Pre-Holiday Whole-House Cleanup Thread: 2016 Edition

[lizzywednesday]

Continuing a successful series of accountability threads, especially for my own time-budgeting, the 2016 Holiday Whole-House Cleanup Thread is now in effect.

Yes, I realize I'm posting it quite a bit earlier this year, but with the way things have worked out, I'll need to host my family shindig on 12/11 because nobody's going to travel to my house on Christmas Eve. (I truly don't blame them one bit.)

I've already divided my house into "zones" that I can probably clean up in an hour or two, so two zones per day should be a decent goal if they're substantially decluttered to begin with.

AVAILABLE WEEKDAYS:

WEEK 1
Tuesday, 11/15; Wednesday, 11/16; Thursday, 11/17; Friday, 11/18 'til noon-ish (reading to DD's class at 2pm)

WEEK 2
Monday, 11/21; Tuesday, 11/22; Wednesday, 11/23 'til 1pm (DD has early dismissal from school)

WEEK 3
Monday, 11/28; Tuesday, 11/29 ('til 1pm - early dismissal for DD & parent-teacher conference at 2pm); Wednesday, 11/30; Thursday, 12/1 ('til 1pm - early dismissal); Friday, 12/2

WEEK 4
Monday, 12/5; Tuesday, 12/6; Wednesday, 12/7; Thursday, 12/8; Friday, 12/9

ZONES:

ZONE 1
Living Room

ZONE 2
Dining Room

ZONE 3
Kitchen

ZONE 4
Upstairs Hallway - includes linen closet (4C) and guest bath (4B)

ZONE 5
3rd Floor - includes three closets, two of which have been sorted

ZONE 6
Entryway, Stairs, & 1st Landing - includes coat closet (6C) and powder room (6B)

ZONE M
Master Bedroom - includes linen closet (M-L), clothes closet (M-C), and bathroom (M-B)

ZONE DD
DD's Bedroom

Priorities:

ZONE 1, ZONE 2, ZONE 3, ZONE 4, and ZONE 6.

Nice-to-Have pre-Party:

ZONE 5, ZONE DD, and ZONE M

To Do's for today:

Evaluate status of cleaning supplies
Budget for more supplies (i.e. - mop heads, liquid cleaners, large sponges, rubber gloves)
Figure out which house areas are easiest to clean together
Develop declutter plan


Fortunately, pre-Halloween, I did quite a bit of de-cluttering and reorganized our coat closet (6C), so I'm a couple hours ahead of last year.

ETA: Will post tomorrow on the attack plan for WEEK 1.

[jgenie]

I so need to do this. Here's my list!

DONE - Zone 1 - kitchen - cabinets, drawers - WEEK 1

DONE - Zone 2 - playroom - closet, Lego collection - WEEK 2

Zone 3 - office - WEEK 4

DONE - Zone 4 - guest room - closet, dressers - WEEK 3

Zone 5 - basement - 3 storage closets - WEEK 5

Zone 6 - dining room - china cabinet, laundry room items - WEEK 3

Zone 7 - Bedrooms - Master, DS1, DS2, large upstairs closet - WEEK 3

Zone 8 - garage - closet, perimeter - *BONUS* WEEK 6

Zone 9 - mudroom - closet, shelves & drawers - WEEK 5

Week 1 - Zone 1
Week 2 - Zone 2
Week 3 - Zone 4, Zone 6, Zone 7
Week 4 - Zone 3
Week 5 - Zone 5, Zone 9
Bonus - Zone 8

[lizzywednesday]

WEEK 1

DAY 1 - Tuesday, 11/15

ZONE 3
ZONE 2

Focus: Decluttering kitchen and dining room table.

DAY 2 - Wednesday, 11/16

ZONE 4
ZONE 6

DAY 3 - Thursday, 11/17

ZONE 1

DAY 4 - Friday, 11/18 'til noon-ish (reading to DD's class at 2pm)

Floors & powder room toilet

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - DAY 1


Decluttered kitchen table (ZONE 3)
Swept kitchen floor (includes under table - ZONE 3)
Began decluttering dining room table (ZONE 2)
Tossed trash, swept under dining room table (ZONE 2)


DAY 2 - GOAL AREAS

ZONE 4 (upstairs hallway & linen closet)
ZONE 6 (entryway & coat/catchall closet)

TO DO LIST:

ZONE 2


Carry-over task: Complete decluttering of dining table


ZONE 4


Upstairs landing: wipe down multi-hanger for DD's jeans, put into her room
Upstairs landing: bag up outgrown DD clothes; donate weather-appropriate ones
Upstairs landing: find appropriate spots for random books
Upstairs landing: wipe down blinds, clean window
Upstairs landing: toss trash
Upstairs hallway: toss trash
Upstairs hallway: assess shoe rack, dust shoes, reorganize
Upstairs hallway: bring recyclables downstairs
Upstairs hallway: bring empty grocery bags to garage cooler
Upstairs hallway: rubber-broom sweep for hair, vacuum


ZONE 6

Entryway: sweep, Swiffer, vacuum
Entryway: unbox new blender
Lower level landing: bring DD's books to her room
Lower level landing: rubber-broom sweep for hair, vacuum
Stairs: rubber broom sweep for hair, vacuum

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - DAY 2


Cleaned upstairs hallway/landing window
Tossed trash & recyclables from upstairs landing
Dusted & reorganized shoes on shoe rack
Took DH's stuff to 3rd floor
Collected outgrown clothes to stash in garage (donate on Friday after reading to DD's class)
Used rubber broom to clear up hair, rubber bands, miscellany in hallway pre-vacuum
Vacuumed upstairs hallway
Brought DD's books to her room

[lizzywednesday]

DAY 3 - GOALS

TO-DO LIST:

ZONE 6


Carry-over task: clear lower-level landing
Carry-over task: rubber broom & vacuum stairs, landing
Carry-over task: unbox new blender


ZONE 1

Declutter surfaces (endtable, TV stand, mantel, puzzle shelf)
Declutter seating
Declutter/sort "tv nook" area
Pick up all trash
Sweep floor
Swiffer floor
Vacuum floor
Launder drapes

[gobadgers]

This is awesome, keep it up!

I'm going to add in - I have a lot of short term stuff todo before THanksgiving. I have done a lot of decluttering, but have a lot more before guests arrive on Tuesday!

My areas that still need attention:

Zone 1: guest bathroom (go through under sink and cabinet, declutter to make room for guests)
Zone 2: family room ('stuff' has piled up all around fireplace, need to go through it and remove)
Zone 3: entryway (cabinet drawers need major cleaning to make space for winter hats, gloves, etc..)
Zone 4: Den, aka The Situation Room (has MAJOR clutter, separate donations from keepers, and DONATE)

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - DAY 3


Decluttered TV stand
Decluttered endtable
Decluttered bookshelf
Decluttered "tv nook"
Laundered drapes (but managed to shrink them, d'oh! Was looking for new ones anyway, I guess.)
Re-hung drapes
Vacuumed cobwebs
Dusted endtable
Dusted table lamp
Dusted "tv nook"
Dusted TV stand
Dusted TV
Had DD dust bookshelves, puzzles
Shifted furniture to sweep underneath
Vacuumed baseboards
Cleaned windows (ew)
Gathered trash
Swiffered floor
Vacuumed floor
Had DD dust magazines in magazine rack
Re-organized "tv nook"


Notice two items include DD.

This is because, around noon, the school nurse phoned asking me to come take DD home. (DD has complained of an upset stomach the past 2 days, but perks up after half an hour or so of rest. She's upstairs right now watching a DVR-ed show.)

Things are still a little messy because my groove got thrown off, but it'll be mostly cleaned up before DH comes home.

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 1


Decluttered kitchen
Cleaned kitchen table
Decluttered endtable
Decluttered shelving unit
Decluttered "tv nook" area
Partially decluttered dining room table
Floors swept
Trash tossed
Upstairs hallway decluttered & cleaned
Laundered living room drapes (though also shrunk them ... oops!)
Folded & put clean laundry away


I changed my mind about mopping the floors this early; I'll only have to do it again as the holidays get closer, so I'm putting it off for now.

WEEK 2 - DAY 1

Today's kind of a wash due to last-minute errands that needed to happen before Thanksgiving, but I'll be raking leaves in a few.

WEEK 2 - DAY 2: GOALS

ZONE M-B


Collect & launder bath mats
Spray down shower stall
Spray down sinks
Spray down bathtub
Mop floor
Clean & disinfect trash can


ZONE 4-B


Launder bath mat
Spray down bathtub/shower
Spray down sink
Spray down bathtub
Mop floor
Clean toilet


ZONE 6-B


Launder bath mat
Spray down sink
Spray down bathtub
Mop floor
Clean toilet

[jgenie]

Wow - you are rocking this!!! Keep it up!!! :cheerleader1: :yay: :cheerleader1:

