The Home Maintenance Challenge - Page 2

[naturallia]

Wow, great ideas. I'll add these to my to-do list! Keep them coming.

[pilesoflaundry]

I cleaned out my closet and my dds' closet. I need to do ds's.

Now if only my dh would clean out his. He is another one of the husbands with too much! He has more clothing than anyone in the house, stuff that has the tags on it he bought years ago. He wears uniforms 5 days a week, no idea why he has so much clothing!

[CandyApple]

I did our medicine cabinets last night, and hung quotes I love on the boring inside door to make me smile in the morning. Now all thats left is the mirrors around the house, (dh even did the shower/tub for me yesterday, which he usually does, just not always as soon as I'd like!)

[phroggies]

Although I'm not keeping up with this as well as I'd like, I just wanted to check in and say that this is sooooo helpful for me. The weekly aspect of the challenge fits my schedule so much better than systems that have daily tasks (like flylady), and the writing down of the contents of the areas you're decluttering has been downright revelatory. One thing I've been doing that others may or may not find helpful is putting the date of the decluttering on the list of what goes in the cupboard, etc. I've been putting the lists on 3x5 cards and taping them inside the doors. This way I can check the last time I cleaned stuff out. At least in theory.

[greenmansions]

Originally Posted by CandyApple

I did our medicine cabinets last night, and hung quotes I love on the boring inside door to make me smile in the morning. ...

I LOVE that idea of the quotes! Too bad we do not have medicine cabs, only mirrors on the wall.

subbing to this thread, I need a good kick in the butt to get moving on cleaning out my house. Somehow the kids get the better of me and things are really getting out of hand...it's embarrassing now to have anyone over.

[momaste]

We're putting in a medicine cabinet with our bathroom redo. I think I'll put quotes inside the door! Nice idea!

I went through my products and reduced by about 1/4. I did it about a month back and got rid of half, though, so another 1/4 feels pretty drastic! Also, I moved my lipsticks from their tubes into unused pill boxes, which take a lot less space in the cabinet.

[momaste]

New Week, New Challenge!

Week 5: Utility – Oct. 29-Nov. 4
4 Small Challenges
1. Windex all the mirrors in your house.
2. Test loose batteries and recycle those that don't work. Give the ones that work a home and put new batteries there when they come into the house.
3. Check the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries and replace as needed. Install a carbon monoxide detector if you don't already have one.
4. Dust light fixtures (including light bulbs), ceiling fans, air vents, etc. Vacuum the floor.

2 Big Challenges
1. Clean your car, including the glove box, under the seats, and the trunk. Dust the dashboard, Windex the windshield, and vacuum the upholstery.
2. Organize your sporting equipment. Toss or donate what you no longer use. Clean what you're keeping and give it proper storage.

[phroggies]

Originally Posted by momaste

Clean your car, including the glove box, under the seats, and the trunk. Dust the dashboard, Windex the windshield, and vacuum the upholstery.

Oof. This hits me where it hurts. Last week I was preening about how decluttered my bathroom areas were before I even decluttered, and then I got in the car and thought, "urg. this is bad."

[momaste]

Okay, I took a few "after" bathroom pictures. I didn't take any before. It wasn't nearly so neat!!
Shelf above the toilet

The Counter
(We're replacing our bathroom, so there is no mirror above the sink, and below the sink on either side are the slate tiles that will be the floor and shower surround. We'll be getting a new-to-us vanity since this one is REALLY short.)

[CandyApple]

Looks great -- Thanks for sharing. I'll try to take a few soon and post.

So far this week, I've gotten the car done (its was warm enough to play outside yesterday), but am dreading the sports equipment. Was amazed how quickly the light fixtures and fans went, its something I avoid, but it was easier than I thought.

Thanks so much for doing this, its helping me stay sane this fall...

[momaste]

Cleaning light fixtures actually improves their energy savings, an added bonus to neatness!

So far this week, I've dusted the ceiling fan and lighting fixtures, cleaned the car, and DH installed new smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector.

[momaste]

Every Week:
• Before each decluttering project, without looking, sit down and write down what is SUPPOSED to be in that drawer/cabinet/shelf.
• Add items that you’re keeping and new things you’ve bought to your inventory
• Get rid of at least one box of STUFF (toss, recycle, or donate)
• Post before and after pictures!

Week 6: Kitchen – Nov. 5-11
4 Small Challenges
1. Organize your flatware drawer and wipe out the drawer divider (or get one if you don't have one.) Reunite all the forks for a family reunion.
2. Refill salt and pepper shakers.
3. Get rid of any pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or small appliances that are duplicates, in bad shape, broken, or that you just don’t use.
4. Wipe down the fronts of all of your appliances.

2 Big Challenges
1. Clean your stove and oven. Include the knobs, racks, and the filter hood over the stove.
2. Organize your pantry goods.

[ashleyhaugh]

oooh, i wanna play

this should help me alot

[CandyApple]

• Post before and after pictures!
I've finally got some pictures to post No before, but a few afters.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...2AZNm7lqzZsWIF


The first are of our tiny bathroom cabinets. The room is so small I do all make-up/hair in our bedroom and the towel and first aid storage is in the linen closet (also decluttered, kinda!)

The rest are of our kitchen cupboards where the food is stored. I had already worked on these Saturday (thanks to the inspiration on this board in other threads), but I'm still working on weeding through all our dishes/appliences. Anyone know of another place that has the gravity can things? The ones from the container store are too tall for any of my shelves?

I'm hoping to get back to the batteries and smoke detecter challenges from last week, I put them off cuz they're both in another cluttered cupboard in our mudroom that was just too intimidating.

Anyone else?

[greenmansions]

I did the flatware drawer yesterday while dd was asleep on a carrier on my back, and DS was napping in the other room. It looks all nice and orderly for now.

Everything is "reunited" tho I found I am missing a salad fork. That is driving me crazy!!! Where could it be? A spoon I could see being lost, since sometimes I let the kids play with them and they "wander". But a fork?

Any suggestions to keep the divider thingy from sliding to the back of the drawer all the time? I don't want to use those squishy/rubbery drawer liners because they are PVC.

[momaste]

Looking great!

[momaste]

Week 7: Living Room – Nov. 12-18
4 Small Challenges
1. Corral your cords. Wind up the slack and secure them with a special gizmo, rubber bands, or NyTies. Label them so you can replace them correctly if they become unplugged in a cleaning frenzy. Unplug anything that's not in use.
2. Pare down your knicknack collection. Keep only the ones you truly love; dust them and replace neatly. Donate the ones you don't care about.
2. Collect loose change from couch.
3. Clean the telephone.

2 Big Challenges
1. Sweep cobwebs out of the corners. Dust thoroughly from top to bottom, including all electronics, light fixtures, ceiling fans, air vents, etc. Vacuum the upholstery and floor.
2. Declutter a hot spot, shelf, or cabinet.

[CandyApple]

I hope you don't mind, I'm going to keep checking your blog for weekly challenges. This is really helping me feel like I have some control over more than just the daily stuff, and I'm amazed at the results. Please don't think I'm a stalker!

Thanks momaste!
Amanda