Keeping it Clean

Hi everyone! How has the week been going for you all?

I really have no complaints. Everything seems to be just ordinary and pleasant here, which is always a good thing.

Before I get into anything else, I want to continue with my Planning 101: My Tips for an Organized Life series.

Okay so here is number 2 on my list….

Organizational Tip: Keep it Clean

Okay, I have a bit of a confession to make. I am a crazed neat freak. Yes, I admit, the slightest essence of clutter, dust or disorder stresses me out to no end. I could never leave a dirty dish in the sink, a piece of clothing on the floor, or even a pillow misplaced on the bed. Thankfully, I was blessed with a husband who also despises clutter. We both strive to keep our house as neat and organized as possible and work very well as a weirdo neat-freak team.

Here are my tips for keeping on top of a clean house….

1. Pick one day of the week that you devote to do a thorough cleaning: For me, this day is usually Saturday or Sunday. Toly and I both spend a few hours in the morning doing the big cleaning projects, like vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, mopping the floors, and laundry. Toly and I split up the work and each take on a few things so we are able to accomplish everything in just a few hours.

2. Conduct mini-cleans everyday: I spend a few extra minutes cleaning the kitchen, doing a quick sweep of the floors, or throw in a load of whites. If you take 5-10 minutes to briefly tidy up, the big cleaning days won’t be as daunting.

3. Wash it once, use it twice: This is vital in cutting back on energy costs. I use this rule when it comes to laundry and dishes. If I wear an outfit to work once, and it is still clean when I get home, I usually don’t throw it in the hamper. I go by the ‘wash it once, wear it twice’ method. Since Toly and I use about the same dishes everyday, I also don’t find a need to run the dishwasher every night. I make sure that I give the plates, bowls, and utensils a good quick clean and then keep them in the dishwasher until we use them again. We go several days using the same dishes and then I usually run the dishwasher twice a week.

Ah, cleaning. You either love it or hate it. For me, cleaning is more of a therapeutic activity. Oddly enough, I do enjoy the process of cleaning, but more importantly, I take pleasure in end result of having a clean house.

Well today started off on a good feet, being that I ran an awesome speed session this morning. I’ve decided that Wednesday are going to be my speedwork day in my daily runs.

I ran 4 miles in 33 min and it felt amazing.

Here is my breakdown:
1-5: Warm up jog – 6.5 mph
6-8: 7.0 mph
9-11: 6.7 mph
12-15: 7.5 mph
16-17: 7.0 mph
18-20: 7.7 mph
21-22: 7.2 mph
23-25: 8.0 mph
26-27: 7.5 mph
28-30: 8.5 mph
31-33: Cool down – 6.5 mph

I love doing these speed runs. I usually can’t look at the time when I am running, but this workout just FLIES by. After I finished my run, I cam home and did a 10 min quickie core yoga workout. It was pretty intense for being 10 min, but my tummy felt great afterwards.

I was able to run home for lunch today and was feeling a big ol’ salad to compensate for the humidity in the air.

My salad contained raw yellow squash, slightly nuked broccoli, pickles, radish, purple cabbage, pineapple, and the remainder of a juicy tomato that did not fit on the second part of my lunch; ½ of a toasted WW English muffin with a slice of mater and some pesto and some baby carrots.

Toly went to a baseball game with some guys from work, so I was own my own tonight. You know what that means….

Tofu for dinner!

I am rapidly attempting to make my way through the vast supply of produce these days, so in a valid attempt to use more of my veggies, I threw together a kitchen sink veggie stir fry.
This one was chopped zucchini, eggplant, butternut squash, broccoli and red onion with tofu. I also added a few big handfuls of kale, freshly picked from the backyard.

Veggies! I'm such a sucker for the beautiful veg pics. Oh the colors just get me every time!

Then, here comes the tofu....


The sauce was a mix of lite coconut milk, PB, and soy sauce with garlic and ginger.

At the end, I decided to throw in some pineapple because I remember how much I adore this sweet melon in my stir fries.

Delicious! I don’t think I could ever tire of big veggie stir fries. Ever!

Now I am just going to relax and work on some blog stuff. I am thinking that there may be a little TJ’s tart fro-yo in my future. Have you guys tried this yet? I think it tastes so similar to pinkberry! I am loving it.

Okay good friends, see ya tomorrow!