Category Archives: Cleaning Time

Aug 9

Clutter Corner

When it comes to what’s left in the house to de-clutter, I’m down to the toughest spaces…

The scary upstairs hallway closet. It is home to luggage, school-work, and odds and ends from all over the house.

The scary downstairs closet, where the holiday decorations lurk.

Last, but not least, the Utility Room built-in storage. Ugh, and sigh, what a mess!

I can’t seem to get started on any one of these… I don’t know if it due to the amount of stuff, or the fact that I need to purchase bins to store what we’re keeping. I’m stuck, I have the want for clean spaces, but not the drive to get it done. Where to begin.

So I need some advice… How do you motivate yourself to complete a cleaning task that you really don’t want to do?

 

Aug 7

July’s Clutter Count

I’ve been cleaning, de-cluttering, organizing, and painting all month long. These little projects are really starting to shape up now that the clutter is out of here.

In July, I sold the crib, and seriously went through the kids baby/toddler/kids clothes, and pared them down.

I can’t believe just how much stuff was stuffed into two small closets.

I went through every single box, and really pared the mess down. I tossed many items, donated box after box, and I still have some ready to sell.

I love these little donation stations located all over town. I’ve taken several bags every week in July.

In July I worked on Agnes’ bedroom the most. It is no longer a nursery, it is now a big kid room. I love it too, it is clean and organized.

She really likes it too. It has become my favorite room in the house, probably because it is the cleanest.

My clutter count for July wasn’t too bad either. I got another 266 items out of the house. In August I’m going to hit the boys room hard. They will be back to school soon, and I can’t wait to clean and organize their space again.

 

Jul 16

Cabin Fever

Have you ever had that cabin fever where you want to compulsively clean every inch of your “cabin”? Well I’ve got it, and it is driving me batty…

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I’ve been sorting, cleaning, and rearranging all weekend. I still have more that I want to do. I think it’s time to venture out of my cabin, and get some fresh air.

Jul 13

Big Girl Room

Since we’ve been indoors most of the week. I decided it was time to seriously work on Agnes’ bedroom. She had outgrown her toddler bed, and the crib was still in the room, along with a lot of clothes for a yard sale. Her room was in need of some work.

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I cleaned out her dollhouse/toy storage, and added in two more bins that we were using for toy storage downstairs. Just a little organization made a big difference.

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She also got a new bed! Dylan did too. Both of the youngest kiddos were in need of new beds, and a local shop was having a great sale. The kids love their new comfy beds.

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I enlisted James’ help to move out the big stuff, and disassemble the crib. We completely rearranged the room, and Agnes loves it.

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She has my favorite vintage quilt (thanks mom) on her bed.

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We moved the toy storage to a different wall, and re-purposed the changing table as an entertainment center.

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The antique chair stayed in the room, but we moved it to where the toy storage was. She likes to rearrange it often and put her favorite items in the chair.

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I also started her book collection with hand-me-downs from the boys. She loves to be read to, especially if it is her big brother Thade that is doing the reading.

The big girl bedroom turned out great. Agnes has so much more room to play, and it is clean and airy. I would like to find a few more vintage finds to decorate it a bit more, but for now, I’m happy.

Jul 9

1/2 A Year Of De-cluttering

I’ve made 2012 the year that I finally get my house in order. I have several projects that I would like to get accomplished, and a few rooms to decorate too. First things first though, I need to get the house clean.

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I’ve taken the first six months of the year, and de-cluttered the house. I’ve worked a little bit every month, and kept track of my progress along the way.

  • In January I cleaned out 507 items.
  • In February I cleaned out 481 items.
  • In March I cleaned out 55 items.
  • In April I cleaned out 343 items.
  • In May I cleaned out 300 items.
  • In June I cleaned out 178 items.

If I’ve done my math correctly, I’ve cleaned out 1,864 items of clutter from the house. That is a lot of clutter that I am happy to have out of here. I’m going to keep up the cleaning for the rest of the year, and see just how clean this place can get.