Step one is to answer some questions and evaluate my home:
- What are the problem areas you face in daily cleaning? Motivation! Also, the kitchen is always a mess and the bedroom needs to always be cleaned up.
- Where does clutter tend to pile up in your home? On our bureaus, the shelf next to the stairs, the kitchen counter next to the sink, my desk, table, book cases, the floor in the kids room, coffee table.
- Is it easy for you to get ready in the morning? If not, what do you think is the problem? Yes. I don't go anywhere and currently the baby is easy to get ready. When Sophia is with us its harder because she is easily distracted and doesn't like to listen.
- What is your favorite room of the house? Why is that? (You’re going to want to think about this, so that you can duplicate that feeling in other areas of your home.) The living room because its where we gather.
- What room do you avoid at all costs? Describe this room and think about what annoys you about it. What would you need to do/buy to make it better? (We want to solve this problem and keep it from spreading throughout the house!) The kid's room. Currently Sophia's toys are everywhere, her blankets are on the floor and she does not pick up, even when we ask her to. The living room is where it would spread, and it does, but I can motivate her to pick up out there by threatening to take away the toys she leaves out.
- Which cleaning tasks do you avoid like the plague? Chances are you can make these jobs easier with a little decluttering and organizing. I hate cleaning the toilet; its super gross! The kitchen floor because it never seems to not have crumbs. I sweep it every day and vacuum once a week and it just never seems to be clean! And, the bathroom floor. Its stone and because of the cement stuff between the stones I can't sweep, so I have to vacuum using an attachment which takes FOREVER.
- Where do you hide your clutter? (Yeah, that’s gonna have to stop.) And why is that? Are you rushed? Don’t know where to put it? Lazy? On my desk, on the coffee table, on the table, in boxes. A lot of it is paperwork that I probably just need to throw out and a few things to file. Other things need to find places to go and there's stuff to get rid of I'm sure.
- Are there parts of your home that are broken or in need of repair or a makeover? Keep a running list. If they are urgent, make plans to fix them now. If not, chances are we’ll cover it in the coming weeks. We rent, so there's not really anything we can fix. We just call someone; it's nice. I can make a list of stuff I would change, but that's kind of a waste of time.
- Is it too much stuff, failure to put it away, or plain disorganization that holds you back from having a home you love? All!
That was easy!
1.2 Pinterest board!
I have a Pinterest board for organizing and cleaning and my crafts board has lots of ideas for around the house, too. So, I will be relying on that a little. I could go internet crazy and find a ton of stuff to pin, but that would really be me wasting time.
1.3 Get Your Equipment Ready
The third step is to get everything ready. So, I need to get any cleaning supplies I need. Out of Life as Mom's list, I only need the spray bottles, more vinegar (which I meant to get today. whops!) and more trash bags. I wish I had a hand vacuum and a steam mop, but I don't and can't afford them. Oh well.
1.4 Dump or Donate
I have an issue with throwing things away, that's part of why I need to do this. I have a stash of underwear that I need to turn into rags. I have socks that I lost one of like 5 years ago. All Sophia's clothes go to her cousin. Anything I don't need or can't use I try to give to someone. I donated an easy bake oven that works, but has no pieces to it. Hopefully someone could use it.
1.5 Good Reads for Organizing
I have Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider, which is how I found her blog Simple Mom, which is how I eventually found Life as Mom. I think this book is definitely going to help.
So, that is the first zone. Time for the cleaning! Probably Monday at the soonest. We'll see what this weekend brings.
No comments:
Post a Comment