Once Again...

Once again, this year, I finished my list only with Rich's help and use of the mercy clause! I felt rather unmotivated through most of the challenge; I had so many seemingly big things on the list! And time seemed to fly by (a week-long trip back home sure helped that time fly). For FHE one night, Rich decided the lesson would be about helping each other. He had me choose one thing from the list, and we worked on it together. My most daunting was the catch-all counter and drawers, but cleaning out the fridge was a very close second. Between the two of us, it took about 40 minutes; I can't imagine how long it would have taken by myself! But all shelves are now washed, walls in the fridge washed - it looks so new and clean! He also kept checking in with me on the items on my list. I did get those catch-all spaces cleaned - hurray! And instead of cleaning under the sink, I replaced that with having rearranged part of the cupboards when cleaning the dishes/pantry shelving in our kitchen.

Rich had his own list, too, which he worked on during the course of this challenge. We now have the second set of hooks for coats in the entryway, another picture hung and the entryway mirror moved! And the garage is uncluttered again!

So, once again, three cheers for a husband who gently pushes me onwards to the finish line...while working on his own spring cleaning list! And three cheers for the big stuff finally getting done!! The biggest relief for me is finally returning all of the loaned items to their rightful owners!

Book review

So if I were to host this challenge in a more formal setting, I'd make this book required reading. It's called "A Life that Says Welcome" by Karen Ehman.

I noticed a copy of it on my mother-in-law's counter this Christmas. It was all marked up and tagged. So a few weeks ago when I was really feeling the "creating home" itch I checked it out at the Shoreline (King county) library. I love this book! So much I need to work on (mostly attitude/pride/fears etc) and lots of encouragement.

It's nothing revolutionary, but poses some great questions to ask yourself about your attitude/heart and then provides great tips, recipes, and stories. She's christian and so her thesis is in a sense, "God has commanded us to be loving and hospitable. If we open our hearts then God will send people our way. So prepare yourself." She's a girl after my own heart, in that she talks a lot about inexpensive ways to do things, how to simplify, and just be very real with life. It made me excited about the kind of woman I hope to be in 15 to 20 years.

Favorite quote: "When there is room in your heart, there is room in your home."

So there you go. I just returned my copy to the library (the spl system doesn't have it, just king county). Let me know if you ever read it and what you think.

Last Day and Choosing our Reward

Well that was fast. Today is the last day friends. I have three things left on my list--stove, oven, and chalk on the back patio area. Good thing it's sunny; I'm motivated. How about you guys?

And now for the fun stuff: How do we want to play? Sorry I've been a bit of a slacker this year planning-wise. With all the baby/moving fun I haven't planned our "party" and I feel like we need to leave tomorrow open to anyone doing mother's day fun.

So, here are a few ideas.

A. Potluck lunch play-date at the Talbots, on a weather permitting day, 11:30 to 1:00 ish
B. Girl's night at Chocolati, 8:15 pm next Tuesday or another night
C. Other awesome idea?

Votes?

Even though this year a has been a little different from last year, the challenge has helped me feel a lot better about things that needed doing and I did them way before I had too (for our move). Thanks for doing it along with each other!

Mercy Clause

I think it was Kathryn's brilliant idea last year that we should have a "mercy clause" for this challenge. And since I'm definitely in need of it and maybe all y'all are too, let's do this: You may change any 5 items on your  list for 1) another project or 2) something you've already done during this month that wasn't on your list but totally could have been. For example, if you start organizing a desk and then moved on to a closet and conquered that too? But the closet wasn't on your list? Well, boom! Now you can get credit for it. Of course, you'll have to be honest with yourself about what counts for this switcheroo, but don't be a martyr.

Overdue post

So I feel bad because I haven't yet posted on the blog. I feel like I have so many things I was meaning to write and then never did and so now I'm behind and well...there you have it. I even started writing some posts but never published them.

At the beginning of the challenge I was really motivated by my master list of tasks. I happily did the task knowing that I could mark it off. Unfortunately now many of those tasks need to be re-done because life happens and now those spots are unorganized again. However, there have been some unexpected benefits of my list. The other day Aidan (my 3 year old) was having a melt down for some silly reason so I told him I was going in the garage until he calmed down. While I was in there taking my "time out" I remembered that organizing the tools is on my list. A little while later the crying stopped and the workbench was cleared. It felt so good to check something off my list during that intense moment. This 3 year old age can be exhausting!

