Speed Cleaning Giveaway
I spied a tweet the other day that piqued my interest:
@karen_ehman, attended your “Keeping your Ducks in a Relative Row” workshop and decided to make a few cleaning aprons.
In attempting to live my priorities, and encourage others to do the same, I have adopted into my routine Speed Cleaning. (Okay, not so much lately as I’ve been busy trying to finish up my latest book project. Currently, well, let’s just say I am thanking the Lord that I have a man who doesn’t mind dishpan hands! ;-))
Speed Cleaning is a concept my friend Suzy introduced me to almost 20 years ago. It is based on the book by the same name and created by a man named Jeff Campbell.
Visit his site. His products are fabulous and worth every penny.
When I teach speed cleaning, I also show how to use a apron crafted to hold your supplies so you have everything right within reach and do not have to walk the perimeter of your home several times. (You know….go around and dust everything. Then take the window cleaner all around getting rid of the cute little finger prints. Next, take the all-purpose cleaner and clean the counters and sinks….etc… You get the time-wasting picture, right?)
Well, my new cyber friend Sheri, who heard me speak a few weeks ago at the Hearts at Home conference on the campus of Focus on the Family, has made some absolutely adorable cleaning aprons and has them for sale on Etsy.com. She is kind enough to give away one to a commenter today.
Here’s a bit about Sheri:
I am a military wife and homeschooling mom of 4. I fell in love with aprons about 14 years ago as a new Christian and new mom, listening to Elisabeth Elliot speak on Susanna Wesley covering her head with her apron to pray.
I just love the message wearing aprons conveys of home, love, comfort, etc. It’s like a homemaker’s uniform.
I love sewing any apron, I had made a similar design as a “cash” apron, and after hearing Karen’s Workshop on “Keeping Your Ducks in a Relative Row” I decided I needed my own cleaning apron, and since I recently started placing items in my etsy shop, I made some extras.
I will take custom orders and currently have free shipping with code SHIPFREE at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SheriMomto4
I love it. I love that she is using her passion to help others (like me, who can’t sew a straight seam) and earn some money at home for her family.
And, oh do I have a special place in my heart for military moms! Please check out her Esty site.
Okay girlfriends, leave us a comment today sharing your biggest cleaning headache.
Do you wrestle with your dirty floors?
Have an aversion to washing windows?
Can’t stand to keep up on keeping the fridge rid of rotten items that resemble a science project gone bad?
What is your greatest cleaning challenge?
You just may win a free apron.
Happy cobweb busting!
I absolutely do not know where to put anything. I will take things off the table, clean the table and then put everything back. Same goes for the bathroom sink area. Same for my desk. Same for the counter. Would love the apron!!
I HATE CLEANING SHOWERS……TILE, GROUT, DOORS, UGH. My dream home will just be a hose hanging over something in a big old concrete room with nothing to clean. Sure it won’t be pretty but think of all the mental energy I will save not thinking about grout!
BATHROOMS!!! YUCK! Not as bad as it was when I had 2 boys at home (one off to college now)… but still… UGH! Someone needs to come up with an automated bathroom cleaner, you know, kind of like the Roomba that vacuums and the new Mint that mops. I want something you put inside the bathroom, turn on, and shut the door. When a little tune plays, you open the door, and presto chango, a sparkling clean bathroom!
My most dreaded job is cleaning out the refrigerator. I just hate it! Which probably explains why it’s such an awful job for me, as I continually put it off, or only do a cursory cleaning when what I really need to to do is take everything out and ONLY put back in what I will actually use! I don’t even have much of an excuse, since I have been unemployed for a year. I should have lots of time, right?
My cleaning challenge is the dishes, the laundry, and the coffee table clutter of papers. I am a mother of a wonderful 2 year old and work full time. I am not good at putting up the dishes to load the machine again, same thing with the laundry… I wash, dry, but don’t put up, the paper on the coffee table just keeps on piling high! Working on it though.
My biggest cleaning challenges (oh yes, there are many) include the fact that the rest of the family does not mind clutter and they leave their personal possessions everywhere (hard to CLEAN around their clutter, so I spend most of my time picking up their stuff before I can clean) and scrubbing bathtubs, tile, and grout, especially with the hard water deposits that come with our well water. I cope with the above challenges one week a month (during PMS) by figuratively tearing my hair out, screaming at the family, and/or filling the trash can with their stuff that has been left out (not proud of any combination of these approaches). The other three weeks a month, I go out of my way to thank God that I have a family who is alive and well to make a mess; and thank God that I have clean, running water, which so many in this world do not have access to. (I probably should start praying for God to help me cope better that other week of the month, huh?)
