Housekeeping Rant and Plans

Hey everyone,




I have been really frustrated with the clutter around the house. I've begun cleaning out our guest bedroom and hoping to get things together to sale/donate. I think our biggest issue is we have too much stuff and not enough space, hence the selling/donating idea.This plus our daily chores plus our lives and I had pretty much lost steam with my projects. That was until I found this gem of a blog post on Pinterest, A bowl full of lemons,http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/search/label/21%20day%20challenge What a cute blog name! :)

This challenge has inspired me to finish my projects and get organized, so I can really enjoy all the fun non-holiday/holiday stuff to come. :) I will be going to the store tomorrow to get some organizational supplies. So I will be ready when I begin the challenge. One of my sister's is visiting this week, so I won't begin the challenge until Friday (the earliest) Monday (the latest). I will be updating at least once a week with my progress. I hope you all will join me and if you wish to participate click on the blog link above. :) Until then I will enjoy the visit and try to keep the house in one piece. ;)

On another note, I want to wish my sisters, Brandi and Kayla, a very Happy Birthday today! Love you girls! :)

<3 Anna

Fighting the Clutter bug!

Hey everyone,

I found a perfect article this week in, All You! (If you don't have one, I recommend getting a subscription to this magazine. It has lots of coupons, housekeeping tips, recipes, etc.) This article is titled: Maximize storage, minimize mess. A topic, I'm very interested in at the moment. If you are interested in checking out this article and others on the subject go here: http://www.allyou.com/ and click on the Budget Home tab. You will find many great articles under Easy Decorating.

In this particular article, they divide the most cluttered areas of a home by categories. Here's the first one for example:

Organize your Kitchen Table

Clutter Culprits:

school books
mail and bills
craft supplies
coupons
kitchen utensils

Goal- Seek a storage solution for all the paperwork and items commonly left in this spot so the transition to mealtime goes smoothly.

Solutions: Wall mounted folders, a marker/message board, inbox for school papers that need to be signed, a stackable storage unit.

The article goes on in this fashion and gives simple suggestions on how to stay tidy. I really enjoyed the article and found many ideas to get on the right track with my cleaning. So off I go! :) Happy Cleaning!

<3 Anna

Blah!

Hey everyone!

I've been a horrible blogger this week. (One post! I can do better than that!) For once I have a good excuse for the madness. As I said earlier in the week, I've been putting off a lot of projects and getting behind on important tasks.

Today I cleaned my house like a mad person (not just because we have company coming, but because it needed it!) My goal is to start working on my maintanence and upkeep...so I don't have to go through these crazy cleaning sessions.

I have two major projects ahead of me:

Cleaning our bedroom

Cleaning the guest bedroom

Unfortunately, this won't be just a quick fluffing of pillows, I need to purge and maybe get someone to come say a prayer over each room...it's bad! The biggest problem is...we live in a two bedroom duplex and have too much stuff! I would like to start this project next week, I was going to wait until just before the move---to do the major stuff...but I've had it! I'm ready to do some extreme cleaning and organizing!

I would like to have time to do the things I enjoy and not feel guilty because there is still so much more that can be done. So wish me luck! I'll come up for air every now and then and let you know how it goes! ;)

Also I'm planning to get back to regularly scheduled posts starting Monday! :)

<3 Anna

Spring Cleaning!

Hey everyone!

So after weeks of distractions, yesterday I FINALLY started my spring cleaning. I’ve found a few articles at Woman’s Day to keep me on track. Go to their website and search “spring cleaning.” You will find plenty of information to keep you busy. ;)

Do you ever wonder why we spring clean in the first place…where did the idea come from?

Some believe the origins of spring cleaning began with the Passover. This is the Jewish holiday that marks the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. All of the slaves in Egypt were fed unleavened bread---bread without yeast, so the Jews kept this as a part of the holiday as a reminder of all they had endured. In fact, anyone who had leavened bread in their home was looked down on and thought of as being arrogant. So as not to offend God or anyone else, the Jews would search their homes and be sure that there was not even a crumb of leavened bread in their homes.

Some believe that China was where spring cleaning began. In preparation of the New Year, the Chinese would clean their homes, to rid it of all the bad luck from the previous year. Once the home was pristine, the family would go on a sort of fast from sweeping for several days. This was supposed to allow the good luck for the New Year to stick around for a while.

There is also a theory that it could just be biology. In the winter we are not as exposed to the sunlight and this causes the pineal gland to produce melatonin, which is a hormone that causes sleepiness. In the spring time, the sun returns and we are given a new found energy, for things such as spring cleaning.

****Special thanks to Josh Clarke via TLC for all the great history info on spring cleaning.****

So yesterday, I started with the sink under the bathroom. I got rid of any old/empty bottles. I then went through a blue container in our hall closet that has bathroom odds and ends. I sifted through the junk and found many things out of place. I was able to get most of it to it’s designated area and some of it, I’m working on creating a designated area. Today I hope to finish the hall closet and move on to the next thing. Wish me luck!

So what are your thoughts on spring cleaning? Where do you usually begin?

Question 4: When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Right now, I would have to say that I would have said more than I have done. It is my hope that I will soon get to a place where I can know that I’ve accomplished a lot and have truly helped people.

<3 Anna PS. Please check out this blog and think about how you can help with this amazing cause! http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/03/world-water-day.html Also blog hopping here: