In the past, I have tracked habits here at Common to Moms. I've done this partially because the public forum is great accountability for me and partially because watching someone accomplish something is great motivation for others.
This year- 2014- I am planning to make A LOT of changes in my life. Mainly, my goal is to move past survival mode and choose to live in a more peaceful and complete way.
I'm happy to report that the process has already begun. In the last week or so, I have already begun to do things like use my calendar to plan my life at least a week in advance (this helps to quell the chaos in a life full of doctors' appointments and therapies), taken back grocery shopping and meal planning, cooked a little, saved receipts (to soon use to do some budget tracking) and made a plan for how to take back my house from the chaos of twin pregnancy and almost a year of 3 children 3 and under.
Today I want to break down my plan for taking back my house and share it with you.
First, I feel the need to clarify that although I have needed to improve my habits on cleaning before, this is not the only thing crying out for change in our current life circumstances. It's more that while I was busy nursing, changing diapers and changing toddlers, stuff began accumulating in the corners of our home. And while some things grew, other things began to get lost in the shuffle. Showers, make-up, clothes that fit, quality restful time all began to dwindle while chaos increased. Life was hardly ever completely crazy, but neither was it truly complete. Satisfying? Yes. Fulfilling? Almost. Complete? Not really. The start of the new year has me realizing that what will get lost in the chaos of babies and small children (if I'm not careful) is peace at home and a respectable me.
"Taking Back the House" to me means getting rid of clutter, working on cleaning habits AND adjusting our home to function for six people instead of four. Let's face it- almost DAILY I run into problems trying to squeeze a six-person-life out of a four-person-home. I have been reading a lot about organization, cleaning and home management (as well as a little personal soul searching) so I have come up with a pretty comprehensive plan (at least I think it is!) for how I'm going to tackle taking back the house. And as I mentioned before, I think its both helpful for me and inspiring to others to share it here on the ole' blog. Consider this a life over-share and if you want to join me as I attempt to conquer some major disorganization and lifestyle adjustment, then I can only say thank you! Any and all support and encouragement are welcome.
Without further adieu- here is the plan to Take Back the House.
1. Divide my home into three zones.
Zone 1- Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen & Laundry
Zone 2- Master Bedroom
Zone 3- Kids Rooms and Bathroom
Admittedly, I have chosen the hardest zone to tackle first- mostly because if I can conquer these areas of my home then I can DEFINITELY continue on and conquer the rest!
2. Chose a starting point within Zone 1 - The Dining Room!
3. Make a list of every stitch of clutter or randomness in that space and what I need to do about it. The goal here is to check things off the list until the area is completely clutter free.
4. Keep this area CLEAN.
5. Celebrate my clean and de-cluttered space by changing things in the space to better fit our family including but not limited to changing or updating decor. This is definitely the FUN step!
6. Rinse and Repeat to the end of a zone, then take time to reflect and re-evaluate the process. Share on the blog and keep moving forward. Taking the entire year to complete all three zones is definitely allowed- it will be no small task!
So that's the plan in as much detail as I can predict! Stay tuned for my Dining Room Over-share Post!
Till Next Time,
Rachel
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Monday, January 6, 2014
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Hospitals
No Inspire Me! Monday post this week, but I will impart to you a random Saturday post. Mostly because I am at the hospital with Peanut, he is napping and there is not really much to do. I brought a computer with me, but you can only stare at Facebook so long- or at least I can only stare at facebook so long. I know some people could get sucked in all day, but I really find it boring after catching up with the friends you actually still know or or interested in... Or maybe I just don't have many friends since it doesn't take me all day to be caught up with them? Ha!
So maybe I will take time to say some Thank You's...
Peanut is doing better. So thank you Lord. Thank you Lord for no RSV, no true Pneumonia or Bronchitis, no need for CPR (all of which could have happened). Thank you, Lord, for Peanut's life, that he is still here and still blessing us every sweet day that we are with him.
Thank you friends who have been baby sitting for us. Thank you Nicola, Katie, Jenny, Kristan and my sister, Renee for keeping Melody and encouraging me while I do the hard job of bringing Peanut back to the hospital under stressful and scary circumstances.
Thank you to my hubby for being so flexible. He probably won't read this, but I am truly thankful for how available you have been to jump into anything. Taking on handing people their MK orders if they swing by the house even though we have always said I wouldn't make you my MK grunt. :) Thank you for tackling laundry, tidying up and taking off work when I need you. Thank you for jumping in at 4am and feeding Peanut when I am so sleep deprived I can no longer think complete thoughts. Thank you for your patience with me while I re-learn what it's like to have a newborn. You have given me so much grace and support in this process. Thank you for appreciating my job as Mommy and Foster Mommy.
Thank you to my mother in law who is here for the second week-end in a row to help out, and thank you to my mom who will be coming next week-end. Sometimes even Mommies need their Mommies.
Thank you to my sister who stopped by and offered hugs and moral support.
Thank you to my church for just being plain awesome and loving foster children and foster families. Thanks to Lindsay and Serena for the food you brought us (yum!) and thank you to everyone who has been praying.
Thank you to Amy, Katie, Kristan, Carly and family, Corrine and everyone else who has had to adjust their lives or cover for me when I haven't been able to do the normal things I usually do (like take a girls trip or be there for work).
