Back to life... tax season is over!

The best part of tax season being over is freedom of time!  I'm back to blogging and have lots to update you all on.  I lost my camera card reader and have been working a ton of overtime this tax season.  My favorite part of tax season ending and when school starts up in September are pleasant weather and time to spring clean and reorganize.

The project this week I was helped on by the whole family.  The kids have been talking about wanting to sleep in the same room for awhile now. We moved here and got a house big enough for everyone to have their own room and now they all want to share. Go figure. If I put them to bed in their own rooms, by morning they are all sleeping in one twin bed.  So we brainstormed and came to the conclusion to mix it up.  The original master bedroom the oldest was in was changed to a bunkhouse and boys' change room, the middle child's small bedroom is now the playroom and the little girls' room is now a library/doll room/girl change room.  We also got rid of two giant boxes of toys, clothes, etc. and I'm $90 richer from the consignment store.  I figure we'll keep the arrangement for a few years before the eldest wants his own room back to try and sneak in the ladies to make out with them, but for now we'll see how it goes.

Room 1-the original master-we rebunked the boys' beds and put in a trundle from our couch downstairs for the girl.  There are two bedstands, the boys share one with two drawers (drawer for each) and V has one with a drawer. Everyone has a collapsable hamper for stuffies (stuffed animals) and the stuffies collection must fit on your bed + the container or you have to start purging. We did not purge this time around as they did last time and going through the toys and having my sentimental middle child give up some things I've not seen him play with in a year was enough for me.  The boys' dressers are in here and there's shelving in the closet for the arsenal (bows, swords, shields, Nerf guns) as well as a rod for hanging clothes-I have 2-1 they can reach, the higher is  for out of season coats, stuff that's just a little too big for them, etc.

 

Room 2-the playroom.  The previous owners used this as an office and it unfortunately has a smaller window than I would like.  The lego table is in there with a fuzzy rug and their misc building and other toys.  I can close the door and my toes can be barefoot without stepping on legos :D

 

 

I'm tempted to move the doll stuff from the Pink room into this room as there is some space and put the dress up stuff in the pink room, but that's a job for another day. We also recently got C a new dresser and the old one is in the garage begging me for  Pinterest makeover to make a dress up armoire, so there's another reason to possibly move the dress up stuff in the blue playroom.

 

The last room is the library/doll room (maybe dress up room, still a work in process!)  V's huge bed is in here and we'll put all our throw and extra pillows on it for a reading nest.  This is still her dressing room and there are books in the white cabinet (mostly C's) in the smaller bookshelf (mostly H's) and in the shelves in the closet (mostly V's).  H had a great idea of designating a shelf (probably the top of the bookshelf with the lamp on it) for library books so they don't get mixed in with our collection.

 

 

 

The kids were so excited when they got home and they helped me go through and put away the last of the toys.  Hubby helped me with lifting, vacuuming, decision making and made dinner while the kids and I finished up!

 

Why I gave up keeping them separated:

 

 

Spring Clean finale!

Day11-Playroom/Rec Room

First, the top of the room-dust cobwebs, lampshades, light fixtures and wall decorations.  10 mintutes.

Start by going through the stuff and toys.  Go through shelf by shelf. Work top to bottom, left to right so you don’t miss anything.  You’ll need a couple piles: Give away, trash (a bag), fix/needs batteries/lost piece (if you can’t fix or don’t find all the pieces by the end of all this, these need to be given up on and thrown away).  As you take the toys out of cabinets and shelves, wipe down the shelves. Pull them back from the wall when one unit is done and give a wipe to the wall and clean the floor and baseboards behind them… you’ll be surprised what you find… probably some missing puzzle pieces or those keys that went missing a few months ago!  This will take most of the time. 2 hours to 2 days!

Office

Start by clearing surfaces and removing anything that belongs elsewhere, especially if your office is your home’s dumping ground/storage J  Next, consider doing Julie’s paper challenge.  Go through your file cabinet, inbox, any filing papers. Go through all files.  Get rid of anything you no longer need, bills over a year old, tax return files over 7 years.  File anything “to be filed” and shred anything sensitive or put in a paper bag to take somewhere to have shredded, recycle anything not sensitive. 30 minutes to 5 hours.

Dust corners for cobwebs, light fixtures, wall decorations.  Dust or wash the window blinds.  Wash the window, take vinegar, Q-tips and a rag to the window slide and wash the sill. 30 minutes.

Working left to right, top to bottom go through your office.  Get rid of anything that does not belong in your office. Put it in a basket or box and everytime it fills up, take 5 minutes and put things away where they belong.  Check your supplies… Do you have enough/the right amount of office supplies-pens, pencils, paperclips, printer paper, printer inks, etc?  If you are in need of items, make a list and put it in the car so the next time you are out you can stop and pickup what you need. If you have too much, donate or give to a friend who may need them. 30 minutes

If you haven’t filed your taxes, go through your tax file and see what’s missing and organize what’s in there-income items in the front of the file, expenses in the back. 10 minutes

Tackle your inbox-take action where needed-write down appointments, send e-mails.  Recycle anything you no longer need and then get a few envelopes, clips or file folders and mark “keep handy” for things you need at your fingertips; “to do” for items that require action beyond your office; file anything to file, since you already went through your file cabinet.  Have a divider; bright paper or cardboard and put it on top, then you know what items are new in your inbox. Consider having a time each week set aside to go through new items and to do items so you don’t get bogged down. 30 minutes

