Here's a list of things that really need to be done before the houseconcert:

Clean bedrooms well; vacuum them, too
Finish laundry
Clean laundry room
Plant lavender
Vacuum bedrooms
Clean out animals cages
Sweep garage
Scrub porch
Scrub garage door
Finish cleaning windows
Move television out of Big Room
Pick up any unwanted items in yard, including pool
Get peanut butter, soap and drinks from Nature's
Clean cupboard fronts
Clean silverware drawer
Clean microwave
Scrub sinks
Vacuum couch
Bathe kids
Check cabin
Get haircuts?
Straighten fruit cellar
Straighten Pop's area
Straighten basement laundry room
Make sure ALL rooms are presentable for guests
Buy fly spray
Kill flies in the house
Take down fly strips
Vacuum under EVERYTHING
Make sure all surfaces are dusted properly, including picture frames and bookshelves

Strawberries!

Today, we picked thirty quarts of strawberries. Sweetheart was amazing! She picked her share with no problem. We also washed them, cut them up, put some in the freezer for smoothies and some in sugar for cakes and ice cream and froze that. Tomorrow, I hope to make some syrup and freezer jam.

To prepare for Art Lessons

Do these in order:

Give chicks fresh water and food and move them to the kids' bathroom
Clean out litterbox
Wash dishes
Clean both sinks
Clean off counters.
Spot clean fronts of cupboards.
Clean and wipe tables. Put things AWAY where they go, not just into pantry or stacked in computer room
Dust everything: book shelves, piano, television, shelves in kitchen, tabletops--every flat surface you can see and reach.
As you are dusting, organize. If books are not on the shelf properly or in order, put them that way. If there are toys on a surface, put them away.
Take out trash and clean trash closet.
Pull all furniture away from the walls, put away things that are behind or underneath the furniture, then vaccuum. After you've vaccuumed, put the things back where they go.
Clean the stove, top and front.
Make sure entrance in basement is clean and tidy. Put away shoes, toys, books, coats and whatever else is laying on floor, chair, stairs, whatever.
Spot clean the windows and doors.
Make tea.
Make juice.
Vaccuum landing pad and big bean bag.
Dress Noraa.
Take dirty washclothes up to laundry room.
Fill pitcher with ice water.
Wipe down chalkboard.
Put up signs.
Set out cups.
Put dogs in the garage.
Make lunch.
Set out art supplies.

To Prepare for Art Lessons

Do these in order:

Clean chick box, give fresh water and food
Clean out litterbox
Wash dishes
Clean both sinks
Clean off counters.
Spot clean fronts of cupboards.
Clean and wipe tables. Put things AWAY where they go, not just into pantry or stacked in computer room
Dust everything: book shelves, piano, television, shelves in kitchen, tabletops--every flat surface you can see and reach.
As you are dusting, organize. If books are not on the shelf properly or in order, put them that way. If there are toys on a surface, put them away.
Take out trash and clean trash closet.
Pull all furniture away from the walls, put away things that are behind or underneath the furniture, then vaccuum. After you've vaccuumed, put the things back where they go.
Clean off the porch. Put tools in the garage, toys away, sweep it off with a broom. While you are out there, check for any toys, tools or trash in the yard.
Clean powder room. Clean the whole toilet, wipe down the sink, cut the bottoms off of the new flowers and put them in clean water, vacuum the floor, tidy up and make sure there is a hand towel hanging up. Also make sure there is toilet paper.
Clean the microwave and fridge, inside and out.
Clean the stove, top and front.
Make sure entrance in basement is clean and tidy. Put away shoes, toys, books, coats and whatever else is laying on floor, chair, stairs, whatever.
Spot clean the windows and doors.
Straighten pantry.
Make tea.
Make juice.
Vaccuum landing pad and big bean bag.
Dress Noraa.
Take dirty washclothes up to laundry room.
Fill pitcher with ice water.
Wipe down chalkboard.
Put up signs.
Set out cups.
Put dogs in the garage.
Make lunch.
Set out art supplies.
Get out easel and whiteboard.

