Home for the Holidays - Clutter Busting and Cleaning Support Thread

[wimama]

I was wondering if anyone is up for an accountability thread. No special group projects or assignments. My intent for this thread is for it to be a thread where everyone can post their goals for the week and then we can all support each other in trying to accomplish our weekly goals. We can work together so we all can have a clean home and be ready to enjoy the holidays. Possibly if people are interested we could make it a weekly thread.


Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve are at our house, so we need to get ready for guests. Here are my goals:

Finish Reorganizing the Study
Pay Bills & Balance Checking
Go through old Papers
Filing Papers
Shopping List for Thanksgiving
Scrub down downstairs bathroom floor/shower
Vacuum Downstairs Couch
Wash Guest Bed sheets and Sofa Sleeper bed sheets
Clear out Dining Room

[jgenie]

I'll play! Is that your list for the week?

Mine is:
- Call handyman to schedule repairs
- File papers from hall closet
- File receipts from hall closet
- gather returns and make list
- clean my closet
- make list of shoes for DS2
- clean piles from dressers

[MoJo]

I'm not up for a weekly list today. . . but my goals for today are washing the bedding for the guest room and cleaning my oven. (I did self-cleaning mode yesterday, so I just need to clean out the ash today.)

[WatchingThemGrow]

I'm not officially hosting anything, but I figure family may come over if we do a leftover party on T'giving. (We go out to eat at a fancy hotel since the past couple years we've had babies and MIL does not want to cook.)

-recaulk the showers
-clean the toys taken out of rotation from the flea bombing and put them back in rotation.
-find homes for the items in TCS boxes next to my bed
-finish dealing with the clothes that got flea bombed
-find homes for DS1's new space and fire sets

[AbbysMom]

I've been on a cleaning spree lately but I have so much more to do!
I deap-cleaned the bathrooms but still need to do the floor and shower. I HATE doing them.
I need to tackle the clutter in the kitchen and find places for things that have been hanging around.
Need to put away the Barbie house and accessories that gets no play in the living room.
Need to clean the living room - dust and vacuum.
I'm trying to de-clutter my bedroom too. I know it shouldn't be a priority now but it's bugging me.

[brittone2]

I'll join :)

We aren't hosting THanksgiving this year, but we are prepping for another move, I have DD's birthday coming up, Christmas, and prepping house for our realtor to show for new tenants (we've been in a temporary rental house for a few months...).

I've been doing Motivated Moms which has been helpful. DH even likes it.

That doesn't get into a TON of cleaning/decluttering, but I've been working on extra decluttering projects and trying to pack some boxes here and there.

[wimama]

I totally blew it last night. I sat down to work on bills with my laptop on my lap and fell asleep in about 15 minutes. Last night was my late night at work, so by the time I ate dinner and put DS to bed I was pretty spent. I must try not to sit in that energy zapping recliner. It sucks all the energy right out of me.

Getting our home decluttered and organized has been an ongoing project for the last year. A year ago we sold our house and moved in with my MIL, who is in her 80s. DH family didn't want her living alone, after my FIL pass away. So, our ongoing project has been to declutter and organize both 45 year of my MIL's stuff, all our stuff and kid clutter. And, we have been renovating the basement living areas. We are part of the way done with that. Fun times!;)

My goal is to have all the living areas in the basement finished enough for all the kids to enjoy on these upcoming holidays.


I'm not up for a weekly list today. . . but my goals for today are washing the bedding for the guest room and cleaning my oven. (I did self-cleaning mode yesterday, so I just need to clean out the ash today.)

Weekly or daily goals are fine. Whatever works for you!

[brittone2]

Today I:
Boxed some extra sets of bed linens and curtains
Am 1/2 way through organizing the two upstairs linen closets
Boxed up chapter books on DS1's shelf
Cleaned sink and counters in kitchen
did wash
Found about 15 things to donate
Emptied trash from all upstairs rooms and downstairs half bath

I need to:
return library books
pay fine on random missing book that I don't recall DC checking out
Clean bathtub (shower is done)
Clean out purse (on my motivated moms chore list for today)
Round up toys in the front yard
Pack up extra towels
vacuum upstairs
Order DD's cake
Clean my closet

[brittone2]

Today I:
Boxed some extra sets of bed linens and curtains
Am 1/2 way through organizing the two upstairs linen closets
Boxed up chapter books on DS1's shelf
Cleaned sink and counters in kitchen
did wash
Found about 15 things to donate
Emptied trash from all upstairs rooms and downstairs half bath

I need to:
return library books
pay fine on random missing book that I don't recall DC checking out
Clean bathtub (shower is done)
Clean out purse (on my motivated moms chore list for today)
Round up toys in the front yard
Pack up extra towels
vacuum upstairs
Order DD's cake
Clean my closet

Tonight I

Finished the linen closets
Cleaned my closet
DH vacuumed upstairs and kitchen
Donated 2 huge garbage bags of stuff (still need to drop off)

[wimama]

Tonight I

Finished the linen closets
Cleaned my closet
DH vacuumed upstairs and kitchen
Donated 2 huge garbage bags of stuff (still need to drop off)

Awesome Job! You got a ton done!

Tonight we went though all our books we had in boxes and organized then and put then put them on bookshelves in the study. And, I have been working on the laundry. I should work on the bills for a while before going to bed.

[MoJo]

Weekly or daily goals are fine. Whatever works for you!

Thanks, wimama! I knew it'd be OK!

I accomplished my goals for yesterday (in addition to the usual laundry/dishes/cooking).

Today, I need to plan the rest of my Thanksgiving dinner, and start KrisM's dining table challenge from the other thread. And several other "extra" chores that have nothing to do with getting ready for the holidays.

I hope everyone has a happy and productive day!

[brittone2]

Awesome Job! You got a ton done!

Tonight we went though all our books we had in boxes and organized then and put then put them on bookshelves in the study. And, I have been working on the laundry. I should work on the bills for a while before going to bed.

That sounds like a pretty big project!! Way to go! :bighand:

[jgenie]

I'll play! Is that your list for the week?

Mine is:
- Call handyman to schedule repairs - DONE
- File papers from hall closet
- File receipts from hall closet - DONE
- gather returns and make list - DONE
- clean my closet - DONE
- make list of shoes for DS2 - DONE
- clean piles from dressers - DONE

Updated with progress.

[brittone2]

Today I:
Boxed some extra sets of bed linens and curtains
Am 1/2 way through organizing the two upstairs linen closets
Boxed up chapter books on DS1's shelf
Cleaned sink and counters in kitchen
did wash
Found about 15 things to donate
Emptied trash from all upstairs rooms and downstairs half bath

I need to:
return library books-DONE
pay fine on random missing book that I don't recall DC checking out
Clean bathtub (shower is done)-DONE
Clean out purse (on my motivated moms chore list for today)
Round up toys in the front yard
Pack up extra towels
vacuum upstairs-DONE
Order DD's cake
Clean my closet-DONE

Updating my list above, and adding:
Yesterday I vacuumed and mopped the kitchen and all bathrooms before bed (on my MM list). Glad that is done because I *hate* mopping!!!!

eta: I need to get some of the boxes we have packed up (wardrobe boxes, boxes of books) down to the basement before the realtor starts bringing potential tenants through. I think he's coming by this weekend to photograph the house so we can get it listed on CL.

[Melaine]

In the next two days I need to:

Deep vacuum, like the edges and light fixtures, behind furniture, etc.
Wash the girls' linen and guest linen
Normal laundry which has been growing exponentially lately
Mop kitchen
Clean bathrooms

Ugh.

[wimama]

I was feeling unmotivated yesterday, so I convinced DH to play Santa's workshop last night with me. We finished putting together DS's Playmobil school and all the accessories. That was a multi-night process. I am done shopping for DS Christmas presents and we have no more assembly of presents left to do.:boogie:

But, I am not done with all my other Christmas shopping, yet.