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: WEEK 2 - DAY 2


Laundered bath mats (all 3 bathrooms)
Cleaned "guest bath" sink (ZONE 4-B)
Cleaned powder room sink (ZONE 6-B)
Mopped "guest bath" (ZONE 4-B)
Sprayed down shower in Master bath (ZONE M-B)
Sprayed down shower in "guest bath" (ZONE 4-B)
Swiffered powder room floor (ZONE 6-B)
Cleaned mirror in "guest bath" (ZONE 4-B)
Cleaned mirror in powder room (ZONE 6-B)
Replaced shower curtain liner in "guest bath" (ZONE 4-B)
Laundered shower curtain in "guest bath" (ZONE 4-B)
Cleaned "guest bath" toilet (ZONE 4-B)
Cleaned powder room toilet (ZONE 6-B)
Replaced toilet pucks in guest/powder room toilets (ZONE 4-B; ZONE 6-B)


CARRY-OVER TASK:

Clean Master Bath (sinks, tub, floor)

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 2; DAY 3


Cleaned out sinks (ZONE M-B)
Swiffered floor (ZONE M-B)
Replaced laundered bath mats (ZONE M-B)
Emptied trash can & replaced liner (ZONE M-B)


Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Next week is WEEK 3. Goals include completing the dining room table declutter, deep-clean of master bedroom, DD's room, and decluttering of 3rd floor so I can shift the desk to the 2nd floor landing.

[lizzywednesday]

WEEK 3

DAY 1 - GOALS


Paint wall DD wrote on
Continue decluttering dining room
Continue decluttering living room seating
Sort school papers in box
Find a place for paper roll
Clean dining room table
Clean glassware on bar
Clean bar
Dust picture frames on bar
Send movie back to Disney for replacement
Wrap gifts headed to TX

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 3, DAY 1


First coat over scribble on short wall
Decluttered living room seating
Decluttered more of dining table
Consolidated TX-bound gifts
Stashed stationery in box on landing
Cleaned exposed dining room table


TO DO LIST - WEEK 3, DAY 2


Second (and third?) coat over scribble on short wall
Clean paint drips from living room floor

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 3


Three coats of paint on short wall to cover scribble, test patches
Cleaned dining room table (but DD and DH re-cluttered it and I am on a slow burn with them)
Living room seating still de-cluttered
TX-bound gifts consolidated, but wrapping needs to happen (after I final-declutter & clean the dining table)
Stationery stashed in banker's box on landing
Paint drips cleaned from living room floor


"MUST-DO" GOALS FOR WEEK 4

ZONE 1 - LIVING ROOM


Replace shrunken drapes
Dust & declutter tabletops
Resolve fleece blanket issue
Resolve headphone storage issue
Resolve remote control storage issue
Bring old throw pillows downstairs
Dust & declutter mantel
Sweep/Vac/Mop floor
Shift furniture for tree construction
Put tree out
Put tabletop decorations out


ZONE 2 - DINING ROOM


Final declutter of table
Clean barware
Clean bar glassware
Dust bar
Bring boxes of DH's junk to 3rd floor
Sort DD's papers in banker's boxes (hanging file folders?)
Sweep/Vac/Mop floor
Reposition dining table to be used as buffet area
Unbox new blender, shift to kitchen


ZONE 3 - KITCHEN


Declutter counters
Clean counters
Clean sink
Clean stovetop
Clean oven
Clean trash can
Clean fridge
Sweep/Vac/Mop floor


ZONE 6 - ENTRYWAY (INCLUDES LOWER LANDING AND POWDER ROOM)


Rubber broom sweep stairs
Resolve bag storage issue
Touch-up clean sink in powder room
Touch-up mirror in powder room
Sweep/Vac/Mop floor in powder room
Sweep/Vac/Mop floor in entryway


ZONE DD - DD'S ROOM (TASKS ARE PER DAY FOR DD)

Pick up stuffed toys (5 minutes)
Put books away (5 minutes)
Gather & throw out trash (5 minutes)
Clean up bin toys - action figures, small dolls, ponies, doll clothes/accessories, toy cars, trains (5 minutes)
Put dirty laundry in hamper (every day)
Put clean laundry away (every day)



"NICE TO HAVE" GOALS - WEEK 4

ZONE MB - MASTER BEDROOM


Dust bedframe
Clean blinds (dry-dust, vac, wet wipe)
Launder drapes
Clean windows, including sills
Dust bedside tables
Dust fan blades
Sort shoes in closet, toss anything not being used
Launder sheets
Launder duvet covers
Pick up floor trash
Find homes for floor books
Rubber broom carpet for hair in preparation for vacuum
Vacuum