I read the book "The Happiness project" awhile ago. Essentially the author focuses on a different area of her life(energy, family, friendships, creativity etc.) each month for a year and has specific tasks she does to try and improve these areas. and I enjoyed it as a jumping off place for my own "projects." One of the things I took away from the book was her idea of the 1 minute rule. Her rule that she tried for a month was that if a task took less than a minute she had to do it right away. It really is true that so many tasks take us less than a minute to do (put something back, pick up toys off the floor etc) and they really make the house look better and make us feel less cluttered.

This brings me to some of the tasks on my list which are to help me clear the clutter. It feels so good to go through a space and eliminate unnecessary items. I have a hard time letting go of things so this task is challenging for me. One Saturday we had a failed morning -> Driving to visit the tulips + car breaking down = unexpected time at home. David ran around the house with the boys while I tackled a few items on my list. Afterwards I kept thanking him for that gift of giving me that uninterrupted time. Since our car breaking down I have been really distracted by shopping for a new car. I kind of forgot about the list. Glad I still have a week left to check off those last items. Too bad they are the ones I was avoiding!

 

Good luck to you all!

Half done maybe and something about a cursed spot

I am sure it comes as no surprise to most of you that I am only about half done with most of my list. There is the big stuff and a few small things to do. I have been trying to chip away at the more visible stuff from the beginning. The windows I cleaned are now filthy again in the areas the kids can reach but I knew that would happen. Anywho I am going to try to do the more organizing based projects today and see what I can get through on this super sunny Cinco de Mayo Sunday. I should have put down to lay in the sun to clear my mental funkiness. Who knew we would have summery days in early May?!

Anyone have a good solution for carpet spots? I suspect it is dog urine. I have tried a solution of vinegar, dawn dishsoap. I have tried every cleaner I own but no dice. Grrrrr! It's not even fading much, it's just making the fibers of the carpet look scraggly from scrubbing at it.

Freak-outs and tender mercies

So of course it's getting close to the end and I still had about ten, maybe eleven things left on my list that needed to be finished, this is on the second of May. So I started to get freaked out because I was avoiding two things that I know will take a loooooooooooong time, along with all those other little, maybe not as long things on my list, yeesh. Anyway, that happened to coincide perfectly with the strep throat bacteria I apparently caught somewhere flaring up and knocking me off my feet. Great, just great. So I was pretty much laid out for the last two days, but lo and behold, my son has taken care of one of the things on my list! Which really he should be doing anyway (scratch off:Sort out Julian's desk space) but it's like ESP, his detail oriented personality, and all things positive were working to help calm me down so I didn't get too discouraged. He's been going through his mountain of stuff, and recycling, trashing and getting to the actual surface of his desk! Yay! Which really is a feat people. I wasn't kidding when I said mountain. If you've ever seen the boys room, they have a bunkbed and the desk is fitted under the end of the top bunk, and the designers closed it off from the other bed which lays perpendicular to the top, so there's basically a wood wall attached to the flat desk space. Long, poor description short, it means he (and I) can keep piling and piling and piling things on that desk until it's basically reached the heights of the top bunk...yeah. But he's done it, I can see his desk, really and truly, and all this without me asking him! Ah, sweet sweet tender mercies. And see, sometimes kids really do clean up without us having to ask them, amazing.

72 Hour Kits

I've determined that the purpose of my 72 hour kits are for the chance that I'll have to evacuate my house for a period of time, and possibly live out of a tent. Ironically, I don't own a tent. Perhaps I should buy one......and some sleeping bags to go with it. Do you ever feel like you are never prepared enough?

Alas, I've done 72 hour kits over and over again and this time I decided it was time to go a much simpler route

• Everything in there had to have an expiration of at least 12 months from the day I purchased it
• Our entire family's kit would be combined instead of three separate backpacks

What's Inside Small Rolling Suitcase:
Fruit Strips (3)---Dried Apple Slices (3)---Cup o' Noodles (3) ---Large Pineapple Juice (1)---Individual OJ's (3)---Beef Jerky packs (4)---Mountain House Dried Dinners (4)---Mountain House Dessert (1)---Trident Gum---2 liter water for cooking

My sister told me about Mountain House. She vouched for the value of the food as she's eaten it during hiking adventures. She clarifies it's not as good as it would be from your own kitchen, but it's good. I researched these a bit online and then found them at Winco! I haven't tasted one though. If I need them, I'm sure I'll happily eat them.

