20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: Bathrooms - The Organised Housewife

 

I'm a little delayed in writing this post... in truth, I am exhausted!  Last night I was just so shattered after finishing the bathrooms, that I decided to not only hold off on writing this post, but also to have today off from cleaning (more on this soon).

 

Cleaning: Bathrooms

As I mentioned in my last post, we have 2 bathrooms and 3 toilets, so it was no small job that I completed last night! haha!!  I bought myself another microfiber cloth just for the bathrooms - I have to say that I LOVE these cloths!! They are so fantastic!! The ones I have are 2 different brands and they are different from each other, I figured a microfiber cloth is the same as the next one, but the one I picked up yesterday seems a little more sturdy and would be better for cleaning whereas the yellow one I think is better for dusting.

 

Usually in the shower we keep a squeegee in the showers to wipe off all of the water afterwards to help with the soap scum, however there was still a little bit on the bottom of the shower screens that needed a little scrubbing... this is where my microfiber cloth came in handy!

 

One of the biggest parts of keeping up with the bathrooms are the clothes on the floors... I have spent today trying to catch up with the washing, so far I still have a couple more loads to go, but I might try to get those done before work tomorrow morning... then comes all of the folding... yuck!!  I am hoping to dedicate a portion of this weekend to getting it all folded and put away.

 

Overall, the bathrooms weren't too bad to clean, it was more the number that was the problem!!

 

Declutter: Bathroom Vanity Bench

Other than doing the usual stuff to clean the bathrooms, I also focused on decluttering the sinks, plus I went out and found a little plastic holder with suction caps because I liked the idea of keeping them off the sink to make it all easier to wipe down.  Another idea I really liked was keeping all of the face washers in a drawer for easy access.

 

Organise: Shower Caddy

I bought a few things to put my shower caddy together; the blue microfiber cloth and a scrubbing brush, and then I added a shower cleaner I had from before and I also took mirror wipes and shower wipes from my cleaning bucket from the first preseason tasks.  I have added this to under the main bathroom sink.

 

New Habit: Clear & Wipe Down Vanity

Basically, this one speaks for itself, it's recommended to clear and wipe down the bathroom vanity after brushing your teeth.

 

5 Minutes Only: Wash the Clothes Line

I have got to say... I didn't do this, for starters, it was  too late, plus right now it's just something I can't fit in.

 

As I mentioned before, I took today off from cleaning, this was for a few reasons:

1. Our fridge isn't too bad clean wise
2. The oldish food simply won't fit in our bin at the moment
3. I am exhausted... I just ache and I needed a day to recharge.

On a side note though, I had a friend over this afternoon who has seen our place at it's worst and she was so impressed with how the house looks... and I have to say, so do I!!!

 

 

20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: Floors - The Organised Housewife

Yesterday I also completed Day 5 of the challenge... the floors!!  I wanted to wait until I had finished tidying the lounge room before I cleaned the floors.  I did only do the downstairs area, as upstairs is still in shambles and I don't think there is much point in attempting those at this stage (although the bedroom has been done from Day 2).  I don't have any photos today as I don't think the floors are really that exciting.

Cleaning: Floors

I really got stuck into the vacuuming, I vacuumed not only the floor (tiles and carpet), but I really got into all the corners, the skirting, where the carpet meets the wall and even on top of the windows, the sills and the window tracks.

Then I had to learn to use our steam mop.  Believe it or not, since we owned it, I had never used it, B always did it.  After a bit of complaining and maybe a little swearing, I did the kitchen, the entryway and also the little bit of vinyl under Miss 4's table and chairs.  I quite like that it uses only steam to clean the floors without the chemicals, but I do find it hard to wrap my head around the idea that the floors are clean without the chemicals.

Declutter: Out of Date Food

I haven't gotten to this part yet, but I do need to find some time to get it done. I think the title speaks for itself really.

Organise: The Pantry

Another one where the title says it all... I have to admit... I hate our pantry!  I really dislike corner pantries where the shelves are so big that I can't touch the back of the corner.  I find it hard to organise them and keep them tidy.  So, I have actually delegated this task to B... haha!! I am lucky in that he is willing to help me out on this challenge.

New Habit: Put Rubbish in the Bin

This one I am happy to say that I am getting better at, basically this task is to put rubbish in the bin immediately, so that there is no way it can build up and get out of control.

5 Minutes Only: Tidy Kitchen Bench

Oh Happy Days!!!  I didn't really have to do this one, as I have actually been keeping the kitchen spotless!! It looks exactly the same after I finished it on Day 1 - although at the moment there is a quiche cooling on the stove, so that I can have it for lunch this week.

