Spring Cleaning 2013

It's that time of year.  Time to refresh.  Time to eliminate some of our excess.  Time to take care of the home we've been blessed with.  Time to redeem the embarrassment of having my nephew negatively comment twice on the state of our kitchen.  So I'm jumping into spring cleaning and hoping to just do a couple things each day to get the house in shape without letting this process consume my life, derail our homeschooling or prevent me from cooking for my ever-hungry brood.

With a large family I am realizing the constant care our stuff is requiring of me, and I do not like it.  In some ways I feel like our stuff is owning me, owning my time and attention, rather than us owning our stuff.  In the summer I read the books 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and Cleaning House and while I don't agree with everything therein, I was greatly challenged in my thinking and inspired to action.   Then came the start of school, a huge road trip, Thanksgiving, a week of the flu, preparations for Christmas, a bathroom makeover, etc. and I haven't really acted on that inspiration.  Until now.

Here's the list I made up which suits the current needs in our home and life.  I've posted it to the fridge to remind and encourage me to keep going until the job is finished.

Spring Cleaning 2013

1 or 2 tasks a day until the job is done

Master Suite

__ wash all bedding (pillows, quilt, blankets, sheets, mattress pad)

__ move bed and clean under it

__ wash windows & blinds

__ wash walls, doors & baseboards

__ wash curtains

__ detail vacuum

__ scrub shower tile & sinks

__ sort & purge clothing, bring out summer items

__ go through hope chest, store winter linens

__ move baby clothes to girls' closet

Boys' Room

__ wash all bedding

__ scrub bed frames & dresser

__ sort clothes, note any needs

__ wash walls, window, doors & baseboards

__ wash curtains

__ detail vacuum

Girls' Room

__ wash all bedding

__ scrub bed frames & dresser

__ sort clothes, note any needs

__ wash walls, window, doors, mirror & baseboards

__ wash curtains

__ detail vacuum

__ declutter dresser & toys/books

Upstairs Hallway

__ detail dusting

__ detail vacuum

__ go through cupboards

__ wash walls & baseboards

Kids' Bathroom

__ bleach & embellish shower curtain

__ recaulk shower

__ make & hang “Create in me a clean heart” sign

__ sew loops onto all kids bath towels

Front Entry

__ detail vacuum steps, wash walls & rail up staircase

__ wash floor, door & baseboards

__ fix display board

__ sweep front porch

__ dust/wash plant shelves & light fixtures

__ repot/divide fern

__ wash blind & window

Living Room

__ clean inside & top of armoire

__ detailed dusting

__ detailed vacuuming, including couch

__ organize bookshelf & wipe down each shelf

__ clean side table

__ vacuum couch

__ wash walls, fireplace & baseboards

__ wash blinds

__ return curriculum to school

Kitchen

__ clean fridge – inside & out

__ empty, clean & organize each cabinet & drawer

__ organize pantry

__ wash windows & blinds

__ wash curtains

__ replace curtain brackets & patch & paint wall

__ scrub floor, walls & baseboards

Laundry Room, Back Hall & Powder Room

__ scrub floor, walls & baseboards

__ detail vacuum closet

__ organize closet

__ put away ALL laundry and wipe down machines

__ recaulk sink & toilet

Garage

__ take all donations to Goodwill

__ take liquids, expired meds & light bulbs to hazardous waste disposal

__ sweep & wash floor

__ get stuff sold on Craigslist

Basement

__ sweep & wash floor, rail and stairs

__ organize & purge toys (limit to 30 min. - timed)

__ secure shelf and cabinet to studs

__ put away all items on table and collapse table

Miscellaneous

__ wash all rugs

__ scrub and sanitize all trash cans

Hooray! You're Done!

Treat yourself to a new dress.

How do you tackle these big jobs and motivate yourself to follow through?

Restoring Order: The Laundry Room

When I saw that Rebecca and Monica were hosting Restoring Order I thought this was a great time to get to work on my laundry room. It has been out of control for weeks and negatively affecting my motivation to actually do the necessary work in there. When I started on it today I found laundry in all stages, a bunch of clothes which needed to be ironed, cleaning supplies, gifts in hiding (waiting to be wrapped or delivered), outgrown clothes, worn-out clothes, craft supplies, cloth tote bags and curtains, among other things. I really needed to pare down to what is essential to have in the laundry room and purge or put away that which had been dumped there in recent months for one reason or another. Here are the before shots....humbling.

To restore order to this space I did all the laundry and put it away, ironed the pile of things which needed ironing, discarded or stored the unsuitable clothing, wrapped all the gifts for upcoming events and stored them elsewhere, emptied the trash, washed the floor, baseboards and door and washed the adjoining hall and bathroom. I know that tomorrow we will have an abundance of laundry again, but for today I just really needed to hit the reset button so that tomorrow I won't be overwhelmed at the thought of doing a normal task like laundry. Here are the after shots....aaaahhh!

