Spring Cleaning Anyone? (2017 Edition)

So, after the pre-holiday housecleaning binge, and my new knowledge of where the local charitable donation center (not Goodwill!) is located, I might be ready to tackle spring cleaning.

I'm not sure when I'll start because I have my annual spring sinus infection (ick) but I'm starting this thread so I can come back and do my zone-by-zone weekly goals layout and accomplishments record.

It likely won't get done before Easter, especially since DD has spring break Holy Week, so I'm not going to try for more than the Kitchen and Dining Room, with a bonus goal of Living Room, stairway and upstairs hallway. If I feel better sooner, I'll tackle the Master Bedroom, especially the windows, blinds, and drapes that I keep meaning to do and never actually get around to.

Initial goals include clearing off the dining room table so we not only can use it for dining but so I also have a sewing space to hem the curtain panels on our side windows, because that'll cost me the price of a spool of thread ($2) versus the $20 (!!!) that the cleaners want to charge us for the same job. I'll just have to figure out how to keep the hem straight while I pin it.

I feel a lot better, so the Spring Cleaning should start up on Monday, 3 April. I've got a ton of podcasts that I'm behind on, so I've got plenty of stuff to listen to while I attack the chaos that's collected since Christmas.

I really need to do this! My in laws are coming for a visit - they haven't been here in a while and there's so much to do! I'm going to try to focus on our bedroom and bathroom because they will be staying in our room for the week. We sold our guest bed.... :( so this is the first time they're staying in our room. Sigh. Plus he garage has become a dumping ground. And the kitchen counter has been nicknamed "the counter of doom"!!! Full of clutter all the time.

Guess I should get off the internet and back to work!!!

I totally understand!

I had the best of intentions, but the poorest of execution, so I'm re-assessing. I think I might start this week because DH is on a cleanout binge - he FINALLY got rid of his broken stationary bike the last bulk-trash pickup, so maybe the timing is better!

Ohhh, I wish my DH would go on a clean out binge! I think he tries a little too hard to ignore the messes everywhere. He did, however, take a ton of stuff to donate today, so that helps. If I pack it up, he will drop it off. Somehow, I have a hard time doing the final step of dropping it off! So I get him to do it.

So on Friday afternoon, I cleared off my night stand and cleaned out a bunch of books from the book shelves in my room. That was good. Uncovered lots of dust bunnies. Then in the evening, I Konmari'd my closet! Well, not really, but I did bag up a TON of clothes that basically don't fit me anymore (skinny clothes).... a lot of it was professional attire that I probably wouldn't wear anyway, because I can dress casually at work.... but still, it was a little sad.... I do feel better that it's gone.... There's still a lot of clutter in my bedroom, so I need to stay on it, but I feel like I got rid of a ton of clothes! Have you read that book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up?

I told the kids at dinner on Friday that I was on a cleaning out spree and that I needed their help... so this weekend, DD brought me a few things to donate! So that's progress! DS not so much.

I hope your spring cleaning is going well! I am hard at work on the decluttering, so I hope I have time to get to some of the actual cleaning tasks, too. I am T-30 days until the in-laws arrive!!!!

double post...

I have read about that book (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) and understand the concept, but I don't know if I have the ability to separate some of the emotional baggage I have from my stuff. I really need to deal with the emotional baggage before I try to do a "spark joy" assessment. It's much easier for me to do a double-sort.

I am actually behind my proposed start date for declutter/clean, and our Bulk Trash pickup didn't come when it was scheduled last week (so annoying!), so I'm going to donate a bunch of stuff if I don't manage to give it away before the next Bulk Trash day.

I did manage to partially declutter the dining room and kitchen tables, but I'm struggling with the buildup of school paper detritus - I'm terrified to throw away DD's old spelling word sheets and so on, in case she's tested on them at the end of the year, which is ... now. I'll plan to recycle everything the last day of school.

I'm also struggling with a lack of bookshelves. I still re-read a lot of my books, and DD will grow into some of my childhood books within the next couple of years (we'll likely start reading the Anne of Green Gables series this summer or fall, for example), so having books in the house doesn't immediately trigger "clutter" to me. I need a narrow shelving unit for my bedroom - I have juuust enough space between my nightstand and the wall for something like this.

