31 Days to Clean

It was yet another day of glorious sunshine here today. It's not hot outside, but pleasantly warm. There has been only one day of rain in the last 3 weeks, or possibly longer, and apparently has been the driest April here since 1910!

When you live in Scotland, not only do you talk about the weather all the time like a good Brit, but you really have to go out and enjoy the sun while it is there, and get your outside jobs done, because you never know when this sunny spell will come to an end!

Yesterday, was yet another Bank holiday, and to my delight my husband had taken the day off too. He doesn't automatically get Bank holiday's off, but gets them added onto his annual leave entitlement.

We met up with his parents and sister at a nature reserve where the boys enjoyed a bit of bird watching, before we climbed a hill to get great views over the nearby loch. We then had some very welcome tea and cakes at a farm shop and finished our day with a barbecue back here. I think I'll post a couple of photos of the views in Friday's post but here are a couple for today.

If anyone's children (or themselves) are interested in nature/birds/wildlife I would really recommend a wee visit.

Moving on.

This week sees the start of the 31 Days to Clean challenge over at Joyful Mothering.

I like to think that I have a pretty good cleaning schedule sorted out for our house. One of these day's I'll get round to posting it too, in case it could be of use to anyone. My schedule evolved out of reading what others had for their schedules and working out what suited our house best.

31 Days to Clean, isn't so much of an A to Z of how to clean your house, but more the mindset of why we should want a clean and orderly house. Each day there are two challenges, a Mary and a Martha one.

Like Sarah Mae, the author, I am not really a natural born cleaner (just ask my mother!) but I do know that a clean and orderly house is a happy house. 

When everything is in it's place then there is no stress about finding things.

When the kitchen is cleaned and tidied after each meal time, there is no extra work when it comes to the next meal time of cleaning up the previous meal's mess.

When the living room and hallway are clear of clutter there is no mad rushing around if someone drops by.

And with little boys in the house the bathroom really does need cleaned regularly to avoid it smelling like a public lavatory (my least favourite job!)

Our first challenge was to write a mission statement about why we wanted a clean house.

Well, as well as what I've written above, having a warm and inviting home is my responsibility. I want friends and visitors to feel welcome here, but also able to relax. I don't want my home to look like a show-home but a comfortable family home.

Now, who wants to pop round for some tea and cupcakes? I have another batch of Rule Britannia ones just out of the oven!

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