An update:
Peanut is doing much better. He is slowly being weaned back to normal levels of oxygen and while there is still some obstruction in his lungs it looks as though he is getting better. He is definitely on quite a few meds but nothing extreme (reflux meds and inhalers and such) and they seem to be helping him. The doc said this morning we are looking at a Monday or Tuesday discharge date. We will see.
Peanut is doing much better. He is slowly being weaned back to normal levels of oxygen and while there is still some obstruction in his lungs it looks as though he is getting better. He is definitely on quite a few meds but nothing extreme (reflux meds and inhalers and such) and they seem to be helping him. The doc said this morning we are looking at a Monday or Tuesday discharge date. We will see.
Peanut has hit the 7 lb mark (SO BIG!) and is gaining weight on a non-milk based 24 calorie formula better than the 22 cal milk-based formula that he was on.
I am so thankful... and somehow that seems a better thing to think about for half an hour sitting a bit bored at the hospital than browsing aimlessly on Facebook.
Now that I have spent some time being grateful, maybe I will head over to Pinterest. :)
Now that I have spent some time being grateful, maybe I will head over to Pinterest. :)
Wishing I had a brought a book (or a friend)!
Rachel
Monday, April 9, 2012
Inspire Me! Monday: Cleaning House
Ick!
Just looking at that title "Cleaning House" gives me a bad taste in my mouth. Does it for you too?
Well, let's just take a deep breath together, shall we?
If the idea of "cleaning house" doesn't make you sick... well, say a prayer for those of us that it does! And be sure to add your tips in the comment sections.
I'll make my comments on cleaning house pretty succinct (I hope) since I have written a lot about this subject here at Common to Moms. I think it's a subject that's always on our minds though, since we always have to do it, right?
Again, let me start with this: I pretty much stink at keeping a house. BUT I am also stubborn. I am not giving up. I am working hard. I am praying hard. I read a lot and try new things. What I lack in consistency, I make up in creativity and some way or another, things get cleaned every-so-often... and that is the important part.
Since my last post, I have received all ten of the books I ordered for my birthday! So far the one pictured above - Absolutely Organized- is one that is really getting me excited about getting things under control in my home.
One of the things about being a right brained person is that I don't typically come up with a solution that makes total sense. Just because I organize something, make files or clean up doesn't mean that it is a solution I will keep coming back to. The solution might be pretty, but it doesn't mean it will function in the best way. This book, however, gives you choices, options and ideas for how to get things organized (from someone I am assuming is fairly Type A- but not judgmental in any way), and it is already making me think about some improvements I can make to my home to make things less chaotic.
I am realizing as I read this book and as I am doing my taxes this week, that getting organized to someone who has never really been organized before is a process. Little by little we will make systems for ourselves that we use. We will improve them until they work! (My taxes are getting easier since I make my systems for keeping tracks of things better every year!) Rome wasn't built in a day... but it was built. The process is what we cannot give up on. We have to keep working at things and enjoy them as we go, sharing ideas and encouraging one another on.
Here are some fun links to ideas and encouragement to help you (and me!) when it comes to keeping our homes in order.
What do you do to make cleaning fun and effective?
Happy Monday!
Love, Rachel
Just looking at that title "Cleaning House" gives me a bad taste in my mouth. Does it for you too?
Well, let's just take a deep breath together, shall we?
If the idea of "cleaning house" doesn't make you sick... well, say a prayer for those of us that it does! And be sure to add your tips in the comment sections.
I'll make my comments on cleaning house pretty succinct (I hope) since I have written a lot about this subject here at Common to Moms. I think it's a subject that's always on our minds though, since we always have to do it, right?
Again, let me start with this: I pretty much stink at keeping a house. BUT I am also stubborn. I am not giving up. I am working hard. I am praying hard. I read a lot and try new things. What I lack in consistency, I make up in creativity and some way or another, things get cleaned every-so-often... and that is the important part.
Since my last post, I have received all ten of the books I ordered for my birthday! So far the one pictured above - Absolutely Organized- is one that is really getting me excited about getting things under control in my home.
One of the things about being a right brained person is that I don't typically come up with a solution that makes total sense. Just because I organize something, make files or clean up doesn't mean that it is a solution I will keep coming back to. The solution might be pretty, but it doesn't mean it will function in the best way. This book, however, gives you choices, options and ideas for how to get things organized (from someone I am assuming is fairly Type A- but not judgmental in any way), and it is already making me think about some improvements I can make to my home to make things less chaotic.
I am realizing as I read this book and as I am doing my taxes this week, that getting organized to someone who has never really been organized before is a process. Little by little we will make systems for ourselves that we use. We will improve them until they work! (My taxes are getting easier since I make my systems for keeping tracks of things better every year!) Rome wasn't built in a day... but it was built. The process is what we cannot give up on. We have to keep working at things and enjoy them as we go, sharing ideas and encouraging one another on.
Here are some fun links to ideas and encouragement to help you (and me!) when it comes to keeping our homes in order.
Getting More Organized Is Not the Goal
The Thirty Minute Power Clean
7 Ways to Trick Yourself into Thinking Cleaning is FUN!
Free Cleaning Schedule Printable
Easing into a Laundry Routine
The Thirty Minute Power Clean
7 Ways to Trick Yourself into Thinking Cleaning is FUN!
Free Cleaning Schedule Printable
Easing into a Laundry Routine
What do you do to make cleaning fun and effective?
