Not enough hours in the day...especially on weekends

Fun fact:  Did you know my oven racks aren't actually black?  Me either.

Considering all the things I wanted to get done today; mentioned here - plus all the things that weren't on that particular list but reside on my constant, ever running, To Do list, the list was monumental.

One of the things that I wanted to do today was clean the kitchen sink.  We have a double, white porcelain sink.  When it is clean, it is a thing of beauty.  When it isn't, it is hellish, and no matter how clean the rest of the house is - if that sink isn't clean the whole house doesn't feel clean.

And considering how many messes The Husband makes in that kitchen, it feels like that sink is always in need of a scrubbing.

So I cleaned it and I was pleased.  The Husband had dropped a hint before he left that "if I had any free time and loved him, I would clean out the refrigerator for him."  This is the chore that he hates the most, even more than emptying the dishwasher.  I think it hurts him to see all the food that he has prepared thrown in the trash.  Well, that's his own fault for creating more than the two of us could possibly eat.  Now, to be fair, a LOT of the food he makes, he takes to work to share with his co-workers - or, if I'm quick enough, I take a small bit for a few of my favorite co-workers.

Then, because "I love him and I had a little time," I cleaned the refrigerator from top to bottom and discovered that we have more carrots than any one house needs.  We don't even eat that many carrots!  So, I am at a loss as to why we have so many.

Now here is where I mention that the Lazy Genius' hack to vacuuming out the fridge IS genius!  Cleaned those drawers in no time flat.

My day then got totally side-tracked when I noticed just how disgusting the oven glass was and, on a whim, decided that on this gorgeous, sun-drenched day, that I would clean the stupid oven.  I need a Lazy Genius guide to dealing with that.

Now, I know that our oven is self-cleaning but I was wary about using it as it appears our oven has NEVER, EVER been cleaned.  And, I also know that the more you can get out before you start the self-clean then, supposedly, the less toxic the fumes are (or is that all just in my head?  Probably).

At any rate, I started with the oven door.  Not long after I started, my friend from two doors down called and reminded me that we are all getting together tomorrow for her youngest's second, and her husband's (I have no idea how old he is, I'll find out tomorrow), birthday.  Naturally, this set off alarm bells in my head...GIFTS.  I needed to get gifts.  And lunch.

So I made a paste out of Barkeeper's Friend and Dawn dish soap on the oven glass and headed to Target and the ABC store.  Can you guess whose gift came from where? 😉 

Two stops and a lunch later, I came home to finish cleaning the oven door.  Guess what I decided halfway through cleaning the oven door?  That The Husband can clean the actual oven.  Dear God, that was a nightmare.  At one point, I stopped and Googled "easiest way to clean a gross oven door."

One woman suggested that one wet and one dry Mr. Clean Eraser worked for her.  Also, her "dirty" oven door looked suspiciously cleaner to begin with - but I tried it.  It did not work.  Bob Vila told me to use baking soda and vinegar - so basically, the exact same method I used - to make a paste and let it sit.  He did mention, that a razor could come in handy to remove those "extra tough" bits of grease and grime.  While I did not have a razor handy (plus, I would have worried about slicing myself to ribbons) I did have a butter knife.  You would be surprised at how much gunk a butter knife can remove from oven glass...I sure was.

After I wiped the glass clean one last time, I stood up, turned around and was faced with the oven racks.  Being the "genius" that I am, I figured I would pop those in the dishwasher and call it a day.

Until...

They didn't fit in the dishwasher.  And, I knew from my previous research, that these needed to be cleaned outside the self-cleaning oven.  Here is what I now know, when my dishwasher dies and I need a new one, I will be taking an oven rack with me to purchase the next one.  And I will find one that can hold an oven rack.

Cleaning an oven rack, by hand, has to be hands down, one of the world's most tedious tasks.  And, imagine my surprise when I realized that yes, my oven racks AREN'T black!  You can also now imagine that my oven racks still have bits of grease and grime because no amount of "elbow grease" can remove that - as my very sore fingers can attest.

Also?  Perfectly good manicure; ruined.

And that clean, white sink?  Had to be re-cleaned.

So to recap - today I cleaned the sink, the refrigerator, the oven glass and racks, and the sink again.  That is a total of five whole tasks...which took all day.

I have a feeling that if I want to complete the other nine tasks on that To Do list, I may need to get up at 3:00 am.

***

And, just I was wrapping up this post, Tipsy Swistle popped into my head and reminded me how much Future Gigi is so grateful for something Past Gigi has done.  So, Today's Gigi got up and crossed four more tasks off the list - things that Future Gigi will be so relieved are done.

One of the things accomplished?  Changing the sheets on the bed.  This is shocking only because I usually change the sheets in the morning.  Now, it should be told that I ADORE clean sheets so much that I would change them every day if I could.  But I HATE changing the sheets.  Why?  Because our mattress is ridiculously heavy.  And, to my thinking, if the mattress is THAT heavy then why do they already have body-shaped ruts in them after only X amount of years (I thought I had posted when we bought a new mattress, but apparently not.  I'm thinking maybe six years ago?).  But, whatever, that chore is done.  And instead of spending the whole day waiting to crawl into a bed with clean sheets, I only have to wait until this post is done.  Delicious.

Isn't it funny though, how you envision your day (or weekend) one way, only to get totally waylaid and end up going in a different direction?