Once I free up the nightstand, I can consider bedside lamps. I had two IKEA ARSTID table lamps, but we had trouble finding the right bulb so DH's need to keep a light on at night wouldn't bother me ... and so my keeping a light on to read wouldn't risk bothering DH.

It sounds like you're making some progress! That bookcase looks like it still holds a lot, even though it's narrow. Nice. Books are crazy here too. I donated a couple boxes of books I am unlikely to re-read, but I don't see much difference really.

DH really wants a table tennis table in the basement by next winter. The basement is where everything goes to be figured out. So, I'm figuring. Sold a few things and I donated a bunch. I know I have more to donate, but just need to make time to spend a day there. I am hoping I can tomorrow!

I sort of did the Kon Marie for kids clothes. I took them all out of their rooms (one at a time) and they tried on things and only kept what they liked and would wear. Their dressers and closets are much better now!

DD is at camp until Wednesday afternoon, so I cleaned in her room today. I'm not quite done and it's nice that I didn't have to be finished by the end of the school day. She's gotten better at keeping it clean, but does art projects there and those get out of control fast, so I picked up much of that and organized a bit for her. We'll finish it up over the weekend, I hope.

I wish my house would just be all together at one time just once. Never going to happen.

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Originally Posted by KrisM

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I wish my house would just be all together at one time just once. Never going to happen.

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Oh, it gets all together at one time - after the holidays! But it doesn't STAY that way.

I also find myself drowning in paper sent home from school, but I think this is mostly to do with being terrified of throwing stuff out in case DD is tested on it cumulatively. (I had cumulative finals starting very early in grammar school; it's hard for me to realize this isn't the norm.) For next school year, I want a wall-mounted solution to keep things like DD's reading log, speech folder, and weeklong homework off the table - something like this magazine rack from IKEA.

DH is really opposed to wall-mounted anything, though, and it really makes me crazy because clutter builds up because everything ends up on flat surfaces or on chairs.

I want a peg rail for DD's and his backpacks and jackets, my purse, etc., but he won't let me put one in. [Insert huge sigh.]

Yes to the wall mounted bins for school papers. I am finally going to do it in time for next school year! Amazon of all places has some nice wire basket/file holder thingys. I just need to commit.

I read the Kon Mari book a while back and started re reading it. There is a lot to the philosophy and she sort of explains the method to her madness, so to speak. When I first read it, I started folding all the kids' clothes and filing them as she suggests in their drawers and it really helps to open and see it all! But that was all I did.....

Sounds like you are making good progress! Keep it up!!!

AVAILABLE WEEKDAYS:

WEEK 1
Tuesday, 5/30; Wednesday, 5/31; Thursday, 6/1; Friday, 6/2 'til noon-ish (DD's class concert at 2pm)

WEEK 2
Monday, 6/5; Tuesday, 6/6; Wednesday, 6/7; Thursday, 6/8; Friday, 6/9

WEEK 3
Monday, 6/12; Tuesday, 6/13; Wednesday, 6/14; Thursday, 6/15; Friday, 6/16 ('til 1pm - early dismissal)

WEEK 4
Monday, 6/19 ('til 1pm - early dismissal); Tuesday, 6/20 ('til 1pm - early dismissal)

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 6, ALL Bathrooms, mop floors, vacuum carpeted areas, ZONE M


ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

WEEK 1 - DAY 1 (5/30)

• Decluttered endtables
• Put puzzles into under-stairs closet
• Dusted puzzle shelf
• Arranged board games on puzzle shelf
• Swept floor (whisk broom + dustpan & brush)
• Dry-Swiffered floor
• Cleared recycling from couch seats
• Put toys & books on stairs to be put away
• Put movie discs away in entertainment center
• Dusted entertainment center

GOALS:

WEEK 1 - DAY 3:

ZONE 1

• finish clearing off couch
• finish clearing off loveseat
• put books, CDs, toys away
• put ornament display stand away
• dust mantelpiece
• dust furniture

ZONE 2

• finish clearing off table
• take remaining baby stuff to car (DONATE by Friday)
• wash new drapes
• set up battery-operated candles

ZONE 3

• finish clearing off table
• sweep floor
• Swiffer floor
• vacuum floor

ZONE 6

• Rubber-broom stairs
• Sweep entryway
• Swiffer entryway

ALL ZONES

• Swiffer all hard floors
• Vacuum all hard floors
• Mop all hard floors
• Attack laundry mountain
• Iron DD's and my dresses, put away
• Iron DD's Daisy uniform, put away