Happy Monday!
Love, Rachel
Friday, March 9, 2012
Closet Reveal
It has been over a week since I posted last... yipes! But I really wanted to wait to post until I could give you the closet reveal that I promised.
Today, friends, I finally conquered it.
Now, understand that our closet is not big. And yet, it is the largest closet in our house. It has to house more than just my and hubby's clothes. Through the years it has gotten bad. No, no... it is really bad. And I must be crazy because I'm about to show it to you.
Welcome to the world of our closet.
This view is looking at the shelf in the top of our closet to the right...
And looking at the shelf to the left...
What you are seeing is mostly blanket, sheets, sewing and comforter/pillow storage... We currently have a lot of dirty laundry, so this is not even the worst of it.
Here is the bottom of the closet. I am not sure at all what lives down there...
And for the honest view when I open my closet door...
Excuse my towel hanging on the door and the dirty laundry to the side of it. In all honesty, my whole bedroom needs a good cleaning. You know what they say though, right? If you aren't putting things away, it's because there is no where to put them. That is so true in our bedroom. That' s why I'm starting with the closet. Our clothes need a home.
So here are the rules I went by to clean out our closet.
1. I am not cleaning out hubby's stuff- only mine. He can go through his own clothes/stuff.
2. I am getting rid of things. I am in the mood to get rid of things.
3. Find solutions. Don't just re-organize junk.
That being said.
Here is Problem #1. We have a ton of sheets and comforters and seasonal clothes with no where to store them except the attic. (We don't even have the ability to store clothes under our bed because of the type of bed frame it is- and no money to buy a new bed frame.) Have I mentioned before how I hate storing clothes in the attic? I am always so sure they are going to get mildew-y or bugs in them.
Enter Solution #1.
Vacuum seal Bags!!!
One day my hubby decided we needed these and he brought them home. They have been sitting around for a month or two now. They were not exactly cheap. I think they were between $11 and $17 a box (my hubby bought three!) but now I am glad that he did. Saving space is so important in our teeny house and this will certainly help us do it!
Problem #2. Too many clothes that I do not wear anymore or are out of season/the wrong size.
Solution #2. Time to sort: Too small/too big (needs storing), Give away, Wrong season (needs storing) And thanks to my vacuum seal bags I have a place to store all of the clothes that needed storing.
This is my highly advanced system of sorting on my bed. Blankets I can store on the top right. Clothes to give away as you move counter clockwise to the left, clothes that are sentimental but don't fit to the left of that. Clothes that are the wrong season or maternity below that and extra hangers after pulling all of the excess stuff out of my closet. Yay, extra hangers!
Here is what I wound up taking out of my closet
* one bag of clothes, etc to give to Goodwill
* two space saver bags full of wrong season clothes, blankets and comforters
* several small bags of fabric, etc that can go in the attic with other stuff just like it
* 2 wal-mart bags of trash
* a handful of important things (my rec center ID, my birthday card from our honeymoon, a checkbook, etc)
And this is the beautiful finished closet!
First, the shelf. My sewing machine and supplies are up to the right.
A basket where sheets and blankets (that we currently use in the right season) has room to live up to the left.
In the bottom of the closet remains our luggage, some duffel bags, a few wooden shoe stretchers (a request has been made to hubby to find a way to get rid of them) and a tripod. This all fits on the left side of the closet floor so that you can actually see the carpet now!
Here is the whole closet at a glance.
Much emptier? Check! Organized? Check! Problems solved? Check!
Oh yeah... I even organized my clothes there are on the right, so I would know how many clothes I actually have. You know how we all have the "I feel like I don't have anything to wear!" syndrome? I now have special event clothes furthest into that dark corner on the right, next is professional wear clothes/dressy clothes, followed by church-wear type clothes (which is even less dressy than professional wear) and every day mommy/baby-sitting clothes. So I finally understand why I have a full closet, but nothing to wear! I have a ton of special event clothes (old bridesmaids dresses) and a lot of professional wear clothes, but much fewer ever day clothes!
Now...
I wish I could say that I was done with the closet, but like I said, I am woefully behind on laundry. When our washing machine broke and then I got a really bad stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, I got behind and have not caught up yet. So I have three baskets full of clean clothes waiting to be sorted into put away, store or give away categories.
And if that looks overwhelming, there are MANY more dirty clothes than that hanging around the house waiting for me to take care of. But at least now I have room in the closet and spare hangers for them. I even cleaned out my drawer in our chest of drawers, so there is room to put away my clothes that fold.
Even though I am not completely finished with this process, putting away laundry and sorting it really is the easy part. Going through the other junk in the bottom and top of the closet and deciding what to do with was much harder. So I feel accomplished. Christian even said he is going to go through his own clothes now soon. Whoot! Whoot! I am doing a little "go me" dance in front of my computer now and giving myself a pat on the back.
Oh and perhaps the most important part... What was my 2 year old doing while I accomplished this great feat?
While I sorted the closet Melody...
* played with my skin care and lost the cap to my foundation primer (I found it later)
* turned my bedside table lamp on and off until I got suspicious that she was staring at the light bulb directly and might be ruining her eye sight for life.
* pushed her sock monkey in a stroller around the house and finally parked it and put a blanket over monkey so it could sleep.
