Recently, our church participated in a Daniel Fast. I was not up to food fast this year (although I have done it in the past) so I decided to fast Facebook and in the process started a challenge to clean and organize my home. I will admit that I have been very lazy about housekeeping since Michael was born. He's been a lot more clingy than I'm accustomed to dealing with and it has made things more difficult for me. I've also been dealing with a little bit of post partum blues/depression which left me very subdued and unmotivated. As part of my Facebook fast, I decided to kick myself in the rear and begin this cleaning challenge to help me get out of my doldrums and re-enter life. I've also been using the YouVersion Bible App on my phone again to do daily Bible readings and devotionals, which have helped tremendously! The Challenge was originated by Katrina at
The Organised Housewife So drop by there and take a look! I customized it to my needs but I love her layout and printables for during the challenge. I've just completed Day 6 and have been able to complete most of the tasks. Unfortunately, I didn't think about taking pictures of all the work until just recently but will try to add pictures as I go along from here.
Day 1 - The Laundry area: I decided to start with something small instead of the kitchen (a huge job for me) to work myself in to cleaning. With Eddie's help, I put a wire shelf above the washer. I plan to get another shelf for above the dryer (I couldn't find the length I need to go all the way across so I just got one shorter one and will add the second later.) I then cleaned the washer and dryer well (inside and out) and ran a hot wash with vinegar and baking soda to clean the washer well. I also wiped down the walls and organized everything onto the shelf and got most everything off the dryer. Once I get the second shelf purchased and installed, I'll be able to completely clean off the dryer. Lastly, I swept and swiffered the floor area. This was a great starter for my cleaning challenge...not too big and not too small!
Day 2 - Our Bedroom: This was a much larger challenge for me as everything was cluttered and messy. Our room tends to be the catch all so it took a while but I managed to get most everything done. I cleared off the dresser and bedside table and cleared out the drawers. I got rid of the "rubbish" and things I didn't need or use anymore and then re-organized everything so only the necessities were organized out on the dresser. Once I had everything in a new home, I cleared and stripped the bed, and put the sheets in the washer. I vacuumed the mattress and fan blades and then swept and swiffered the floor, including under the bed. It took pretty much all day, but I felt like it was a success. Our closet and master bath will be a later day.
Day 3 - Kitchen: Bottom Cabinets and counters - Eddie has Wednesday's off work so I planned the kitchen for Wednesday so I'd have help to get it all done. It's a good thing I did too because I never would have been able to finish it by myself! We have problems with mice every winter and this one was no different. I finally got mice poison bait block stations (the ones that are child proof) and placed them around the kitchen/living room area a few weeks ago and I'm fairly certain at this point that they're all gone. However, they've definitely left many signs of their presence...especially in my bottom cabinets -_- We had to pull ALL of the pots, pans, bowls, Tupperware, serving ware, etc. out of the bottom cabinets, clean the shelf liners and sanitize the cabinet walls...all of them. We swept up a mountain of mouse droppings afterward -_- Eddie washed everything in hot soapy clorox water to disinfect everything. He was a HUGE help! After everything was clean, I re-organized my bottom cabinets and got rid of some things we didn't need. I found some locker shelves at Wal-mart on sale for $4 so I grabbed a couple of them and used them to help organize my Tupperware and large bowls. It's so nice to be able to find everything again and for it to be clean when I pull it out of the cabinets! Afterwards, I cleared and cleaned the counters and kitchen table, re-organized, and then swept and swiffered the floor. Top cabinets and the drawers will be a later day.
Day 4 - Living Room: This was supposed to be Thursday but I had to teach the breastfeeding class at the health department and run some errands so I did it on Friday instead. This was another fairly easy room. I cleared out my basket and cleaned off my side table. I also dusted/cleaned off the entertainment center, pulled it out from the wall and cleaned out from behind/under it as well. I re-organized the bookcase area and then swept and swiffered the floor and had to stop there. I still need to vacuum out the couch and clean the ceiling fan.
Day 5 - Floors & Pantry: Since Eddie's mom took the girls Friday evening, I used Saturday to catch up on my cleaning. I swept and swiffered our bedroom, laundry area, kitchen, and the living room. I also organized the "pantry" (all of 2 top cabinets -_-). A productive day but fairly easy. Most weekends are "free time" but since the girls were out of my hair, I took advantage of it.
Day 6 (Monday) - The Bathroom & hallway: I pulled everything out of the bathroom, cleaned the shower and tub, pulled the curtain down and put it through the washer, wiped down the walls and surfaces, cleaned the toilet, and re-organized the cabinet and shelves so it was less cluttered. The bathroom looks and smells much cleaner now and I'm quite happy with it! After I had everything cleaned and put back where it belonged, I organized the shoe rack in the hall way, put all the toys back in the girls room, and swept and swiffered the hallway. I then cleaned the girls rocker, Michael's walking toy, and a couple other large toys that live in the hallway before putting them back in their places. I'll be so glad when we get the larger bedroom redone so we can move the girls in there and get all their toys out of the hallway and organized into their room!
Tomorrow is Day 7 and I'm cleaning, decluttering, and organizing the girls current bedroom. It's all of 6' square...maybe a tad larger but it doesn't feel like it. LOL It has built in book cases around the top of the window. The twin size bed just barely fits against the window wall. The chest of drawers is between the bed and closet door with a pop-up hamper beside it that holds the girls stuffed animals. Most of the toys are kept in the bottom of the closet or under the bed with a couple of larger toys on the opposite wall. There's maybe 3' square of floor space left available and it's usually cluttered with toys. LOL I can't wait to get the larger room done! Until then, clean, declutter, organize and make do!
