Tidy Home Tuesday: New Year's Edition

It's been about a year since I completed my Tidy Home Project and checked in (am I the only one who can't believe it's going to be 2012 in less than a week?!  Crazy!)  so I thought it was about time to update my cleaning schedule to better reflect my needs and check in here to talk about how the housekeeping has been going for me.

Here is my updated Cleaning Schedule for 2012:

Click to enlarge

You can find a blank template to make your own {HERE}.

It's very similar to my old one.  I switched a few things around to accommodate diaper laundry three days a week rather than two, which I stared doing back in June.  I also added one additional task: De-cluttering trouble spots. 

This refers to places like the kitchen table and top of the bookshelf in the family room (the final frontier of toddler-free space) which seem to attract all manner of clutter like moths to a flame!  I swear... I feel like every time I turn around the clutter multiplies!  Anyway, I'm planning to make sure the 'trouble spots' are clear every Monday because a lot of the accumulation seems to happen over the weekend and if I make it a point to tackle it at least once a week then there's no option for the clutter to get out of control!

And of course, these chores are in addition to the "everyday" (and in some cases multiple times a day) tasks like doing dishes/emptying the dishwasher, wiping down counters, making the bed, and of course there's spot cleaning that happens regardless of what day it is, like when the toddler feels like the floor is more in need of decor than his tummy is food. 

I've found that the tasks I have listed, the way I have them grouped together, and the number of times I have them listed work really well for me!  When I follow my plan it allows me to do a little bit each day to keep up with things rather than waiting until it's obvious something needs doing right now and then feeling overwhelmed and rushed, which was the whole point of the chart in the first place so it's definitely working out well!

Overall I feel like I've been doing a good job with keeping up with the cleaning.  'Good' is not 'perfect', but then again, I'm never going to be perfect so I'm pretty happy with the way things have been going.  Back when I switched to doing diaper laundry 3 days a week I really should have updated my chart at that time because I didn't stick to the schedule and therefore didn't have that added help to keep me on track.  Despite this, I still feel that I've done a pretty good job of keeping up with things and I pretty much started doing things the way my updated schedule reflects.

The laundry is done on time and often put away (this is something I could work on, I get it washed and folded right away, but then it sometimes sits around in the basket.  I don't know why, considering the hardest parts are done, but putting away is no fun!).  Diaper laundry has never been an issue because it's not really an optional kind of thing. 

I've been vacuuming every Tuesday and Friday nearly every week, I could dust more often, but it's been getting done at least bi-weekly or when I really fail, once a month when the dust starts becoming a big eyesore (oops!). 

The bed is made nearly everyday.  Weekends (and the past week when we were all kind of on Christmas vacation) are a little harder, but the bed is made nearly every weekday.  It's rare when it's not. 

I definitely think I've been doing a good job keeping up with the dishes. Mark takes care of doing the dishes after I make dinner, which he's always done and is a HUGE help! But I deal with dishes all day long and I also have to empty the dishwasher nearly every single day (sometimes twice :-/)! Considering this is my least favorite chore (probably because it's never ending!) I feel good about my efforts to stay on top of it. Not to mention, this is definitely something that if you don't keep up with it you pay the price because then you end up with a full dishwasher, dishes sitting in the sink waiting to be washed, and dishes that you've just used for a meal with nowhere to go. Then you're stuck playing catch up for days!

I've been doing okay, but not great with sweeping the kitchen floor (it's so hard to keep up with!  Besides, when I sweep it it gets messy again next time I cook or feed the toddler so :shrug: ) and I could definitely do better with mopping and washing the rugs.  Definitely room for improvement there. 

Menu planning gets done every week and lately I've been making a real effort to get it done on Saturday rather than leaving it til Sunday morning, and grocery shopping gets done every Sunday.

Our next cleaning/organizing project: turning the office into a playroom for Jack!

Tidy Home Tuesday: Week 8 - The Reunion Show

Does anyone watch terribly bad reality T.V.?  No?  Me neither...