* "read" her Bible in her room (she can look at the colorful pictures in her Adventure Bible for an unusually long time for a toddler).
* managed to put in a new DVD into the DVD player, turn the TV on and press PLAY on the DVD player to start watching a show without my knowledge. I thought I was crazy hearing music somewhere in the house and came out to find her Houdini skills with technology.
* generally played and entertained herself.
This is important because I am always worried that when I start a task or a project that Melody won't have anything to do and I won't be able to focus on what I'm doing. Today, Melody showed me (and I showed myself) that she is independent enough to play (without having to watch TV- I turned it off after she turned it on ;) ) and entertain herself while I do something else for a large chunk of the day.
After I finished with the closet, I took time to sit with her and play trains, blocks and pretend with her. Then we ate lunch and we both took a nap.
It was a good day. :)
Today, friends, I finally conquered it.
Now, understand that our closet is not big. And yet, it is the largest closet in our house. It has to house more than just my and hubby's clothes. Through the years it has gotten bad. No, no... it is really bad. And I must be crazy because I'm about to show it to you.
Welcome to the world of our closet.
This view is looking at the shelf in the top of our closet to the right...
And looking at the shelf to the left...
What you are seeing is mostly blanket, sheets, sewing and comforter/pillow storage... We currently have a lot of dirty laundry, so this is not even the worst of it.
Here is the bottom of the closet. I am not sure at all what lives down there...
And for the honest view when I open my closet door...
Excuse my towel hanging on the door and the dirty laundry to the side of it. In all honesty, my whole bedroom needs a good cleaning. You know what they say though, right? If you aren't putting things away, it's because there is no where to put them. That is so true in our bedroom. That' s why I'm starting with the closet. Our clothes need a home.
So here are the rules I went by to clean out our closet.
1. I am not cleaning out hubby's stuff- only mine. He can go through his own clothes/stuff.
2. I am getting rid of things. I am in the mood to get rid of things.
3. Find solutions. Don't just re-organize junk.
That being said.
Here is Problem #1. We have a ton of sheets and comforters and seasonal clothes with no where to store them except the attic. (We don't even have the ability to store clothes under our bed because of the type of bed frame it is- and no money to buy a new bed frame.) Have I mentioned before how I hate storing clothes in the attic? I am always so sure they are going to get mildew-y or bugs in them.
Enter Solution #1.
Vacuum seal Bags!!!One day my hubby decided we needed these and he brought them home. They have been sitting around for a month or two now. They were not exactly cheap. I think they were between $11 and $17 a box (my hubby bought three!) but now I am glad that he did. Saving space is so important in our teeny house and this will certainly help us do it!
Problem #2. Too many clothes that I do not wear anymore or are out of season/the wrong size.
Solution #2. Time to sort: Too small/too big (needs storing), Give away, Wrong season (needs storing) And thanks to my vacuum seal bags I have a place to store all of the clothes that needed storing.
This is my highly advanced system of sorting on my bed. Blankets I can store on the top right. Clothes to give away as you move counter clockwise to the left, clothes that are sentimental but don't fit to the left of that. Clothes that are the wrong season or maternity below that and extra hangers after pulling all of the excess stuff out of my closet. Yay, extra hangers!
Here is what I wound up taking out of my closet
* one bag of clothes, etc to give to Goodwill
* two space saver bags full of wrong season clothes, blankets and comforters
* several small bags of fabric, etc that can go in the attic with other stuff just like it
* 2 wal-mart bags of trash
* a handful of important things (my rec center ID, my birthday card from our honeymoon, a checkbook, etc)
And this is the beautiful finished closet!
First, the shelf. My sewing machine and supplies are up to the right.
A basket where sheets and blankets (that we currently use in the right season) has room to live up to the left.
In the bottom of the closet remains our luggage, some duffel bags, a few wooden shoe stretchers (a request has been made to hubby to find a way to get rid of them) and a tripod. This all fits on the left side of the closet floor so that you can actually see the carpet now!
Here is the whole closet at a glance.
Much emptier? Check! Organized? Check! Problems solved? Check!
Oh yeah... I even organized my clothes there are on the right, so I would know how many clothes I actually have. You know how we all have the "I feel like I don't have anything to wear!" syndrome? I now have special event clothes furthest into that dark corner on the right, next is professional wear clothes/dressy clothes, followed by church-wear type clothes (which is even less dressy than professional wear) and every day mommy/baby-sitting clothes. So I finally understand why I have a full closet, but nothing to wear! I have a ton of special event clothes (old bridesmaids dresses) and a lot of professional wear clothes, but much fewer ever day clothes!
Now...
I wish I could say that I was done with the closet, but like I said, I am woefully behind on laundry. When our washing machine broke and then I got a really bad stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, I got behind and have not caught up yet. So I have three baskets full of clean clothes waiting to be sorted into put away, store or give away categories.
And if that looks overwhelming, there are MANY more dirty clothes than that hanging around the house waiting for me to take care of. But at least now I have room in the closet and spare hangers for them. I even cleaned out my drawer in our chest of drawers, so there is room to put away my clothes that fold.
Even though I am not completely finished with this process, putting away laundry and sorting it really is the easy part. Going through the other junk in the bottom and top of the closet and deciding what to do with was much harder. So I feel accomplished. Christian even said he is going to go through his own clothes now soon. Whoot! Whoot! I am doing a little "go me" dance in front of my computer now and giving myself a pat on the back.
Oh and perhaps the most important part... What was my 2 year old doing while I accomplished this great feat?
While I sorted the closet Melody...
* played with my skin care and lost the cap to my foundation primer (I found it later)
* turned my bedside table lamp on and off until I got suspicious that she was staring at the light bulb directly and might be ruining her eye sight for life.
* pushed her sock monkey in a stroller around the house and finally parked it and put a blanket over monkey so it could sleep.
* "read" her Bible in her room (she can look at the colorful pictures in her Adventure Bible for an unusually long time for a toddler).
* managed to put in a new DVD into the DVD player, turn the TV on and press PLAY on the DVD player to start watching a show without my knowledge. I thought I was crazy hearing music somewhere in the house and came out to find her Houdini skills with technology.
* generally played and entertained herself.
This is important because I am always worried that when I start a task or a project that Melody won't have anything to do and I won't be able to focus on what I'm doing. Today, Melody showed me (and I showed myself) that she is independent enough to play (without having to watch TV- I turned it off after she turned it on ;) ) and entertain herself while I do something else for a large chunk of the day.
After I finished with the closet, I took time to sit with her and play trains, blocks and pretend with her. Then we ate lunch and we both took a nap.
It was a good day. :)
Friday, October 14, 2011
Making Progress
Right after I posted yesterday, Melody woke up and would not go back to sleep. After being a little frustrated, I took a deep breath and tried not to get discouraged. Instead, I got inspired again to create more systems for myself.
Here is what I came up with.
I typed up a list of all the things I need to do daily, weekly in order to keep the house clean, take care of myself and focus on quality time with Melody each day. I printed it out on white card stock then cut the words out. Then I used 2 pieces of coral card stock one to put on all the tasks I want "to do" in my house and left the other one blank. Then I hung them in my kitchen where I can see them. (I just made the tape double sided to put the words on the first piece of card stock.) As I do each task, I move it from the "To Do" Piece of card stock to the "Accomplished" one. My goal is to do as many as I can each day.
This doesn't necessarily solve my issue of getting ready for company on Monday, but it does help with daily maintenance (and seeing how much I do v. how much I don't).
I did manage to tackle a lot of dishes last night after the bean went to bed, but after re-reading yesterday's post I definitely need to keep on going with finishing it up. Besides, it will only make my life easier! :) I also managed to clear a major clutter spot (I sort of tackled it before I even realized what I was doing!) while cleaning my living room. Even though the kitchen didn't get totally cleaned, my living room and dining room got very close!
I'm actually excited about my new plan of action for tackling what needs to be done each day. Moving a task to the accomplished page is a lot like giving yourself a gold star. And I am one who is very encouraged by getting a little star. :)
See pics below...
Love, Rachel
My new system! On the top is the list of things to do each day (remember that some of those are tasks to be done weekly, so not every one needs to be every day). The bottom is blank at the beginning of the day ready for me to move things I've accomplished down...
... Like so!
Here is my clutter clearing spot for the week... I know it still looks like a mess under there, but you should have seen it before! There were papers, bible study books, foster care info.. all kinds of things under that TV stand! Now all that lives there is a video camera, a breast pump (for lack of better place to store it), and a nintendo game system with its parts and games.
And as a bonus- here is a fun picture of Melody... notice how many sock monkeys she's holding?
Here is what I came up with.
I typed up a list of all the things I need to do daily, weekly in order to keep the house clean, take care of myself and focus on quality time with Melody each day. I printed it out on white card stock then cut the words out. Then I used 2 pieces of coral card stock one to put on all the tasks I want "to do" in my house and left the other one blank. Then I hung them in my kitchen where I can see them. (I just made the tape double sided to put the words on the first piece of card stock.) As I do each task, I move it from the "To Do" Piece of card stock to the "Accomplished" one. My goal is to do as many as I can each day.
This doesn't necessarily solve my issue of getting ready for company on Monday, but it does help with daily maintenance (and seeing how much I do v. how much I don't).
I did manage to tackle a lot of dishes last night after the bean went to bed, but after re-reading yesterday's post I definitely need to keep on going with finishing it up. Besides, it will only make my life easier! :) I also managed to clear a major clutter spot (I sort of tackled it before I even realized what I was doing!) while cleaning my living room. Even though the kitchen didn't get totally cleaned, my living room and dining room got very close!
I'm actually excited about my new plan of action for tackling what needs to be done each day. Moving a task to the accomplished page is a lot like giving yourself a gold star. And I am one who is very encouraged by getting a little star. :)
See pics below...
Love, Rachel
My new system! On the top is the list of things to do each day (remember that some of those are tasks to be done weekly, so not every one needs to be every day). The bottom is blank at the beginning of the day ready for me to move things I've accomplished down...
... Like so!
Here is my clutter clearing spot for the week... I know it still looks like a mess under there, but you should have seen it before! There were papers, bible study books, foster care info.. all kinds of things under that TV stand! Now all that lives there is a video camera, a breast pump (for lack of better place to store it), and a nintendo game system with its parts and games.
And as a bonus- here is a fun picture of Melody... notice how many sock monkeys she's holding?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What Holds Me Back
I hope the never-ending posts about cleaning aren't getting old to you... To be honest, it is therapeutic for me to process all of my difficulties about cleaning with you... so thanks for listening! Today I have a problem. Every room in my house is messy in some way (with the exception of my daughter's bedroom and the guest room). I have people coming over on Monday though and I have a lot to do before then! Also, I am tired of dealing with the big green messy monster. But where do I start??? Being so overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do constantly paralyzes me.
A few minutes ago, I went over to Fly Lady's website and looked around for inspiration. Then I decided to make a plan. I wrote down all the days I have between now and Monday, then wrote down all the rooms in my house that need a good cleaning. My goal is to thoroughly clean one room per day, then keep it clean. After that, we'll see what else needs to be tackled.
Today I am going to tackle the kitchen. Melody is sleeping (hopefully for at least another hour), so my hope is to clean the entire kitchen before she wakes up... I'll be back later to update you how it goes... But the kitchen is all I need to do. After the kitchen, I can feel free to move on to other things- as long as I keep going till Monday cleaning one room per day.
Now, I blogged about it, so I have to do it! :)
Thanks for being my accountability again!
Love, Rachel
Update: Began to do some dishes in the kitchen and any little noise is waking my daughter up from her nap... grrr... Having such a light sleeping daughter can be very difficult in a small house... I will keep you posted though.
A few minutes ago, I went over to Fly Lady's website and looked around for inspiration. Then I decided to make a plan. I wrote down all the days I have between now and Monday, then wrote down all the rooms in my house that need a good cleaning. My goal is to thoroughly clean one room per day, then keep it clean. After that, we'll see what else needs to be tackled.
Today I am going to tackle the kitchen. Melody is sleeping (hopefully for at least another hour), so my hope is to clean the entire kitchen before she wakes up... I'll be back later to update you how it goes... But the kitchen is all I need to do. After the kitchen, I can feel free to move on to other things- as long as I keep going till Monday cleaning one room per day.
Now, I blogged about it, so I have to do it! :)
Thanks for being my accountability again!
Love, Rachel
Update: Began to do some dishes in the kitchen and any little noise is waking my daughter up from her nap... grrr... Having such a light sleeping daughter can be very difficult in a small house... I will keep you posted though.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dining Room Corner
And now for more in the decluttering adventures...
There is a corner in my dining room that has become a true clutter spot. You know the clutter that eventually becomes invisible (to you) and you just don't see it anymore? Well, this was such a clutter spot that even my 17 month old daughter (who is into everything) does not notice it anymore.
Here it is:
And close up:
The spot started out as a stack of cook books that lost their home when I moved a bookshelf around. Then it grew to include other random items... leftover plates, napkins, candles, silverware from a baby shower, fabric, ribbons, thank you cards and books... and a bag of things I'm not going to keep.
Here are some visuals:
So after throwing things away and sorting like piles together, I was left with this:
I put everything else away and managed to find the cook books a new home...
And now my corner looks like this!
Don't you just breathe easier now? I do...
There is a corner in my dining room that has become a true clutter spot. You know the clutter that eventually becomes invisible (to you) and you just don't see it anymore? Well, this was such a clutter spot that even my 17 month old daughter (who is into everything) does not notice it anymore.
Here it is:
And close up:
The spot started out as a stack of cook books that lost their home when I moved a bookshelf around. Then it grew to include other random items... leftover plates, napkins, candles, silverware from a baby shower, fabric, ribbons, thank you cards and books... and a bag of things I'm not going to keep.
Here are some visuals:
So after throwing things away and sorting like piles together, I was left with this:
I put everything else away and managed to find the cook books a new home...
And now my corner looks like this!
Don't you just breathe easier now? I do...
Friday, August 26, 2011
The Tile Table
Well, for this week of clutter clearing I only have one picture for you. Blame it on the hubby, I felt rushed to do it (he wanted some of the stuff in this spot to be put in the attic ASAP), so I forgot to take pics... until afterward. But before I show you the stunning "after", let me try to remember what was on this table before.
The first thing I did was put away all of the mis-placed items. We have a place for "things to return to people" so I put them there. We have a place for mail, so that got taken care of right away. After throwing some things in the trash all that was left was sorting through the big plastic bin of ballet clothes. I need some to use when I teach ballet this fall, but not all of them fit. So I sorted through the bin pulling out leotards, tights, a skirt and "teacher shoes", then back to the attic everything else went! So here is the after! :)
The only thing that remains on that table is the basket of bibs for Melody. She is free to play with the bibs and the basket at anytime, and there really isn't a place for the bibs in the dining room so it just works here. Otherwise there would be nothing on this space. The table is totally in reach of kids, so unless we are okay with it being broken or ripped it just can't be set on top of it!
Behind the table is a baby seat I use for child care. It gets stored there when the little baby is not around and when she is, I can easily pull it out to let her sit in.
So there it is, week #4 of clearing clutter! My living room is looking nicer and nicer. :)
What clutter have you been clearing?
Love, Rachel
PS- I just heard paper-ripping sounds coming from the living room. When I checked on M, she was ripping to pieces some coupons/ads I sat on the table I mentioned. (Fortunately they were basically junk mail.) This proves my point about not being able to leave much there. Haha! This is real life! :)
- A huge plastic tub (or tote if you prefer to call it that) full of ballet leotards, tights and shoes from days gone by.
