Spring Cleaning For Those Who Stack & Pile

I have been looking at blogs and websites for good ideas on how to spring clean, de-clutter and organize all at the same time. I thought I had found the "right" one for me. But on the very first day of this supposed to be 10 day journey, I knew it was not going to happen the way they had said it would. What makes it impossible for it to work for someone like me? Very simple...I stack and pile everything everywhere! Terrible, I know! I can't seem to follow that very simple rule of "only touch it once". Where you put something in its place when you put it down instead of having to go back later and move it to where it belongs, be it a drawer or trash can. I just haven't gotten that habit drummed into my thick head yet. Not sure I ever will. But it is worth a try. I had to come up with my own plan that would not make me feel like a failure from the starting point. So I took the basic principles and rearranged them a bit.

There are four basis steps you must do in each room and in this order.

1. CLEAN SWEEP
2. DE-CLUTTER
3. CLEAN
4. ORGANIZE

FIRST THINGS FIRST: There are a few guidelines that you must know before you begin. You will need several items no matter what room you are doing.

• A BASKET FOR THINGS THAT DON'T BELONG IN THAT ROOM (to be put away later)
• A BOX FOR THINGS TO GET RID OF (either in a sale or send to the mission)
• A BAG FOR TRASH

Those thing need to be with you throughout the process. The basket for things to be put away in other rooms is to be done AFTER you finish in that room. Don't stop and go put things away in the middle. That is a good way to get distracted from your mission. You can even get your kids to help with the basket of goodies when the job is done. Set the timer and say to your family "Let's see if we can get everything in this basket put up in 5 minutes." Adjust it according to how many are in your family and how much is in the basket! The box is for things you know you don't want or need anymore. If you know you are going to have a garage sale you can put prices on the items after you finish each room. That way it doesn't become a huge pile of things to go through. Take it one room at a time. If you are going to donate whatever items you find then make sure you box them up neatly so you can put them right in your car to take over there when you are done. That will get them out of the house. Remember, you can always donate whatever doesn't sell if you have a garage sale first. The bag for trash is just that, a trash bag. I don't think you need any explanations on that.

STEP ONE: CLEAN SWEEP

Clean Sweep is very simple. You pick your room. You can clean in any order you want. Some suggest doing the Clean Sweep for the whole house in one day. Nice idea! I tired it. Too many piles to go through. So, here is my suggestion for those of you like me, with too much stuff where it shouldn't be. Take a few days and clean sweep your home. Get the kids to clean sweep their rooms. Give them a list if you need to of what that means...take the things off the floor and put them away...take the things off the bed and dresser and put them away...and so on. They can also help you in other rooms of the house. We have collections of DVD's that get piled near our TV's since we don't have cable or local TV stations. While I would love to say we always put them away after we watch them, that is not the case. So putting up movies is one of my kids jobs in the clean sweep.

Another idea for Clean Sweep would be to do that step on the day you plan to complete the rest of the steps for a specific room. If you are going to start with the Living Room then on that day do a Clean Sweep on the Living Room and then follow the next steps for our spring cleaning. Whatever works best for you.

I am personally taking the time to Clean Sweep each room before I start the rest of my spring cleaning. I have enlisted the aid of my children for the task. I have not set a day to have it done. I don't want to stress out again like I did yesterday and feel as if I have no chance of getting it done "on time". So throughout the day I tackle another pile one at a time. I gave my kids a list of things to do in their rooms when they got up this morning. So far about half is done. Pretty good considering how messy their rooms actually are. They have too much stuff. The "fun" part will be when we do the de-cluttering. That is when we will make choices of what is going and what is staying! We might have a few battles but we will get past them. I am determined to win this war against clutter and mess! It is my goal that we finish the Clean Sweep by this weekend and I can start on the other three steps on Monday morning. If I should get it done sooner, great! I will take the rest of the weekend to catch up on the laundry!

In case you are wondering what order I plan on cleaning my house and how many days I plan on spending for each room here is a list. It could change or it could take me a longer or shorter amount of time to complete each one. Determine your list by how big your house is and how much work you feel you have to do.