After The Real World, Jersey Shore, Challenge, or any other bad MTV reality show that I'm embarrassed to admit to watching, they have a reunion show where they all come together on stage to be interviewed by a second rate MTV personality to talk about the show and what's been going on since we last checked in. 

That's what I'd like to do today, minus orange skin, fake body parts, and second-rate MTV personality of course ;) 

Based upon the goals that I set at the end of each weekly challenge I came up with this chore chart:



{Click Image to Enlarge}


I have posted it before but after using it for a month I tweaked it a bit.  You can find a blank chore chart like mine {HERE}.

I have done a good job of sticking to it, but I definitely can improve in some areas - mostly with sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor and vacuuming bi-weekly.  I find vacuuming is hard to do because it can't be done when Jack's awake, because he's always underfoot, and it can't be done while he's sleeping, because it's too loud.  So, I either have to do it when Mark's home to help with baby wrangling or right after I lay Jack down for a nap, before he actually falls asleep.  I need to make sure that I get it done though! 

But otherwise, I've done a good job of keeping up with things.  I think I've done especially well with the everyday chores like keeping the kitchen clean and the dishwasher emptied , making the bed every morning, and straightening the living room at the end of the day. 

I've found that my chore chart really helps keeps me organized and makes the chore-load manageable because I know at the beginning of the day exactly what I'm planning to get done and I can organize that around Jack's schedule. 

Unfortunately, now that every room in my house has been organized and cleaned from top to bottom, I'm finding that it's time to start over again as the kitchen is in need of another deep clean.  The work is definitely never done! 

How have you been doing with your household chores?

Tidy Home Tuesday - Week 7: The Nursery/2nd Bedroom

And by Tuesday, I of course mean Wednesday Thursday!  Gah! 

This week's assignment is The 2nd Bedroom, which happens to be Jack's room in our house. 

Although I did get this task accomplished on Tuesday, but by the time I finished it was pretty late in the evening and then I slacked on getting the "after" pics taken so... yeah. 

Understandably so, Jack's room was lovingly set up during my pregnancy and hasn't had much organization since!  It's a very functional space which has gotten very disorganized because we only seem to put more stuff in it!  It was due for some TLC.

Here's a look at before:

Basically, just a whole bunch of disorganization!

Let's get started!

Step 1:  De-clutter

First, I started by sorting through clothes.  It was past time to pack up outgrown clothes for storage to make room for new clothes that fit.  What is not pictured is that Jack's stuff has been living in a laundry basket since before Christmas because his drawers were filled with outgrown items.  Not a good idea. 

I had been putting it off sorting through everything because I needed bins to put the old stuff in.  We finally picked up some bins on sale (not without trouble, HATE K-mart... more than Wal-mart!  Ugh!) for $3.99 each for 18-gallon tubs.  Not bad! 

So, I sorted through everything.  Packed up outgrown items (*tear*) into a storage tub and filled his drawers with things the he can actually wear, plus a drawer of things that he will be growing into shortly.  Pretty big task, but I'm so glad it's done!  At least for now...

I then rearraged some things so I could actually put his books on his bookshelf, novel idea, and I found places in his closet for more things that he has outgrown, like the boppy.  We used that thing everyday from the time he was born.  I was really sad to pack up things like that! 

And I pulled my poor husband into the room to help me play with the furniture to see if there was a better, more funtional arrangement.  After 20 minutes of his moving things around I found that there's a reason we put stuff where we did in the first place because it was the best arrangement for his small room. 

Step 2:  Clean

Thankfully, after spending most of the day alternating between packing things up and chasing a mobile baby whose new favorite game is called GET INTO EVERYTHING!  All the cleaning that needed done was some vacuuming and dusting, which I actually saved for today. 


And here's after!

It looks sooooo much better now that everything has a place!



My goals for keeping Jack's room clean and tidy:

Daily:  Put things in their place!  Everything has a home now, I need to keep it that way! 

Bi-weekly:  Change the sheets.  (But really, Jack's sheets get changed more often than this anyway out of necessity.)

Monthly:  Vacuum and dust.

