Category Archives: 31 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge

It is March again and I figure that I will annually participate in the 31 Day Spring Clean Challenge (who knows, I may start a 31 Day Fall Clean Challenge for October…but that is far away and I’m in the middle of this one right now.)

Here is the schedule for this year:

Thursday 3/1 – Day 1: Clear all surfaces throughout the house

Friday 3/2 – Day 2: The Front Entry/Front Hall

WEEKEND – catch up or take a break

Monday 3/5 – Day 3: The Laundry Room/Mud Room/Back Entry

Tuesday 3/6 – Day 4: The Master Bedroom

Wednesday 3/7 – Day 5: The Master Closet/Dressers (rotating seasonal clothes)

Thursday 3/8 – Day 6: The Master Bathroom

Friday 3/9 – Day 7: All Other Bathrooms

WEEKEND – catch up or take a break

Monday 3/12 – Day 8: Family Room/TV Room

Tuesday 3/13 – Day 9: Formal Living Room/Dining Room

Wednesday 3/14 – Day 10: The Play Room/Kids Toys/Game Room

Thursday 3/15 – Day 11: The Kids Rooms/Kids Closets (rotating seasonal clothes)

Friday 3/16 – Day 12: Non-Bedroom Closets (Linen Closet, Coat Closets, etc)

WEEKEND – catch up or take a break

Monday 3/19 – Day 13: The Kitchen – Pantry/Dry Food

Tuesday 3/20 – Day 14: The Kitchen – Fridge/Freezer

Wednesday 3/21 – Day 15: The Kitchen – Cabinets & Drawers

Thursday 3/22 – Day 16: The Kitchen – Junk Drawer/Junk Counter

Friday 3/23 – Day 17: The Kitchen – Coupons & Paperwork

WEEKEND – catch up or take a break

Monday 3/26 – Day 18: The Office/Computer Station

Tuesday 3/27 – Day 19: The Craft Room/Craft Supplies/Hobby Area

Wednesday 3/28 – Day 20: The Guest Room

Thursday 3/29 – Day 21: The Basement/Attic

Friday 3/30 – Day 22: The Garage

WEEKEND – catch up or take a break

March 1st started it off with cleaning surfaces and counter tops. I have to admit, I did not get into this one. I worked a little bit, but mainly just with each room I work on. It is getting better though.

Friday, March 2nd, I worked on my foyer. It turned out good. I (Dustin) added another hook and so now all 3 kids have their own for their jackets and bags. I think this is really going to help out. Also briefly went through the shoes and pulled out those that do not fit anymore.

I took the weekend off to rest from the schedule, but still worked. Last night we worked in the living room, dining room, and kitchen…we have bible study tonight, and schedule or not, those have to be done.

Today is the laundry room. I worked a few minutes but mainly was working in the family room, finishing up the laundry.

Busy, tired, but looking forward to a CLEAN house. I’m even going to reward myself this year – as if a clean house wasn’t reward enough…going to get my carpets professionally cleaned in April. Hey, the rooms will be clean and accessible. 🙂

I will post pictures soon.

Jamie

It has been a long weekend. I know, I know…it is Wednesday… but Dustin took the past few days off and so hence, long weekend. 🙂

We were able to tackle quite a few of the projects on the list, YAY, and although we are still plugging through, it is nice to have these ones done. We also took a van load to Goodwill and the recycler.

We worked in the master bathroom/kids bath – changing out the cabinet above the toilet. We also bought some pull-out bins to convert one of the cabinets in each of the bathrooms so our hampers will be tucked away. Once they are installed, I will re-take the after pictures.

Our master closet was one of the most exciting areas to clean. After 6 1/2 years being in our home, we finally bought a closet organizer/shelving system and the results are amazing…probably my favorite area so far.

We also bought a hutch on craigslist over the weekend for our dining room to help clear up some space issues…another long overdue purchase, mainly due to cost. It is very pretty. Not the one we were looking for (and found at the local unfinished furniture store) but is also maybe one tenth of the price. Our goal with the hutch was to have a place to put our 5-gallon buckets of flour/rice/potato milk/sugar so the pantry could have a floor again. With those buckets gone and although I haven’t had the chance to organize the pantry, it looks almost as though I did 🙂

Dustin cleaned up our foyer and some of the living room while I cleaned some more countertops in the kitchen. I also worked in the family room but it has a bit more to do.

