31 Days to Clean~ Day 19

Today's Challenge~ Clean ceiling fans

When we moved here, we had one ceiling fan...in the living room. Over the last year or so, we added 3 more. I just love having a way of circulating air especially when the house gets hot in the summer time. We put one in the kitchen over the table, one in our bedroom and one in Tamara's bedroom. Someday we would like to put one in Danny's room, too, but it will have to be one of the smallest fans available because of where his light fixture is. We found the others on clearance at Lowes and Walmart, so maybe one day we can find one more. :)

I cannot believe how dusty fans get. I don't know if it was in part due to our old AC unit we had. About 2 months ago we got a new unit installed, and I haven't cleaned the fans since, so I'm wondering if we will see a difference. I guess time will tell.

The kitchen fan....

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Our bedroom fan...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I didn't get Tamara's fan cleaned yet. We were "kidsitting" yesterday and they were playing in her room. I didn't want to shower them with dust!! :)

I am again taking a break with my 31 days till next Monday and I will pick up where I left off.

The reason....I unexpectedly was able to get tomato's yesterday, so today I am canning salsa and I also have to bake pies and some other things for the GEMS Benefit Auction on Saturday. We are leaving early Friday morning to set up for the auction and will be spending the night in Tallahassee, so everything has to be done by tomorrow night! 

See ya Monday~ :)

31 Days Hiatus~

 I am taking a brief break from my 31 Days .....

 Yesterday we did some catch up work on school, I had prison Bible studies to grade and another "secret" project to work on. I also have to clean church yet this week, make food for Pastor Appreciation supper tomorrow night, and get my house ready for guests Saturday night.

 I think I am allowed to take a break, right? :)

 I am still not done going through a stack of "stuff" that got pulled from my big closet, and I really need to wrap that project up!! That will be my goal for today, along with grocery shopping and washing clothes.

I have more updates to do on here, too....some school projects, a trip to South GA, and a field trip to Tallahassee, where the above quilt pics were taken. :)

See ya later~

31 Days to Clean ~Day 13

Today's Challenge was the straighten and organize the kids toys. This was the area I had in mind....the shelves in Tamara's room.

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

We got a box full of things for yard sale and a bag of trash!! :)

31 Days to Clean ~Day 12

Today's Challenge~ Organizing Entertainment Center

This was a quick easy job. You won't see a big difference. 

The bottom cupboard had bunches of old tapes that were just thrown in there and the bottom drawer had some things that needed to be thrown out....an empty pack of batteries, an old remote, and some DVD's that never did have cases. 

BEFORE:

Dan had to buy a DVD series for school and to take up less space, he put them in sleeves, so we saved a bunch of the empty cases to replace broken ones. They also came in handy to store some homeless DVD's! :)

AFTER:

The top...

BEFORE: (this is mild)

And AFTER:

 Also, this week's challenge on Women Living Well for "Making Your Home a Haven" is to create family nights. 

This is a harder one for our family since Dan usually has to do his school work in the evenings. 

But, tonight he and Danny are watching football in between studies and I made fresh, hot Chocolate Chip cookies and choc. milk for us. 

So, I guess my challenge is to plan some fun evenings this week...I can do that! :)

Oh, we do have a Netflix movie waiting to be watched....the Grace Card!

 I was telling my sister this weekend, that my "picture-perfect" evening would be ~ Everyone sitting around snuggled under blankets, reading and sipping on some hot drink while soft music is playing and candles are flickering and making the house smell wonderful! :)

OR

sitting out by a campfire roasting marshmallows and enjoying the night sounds (MMM...the smell of woodsmoke)....I think we need to find a place to get some fire wood!! :)

But those are MY KIND of fun evenings, not necessarily the kids! :)

I really liked this quote off the WLW website~

"A wise mother knows how to have fun and how to be tender. She knows the healing touch of her hands. (Jesus used his hands to touch and heal many). There is power in the gentle expressions of love through warm embraces, cuddles and back rubs. God made backs with nerve endings that simply enjoy a rub!"