Tomorrow is the dreaded bathrooms... in our house we have the main bathroom as well as an ensuite, but as we live in a 2 story townhouse, we also have 3 toilets... 3 toilets to clean... oh hooray... haha!!

I mentioned earlier that B is willing to help me out during this challenge, while this is true, I am actually really enjoying doing this challenge (never thought I could say that I would enjoy cleaning) as I am finding it so therapeutic, I already feel as though my mindset is changing.

 

 

20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 4, Part 2

Day 4, Part 2: Lounge Room - The Organised Housewife

 

Ok, so I have finally made it back in here to blog about my lounge room progress.  I have spent a little of each day (Friday though Sunday) getting up to date and getting through everything.

 

As it was just Miss 4 and I on Friday night, I decided that we would get pizza, put Wall-E on and start sorting out her toys.  I must say, I am so proud of her for the amount of stuff that she was willing to part with... I don't think I would have been that way when I was younger! haha!  We made 3 piles:

• to keep
• to give away
• rubbish

I think the biggest pile was the pile for charity!  I told her how there are some children who don't have any toys and that maybe we could give them the toys that she doesn't play with anymore.  Admittedly, she did get a little carried away with some of the toys to give away and I had to rescue a few of the more important toys. In the end we have 2 garbage bags full of toys plus a smaller bag full as well.

 

We put the toys she was to keep back into her toy box, and from being overflowing, it currently barely reaches the top of the giant cardboard box.  I am really looking forward to getting the bench I mentioned in my previous post, I can't wait to get her toys put away and have it all looking really tidy.

 

Yesterday we had quite a big day of errands, but I did manage to gather a few things that needed to go back to their original owners, or items that we were giving away to friends/family.  I also cleaned off the lounge of stuff I had started organising getting them ready to be put away, but one of the biggest tasks was to tidy the space near B's recliner which had a lot of my knitting stuff there and a lot of B's IT stuff... The majority of the knitting stuff got shoved into the walk in wardrobe with my other knitting stuff (I think I need more tubs to get it organised better), and I have sat B's IT stuff aside for him to go through, as I have no idea what I am looking at.

 

A few things that have been rearranged:

• My knitting bag/storage (thing), now only contains my circular sets and my current projects and it is now sitting next to my recliner
• My laptop is resting against the knitting storage next to the little table between the recliners
• Miss 4's pink bin is now next to her other toy box (cardboard)

 

I also got a squeegee for cleaning the windows outside.  It was fun to do!  I got my bucket, added hot water to a little bit of dishwashing detergent, went outside and washed the windows/sliding doors to the lounge room.  I do still need to do the inside, but they already look so much better having all of the dirt off them from the outside!!  Wish I could do the upstairs ones!!

 

There are also a few changes coming up to help with the layout:

• Miss 4's new toy box/bench
• A sewing table so that I can get my sewing machine and sewing 'stuff' out of the lounge room and into the study

Both of these I have mentioned before, but I am sure that I will blog about them once I get them!! I can't wait... it feels strange not having them in here when I know they are coming, I kind of feel as though I haven't finished the task yet, or that the rooms just aren't tidy enough yet.

Miss 4's toys for charity

20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 4, Part 1

Day 4, Part 1: Lounge Room - The Organised Housewife

That's right... I had to do the lounge room in 'parts' to be able to get it all done... so I have done a large portion of it tonight (at least I hope it's a large portion!!!)

 

What I did was try to get stuck into some of the bigger areas that needed doing, mostly the little table between the recliners, the sewing machine table (otherwise known as the dining table!! haha!! Not that we ever used it as that!), the buffet and I started clearing the stuff behind the lounge.

The buffet area was the first place I took to, and it actually went a lot faster than I thought it would.  It was basically full of papers that were waiting to be filed and there was quite a bit there that could be thrown away or rehomed.

 

Then I cleared the area between the recliners, once again it was full of papers, but it also had a bit of craft stuff and a lot rubbish that could be thrown away.  We have a universal remote now, so I also cleared away all of the original remotes that I came across.

Finally... the big one... the whole area I have been avoiding!!  The sewing table.  Who knew working at a craft store could mean so much fabric... holy cow I have far too much!!  I had to sort through not only fabric but buttons, threads, bias binding, patterns, etc.

 

But... it has been done!

