Routines

I've mentioned before that I follow a blog called Down To Earth, written by Australian blogger Rhonda Hetzel.  Yesterday she wrote about daily and weekly routines and asked readers to share their own routines.  I had been considering a post like that anyway, so I decided to take her up on her invitation.

Shane gets up most mornings between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., depending on where in the city he's working that day, and whether the crew can start work at 6:00, 6:30 or 7:00.  He's always early to work (in the almost 11 years we've been together, I've known him to be late to work once).  His routine is to get up, take a quick look at craigslist on the computer, get dressed, make his coffee and lunch and walk out the door, usually in less than an hour.

As a rule, I don't get up with Shane in the mornings. We decided early on that since he doesn't eat breakfast, there is no need for me to be up.  He likes to make his own lunch because, he says, it's part of the routine that helps him wake up.  So I stay in bed.

On a typical day, I get up at 6:00.  That gives me about an hour and 15 minutes of quiet time before I get Kat up for school (or daycare two days a week in the summer).  I let her sleep a little later on days we aren't going anywhere.  I like to start my day with coffee and time on the computer, reading headlines and blogs, and maybe working on my own blog post.

Around 7:15 I get Kat up and help her pick out her clothes, then I get dressed myself.  I fix breakfast for her and get her ready and out the door by 8:20.  I admit I let her watch a little TV after she's dressed and has eaten.

I drop Kat at school or daycare by 8:30 and usually I come right back home.  I'm not a breakfast eater, but I try to eat a little something when I get home.  I might get back on the computer to finish a blog post or I might jump right in with my housework.  At any given time, I have four lists on my refrigerator:  daily chores, weekly chores, quarterly chores and my weekly menu.  I live by these lists.  That's not to say that I feel I must check off each and every item on them; the days I check every single chore off my list as done are very few.  Sometimes a chore can wait or just doesn't need to be done.  But the lists are there so that I at least consider them.  Otherwise, a lot of chores would fall by the wayside...possibly forever. :) They keep me headed in the right direction, and Shane says he likes them because he can see what's going on around the house and whether or not he can do anything to help.  (He keeps his own lists going elsewhere in the house.)

My daily morning routines consist of basic housework -- making beds, loading and/or unloading the dishwasher, starting laundry, tidying up rooms, and giving the bathroom a quick wipe-down. I like to start supper early in the morning by prepping anything that can be prepped.  If I'm making a slow cooker meal or anything that will take a long time to cook, or that will hold and reheat well, I like to go ahead and make the entire meal early.  That way it's done and I'm not scrambling later in the day.

Late in the morning, I take a break for checking email and blogs again.  I might make myself a proper lunch, or might just graze on snacks.  Then I begin my afternoon chores, which are more laundry if necessary and whatever chores I have designated specifically for that day.  For example, on Mondays I balance the checkbook and pay bills, clean the room we use as an office and do any other "administrative" chores; Tuesdays is the day we put out the trash, so that's the day I change the cat litter and gather trash from all the small cans, clean out the fridge, and mop the kitchen floor.  Each day has it's own list of chores, and I also try to do some of my quarterly chores in the afternoon.  Quarterly chores might include cleaning out the microwave, organizing the coat closet, cleaning desk or kitchen drawers, washing blankets, cleaning windows, etc.  By the time I'm finished with those things, it's usually time to go get Kat from school or daycare.

After school, I give Kat a snack.  Sometimes I have a snack, too.  Kat's school only assigns homework on Fridays, so most days I just look at any school papers she's brought home and have her put her backpack away for the night.  I finish up any of my chores that are left undone, and anything that still needs to be done for supper, while Kat plays with toys or sometimes watches a video or TV show.  If I'm lucky, I can talk Kat into taking her bath right after school, too.

Shane gets home between 3:00 and 5:00, again depending on where he's working and the day's start time.  In the summer, he spends several hours outside in the garden or in the garage working on his own list of chores.  In the winter, he's only busy for an hour or two after work.

We eat our supper together, which is one of the few really hard and fast rule in our house.  It's a bone of contention sometimes, too, because Shane doesn't always want to stop his projects to eat and I'm pretty adamant that we eat about the same time each day.  We feel better and are in better moods when we do, and Shane will be the first to admit it, although he's also the most likely to want to skip a meal because he's busy.