31 Days to Clean~ Day 11

Continuing on......

I don't have any pictures for today, but I will tell you that I filled 2 kitchen size garbage bags and am on the 3rd, and also filled a box with trash too!! :O My dear hubby added to the bags with some of his papers!! :)

I just have to brag on my man a little! He just finished another class for school and his final average for that class was 99.6% !! He did SO good.....even with all the stress at church and his job! :) I admire him!! :)

I also hit the grocery store today and am planning what food I am taking along this weekend. We are going to spend a few days with my favorite southern sister!! :) Cannot wait!

Oh, and Friday will be another OFF day for my cleaning....we have a field trip with the homeschool group.

Maybe I can get some pics tomorrow!?? The exterminator is coming in the morning and then I get to have coffee with a dear friend after lunch!! <3 I also need to wash clothes and do some baking! :P So, I think I shall head for bed, so I can have a clear mind tomorrow! :) 

**this felt like a rambly post.....sorry! :P

31 Days to Clean ~Day 10

Continuation.....

So here is the stack of trash that got picked up Monday morning.....lots of empty boxes I was saving for

 who-knows-what??

The gray barrel is full of the kids school books from 1st-3rd grades....I resisted the urge to save any!

And I barely beat the garbage man in taking that stack out from the kitchen!! He was coming in the road as I snapped these pics! :) He probably wondered what that crazy lady was up to!! :D Or maybe it was dark enough he didn't see me!! I can hope, right?? :)

I got a little more done yesterday....just a little pic of some progress...

Still got a long ways to go... 

And this is another project in the works...all my photo's! That is going to require some time. I want to organize them according to year. Then hopefully over the winter that can be a project I can start on!!

I also forgot to post about Week 3 "Making Your Home a Haven"

Here’s week #3′s Challenge: List a few of the spots in your home that make you visually stressed. Now go buy something for that spot – like a basket to put it all in! Work on cleaning up clutter. Throw things away.

While you’re at it – clean up some clutter in your spiritual life. What gets in the way of your peace spiritually?

I am working at clutter so this fit. I am also working at spiritual clutter and it is a painful, growing experience.

I (we) sure could use prayer in this area. Thanks~

31 Days to Clean ~Day 9

So all the challenges this week (and the one I was supposed to do on Friday) have to do with the picture below.....

I am not going to follow the day by day exactly, because it just doesn't work well that way. I am organizing the whole thing as I go.

So the picture above is taken from a door in our kitchen. When we moved here, this was part of the apartment on the back of the house, but the man living there didn't have much in it and we needed more storage room (so we thought-no really, we did!!) ;) so they put a wall and a door to the left of the picture that is the new entrance to the apartment. (He does also have an outside entrance!!)

So, to the right is a coat/game closet. I was able to get that all cleaned out and organized (no pic yet) I do think my hubby has a few too many jackets/sweatshirts/coats though, but that will be saved for another day when he is around. 

Straight in is a nice big walk in closet with the below shelves to the left. Filing cabinet and junk to the right.

(Love all the shelving in there!!)

I made a lot of progress but it is an ongoing work. I will show before and after pics later!

THIS, my friends, is only a small part of the trash that came out so far!! I forgot to take a picture of the huge stack of cardboard boxes sitting out for the garbage man in the morning!! :) Maybe if I sneak out early, early, I can do that! 

I feel like I have a long ways to go, and there are things I keep thinking...."I really should save that, I might need it". But, it WILL get done and it WILL feel good!!! :)

We keep loving all the other area's that are organized and I am working hard at keeping them clean on a regular basis! :) It's so worth it!!

If you are also working at organizing, don't give up, keep plugging away little by little!! :)

31 Days to Clean~ Day 8

Day 8 ~ Cleaning my desk

A month or two ago, I found a desk on a our county "for sale" page on facebook. I made an offer, the guy accepted and I picked it up! :) I really like it. It is a cabinet type desk that you can close the doors and it takes up less space than the old desk did.