The only other large area that needs going through is Miss 4's toys/area.  I have been trying to figure out the best way to sort this out for a little while now... so last night after I found out what today's task would be I started on The Great Toy Box Hunt.  I wanted something that would look neat and tidy, be practical, but wouldn't stand out in the lounge room.  Initially I had decided on a blanket box to put there, but after looking at it in the shop, I decided that it would be okay, but I had a few concerns (colour and the heaviness of the lid - I didn't want Miss 4 to get her fingers caught), so I had a bit of a wander around, and then I found this from Fantastic Furniture:

It matches in perfectly with our current furniture, and it has big drawers... meaning that there won't be a lid ajar when she tries to fit as many toys in.  Also, having the drawers means that it will all need to fit in there to be able to close... and hopefully (and I am hoping!!) that we can keep the toys to a minimum in the lounge room. The only downside is that they didn't have any in stock so we now wait "up to 2 weeks" for it to get here, but in the mean time I can start clearing out some of the toys.

 

Also, after cleaning off the sewing table, B and I have talked about me getting one of those sewing tables that pack up quite small and the sewing machine hides within it until needed.  We are hoping to put it up into the study which will not only keep the lounge room (main area) tidier and look nicer, but it will also mean that my sewing will be out of the way - so I suppose I have now taken over the spare room as I seem to have claimed the study, and it will now be my sewing room too!  We are looking at the Redi-Sew, from Spotlight.

 

I am hoping to get the rest of the lounge room finished on Saturday, as I will hopefully get tomorrow's task (floors) done tomorrow night.

 

I have to admit, I am falling a little behind now that I have had to split today's task, but luckily the other tasks will be fairly easy to get through.

 

Clean: Lounge room

Place decorative cushions on washing line in sunshine for a few hours to help remove dustmites

Wash throw rugs

Dust all units in your lounge room: TV unit, display cabinets, coffee table etc.

Remove all DVD’s, CD’s or video games and dust this area, giving consoles and DVD players a good clean

Reconsider the amount of ornaments you have on display to make dusting easier

Dust all photo and picture frames

Wipe over all TV remote controls and video game controllers to remove germs and dirt build up

Clean light fittings

Spot clean your couch

Vacuum couch

Roll up rug and vacuum underneath

Well... I honestly didn't get to most of these, but it's getting there.  We don't have decorative cushions, but I did wash the throw rugs. I dusted and wiped down the areas that I was cleaning today, but not all of them.

Declutter: Magazine Collection
I have to say that I won't be doing this, the only thing I will be doing with my magazines is organising them.  I only get The Healthy Food Guide and some Weight Watchers magazines.  I am happy to part with the WW ones, but I keep the HFG for not only the recipes, but the articles, as I do revisit those (comes with studying to be a nutritionist I suppose).

Organise: Pampering
I quite like this task... although I have to admit that my initial response to this was to avoid it... which is weird!! Why would I not want to have some me time??  What I would love is a nice massage, a relaxing bath and lots of candles lol, but I'll have to figure something out for this I guess.

New Habit: Say No
I have to say, I think I am generally ok with this... aside from the fact that my social life has dropped off dramatically, I just study, work and currently, I clean lol!  But I am also fairly confident in saying no to things so that I can get my work done.

5 Minutes Only: Clean Windows in Main Areas
I will have to do this on Saturday as well... the only problem is that having 2 stories, it's hard to clean outside of the windows on the top floor.  But, I will do what I can!

So, that's it for now... the house is getting there.  I think once the lounge room is finished and the floors are done, the house will look amazing!!

I am so glad I have decided to do the before and after photos, it makes it that more awesome to see the finished product.

20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Laundry - Organised Housewife

 

I know I am late in getting this post up, in fact, in 45 minutes it will no longer be Day 3!  What I did today was to focus on uni in the morning, work in the afternoon and then study a little more before getting stuck into today's room, the laundry.

 

I chose to do it this way today as first off I am running really behind at uni and secondly it was a pretty easy day for me today in regards to cleaning as our laundry is tiny and overall didn't require much cleaning.  As such, it also meant that there were quite a few tasks that didn't get done as they weren't required for us personally.

 

I did rearrange things slightly, I moved the steam mop to it's own little corner, I got rid of some of the cleaning products that we don't use anymore and then I finally started using the cupboard under the sink and put all the stuff we still need but not on a day-to-day basis in there and left all of the essentials on top in containers.

 

I even scrubbed the sink (not sure if that has ever been done since we have lived here - but we don't really use it anyway), wiped down the window sills and scrubbed the top of the washing machine where all of the cleaning products had leaked over time... yuck!!!

 

I didn't do the floors, mostly because I like to do all the downstairs at the one time, plus the laundry actually connects to 2 other rooms (lounge room and bathroom), and I just think that as a heavy traffic area, the mess from the other 2 rooms would get tracked into it anyway.