What areas are you working to restore to order today? See what others are doing here.

Another Take on Wool Dryer Balls

Last fall I saw a post Monica at The Homespun Heart had done about making wool dryer balls to take the place of fabric softeners. I let the idea sit for a while, then started one ball and quickly ran out of the only wool yarn I had on hand. But a couple months ago I wondered if I could use strips of felted wool knotted together for the same effect. I started with a piece of felted wool that was originally a sweater and later sewn into a decorative pillow cover.

I started with my little ball made from the wool yarn, about 2" in diameter.

Then I cut several strips of the felted wool into a 1" x 11" size. I used my Olfa mat and cutter, but precision is not important to this project so you could easily do this by hand. I ended up using about twenty strips for two of these balls.

Then I just started tying strips snugly around the yarn ball and continued to do that in a random way until all the grey yarn was concealed, with strips overlapping and intertwining with one another, so it wouldn't be likely to unravel in the washer or dryer. I used about 10 of the strips around the grey yarn ball and it ended up like this.

With the remaining strips I just tied them together around the center and each strip ended up with more of an exposed tail. After these were made I just threw them in the wash with a regular load and then into the dryer with that load. Now I just keep them in the dryer all the time as they seem to absorb some of the moisture from the wet laundry to speed drying just a bit. They also seem to add a little more loft to some of the items you launder which can get matted and lumpy with machine laundering. And I haven't noticed any static cling since I started using them. On the first few dryer cycles I did notice more red lint in the lint screen, but that is no longer an issue.

Overall, this was a quick and easy project and I'm pleased with the results. And as an added bonus, it was all free for the doing.

Simple Steps to Greener Living

We are taking some simple steps to living a greener life. So far, it has not been anything too radical, but bit by bit we will get there.

1. SKIPPING the plastic bags and bringing our own, which I also find much easier when I am bringing in and unloading the groceries. (In all honesty, I still get plastic at Target because their bags seem to be heavier than elsewhere and we use those as trash can liners.)

2. MAKING RECYCLING AS EASY AS THROWING AWAY by placing a bin right next to our kitchen trash. I reused a trash bin we had and just used a graphic found online, the Colorado sunshine and a Sharpie to make the visual reminder for us. Our kids love it and have certainly caught the recycling bug! We've been recycling for years, but we now have a service that requires no sorting or hauling to a recycling center so we are trying to do our part to recycle more. This kitchen bin fills up in just a day or two. I think having it handy is working.
3. REDUCING TRASH! We recently changed waste disposal companies, because of the recycling service they offer, and opted for the lowest level of trash pick-up they offer. This is forcing us to recycle more and we will hopefully not even need to fill up the 32 gallon blue bin of trash in months to come. Having a household of 5, with one still in diapers, we are still throwing out less trash than others I notice on our street who have just 2 people per household. I'm not trying to be self-righteous here, but I am just always intrigued that smaller households can generate so much more. And yes, we ourselves could certainly do better. We could switch to cloth diapers full-time or maybe even just get the child potty-trained....working on that.

4. COMPOSTING handles our produce scraps and eggshells well. I got this nice stainless steel bin with a lid for Christmas and we have no odor or fruit flies under our kitchen sink. I line it with a piece of newspaper to make it easier to empty into our outdoor compost bins. This system works for now, but now I would really want this indoor/outdoor worm factory I saw on Meredith's blog last week...maybe when we get to our next step in the Dave Ramsey plan.

5. And last but not least, AIR DRYING. (Photo of my lovely drying rack) We still use our dryer a lot, but I think we are air drying about 40-50% of our laundry right now. If I would stay on top of the process, I think I could air dry much more. But when laundry is stacking up, I just want to catch up as quickly as possible.


How are you greening your home and your life?

Confessions of a Struggling Housekeeper

Stuff, stuff everywhere
on the floor and on the chair

comes through the door but rarely leaves
this is one of my pet peeves

clutter makes it hard to think
but at least it does not stink

abundantly outfitted for "just in case"
but we surely need some space

we are blessed, that's for sure
all our needs are met, and more!

oh, to close the cupboard with ease
that would make me feel so free

we do not need a bigger house,
but there is much we could do without

how many clothes can we really wear?
how many toys can for we care?
how many books?
how many pots?
how many towels?
how many gloves?

I want a house not packed with stuff, but a home filled with love.



I wrote this little bit to introduce:
Resolution #1 (not because it is necessarily the most important, though): Simplify our household and its processes and possessions to make space for what really matters!

If only.....

....all my days could be this productive!