Quarterly/Semi-annually:  Sort through clothes and pack up things that have been outgrown.  Right now, this needs to be done quarterly, but I believe that his growth is supposed to slow down soon as he's approaching 1-year so it will probably need to be done on a semi-annual basis, but maybe not... because the seasons will change... Hmm... I guess I'll figure this out when we get there! 


Whew!  I'm finally done with my self-imposed cleaning challenge!  Next week, I'll post an update on how I've been doing keeping up with everything and the chores that I have listed on my chart! 

Tidy Home Tuesday: Week 6 - The Master Bedroom

This week's assignment is The Master Bedroom.

Thankfully, our bedroom isn't too messy so this week's challenge won't be too hard!  I try to reasonably keep up with the clutter and mess in our bedroom because I hate going to sleep and waking up in a messy room!  I feel like your bedroom should be a relaxing place and I don't want to walk in, ready for bed, and then get frustrated and stressed because I have to kick things out of the way just to get in bed. 

I try to start my day out by making the bed every day.  It's really a great thing to do because it makes the room feel instantly cleaner and more put together AND if you do it as soon as possible in the day, it's something you can always get accomplished and make yourself feel at least a little productive - even if the rest of the day happens to fall apart! 

I also find that it keeps the sheets and blankets neater.  I'm not sure if this happens to everyone else, but our sheets constantly come untucked and our blankets are all over the place after a night of sleep.  If I make the bed every morning it keeps the sheets better tucked in and the blankets are already pulled back onto the bed so they're ready when we go to bed at night.   

Let's get started!


Here's what our bedroom looked like before I touched anything.  This was taken on a particularly messy day:

Step 1:  De-clutter

Everything needs a home.  Pick up dirty clothes off the floor and put them in the hamper, shoes go in the closet, old glasses belong in the dishwasher, and of course the baby swing that hasn't been used in months needs to be moved to "storage" (storage right now is the overflowing garage, but luckily that's not my department!).  My husband is guilty of throwing clothes everywhere.  I'm guilty of throwing them on the wicker chest next to the bed and we both hoard water glasses to the point where sometimes we end up with all of our glasses in the bedroom and no clean ones to use ::blushes::


Step 2:  Clean

Dust and vacuum.  Anyone have a suggestion on how to dust lampshades?  The lampshades in our bedroom get sooo dusty, but when I try to dust them is seems like it just moves the dust around and actually makes it look worse :-/

Change the sheets.

Do laundry if your hamper(s) are now overflowing! 


And after!

It's not perfect (i.e. the Christmas gifts that need a home, and the pile of clothes on both The Husband's side, and on the trunk on my side), but it's much improved, I think!

Side note:  Does anyone else have piles of clothes that they're going to re-wear?  What the heck do you do with them?  We can't be the only ones.  I have things that I only wear for a short time because I'm leaving the house and then I come back home and put on something comfier and Mark spends all day in work clothes and then comes home and changes into something for a few hours.  The clothes aren't ready for the hamper, but I don't want to re-fold them and put them back in with clean stuff, so... what's your solution?  Where do you put your clothes that are to be re-worn before they're ready to be washed? 


My goals for keeping our bedroom clean and tidy:

Daily: Put things in their place, especially clothes!  Make the bed.  Take water glasses from the night before to the kitchen so they can be put in the dishwasher. 

Bi-weekly:  Change the sheets.

Monthly:  Vacuum and dust. 


Let's see your Master Bedrooms! 




You have until next Tuesday, January 11th to complete the assignment and blog about it (feel free to right click and save my "Tidy Home Tuesday" graphic to use in your post!). Come back to this post and link up to your post. If you don't have a blog just leave a message in the comments about your progress!

Next week will be my last installment of the Tidy Home Project because I only have one more room left to tackle: The Nursery!  Having a small house is beneficial in a whole home cleaning and organizing challenge!

Tidy Home Tuesday: Week 5 - The Office/Spare Bedroom

Sorry, I kind of disappeared on this challenge! 

A few things happened... 

