A LITTLE SPRING CLEANING

We can't do a whole house overhaul because we are getting ready for Princess's birthday party on Saturday.  But I did want to get a few things cleaned out as we were prepping for the birthday party.  Cleaning out behind the downstairs entertainment center led to a purge and organization of videos.  I did this last summer but it was time to do it again.  We started last night and finally finished around lunch time.

THE BOY'S ROOM

I don't know if this is the norm but it is for my boys. Their room is stinky, messy and 90% of the time needs to be overhauled. I try to keep up and make it an easier place to stay nice but I feel like I'm usually fighting a losing battle. Today I suddenly became infused with a jolt of energy. I am once again attempting to get their room under control. It may be a battle I lose but I'm determined to win the war! Lol! 

We were going to work on moving the cubbies to make room for Bugsy's desk.  His desk has been in the family room but it's always covered in stuff so he can't use it.  Now my desk is in it's place so his needs a new home.  Thus the project begins...........

This mattress sat behind the wire cubbies.  Now it needs a new home.

The closet floor was completely cleaned out.  

Yes, I am a mean mom as I make my kids do the bulk of the work.  After all it is THEIR mess, right?

Peek-a-boo!

Bugsy cleaning out under the beds. (For the 15th time.)

Elvis makes sure the bins hold what they are supposed to hold and ONLY what they are labeled for.

Showing off the clean closet.

Poor Boo. 

How come the mess ALWAYS gets bigger before it gets completed?  Do you find that happens to you too?

TO BE CONTINUED.......................

NEXT, PLEASE!

Now that we have conquered the office/schoolroom it is time to move on to another room in the house. I can't take the clutter, dirt & disorganization any longer. In order to enjoy my summer & stay somewhat sane when school starts again I must get this done. I let Sweet Pea choose the room. The Family Room was her choice & so the work began!

First we cleared off all the shelves on this side of the room.

Little by little.......

Then we started moving the shelves away from the wall in order to retrieve all those pesky things that like to hide underneath.

Yep, there was a lot!

Smile!

We moved the other 2 shelves.

Lo and behold, more junk!

Busy bees.

Princess needed a rest.  She saw the cleared shelves as the perfect bed.  Zzzzzzzzz...........

Who needs expensive bunk beds, right?

Snug as a bug in her new perch.

More pics to come!

Family Room

Today was the toughest day yet. Not only were we tackling one of the hardest rooms but we were low on energy. I'm proud to say we set a goal & pushed through. The girls & Elvis even made some headway on the boys' room. Here's some more pictures!

The boys' room before.

I'll post after pics when it's done.

Hopefully this weekend!

The Family Room

(See my previous post for 'Before' pics)

Dusted, vacuumed under & behind, purged & organized.

These shelves are cleaned & organized from top to bottom. Even the tippy top has been sorted through & dusted. To top it off I shelved all the books by subject or theme.

Progress in the boys' room.

Nice & neat!

The stuff on the table is going back to their homes in the office. =)

Such a great feeling!

(The tub is stuff that is going.)

I'm proud of my Clean Team!

Day #4 ~ Clean Team Hits the Family Room

Today was Day #4. I overslept. I am feeling the wear & tear of this week on my body. The kids were tired today too but we plugged on.

First we moved all of the sectional couch. The kids picked up all the junk that had accumulated both under & in the couch while I vacuumed. We then shoved it all back in place & worked on cleaning up the rest of the floor.

Chaos!

I worked on the bookshelves over by the television, put all the videos away & then came over to work on these shelves. We now have a tub of books for the yard sale. I think this is pretty good considering I purged before we moved.

Elvis helped to sort the books into 3 categories - science, history & fun reading.


Bugs helped pick up trash & a few toys. Then it was time for a movie break.

Boo worked with Elvis sorting. She then shelved the books acccording to those categories.

Tonight we worked on sorting out the various bins & tubs. They have all sorts of stuff in them that doesn't belong so this took some time. About 3 hours to be exact. We even dragged out the big tubs from the boys closet. Several months ago I worked really hard sorting everything, cleaning out & labeling in their room. It is helping during this clean up. I also vacuumed under all the white shelves and found a lot under there, washed up toys, and tossed lots of garbage. Dave helped sort some stuff too.

I finished sorting out the books, organizing them & stacked them on the freshly cleaned shelves. You can also see some of the newly sorted toys snug in their bins.

The shelves, desk & T.V. have all been cleaned & dusted. I even have an empty shelf! Well, for now anyway. Lol!

Now all the videos fit in here with room to spare!

Sweet Pea worked hard too. She took all the pictures today which is why you don't see her in them. =0)

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We hope to finish this room tomorrow. I still need to organize the books on the other shelves, clean off the tops of the shelves and go through the toys. We may try to squeeze in the dreaded boy's room. It's a jungle in there!

Kinda Dragging On Day #3

Day #3 got off to a slow start. We were all tired & it was hard to get motivated. But eventually we got started. The first task was to finish the kitchen & laundry room/pantry. Some scrubbing still needed to be done as well as finishing under the sink, a couple of drawers & the dish cabinets. Sweet Pea also worked on the downstairs bathroom giving it a good scrub & tidying the drawers, under the sink & the little closet.

Bailey keeps his eye on Sweet Pea making certain she didn't miss any spots. Lol!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Before a jumbled mess. Now nice & orderly.

BEFORE

AFTER

Dave agreed to block off this cabinet from the sink. Right now it is wide open & I dislike that. I am looking forward to it getting it's own defined space.

FOOD PANTRY BEFORE

AFTER

I had it organized before as to what shelf held what items but of course with everyone in it every day it needed to be washed down & straightened up. I like having a shelf for my large, dry & canned baking ingredients, one for my bulk items, another for breakfast foods, one for chips & bread & another for smaller baking ingredients & baking decor.

These drawers are now clean, neat & tidy too!

Fresh produce

The peppers, watermelon & cantaloupe are all from the Farmer's Market. The zucchinis are from our own garden.

I cut up 5 of the peppers for freezing.

The last one I cut up and put out on the table for snacking.

Sweet Pea helped me peel & shred the 6 zucchinis. We measured it out and froze the shredded zucchini in freezer bags. I think Sweet Pea kept some out to bake with this week too.

Dave cut up the cantaloupe & watermelon for dessert tonight. He also added blueberries we bought at the F.M. on Tuesday. Oh, so yummy!

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Tomorrow the goals are Princess's room & the Family Room. The latter may take more than a day. Yep. It's that bad. Come back tomorrow for more pics! =)