BEFORE:

BEFORE:

It looks so messy from a distance, but I think it was actually pretty organized! ;) Just a few too many things floating on the surface! :P

AFTER:

And then tonight Dan and I tackled our bedroom and got the final stack in front of the bookshelf and an odds and ends box of mine sorted and put away! (He will take care of the top of the bookshelf later)

Our bedroom floor is empty!! :) And we are both happy!! :)

Man, today was a long day. The little tedious sorting is harder than stuff like clothes....my muscles in my back, neck and arms are SO tight.....a massage would feel heavenly right about now! :)

Took 3 Ibuprofen with a large glass of water and called it quits for the day!!

I am going to take a break from my 31 Days again tomorrow. We are Host family on Sunday and tomorrow is the only day I have left to prepare food and finish the rest of the weekly cleaning. 

Saturday we have stuff going on ALL. DAY. LONG!! :) Goat Day, Anniversary Drop-In and something special for the kids in the late afternoon/evening! :)

I'll be back Monday!! :)

31 Days to Clean ~Day 7

Day 7 Challenge-Clean up stacks of stuff in master bedroom.

Ok, so today's challenge is probably the most embarrassing one for me to post publicly!! *blushing face*

But this is exactly why I am doing this challenge, because I am sick of these stacks and messiness!!

 I have always heard that your bedroom (after you are married) should be a "haven" and most definitely not a room full of clutter. 

BUT, (in my defense) this is the only place to stash stuff out of the way when company is coming....good enough excuse?? Even though the bedroom is a mess, at least the rest of my house can look clean, right?? :P *sigh*

Yes, I've been doing a lot of sighing!! :P

So, here goes.....

Stack #1....on my side of the bed. And trust me, this used to be a lot worse!! :O

AFTER:

small confession: there are a few things stacked back there again that I am going to list on Ebay......BUT, if they don't sell, they are going to the yard sale boxes!!

This stack is mostly boxes of books that were given to Dan for the prison. He has to go through them all, because some are not appropriate for a male prison and some are magazines that just need to be pitched, but a few of the boxes are full of brand new books. Thankfully, Dan just finished up a class and has a little more than a week break, so he will have time to take care of this! :) For now, they got moved out of our room.

Oh, and any ideas where to store my laundry baskets? My laundry is a closet and there is not room for the whole stack on top of the washer or dryer. Still contemplating that one!

AFTER:

This stack was once on my bed {another day when I was trying to clean up} and it came bedtime and what to do except put it on the floor till later! :P

(no after pic)

The bookshelf......

Most of this requires my man's attention! :) I did clean off the shelves and organize the books a bit, but Dan wants to go through the books and get rid of some, so that will happen another day/evening!

AFTER: {the little bit I did}

 All those trouble spots.....I picked the stuff up off the floor and put it on my bed to sort through it, so this was what my bed looked like......

And this is what it looked like right before I sat down at my computer to post this blog. So I will need to finish it tomorrow. Tomorrow's challenge is organizing my desk, which is a fairly small job since I recently downsized my desk and it hasn't really got cluttered! :) I hope by tomorrow night to give you a full view of a clean room!! :) The good feeling about this is knowing that everything is finding a permanent home, either elsewhere in my house or going to someone else's or to the garbage!! :) YAY!!

Thanks for tagging along another day....and thanks to those of you who left me encouraging words either here or on Xanga or facebook!! :) 

31 Days to Clean~ Day 6

Today's challenge was to clean the entry way and the front door.

You can't see it real well, but the floor was pretty dirty, the door was getting brown near the door knob and there were a few small webs in the corner! :P

I debated taking the bench away. It is rarely used for it's intended purpose {a place to sit to take off shoes} for numerous reasons....it is often piled with "stuff" AND flip flops and sandals don't require sitting down to take them off!

It is still there while I ponder it's necessity! :) 

A different angle....

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The next two pictures are really hard to see any difference. I wiped down both doors and the frames and trim, and cleaned the windows on the storm door.