I've been feeling worn-down lately with the responsibility of life and yet so much minutia, too. Because of this, I've let myself justify slacking off in the homemaking and cooking categories which has not helped my state of being or my family's. Meanwhile, we have been on an uphill journey of attitude work with one of our children. I often tell this child when the child's poor attitude has given way to disobedience, unkindness, or destruction, "You can do better." Last night I was thinking about my own attitude and lack of attention to homekeeping and realized, "Rachel, you can do better." So today much has been accomplished.

- laundry: 5 or more loads, most line-dried

- bedding: all beds remade with fresh linens

- 5 jars of freezer jam made

- baking: 2 loaves of bread, 1 apple strudel, 2 dozen Runzas (bread wrapped meat & cabbage pockets)

- shopping: a quick trip to the grocery for the best blueberry sale of the year, and milk to get us to the end of the week

- cooking: breakfast, lunch and dinner - on time and mostly balanced and enjoyed

- gardening: watered all my flowers and vegetables, made plans for tomorrow's plantings

- clearing: kitchen counters and main level floors

- vacuuming: main level

- menu planning: to make the most of what we have on hand to avoid more grocery runs this week

- planning: for another full day tomorrow...hopefully with a little more fun thrown in, too!

My attitude made all the difference! I am not saying my identity comes in what I do, but sometimes seeing progress and feeling productive gives me a needed boost.

Spring Cleaning: The Van

Okay, I said I was done with spring cleaning, and I am, but I forgot to post my project from last Friday night which was cleaning our van in preparation for sale. My husband took the van through a car wash on Thursday. One of the gas stations in town offers a $1 wash with a fuel fill-up which seems much easier and almost as economical as doing it yourself. So on Friday night I:
- vacuumed the whole interior with all its nooks and crannies
- washed all the seats, cup holders and hard surfaces
- removed all the trash and stray items
- put all the stray items away in the house (This is big since it is more my tendency to gather up all the items and then leave them in a bag for several weeks before all the little stuff gets put away. )
Here are the after pictures.


Now this really concludes by work on this event hosted by The Homespun Heart. :)

P.S. - The van sold tonight.

Spring Cleaning: More Bathrooms

I'm finally finishing up spring cleaning and the most recent project was tackling two more bathrooms. They are small areas, but certainly needed some deep cleaning. Here's my completed task list.
- washed/vacuumed floors
- washed baseboards
- scrubbed sinks, toilets and bathtub
- washed rug
- washed wastebaskets & emptied trash
- quickly organized cupboards & got rid of a few things
- shined mirrors
- washed fronts of cabinets
- washed and stored potty seat rings for our next installment of potty training (maybe beginning this summer....2 down, 1 to go)
- freshened up bathroom cabinet
Pictures are below.

Before - kids' bathroom

After - kids' bathroom

Before - half bath

After - half bath
Here is the refreshed cabinet. (Sorry for the photo quality...small darker room + bright vanity lights + necessary flash + poor photographer = bad picture. ) Anyway, I took a piece of scrapbook paper and printed it with the word "refresh", then taped it to the back of the cabinet door. You'll have to take my word for it, it looks better in person. This hides the visible clutter and seems to improve the whole room. A big improvement for about a quarter (the cost of a sheet of paper). This idea came from this blog and this blog.
Thus completes spring cleaning at our household this year. I didn't get to the garage, basement or yard, though those areas did not need as much attention and are generally in order. The main thing in the garage was to haul the recycling and Goodwill donations away and that did get accomplished. In the basement we decluttered a few toys and books and random things. The yard and basement received lots of attention last year, so we may be good for a little while longer.

Thanks so much to The Homespun Heart for hosting this event! With spring cleaning behind me I think we're free to get out and enjoy the season!

Spring Cleaning: Entry & Hallway

I'm moving on with spring cleaning and today I tackled the front entryway, stairway and upstairs open hallway.
Here is what was accomplished with before and after picture pairs below.
- washed front door and window (inside and out)
- swept front porch
- detail vacuumed
- washed baseboards, counter, ledge and plant shelves
- decluttered area
-moved a small bookshelf ..though it may be moved back
- washed entryway floor
- washed front door rug





I'm considering another spot in our house for the scrapbooks we have on the plant shelves, but for today they are staying put. I need some inspiration for this area and don't want to put stuff there just to fill space, but display things there that I really love.

I have a few questions for you decorators out there. On the top two pictures you see some built in shallow cabinets. Would you leave them as is or paint them white or another color? I've wondered if the area would seem more spacious if they were painted white. I would also be looking to relocate the kids' stand alone bookshelf and perhaps remove some of the cupboard doors to have some open shelving and accessible book storage. Also, with displaying smaller photos, do you opt to pepper them throughout the home or do you cluster them together in just a few spots? I want to display them, but don't want it to look cluttered. Thoughts?