Kid stuff.  Any art projects, writings, etc.  Once a month or semester scan the ones that you love or take a picture if they are big. Then, I give you permission to pitch that sucker.  Your welcome.  20-60 minutes depending on backup

Magazines and books-anything you aren’t currently reading goes in a too be read pile. Think about where you read periodicals-in the bathroom? In the car while waiting?  Stick a few in that spot.  If you have a huge pile consider recycling anything over say 3-6 months old. If you haven’t read it by now, chances are you aren’t going to.  Round up books from the library and designate a spot for them so they don’t get lost.  Any that have been read put in the car to return next time you are out. 10 minutes.

Digital files-oh, my, this could take awhile.  Start with your e-mail… all accounts.  Your regular e-mail, delete any e-mails you no longer need, make file folders for regular categories, but during this cleaning go through each folder and clean out items that are no longer relevant.  Take action or flag items needing attention, UNSUBSCRIBE to lists you no longer want to be on.  File e-mails by category that you need to save but don’t need to refer to on a daily basis.

Now tackle any junk or work e-mail accounts.  Then move on to your Facebook messages.  Time may vary.

Next your computer.  Think about all the places files are stored….. desktop, external hard drive or two, c: drive, cloud, etc. Tackle one at a time.  If you open it and it’s just a huge list of files, make file folders! For example, I have one called “household” for cleaning routines, school stuff, library numbers, etc. one for business, one for clients, one for pictures, etc.  Go through and delete anything you no longer use and file away files you need so you can find them. You should be able to find any file in 5 minutes.  If something gives no clue to what it is by the file name, right click on it and RENAME to something that makes sense!  Start on your desktop, then harddrive on your computer, then externals and online storage.  THIS is the time to make a plan to do a backup. If it’s going to take awhile, consider setting it for overnight (change your power settings so your computer doesn’t turn off in the middle) but make sure it gets done. If you don’t backup during spring cleaning you probably won’t!  You’ll thank me later. Time may vary.

Crafting or Hobbies-

This could take awhile as well.  Start going through supplies with recycle bin, garbage, donate bin and any extra storage bins you may be able to use.  Start with the largest pile. For me it’s scrapbook paper, for you it may be fabric. Sort through once for what you want to keep v. get rid of then get some labels and organize what you have in a way that makes sense… by color, theme, etc.  Then move to the next group and so on. I can’t give you much more detail than that since your hobbies may vary. But go through with the idea of making it so that you can find what you are looking for in just a few minutes. Label any drawers/bins you can’t see through.  Put things you use more often within arm’s reach, anything you use less often can be stored elsewhere, think about storage in vertical terms… go up that wall!

Hopefully by now your office/craft/hobby space is uncluttered. Dust and wipe surfaces, vacuum and steam clean or mop if necessary.

Days 9 & 10-Spring clean your bedrooms

Days 9 & 10 : Bedrooms-Do this to all of them.

Take down any cobwebs-use a Webster or a broom with a rag on the end. Wash or dust light fixtures. Wash down walls-wipe outlets & light switches and baseboards. 10 minutes

Clean the blinds, wash curtains, wash windows, clean out window tracks and sills 10-30 minutes.

Dust & wipe down furniture (pull out and dust shelves and books of bookshelves) pull out drawers and clean the drawer rollers, go through drawers and take out stuff that doesn’t fit or you don’t like and fold and put away neatly.  Move all furniture and vacuum and steam clean under it (take the crevice tool of your vacuum and run it along the edge of the baseboards, wipe down baseboards.30-60 minutes

Declutter rest of the room besides the closet (shelves, nighttables, etc).  Then attack the closet, go through and take out anything that doesn’t fit (try it on), you don’t love, etc.  make a list of pieces you need to keep an eye out for. Clean that shelf above the clothing, wipe down & dust the closet, declutter everything else you store in your closet. Go through your shoes, belts, accessories, etc.  Everything else turn around  the hanger of. When you wear it, turn the hangers back around. Anything still backwards after a year, donate. 40-100 minutes.

In the kids’ room, see what you have of the next size and if they need to switch over to the next biggest size do it now. If they have some time, note what they have and what you need to keep a look out for on sale or at garage sales or online.  25-50 minutes

Declutter anything hiding under the bed.  Flip the mattress, change the sheets, wash the pillows and throw them in the dryer with a tennis ball or if they are flat, get new ones. 10-30 minutes.

Vacuum the rest of carpet and steam clean or schedule steam cleaning for it. 10-30 minutes.

Day 8-Formal living room

Day 8: Formal living room or living room without kids’ stuff (see playroom clean out for kid’s stuff)

Take down any cobwebs-use a Webster or a broom with a rag on the end. Wash down walls-wipe outlets & light switches and baseboards. 10 minutes

Clean the blinds, wash curtains, wash windows, clean out window tracks and sills 10-30 minutes.

Dust & wipe down furniture (pull out and dust shelves and books of bookshelves) and fireplace and mantle (clean out fireplace if necessary or schedule someone to come do it for you). If you can steam or spot clean upholstery or schedule to have it cleaned with carpets. Declutter as you go. 30-60 minutes

Vacuum the carpet and steam clean or schedule steam cleaning for it. 10-30 minutes.

