Spring Cleaning in the Summer
I totally should have taken pictures, but I didn't. I didn't have my blog post in mind (sorry, my 3 sweet followers!).
I have been feeling bogged down by "stuff" lately and wanted to go through and get rid of the junk we never use, but is in my way. Clutter makes me anxious and I LOVE organization. I love clean lines, minimal decorations, and everything put away (or at least in a drawer I can close). Since I've been so busy with other stuff, I'm using this time when friends are on vacation to catch up on this sort of thing. Also, I will always be a military girl at heart and every 4 years or so, it feels like it's time to move. Michael and I have moved a lot too. In fact, this house is the longest house I've ever lived in. BUT, that means we've had time to accumulate lots of junk.
Every time I go down to the basement to do laundry, I walk past the shelves of toys I've saved. Every time I look at it thinking, "I bet we haven't used that for a whole year," then, "I bet we haven't used that for 2 whole years." I am realizing I'm not having my friends' toddlers over to play with it (which is why I saved most of that in the first place), so it's simply going unused. I have issues with hanging onto things I don't use when I could donate them for someone else to use, so today we packed them all up!
Last night Kara asked me what we are doing today (which is part of our bedtime routine), and I told her after school we were going to clean and organize and work hard. She had the sweetest attitude about it and was very helpful all day. I told her before we got started that because her attitude was so great last night, I'd be paying her for her work today. Of course, that kept her attitude great and she busted her bottom for over an hour helping me - all that up and down the stairs help was my favorite part. I love having a big kid. (This is my first attempt to get her working harder - she's had quite the easy life so far.)
I emptied 2 sets of shelves that had toys and games and puzzles, and I donated half of another set of shelves that had old Christmas decorations and candle things. I also got rid of a bunch of out dated household decorations, and some old kitchen things I never use (iced tea maker, wok, cheese dish, etc). I also went to the first floor and cleaned out the mudroom - I donated a bunch of picture frames I'm not using and beach toys, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. I also set aside a box of baby toys and baby things that go with all the baby furniture I donated to my sister a while back. No, she isn't pregnant, but I'm hoping she will be sometime in the not too distant future! No pressure!
I was going to run all of that stuff (I barely fit it in my SUV) to goodwill, but my military friend is PCSing soon and having a giant yard sale, so I brought it to her in hopes she will make some money to go toward her move.
After all of that organizing and packing up, I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Then I cleaned some more. Picture 6 hours of organizing, vacuuming, sweeping, moping, cleaning under furniture, in between cushions, etc. My basement and first floor are in tip top shape.
Next, the second floor. Dun dun DUN!
Belt from the Croods says it best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JSCbEKsguQ
I have been feeling bogged down by "stuff" lately and wanted to go through and get rid of the junk we never use, but is in my way. Clutter makes me anxious and I LOVE organization. I love clean lines, minimal decorations, and everything put away (or at least in a drawer I can close). Since I've been so busy with other stuff, I'm using this time when friends are on vacation to catch up on this sort of thing. Also, I will always be a military girl at heart and every 4 years or so, it feels like it's time to move. Michael and I have moved a lot too. In fact, this house is the longest house I've ever lived in. BUT, that means we've had time to accumulate lots of junk.
Every time I go down to the basement to do laundry, I walk past the shelves of toys I've saved. Every time I look at it thinking, "I bet we haven't used that for a whole year," then, "I bet we haven't used that for 2 whole years." I am realizing I'm not having my friends' toddlers over to play with it (which is why I saved most of that in the first place), so it's simply going unused. I have issues with hanging onto things I don't use when I could donate them for someone else to use, so today we packed them all up!
Last night Kara asked me what we are doing today (which is part of our bedtime routine), and I told her after school we were going to clean and organize and work hard. She had the sweetest attitude about it and was very helpful all day. I told her before we got started that because her attitude was so great last night, I'd be paying her for her work today. Of course, that kept her attitude great and she busted her bottom for over an hour helping me - all that up and down the stairs help was my favorite part. I love having a big kid. (This is my first attempt to get her working harder - she's had quite the easy life so far.)
I emptied 2 sets of shelves that had toys and games and puzzles, and I donated half of another set of shelves that had old Christmas decorations and candle things. I also got rid of a bunch of out dated household decorations, and some old kitchen things I never use (iced tea maker, wok, cheese dish, etc). I also went to the first floor and cleaned out the mudroom - I donated a bunch of picture frames I'm not using and beach toys, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. I also set aside a box of baby toys and baby things that go with all the baby furniture I donated to my sister a while back. No, she isn't pregnant, but I'm hoping she will be sometime in the not too distant future! No pressure!
I was going to run all of that stuff (I barely fit it in my SUV) to goodwill, but my military friend is PCSing soon and having a giant yard sale, so I brought it to her in hopes she will make some money to go toward her move.
After all of that organizing and packing up, I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Then I cleaned some more. Picture 6 hours of organizing, vacuuming, sweeping, moping, cleaning under furniture, in between cushions, etc. My basement and first floor are in tip top shape.
Next, the second floor. Dun dun DUN!
Belt from the Croods says it best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JSCbEKsguQ
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