After supper, Shane helps me put food away and load the dishwasher.  He goes off to take his shower while I finish up with any dishes that need to be washed by hand, and sweep the kitchen floor.  Kat then takes her bath if she didn't take it earlier and gets ready for bed.  We play games, read or watch family-friendly TV together for an hour or so.  After she's in bed, I finally get my bath.  I might have as much as an hour to watch a TV show with Shane before the day ends, but often there isn't even that much time left before he goes to bed, around 10:00 p.m.  I end my day, usually with another quick look at the computer and always with a few pages of a book.  I'm almost always asleep by 11:15 or 11:30.

Rhonda talks about how many women enjoy doing crafts, but won't prioritize them into their day because they feel guilty doing them instead of doing housework.  Well, that would be me she's talking about.  I just can't seem to work them into my schedule, and it's exactly because I feel I should be doing something "more important".  Yet I spend too many little moments on the computer throughout the day.  This is something I want to work on.

Rhonda also talks about working small breaks and rewards into her schedule.  This I do manage to do, either by stopping for a quick snack, reading the paper or a few pages of a book, and reading blogs.  This is probably something I could stand to do less of, actually.

On Thursdays I have a special routine, which I'll talk about tomorrow (I had already written that post before Rhonda's idea came about).

What about you?  Do you live by a routine?  How do you do it all if you also work outside the home?  I was a single mom for 13 years, so I know I did it, but I can't remember how I did it.  I suspect that maybe I didn't do all the things I'm doing now.  But then again, I was doing things then that I don't do now, like mowing and making sure I got the car serviced on time  I guess my priorities were a little different than they are now;  but it makes me tired just thinking about it.

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July Grocery/Pantry Challenge:

Items Purchased Today (store brand unless indicated):  None

Amount Spent Today (including tax): $0.00

Amount Spent To Date in July (including tax): $34.74

Homemade Window Cleaner

Nicki at Domestic Cents was asking about a homemade general purpose cleaner, so I thought I'd post this.

I use this for just about everything...windows, counters, laminate wood floors, daily cleaning in the bathroom, mirrors, appliances, etc. I keep spray bottles of it in the kitchen, in the bathroom and in our camping gear in the summer.


Homemade Window Cleaner

(1 gallon costs less than $1)

2 tablespoons ammonia
1 teaspoon Dawn dish liquid
1 pint (2 cups) rubbing alcohol
4 drops any color food coloring (optional)
a few drops of any scented or essential oil (optional)

Put all ingredients in a clean, empty gallon jug. Fill the rest of the way with hot water (fill very slowly, as it will suds up if you add the water too quickly). Pour as needed into smaller sprayer bottles. Use as you would any window or all-purpose spray cleaner.

1 batch makes 1 gallon of cleaner.

Takin' Care of Busy-ness

The bathroom remodel is almost done. Shane was true to his word that he'd have it 90% finished by the end of the day Sunday. It was close, but that remaining 10% is details, and we all know that's where the devil is. All that is left to do is a little touch up painting, put the towel racks up and hang a few do-dads on the walls. Done or not, I'll be posting pictures tomorrow.

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Today Kat and the rest of the 1st Graders are having their Thanksgiving Feast, and I'll be heading to school in a few minutes to take some hot rolls and join in. I think it will be a pretty good feast, although I'm not sure how well turkey cold cuts are going to go over instead of an actual bird.

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Speaking of turkey, how long does it really take one of those things to thaw?

Every year I move it from my deep freeze to the spare fridge and come time to cook it, it's still a little frozen in the middle, resulting in us scrambling to get it thawed by running warm water in the cavity. This year, I moved the bird from the deep freeze last Thursday, allowing it a full week to thaw. When I checked it on Sunday, it was still rock solid. So I put a cooler filled with cold water on the back deck and stuck it in there, making sure to bungee down the lid to keep out any stray raccoons.

Yesterday, the water was so cold it hurt my hands, but the turkey was starting to thaw. This morning, the water is still nice and cold and the turkeys feel like their coming along. By tomorrow, I'm sure they'll be ready for Shane to inject with some yummy Cajun-spiced butter and store over night in the spare fridge again. Then by Thursday, it'll be ready for him to deep-fry. We love deep-fried turkey, and it frees up my oven for other things on Thanksgiving morning.

How are the rest of you doing with your holiday preps? Anyone else frying their turkey?

Random Wednesday

First, I want to apologize to my friend Janelle, who is doing a series of posts about saving money on groceries on her blog At Home With My Monkeys. I replied to her post about looking for groceries in places other than the grocery store by suggesting she check out the Asian grocery store at our city's large open-air market. I found my favorite Lipton loose leaf tea there for 50% less than Wal-Mart; I think it's a great place to find bargains.