We still have a ways to go…the joys of a larger house and WAY TOO MUCH STUFF 😉 … BTW, both garbage cans are full this week…always a good sign when cleaning, right…

Have a good night.

Jamie

Well, today is the last day of the month and the last day of the challenge…What did I accomplish? Many therapy appointments for Rebecca, phone calls for bills and medical expenses, and a little cleaning in between.

The Master Bath was cleaned and except for a few cups and glasses, has remained clean 🙂 (yay). The kitchen has been worked on a bit with the countertops and they have been a challenge to keep on but I think I am plugging through and most the time keeping up. In my living room, the coffee table has been cleared (and remained cleaned) as well as the bookshelf and the toys have a new toy box to call their home. I was also able to get the older kids’ room cleaned, although this room has also been a challenge to remain clean…it is the home of 2 rambunctious kids that are almost 3 and 5.

I am almost done with the family room, I have begun tackling the piles of paperwork in my bedroom and dining room, worked in the garage a bit, and started on my computer desk and one of my bookshelves. I have not finished with these areas nor have I began working on other areas, but, I plan to continue until I get it done. 🙂 When I finish with each of these rooms, I will share my before and after shots.

I am thankful to Katie for proposing this challenge for us to participate with. To see more about this challenge, check out her blog http://intentionallykatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/31-days-to-clean-march-spring-cleaning.html.

God Bless!

Jamie

Well, I have been trying to keep up with maintaining the projects that I have already cleaned so I am not completely caught up on the list.

However, one of the days last week I took a couple of hours and tackled a couple of the counters in the kitchen. I still have a couple counters to go, as well as the pantry, and a few other things, but one step at a time.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Well, I have not kept entirely to the original schedule (my projects are a bit overwhelming) so I am doing what I can when I have a moment. The other day I was going through paperwork and I was able to clear off my island. Last night I straightened up the kids’ bookshelf and cleared off the coffee table. I didn’t get to the other bathrooms today but I hope to get to them tomorrow 🙂

To join Katie’s Spring Clean Challenge, check out her link: http://intentionallykatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/31-days-to-clean-march-spring-cleaning.html

Jamie

Well, it is only the first few days and I am already behind. I have not gone through the house clearing off all surfaces nor have I worked on my Master Bedroom or Master Bedroom Closet. I did get through a lot of paperwork yesterday while looking through medical statements and receipts. I was able to throw away about half a garbage bag of unneeded mail and clear off my island in the kitchen.

Since it is the weekend and the weekends are for taking a break or catching up on a room, I chose to tackle the master bathroom today. 🙂 It took me between 4 – 5 hours but I was able to clean all but 2 drawers.

Before: I had my work cut out for me with the counter tops.

Counter tops

After: The finished master bathroom.

Finished Master Bath

Before: The tub. This is one of my least favorite things to clean. It is hard to get in to clean it properly. Needless to say, if I want to take a bath, this is not the tub I would choose. 🙂

Tub

After: I tried using the Mr Clean Magic Eraser for the bathroom and it worked wonderfully. (The last time I cleaned I used baking soda and vinegar and it worked but took a long time.)  It worked really well and it was not as difficult. I will be using them in the future…and I would now take a bath in my own tub. 🙂

Before: Under the sink

Under the sink

After: Under the sink

Under the sink

To join Katie’s Spring Clean Challenge, check out her link: http://intentionallykatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/31-days-to-clean-march-spring-cleaning.html

Well, I decided to participate in a spring clean challenge (see http://intentionallykatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/31-days-to-clean-march-spring-cleaning.html) There is a schedule where everyday in March (weekends are either a break or catch up) you clean a different room in the house, spending as much time as you want to (5 minutes to over 2 hrs)…it is up to you.

With as much as we have going on, I am not going to expect too much from myself. I do however, like what Katie has on her blog and am going to do what I can to gt my house clean. 🙂

I will try to post before and after pictures. My before pictures are very embarrassing though, please do not judge. I am not a very good housekeeper to begin with and with the winter of illnesses we have had with Rebecca topping the cake, it has definitely seen better days. 🙂

If you decide to participate, good luck to you! I know I am going to need it 🙂

Jamie