The Manor was busy this weekend

As promised, last week was Zone 1. Being 20 degrees outside, it is just too cold to clean the back or front porches, but I did manage to get the living room clean. I love the fact that the room feels dusted and cat hair free. I feel like I can breathe in here so much better.

Shiny kitchen sink

This weekend I attacked Zone 2...the kitchen and the laundry room.  The damage was pretty intense, so I set myself a 2 hour timer. The goal is to work from one end of the room to the other. Set a timer, play music to a point that it drounds out other sounds, like kids arguing or the television, which is distracting. Placing earbuds in my ears and my phone on the other side of the room so that I won't be distracted by notifications, I got started in the laundry room. I probably swept the floor about five times, sweeping each area that I worked in before moving on to the next.  In high-volume areas, I removed all the knick-knacks and figures and dusted and replaced them in a neater setting.  When I got to something questionable, I just placed on the dead zone--that place on the counter that collects all the drips and drops.  I put my dinner on the stove and continued working shining my kitchen sink. By the end of my timer, I had most of the room clean. I moved all the "junk" over to the kitchen table, and I moved on to my appointment I had that afternoon.

Layne and Mimi

The next day I attacked all the stuff on the table. And by the next hour, I had a perfectly clean kitchen.  I got nods from my husband, which never happens.  I have found this evening a bit restful. We had a simple meal of homemade chicken noodle soup, and I got everything cleaned up quickly.

The next evening Crissy and Brian brought Layne over for a visit.  We haven't seen him since Christmas so it was a treat for them to be here.

While I admit I am struggling with my work-out plan, I am guarding my household strongly.  We had appointments all day Monday and today was  a crazy day at work.  Erin is in physical therapy and she is making great effort keeping her work-outs going.  Meghan has been struggling with the cold weather; she is missing out on her exercise that she gets outside every afternoon. I myself am making sure that I am getting enough rest...even if that means I am not working out.  I still feel good.  More to come on that later.

 Irish Tea Service

I wish there were more hours in the day.  I would love about two hours that I can read and sip hot tea from my new tea service.  I am jealous of those who have leisure time.  I got to thinking though, that even if the weather were better, I still probably wouldn't be able to sit still on the porch long enough to amount to anything. Then maybe that is the goal...to get the house so Fly Lady Savvy that I have that coveted down time...or I can use it for that 30 minutes of exercise that I don't seem to be able to fit in.