Day 7-Laundry & Entry

Day 7: Laundry room and entry way

First, get your duster ready.  Laundry rooms can be notoriously dusty. Start at the top by running a duster over the fan or if it’s easy to take down wash it.  Dust/wash the light fixtures, dust/wash shelving and declutter the shelf stuff, I got rid of about ½ a bin of stuff! 10-15 minutes.

Then wipe down your machines and the floor in front of them.  Pull the machines out and wash the walls behind as well as the floor and sides of machines.  Put away any treasures you find (you know there’s SOMETHING you’ve been missing back there!) Pull out the dryer vent and vacuum it out.  This is a great way to prevent your house from catching on fire!  Reattach and replug in appliances if necessary.  10-15 minutes.

If you have a window in your laundry room clean the blinds, window, sill, window track etc. as we have been doing. Wash any curtains.  5-15 minutes.

Wash down any cabinetry, wash out any waste bins or laundry bins.  Check your supplies of stain remover, soap, etc. Sweep and washdown the floor, take out the trash.  10 minutes.

Move on to the entry way.  Wash down any walls, pull down any cob webs, wash any light fixtures (we have a very tall entry way, so this requires a ladder).  While you are up there replace any bulbs that need replacing.  Evaluate any artwork or décor. Dust any furniture and declutter any drawers or drop off bins. 10-25 minutes

The front closet or coat hanger.  Go through your coats, be merciless. Make sure each member has a raincoat and winter coat and anything else is up for decluttering.  This time of year you’ll also go through gloves, snow pants, etc. etc.  So declutter the closet, then wipe it down, including the floor and figure out what needs to go back in and the best way to do that.  My favorite way to organize the front closet is coats by family member (smallest on left, largest on right) and an over the door organizer. I shove hats mittens,  gloves, etc in one for winter. In the summer it changes to sunglasses, sunscreen, sunhats, etc.  I also have a bin for things that don’t fit in the closet organizer like snowpants and for umbrellas. Our boots and shoes are kept in a basket by the door (we have a VERY tiny front closet) Go through shoes and boots making sure they are size and season appropriate.  If you have room consider having a drop off spot for keys, cell and wallet so you always know where they are and/or a box for stuff that needs to leave your house-library books, that thing you borrowed from your neighbor, etc. 15 minutes -2 hours

Wash down the floors, door and any windows (don’t forget the blinds) and it’s beautiful and welcoming. 15 minutes-45 minutes.

Day 6 of spring cleaning-Bathrooms

Day 6: Bathrooms

Do this for all ¾ and full bathrooms you have, I’ll do the ½ bath & laundry room tomorrow.

Start by throwing some toilet cleaner in the toilet and letting it go. If you use a product like Scrubbing Bubbles spray down the tub.  Start up high, wash the walls-especially the often neglected little edge of the top of the shower, it’s usually pretty dusty up there. Dust/ wash the light fixtures, wash or dust the overhead fan. 8 minutes

Take down the shower curtain, throw away the nasty liner and replace it (they are as cheap as $2 each at the store) and send your outside curtain through a wash cycle.  If your liner looks pretty good (the one in the bathroom the kids only take baths in did) you can put it with the shower curtains in a gentle cycle. Anything more than that and it will be ripped to shreds especially if you have a top loading washing machine.  5 minutes

Scrub the tub, Magic Eraser is amazing on soap scum but can take some elbow grease. I only used vinegar and an eraser on my tub, I pretty much destroyed the eraser, but the tub looks amazing!  Take out all beauty products and wash them down to take off soap, etc. and wash down any product holders.  I have a tension rod for the corner and one shelf had some light rust, the eraser got rid of it. For serious rust, take it outside, spray paint it with something that covers metal like Rustoleum and you can get another few months out of it before you need to replace it. If you have little ones, go through the bathtoys. Anything that’s gross or they’re too old for, get rid of, sanitize the rest in a diluted bleach solution. Replace any batteries in any toys that take them.  10-20 minutes.

Tackle that toilet.  You may need to take the toilet seat completely off the bolts to really get in there, lots of the scent is due to urine hiding in spots like the seat bolts-esp if you have boys in your house. Wash it all down, maybe even see if there’s some easy clean up in the tank.  I’m in love with those bleach tablets you drop in the tank. I have heard that they are hard on the plumbing inside your tank but I love how they extend that clean toilet look.  If you have some harder staining, you may need a pumice stick to scrub them out of the toilet.  Use a toothbrush especially around the base where it meets the floor and the bolts that keep the toilet attached to the floor.  10 minutes

Now that the yuckiest parts are done, let’s wash down the mirror and the countertops, as you wash down the countertops (use a toothbrush around the fixtures and edge of the sink) declutter what is on the counter.  A clean counter is a peaceful counter so only keep things you use every day that would spill if they were in a drawer and some soap if possible. 10 minutes

