Taming the Clutter - Days 3 & 4

Day 3 ended up being a "rest" day for me, instead of a "determined cleaning" day. After work, I picked up Darren from school, prepped dinner and put it in the crock pot, then went to go see an early screening of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. By the time we got home (9pm), both of us had terrible headaches. So we took the day off from being productive and just took it easy instead.

It was a nice mid-week break, but now it's back to work! So far, the kitchen and the living room have gotten -- and stayed!! -- clean. Now it's on to the bathroom. My goal for today is to finish the To-Do list below and make dinner before my Relief Society shindig at 6:30 and my Stamp Class at 7:30. Yikes! Better get started!

Today's Goal (Thursday, December 12)

Today's goal is to tackle the Bathroom:

• Clear counter
• organize shelf
• clean mirror, sink, counter
• clean toilet
• sweep
• mop
• wash bath mat & towels
• empty garbage
• clean shower fixtures
• Drain-O the tub drain

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement, especially over on Facebook. Being publicly accountable for getting my apartment clean has been a great motivator! As always, there's an updated master list below. I just love crossing things off and seeing the improvement in our apartment!

COMPLETE TO-DO LIST TO RECLAIM MY APARTMENT FROM THE MESS

Bathroom

• Clear counter
• organize shelf
• clean mirror, sink, counter
• clean toilet
• sweep
• mop
• wash bath mat & towels
• empty garbage
• clean shower fixtures
• Drain-O the tub drain

Bedroom

• Clear off dresser
• dust & Pledge
• declutter bookshelf
• donate Ensigns (anyone want almost a full year of Ensign magazines?)
• evaluate DI pile - act as necessary
• find home or system for perler "stuff"
• Darren: declutter stuff on your side of bed
• tackle: box of stuff & mystery pile
• evaluate & organize craft box
• decide what to do with rolling backpacks
• vacuum curtains (when was the last time this happened?!)
• clean & pledge nightstands
• strip sheets - laundry
• vacuum
• sort through filing cabinet mess
• clean under my side of bed (socks, shoes, etc)

Living Room

• put away stamp stuff, organize
• store frames, banners, class supplies
• declutter large bookshelf
• declutter under window
• use or put away ornaments in tubes
• stash printer
• evaluate old printer - FIXED! YAY!
• declutter small bookshelf
• clear & clean desk 
• dust & pledge all furniture
• vacuum
• declutter bulletin board
• empty trash
• clear out boxes
• change AC filter

Kitchen

• dishes
• clean counters
• clean oven
• clean stove, microwave
• wipe out / empty fridge of gunk
• declutter cabinets and tops of cabinets
• organize top of fridge
• clear entryway
• evaluate mail bucket
• sweep
• mop
• clear off front of fridge, as necessary

Taming the Clutter - Day 2

Day 1 of my "Taming the Clutter" project was a success! The dishes got done, I have shiny counters and floors, and the microwave looks amazing! (I don't even want to think about how long that poor thing has gone uncleaned - yuck!) I also started back into doing my favorite workout videos (from the gals at Tone It Up, if you were curious) and continuing my at-home yoga practice. Now to keep that momentum moving me forward!

Yesterday I tackled the kitchen. Today, I'll tackle the other "public" space in our apartment: the living room. I originally planned to work in the bathroom today, but I have four Stampin Up classes planned this weekend and I really want the front of the house to be in better shape! So, on to the living room it is. It's a bit of a doozy, especially since we have a ward Christmas party to go to tonight, but I think with a little bit of determination and a lot of up-beat music, I can get it done.

Today's Goal (Tuesday, December 10)

Today's goal is to tackle the living room:

• put away stamp stuff, organize
• store frames, banners, class supplies
• declutter large bookshelf
• declutter under window
• use or put away ornaments in tubes (bonus! Got this done yesterday!)
• stash printer
• evaluate old printer - toss?
• declutter small bookshelf
• clear & clean desk 
• dust & pledge all furniture
• vacuum
• declutter bulletin board
• empty trash
• clear out boxes
• change AC filter

And as a reminder, here's my overall list. I've crossed things off that I've already done, because that makes me happy.

COMPLETE TO-DO LIST TO RECLAIM MY APARTMENT FROM THE MESS

Bathroom

• Clear counter
• organize shelf
• clean mirror, sink, counter
• clean toilet
• sweep
• mop
• wash bath mat & towels
• empty garbage
• clean shower fixtures
• Drain-O the tub drain

Bedroom

• Clear off dresser
• dust & Pledge
• declutter bookshelf
• donate Ensigns (anyone want almost a full year of Ensign magazines?)
• evaluate DI pile - act as necessary
• find home or system for perler "stuff"
• Darren: declutter stuff on your side of bed
• tackle: box of stuff & mystery pile
• evaluate & organize craft box
• decide what to do with rolling backpacks
• vacuum curtains (when was the last time this happened?!)
• clean & pledge nightstands
• strip sheets - laundry
• vacuum
• sort through filing cabinet mess
• clean under my side of bed (socks, shoes, etc)

