Homemaking Meme

Jane, over at Blackberry Brambles, tagged me for this meme. I'm so excited, 'cause this is the first meme I've been tagged for!


Aprons - Y/N
I actually do own an apron. My friend Kary gave it to me for some gift giving occasion many years ago. It's yellow and looks very lovely hanging on the hook in my kitchen. Now, do I remember to use it? Not as often as I should.

Baking - Favorite thing to bake
My favorite thing to bake are brownies. I just use the old box mix and cook them a little less time than they call for and they come out SOO moist and chewy. My husband gets the nod for baking the best cherry pie ever, though!

Clothesline - Y/N
No. Not only do the covenants not allow it in our neighborhood (and I'm on the committee), but I'm all about the convenience of the dryer. I use a little Bounce for that line dried scent :-)

Donuts - Have you ever made them?
No, but I have attempted to make homemade bagels. What a disaster!

Every day - What is one homemaking thing you do every day?
Clean the kitchen and pick up copious amounts of toys. Sometimes by the time my husband gets home it doesn't look like I've done anything, but boy he should see it at nap time!

Freezer - Do you have a deep freeze?
We have an upright freezer in the unfinished area of our basement. This has been one of the best purchases we have made. Right after our second son was born we decided to take the "plunge" - get it, deep freeze, temperatures "plunge" - and it has been a fabulous decision.

Garbage Disposal - Y/N
Yes and am happy to have one.

Handbook - What is your favorite homemaking resource?
Almost 7 years ago some friends gave me Yankee Magazine's Make It Last by Earl Proulx. When I have a question on how to get a stain out of something or to make a repair, I check this book first. Then I hit the Internet.

Ironing - Love it or hate it?
Ironing, what's that? I think we got an iron for our wedding 5 years ago. Actually, my brother-in-law was here for Colin's baptism a couple of weeks ago and used the iron and said it's not really working. Time to buy a new one for those few times a year that ironing happens here. Chris is the one that irons every once in a while; although I do offer to do it for him when I see the ironing board out.

Junk drawer - Y/N
Oh there are more than I can count. 1 official junk drawer and then many others that just keep getting junky.

Kitchen - Design & Decorating?
I have this large print with wine bottles and flowers on it (not doing it justice at all in the description) that sort of became the centerpiece of the color scheme of the kitchen. We had the walls painted a sort of muted sage green. My neighbor then made cornice boards and a roman shade for the windows out of a fabric that has different wine bottles on it. It's very calming to me to be in there.

Love - What is your favorite part of homemaking?
I love being home with my children first and foremost. I also love cooking. I inherited my skills honestly from my mother and I really enjoy making a meal that makes my husband happy - he makes his happy eating noises when he likes something :-)

Mop - Y/N
Now that I have started a new home cleaning routine, there is more mopping. I got Don Aslett's Easy Glide Microfiber Mop and have been using that on the hard wood floors on the main level once a week.

Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
I don't wear them very often, (although I am wearing them more now that I'm on this skirt kick) but when I do I wash them in the machine and then hang them to dry.

Oven - Do you use the window or open the oven door to check?
I always open the door. I'd rather do that than bend over to look through the window.

Pizza - What do you put on yours?
It really depends on my mood. Pepperoni and mushroom is a lovely combination. I also am a fan of the Hawaiian pizza (ham and pineapple). And I will admit it, I do like the anchovy (much to my husband's chagrin) along with sausage.

Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
With a new little one, I will take a nap. Although lately I've been staying up while all the boys are down and checking email and doing some cleaning around the house.

Recipe card box - Y/N?
I have a couple of them - one of my own, and one I bought for my husband when we were dating. I also own a bunch of cookbooks, although I rarely crack them open. I've been making meals from Dinner Done as of late, or making meals that don't require recipes.

Style of house?
Neo-traditional. We are only on 1/5th of an acre, but there are white (vinyl) picket fences between all the houses on my street. We have the traditional front porch - complete with 2 rocking chairs.

Tablecloths and napkins - Y/N?
We use a tablecloth for our Pre-Thanksgiving dinner, but in general we don't - too much of a temptation for small people to pull down. We do use cloth place mats on our kitchen table with matching cloth napkins (anniversary present from my parents), but Chris insists on paper napkins. Growing up I didn't know paper napkins existed except in the school cafeteria and at McDonald's!

Vacuum - How many times per week?
Once again, now that I'm on this house keeping routine, I'm scheduled to vacuum once per day for 4 days a week - Tuesday is upstairs, Wednesday is the stairs, Thursday is the basement, and Friday is the main level. I just went out and bought a canister vacuum yesterday to help me with the vacuuming of the stairs, and WOW, what a difference it made. It took me about 3 minutes to vacuum the stairs with this thing versus lugging that big, old upright up and down the stairs.

Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do each week?
One load per day:

Monday - Whites
Tuesdays - Neutrals
Wednesdays - Darks
Thursday - Kids clothes (they are still small enough that they all fit in one load)
Friday - Sheets and towels

Although I have to agree with Jane, I don't mind the washing/drying/folding, I'm just not as good about the putting away. Many times the laundry stays in the basket. I've got to get better about that.

X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
No, but I really should. I do like that feeling of visually seeing the completion.

Yard - Y/N? Who does what?
Like I said, our yard isn't that big, but works for us. Chris is in charge of the outside it seems. Although Patrick Foss has been the go-to guy for mowing our lawn for the past couple of summers.

Zzz's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before you go to bed?
Making sure that the kitchen is picked up and that there isn't any food items left out.

There you have it - my homemaking meme. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm tagging my sister-in-law, Terry.