Wash the outside of the cabinet or the pedestal of your sink.  Take everything out of the medicine cabinet and under the sink.  Scrub it out and declutter-get rid of expired meds (which probably shouldn’t be stored in the bathroom anyways-it’s too hot and humid in there), go through your nail polish (I tried on a few colors that were similar and only kept my favorites, your makeup (threw out old eye makeup and gave myself permission to pick up some new at the store!) etc. etc.  Any product you tried and hate get rid of.  If you have trial sizes either keep them together for travel, plan to use them at home or give them to a homeless shelter, they are a pain to store.  Make sure there’s extra TP in the bathroom and note any supplies you have an abundance of or lack of and keep them in mind for your next shopping trip. Put everything back under, neatly.15-30 minutes

If you have a window, wash any curtain, wash the blinds (see kitchen for how to do this) wash the window and the window track, wash your towel rack down and the toilet paper holder down, wash down the door inside and out and any full-length mirror that may be on it. Put any laundry in the hamper if you have a scale, wipe it down. Soak & wash the wastebasket, replace the liner. 5-15 minutes

Hang fresh towels then scrub the floor using regular cleaner working from away from the door towards the door. Do it by hand and also catch the outside of the tub if you only washed the inside of the tub and shower earlier.  Plan to take a bath to relax and admire your clean bathroom this evening. 5 minutes.

Day 5-Dining Room

Day 5: Dining Room

Clean up any dishes and give a cursory wipe down to the table and sweep up crumbs, then get started on the heavy duty stuff.

Before turning on the lights, wipe them down, I accidently dusted mine with a synthetic duster and ended up burning stuff on to the bulbs!  Dust and/or wipe down with a cleaning solution or water. 15 minutes.

If you have a hutch or china cabinet start there-dust the entire thing, wiping up any spots you may find, clean windows if your hutch has them. Evaluate if anything can be gotten rid of, especially linens. Do you really need 6 round, white tablecloths?  Pick your favorites and make sure all of them fit in the space you have allocated for table cloths.  Wipe down the front, sides & legs-being in the dining room it may have gotten some food splatters somewhere along the way. 30-45 minutes

If you have a window or sliding door, wipe all around the casing, then use your toothbrush, vinegar and a cloth to clean the slider at the bottom. It’s probably gross. I don’t know about you but I only clean mine at spring cleaning!  After getting the gunk out, wash the windows-inside and if you can get out there, may as well do the outside too, or you can wait until it’s time to do outside stuff. 15-25 minutes

Take your cloth, scrubber and cleaner and wash down the table-underneath, the legs, the top , the SIDES which are often missed when we are wiping up after dinner.  Do the same to the chairs, turn the chairs over, use a tooth brush (I had to use a butter knife with a towel over it to get in some of the crannies where the seat met the chair wood).  I would recommend getting as much stuff off of them without taking them apart as possible so you don’t strip the screws if yours have them.  Do any need gluing?  You can do it now or you can put it on your fix it list (after spring cleaning, you can tackle the fix it list).  My mom had a great suggestion-use just a little bit of gorilla glue and use a rope to tie around the chair part being glued, then twist around a stick or something to cinch it tight.  30-45 minutes (fyi, you could watch a TV show or something while doing this J

Next wash down your walls… that spaghetti the kids dropped a month ago that you cleaned off the floor? Yeah, it’s still on the wall!  I personally have the added fun of washing down a banister that looks down into our playroom.  Dust any pictures or decorations in the room on the wall or furniture.  Clean up any other furniture in the room 5-30 minutes depending how much you have in your dining room.

Next move the table aside (you may need help to do this) and if you have an area rug move it to the living room and use a steam cleaner on it after vacuuming it (or schedule steam cleaning for the end and have it done then). If you just have bare floor or you don’t have an area rug, vacuum and steam clean (or schedule) if you have carpet-if you have hard flooring do as you did in the kitchen-get out your scrubber, toothbrush, cleaner and cloth and get scrubbing.  After the floor and any area rugs have dried put it all back together and enjoy your clean dining room! 30 minutes

Day 3 & 4 of spring cleaning

Day 3: Declutter and wipe down in the kitchen

Clean up from the most recent meal and wipe down your counters. You’ll need them for sorting. You’ll also need a large box (don’t do a bag as you’ll probably be putting some dishes and stuff in your donate box and they’ll be less likely to get broken in a box).

Today you’ll go through all your drawers and cabinets first (save the pantry and sink). I start with drawers. One drawer at a time put the contents on the counter and sort through anything you haven’t used in a year. I don’t care if it’s brand new, donate it.  If you have some drawer organizers have them handy to separate things out so you can find them.  As you start doing this think about how you use your kitchen. Besides wiping everything out with my vinegar solution (how the heck do crumbs get in the silverware organizer and drawer anyways????) including the backs of the doors- I also ended up taking off the child proofing and moving around my entire kitchen.  After the drawers, start on the cabinets, top ones first.  I think it took me about 90 minutes to go through everything but about 2 ½ hours including the reorganizing.

