Keeping House to the Power of One

I have been working really hard this past week cleaning, de-cluttering & organizing. I have to admit it hasn't been easy & I still have a ways to go. I have never been the best at being neat and tidy. I've been saying for the past three years that I'm a really good stay at home Mom but not a great housewife. However with the impending arrival of baby #2 that mentality has to change. My kids and husband deserve to live in a house that is neat & orderly. Not to mention I need to set a good example for my children for when they get older.

With all my hard work this past week I was able to get a lot accomplished but like I said I still have several things that need to be worked on. However with each completed task and each room organized I'm feeling more and more confident. I've spent a little time looking up tips & tricks this past week and I've figured out some that really work for me (and a lot that don't). The biggest being think in terms of one. One month, one week, one day.

1. One month. Learn to tackle one big task a month. I actually started this back in December. Dishes have always bee an issue for our family. If the dishes get out of control (which they often do) then the rest of the house is soon to follow. So I concentrated on the dishes for the entire month. Putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, running the dishwasher when it's full, emptying the dishwasher in a timely manner. Always keeping the sink free of dirty dishes. You know what? It worked. Doing these things became a habit. It isn't hard for me anymore. Better yet I get some weird satisfaction seeing my empty sink. For January I'm concentrating on laundry. Hopefully I'll see the same results.

2. Once a week. Do each room once a week thoroughly. Pick a day and assign a room. For example Wednesday is the bedrooms, Thursday is the kitchen, Friday is the living room ect. ect. This is the day to get all the nooks and crannies. If you are picking up throughout the week then on this day you should be able to quickly do a deep clean. Do all the things that you don't have to do everyday like, dust, vacuum, mop ect.

3. Once a day. Wipe down all flat surfaces once a day. Doing this forces you to pick up because you actually have to have your flat surfaces clear to wipe them down. Also one load a day both of dishes and laundry. It's so much easier to do a load of laundry once a day then to let it build up and have 8 loads to do all on one day. For me right now I don't actually have enough dishes to do one load a day, but I know when we have more children that will change. So if I can manage to do one load of dishes a day I think I'll be ok.

So those are my big three. It's worked so far so I think I'll keep going along those lines. I don't want to make this into a one time organizing spree, but I want to create good habits. So I know this will be a process for me. I already feel so much better, and that's a start. What are your best cleaning & organizing secrets?

A Problem

Embarrassing to say but yes this is one of our junk drawers. YIKES!!!

You see I have this problem. I'm aching to do something creative again. I have all these ideas of things that I want to do and try. However I feel like I can't be starting projects until my house is completely organized and clutter free. If you know me even a little bit you know that that's a tall order. I've made some progress though this week. I de-cluttered my computer, cleaned out the fridge and food cupboards, started on clearing out my photos, I bought plastic bins and organized all toys, I kept my kitchen clean all week, and a few other small things here and there. It's a start at least right? Well I hope this weekend when Denny is home we will get a lot accomplished. This weekend I want to get all our junk drawers cleared out and closets organized. That would be a huge accomplishment. Oh and laundry. Lot's of laundry. Hopefully next week I'll be ready to tackle something more fun. Something creative!

Organization Step 1: De-cluttering the Computer

Yesterday I spent nap time de-cluttering my email accounts. You would never believe how much work that was. Are you like me where you have a problem deleting unwanted and unneeded emails? It's a big problem with me. I didn't know it was a problem until my Husband wouldn't let me put my email account on his iPad because of all the crap it contained. So I went through and unsubscribed to all businesses sending me advertisements. Deleted most emails that I didn't need anymore. Deleted all corney forwards. Read all unread mail. I'm embarrassed to say it was quite the task. It was the first step though in simplifying and organizing for the New Year. I think it's good every now and then to go through your computer and delete things you don't need. Emails, files, pictures ect. Frees up space on your computer and makes it run smoother. Since I spend a lot of time on my computer this will make life much nicer for me. Today I'm tackling our photos. Which is an even bigger task. As this is the number of photos we're working with. I need to delete all the duplicates, out of focus and just not very great pictures. Wish me luck cause I'm going to need it.