Our dining room is a work in progress. It is mostly cleaned out. We have some decor and memorabilia that we took out of the study to box up. It is all on the table right now. But, the room is dusted and vacuumed except for the table.

[MoJo]

wimama, you're making me LOL saying you weren't motivated. . . so we played Santa's workshop. . . . more than a month early! (I don't have any idea what Santa is bringing either of my girls)

Great job, everyone!

I accomplished a lot yesterday, but it was one of those days when I think I made as much of a mess as I cleaned up. In addition to my posted list, I gathered food for DH's school food drive & cleaned out the pantry.

In the next four days, I need to clean out the fridge to make room for the turkey, finish clearing the table, and do the rest of the grocery shopping in case I don't have a car next week.

[brittone2]

I was feeling unmotivated yesterday, so I convinced DH to play Santa's workshop last night with me. We finished putting together DS's Playmobil school and all the accessories. That was a multi-night process. I am done shopping for DS Christmas presents and we have no more assembly of presents left to do.:boogie:

Umm, that's a rather big accomplishment for someone who was "unmotivated" LOL! Assembling lots of PM pieces is no small task, having BTDT more than once. And Christmas Eve is way more fun knowing your stuff is assembled already!

[wimama]

LOL. Maybe, I phrased that wrong. I was procrastinating on my list and I was in the Christmas spirit. I decided putting Playmobil together was more fun that my alternatives I was procrastinating on.

The school house is my pet project. I loved dollhouses and miniatures as a kid. DS is our only and we are not sure if we will be blessed with another child, so I talked DH into letting me deck out the school house. I figured it was the closest thing to a dollhouse my DS would ask for. Castles, Firehouses, Police stations and such are not quite as appealing to me as the school house is. So, this was my chance to do up a dollhouse for my DS. Kind went a wee bit overboard on the accessories. DS doesn't have much other Playmobil, so this years big school house gift will get him off to a good start.

We actually started putting the main school building structure last month.:shy: I wanted to make DS a Waldorfish playmat for the school set up on his train table. I have no sewing abilities. So, we build the school house so I could make a pattern to bring home with me, when we were flying home to my parents. My mom's friend does a lot of custom sewing and sewed it up for me.:D We only had the basic school structure built, to make the pattern for the mat. So, we have been putting accessories together since then.

Santa is planning on setting it all up so it is ready to play with on Christmas morning. There is no way we could have build it on Christmas Eve. I want to get as much done early this year before the holidays. I want to enjoy the holidays this year.

[wimama]

Got nothing done yesterday, except laundry. DS was sick with a stomach bug and throwing up all night yesterday. Fun times!

[brittone2]

Got nothing done yesterday, except laundry. DS was sick with a stomach bug and throwing up all night yesterday. Fun times!

AGggggggh! That's the worst. It seems like lots of people have been dealing w/ a puking bug here and IRL lately :(

I hope you stay healthy!

[MoJo]

Hope things are going better at your house, wimama!

I'm happy to report the stove and fridge are probably cleaner now than they've been since we moved in, the groceries were purchased and the turkey is comfortably thawing in the fridge now.

Unfortunately, the table is now worse than it was. That's the item on today's list in capital letters.

In addition, I'm making sardine dip for DH's Thanksgiving carry-in (I was going to make sweet potato casserole, but he wanted sardine dip instead), and if I have time, I'm taking advantage of the 60-degree weather to put out some Christmas decorations this afternoon. It's supposed to be wet and cold the rest of the week.

[wimama]

Refrigerator clean out I need to get on top of that one. Thanks for reminding me. I need to get on that.

DS is feeling better. I just hope nobody else in this house catches that stomach bug. That would make for a lousy Thanksgiving.