Sidenote with pictures: Here’s how I ended up reorganizing. Two things were bugging me about my kitchen. I need my kids to be able to reach to set the table and serve themselves simple meals. Also, my dishwasher is in front of all my dishes and glasses meaning I have to unload the dishwasher on top of the counter and then put everything away, making unloading the dishwasher twice as much work.

to the right of the stove-pots and pans in the bottom, lids & cookbooks up top

Above the stove-things I use once a month:

Baking and serving dishes to the left of the oven

 

 

So, I started by moving the silverware to the single drawer beside the dishwasher. Since my silverware goes into the dishwasher in a caddy, I can take the caddy out and put it on the counter and unload into the drawer.  I moved my glassware and dishes from above the dishwasher where I couldn’t immediately put them away to the lazy Susan in the corner of my kitchen-glasses on top (including a box to corral my water bottles and travel mugs, which I went through) and plates and bowls on the bottom. Not sure if this is going to annoy me or not yet, but the Susan is plastic and I didn’t know If the weight of the plates would be hard on the upper rack, plus, we get drinks throughout the day way more than we need plates. Now I can unload directly to the Lazy Susan and the kids can reach all of it. No more asking me for drinks all day!

 

Above the dishwasher is now prep stuff-my food processer, cutting boards, liquid measuring cups, etc.  as that counter is where I do my baking and cooking prep work.  Except for the top shelf which is stuff I don’t use often. I’m short so everything on my top shelves I need a stool to get up to. Best for stuff I don’t use a lot.  I put up there some Ramekins went from an entire shelf of wine glasses (I’m the only one who drinks wine) to a set of 6.  Next to the stove ended up baking stuff-pie pans, muffin tins, crockpot, above the oven are tall little used cake pans (angel food, etc.) and the fry/steam machine.  To the right of the oven, I put all my pans on the bottom (pans next to the oven? Genius!) and the lids are in the cabinet above along with my cook books. I took a shelf out of the upper cabinet to make room for tall things and used it on the left side for shorter things.  Just because a shelf is in one cabinet doesn’t mean you can’t use it somewhere else or move it to a different height. 

 

Behind the dishwasher I put my mixing bowls, which I usually hand wash anyways because 2 are so big they’d take up the entire machine and large baking pans are on the roll out shelf above. There’s some space behind the mixing bowls but due to the art closet I put in the other side of the peninsula last year, that can be some art overflow.

 

 

 Day 4: Finishing the kitchen

After going through all the cabinets and drawers, it’s time to tackle the pantry.  Look at how it currently is situated. If everything is jammed in there, take everything out. As you do pile stuff up in your kitchen.  Here are examples of piles:  Small appliances, baking items, cooking items, pantry (stuff you have on hand for when your open item runs out), dishes, etc. that you don’t use often, Tupperware/food storage (maybe this was in your cupboards, mine are in the pantry),  Snacks.  You can even put a paper where each will go.  Take everything out and as you do, don’t just put it in one pile, save a step and put it in the appropriate pile. Throw out anything expired. Give away anything you haven’t used in a year. If you need it you can borrow it from someone. Make sure all your Tupperware has a top for it and toss items that don’t match are stained or broken.

One thing I found when doing my pantry is that I had a lot of short circular containers that were taking up more space than they needed to so I did purchase new baking goods containers as they were the worst offenders. Some people may also want to do the same for snack goods, but we go through them quickly enough that I think we’ll stick with what we have.

Once the pantry is empty wipe down all the shelves.

Think about how you use the space.  Stuff that you don’t use often stick up top where you need a stool to get it. Stuff that’s too heavy put in the very bottom.  Stuff you use most often should be in the middle and like items should be together.  My pantry is one of those slider double sided ones and this is how I’ve got it:

Top: Paper goods, including my once a month meal swap pans, paper towels, paper plates, etc. dishes I barely use, liquor & medicines I want to keep away from the kids.  Next down: My pantry of stuff I got on sale or that is to replace what’s about to run out on the left, on the right is all my baking goods. Middle shelf: Left is food storage Tupperware (I finally got down to 1-2 brands which made stacking easier) the squares stacked together, the lids in a plastic shoebox container; and in a paper holder upright is my foil, parchment paper and plastic wrap.    On the right, under baking is the snacks (I would put them lower, but the kids will get into them all the time!) Last shelf on left has school lunch supplies (we use reusable bags and pack lunch everyday), cloth napkins in a basket and plastic baggies. The lower right is canned goods and cooking supplies like oils, noodles, convenience box foods.  The bottom stores my heavy appliances-bread maker, Kitchenaid mixer and the right side has large Costco items like soda that are too heavy for my poor shelves.

 

 

Pantry clean out will take anywhere from 45minutes to 3 hours depending on where you are starting from.

Next it’s time to tackle that sink area. I left it to last since I’m expecting you’ve been using it as you clean.  First, it probably has a window over it.  Clean the blinds and if there’s curtains, take them down and wash them.  To clean the blinds take a vinegar or degreaser spray and a microfiber towel works best.  Have the Magic Eraser nearby.  If yours are like mine, there’s probably food and stuff on them from everyday use of the sink below.  Put the blinds down and start by having the side you usually have towards you tilted flat towards you.  Spray and wipe down each blind individually. This will take some time, but I promise once you do it REALLY well one time you’ll be able to keep them up really easily from now on.  Next, flip the blinds the opposite way and do the back, then flip back to the front and wipe off overspray from the back. Open the blinds up and wash the walls and cabinets around  the sink area.  Then wash the window, including the window sill which you may want to declutter (if you have a bay window with plants, now would be a good time to wash the shelves, water the plants and deadhead any yellow leaves) also wash in that track.  You probably will need your tooth brush for the job.  Time: 30-45 minutes depending on how your blinds started.

