'Redding' up

It is quite possible that only my mother knows what this title means. Her mother taught it to her and in turn she taught me. Now I will share with you. (Don't you feel special?)

'Redding' up is the phrase my mom used for picking up the house in the evening; readying it for the next day. (I assume 'redding' is just short for readying, but one mustn't analyze these things too deeply.)

I have since heard of the same concept from other older moms and it seems like the women I know who do this keep a very tidy and welcoming home.

Different people have different things they like to do in the evening to prepare for the next day. Here are mine:

-Do all the dishes. (If this isn't feasible, I do one strainer full and wipe all the counters and stove. Clean counter tops are a must for me.)

-Fluff pillows, straighten magazines, take shoes back to bedrooms.

-Close blinds.

-Put papers/mail in each of our inboxes and clear off dining room table.

Basically I clean off surfaces in the kitchen and dining room, and tidy the living room. This is not the time to clean the stainless steel, wipe under the fridge, and dust the picture frames. The purpose is simply to tie up loose ends and do a surface pickup. It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.

This makes such a big difference the next day! I feel so much more relaxed and ready to start my day.

Maintenence

I feel like I'm learning how to be a much better house keeper lately. I know I'm definitely learning how to manage my time better because of having a baby. (I maximize every second of nap time!) When I first got married I would do a "cleaning day" every week. I always got stressed and put it off. Now I've been trying to make the most of small increments of time and clean every day.

What does this look like? 

-When I do my make up in the morning I wipe down the toilet and mirrors. I keep windex and paper towel in the bathroom to make this easy.

-When I wash C's bottles I do the rest of the dishes on the counter.

-While C is playing on the floor I grab the vacuum and do the living room and hall. (He loves chasing it.)

-If I'm going to throw a kitchen wash cloth in the hamper I spot clean the kitchen floor first.

-When it's garbage day I take the opportunity to clean out the fridge. ( I learned this one from my hubby. They do that at the fire station.)

-I also try to make piles thoughout the day that need to go to certain areas of the house and then if I'm going there I grab it on my way. For example; I just finished working on a craft project upstairs, but I keep all my supplies in the basement. I make a pile to take down there on the top step and when I go down to watch a movie I'll take it down w/ me. This saves dozens of trips and also allows you to stay on track with whatever else you're doing.

These are pretty little things, but I feel like I'm keeping up much better and am less stressed. We even had a surprise family get together last week that I didn't find out until the night before and it didn't bother me at all. All I had to do to get ready was run the dishwasher and sweep the kitchen floor. It was such a good feeling. I used to spend all day cleaning and picking up. Maintenance is truly so much better than overhauling.

So, what about you? Do you "redd up" at night? What things are on your must-do list? Leave me a comment with your thoughts!