 

So, the bits and pieces today were:

 

Clean: Laundry

Wipe over the laundry sink

Clean all benchtops/surfaces

Using the brush attachment remove all dust and lint from your dryer

Dust your laundry walls (lint and dust does build up due to moisture from the dryer

Clean window

Clean floor

Declutter: Laundry Pile

This actually didn't happen as we don't really have or need a system like she has set up as we wash everything together. We have 3 washing hampers in our house, one in our room, one in Miss 4's room and one in the lounge room, just outside the laundry.  The only time this system doesn't work is when we (mostly me!) don't put the clothes in the hamper.

 

Organise: Laundry Routine

We really don't have one at the moment, however, I like the idea of washing towels on one day, linen on another, etc.  For us though, as I mentioned before, we wash everything together, so I have been thinking about is as being a routine for us:

• Monday: Clothes
• Tuesday: Towels
• Wednesday: Clothes
• Thursday: Clothes
• Friday: Kitchen stuff
• Saturday: Bedsheets
• Sunday: Off

New Habit: Load of Washing

I was going to say that I didn't do this today, but I actually washed my work uniform before my shift started today... I don't think it's exactly what she meant, but hey!  It was washing!!  Basically for this one, the strategy is to put a load of washing on in the morning or night and add it to the evening routine... I actually think adding it to the evening routine works best for me, mostly as I am not a morning person and struggle to wake up!

 

5 Minutes Only: Dust/Polish 2 Pieces of Furniture

I had a bit of a giggle about this... I actually don't think I have any furniture left to dust.  The only things I can think of will actually be dealt with tomorrow (lounge room) or the bookcases upstairs.  However there is a bit of decluttering that needs to happen first!

 

By the way - we're not alcoholics... I got B a home brew kit for Christmas last year!! haha!!

 

 

20 Day Cleaning/Organising Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Master Bedroom - Organised Housewife

Today was another day off in the uni world... and by day off I mean I am supposed to be studying at home... while my house is getting cleaner (and I am loving it!), it is exhausting and I am struggling to study... which is not good considering I am already behind on my uni work.  I have to admit, it's going to be interesting to see how all of this works on days that I am working!!

Is it sad that it's only day 2 and I am already exhausted?? haha!

Anyway, today was all about the master bedroom, and we had a list of tasks to do there.  I didn't think it would take as long as it did, but that's because I really got into it and dusted, wiped down and vacuumed every surface you could think of!  The list for today was:

Clean: Main Bedroom

Basically, the job was to get this room cleaned and sorted out... and we had a lot of clothes... everywhere!!  We had so much rubbish and junk everywhere... it was nuts!! And the dust! Oh the dust!!! The list was:

Strip the bed sheets off the bed

Wash all bedding

Place decorative cushions on line in sunshine for a few hours to help remove dustmites

Vacuum mattress

Flip mattress if you have not done in the past 3 months

Pick up and put away all clothing

Pick up and put/throw away all paper clutter

Pick up and put/throw away all other clutter

Dust all surfaces, bedside tables, dressing tables, mirrors, picture frames

Dust ornaments

Vacuum ceiling fan to remove dust that has settled during winter

Vacuum the floor, including under the bed

Place clean bedding on your bed

Of these, I didn't do some as we don't have cushions or a ceiling fan and I didn't flip the mattress as we got one that doesn't need to be flipped.

I also have to say, I have never vacuumed a mattress before!  Is that something that everyone does??  It's a good idea though!!

Declutter: Bedroom Surfaces

For this task, I did get rid of a few things.  I bought all the dvds back downstairs, I got rid of all of the rubbish around the tables, and there were a few other bits and pieces that I could either throw away or combine with other stuff.

Organise: Top Drawer Bedside Table

Now, I didn't actually do this... mostly because I don't use it.  I did however get rid of the rubbish inside it (chocolate wrappers... *blush*)

New Habit: Make Bed Every Morning

Done! Mostly because I stripped the bed, but I did also make the bed yesterday too! Winning!!

5 Minutes Only: Wipe Over Dining Chairs

Another one I didn't do... but this is because we don't have dining chairs.

One thing that I do want to do though, is add a few more pictures to our room.  Photos or artwork, whatever.  When I was out earlier running errands I did actually have a look for some in the hopes of surprising B when he got home... but I didn't find any that I liked.

On a side note, I meant to write last night that when Miss 4 got home and seen the clean kitchen she seemed quite concerned "But where did all our stuff go?!". Haha!!  Speaking of Miss 4, she has also embraced her new chores, in fact when B went in to get her up this morning I heard "Daddy, I made my bed!!"

 

As you can see, I did before and after pictures again, and... I am more than a little embarrassed... however, our room looks so nice and airy now!!