Now the sink:

Start by washing any dishes in it.  Throw some lemon or a cleaner Plink thing into the disposal and let some hot water run while you pray around the outside and scrub your tooth brush around the edge of the sink.  Run the disposal next.  Take out the disposal and sink catchers, scrub a little and throw in the dishwasher.  Next, scrub down the fixtures and rest of sink (you could use soft scrub or baking soda for this job and a scrubby sponge, an Eraser may be useful as well), including the drains, which probably need a toothbrush for all the ridges.  Then start wiping down. When you’ve cleaned the sink if you have a stainless steel one and have the mineral oil wipes, run them over that and make it shine.  I also threw my dishwasher overflow cover (that little metal cylinder) into the dishwasher and scrubbed under it with a tooth brush.  15-30 minutes.

Now under the sink.  Take everything out.  Throw away anything you don’t use-gross sponges, rusted steel wool, that detergent you tried and hate.  Give away stuff you don’t use like vases, watering cans, etc. Then take the trash out and put your trashcans in the sink with some dish detergent to soak while you get to business. 

Have one container of cleaners/scrubbers under the sink and on one the sink for things you use on a daily basis (I got a cool basket at the container store that rests on the sink center) Anything else can go in a broom closet, etc. there’s just not room under there for much.  Wipe down all the pipes and the insides of cabinets  and the walls and floor inside the cabinet.  Back under the sink should be a dish drainer (I use a collapsible one that folds flat), small container of cleaners for weekly cleaning, dish detergent.  Scrub down the garbage and recycle cans, put a new bag in and put them back under the sink. 30 minutes.

Kitchen floor:  You’re almost done!  Sweep up, then grab some diluted vinegar, a scrubby sponge, a stack of rags, your Magic Eraser and tooth brush. Start in one corner and spray about a 2x2 square and scrub up anything  that’s stuck (don’t forget the baseboards, esp where they meet the floor which is a magnet for sticky crumbs!) then wipe clean with a rag.  Keep working until you are done 30 minutes.

Congratulations, you can eat off any surface in your kitchen now!

Spring Cleaning-Day 2

Day 2: Kitchen

Finishing up the cleaning today.

Clean up from most recent meal, including washing dishes and putting away leftovers. Fill ½ your sink with hot, soapy water for soaking or using for washing down things. 5-10 minutes

Clean the inside of the stove. Hopefully you ran the self-clean yesterday or you’ll be pulling on the gloves and getting the oven cleaner out. This is a yucky and annoying job, but get it done and keep it clean and it won’t be so bad next time! Soft scrub, a Magic Eraser and a nylon scrubber are also useful for this job.  If you ran the self clean cycle, take a damp towel and wipe the inside ashes.  For the racks, I put mine in the sink (you could take them outside as well) sprayed with oven cleaner and then after cleaning the oven I went over them with a Magic Eraser. There’s also heavier duty cleaning instructions online involving garbage sacks and vinegar, etc. If you have a door with a window that stuffs gotten into, you can usually take off the front of the oven through the door handle. Clean out the oven door while you are at it and clean out the inside of that warming or pan drawer on the bottom if you’ve got one.   Wipe down the stove top, using cleaner for your stove and/or cleaning those little bowls under the burners (you can buy brand new ones at the dollar store/Target… for spring cleaning if they are really bad, I’d recommend just buying new ones)  Then put the knobs back on that you let soak in dishwasher detergent yesterday.  Pull out the oven and wash all the sides of it and sweep and hand scrub the floor underneath, wash the sides of the counters next to the oven and wash the wall behind the oven. You may need a magic eraser and degreaser for the wall. Push the oven back into place. 30-90 minutes

Wipe down the front all the way from the counter to the floor of the dishwasher. Then, open up the dishwasher (best to do this right after you unload it)  Check the filter to make sure there’s no food trapped in there, if there is, clean out the filter.  Then the edge of the door… the inside of the dishwasher stays pretty clean (if you have a hard water issue, etc. look online to find ways of dealing with it- I use Vinegar instead of JetDry rinse so my dishwasher gets rinsed out with vinegar after each load). The edges around the door, though? Nope! Disgusting!!! Scrub with a scrubby sponge and some cleaner all the way around and make sure to get those gaskets  (rubber stuff) around the edge.  20 minutes.

You cleaned the outside of the fridge yesterday, now it’s time to tackle the inside. (Note: if you have an extra fridge or extra freezer, now is a great time to clean that out as well, esp since you may want to redistribute food between the two).  Start top to bottom.  You need some all-purpose cleaner or vinegar, a few rags, a scrubby sponge or Magic Eraser and a trash bag.  ANYTHING expired should be thrown out. Just do it. Go through the freezer first.  Start at the top and shelf by shelf pull everything out. Wipe down the shelf, check for any expired food, put food back on shelf. If you want to organize by type, etc you can pull ALL your freezer food out at once, wipe everything out and then put in the way you want it.  If you have OCD and the rest of your family does not, you can use your labelmaker to label each shelf.  Suggestions: ready made meals, convenience foods, frozen drinks, frozen fruit, frozen veggies, frozen meat, frozen treats. Do the same thing in the refridgerator. Pay special attention to the door and all those condiments. If you throw something out and you use it regularily, put it on your shopping list. Wash out those produce drawers. Throw out anything expired or gross. Wash any food storage containers you emptied out and any recycling. 30-90 minutes

Put back the oven hood screens that you washed yesterday and hopefully dried overnight.  Wash down the outsides of the lower cabinets (use a degreaser an Magic Eraser and toothbrush if it’s pretty bad) and pantry.  Don’t worry about the baseboards, we’ll get those when we wash the walls. 30 minutes

Wash any walls that haven’t been scrubbed yet. If you have spare paint, cover any spots needing it once your wiping down has dried. 10 minutes

 That's it for today!