Benefits:

• 10 Year Shelf life
• Just add hot water into the the pouch
• Apx 2 Servings per package

I plan on picking up a few more during my next trip, and pretty soon I won't really have to check on my 72 hour kits as often! Honestly, the 72 Hour Kit box they have online doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. Of course, it's only their pouches. I'd probably still stick some snacky type foods into my other backpack.

Packed into the case and there's still room for more

What's Inside the Backpack
Toilet Paper---Garbage Bags (ponchos/rain protection/etc...)---Extra shirt and socks for each of us---Ziploc bag contains things like toothbrushes/floss/paste--feminine items---batteries---flashlight---plastic silverware---can opener---bandaids---hand sanitizer

I know there are many more things I can tuck into there, but for the time being the only additional things I plan to tuck away are:

• list of emergency contacts and personal info
• list of everything else that doesn't fit in the bag that we'd need to remember to grab. This includes:
• A couple cases of water bottles
• Extra Contacts/Glasses (probably should tuck some contact solution in there)
• Sleeping Bags/Tent ....oh wait

Checklist

For my own viewing pleasure--and so I can easily recall next time what I still have to do...ugh...here's the list of completed items.

File taxes

Cut coupons/clean coupon binder

Mop floors

Assemble 72 hour kits

Assemble first aid kit

Assemble car kit/extra glasses

Wash/Bleach whites

Wash walls

List amazon items

Shred papers

Write letters to till and N.G.

Remove license plate cover

Purchase wood for shelf

Return Laura's and Cory's books

Organize game closet

Vacuum my room

Dust bedrooms

Sweep garage

Remove window tape from glass

Wash mirror

Wipe down fridge

Clean off dresser top/pack frames away

Rearrange lamps

Clean out under bed

Scan Katyas letter

Kinda embarrassing that I still haven't vacuumed my room this entire time. It's amazing those little things that literally take a commercial break to do, keep going undone.

Less than 10 days left!

Well I've come down to the avoid-'em items on my list. Two are mostly done, I'm just lazy and don't want to wrap it up. Lost the momentum. The others I've just plain avoided. Like the oven. It's really not that hard. I even have a self-clean oven. Hello! Just turn the darn thing on and wipe out.

How about you guys? Going to finish by May 10th?

Random question for the group

This is probably going to sound rather personal and perhaps bizarre, but I'm curious if others have this same...issue?  I don't know how to categorize it.  You'll hopefully understand after I explain.

When I PMS, one of the things that suddenly irritates me more than usual is clutter.  Inevitably, one day during that lovely time of month, I feel completely overwhelmed, thinking my house is a complete disaster zone, I can't get a handle on keeping it clean and organized, and I either start trying to clean with a vengeance, or else I grump around and have to leave the house because I just can't stand to look at the mess any more (and most often, I don't clean - I grump, be super duper cranky, and leave).  And the thing that sets me off could be the toys G has scattered (again) all over the living room floor (that will only take a few minutes to pick up); the dishes piling up in and around the sink (that Rich is going to do); the clean bins of laundry that need to be sorted, folded, and ironed; the overflowing "inbox" of clutter that has spilled out all over the counter (that I haven't been bothered by the rest of the month); the pile of recycling in the latest box from Costco sitting next to our recycling bin (that's getting taken out next recycling day); the garage (that doesn't bug me as much usually); a few toys that have wandered into our bedroom (that I otherwise don't care about); my ever-tumultuous piles of fabric and associated quilting and sewing projects (that seem to be simultaneously eluding and taunting me, saying, "You'll NEVER have time to finish!"); the hanger on our dresser that has been sitting there for a month and I have yet to pick up and stick in the closet...

You get the picture?  Any spot of mess suddenly becomes this enormous thing that makes me feel like a failure at being a housekeeper.  It's the thing that I get super cranky about when PMS hits (okay, in addition to other things, but it seems like one day, I just cannot take any bit of mess in my house any more and want to throw everything away so I never have to deal with it ever again).

Thankfully, once the PMS crescendo has passed, I'm not so overwhelmed.  Things may bug me, but they won't completely set me off.  Anyone else?

A Reply to Angela: Style

I've been writing this as a comment to Angela's original post on style and realized it was getting long, so I thought I'd make it its own post.