In the meantime our porch dried off a bit :) Then we got more rain! :) I am so thankful for this rain!! But I must say after a few days of dreary cloudy weather, I am ready to see the sun again! I think it will show its face tomorrow!! :)

In other news, today was the final Manners Co-op I helped to teach at the library. *happy sigh* And again, I forgot my camera!! :(

Today we learned about table manners. Both our kids were chosen to role play bad and good manners at the table. They (esp. Danny) enjoyed doing the bad manners. It's not often they are encouraged to burp, gargle their water, slurp their food and reach across others to get what they want!! :P But I was proud of them when they demonstrated good manners. 

Denise Williams did a great job teaching! I was happy for her to be the mouth, while I was the hands and feet! ;) More of my comfort zone!! :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I found another cool project online that I would like to try out. I need to get creative so it doesn't cost me $$, but I think I can do it.....stay tuned for more! :)

Oh, and thank you to all those who have commented and encouraged me to stick at this!! I thought about it today....would I be as motivated if I wasn't being accountable to the world my friends?? :) I SHOULD be!!

Happy October 11th evening to you!! :)

31 Days to Clean ~ Day 5

Today's Challenge~ Organize clothes dresser in bedroom

Dan made this piece of furniture for me....it started out being an armoire. It was supposed to have drawers in the bottom and doors, but since he was too busy to finish it up, we just turned it into a storage unit for our clothes! It is VERY heavy and will most likely stay in this house when we move out!!

BEFORE: (notice the full hamper on the left)

IN THE PROCESS:

AFTER: (notice the empty hamper on the left)

Yes, that was part of my day, too!! :)

After I cleared off the top, you could see the dust that collected around everything. 

Ahhh! That's better!! :)

 I threw out some old clothes that had been worn about as much as possible without them actually falling off!

This pair of PJ pants didn't have much fabric holding the elastic in place anymore. :P And with each wash, it seemed to get worse!! Threw out another pair with a big hole in that I could about fall through! ;) And some night shirts that were more loose threads than fabric! *sigh* 

HELP!!

 I am open for suggestions....I had all our perfume and stuff on a mirrored perfume tray. I'd kind of like to do something different. Here's my space....what do you recommend? Should I leave it as it is? I'd really love to hear from you!! :) Pretty, please??

Tomorrow's challenge was to clean up the stacks of STUFF on the floor in my bedroom, but since that is a big job and since I have to help teach a Manner's Co-op class at the library after lunch, I am going to swap the next two day's challenges. So tomorrow will be cleaning up the entry way!

31 Days to Clean~ Day 4

Today's Challenge was to clean the "pantry" in my kitchen.

It may not look much different to you, but it is organized a little better. 

BEFORE:

 I have specific things on each shelf, so I know where to look for what! :)

AFTER:

 That really didn't take all that long so I decided to do a little more. When I worked in the bathrooms yesterday I had to put a thing or two in the medicine cabinet and realized that it, too, needed to be organized. So that was another job for today.

BEFORE:

 Threw out a bottle of medicine, that Motrin on the bottom shelf that was out of date in 2008 and a bottle of wart remover that expired in 1998!! :O Yikes!! 

And I rediscovered the bottle of Unkers salve! :) Love that stuff! 

AFTER:

 The outside of the medicine cabinet after it got a shine! :)

(no before pic here)

I am really enjoying the good feeling I get from organizing and pitching and doing it in bite size bits makes it more enjoyable and not so daunting!

Tomorrow's "challenge" was to list some things on Ebay. I think that is not going to happen. I had some nice clothes left over from the yard sale on Saturday and I wanted to try Ebay to get rid of them. But then a friend who is having yard sale THIS Saturday is letting me have a stand with her! :) So, I will wait and see what I sell.

I really need to buy some Fall/Winter clothes for the kids. Danny's long sleeve shirts from last year are too short in the torso this year....so I'm hoping to sell enough to do a little shopping next weekend.

Goodnight~