Spring Cleaning- a series

I'm going to be blogging a series about how I do my Spring/Fall Cleaning. Both for my own reference and because I've had people curious about it.  I'm doing an online challenge to others where I'm posting each day 2-3 hours of work to do M-F with weekends for catch up and relaxation. I have no idea how long it will take but by the end of it 95% of your house will have been touched. For this blog, however I'll post on my blog as I get postings done and probably a few days at a time as I go. If you are interested in following along, get ready for Monday or bookmark if you want to wait until closer to Spring and just do as much as you can. I'm also timing myself to give you an idea of how long it will take for each task.  For reference my house is a medium-large 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath.  It's not small and has bonus areas, but it's not one of the huge 6 bedroom suburb new development houses either....

Preparation:Decide how much time each day ( and when if possible) you can devote to the process.
Gather your cleaning supplies. At minimum have an old toothbrush, all-purpose cleaner (you can use diluted white vinegar), glass cleaner (I’ve heard rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle is great for this), one of those magic clean erasers and some rags. You’ll also need a vacuum. Additional supplies you may want: baking soda (drains, scrubbing, etc.),carpet spot cleaner, soft scrub or cooktop cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner & brush, squeegee, Fabreeze, Goof off, scrubby sponge, degreaser, duster (regular, long-handled and/or blind duster or attachment for vacuum), mop, broom, dustpan, apron.

You should also have a garbage can and a bag or box for decluttering readily available.

If you need any cleaning supplies or to do a major pickup, do it this weekend. This program is for cleaning all the surfaces in your home, I've found since doing this every 6 months, we have WAY less allergies, etc! We will go inside everything and declutter, but if there's pick up stuff to do (dishes/laundry/toys around the house) try to do it this weekend so we can CLEAN on Monday.

Preview for Monday: The kitchen. We won't get it all done in one day, it will probably take 2-4 days to complete the kitchen. I am doing everything and timing it to give you a general idea of how long things will take and am aiming for 2-3 hours a day. If you only have an hour a day, just follow along and you'll just be a few days behind us. I also will only do postings M-F so weekends can be relax or catch up days. I'm hoping to do postings the evening before since I'm on the West Coast.

ETA: If you are wanting to run a self-cleaning cycle on your oven, I'd recommend running it this weekend. First scrape off any large pieces of food with a nylon scraper and then find some time to close the bedroom doors, open the kitchen window if weather permits and try to get most of the family out of the house. DON'T FORGET TO TAKE THE RACKS OUT you can clean and wipe out the oven on the oven cleaning day (Day 2) but since it takes about 6 hours and can stink up your house, try to get it done over the weekend. If your oven isn't self cleaning, we'll clean it on day 2.

Day 1: Kitchen

Note, if you come across a fix it project (I realized the caulk between my backsplash and counter is all loose and needs to be redone) put it on a project list for later. This time is for cleaning, not for taking things apart to fix stuff.

Let’s just get the scariest room out of the way. 

Here are your jobs for today:

Clean up from most recent meal, including washing dishes and putting away leftovers. Fill ½ your sink with hot, soapy water for soaking or using for washing down things. 5-10 minutes

If you have a self-cleaning oven, and have a dinner tonight to prepare that will use the stove rather than the oven, consider setting the cycle. If your oven is really bad, make sure to use a nylon scraper and take off any large chunks of food first, you may have to wait until spring when you can open the windows if you think it’s going to get really smoky, but if you are putting this off, PUT IT on the calendar now. Take the knobs off and throw them in a bowl with hot water and dish detergent to soak.

Get on the counter or a stepstool-wipe down (with a cleaner) your light fixtures and wash down the top of your cabinets (if yours go up to the ceiling, you can skip this step, fridge and oven hood. The degreaser may be helpful as well as toothbrush & rags.  Anything that’s on top of your fridge and cabinets should be dusted, wiped down and reviewed-do you really need these items? While you are up there, wash down the wall above the cabinets and take down your oven hood screen and give it a scrubbing, cleaning or throw in the dishwasher depending on what you have up there also use a duster to knock down any cobwebs.