1) I have a small house, and I've noticed that it's much harder to find time to dig in to cleaning and organizing as I move closer to Jack's bedroom.  Because I'm left with rooms that are adjacent to his, I can't really clean during his naps for fear of waking him and of course setting aside enough time to clean a whole room while he's awake isn't very easy.  So I had to find time while Mark was home. 

2) The holidays snuck up on me and I found that it's much harder to get everything ready for Christmas when you're also tending to a baby! 

And 3) I didn't realize anyone was following along with me until they said something about it because no one was commenting ::side eye:: 

Moral of the story is, I'm hoping to get back on track now and finish up this challenge! 


This week's assignment is the Spare Bedroom. 

We happen to have ours set up as an Office/Dog Room/Place-to-throw-everything-we-don't-know-where-else-to-put.  If you're anything like me this room is probably filled with clutter and things that need organized and purged.  And, again if you're like me, you've been putting it off and ignoring the clutter. 

Let's get started. 


Here's before: 

YIKES!

Step 1:  De-clutter!

I don't even really have general guidlines for this... because I wasn't sure where to start for myself.  I just found a place adjacent to the only floor space still showing and started sorting things into piles: donations, trash, recycling, things that needed to be moved to the garage for storage (then it becomes Mark's problem!  Muahahaa!), etc.  Then, rehome things accordingly. 

We have a lot of different things in this room: books, mail stuff (envelopes and that sort of thing), office items (documents, paper shredder, supplies), and tons of craft things (paper cutters, art supplies, scrapbook paper, fabric, sewing supplies, yarn, etc. - and there's A LOT of  "et cetera"!).  Although I wasn't sure what exactly to do with it all, I just kind of grouped everything together as best I could and found a bin or drawer for it to call its own. 

Those two short paragraphs really don't describe the amount of time I spent in this room, but we'll move on. 


Step 2: Clean!

There wasn't a ton of cleaning to be done in here for me, but I did dust and vacuum, both of which desperately needed to be done.  If you have your spare bedroom set up as a guest room with a bed, now might be a good time to strip the bed and wash the sheets, which may have been sitting for a while. 


And after:

I still have to move out the bassinet that's sitting under the window.  That will go back into storage in my parent's basement and we're planning to put a toybox in that space to hold all of the toys that Jack got for Christmas!  Because... we don't have anywhere else to put them right now. 

And the big box in the corner of the last picture is holding a surround sound system, which has yet to be installed.  We need to do that so we can get that box out of there! 

But, things are looking so much better and hey!  There's a floor!


My goals for keeping the office clean:

Daily/Weekly/Monthly Task:  Don't dump stuff in there and put things back where they belong!  Seems like an easy task, but somehow this room always gets messed up again.  ::blushes::  I swear, if you dump just a few things in there they mate and you come back to a room out of control with clutter babies! 


Alright, let's see your spare bedrooms!



You have until next Tuesday, January 4th to complete the assignment and blog about it (feel free to right click and save my "Tidy Home Tuesday" graphic to use in your post!).  Come back to this post and link up to your post.  If you don't have a blog just leave a message in the comments about your progress!

Tidy Home Tuesday - The Bathroom

This week's assignment is The Bathroom. 

We only have one bathroom, and aside from being our only it's also tiny (and ugly, but that's a separate issue), so every inch of it gets used.  A lot.  Because it's used a lot it gets dirty fast.  Just like everything else around here, it's well past due for a deep cleaning so let's dig in. 


Here's a before:

Step 1:  De-clutter

Thankfully there's not a lot of extra stuff hanging around in this room, but I did take a few minutes to throw out any empty bottles that I leave hanging around much too long in the tub, empty toilet paper rolls that needed to be recycled and that sort of thing.  I also had to remove the random caulk-gun that's been sitting in our bathroom for several weeks from the toilet repair project my husband did at least a month ago.  You may also want to go through your drawers and cabinets to purge any outdated makeup, moisturizers, and other items. 


Step 2:  Clean

Wipedown countertops, faucet, sink, the mirror, cabinet doors, the entire outside of the toilet as well as the top and bottom of the lid and seat.