Living Room

• put away stamp stuff, organize
• store frames, banners, class supplies
• declutter large bookshelf
• declutter under window
• use or put away ornaments in tubes
• stash printer
• evaluate old printer - toss?
• declutter small bookshelf
• clear & clean desk 
• dust & pledge all furniture
• vacuum
• declutter bulletin board
• empty trash
• clear out boxes
• change AC filter

Kitchen

• dishes
• clean counters
• clean oven
• clean stove, microwave
• wipe out / empty fridge of gunk
• declutter cabinets and tops of cabinets
• organize top of fridge
• clear entryway
• evaluate mail bucket
• sweep
• mop
• clear off front of fridge, as necessary

Evidently I use this blog for a sense of accountability

Hello again! Maybe someday I'll get the hang of blogging consistently, but for now, thanks for being patient with my sporadic posts.

Earlier today, I read a great article about "power cleaning" your house, and it inspired me to take on a project. (Well, the article combined with the fact that I've been super-stressed lately and so the apartment has fallen into a serious state of "hot mess"-ness is really what inspired me.) But as the title of this post may suggest, I have an issue getting things done if I don't feel accountable for them. It's too easy to tidy up the front room and stash the dirty dishes (yes, I do that. You can ask my old roommate April - she's seen me do it for Stampin' Up events) and then just leave the bedroom door closed so no one will see my mess.

So to help kick my butt into gear, I've decided, at the suggestion of a friend, to post my daily goals and accomplishments - a "status report," if you will, on how well I actually follow through on this.

Today when I got home from work, I took a pen and paper and walked through each room, writing down everything that I wanted to take care of over the next week. I made a room-by-room list of everything, no matter how big or small, and tried oh-so-very hard not to get completely overwhelmed. (Mostly, I was just embarrassed I'd let the house get this messy! And it's only 3 rooms!) I've posted the entire list below, for anyone who wants to see what I'll be tackling this week.

I want to note that this list does not include the day-to-day tasks that I will also be handling (I think this is more a reminder to myself than anything else) such as cooking, going to work, grocery shopping, and the many, many activities I have planned this week (church get-togethers, Stampin Up classes, Christmas parties, and even a movie screening). One other habit I'm trying to get back into is daily exercise. So if I fail to mention exercise, call me out on it, ok? Thanks.

And because I do especially well with these things when I'm supremely guilt-driven, I've also decided to include some pictures of the "before" (and possibly the "after," if I remember) so that you guys will all know what I've been hiding behind my neatly closed door.

Our bedroom. Clearly I have an issue with just throwing things
in the corner and pretending they don't exist.

I literally have no clue what is even in this pile.
Guess we'll find out this week!

Our kitchen! Literally every inch of horizontal space is covered in
dishes of some sort, and it's been this way for weeks.

Yeah, my favorite thing. Dishes left to soak - ICK!!

So now that you've seen a bit of the "before" (I didn't photograph the other rooms because they weren't as cluttered, so the cleaning they needed wasn't as evident in photographs), I guess it's time to get started on fixing this!

Today's Goal (Monday, December 9)

Today's goal is to tackle the kitchen:

• Dishes
• Counters
• Stove
• Microwave
• Sweep
• Mop
• Clear out entryway

Complete To-Do List to Reclaim My Apartment from the Mess

Bathroom

• Clear counter
• organize shelf
• clean mirror, sink, counter
• clean toilet
• sweep
• mop
• wash bath mat & towels
• empty garbage
• clean shower fixtures
• Drain-O the tub drain

Bedroom

• Clear off dresser
• dust & Pledge
• declutter bookshelf
• donate Ensigns (anyone want almost a full year of Ensign magazines?)
• evaluate DI pile - act as necessary
• find home or system for perler "stuff"
• Darren: declutter stuff on your side of bed
• tackle: box of stuff & mystery pile
• evaluate & organize craft box
• decide what to do with rolling backpacks
• vacuum curtains (when was the last time this happened?!)
• clean & pledge nightstands
• strip sheets - laundry
• vacuum
• sort through filing cabinet mess
• clean under my side of bed (socks, shoes, etc)

Living Room

• put away stamp stuff, organize
• store frames, banners, class supplies
• declutter large bookshelf
• declutter under window
• use or put away ornaments in tubes
• stash printer
• evaluate old printer - toss?
• declutter small bookshelf
• clear & clean desk 
• dust & pledge all furniture
• vacuum
• declutter bulletin board
• empty trash
• clear out boxes
• change AC filter

Kitchen

• dishes
• clean counters
• clean oven
• clean stove, microwave
• wipe out / empty fridge of gunk
• declutter cabinets and tops of cabinets
• organize top of fridge
• clear entryway
• evaluate mail bucket
• sweep
• mop
• clear off front of fridge, as necessary