Spring Cleaning Day 4

I know that everyone has an off day or two, but I am really really REALLY bad about this whole spring cleaning thing. It seems like stuff keeps getting in the way of actually doing anything and then in the way of actually posting about it.

In my defense though, I have two young kids that like to "help" and a close friend just had her baby today after 3 weeks of fake outs. I know those are just excuses, but I thought they were pretty good ones!

Anyway, here's a recap of what I've done so far:
    •    Clean the cabinets faces
    •    Clean the stove hood filter
    •    Clean under the high chairs
    •    Clean the fridge water dispenser
    •    Clean the garbage disposal
    •    Steam mop the floor
    •    Clean the ceiling fans in 2 bedrooms
    •    Clean the baseboards in the kitchen and dining room

• Clean out the pantry and wipe the shelves
• Clean out/organize the cabinets in the kitchen and wipe the shelves/drawers
• Clean out/organize the freezer
• Clean out/organize the fridge

I don't know why the bullets won't match up. That annoys me too!

Now, here's what I was able to accomplish this weekend to add to the list:

• Cleaned/organized the tops of the dressers in the master bedroom. These tend to be junk catch-alls for my husband and I, so they were pretty piled up with receipts, ticket stubs, change and about 500 tubes of chap stick.
• Cleaned the bathrooms, which means mirrors, tubs, toielets, floors, etc. I went through the medicine cabinet and threw out all of the expired medicines and I also went through my extra supplies to donate anything that was unopened and probably not in risk of being used anytime soon (or ever). I threw a little vinegar and baking soda down the drains to keep them clear as well.
• Did some spring cleaning outside. We picked up old brush/debris from storms and burned it, then used some leftover lumber to create a raised bed frame for strawberries and herbs around our back deck. I need to have dirt brought in to fill it, but it's a good start! The outside stuff we got done in a day.

Today, I made a list of everything that I would like to get done for my "spring cleaning" so I can easily reference it. I find that when I get in the mood to clean, I can't think of a good place to start, then I get overwhelmed and the ambition slowly trickles away. We'll see if the list helps! I organized it by room, so I can focus on completing one room at a time.

Spring Cleaning Day 3

So I haven't gotten much done the last couple of days. I had to take my youngest to the doctor today while it snowed, do a little grocery shopping and run other errands. On top of that, I have been getting quite a few writing orders, which has left little time to do more than the standard day-to-day cleaning.

Anyway, I did manage to sneak in a little Spring Cleaning this morning so I can at least say that I'm "caught up"... mostly. I basically did my list from the other day, minus a couple of items.

Here's what I did:

• Clean out the pantry and wipe the shelves
• Clean out/organize the cabinets in the kitchen and wipe the shelves/drawers
• Clean out/organize the freezer
• Clean out/organize the fridge

Cleaning the fridge and freezer turned out to be larger projects than I had anticipated. The freezer was almost impossible to clean without removing shelves and letting them warm up first. My fridge and freezer weren't horribly gross, it just took longer than I thought it would to really go through everything, look at expiration dates and take the shelves out to wash. No big deal, but when you're short on time everything adds up.

So, in the spirit of keeping this brief and giving myself some much needed time today to get a little work done, I'll be off. I don't have another list of things to tackle, so we'll have to wing it tomorrow.

Spring Cleaning - Day 2

Tomorrow is the first official day of Spring and mother nature is sure sending winter out with a bang. She's delivering us here in the Northeast one final winter storm complete with snow, rain, ice and cool temperatures. Lovely.

The foul weather always makes me less eager to clean, so today will be a challenge. I thought it might be useful to post my goals before I tackle them to give myself the inspiration I need to continue...

Without further adieu, here's what I *hope* to get done today:

• Clean out the pantry and wipe the shelves
• Clean out/organize the cabinets in the kitchen and wipe the shelves/drawers. Wash the utensil tray in the dish washer. Wash kitchen towels that need washing along with the kitchen curtains.
• Clean out/organize the freezer
• Clean out/organize the fridge

While looking at the kitchen I also decided that I need a cork board for the kids' artwork somewhere, though that may potentially land in the hallway since my kitchen is small and one wall is taken up with a window.

 In case you missed yesterday's post, here's what a more ambitious version of myself was able to tackle:
    •    Clean the cabinets faces
    •    Clean the stove hood filter
    •    Clean under the high chairs
    •    Clean the fridge water dispenser
    •    Clean the garbage disposal
    •    Steam mop the floor
    •    Clean the ceiling fans in 2 bedrooms
    •    Clean the baseboards in the kitchen and dining room

You can find yesterday's post here.