I'm pretty horrible at interior decoration - that's more Rich's territory.  I get these ideas, and I try to implement them, but, more often than not, it ends up looking....well....like I didn't quite complete a train of thought.  Example:  last year, I thought making a bright summer quilt and matching throw pillow would help lighten the living room full of black shelves full of games and the super old futon with the blue mattress cover.  Result:  awesome looking orange-color-themed quilt and throw pillow that just kind of looks randomly tossed onto the blue futon.  I don't know why I seemed to think if the quilt and pillow were bright orange, the blue would naturally look orange, and the room would magically look open and airy like those photos in the Ikea or Room & Board catalogs?

When it comes to home atmosphere, though, that's where I spend a lot of thought and worry.  I want my home to feel welcoming.  To me, that means having things that can get scratched a bit, maybe dinged up a bit, without worrying too much about them.  I actually traded in my first car (a shiny, bells and whistle-loaded 2-door Honda Accord) after owning it only about 6 months in part because I was so worried driving it every day that I was going to get a scratch or a dent somewhere on the inside or outside.  I got my XTerra because I felt like if it got scratched or dinged, I wouldn't feel so badly about it.  I guess I care less about form than I do about function.  Here's kind of my personal scale of things (the "<" meaning less than):

Form < Function
Trendy < Useful
Pretty < Comfortable
Cluttered < Uncluttered/Organized
Design < Atmosphere

In my dream home, there are 0 vertical surfaces to let things accumulate; that's probably impossible, but I try to have a place for everything and everything in its place.  Some days, I try harder than others.

My hope is that when our family is older, with teens especially, that our children will like inviting their friends over, and that their friends will enjoy being in our home.  I want people to feel welcome, at ease, able to relax and kick back, and to not worry about keeping everything "just so."  I think that's in part because my parents' house was very formal: white couch, white walls, white carpet, white upholstered dining chairs, gorgeous cherry formal dining table...covered with a white plastic table protector that was removed maybe twice that I can remember, and cherry furniture.  Even visiting now, I am so careful not to make a mess anywhere!  My parents also have a very dysfunctional relationship, which adds to the tense atmosphere.  Whenever I imagined my future home's atmosphere as a youth, I dreamt of it being comfy and cozy, open and inviting, welcoming and homey.

So, I guess I care more about the way the place feels than I do about how it looks design-wise.  I guess that's good, since design-wise, I struggle!  Thank goodness I married a man with a better sense for design than I have!

Style

Ok so this isn't really "cleaning" related, more like home related, but I've been thinking a ton about what kind of home I want, you know the look and feel of my home. It happens 1-2 times a year that I get this interior design bug and want to throw out everything we have and start over or drag all the furniture out and figure out how to refinish it or sew all new curtains and pillows, and so on. Anyone else?

Last summer during a similar phase I took an online quiz to find out "my style" and it came up with "country french" with some "shabby chic." I'm such a language nerd, but it was so fun to have a label for my  supposed style. Of course, my home doesn't look anything like a french cottage, but I hope someday it will. I guess I just love antiques but ones that are still functional. I also love open space but I'm not really a minimalist. I like books, and tea cups, and blankets too much.

So that's the theory. Now what? I don't really have a good interior design intuition. I guess it'll eventually grow right? And with this next move we're going to get rid of lots of our old, worn-out furniture to upgrade. Yay! We count ourselves very lucky that the only things we've purchased (furniture-wise) is our floor lamp and that super comfortable (but fairly ugly) rocking chair (from craigslist). We've been so blessed. When we got married we lucked out because my grandparents were switching up their bedroom set and gave us a super new and nice bed. We inherited the couch my parents bought when I was 4 and I have that desk and dresser from my great-grandma. And the list goes on. Since we've moved a bunch and been in school this whole time, we've loved our free stuff. And I'll be keeping the antique stuff and hopefully fix them up this summer and fall. There's this old WWI trunk from my great-grandpa that I can't wait to do something with.

But I'm rambling. So what about you guys? Have you put together your homes with an overall vision in mind? Do you have a set "style"? What's important to you about your home?

And then how much does it all mater anyway? In my mind here's my priority list to a home that people (esp my own family) want to be in:

1. Be a welcoming person/family
2. Have good food around
3. Be decently clean
4. Be well put together (the interior design part)

Thoughts????

Progress!

I'm feeling good about this challenge, so far!  Interestingly, some of the events that have been taking place around our home have lent themselves quite nicely to getting things crossed off my list.  There have been other things that, as I wrote them down, seemed so ridiculously silly to be including that I thought, "Hm, it REALLY won't be that hard, why do I keep putting it off?" 