Inside and out chores for this weekend

With the schedule the way that it is, getting chores done has been...well, a CHORE! Things are beginning to fall behind and there's much more to be done outside. It's important to keep things in order during this season because of soccer, baseball, choir, art lessons, writing classes and science classes. There has been so much out-of-the-house activity that even regular chores, like making the beds, have been neglected. We need to keep on top of them when there's time so that we can keep an even pace instead of a hectic, hurried, harried one when it's time to head out the door for our favorite activities!

Here are the things that need to be done this weekend:

Inside Chores:

Clean the refrigerator inside, outside on top and underneath.
Bard needs to clean Penny's garden tools. See this site for details on how to do that.
All bedrooms need to be dusted and vaccuumed. Bedsheets need to be removed and replaced with clean ones. Dirty ones are to be washed.
The windows in the kitchen and the computer room need cleaned badly. Remove screens in windows above kitchen sink and stove, clean screens, clean windows, replace dry screens. The french door in the computer room needs to be cleaned inside and out.
The computer room is to be cleaned, dusted and organized.
Wash and put away all laundry
Clean stove

Outside chores:

Assemble new grill
Take up sheeting from last year's garden and clean old brush that wasn't removed last fall
Plan and plant kitchen garden under the kitchen window: use landscaping pieces to raise the bed.
Plan, place and plant deep beds with veggies
Burn brush
Burn old hammock, check into a new hammock. The kids always loved the old one!
Plant flower beds around foundation of house
Cut down old apple trees and prepare for new ones
Dormant oil spray and check existing fruit trees
Clean garage
Stack cement blocks somewhere out of sight
Make a fire ring using landscaping blocks: would be nice to buy a nice camp grill to go over fire ring
Renovate swingset. Maybe build a new roof for the playhouse and a cap for the sandbox and enclose the playhouse area
Make the rabbit habitat and surround it with fence.
Put turkey wire on barnyard fence to prepare for the chicks.
Gather all mulch and compost for garden beds.
Bring up table and chairs from cabin for the front porch.
Stain rocking chairs, table and child's picnic table to preserve. Maybe stain playset to match?
Put up little mailbox for garden tools in kitchen garden.
Clean siding
Wash garage door (maybe borrow pressure washer?)

Ammonia: My New Best Friend

Got stubborn stains on your gas stove thingies? You know, those thingies over the burners, the ones where you set your pots? I think they're like cast iron coated in porcelain or something.

Well, I had some HORRIBLE stains on those things on my new gas stove after only about six months of use. And I had them on my old gas stove, too.

My new gas stove came with a manual which I actually bothered to READ. In that manual was a tip for cleaning the stubborn stains from those thingies. I tried it. It worked like I always hope something will work.

Put the thingies in separate zip top bags and add 1/4 ammonia to each bag. Let them sit in your sink, sealed, overnight. In the morning, that junk will just WIPE right off. NO KIDDING! Wash them, rinse them, dry them and put them back on your stove to accumulate MORE stubborn stains. But this time, smile knowingly because YOU HAVE THE POWER!

WARNING: Ammonia does stink.

Sweetheart's Room

I finished cleaning Sweetheart's room. It's not as lovely as I want it to be, but at least it's clean. I hope to get another set of sheets for the girls' beds so they'll match, plus protective mattress covers and one more pillowcase. I'd like to get a nice pink area rug for their room, too, and a few fake flowers (the real ones couldn't take the neglect ;-) ) to finish it off. There are still things that need to be done in there, like the floor needs to be repainted. The paint we chose that was supposed to be "scuff resistant" looks awful already. Still, I'm glad I didn't put carpet in there! It would be a mess!

Today is floors day. I hope to get all of the bedrooms vaccuumed. I had also hoped to clean the wood floors downstairs, but I don't think I have the energy. Maybe I can get Bo to do it?

I'm having an awful time with 13-year-old Houdin and 9-year-old Monet getting them to do their chores. Could it really be because they're boys???

On the other hand, I'm very thankful for Bard.Thank you, Bard, for keeping up with your chores without being told. I appreciate it more than I can say.