I find it funny how the days before vacaion suddenly every small part of the home seem important - like I wanted to clean the attic, sew some stuff I’ve had piled up forever, fixing the locks to our cupboards.
And the list goes on and on…

One thing which I don’t know why I havn’t been going at earlier is all my sewing stuff. For more than 6 years I kept it in plastic bags trown around the appartment.
It has been taking hours to find a little needle. Or actually I knew where everything was in the way you do when you have an order in the chaos around you. (If you know what I mean?)

Anyway, now I bought some big plasic boxes with small compartments from Granit an suddenly I got so much more space and I feel like a perfect little girl scout!

The funy thing is that Beppe really started to crawl. Man did he get turn up the speed when looking at box with all the treads.
Best toy ever.
But heey don’t play with mommys things, little one!

I am pretty sure that my grandmother´s house did not hold as many toys as mine does.
And now that the house is nice and clean I wanted to look into what kind of things Viola needs storage for in her room.

Costumes! Viola loves to play with them and I love to buy them, therefor we have quite a few.
She has one big container that holds a lot, but unfortunately mixing  it all will lead to some of it getting ruined.
Like shoes and wigs. Not a good mix. And the nice dresses should be on a hanger.

I emailed Elisabeth over at the Swedish webshop  www.anyhow.se and she told me about two products in her shop that might be what I was looking for.
She was nice enough to send me a sample.
First a hanger in the shape of one big circle and it was perfect for the dresses. We will keep one in our livingroom cause it looks so nice.

And second: a fabric bag with print for wigs and hats and such. This made me think of all the bags Viola has in her room. I gathered them, filled them and hung them together with the one she sent me.

Now the only thing missing was something for Viola´s dress-up shoes.
I tried to fit them in a box that I got last Christmas. And it was perfect.

All set for make believe.

PS: Anyhow.se is offering free shipping this weekend inside Sweden!

One would think that the reward should come on Friday when you are done with everything. But I can not wait that long.  Some of you might already have guessed what the reward is.

FLOWERS of course! Bring as many as you can into your home. After a long and cold winter this is exactly what my heart desires. Buy them or pick them just as long as you have them.

Just look at that promiscuous Magnolia ready to burst. Lovely. Or those very rare Manbuds below, they make me happy.

Now let´s move downstairs. The kitchen might be the toughest part. Let´s start there. This is the current state of my own.

Except the list of stuff from the last post, there are many things that my grandmother did when she cleaned her kitchen.
Here they are:

Clean the stove inside and out. then move it out from the wall and clean behind it. Mom told me once about how grandmother was cleaning the kitchen at night and dragging the stove out only to discover a dead mouse. She came running and screaming  into the living room (Tom & Jerry-style)  and leaped over the children who sat in the sofa. So watch out for dead animals or screaming people.

Empty the fridge and freezer, clean them thoroughly and throw away iffy food. (This is no fun at all so move ahead to the Footloose song on my spotify list. It should help)
Empty all the cabinets and if you have paper covers (hyllpapper)  in there change them. Put back everything nice and neat.
Don´t forget the kitchen drawers especially if they look like this. And the cabinet under the sink is not a friendly place.

Scrub the filters in the fan and get rid of all that grease.
While you are in the kitchen unclogged you coffee machine with vinegar. We make 3 -4 pots of coffee every day, so we  need to do this very, very often.

I love DoreDoris kitchen from my visit there. And her pantry below. Next to it a picture of my mother in laws cleaning supplies storage, that is painted turquoise.

And why not decorate you kitchen with some fun vinyl stickers when you are done. Just like Ungt blod, from this visit.

Livingroom

Keep on repeating  things on the previous list. Ceilings, walls and all furniture needs to be wiped with a damp cloth. The windows in every room, all the radiators and so on. The couch need to be vacuumed or even better taken outside for a beating.

Bathroom

This is all so obvious, and I will go through it very quickly.
Open the window and scrub everything while listening to “baby I ´m burning” with Dolly.

That should do the trick.
Good Luck!

Tomorrow I will talk rewards and I will also deal with those rugs.
And maybe a giveaway.

This is my grandmother: Valborg. I love this picture. I choose this picture even though it had nothing to do with cleaning. You see, there was more to her then just cleaning. It often is.

But today the focus lies on cleaning.

Even though she was not a housewife she took a lot of pride in keeping her house spotless. Twice a year she and her family made an real effort making the house smell and look wonderful. I will now tell you how she used to clean. I am not saying that you should do this, but it really inspires me, and it might inspire you to. I have divided this post in two parts. I call the first one Upstairs it will contain: Wardrobes and bedrooms. And the second part Downstairs is Kitchen, Bathroom, Living room.

Here goes:

Upstairs

Start in your wardrobes. Empty them on clothes and wipe the walls, ceilings and floor with a damp cloth.  Sort out all your winter clothes, like heavy coats and boots.  Clean them as good as you can. Wash them or take them to the cleaners. Grandmother hung them outside in the fresh air all day. Then she brushed them with a clothes brush. Don´t forget to turn the pockets inside out for a good brush too. Clean and prepare your boots for storage.

While you are in the closet see if there is anything you want to donate or sell.

Once it is clean hang it all back. Put your winter gear in storage or in coat bags. Don´t forget moth repellent if the coats are made of wool.

Once you are done with the closet move on over to the bedrooms. Empty your beds and take all the pillows and covers outside. Let them hang there all day, and when night comes they are nice and cool.

There are a few things that should be done in every room.

Start by moving all the furniture to the middle of the room, or even better into another room. It is so much easier then.
And open all the windows.
Remove everything loose. Take curtains, sheets and table cloths and throw them in the washer (grandmother did not have one back in the 40´s, she washed it by hand) and wipe or wash everything else in the kitchen sink. Don´t forget the pictures on the wall.

Wipe all the surfaces with water and soap. Start from the top. Ceiling and walls, and all the furniture.
Don´t forget lamps, radiators, and doors.
Vacuum what you can. Stuffed furniture such as beds and sofas.
Clean the windows and the window frame.
Vacuum the floor and scrub them by hand using a brush and a rag.
Since grandmother did not have Spotify I am sure she had the radio on, and don´t forget to snack on something every now and then.

PS: I usually keep a notebook and a pen at hand, because for some reason i get so many great ideas while cleaning. =)

This is how I want my bedroom to feel when I am done cleaning. Fresh and clean. This is from the visit at Anna´s house.

Or like at Sara´s house. From this visit.