Scrubbing Bubbles?!?

Today is Wednesday!  Per my cleaning schedule I shared in my second post, it is bathroom cleaning day!  Perhaps you think I am crazy to clean every day of the week.  Well, I don't have a choice.  I have two little ones that provide me with only small bits of time to get things done.  I don't ever have a four hour block to do anything.  When I clean a room, I do everything.  Organizing.  Dusting.  Surfaces.  Walls.  Baseboards.  Floors.  I spend 30-60 minutes per room.

When I was pregnant with Caitlyn I became very mindful of the chemicals I was using to clean.  I didn't want to smell them anymore.  I didn't want anything to negatively impact the development of my baby.  I started searching for natural products.  Biokleen has become my favorite brand.  I particularly love Bac-Out.  It does an amazing job getting stains and odors out of carpets.  It is my new best friend since I am earnestly potty training Caitlyn.  Can't wait for all hard floors someday, though...

Now I know how to clean a shower.  I'm a PCC grad, after all.  One of my very first college lessons was in cleaning the shower to pass Saturday room inspection (thanks, Becca!).  I only ever failed once - White Glove.  Spring semester.  Senior year.  Sigh.  The source - residue from soap scum and remnants of shower cleaner.  That was the reason everyone failed, unless someone simply didn't do it.

Now I have my own home and I have that same soap scum issue.  My Biokleen bathroom cleaner just wasn't cutting it for the shower.  I started thinking back to the alternative cleaners we used in college.  Liquid laundry detergent was the first to come to mind.  Perfect!  I had a bottle of Ecos that I quit using because it just wasn't doing a good enough job.

I put it in a squirt bottle, took my scrub brush, and went to town.  This is the second week I've been using it.  I am in love.  It stays wet providing plenty of time to scrub and rinses clean.  IT WORKS.  No soap scum.  No residue.  Just a sparkling shower.  Ahhh.

What are your natural cleaning tips?

Extended Tab Prefold Tutorial

materials:
sewing machine (serger NOT required)
terry (cotton or hemp washed on hot at least once) - you may also use a prefold, though it is much harder to catch all the edges
prefold diaper, THOROUGHLY PREPPED
extended tab pattern

Choose the size of tab that best coordinates with your diaper.  Cut it out.  Fold your fabric in half with the WRONG sides together.  Lay pattern on top of the terry fabric.  The straight end of the pattern goes on the fold.  Trace the pattern.



If using a prefold, use the 4 ply outer sections.  Place the edge of the pattern on the fold.

Place a pin through the folded piece to hold it in place.

Cut the tab out.  Now it is time to pin it to the prefold.  Notice how my pins go through the fold of the prefold and the fold of the tab.

Set your machine to a zig zag stitch.  I use a length of 2.0 and witdth of 5.0.
















Time to sew!  You will begin sewing at the base of the tab coming up to the top, connecting the two pieces together.  Place the center notch of the foot in the ditch between the two pieces of fabric.  Sew one stitch to make sure that your zig zag is wide enough.

Back stitch, then sew to the top of the diaper.  Note that the needle is off of the diaper.

Lift the presser foot and turn the fabric.  Sew around the tab until you meet your starting point.  Back stitch.

Repeat on the other side and admire your work!

infant prefold, prefold tabs, angel wing fold
This diaper is almost too small -
still fits great but he needs more absorbancy.

premium prefold, terry tabs, jellyroll fold
This diaper is a better absorbancy.
Notice how the tabs are angled down to get a good fit.

I Can't Do It All

Three months have passed since my last post.  Life has been a blur of visits with family, creating special family Christmas memories, and child training.  LOTS of child training.

I want to let you in on a secret that I don't think should be a secret.  I don't have it all together.  There.  I said it.  I can't do it all.

Many of you tell me that you don't have your life all together either, but I struggle to believe you.  Perhaps you appear to have things under control because your house is neat.  Maybe another area of your life is a difficulty for you.  My house is my big challenge.  I write to you in my pajamas (yes is is well after lunch).  All three of my laundry baskets have items that need sorted, hung, or put in drawers.  I have more laundry to do.  The breakfast dishes are still on the counter.  Some of the children's Christmas presents are still in a tote waiting for me to put them into our toy rotation.  The house in general is a mess after coming back from vacation.  Sean has now spent three whole nights in his crib in his own room, though we're still in the process of moving things out of his room.   Things are everywhere.

I absolutely positively cannot do it all every day.  Some days I get to exercise.  Other days I get to take a nap.  Some days I use the half hour that both children sleep at the same time to do projects that need my undivided attention. We operate on a 2-3 hour schedule based on Sean's desire to nurse.  After he wakes up, I change both kids, nurse, play with Sean, play with Caitlyn, and try to get something done while Sean naps.  Then the cycle repeats.

 Life is full of choices.  I have chosen to always greet my husband with a kiss and a smile.  I have chosen to stop whatever I may be doing to kiss a boo boo.  I have chosen to give an entire day to holding a teething baby who needed me.  I have chosen to read a 15 minute pre-nap story and rock my toddler until she is drowsy.  I have chosen to always have a nutritious meal for my family to enjoy.  I have chosen to put aside anything I'd like to do after the children go to sleep so I can enjoy my husband's company.

But my house is almost always messy.  Perhaps that wouldn't bother you, but it drives me CRAZY!   However, I know that someday my children will need me less.  Then I can have the neat, clean house this perfectionist has always dreamed of.  I wouldn't trade these minutes for anything. We all choose our priorities.  The question - are you happy with the choice you are making?  I hope you can wholeheartedly answer affirmatively like I can.