- A basket of bibs for M
- Trash
- Things to give back to people that we borrowed
The first thing I did was put away all of the mis-placed items. We have a place for "things to return to people" so I put them there. We have a place for mail, so that got taken care of right away. After throwing some things in the trash all that was left was sorting through the big plastic bin of ballet clothes. I need some to use when I teach ballet this fall, but not all of them fit. So I sorted through the bin pulling out leotards, tights, a skirt and "teacher shoes", then back to the attic everything else went! So here is the after! :)
The only thing that remains on that table is the basket of bibs for Melody. She is free to play with the bibs and the basket at anytime, and there really isn't a place for the bibs in the dining room so it just works here. Otherwise there would be nothing on this space. The table is totally in reach of kids, so unless we are okay with it being broken or ripped it just can't be set on top of it!
Behind the table is a baby seat I use for child care. It gets stored there when the little baby is not around and when she is, I can easily pull it out to let her sit in.
So there it is, week #4 of clearing clutter! My living room is looking nicer and nicer. :)
What clutter have you been clearing?
Love, Rachel
PS- I just heard paper-ripping sounds coming from the living room. When I checked on M, she was ripping to pieces some coupons/ads I sat on the table I mentioned. (Fortunately they were basically junk mail.) This proves my point about not being able to leave much there. Haha! This is real life! :)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Behind Door #1
This week I cleared some clutter behind this door.
(By the way, welcome to Melody's nursery if you haven't seen it before. )
Are you ready for what's behind door #1? (I am assuming there will be much more closet clutter clearing in the future, so this is just the first one.) I feel like there should be horror movie music in the background for this one.
Doesn't it just look unsafe for Melody to be standing there?
Here's a close-up of the clutter.
This week it was time to pack away all of Melody's 12 month clothes. I know that it looks like mad-chaos in that closet, but there is some method to the madness.
In this bag, I throw in clothes as they become too small for Melody to wear. Eventually, the bag does begin to overflow.
I brought my box to put the 12 month clothing in...
Then I began to use my now tried and true method of sorting like items together. Dresses, jackets, pants, shirts, pj's, etc.
At some point I realized one box wouldn't be enough.
Enter box #2.
I closed up box #1 and marked it with a Sharpie and decided to leave box #2 open in case we find any stray 12 month sized items to add to it. (PS - not sure why Blogger is rotating my picture?!)
The surprise was that in the bottom of the closet, I found this!
So I taped up that box and labeled it, and I wound up with two boxes to go in the attic.
Now there is room in the closet to add these bags of clothes that are too big for Melody right now. (Yay hand me downs!) And the bag is put back ready for me to throw in 18 month clothes as she outgrows them.
One more spot down.
How is your clutter clearing going? Did you notice I was late with my cleaning my clutter spot this week? Oh well, I am still glad that I did it!
Love, Rachel
(By the way, welcome to Melody's nursery if you haven't seen it before. )
Are you ready for what's behind door #1? (I am assuming there will be much more closet clutter clearing in the future, so this is just the first one.) I feel like there should be horror movie music in the background for this one.
Doesn't it just look unsafe for Melody to be standing there?
Here's a close-up of the clutter.
This week it was time to pack away all of Melody's 12 month clothes. I know that it looks like mad-chaos in that closet, but there is some method to the madness.
In this bag, I throw in clothes as they become too small for Melody to wear. Eventually, the bag does begin to overflow.
I brought my box to put the 12 month clothing in...
Then I began to use my now tried and true method of sorting like items together. Dresses, jackets, pants, shirts, pj's, etc.
At some point I realized one box wouldn't be enough.
Enter box #2.
I closed up box #1 and marked it with a Sharpie and decided to leave box #2 open in case we find any stray 12 month sized items to add to it. (PS - not sure why Blogger is rotating my picture?!)
The surprise was that in the bottom of the closet, I found this!
So I taped up that box and labeled it, and I wound up with two boxes to go in the attic.
Now there is room in the closet to add these bags of clothes that are too big for Melody right now. (Yay hand me downs!) And the bag is put back ready for me to throw in 18 month clothes as she outgrows them.
One more spot down.
How is your clutter clearing going? Did you notice I was late with my cleaning my clutter spot this week? Oh well, I am still glad that I did it!
Love, Rachel
Monday, August 8, 2011
Clearing the Clutter: The TV
Here we are at week 2 of clearing clutter! This week was a little bit difficult in the sense that there are SO many clutter spots for me to choose from. Last week, I chose the spot to the left of my couch in the living room. This week, I worked on the spot to the right of my couch.
So here it is, the TV and TV stand that tends to be where I put a lot of random things.
This is one of those spots that Fly Lady would call a "hot spot". It's a place that even though I clean it, I tend to put things down on it whenever I pass by. I'm not sure how to break myself of that habit, but hopefully working up to a living room without clutter will help.
Here's what I did.
Step 1. I organized things into piles, putting like items together.
On the left are items to be put away. On the right are DVD's to make sure they are in the right cases and then put away.
On the left of this picture is a stack of papers to sort through (some to throw away, some to put away) and to the right are some random things for my husband to put away. (The little cardboard box looked like something of his, and I wasn't sure what to do with it.)
Step 2. I put away misplaced items, put away DVD's and sorted through papers.
Step 3. I put back only the items I thought "fit" on the TV stand.