• LIVING ROOM (Den & Dinning Room) 1-2 days
• KITCHEN 1-2 days
• BATHROOMS (two bathrooms, linen closet and hall) 1 day
• KIDS ROOMS (Girls room, Boys room, Playroom) 1-3 days (1 day for each)
• MASTER BEDROOM 1 day
• GARAGE (Laundry Room, Exercise Room, Library) 1-3 days (1 day for each)
• HALL CRAFT CLOSET 1-3 days (it is a huge mess of stuff!)

Now remember, it isn't just cleaning or organizing. This is a major cleaning where we are getting rid of things, doing a major cleaning of each room and organizing the things we keep. If there are pictures you have needed to hang on the walls for years, now is the time. If there are towel racks that need to be replace and fixed, do it now. This is the perfect time to get it done. At the end of this SPRING CLEANING you will not only have a clean house but will have a lot less things to keep up with and you will have a home that you can feel good about. Sit down and make out a plan for yourself based on what I put down but work it to fit your home and your family.

Happy cleaning!

My Grocery Adventure!

I don't know how many of you know about GroceryGame.com but it is really something when you do it right. If you decide to join it, please tell them that terri@mtckc.com is the one that referred you. Thanks!

I had to do something to cut my grocery bill but also have food at home so I would not go out to eat out of convenience. That is where so much of our money goes. But my income has gone down and we still have to get our bills paid off so we can be free to go when God calls us to go. So I decided to try the Game again. I did it several years ago but there were some key things that I didn't do right. And I think I didn't stick with it long enough to see it work properly.

She has a book out now with all sorts of little hints and suggestions. It is called Shop Smart, Save More. It is great! I am about half way through it. But I have learned some important things. Like don't meal plan and then shop. Shop and then pick from what you have on hand to meal plan. It works great! With the stockpiling method you have such a variety of things to choose from especially when you have been doing it for awhile. I am STILL looking for an upright freezer! But maybe somehow I will get one. I need it badly!

I actually come away from the stores paying nothing for some items and very little for others. I got three bottles of BBQ sauce and two bottle of salad dressing for free today! I won't open any of them until what I already have is gone. I won't have to buy it later for full price because I have it on hand in my "store" at home. It is a 12 week cycle that at the end of that 12 weeks you should have a stockpile of all major things. I can't wait to see how it is working in another 9 weeks. This is the first week that I really felt like I saved a lot and got a lot for my money. It is getting easier to look for those deals and make wise choices as I do it more.

Another thing I will be doing is No Spend Months. We will take $500 a month and put it in envelopes for each week. I will use it for gas, groceries and any other expense like that. It will not count the bills that I have to pay. We will be on a cash basis for a while, maybe permanently. We are hoping to get the bills paid off quicker and really learn how to manage our money the right way. Then maybe we will be able to teach our younger children how to do the same as they grow up. That would be an awesome thing!

So this is our adventure with grocery shopping! If you have any money saving tips, share them! I would love to hear what you do to save money!

Homeschool Post

I posted a new blog on my homeschool blog. I found some really neat things at the book fair and the Lord is really working on some things in my life concerning my responsibilities as a mom. Not that I didn't take them seriously before but God has just laid it on my heart that above all other things I need to put my children's focus on HIM above all else. That is a huge task but with His help, I know I can do it. It is going to take some work to change some habits around here but we are going to take it step by step, one day at a time.

One of the things I have to get back on track on is our eating habits. I need to get back to cooking wholesome foods for every meal and stop the eating out just because I am too lazy to cook and clean up after myself. I don't want to be that kind of wife. I want to strive towards the Proverbs 31 woman, even though I know I can't attain it 100%. I want to be the wife and mother that I am supposed to be. I love my husband and kids too much to give them less than what they deserve.

Mother's Day was good. We went to church and then met our oldest for lunch at Blackeyed Pea. She brought me flowers! I had a wonderful salmon and the chocolate cake! YUMMMMY! Then I went home and took a nap. It was a good day!