How was I to know she would almost lose her lunch by going in there? Really, I hardly even notice the dead-fish smell myself.

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All is quiet here today; my daughter Jeanne went back to work today (still on crutches) and Kat is at her second-to-last day of summer school. I've been able to catch up on housework and bill-paying. Getting things in order, which is something I require to feel calm and peaceful.

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Tell me, what do you think of this afghan?


Jeanne and her husband have asked me to make it for them for a wedding gift. At her request, I'll be replacing the red yarn with a deep plum, but otherwise it will remain the same. We bought the yarn yesterday afternoon and I'm looking forward to getting started on it. If you want to make it, too, the pattern can be found here.

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Remember the motorized bike we bought in May? We've been having fun with it on our camping trips and cruising around town a little, but we have to take turns with it. Well, guess what? We bought another one. We got another great deal, this time from a craigslist ad. This one has a nicer ride in my opinion, so it's probably going to be the one I ride most.

The problem is that it's almost identical in appearance, and it's confusing to say "the old one" and "the new one", since the one we just bought is actually older than the one we already had (see what I mean?)

We think we should name them to be able to distinguish between the two. We've thought of several names already: Itchy and Scratchy, Beenie and Weenie, Phineas and Ferb, and even Mary-Kate and Ashley. Of course, Beavis and Butthead, but neither of us wants to ride Butthead.

Any ideas?

Quick Monday Post

I thought I'd publish a short post this morning just to say "Here!". I think some people (A.Marie?...LOL) are concerned I'm either not going to post again or have gotten lost somewhere in the depths of my house as I clean it.

It was a busy week last week. I'm only about halfway finished with my room-to-room cleaning of my house. Part of the reason it's taking me so long is that, while I clean, I'm also sorting out items for a garage sale. And trying to keep up with laundry and meals. And trying to keep the rooms I've already cleaned looking good so that I don't feel an urge to start over as soon as I'm done.

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Some special events happened last week, both warranting celebration, but neither getting much attention at the request of those who would have been in the limelight.

On Thursday, my parents marked their 60th wedding anniversary! Isn't that amazing? They married as teenager, so they are now in their mid- to late-70s and going strong! We had small parties for them on their 25th and 50th anniversaries, but they didn't want a fuss made for any of the others, not even this one.

On Saturday, my daughter and her boyfriend got married! I'm not sure if it's an elopement if everyone knew ahead of time that they were going. :) They've been talking about getting married for a while, and after watching another couple go through the stressful planning of a large wedding, they decided a big ceremony wasn't for them. I can understand their sentiment; Shane and I were married in a similar manner. Anyway, Shane and I are happy for them and wish them the best.

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On a totally unrelated note, I was finally able to trap the mama cat that's been living in the back yard. A volunteer from the shelter came on Friday with a drop-style trap and sat for a couple of hours waiting, baiting her with tuna and smelly wet cat food. The volunteer left, I put a bowl of familiar dry food in the trap, and had her within five minutes! The kittens are already back from the vet/shelter, and the mother should be back this week, so they can all live happily (and kitten-free) ever after under our deck.

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I'll be posting my weekly menu today. Some of the recipes I've chosen from other blogs are just so tasty looking (to me, anyway) that I didn't want to let them pass by. But like last week, those may be the only posts I publish this week. I promise, though, to get back to more frequent posting next week...clean house or no.


See you then!

Stay Tuned!

It's summer, but I'm taking a few days off from the blog to spring clean my house. I mean really clean it, one room at a time, for as long as it takes.

See you on the other side!

Baking Day

Once upon a time, I baked almost all of our bread. Then we decided to buy this house and my bread baking fell by the wayside as I packed the old house, cleaned and painted the new house, moved to the new house, unpacked, moved Kat here part-time, moved Kat here full-time, etc., etc.

I've decided that after three years, it's time for me to try to get back in the habit of baking our bread, so I spent several hours yesterday baking what we will need to get us through the week.

I baked a pan of rolls to be used as buns for BBQ pork sandwiches. They are made from a recipe I found at A Feast For The Eyes.


I cooked a dozen flat breads to be used for Monterrey Chicken sandwiches.


I baked a large loaf of bread for slicing, toasting or whatever else we need.


I also baked these chocolate sandwich cookies. I found the recipe at Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi. I added cherry drink syrup (the kind for cappuccino or soda) to the filling for about 1/3 of these cookies.

Sew...What's New?

I've taken up sewing again. I have never been an accomplished seamstress (or "sewist", a term I've seen a lot in recent weeks). On the other hand, on the few occasions when I took my time and remained patient, I turned out some fairly nice work. The problem there was that I rarely remained patient; it seems every sewing machine I've ever owned was out to get me.

Last summer, having not sewn a stitch for at least six years, I sold my old machine to someone more willing to put up with it's peculiarities. About a month later, the sewing bug bit me. After a few months of mulling it over, trying to ignore it, and just plain trying to talk myself out of it, I gave in and bought another machine. A new one this time. Well, an almost new one. It's "factory reconditioned", but if it has been used at all, I certainly can't tell. It's probably more machine than I'll ever need, but I was able to buy it at Overstock.com for less than many lesser models would have been brand new.

Here it is:

Janome 11558

And here is my first project, coordinating aprons for Kat and myself.

I decided to start with a very easy-to-sew project; few projects are more simple to make than aprons. I didn't want Kat to look like a Mini-Me, so I bought similar fabric in different colors, but used the same contrast fabric for both. They match...yet they don't.


This was a good refresher project for me. After sewing the first one with little trouble, the second one went together in no time.

Next up is a tunic-style top. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I'll post it here when I'm done.

Is She Too Young To Learn About Socks?

Is it normal for a 5-year-old girl to roll her socks inside out every. single. time. she takes them off her feet?

Doesn't she know how long it takes to unroll them for the washing machine? She's adding seconds upon seconds to my laundry routine.

Yeah, she'll get hers. One day she'll get married and have kids of her own.

6 Weeks Already?

I can't believe I've been doing the 365 Day Declutter Challenge for more than six weeks already! If you'd asked me, I'd have guessed half that. The summer is flying by!




Day 37 - Bought a dozen small plastic crates for Kat's room. Helped her organize her small toys into them and, in the process, tossed out the broken odds and ends.

Day 38, 39, 40 - Between doctor appointments for Kat and myself, not feeling well, and straightening out a time-consuming problem with the computer program I use for budgeting, I didn't do any de-cluttering or much of anything for that matter. I'm not worried, because some days I declutter more than just one or two things.

Day 41 - This was more of a clutter day than a declutter day. I hit the garage sales on my way home from taking Kat to her mom. I was careful and bought only things I knew for certain we would use (like work jeans for Shane) and a large lot of books am 100% certain I can resell. But until I do resell them, they are clutter. :(

Day 42 - Returned a borrowed book to my daughter. Got caught up on laundry that was cluttering up the basement floor (see Days 38-40).

Day 43 - Didn't get rid of anything, bought a bathroom trash can with foot-controlled lid to keep the kitten from dragging the trash all over the bathroom several times a day. It's working!

Day 44 - Shane took many unneeded home improvement supplies back to Home Depot for refund.

Day 45 - When Shane finished installing the new kitchen sink, he took the old one directly to the truck to be disposed of in the scrap heap at his job site. It didn't clutter up the basement or garage for even a day.

Day 46 - Cleaned out mine and Shane's closet. Removed some clothing and shoes (17 pieces in all). Most went in the donation box.

A Challenge

As much as clutter and mess bother me, I tend to be a bit of a pack rat. I hang on to things that might be useful someday, might sell on eBay, might be passed on to a friend or family member who could use them, might be donated to charity, etc.

That's all great. Reusing and recycling as much as possible is a noble goal, in my opinion. But if you pack rat long enough, the clutter begins to take over. That's why I'm taking the 365 Day Clutter Challenge to sell, donate, or toss at least one item a day.

This kind of challenge can be found all over the Internet, including at the Flylady forums, and just who started it doesn't seem clear. That seems beside the point to me; the point being...getting junk out of my house even if it takes playing games with myself to do so. I saw it first at See The Woods and The Trees, who picked it up from SAHMmy Says, so that's the challenge (and badge) I've decided to take for myself.

I'll be posting the day's (or days') flotsam and jetsam at the end of my regular posts. We'll see if I can keep up for a full year. Play along if you want...unless, of course, you're not a pack rat like me.

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365 Day Clutter Challenge - Day 1: Put a 10x14 picture frame that I intended to use for a cross-stitch project into the thrift store donation box.

A Morning of Housework Is Cheaper Than Therapy.

I've been accused of being a neat freak, and I suppose I am in some ways. My house is never spotless (and I don't expect it to be), but clutter and mess bother me... a lot. They make me feel stressed and nervous. They distract me from doing other things, even if the other things are more urgent.

