Homemaking Organized Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Spring Cleaning’

Yes you spend time spring cleaning but what about when it’s all done? What then?

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up the home. What’s the point of it all and sheesh! It takes so much work!

31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way to the Rescue.

Sarah May has penned the ebook 31 Days to Clean to help you realize why you should clean your house and how to keep your home clean without it overtaking you (in the Biblical Martha way)

I think it’s so important to have a reason for a clean home. I think we all do but sometimes we can think it is not an important thing or that nobody will realize if the house is messy and things go undone. A clean place of rest is well appreciated (and on that note I need to get off my duff and clean up a bit around here).

From now until April 15th two people can win a copy of 31 Days to Clean. Details here

Also beginning in May there will be a homemaker’s challenge using the book as a guideline. Details here

Now available on Kindle => 31 Days to Clean – Having a Martha House the Mary Way

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here => Kindle Wireless Reading Device

Act like you saw this a week ago. I forgot to hit PUBLISH!

If you’ve seen the little banner on the right side of Homemaking Organized then you know it’s Spring Cleaning time. At least in my home.

Like any women surrounded by junk I get the itch this time of year to see if I can put on a new faces at least in the hidden spaces of cupboards and closets. I admit that exposed surfaces are ‘okay’ but I know I can do better. I’m stuck in gardening mode and in attempting to sew my daughter some dresses since I’m so disgusted at what’s in the store but that’s another story.

This week, if you signed up for the Vintage Spring Cleaning ecourse a week ago, is all about the kitchen. Scrubbing it up and getting it cleaned out. As noted in the printable I’ve been cleaning a section a day. I actually started in on the freezer on Saturday. I’m taking it very easy because upending the house right now is not an option.

I have found that if I tackle one particular Spring Cleaning chore each day then things are much easier to digest and get done. That is how I set up the Vintage Spring Cleaning ecourse to be tackled a week at a time. You may finish said room in that time and you may not but it will be easier to make some headway when you work a little at a time.

Are you Spring Cleaning this year? And if so what room is really calling your name? This year it was my daughter’s room. I’m taking it a step at a time.

Even though I have some Spring Cleaning articles on the website I haven’t talked about what is going on in my own home.

Well up until maybe a week ago I was doing precious little in the deep cleaning in the home department.

Was I waiting for Spring Cleaning? No I don’t think so. I was just…waiting.

The winter can do that to you. But I knew it was time to kick it into gear and getting some things done. So here is what I’ve doing.

I like to focus on one section of the home a week because that means if I forget something one day I can do it  the next. Or if I’m too busy I can clean any other day of the week. Or I can clean as long or as short as I like because I have a whole week to get around to it or get it done.

I also ordered some green, pretty smelling cleaners. I needed some inspiration. And I did put together a nice upbeat gospel/southern gospel cd via iTunes to sing to with my daughter while we clean. That helps too.

So I have been cleaning the kitchen the last week or so. A little every other day or so but today I wanted to start focusing on a room per week. I’ll be coming back to the kitchen because I need to  workup a nightly quick clean set up like I  had in the last home. Did I mention that cooking is our family hobby (which I don’t write about nearly enough) so our kitchen gets kind of a workout.

Today I started with the Front Entrance. I have a small pergo floor there with plant, a small table for incoming mail and a chair which we pull in for dinner parties.

1. Pulled all items off the floor which included a boot drip tray or whatever they call it and an indoor rug for catching dirt. It has been said that you should have one on each side of the door….so I do.

2. Dusted high ledge above the door.

3. Dusted blinds (3 windows) and low ledges.

4. Dusted plant stand and polished small table

5. Cleaned windows (inside)

6. Wiped down walls and front door.

7. Vacuumed corners

8. Vacuumed throw rug (I should wash it but I need it right now) and swept floor

9. Mopped the floor

How long did it take? I have no idea. Maybe an hour with breaks to do something or other. I had dusting help from my 5 year old.

What’s next? I’ll check out the hall closet tomorrow and next week I would like to tackle the Master Bedroom dresser drawers mostly.

I’m not that big on Spring Cleaning. Yes I have a few articles and printables over at Homemaking Organized but that’s because in addition to loving the history of it you have to admit that come spring time you seem to have more energy and a drive to do a bit of homekeeping.

I tend to get more of a re-organizing bug than a cleaning bug when it comes to spring cleaning.

This Spring I’ve had the urge to tackle these areas.

1. My daughter’s room. Her room is much as it was when we first moved in except for the fact that she moved from a toddler bed to a big girl bed (and I mean big! This thing is humongous).  So I’ve been moving stuff around every so often until I think it feels right. I’ve also been going through her clothes big time because she had a major growing spurt. And I’ve been purging her toys. She has a tendency to turn anything into a toy there is a lot of little ‘stuff‘ around that she’s decided makes a good toy. Do I ask her first? Sometimes…

2. The office. How this room got so out of hand I’ll never know. Oh yeah, regular use and very little upkeep. Anyway my husband and I have different ideas of how an office should be outfitted. He likes lots of clear desk workspace but we have so many books and supplies that shelves and places to put things are lacking. Since I have my own area now carved out where I normally work I’m retooling the office by setting up clear spaces for homeschooling (we start kindergarten in the fall) and my husband’s work.

3. Shampoo rugs. I’ve been doing this in various rooms in the home. The dining room, Peanut’s bedroom and the front hall so far. I invested in a carpet cleaner last year and it was a good choice. If you have pets and/or kids and a carpeted home it really does make sense. My sister bought one shortly after I did. We were having our rugs shampood several times a year and it just made more sense. Sometimes spot cleaning doesn’t cut it.

4. I have my eye on the pantry. Which I havent’ tackled yet. It’s a small pantry…very small. And I went through early on and reorganized where things should go. I even labeled each shelf. But now I think it could use a cleaning. I’m also toying with lining the shelves. I didn’t do that when we moved in and I’m thinking about doing all the shelving and drawers in the home. That’s a long project so it will be ongoing.

Do you spring clean?