For more spring cleaning inspiration visit The Homespun Heart.

Spring Cleaning: Master Suite

I am far behind my goals for spring cleaning, but slowly moving forward and readjusting my plans to finish by March 31st. This week I have been working on the master suite and did the bulk of the work today. Here's what we did. I don't have before pictures this time around since my camera batteries were dead when I began.

- washed windows inside and out (thanks to my wonderful husband)

- detail vacuumed

- washed baseboards

- dusted

- flipped mattress

- washed mattress pad, bedskirt and sheets and changed out the duvet cover and shams to this springy set

- tidied up my closet (but not a full scale decluttering)

- cleared the clutter

- scrubbed the shower (I do this while I am taking a shower and use a spare pair of exfoliating gloves to scrub the tile, which seems to be the easiest way to clean the shower so far, using just a bit of shampoo or some safe cleaning products.)

- scrubbed the toilet

- washed bathroom floor

- cleared and washed bathroom counter

- shined the mirror

And here is the finished result. Again, sorry about the quality of the photos.

How peaceful to have a clean and tidy area to retreat!

Thanks, Monica, for the motivation!

Spring Cleaning: Laundry Room, Closet & Hallway

I'm officially behind schedule, but that's okay. On Friday I began working on the the laundry room, closet and back entryway of our home. I started with the closet and by the time I had removed everything from the closet to clean and reorder it I was overwhelmed. I did finish the closet on Friday, but then didn't have the motivation to continue with the rest until today. Here is what I did.

Closet

- removed all its contents (I was amazed at how much we are able to store in such a tiny space!)

- stabilized a shelf bracket that has never been quite right (I'm thankful my husband's parents gave him a powerful drill a few years ago as I have quite enjoyed using it. He is more than capable, but I'm usually a bit impatient and want to accomplish my ideas while he is away at work.)
- put lots of stuff away in other parts of the house

- vacuumed carpet and baseboards

- bagged up some stuff for Goodwill

Laundry Room & Hallway
- put away clean clothes and finally got caught up (for today) on laundry

- vacuumed dryer vent

- swept and washed under washer and dryer
- vacuumed rug

- washed washer and dryer, doors, door frames, floor, baseboards and spots on the wall

- organized contents of laundry room shelves

- washed the window and sill

Here are the before pictures. They are rather small areas, so forgive the quality of the photos.

Before - jumbled closet

Before - closet floor...where is the carpet?Before - view to laundry roomBefore - laundry room...quite embarrassingAfter - closet...there's even room for us to hang a few guest coats!
After - closet shelves
It may still look messy, but there is a method to the madness here. A laundry basket holds all the winterwear (extra coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, boots, etc.). A hook on the right side holds tablecloths. This is the only good place with easy access to the dining area and they stay relatively wrinkle free on the high hook.After - view to back doorAfter - view to laundry room

After - the tops are clear except for our flower pot for lonely socks and the trash bin for lintAfter - Just for fun I put new ribbon hangers on the broom, duster, mop and swiffer. Simple delights just might make cleaning fun!

I'm so glad I finished, even on a day that started with this.

I stubbed my middle toes as I was getting ready this morning and heard a loud crack so we'll have to wait and see how they feel in a couple days. Ouch!

Things I would still like to accomplish in this area on another day are doing some touch-up painting on the many scuffs and nicks we have on the walls and baseboards and installing some hooks or brackets to hang our drying rack when it is not in use.

Thanks to Monica for the inspiration to get our home in shape!

Spring Cleaning: Living Room

Today I cleaned the living room, one day later than I had planned. I feel like cleaning the kitchen on Monday kind of did me in and I think it is more realistic for me to expect to complete a room every other day, rather than on consecutive days.

I seem to be losing a little steam here, but here is what I did.

- dusted

- decluttered the top and inside of the armoire

- cleaned the keyboard and the desk area

- decluttered the top of the china cabinet (why does it seem all horizontal surfaces collect so much stuff?)

- vacuumed

- washed windows (just the insides this time)

- washed baseboards

- sorted through our magazines and got rid of about half the collection...they are now in the garage ready for recycling

- picked up toys and wondered to myself if we are living excessively (you haven't seen the basement/playroom yet)

Here are the before and after pictures.

Before - overall view with little helpers ready to remove their travelling bags (As an aside, this is one of their favorite things to play, pretending they are going on a trip and loading up their bags to move from room to room.)

Before - china cabinet in need of decluttering (tea cup sets inside are part of a collection we inherited from someone special)

Before - armoire

After - overall view

After - china cabinet now only has photos on top

After - armoire is tidy and clean, and items on top are there on purpose


It feels good to still be plugging along with spring cleaning and have the majority of our main level clean.

To see how others are progressing, check out Spring Clean 2008 at The Homespun Heart.