Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Buy good dishwasher detergent. I used to think the detergent didn't make a difference. I also used to think that I had to presoak and prescrub all the dishes. As it turns out, my two misconceptions were connected. On a whim one day, I bought a detergent that said something on the label about getting out caked on food. I tried it out on a load of spaghetti dishes that had been sitting for a week. Out of a full load of extremely crusty dishes, I only had to rewash 2 or 3. Those are pretty good odds (considering my experiments with my regular detergent and crusty dishes usually resulted in a 50% rewash). I'd rather rewash a couple dishes than prewash all the dishes. It's simple math!

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

At least once a year, convince yourself that you don't have to be a Crappy Housewife forever. Buckle down and commit to some kind of crazy system or scheme. (My annual scheme is Hour-a-Day April.) Really, truly believe that you can change. Work your tail off as long as the motivation lasts.

And then, if it doesn't last forever (which it never does), at least your house is in better shape than it was before. Having a clean house once a year is better than never, right?

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Invite friends over for leftovers. You might be bored of them, but they are new to your friends!

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Out of clean dishes, and it's almost time for dinner? You could wash some dishes, or, you could have a Finger Food Buffet! Tonight, instead of washing, and then re-dirtying, 4 plates and 4 forks, I piled all the ham on one platter, stuck it in the middle of the table, and we all went to town. I actually didn't even make any proper side dishes today. We just ate our ham with slices of homemade bread, and had some apple slices for dessert. (We eat well-balanced meals most of the time; one slightly lopsided buffet isn't going to hurt anyone.)

Added bonus: The kids think they have won the dinner lottery! They get to eat all the ham they want, and they get to eat with their fingers! I'm the best mom ever!

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Don't watch Hoarders. It kinda makes this blog feel a whole lot less funny.

Crappy Housewife Tip of the Day

Find a hobby that requires a clean __________. That way, you will be motivated to clean the __________.

Ever since I started baking bread, my counters have stayed relatively clean, because I need counter space to roll out the dough. I don't enjoy cleaning counters, but I do enjoy baking bread, and the desire to have a place to roll out the dough usually outweighs my lack of desire to clean the counters. (If I really don't feel like cleaning the counter, I can always use the machine to bake the bread, but I like the way it tastes better when I bake it in the oven, which is a pretty good motivator. Plus, I have to do find *something* to do for the hour and a half while the machine is doing all the hard work mixing and kneading the dough for me.)