My biggest challenge is the clutter that collects when I’m not looking! The next would be the bathroom. I think I just get tired of doing it over and over… Other areas don’t wear on me as much as those.
I went to a mother-daughter banquet with my mom-in-law several years ago and the speaker’s topic was aprons – they remind me of my grandma! My biggest headache – dust. It never really goes away. It just hides until you’re not looking then spreads itself out over everything again.
We have well water that is very high in iron, and leaves stains in my toilets, shower, tub, dishwasher, etc. I try to be as “green” as I can, so cleaning these stains without lots of chemical help is difficult.
Two big challenges paper clutter and a basement storeroom.
Dusting; I wish I had a tip on how to do it and it not be back in minutes. It seeems futile. I’d love the apron.
Keeping window blinds clean. In the bathroom they get wet and the dust…
The paper work … bills, correspondence, school homework, notes from school … I just can’t seem to get a handle on it.
I would have to say dusting is my biggest challenge. I dust and a few hours later it’s back again – I just don’t see a point! :)
Thanks for the pictures of the cute aprons. Having one of these might motivate me to clean more often than just when company is coming! HaHa
It depends on when you catch me on how I will answer what is my biggest cleaning obstacle. Right now just about everything :). But I’m catching up. I think over all the biggest obstacles are my hardwood floors & the bathrooms. I can do a quick speed clean & get the house straightened up but the floors & bathrooms take a lot of time.
I just can’t seem to move as fast as I use to. My house was never dirty in the past. Now my biggest obstacle seems to be vacuuming. I really need to win this—I need some incentive. Regardless, I love your website and all the great advice and opportunities that you give to us.
I’m finally getting into a routine of cleaning. As I have been asking God first thing in the morning to help me set my agenda; He’s been giving me balance where I am not over or under doing it and then feeling stressed and anxious through it all. I definitely can relate to running all around the house trying to grab cleaning supplies etc. so the idea of a multi-use apron is just wonderful! What a beautiful gift Sheri has too!
Love ya!
I clean houses for a living, so my own house has always been last on the priority list. This year however I have been purposeful about getting organized and keeping my house “picked” up. I have taught my boys to clean the bathrooms once a week, also once a day they have to have NOF (nothing on floor) in their bedrooms. When the kids went back to school in September I took the opportunity to purge, declutter and get organized. It has been a process but I have come a long way and feel so much less stress. We are working as a family to live with less, we have motivation now to do so, as we have decided to leap into the foster care system and someday hope to adopt children so we have no choice but to make more room for more people. So to sum it up my biggest challenge has been decluttering and organization, but all the effort has been worth it.
I have a hard time keeping up with mopping the tile floor. As soon as I’m done the dog drool re-appears. One day I’m going to miss that, so I don’t mind, I just don’t mop that often.
Very cute aprons!
My house is far from spotless,but I enjoy cleaning.I would love to feel pretty cleaning in a new apron.
I have a hard time keeping the tile floor mopped. As soon as I’m done there is more dog drool. I know one day I’m going to miss that so I don’t really mind, I just don’t mop as much as I should. I scatter paper towels on the floor a lot. Very Cute Aprons!
The KITCHEN is defiantly my biggest mountain . Open living concepts really make the kitchen a dumping ground for the family. Hopefully that will change as I am moving ONE week from today! EKK!! Also , I heard Karen speak today and LOVE the Brain in a Binder , but can’t find the Simple Tools to Download link. Help!
My biggest cleaning challenge is keeping all of the clutter in order. Thanks for the chance to win!
I have 2 challenges: Every baseboard in my house is white. Impossible to keep clean.
My biggest challenge is my house is 3 stories. Remembering to carry the supplies I need from one floor to the next is not always easy. Granted, going up and down the steps is good exercise, but I could really use an apron to help me be more efficient. If I’m more efficient at home, I can spend more time writing or at the gym.
My biggest cleaning challenge is running around after my dog. You see, he’s part chow and so he sheds EVERYWHERE!!! Plus he drags in mud from the backyard and so it seems my floors always need mopping and/or vacuuming. Or at least I thought he was a challenge until I read about the pet turkey. And then there’s the laundry. I don’t mind throwing it in the washer and dryer so much, it’s the folding and hanging that I have a hard time getting to. If I let it pile up on my dresser then it joins all the paper clutter. *sigh*
To tell you the truth, I do enjoy chores (wierd, I know!) but I think I am overscheduled and so have no time to do them. I think my chores will become easier and more enjoyable once I learn to say “no” to other commitments. After God I have three, no wait four, priorities in my life (which all are God-things too) plus my family and if it doesn’t fit in those priorities I’m going to stop and pray before saying “yes!” even if they appear to be good and Godly things at first glance. A girl can dream, can’t she?