Collecting My Thoughts

Does anyone else get a big boost of energy on January 1? It's happened before. Today I sorted and tossed old notebooks, set up a new 3-r...

My Lenten goals are getting a slow start. This week it was tackle the cupboards and bookshelves of the kitchen. I'm on the first shelf ...

It's hard to grow flowers when you're gone so much, but we're attempting again.  Most of our neighbors have such lovely blooms. ...

I’ve been cleaning off my desk this morning, tossing old church bulletins, returned Christmas cards with the wrong address,  articles to rea...

What does an 18 year old do all day while living on a farm with her grandparents who aren’t thrilled to have her “help?” See Part 1 and Par...

I started the day out right--I cleaned my coffee maker with vinegar and water.  So many germs can grow in your automatic coffee pot, you sho...

  The original link is broken, but I found this gross, disgusting detail at LiveScience about what's going on in our mattresses. "A...

Going, going, gone. About 5 years ago we did a massive, huge, gigantic sort, clean and pitch effort. Now it's all come back--things we s...

I like to set a pretty table, so every now and then the silverplate needs to be polished. That's a pain unless you learned this 5 minute...

Make an all-purpose bathroom cleaner by mixing two  tablespoons of dish liquid, two tablespoons ammonia, and one quart of warm water. Use ...

I saw a way to trim your closets: turn all of your clothes hangers around, then turn them back when you wear an item. If the item is never...

We declutter about every 4 years. This method wouldn't work for me (I already have 12 blogs, so I don't need another one), but I t...

No, you won't find it on any calendar, but I'm declaring this as "Clean the kitchen week." Pretend your mother is visitin...

On the one hand, we have more time these days, and on the other, I seem to be less interested in cleaning. But we were going out Friday nigh...

For many years when I was working at the Veterinary Medicine Library at Ohio State, I would have an annual review with my boss, Jay Ladd. H...

Have been found while I was cleaning my kitchen shelves, rearranging things to find just the right spot for the new TV. They include The Sat...

Last night I e-mailed a photographer from Wisconsin asking permission to use his photo as a reference for a painting, and he graciously res...

Cleaning the office Some dusting and a box of books ready to go out the door. You may remember the cat was inspecting my bookshelves and fou...

How do you clean sticky Tupperware? In my pretend move, I'm reaching to the back of the tall kitchen cupboards, standing on a chair. An...

Cleaning the bathroom This story is for Bev, who patiently reads through my political stuff hoping for a good story. She loves me, my cat an...