Clean the inside of the toilet with appropriate products.

If you have a window, clean that too.

Wipedown and scrub the tub and shower stall.  Now is also a good time to change out that gross shower curtain liner for a fresh one.  We're currently using the cheap plastic kind, but I think we're going to invest in a washable one soon. 

Wash shower curtain, towels, and rugs. 

Dry sweep and mop the floor.

And although it doesn't look much different in the picture, here's after:

I'm going to be honest here.  I hateHATE cleaning the bathroom.  It's the stupidest thing, but it really skeeves me out.  I feel like there are germs all over the place and that they get on me and I'm not cleaning anything, but actually just spreading the germs around.  I know it's irrational, but that's my bathroom cleaning confession. 

Because of this, my husband has always taken responsibility for the bathroom and I think I'm just going to have to keep relying on him for this one.  I'm going to try to nag encourage him to do it on a more regular basis and I'll help out by doing the in-between-cleans maintance.  Thanks in advance for keeping on top of it, honey!


My goals for keeping up with the bathroom: 


Daily Task:  Spray the shower down with a no-scrub spray to help keep it clean.  I'm planning to use the following recipe:

1/2 cup Hydrogen-Peroxide
1/2 cup Rubbing Alcohol
6 drops Liquid Dish Soap
2 teaspoons Liquid Spot-Free Dishwasher Rinse-Aid
24 oz. Water

Mix in a spray bottle and spritz around shower stall after every shower.  {source}

Here are a few other options.


Weekly Task:  Wipedown counter, sink, and faucet.


Bi-Weekly Task:  Clean toilet (inside), floor, and wash rugs.


Monthly Task:  Deep Clean - hubby's job :)




Alright, let's see your bathroom(s)!

Tidy Home Tuesday... err Wednesday: Week 3 - Organization

This week I have something different to share.

We're kind of off schedule around here between the holiday weekend where we had places to go and people to see and food to eat, as well as Mark being home with us for 4 days, and this week we are busy with playdates and such.  Because of this, I'm going to slack on my cleaning (obviously I'm slacking because I didn't even post Tidy Home Tuesday until Wednesday!) and instead focus on organization. 

I decided that the best way for me to stay on top of the "extra" chores that I want to do after I get done with the daily things is to map it out on a calendar.  Here is what I came up with for me:

{Click Image to Enlarge}


 I also have a blank version that you can download {HERE} to fill in with the tasks that you need to complete in your household.

I'm planning to slide this into a plastic sleeve and then write in the dates over top of the chart so that I can easily find the corresponding day.  So, today is Wednesday, December 1st (December?!  Yikes!) and I can see that I have to dry sweep the kitchen at some point today.  Does that make sense?  I hope so. 

So, this is my plan to get my household tasks organized so that I know exactly what I need to get done each day in order to keep up with my goals.  I hope this is also helpful to someone else!

Tidy Home Tuesday: Week 2 - The Family Room

This week's assignment is the family room! 

If your family is anything like mine, then this is where you spend the majority of your time.  It houses the baby's toys, the dog's toys, as well as an unnecessarily large TV.  This is where we spend time together as a family, Jack plays, and Mark and I relax and enjoy some TV after the baby goes down for the night.  This is also our only living room.  Because it's the main room in our house clutter piles up quickly and it gets messy easily.  It is well past due for a deep clean! 

Here are some before shots:

Here is our assignment for the week:

Step 1:  De-clutter!

This is the same first step as last week and will be a continuing theme. 

 - Everything needs a home!  So start with that stack of mail or outdated magazines and work your way throughout the room.  Recycle any old magazines, newspapers, and junk mail that you have laying around.  Because our coffee table is the first flat surface you meet when you walk in our house, things tend to pile up there!

 - Now, find a home for all the junk that's laying around.  Random things can usually be found on the back of our furniture - discarded sweaters, and several different hats are usually sitting on top of the chair that my husband inhabits.  Whatever it is, find a home for it. 