Next wipe down your upper cabinets on the outside. Do the sides, the bottoms, the sides. Use a toothbrush on any molding and pay special attention to knobs. If you have done this fairly recently, you probably just need to wash them down with a vinegar & water damp cloth, but if it’s been awhile it may take degreaser and a Scrubbing eraser.   30 minutes

If you have a bulletin board or use the front of your fridge as such, go through everything and toss old notices, etc. wipe down your fridge magents. Do not put everything back up yet.  Wipe around edges of bulletin board and wipe down all the sides of your fridge, including the hinges and the seals around the edge, pay special attention to the handles, which are a germ breeding ground. If you have stainless steel, rub over those surfaces with a polishing cloth. If you have a side by side, make sure to open the doors and get between then and on the bottoms of them. Get a toothbrush into those ice/water maker parts. You may need a little CLR or vinegar to get any hard water stains off. Vacuum the coils, make sure your drip pan’s not overflowing & wash down the air vent (hint, opening the door may make it way easier to put back on, also, using a flashlight will help you see underneath better, move the fridge out from the wall and wash the walls behind it and sweep and hand wash the floor underneath. Use that toothbrush on the molding behind the fridge, clean under any cabinetry that’s over the fridge. Move the fridge back in place. 30-45 minutes

Clean your microwave and/or toaster oven and the counter area (or above stove) that it’s on.  Clean the outside, scrub with a toothbrush in between dials and buttons. If stuff is stuck on in there, while you are cleaning the outside (use a brush on the vents), throw a dish with some vinegar inside and microwave for 2-3 minutes and let it set another 5 minutes.  I’ve had excellent luck with getting the inside sparkling with elbow grease, degreaser and a Magic Eraser. Clean the counter under it, the wall behind it (including backsplash). 10-25 minutes.

Other small appliances: Clean out the crumb catcher in your toaster, wipe it down (use a toothbrush for buttons, etc.) run vinegar then a few clean water settings through your coffee maker, wash the carafe with some white vinegar and salt, descale, wipe down and deep clean any other appliance that you have out on the counter tops. If you have time, start cleaning the ones you have put away that you don’t use often like mixers, waffle irons, fry daddy, rice cooker, crockpot, etc. that you summerarily clean when you use them.  This is also a good time to start thinking about appliances you have that you NEVER use or use once a year. Think about blessing someone else with them and borrowing them as needed. 15-30 minutes depending on number of appliances. 

Now that we’re on to countertop appliances, it’s time to discuss countertops. First, get all the papers off. Don’t get distracted going through them. Put them in some sort of box and with your office stuff. If your office space is in your kitchen, we’ll deal with that another day.  Take a look around your counters.  Is there stuff there you don’t use often that could be put away (you may not have room yet, but after cleaning out cupboards, hopefully you will!) Think about if you were a potential buyer of your house. You want to see as much counter space as possible.  Think about where you use things. Are your baking things near where you mix things up? Are your knives and cooking utensils near the stove?  Is your coffee/tea near the coffee & tea maker? Are your spices near the stove (note spices should be kept away from heat, so keep this in consideration. Personally I moved mine to a drawer NEXT to the stove). Do you have those cute little containers of flour, sugar, etc?  Do you think you could make room in the pantry?  Trust me, they’ll get less dusty in there and you’ll have more room to cook, but if you bake every day, maybe it makes to have them out. Think about how YOU use your kitchen. 

An example of this is the last time I cleaned my kitchen I realized I wanted more prep space by my stove, include more electrical outlets available. I have 4 in that corner, but between a coffee maker, blender (I use it every day so it gets to stay on the counter) and the toaster, when I wanted to use the crockpot, etc. it was getting tight. Our morning routine is to make sandwiches for lunch while breakfast of waffles (I make them ahead and freeze because the littles have them EVERY morning) is made.  So, I moved my toaster to above my dishwasher, which I don’t use much unless I’m washing fruits and veggies along with my breadbox which keeps things out of the way for veggie washing. The breadbox, right next to the toaster has bread for sandwiches,  a knife and small cutting board (we make our own, so I need to slice it), bamboo tongs to take the waffles out, Nutella which is what the kids have on the waffles everyday and my Amish friendship bread starter.  In the morning, I open it up and when we’re off to school I close it and everything’s tucked inside. I think it’s working well.

First, clean off the stuff that belongs in other rooms. Put it in the dining room for now. If you have other family members, delegating putting this stuff where it belongs while you work on the kitchen is a good idea.

Next, wash down your counters and all walls/backsplashes around the counters (don’t worry about the sink yet). Soft Scrub is excellent for getting those juice stains up or those pesky hard spots off the counter.  Lift up those clean appliances and clean under them. Wipe off the phone (germ alert!) dust any wall knickknacks and consider whether you love them or if blessing someone else with them would make less work for you. When you wipe the walls, make sure that you are also washing the electrical outlets which tend to get fingerprints on them and the tops dusty. Wipe the bottoms of your upper cabinets if you didn’t earlier and wipe that little border piece of wood around the edges of the counter.  Declutter & wipe down any storage on the counters-pen holders (do you need 15 pens that don’t work on the counter?), fruit bowls, bread box, etc. Refill napkin holders, salt & pepper shakers, etc. or if they are almost empty, throw them through the dishwasher or wash by hand. 15-45 minutes.

Since we’re at a good stopping point, throw your rags in the wash and enjoy looking at clean counters. 

Preview for Day 2: More cleaning, primarily the stove, inside fridge and the sink and window area

Preview for Days 3 & 4: starting to go inside cabinets, drawers, pantry-cleaning and decluttering

Preview Day 5: Floor, baseboards, walls, outside of lower cabinets

Preview Day 6 (Week 2): Dining Room