ZONE 4B - "GUEST" BATHROOM


Touch-up sink
Touch-up mirror
Sweep/Vac/Mop Floor

[lizzywednesday]

TO-DO: WEEK 4, DAY 2

ZONE 2 - DINING ROOM


Final declutter of table
Clean barware
Clean bar glassware
Dust bar
Bring boxes of DH's junk to 3rd floor
Sort DD's papers in banker's boxes (hanging file folders?)
Sweep/Vac floor
Reposition dining table to be used as buffet area
Unbox new blender, shift to kitchen


ZONE 1 - LIVING ROOM


Replace shrunken drapes
Dust & declutter tabletops
Resolve fleece blanket issue
Resolve headphone storage issue
Resolve remote control storage issue
Bring old throw pillows downstairs
Dust & declutter mantel
Sweep/Vac floor


TO-DO: WEEK 4, DAY 3


IKEA Trip for new drapes, curtain rod
IKEA Trip for attractive basket for fleece throws
IKEA Trip for serve-ware
IKEA Trip for wine glasses (?)
Target run for window cleaner
Target run for sponges
Target run for paper plates (?)


TO-DO: WEEK 4, DAY 4


Clean windows
Get Christmas window clings out (DD can put up after school)

TO-DO: WEEK 4, DAY 5


Mop Floors
Clean Toilets
Shift Living Room furniture for tree construction
Put tree up
Put tabletop decorations out
Wrap Gifts for Sunday's Party

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 4, DAY 2


ZONE 2 - DINING ROOM


Final declutter of table
Cleaned table
Swept/Vac floor
Wrapped Christmas presents


ZONE 6 - ENTRY, CLOSET, POWDER ROOM


Put wrapping supplies away
Stash gifts in closet
Sweep/Vac floor


ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 4, DAY 3


Mailed random box of "birthmas" gifts to BFF & daughters in TX
Mailed copies of DD's school photo to my parents
Bought last "from Santa" gift for DD
Dropped gift at MIL's
Took DH's pants to tailor


The weather has turned rather icy, so getting new curtains has become quite a bit more important than it was earlier. BRRR!

Will revise my final plans for the last two days of this week at some point tomorrow.

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 4, DAY 4


IKEA run for New Curtains
IKEA run for fleece throw storage
Decluttered bar
Cleaned glassware & barware
Dusted liquor bottles
Dusted mantel
Decluttered mantel
Target run for more cleaning supplies
Target run for more wrapping paper
Target run for Command hook for powder room
Put Command hook up

[lizzywednesday]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 4, DAY 5


Laundered new curtains
Hung new curtains
Ironed 1 pair shrunken curtains
Hung shrunken curtains on side windows (one panel covers the whole window)
Packed IKEA bag for returns (Monday)
Cussed out curtain rod repeatedly
Swept wood floors
Vacuumed wood floors
Mopped wood floors
Touched up powder room toilet
Touched up powder room sink
Swept powder room floor
Vacuumed powder room floor
Cleaned (with cleaner!) powder room floor
Set out holiday-themed hand towels
Put tree up
Swept up fallen "needles"
Final declutter of endtable
Final declutter of puzzle shelf
Final declutter of TV stand
Dusted all tabletops
Put out ornament stand
Put dry glassware back on bar
Assembled apple crate for fleece blanket storage
Re-lined living room trash can
Rubber broom on stairs, landing
Took DH's stuff to 3rd floor
Took banker's boxes w/DD's stuff to 3rd floor
Shifted random landing cr@p to 2nd floor desk
Straightened woven blanket on railing
Ordered sandwich platter for Sunday's party
Decluttered top of pantry
Tossed random trash from top of pantry
Cleaned top of pantry
Reorganized small drawer unit
Shifted shredder (and plastic shredding!) to garage


ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WEEK 4, DAY 6


Set out tabletop decorations
Cleaned remote controls
Decorated tree (with DD)


FINAL TO-DO LIST

ZONE 1 - LIVING ROOM


Finish decorating tree
Put coats back in coat closet
Arrange throw pillows


ZONE 2 - DINING ROOM


FINAL de-clutter of tabletop
Shift table into "buffet" position
Ironing - tablecloth, DD's napkins
Put tablecloth on table
Arrange chairs at edges of room


ZONE 3 - KITCHEN


FINAL declutter of tabletop
Arrange chairs on floor
FINAL declutter of countertop
CLEAN countertop
Pull out stand mixer for cookies
Pull out clear pitchers
Pull out cookie racks
Touch up stovetop
CLEAN sink
Vacuum floor (mop next week)
CLEAN recycling bin
Re-line recycling bin