 - If you're anything like me then you may have some "decorative storage baskets" a.k.a. "a place to put unnecessary crap".  It's time to dig through those and purge what you don't need.  Organize what you're keeping and make sure that your "decorative storage basket" is the right place for the item.  Donate, re-home, throw out accordingly.


Step 2:  Clean! 

Your family room should be more organized now so it's time to get it clean! 

 - Let's start with dusting.  Wipedown all of your flat surfaces with the proper cleanser and cloth.  Don't forget to move things out of the way to make sure you get all the dust and don't neglect behind things like the T.V. and under your DVD and DVR players.  We seem to collect a lot of dust around our electronics!  Also, make sure to wipe off lampshades, light bulbs, and your ceiling fan or other light fixtures.  Don't forget to tend to all of your knick-knacks that are sitting around collecting dust, as well as picture frames.

 - Clean your T.V. screen

 - Clean your walls and baseboards.  I feel like we're the only people that have this problem, but probably once a month I have to dust or wipedown our walls in random spots.  Dust bunnies collect and make them icky.  Does this happen to anyone else or do we just have disgusting amounts of dust in our family room?  Wipedown your baseboards to make sure they're not harboring any dirt or grime.

 - Let's move on to the windows and window treatments.  Clean your windows and window sills. 

          ~ If you're lucky enough to have curtains or some other sort of fabric treatment now would be a good time to take them down and wash them (or drop them off at the dry cleaner, I'm not sure exactly how that works). 

          ~ If you have nice wood or faux-wood blinds then you can probably just dust them or run a cloth over them to get them clean. 

          ~ If you are unlucky (as I am!) to have crappy, cheap plastic mini-blinds (ICK!) that have not been cleaned since you've moved in and maybe even long before that because they really are a pain in the tuchus to clean then you, like me, will probably spend several hours laboriously wiping down each individual slat with a cloth to take care of the years of dirt, dust, and grime which have accumulated.  There's just really no way around this and yes, it's a pain in the butt.  I swear, next time mine need cleaned, I'm just replacing them.  I had better start a fund for nicer blinds now.

24 hours later...

Still with me? 

 - Okay, it should be time to vacuum now.  Vacuum your floors or rugs and don't forget to move small furniture like your coffee table or end tables out of the way to get underneath.  Use your hose attachment to go around the outside of the room and get the edges where the carpet meets up with the baseboard.  Also, use the attachment to get behind and around the legs of heavier furniture like your T.V. stand and couch.

 - If you have wood floors, do whatever you do with wood floors.  I guess you would dry sweep and then mop like I do in the kitchen.

NOTE:  If you have both a living and a family room then your assignment for the week is to tackle both!  This is one situation where it's a benefit to have a small house :)


And here is my after:

See the blinds?  The ones with eleventy-million slats each?  Yeah, they're nice and clean now, but it took two days of really hard work!  On they upside, they do look worlds better than before I cleaned them.


What are your plans for keeping up with your living area?  Here are my goals: 


Daily Task:  Sort mail and do a 15 minute de-clutter before I go to bed at night

 - As soon as mail comes in the house sort through it and recycle envelopes and junk mail, shred necessary items, and handle other items accordingly.  I need to find a place to file paperwork that needs something done with it.  Maybe I'll put that in the office once I tackle that area.

 - Before I go to bed spend 15 minutes picking up the dog toys, baby toys, folding our throw blanket, and addressing any other things that are laying around.  That way, when we wake up the next morning we will come out to a nice clean family room! 

Weekly Task:  Dust and Vacuum

Bi-weekly Task:  Clean the windows


Alright everyone, let's see your family room before and afters!


You have until next Tuesday, November 30th to complete the assignment and blog about it (feel free to right click and save my "Tidy Home Tuesday" graphic to use in your post!). If you don't have a blog just leave a message in the comments about your progress!

Tidy Home Tuesday: Week 1 - The Kitchen

This week we'll be tackling the kitchen! 