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

WEEK 1 - DAY 3

• Cleared clutter off couch
• Cleared clutter off loveseat
• Put ornament stand away
• Dusted mantel
• Dusted knicknacks from mantel & replaced
• Set up flameless candles on mantel
• Dusted leather furniture
• Rubber-broom swept carpeted stairs from upstairs hallway (ZONE 4) to foot of stairs (ZONE 6 - stairs & landing)
• Swept floor in living room, entryway, & dining room (ZONE 1, ZONE 2, ZONE 6)
• Swiffered floors
• Vacuumed windowsills (ZONE 2)
• Vacuumed floors
• Mopped wood laminate floors (ZONE 1, ZONE 2 - Murphy's Oil Soap)
• Set out new ant traps in corners of living & dining rooms
• Collected DD's stuff into reusable bag for transport upstairs
• Reorganized outgrown baby stuff for transport to car later tonight
• Cleared stairs

Laundry mountain is in progress (easy enough to do with DD home - low-attention task) and personal laundry washing is in progress.

GOALS:

WEEK 1 - DAY 4

ZONE 2

• Finish clearing off table
• Dust barware
• Dust bar
• Dust pendant lamp
• Dust table

ZONE 3

• Finish clearing table
• Wash tablecloth
• Dust table & chairs
• Clean stovetop
• Sweep floor
• Swiffer floor
• Vacuum floor
• Mop floor

This thread needs before and after pictures!! Show us your progress!

I've only got afters for ZONE 1 and ZONE 6; I never thought to snap befores!

I'll do befores for the next 2 rooms (ZONE 2 and ZONE 3) tomorrow morning before I eat breakfast and I'll upload to Google Photos or something by Monday.

You are on a roll!!

I'm cleaning for a party and am really trying to do it right. Instead of just dumping things out of sight, I'm sorting, pitching, donating. Every day this week, the kids have piles of things at their place at the dinner table of things to sort through. They've done a great job of getting rid of a lot and putting away the rest. My main floor is really looking pretty put together! Kids bedrooms were done last week and are pretty good too. Mine is a mess and the basement needs some work. But, hopefully I can get through more before school is out.

Nice work. It's difficult to get started, but once you do keep up the momentum.


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Originally Posted by KrisM

You are on a roll!!

I'm cleaning for a party and am really trying to do it right. Instead of just dumping things out of sight, I'm sorting, pitching, donating. ...

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I do this with my own stuff and DD's outgrown clothing because if I put it aside to do "later" it never gets done.

During my pre-holiday shovel-out, I threw away what felt like SO MUCH STUFF and we still have a ton left to go through. (I insist it's all DH's stuff. He insists it's all mine. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the middle.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by niccig

Nice work. It's difficult to get started, but once you do keep up the momentum.

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Absolutely; it would've started earlier if I hadn't been ill when I started the thread!

Oh well; can't have everything.

Here are some "after" photos since everyone asked so nicely.

2017 Spring Cleanout photo album

Things have slipped a little bit due to the weather and end-of-year cr@p being sent home with DD, but it's overall pretty tidy.

I still need to clean the bathrooms and will have a two-week period where DD will be home so not much will get done except laundry and dishes.

Today, I cleaned the upstairs "Guest" bath (ZONE 4-B) and the downstairs powder room (didn't need much more than the toilet scrubbed & floor mopped as I'd cleaned this one not long ago) ... so:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - ZONE 4-B

• Clean bathtub/shower
• Clean sink
• Scrub toilet
• Clean trash can
• Clean mirror
• Mop floor

I think I'll need to replace the toilet seat (it's kind of gross) next week.

Once DD is in summer school, I'll be able to attack the master bedroom. I expect that it should take me about 2 days.

Looking good!

Keep at it!

I noticed the toilet seat getting icky too and it was pee under the seat. I now do a quick wipe under the seat with toilet paper on one of my trips to restroom each day and then weekly cleaning isn't too much.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by niccig

Keep at it!

I noticed the toilet seat getting icky too and it was pee under the seat. I now do a quick wipe under the seat with toilet paper on one of my trips to restroom each day and then weekly cleaning isn't too much.

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I've cleaned it, but it's not just pee. If I cleaned under the toilet seat more often, I would not have to replace it.