Those items being: tissues, Gilmore Girls box set that is borrowed (don't want to put it away and forget that I have it), our current Netflix movie and the TV remote.
The whole area could use a good dusting/vacuuming, but at least the clutter is cleared!
2 spots down!
What spot are you going to de-clutter this week? If you blog about it, be sure to leave a comment and a link!
Happy Clutter Clearing!
Love, Rachel
So here it is, the TV and TV stand that tends to be where I put a lot of random things.
This is one of those spots that Fly Lady would call a "hot spot". It's a place that even though I clean it, I tend to put things down on it whenever I pass by. I'm not sure how to break myself of that habit, but hopefully working up to a living room without clutter will help.
Here's what I did.
Step 1. I organized things into piles, putting like items together.
On the left are items to be put away. On the right are DVD's to make sure they are in the right cases and then put away.
On the left of this picture is a stack of papers to sort through (some to throw away, some to put away) and to the right are some random things for my husband to put away. (The little cardboard box looked like something of his, and I wasn't sure what to do with it.)
Step 2. I put away misplaced items, put away DVD's and sorted through papers.
Step 3. I put back only the items I thought "fit" on the TV stand.
Those items being: tissues, Gilmore Girls box set that is borrowed (don't want to put it away and forget that I have it), our current Netflix movie and the TV remote.
The whole area could use a good dusting/vacuuming, but at least the clutter is cleared!
2 spots down!
What spot are you going to de-clutter this week? If you blog about it, be sure to leave a comment and a link!
Happy Clutter Clearing!
Love, Rachel
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
One Spot Down, millions to go?
This morning I cleared my first clutter spot! (Imagine me doing a little happy-Rachel-dance at my computer.) The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right? For now, I will just be showing pics of the individual spots. Sorry that I can't show you a wide angle, but like I said, my house needs a lot of improvement in the area of tidying up. Hopefully, as I make progress I can show some more wide angles shots. :)
I started with this little spot by the couch. It has been cluttered since last Christmas. I hid all of my Christmas stuff there so I didn't have to go back and forth from the guest bedroom to retrieve everything for wrapping/Christmas cards, etc. Then I never cleaned up...
But I did today! Here it is before.
On top of everything was this bag of bags. I received so many gift bags from when Melody was born they wouldn't fit into the drawer I usually keep extra gift bags in. I thought I might use them, so I saved. them. all.
So step #1. Separated bags into piles. Ones I like (to keep). Ones I don't (to give away). Ones not fit to be re-used (throw away). Is this sounding like a mini-episode of Clean Sweep yet?
Underneath all the bags in the big bag were other miscellaneous items. Namely craft supplies and Christmas supplies. Step 2. I made two piles and kept like items together.
Then I returned to my corner. Underneath the big bag o' bags, it still looked like this.
Interlude: Melody found the box of crayons in my crate of stuff-to-do-with-kiddos-I-babysit. Luckily, she didn't try to eat them or color anything. (I haven't actually exposed her to crayons officially yet.)
Back to clutter clearing. Step 3. I put all the Christmas items in an extra gift bag . This is the the pile of gift bags I am keeping. They definitely fit into my drawer of gift bags and tissue paper now. I put the bag o' Christmas items in the guest room closet where the rest of the Christmas paper lives.
Step # 4- Put things away. After throwing many items away (including all the colored Dora pictures from months ago that you can see behind the couch), here is the finished corner next to the couch.
One last before and after:
So there it is folks. One clutter spot down, who knows how many there are left to go? That little crate could probably be cleaned out, but I consider that it's own clutter spot. See you next week for another one!
The little one is needing my attention now, so Happy Tuesday!
Love, Rachel
I started with this little spot by the couch. It has been cluttered since last Christmas. I hid all of my Christmas stuff there so I didn't have to go back and forth from the guest bedroom to retrieve everything for wrapping/Christmas cards, etc. Then I never cleaned up...
But I did today! Here it is before.
On top of everything was this bag of bags. I received so many gift bags from when Melody was born they wouldn't fit into the drawer I usually keep extra gift bags in. I thought I might use them, so I saved. them. all.
So step #1. Separated bags into piles. Ones I like (to keep). Ones I don't (to give away). Ones not fit to be re-used (throw away). Is this sounding like a mini-episode of Clean Sweep yet?
Underneath all the bags in the big bag were other miscellaneous items. Namely craft supplies and Christmas supplies. Step 2. I made two piles and kept like items together.
Then I returned to my corner. Underneath the big bag o' bags, it still looked like this.
Interlude: Melody found the box of crayons in my crate of stuff-to-do-with-kiddos-I-babysit. Luckily, she didn't try to eat them or color anything. (I haven't actually exposed her to crayons officially yet.)
Back to clutter clearing. Step 3. I put all the Christmas items in an extra gift bag . This is the the pile of gift bags I am keeping. They definitely fit into my drawer of gift bags and tissue paper now. I put the bag o' Christmas items in the guest room closet where the rest of the Christmas paper lives.
Step # 4- Put things away. After throwing many items away (including all the colored Dora pictures from months ago that you can see behind the couch), here is the finished corner next to the couch.
One last before and after:
So there it is folks. One clutter spot down, who knows how many there are left to go? That little crate could probably be cleaned out, but I consider that it's own clutter spot. See you next week for another one!
The little one is needing my attention now, so Happy Tuesday!
Love, Rachel
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