For example, G was playing in his room the other day, and I looked at the game of Risk that we picked up at a thrift store two years ago that somehow ended up in one of his shelves in his room and that I have continually examined, thinking, "You know, that really should go with the rest of the games downstairs."  But to actually PICK IT UP (note: nothing of consequence has been on TOP of the game, so as to make it even remotely strenuous of a chore to TAKE IT OUT OF THE SHELF) has eluded me for some reason.  So, as I was rocking in the chair in his room (or gliding; it IS a glider, after all), I suddenly got angry at myself for staring at the game again, doing nothing, and decided to just move it once and for all.

5 seconds later, the game was in its rightful place.

Two years, and 5 seconds later.

Honestly.

Then I went back up, and with all of his toys already out of bins (and getting thrown out of bins), I started reorganizing them.  I consolidated his Tinker Toys from two tins to just one, found places for the other miscellaneous items floating around the shelves, and have TWO cubes in his shelf that are open.  TWO.  I just need to take the basket o' books, tuck them in one cube, get his chair from the living room to his room, and, voila, reading corner is done.

I just hope I don't take another 20 days to move that chair.

Then there was going through his clothes.  We were packing for a quick trip to the grandparents', and we actually started packing the night before instead of the morning of, so I pulled out the bins with clothes and went through them.  Voila!  Clothes have now been sorted, and all that's left are things that fit (or will once I get his two little belts made, since my child has no waistline or bum to help hold his pants up).

Sadly, I can't cross either of those things completely off my list, since I now need to put the too-small clothes in a bin in the attic, but at least I'm feeling like I'm making progress!  And the play kitchen is fixed, and all the little dishes are getting through the dishwasher in segments (as a new load is put in, I take some dishes and add them to the load).  Again, not something I can cross off, but it's getting there!

It feels so good to be getting things accomplished instead of having things sit there on lists in my mind.  So, I guess if I use the cross-off feature Diana used, my items would look like this:

* Clean the toys and dishes for the play kitchen and put in a basket/bin for better containment and access. Reattach back leg and front door to the kitchen.
*Clean out the sippy cup drawer and take defunct ones to DI (or just toss them if they're missing
parts)
*Create G's reading corner in his room (move chair, organize books).Reorganize the toy/diaper/book shelving in G's room (find a place for the one Risk game taking
space). If needed, get extra drawers to use in the shelf.
*Organize G's clothes; put all smaller clothes in storage.
*Reorganize music corner and take music back to rightful owner. Includes sleeving all printed
music and putting in binders.
*Reorganize the bins of fabric and projects. Finish any projects that don't require much effort (like fixing a seam, etc.).  [Addendum: start projects that are smallish in scale. {Lame addendum, since it doesn't necessarily lend itself to cleaning, per se, but at least I'm feeling like I just need to get projects going instead of having this lovely fabric sit there staring at me!}][Also, the sentence about finishing projects is purposefully not all cross out because I've started with them all, but still have a few left.]

Hurray for progress!

Feel good cleaning

So I just rediscovered something that makes my heart happy: rubbed down stainless steel. It's been a long while since I've actually dried and rubbed my faucet after washing it. Now it shines and makes me happy. Like wiping out the bottom shelf in the fridge. Anyone else? What are other feel-good mini-cleaning projects?

Also, I wanted to request "cleaning philosophy" posts from those who didn't do this last year, or even if you've changed a bit over the last year. It's always loads of fun to see inside others' cleaning heads. So Cody? Amy? Sonya? Lora? What's your approach to housekeeping?

Getting started

Starting is not so difficult for me, it's the finishing I am forever having trouble with. Keeping that in mind I have decided to start as many of my projects as possible and see if it feels like a little less of a chore if I tackle it for just the amount of time I am excited about it. I have half my windows cleaned, and I have narrowed down the items from the freezer I would like to dump in the yard Waste bin next trash day.  I greatly fear projects like tackling the mess in my room so if anyone would like to keep me company while I embark on that nightmare of a journey I would be ever so greatful. So I guess it's not going that great...

Fabric and Grumpy Rain

Does the rain suck the life out of anyone else's cleaning mojo? You'd think being stuck inside makes me want to clean it, but no, I just get grumpy. And the garbage stays at the back door. I love being able to take the garbage and dirty diapers out to the bins, when it's dry and I can do so in bare feet. Anyone else?

Ok, done complaining. I keep thinking: Soon I'm going to live in a desert and never get to enjoy the moist air, green everything, and rain.

