Lessons Learned and Homemaking Tips

This is the first in what will probably be a long string of posts. Often, as I go about my day, I will do something and think about how I need to make sure to tell my daughter this some day. (She is six now so I doubt that she would remember housekeeping advice,) Blogging seems like a good way to preserve thoughts, tips and lessons so here goes!
  Lately I've been thinking about the difference between cleaning a house and "keeping" a house. It has taken me 18 years of marriage and housewife-ness to get this soaked into my mind.
 Anyone can clean a house. Anyone can let messes pile up and,eventually, clean them up again. I spent a lot of years doing this! This is not "housekeeping" or being a keeper of the home. To keep a home is to maintain it. Keeping a house organized and comfortably clean is an all day,every day job. Messes are made all day,every day, and to let them continuously pile up is like digging yourself into a hole.
 Simply putting things where they need to be, as soon as they are out of place, will make you one of the more successful housekeepers! Don't wait until 5 loads of laundry are piled on the bed to start folding and putting it away. Don't wait for the end of the day and 3 meals behind you to wash the dishes . Don't wait until you're expecting company to scrub your bathroom. This is an endless list but the point is the same, KEEP your house in order, rather than becoming buried in an ever deepening hole of chaos and disorder .

 Now for a tip, Vinegar! I have come to love vinegar. Vinegar in your rinse cycle softens and deodorizes clothes and towels. Vinegar on your hands and cutting board will quickly eliminate onion odors . A bath of cold water and vinegar will kill damaging bacteria on fruit and make it stay fresh longer! There are many uses for vinegar and these are a few of my favorites