This weekend my project was reorganizing a bunch of DS toys. I am trying to make room for the influx of toys and make it appear like they are a bit organized when everyone comes her on Thanksgiving. We still have some purging to do. I need to convince my packrat DS to give up some toys. My mom used to just get rid of stuff, which didn't really teach me anything. I want my DS to learn to part with his belongings himself. So, he learns how to purge. It is a painful process for both of us. He is a pack rat and does really seem to play with just about all his toys. He eventually seems to come back around to and play with all his toys. Yesterday he had a melt down that we were going to give "his" play kitchen back to his Aunt to store for his 27 year old cousin. It was her play kitchen that my MIL and FIL bought for her when she was a kid for the grandkids to use at their house. When we moved in it came out of storage and DS never played with it except to store play food in. It was in storage for the last 6 months and he decided he "needed" it again. Serious waterworks here yesterday. Not typical for him. So, we caved and brought the ugly 25 year old Little Tikes kitchen back out.:rolleye0014:

We have our dining room pretty much cleared out. I washed our bedding. Today I need to clear out the guest bedroom and strip the guest beds and fold out couch bedding. Getting there slowly. The study probably will not be done for a while. We did clear everything out and lay down a rug we wanted to in there. And took down some old drapes and some of my inlaws knickknacks. Slow progress in there.

[brittone2]

Ordered some of those deep sterilite containers for our Expedit that were recently recommended, and I'm debating a trip to the Container Store in the near future. We have a lot of baskets for our Expedits but could use some of the plastic containers...we have two 5x5 units and they've been together in our last two houses. At the next house I think one is going in the basement and one in the main floor playroom. Shopping for organizing items but not actually *organizing* counts, right???:ROTFLMAO:

DH painted some of the ceiling last night. THe landlord attempted a horrendous repair a while back and never finished it. DH and my FIL redid the drywall and now DH is painting. Annoying to be fixing up a rental but hoping to get it listed and rented to someone else before long.

I'm working on writing out holiday cards right now with baby on my back in the Ergo while the big kids rip up the living room by dumping playmobil all over the place ;)

[jgenie]

There was a 20% off plus free shipping code floating around if you know which containers you want.

ETA: The Container Store offers 20% off non-sale items with code ncnvtndec2x. Shipping is free with code THANKYOU.


Ordered some of those deep sterilite containers for our Expedit that were recently recommended, and I'm debating a trip to the Container Store in the near future. We have a lot of baskets for our Expedits but could use some of the plastic containers...we have two 5x5 units and they've been together in our last two houses. At the next house I think one is going in the basement and one in the main floor playroom. Shopping for organizing items but not actually *organizing* counts, right???:ROTFLMAO:

DH painted some of the ceiling last night. THe landlord attempted a horrendous repair a while back and never finished it. DH and my FIL redid the drywall and now DH is painting. Annoying to be fixing up a rental but hoping to get it listed and rented to someone else before long.

I'm working on writing out holiday cards right now with baby on my back in the Ergo while the big kids rip up the living room by dumping playmobil all over the place ;)

[brittone2]

There was a 20% off plus free shipping code floating around if you know which containers you want.

ETA: The Container Store offers 20% off non-sale items with code ncnvtndec2x. Shipping is free with code THANKYOU.

Do you know when this expires? I saw someone posted this a few days ago and I considered using it online, but thought about going to the store after reading a few people mention their lids didn't fit that well (requiring replacement). If I go to a store I can make sure the lids fit okay (although it doesn't seem like this is a common problem???). The timing isn't the best for me currently but I'd be more inclined to use it online post Thanksgiving. Hmmmm...what to do!?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

this is a great thread.

we seriously need to declutter, our house is a mess. i don't even know where to start. one thing is that i need to get all DS's clothes that don't fit him anymore out of his room and into storage. it's been hard since he outgrows things so freaking fast it's hard to keep up!

also, i need to declutter the desk area in our kitchen..there's decorations and stuff there left over from my baby shower (a year ago!) :bag. there's baby feeding stuff and things like pacifiers that we never use anymore. am not sure what the best storage option would be for things like this..am thinking of heading to Container Store sometime to look for something. a lot of the stuff we will probably use again in 6mos or so once our DD arrives but for now i'd like it to be put away, it's taking so much room and makes the space we have unusable.

[wimama]

We are busy working away here. Glad to have the day off here. Our family is getting into town today. So, I am busy washing sheets, decluttering and cleaning. Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Thanksgiving!