So, to have gone away for the weekend with the house in the shape it was in was a big deal. It was a needed break, and I knew that, but I didn't feel good about it until I was well away from home and could more or less forget about it.

In a bold move on my part, I'm posting pictures of the mess that was our house this morning, and what I did to get rid of it.

If I were really bold, I'd show the before and after pics of the basement, but I don't think I'm that brave. So you won't see the first thing I did, which was start on the laundry. I pulled last Friday's dry load from the dryer, moved the wet laundry from the washer to the dryer, and folded the dry stuff. That took 20 minutes. One load down, about 5 more to go. It'll be a day-long project.

Here's the kitchen this morning:

And here it is after an hour of work:

It's not clean, but it's better. I still need to mop, wipe down the appliances, and scrub the sink. But the clean dishes from the dishwasher and counter top were put away, the dishwasher was reloaded and is running, the rest of the dishes were handwashed, the floor was swept, the trash was taken out, and anything that didn't belong in the room was removed.

I tackled the bathroom next. Here's the before:

I tossed the laundry down the chute into the (now dry) basement, put things away, wiped down the sink and toilet, gave the toilet a quick scrub with the brush and swept the floor.

All told, that took just 8 minutes. That's why I never mind cleaning the bathroom. A little work makes a big difference.

The living room was a wreck, but I took care of that, too.

First, I sent Kat to daycare and got her out of the way! Then I just started picking up stuff by room (things that go in Kat's room, things that go back to the kitchen, etc.) and putting them away. It took fewer than 10 minutes. I still need to dust and vacuum, but at least it's livable now.

And finally, our bedroom. Can you believe that except for two or three garments, all the clothes in this room are clean?


I just didn't have time to put them away last week. Once I did that and made the bed, the room was more or less done in 40 minutes.

The office is still a mess, and will stay that way at least until tomorrow. Kat's room, oddly enough, wasn't messy at all; maybe because half her things were in the living room.

The house is still not as clean as I'd like, but it looks like it is. That alone makes me feel much more at ease and able to tackle some of the other things I need to get done today.

Productive Day Off

Roads were treacherous here today because of freezing rain and sleet. I care about my job, but when the news reported dozens of accidents and long, long delays even before 6:30 a.m., I decided I was better off staying home. Shane stayed home, too, since there was nothing his crew could do on an outdoor job site.

We spent the day working around the house. Shane did some cleanup in the garage, which is a never ending project. I'm not sure why it was built this way in 1960, but for some reason, the garage is too small for either of our vehicles, so it's become a catchall space for all kinds of stuff (most of it his).

I took most of the morning to clean and organize the pantry, cabinets, fridges (we have two) and deep freeze. I took inventory of our food and made out a meal plan for March, using as much of what we have on hand as possible.

After lunch, I cleaned out my dresser drawers, cleaned the top of my dresser, and checked for stray items under our bed. I did some filing in our office/computer room and then went to the basement and cleaned the laundry area and cabinets where I keep some cleaning supplies. I also calculated our state tax returns (we have to file in two states because Shane works in two states over the course of a year).

We worked in a couple of board games with Kat, and she spent a lot of the day coloring, cutting, playing with Legos and building a tent with blankets.

All in all, it was a great day off, and despite sounding busy, it was actually relaxing. The only thing I didn't get to that I wanted to was to make this. Maybe I'll get to it this weekend.

The Kitchen Is The Heart Of The Home. And The Brain.

Here it is...Operations Central.

These four lists are posted on my fridge 24/7: my monthly menu plan, my daily chores (divided into morning, afternoon and evening), my weekly chores (divided by day of the week) and a list of other chores that I've decided need to be done once every couple of months.

I've become so dependent on them that I don't think our household would function without them! I used to keep them somewhat out of sight in a household notebook but "went public" with them few months ago when I was doing temp work away from home. That way Shane can take a quick look and know what still needs to be done (he helps a lot, with the evening chores especially).

The lists are based largely on the FlyLady system*, but I've adapted it to fit our household needs better. It works well for me whether I'm working or staying home.

My house isn't spotless, and it isn't always as organized as I'd like, but my lists help me keep things "under control". Sometimes that's the most you can ask for.


*There are a lot of homemaking "systems" to try, but I like the FlyLady because the system is direct, effective, secular and doesn't allow for excuses. Some think it's too "in your face", but it really works. Then once good habits have become routine, it can be adapted to better fit your own style.