But I really came to post a link for all those of us who have fabric isssues. My sister-in-law on the paulsen side is a fabulous seamstress and has a blog--she's not a hard core blogger, but has some good stuff. Anyway, it just so happens that she's doing a "stash busting" series with ideas to use up all those fabric scraps. I've learned two things from it: 1) I should do the project notebook idea for all those projects I've in my mind associated with scraps and 2) I feel much better about my amount of fabric when looking at how much some of these ladies have. That said, most of my stuff is junk. I may need to re-do what I've done.

Well, happy rainy thursday to you all.

Crossing off my list!

I finally emailed my list to Angela--well, I actually did a long time ago but I don't think she realized she spelled her own name wrong in her email address (nah, I'm sure you were being creatively original). But now, some other AngelaAllen in the world knows my to do list this month. ;)

My list didn't turn out to be a compilation of cleaning so much as a list of things I've been putting off for far too long. I have coupons in my binder that expired 2 months ago. I have been meaning to get my 72 hour kit put back together again for months! And, those books I borrowed a year ago--yes, it's time to return them to my friends.

But for now I'll celebrate by using bloggers awesome cross-it-out feature  on the things I've already done!

File taxes 

Wash/Bleach whites 

Purchase wood for shelf 

Sweep garage 

Ooops

Well that was one way to go about it:

 The first item on my list was the toaster, you know to clean it. Instead I was clumsy and spilled wax in it. After two days of trying to clean and burn of the wax (and eating vanilla smoked flavored toast) I gave in and trashed it. Lucky we have a spare toaster saved from our wedding gift stash. I knew there was a reason to move that little box around with us for the last 5 years :)

Two things:

1) If you'd like email notification of comments and posts email me. There's only room to add 10 on that, so first ten to reply get it.

2) If your picture isn't up on the sidebar, will you email me one so we can see your lovely face?

Thanks!

Hooray for another round!

I'm so glad all y'all want to do this again. Like Z said, last's years challenge has actually had long-lasting effects and I still find myself thinking about funny or useful things mentioned last year. I laugh when I look at that small pile of clothes by my bed and remember Kathryn's suggestion to cut off the front two legs of a chair and then attach the back of the chair to the wall, you know as a place for those clothes that's built into the design of your room.

I must say though I'm in a much better place this year, house-keeping wise. I don't know if it's that I'm better it, have more sleep in my reserve bank, or just think I'm awesome, but I feel pretty good about our home these days. Not that it's extremely clean or tidy, but just better. Anyone else there? Or maybe this is an off-year instead?

One of the best things that's developed this year is this:

We now actually do Saturday chores every week right after breakfast. The kids expect it and usually are enthusiastic (Wally likes to cross-off the boxes; he's his mother's son). Mostly this means Justin and I clean and the kids play around us, but they're getting better at picking up under and behind their bed so we can sweep and vacuum. They love the spray bottles for mopping (an idea stolen from someone last year!) and are ok at wiping things down. 

That said, I desperately need this challenge and the chit-chat around it. So here's to round 2!

The Lists

I remember Diana reading through everyone's lists last year and then posting about them and what she'd learned.  I felt like I was channeling my inner Diana while I read through this year's lists.

I've learned I'm not alone in my need to clean up my fabric/crafting corner.  I should maybe employ Rich in insisting I use at least 75% of my current fabric collection before buying anything more.  At least the yarn organization from last year is still intact (and came in handy when I needed to find exact colors of yarn to match the rainbow colors used in a quilt this year!).  Hurray for long-term organization impact!

I remember having "make the bed daily" on my list last year.  Thanks to a full month of making the bed daily because of this challenge, I have missed only a handful of days of not making the bed since then!  Sadly, today was one of those days, but it's been SO nice having the bed made mostly every day.

We should have a dedicated "cleaning the fridge" day for the number of us with that on our lists this year!  Anyone else planning a major leftovers night/week around that?

I'm so glad to be in the challenge again!  I LOVED this challenge last year, and it had some lasting effects.  I'm excited to learn from you all, and learn more about you, too!

The continual journey of "stuff" around my home

Does anybody else feel that as they clean one specified area that was cluttered, most of the stuff is moved to other areas that are also cluttered, waiting to be organized? I've been feeling like I'm just moving stuff around, until it will all be in that one last spot that's overwhelmingly stacked high with miscellaneous things that just seems too daunting to even try to attempt to clean. Anyone else get that feeling? On that note, who wants free stuff?!?! I have bibs, tons of bibs that are going to goodwill soon, and a maroon tablecloth that's oblong in shape 52" x 70". Yours if you'd use them!