouse they wanted to drop by, mouse wouldn't be embarrassed or anything but most importantly she also, wouldn't break a sweat running around to clean everything at once.   It's a good thing.

Its the little things

Sometimes it's the little things that make life manageable.  They help cull the chaos for mouse.  Now these are in no particular order...but they all help.

• Go through the mail daily and purge the junk
• Purge the other junk daily
• Purge the junk in the fridge before garbage pick up (ditto the freezer)
• Put a waste basket near the computer and in each room (yes they look tacky but you can remove them when company comes)
• Do at least one load of laundry a day, fold everything put it away
• Keep towels folded in the bathroom or neatly placed on towel bars (it's a mental thing)
• Keep your sink clean (that one's from Flylady...LOL)
• Keep the kitchen table set for meals (seriously you can't dump stuff all over the table if it's set)
• Make the bed everyday
• Run the dishwasher just before going to bed, empty it in the morning
• Load the washer for the next day (set a timer if you have one)

Anything else???  

Menu planning and weekly prep

Menu planning

It's hard to find a routine that works and then stick with it.  We all lead busy lives, some of us have children, jobs, careers, spouses, friends and extended branches of our family tree.  One routine Omega brought to mouse's life was organization.  Shopping is done for the week and a real menu for all the meals is planned.  Of course you plan out further but I've found that a week is long enough (7 days of meals).

Omega has serious dietary concerns, so we try incorporate those into each meal that's served.

The ideas begin when the sales come out of the paper (generally on Tuesday and Wednesday here), I canvass what's going to be on special for the upcoming week.  I set aside one day to shop.  My Days are generally Friday and Monday.  With the economy the way it is these days, it actually saves us a lot of money because I'm not running to the store and randomly and forgetting about things in the fridge.  Omega hates above much of anything wasting food.  He doesn't mind tossing out something left-over but something that NEVER makes it to the table just disturbs him.

On Sunday or Monday morning, I go through the fridge, freezer and pantry, making notes on everything we're running low on.  Stuff takes forever to defrost in the fridge, so I generally pull stuff out then that I plan on cooking a little later in the week.  Fish and shrimp normally just take a day or to defrost, so I pull those out the night before, so they're ready for the following day.  Whole chicken can take days to defrost, so I actually try not to freeze it anymore.  I buy fresh and cook within a few days of purchase.

Meal Prep

Once you've gone to the store and got your recipes in order.  I have to confess that I don't use a lot of recipes, instead often just buy staples that I know I'll use:

Onions
Peppers  (I prefer red bell peppers for everyday eating)
Garlic
Fennel bulbs
shallots
fresh thyme (when possible)
fresh parsley
other fresh herbs
Zucchini
Brocolini
Red (or swiss) Chard
celery (as needed or if I already have it)
carrots (ditto celery)
Spinach
Wine or dry sherry

Cut all and Cry Once

I hate with a passion cutting up onions, so since I use them in just about everything, I cut them up and store in a plastic freezer bag or container in the fridge.  One small onion generally is about a cup.  Larger onions can yield about a cup and a half.  Now, think about this and consider what you're making.  I generally slice onions, like three or four.  The other couple, I might dice.  Yes, I go through roughly 5-7 onions a week.  Onions can be stored in the freezer too, which is a huge time saver.

Garlic

I grew up in San Francisco, garlic was just something you added, depending on the flavor profile you want.  Never burn garlic...it's nasty -- you have to start over.  Chop finely and add it to the END of the saute process (before adding reducing liquids).  Hit with a knife (keeping it chunky) and throw it into so warm Olive oil at the Beginning.   The oil from the garlic will infuse the oil.  When the garlic starts to turn light brown, discard it (again don't allow garlic to burn).

Don't waste your money on preminced garlic, or even the prepeeled stuff.  Buy it tight cloves.  It will last a few weeks sitting on the counter.

If you want, you can mince a head of garlic, put it in a small container and cover it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  There's your minced garlic and garlic flavored oil.  No preservatives, nothing added and you know exactly what it's supposed to be.  I prefer a fine mince for that because I can use it anything from salad dressings, to adding zip to mushrooms.

Other veggies that can be cut up in advance and stored....

Just about anything...ya...even peppers, slice or dice them up (they freeze well too).

Avoid cutting up veggies that will turn colors tho, like potatoes, zucchini (ya made that mistake once), etc.  Ditto those that just lose their consistency, i.e., tomatoes.

Hardy red chard, collard greens, kale etc., wash and remove the stem, cut up the leaves and store in a ziplock back for up to a week in the fridge.  Ditto Spinach.  Leaf lettuces will only last a few days that way, much better to keep the leafs whole and wrap in damp paper towel.

Use Your Freezer

Canned goods...like those big cans of diced tomatoes...or Chipotle in Adobo, take what you need and freeze the rest.  Ginger can be frozen...just stick the arm in the freezer and peel off a frozen section with a spoon, grate with a microplane.  It works.

Happy cooking!