The Amazing Rubber Turkey

I bought an 18 pound turkey for Thanksgiving and stretched it from there to next Wednesday. It’s a good thing we love leftovers!

On Thanksgiving Day, Shane deep-fried it and we served it with all the trimmings: mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, a 7-layer lettuce salad, cooked cabbage and apples, cottage cheese, cranberry sauce, homemade crescent rolls and a couple of different desserts. We ate leftovers again later that day, and I sent enough home with Jean and with my sis and brother-in-law to feed them that night, as well. The only thing we depleted was the mashed potatoes. (about 12 turkey servings in all)

On Friday I sliced the remaining white meat and put it in the fridge. I picked the remaining dark meat from the bones. I put about 1-1/2 cups of dark meat in the freezer, and divided the rest into three portions and refrigerated it for other meals. We had removed the wings in order to get the turkey to fit into the fryer, so I put the wings, along with the turkey carcass in a large stockpot and simmered up a gallon of nice, rich turkey stock. Then I picked even more meat from the carcass. Using one portion of the reserved dark meat and a little of the stock, along with the green beans and gravy (and adding some onion and carrot) I made a biscuit-topped turkey pot pie. We ate 1/3 of it for supper, along with leftover 7-layer salad, cranberry sauce and cottage cheese. We’ll eat the rest on Sunday and Monday. (4 total turkey-based servings eaten Friday)

Today (Saturday) we’ll use the white meat for turkey sandwiches for lunch, along with more cranberry sauce, cottage cheese, stuffing, and cabbage and apples. For supper, I’ll use part of the reserved stock and another portion of the reserved dark meat, along with the noodles out of a couple of packages of Ramen noodles to make turkey noodle soup. I’ll serve the leftover rolls with it, along with desserts as desired. (at least 6 total turkey-based servings between the two meals)

Tomorrow (Sunday), we’ll have another 1/3 of the turkey pot pie for lunch, along with some of the cabbage and apples, stuffing and cranberry sauce if there is any left. For supper, I’ll use the remaining refrigerated portion of dark meat, some of the stock, and some potatoes, carrots and celery to make a thick turkey stew. I’ll add a side salad to it and call it a meal. (at least 6 total turkey-based servings)

Monday evening we’ll have the rest of the turkey pot pie and a salad. (at least 4 turkey-based servings)

Tuesday, we’ll have a mini-smorgasbord of whatever, soup, stew and side dishes are leftover. (at least 3 total turkey-based servings)

Finally, on Wednesday I’ll take the last of the turkey out of the freezer and make a small casserole dish of turkey tetrazzini and a couple of “new” side dishes. (approx. 4 turkey-based servings)

That’s at least 39 main dish servings from one $15 bird. Less than 40¢ per serving. Even after adding the side dishes on Thanksgiving Day and the few ingredients throughout the week, I can’t imagine the meals cost more than $1 per person per meal. I know it’s too late to be of much help for this weekend, but it’s something to keep in mind next time you cook a turkey. If can’t stomach the idea of that much poultry that many days in a row, you could always freeze the turkey and the stock and use it within a month or two.

My next project: An elastic ham for Christmas!

Ask The Readers: I Need A GOOD Mop

We have Pergo laminate wood floors in our kitchen/dining room. It probably needs mopped once a week, but it gets mopped every Wednesday.

Here's my problem: whatever kind of mop I use, it leaves visible streaks or a sticky film under my shoes or bare feet.

I don't think the cleaner is the problem. I use one of three things to clean it: store-bought hardwood cleaner, Windex (either store bought or a homemade knock-off) or a vinegar-water solution. All work well and don't streak if I get down on my hands and knees and use paper towels or cloth diapers to wipe the floor. I didn't mind doing this when we lived in a townhouse, because the kitchen was tiny. But our combo kitchen here is three times the size and I'd rather not spend so much time on it.

When I use the same cleaners with a mop in hand and feet on the floor, and I get streaks. I've tried the Swiffer mops, with their solution (it leaves a heavy film...eww!) or mine. I've tried the larger flat mops with the washable terry cloth covers. I've tried this kind of mop.

The closest I've come to success is pinning a cloth diaper to the mop that uses the terry cloth cover. It leaves fewer streaks, but the diaper shifts around making the mop bounce and skip over the floor instead of gliding over it.

Anyone got any suggestions for a quality mop? I don't like having streaks on the floor, I hate the tacky feeling underfoot, and I definitely don't want to have to go over the floor twice just to buff the streaks and film away.