Bleach Is My Friend

Ahh, bleach it has so many uses.

It salvages many clothes at our house.  My kids are not dainty eaters or players, especially not when they are babies.  They regularly trash their clothes with chocolate pudding, mud, or anything else dark and staining. 

 I put their clothes in the wash with bleach and out they come, no more stains. 

 Now, you do have to be careful what you bleach, not all colors are color fast and so some of their clothes started out a different color, but what good is a brightly colored outfit that is so stained that they cannot wear it?  I wash it with bleach and they have a slightly different colored outfit with new life.

This romper used to be about the same color as the ribbon on it.  Now it it a light green, but I like it, you can see the flowers more.

Living in the pacific northwest mold happens.  In our window sills, 

in the shower,

 in the closets 

on the walls and ceiling.  

It is just a part of life.

Here I think some food got splattered on the ceiling above the front door.  No one noticed until it started to grow.

But spray that mold with bleach and water and magically the mold disappears (be sure your room is well ventilated).

We sprayed it with a bleach solution and after a few minutes it is starting to work. 

Look at that magic!

Here are some more results, 

the shower,

And the closet.

Then there is the bleach you use on your hair.  Put a few highlights in and drab boring hair, gains life and vibrancy!

I love bleach.

Positive Peer Pressure

For the last few weeks, we have really been focusing on doing the dishes every day.  We have 7 kids and so each one has a night they are responsible to get all the dishes done.  They have to do them before they can eat the next day (food is a great motivator at our house).

I usually help the older 4 do the dishes on their night, but they take the bulk of it, but that leaves 3 nights that Trip and I are responsible for it, since Zelda, Julian and Harvey really can't do them. (I do try to have Harvey help on his night though).

This has been some amazing peer pressure.  The other night after a long day, there were all the dirty dishes, we just wanted to go to bed, but we couldn't not do the dishes.  They kids knew that it was our day.  We had to do them.

I hate dishes

I like to make things.  I like to have a project to do.  I like to plan it out.  I like to see it come together.  It can take a long time, that's fine.  But when it is done, I want something amazing and I want it to stay done.  

I get great satisfaction out of it.  

Dishes are not like that.  In fact most housework is not like that.  If we work hard and stick with it and get all the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up (we have no dishwasher and 9 people in the house), I feel good about our accomplishment, but then, someone eats something, and the dishes have to be done again!  The big project doesn't stay done!  It is the same for other housework too, especially laundry.

People ask how I do it all with 7 kids.  I don't.  I don't like to do the same thing over and over, so that puts house work on the bottom of my list of things to do.  Instead you can find me 

growing a gardening,

building a fence,

doing someone's hair,

making bat costumes for Halloween, 

or a Roly Poly costume for the school play,

or anything other than house work.  T loves that I have a salon in our house, because we have to maintain a minimum amount of clean and if I have a client coming over, we

 are whipping through the house getting it ready.  (at least the parts that they will see:).

The problem with not liking to clean up each meal is, I don't like to/ can't cook in our 1940's kitchen if it is dirty.  It is to small, there is no counter space.

Since we like to eat, I guess we had better go do the dishes.

Did I mention, I love that man?

Trip got a hold of the kitchen.