I feel like the kitchen is the heart of every home.  It's the room where we nourish our family with food and conversation.  We begin our day by putting on a pot of coffee.  We end our day with a family meal or maybe even a bedtime snack or cup of tea.  And I know a lot of us will be spending quite a bit of time in our kitchens in the coming weeks preparing for the most important meal of the year - Thanksgiving Dinner! 

Let's get our kitchens organized and sparkling for the holidays! 

Here are a few "before" pictures.  These were taken before I got to any daily cleaning so there are dishes in the sink, things displaced on the counters, etc.

Ick!


Here is our assignment for the week:

Step 1:  Declutter! 

 - Start by putting any dishes that are sitting out in the dishwasher (Or washing and putting them away if you don't have a dishwasher). 

 - Put everything that doesn't belong back in its place and throw away/donate anything that you don't use. 

 - Next, tackle your pantry and fridge.  Throw out anything expired and donate anything you're not going to eat (no use letting it sit around to spoil if you know you're not going to use it!).

 - Organize your cabinets.


Step 2:  Clean!

 - Wipedown (I don't think "wipedown" is a real word, but we're going to go with it.) your countertops with an all-purpose cleaner.  Remember to move everything out of the way to clean underneath and behind appliances and don't neglect the backsplash or that little top ledge on the back of the counter. 

 - Scrub your sink and faucet. 

 - Wipedown all of the things that have a home on your counter - coffemaker, mixer, canisters, teapot.

 - Wipedown your kitchen table and chairs, your appliances, and cabinets.


Step 3:  Tackle the floor! 

 - First, sweep the floor using a broom and dustpan.  Throw any rugs into the washer.

 - Now, go along your baseboards and wipe them with a damp rag. 

 - Finally, mop your floors.



Here's after I was able to clean the kitchen top to bottom!

Ahh!  Much better!  Still not perfect, but unfortunately with my small kitchen and limited storage space this is as good as it gets.  Also, the CrockPot is sitting out because it's cooking our dinner for tonight :)  At least it's fresh and sparkling in person! 


Here's my plan to keep the kitchen under control:

Daily Task:  Empty/Load Dishwasher

In order to keep everything that we've worked so hard on tidy we need to incorporate small, daily tasks to stay on top of things.  This week we'll begin keeping the sink free of dishes.  That means, every evening before bed the sink should not have stacks of dirty dishes waiting to be handled the next day.  Make sure to unload clean dishes from the dishwasher as soon as possible once they are finished washing (I am TERRIBLE about this!).  That way, the dishwasher will always be ready and waiting to hold your dirty dishes!  A dishwasher full of clean dishes waiting to be put away is just going to cause your dirty dishes to be displaced in the sink.  Let's keep on top of things by putting the clean dishes away ASAP so that dirty ones can be loaded right away! 


Weekly Task:  Dry sweep the floor (or more frequently as needed).


Bi-weekly Task:  Mop the floor (or more frequently as needed) and wash rugs.


Alright everyone, let's see your kitchen before and afters! 

You have until next Tuesday (November 23rd, Just in time for Turkey Day!) to complete the assignment and blog about it (feel free to right click and save my "Tidy Home Tuesday" graphic to use in your post!).  If you don't have a blog just leave a message in the comments about your progress!

Tidy Home Project: Cleaning Tips

In preparation for the Tidy Home Project I thought it would be a good idea to discuss what I like to use to clean around my house.  Maybe some of my tips will help you on your own cleaning quest.

Since Jack has joined our family I have become more crazy contentious about the kind of chemicals that we use in our house. Whenever possible I try to use "green" cleaners, most of which I make myself with things you probably already have in your house. Not only is it cheaper, it's better for you too.


Here are a few suggestions on cleaning products:

All-purpose cleaner: In a clean spray bottle mix 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts water. I also like to add about 10 drops of tea tree essential oil, which is known for it's antibacterial properties, but it's not necessary.

Some people don't like the smell of tea tree oil (I find it to smell herbal-y) or may not have any on hand.

Vinegar itself is disinfecting and can kill viruses, germs, bacteria, and mold. This mixture is what we use to spray down our counters, stove, etc.


Abrasive cleaner: Baking soda. Baking soda by itself with a little water can be used to scrub anything that needs it. For tougher stains, baking soda can be mixed with a little bit of white vinegar or lemon juice to create a stronger cleaner. This can be used to scrub sinks or tubs.


Kitchen Sink Garbage Disposal: To help keep things moving and smelling fresh dump 1 tablespoon of baking soda down the drain and slowly pour in 1/4 cup of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 30 minutes and then flush it out with hot water. It is recommended that you do this once a week to keep things fresh.


Grease Splatters: Dampen a towel and add a dot of dish soap (this is made to cut grease!) and then use that to rub all over any areas affected by grease.  This will cause icky streaks so follow up with an all-purpose cleaner and everything with be nice and shiny with no more grease spots!

I've found that I need to do this on the face of our stove and also on the door of our over-range microwave.



A few suggestions on cleaning tools: 

Un-paper Towels: We utilize cloth whenever possible while cleaning in the interest of saving both trees and money.  We used to go through paper towels like crazy and they aren't cheap!  Now, we use cloth to wipe down the counters at night or to scrub off the stove.  Cloth can really be used anywhere that a paper towel is. 

The "un-paper towels" that we currently use are just cheap, rectangular scraps of t-shirt like material that I found at Lowe's.  They get the job done.  You can also use scraps from old clothes, old towels/washcloths, or if you are lucky enough you can make or purchase your own un-paper towels, which are made to replace that old roll of paper towels and come in a number of decorative choices.


Libman Freedom Mop: This is my new favorite thing!  Libman has recently come out with a new mop that is similar to the wet Swiffer that we all know.  I saw an advertisement for it on TV and I knew I had to get one! 

The result: the Freedom mop is SOOO much better!  Why?  For one, the cleaning pad is reusable.  It's nice and sturdy and has built in scrubbies to get your floor really clean.  It attaches securely to the mop and when you're finished using it just take it off and toss it in the washer so it's ready to use next time.  Awesome! 

Another bonus, the container that holds the cleaning solution is made to come off the mop so you can easily fill it with whatever cleaning product you want to use.  This gives you so many options!  I like to use a splash of white vinegar and some hot water and I'm ready to go!  The Freedom mop is so easy to use and has so many benefits I would totally recommend that you get one.  It has certainly made my life a lot easier.  Right now they're doing a $5 rebate if you purchase the Freedom Mop.  I'm not sure when that ends though.

Tidy Home Project

That's IT!  I'm sick and tired of the clutter and I'm finally going to do something about it! 

I've spent a lot of time thinking about how much easier my life would be if I kept ahead of what needed done instead of running around, trying to get to things once they HAVE to be.  Staying ahead of the game is excellent in theory, but in order to do so you have to buckle down and do something about it.  And therein lies my real problem.  I'm a great thinker, but not such a great doer.

But now I'm ready.  We are crusing quickly toward the end of another year and I'm ready to establish new routines around the house so that next year I can start fresh and happy in a clutter-free, organized, and tidy house!

So, if you feel like I do - buried in clutter, sick of the seemingly neverending tasks of tending a home - then join me in changing the way I do things.  Let's establish a cleaning routine together and manage the details to achieve a more orderly, happy home! 

Beginning Tuesday, I will go room by room deep cleaning and getting everything in order.  I'll also add daily tasks that need completed from now on to make keeping up with everything easier on myself!

Anyone interested in playing along?


How to participate:

Every Tuesday I will post an assignment for the week.  You will have until the following Tuesday to complete the tasks assigned.  Once completed, blog about your progress.  Then, come back and link up on my post to brag about your accomplishments! 


Let's all encourage each other and get 'er done!


P.S.  Tomorrow I will post a few notes on cleaning products I like to use around the house to get prepared for Tuesday.

P.P.S. If you want to get a head start on the task, next week I'll be tackling the kitchen!

P.P.P.S.  I'm really going to need encouragement from other people's accomplishments to keep me going so please participate!