Archive for the 'Cleaning and Organization' Category

Wednesday’s challenge: Do some extra laundry

Published by Sarah Bray on March 26, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

Note: Thanks everyone for the great response about the upcoming carnival! Didja know that it’s easy-peasy to become a sponsor? Did you know it could be as easy as giving it a little link love? Yep. Yep, it is. Find out how here.

For some reason (I don’t know HOW it happened) I have gotten a wee bit behind on my laundry. Have you? Whew. I thought I was the only one.

So the challenge for today is simple. Catch up a little. You don’t have to do the whole she-bang, but just…catch up a bit.

Oh, and guess what? Something new is coming up later on today, and I’m so excited about it. Be on the lookout for some major inspiration coming your way.

Tuesday’s challenge: Clean off the windowsills

Published by Sarah Bray on March 25, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

Note: Don’t forget to submit your entry to the first ever Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling! The more people involved, the more fun it will be for everyone!

Ewww…dead flies. Cobwebs. Miscellaneous dirt. I don’t know why I don’t clean my windowsills more often. They look a bit like they’ve never been cleaned. But they have! I promise! Once. I think.

It’s funny how the things that make a house seem really “clean” are the things that are not easily noticed at first glance. The grime in the corners may not be that glaringly evident, but it makes a huge difference when it’s gone.

Have fun and enjoy your shiny windowsills! Maybe even start a little window herb garden to celebrate…mmm basil. :)

Monday’s challenge: Recuperate

Published by Sarah Bray on March 24, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 2 Comments

Note: Don’t forget to submit your entry to the first ever Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling! I’ve gotten an amazing amount of positive response so far. It is going to be an awesome event! And by the way, you’ll see a note like this on every post until carnival week. :)

We had a blast this weekend with the grandparents. We caught up, went to the park, had a lovely Easter dinner, hunted eggs, colored giant pictures…it was such a fun time. I hope you had an equally fantastic weekend.

So now, we’re back. We have a ton of stuff to unpack, and a lot of clothes to wash, dry, and put away. There is stuff everywhere. And today it’s going to be extremely hard for me to get anything done. Wanna know why? Besides the fact that I’m much better at “keeping” things clean than I am in righting a huge mess…

I got my new iMac today! It is so beautiful. I just want to kiss it. Many of you know that I’ve been working on a broken PowerBook for about a month. Through no fault of the PowerBook’s, the LCD screen was completely broken. We thought about fixing it, but I have had that computer for six years. Figured I might be due for a new one.

So how will I ever tear myself away in order to clean? I’ve decided that today is going to be a timer day — 15 minutes doing something I don’t want to do (namely, clean) followed by 15 minutes doing something I DO want to do (namely, have a love affair with my new computer). Flylady introduced this concept to me way back in the day, and it works swimmingly. After a few hours, my house will be loving me again, I’m sure of it.

Thursday’s challenge: Clean the microwave

Published by Sarah Bray on March 20, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 3 Comments

Microwave-cleaning is on my list of “jobs that I do when it gets really, really noticeable that I haven’t done it in about a year.” (Yeah, that list is long, but moving on…)

Today we’re going to spray, swipe, and be proud of our sparkling microwaves. Even if all we use them for is popping popcorn.

Actually, I’ve recently started purchasing those little microwaveable healthy meals that I swore I would never buy. Since opening the studio, I’ve been lucky to get down a peanut butter sandwich at lunch, since that’s what my kids eat a lot of the time. If I don’t feel like kid-food, then I usually just skip it. When I realized I was also doing that at breakfast, I thought a little convenience food was in order.

I haven’t yet delved into one, but I’ll let you know how it goes. I swear I’d be for the slow food movement if my life wasn’t moving so darned fast. It is starting to slow down though, now that everything is in place. That’s definitely a good thing!

Wednesday’s challenge: Clean out underneath the kitchen “stuff”

Published by Sarah Bray on March 19, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 2 Comments

You know what I’m talking about, right? That “stuff” that lines your kitchen counter tops? Your mission today is to move it and clean out underneath it. Think you can handle that? I think so.

For all of you budding entrepreneurs, I’ve posted the second article in my series on The 7 Deadly Sins of Creative Professionals. Come check it out!

Monday’s challenge: Come up with a solution

Published by Sarah Bray on March 17, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 5 Comments

Last week, I shared with you guys some of the struggles I’ve been having with my house since launching the web design studio. We have been more successful than I expected (which is great!), but one of the things that caught me off guard was that my house would fall to the bottom of the priority list. When you’re working the equivalent of several jobs, that happens!

My friend Devon came up with a plan for her family that is so simple, so GENIUS that I just had to share it. As common sense a solution it is, I am surprised I’ve never heard it suggested before. So here goes…

Every evening after dinner (or sometime before the kids go to bed), the whole family pitches in to clean for 20 minutes. Whatever doesn’t get done, doesn’t get done. It doesn’t matter. The point is that if everyone cleans for 20 minutes, you double or triple your results without any additional effort.

Isn’t that beautiful? I almost want to cry, it’s so easy. You don’t need any complicated cleaning system to do this. Getting Things Done is fantastic, but it only works if your house is a high priority on your list. If it isn’t, then you’re going to end up doing everything else that is more important. I am still going to use the GTD system for my business tasks because it works so beautifully, but I’m going to keep it super super simple when it comes to the house. Otherwise, life here is going to remain pretty chaotic, and nobody in my family wants to live that way.

Anybody want to join me in this revolution? Because really, I think it is one. I love simple things that really work. It equalizes the family’s household responsibility and demonstrates that if the house is going to run smoothly, everyone is going to have a part in it. And since we’re all working together at the same time, it can even be fun — a kind of sweet ritual that we can count on each day. We can work together toward the same purpose and see immediate results.

I am SO PUMPED. Can’t wait to share how it goes. Give everyone specific tasks to do (even the little ones), turn on some music, turn on your timer for 20 minutes, and let’s go!

Friday’s challenge: Vacuum your couch cushions

Published by Sarah Bray on March 14, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 2 Comments

My kids love jumping on the couch when we’re not looking. They also love to put their cheerios in its deepest darkest recesses. That’s why today we’re going to be vacuuming out the cushions.

On a side note, do any of you have kids who think the vacuum cleaner is the funniest thing in the world? My daughter laughs and laughs when I turn it on. I haven’t quite figured that out.

Thursday’s challenge: Purge old magazines and newspapers

Published by Sarah Bray on March 13, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

I love getting the paper. It is one of my favorite things about being an adult. Not only do I get the coupons (which I no longer have time to cut!) but I get to actually enjoy adult conversation…in my head. It’s wonderful.

My, how those papers stack up, though! Yes, old newspapers have a multitude of uses (art projects! floor protection! origami!), but they only go so far. They must depart from my house.

Farewell, old friends. You are going in the recycling bin today. It’s really not too bad. It’s kind of…perky if you think about it. What with the big blueness of it all. And you know that you’re going to a much better place. Maybe you’ll even get to be a pair of shoes in the next life! And really, is there a better way to go?

Maybe you’re unlike me

Published by Sarah Bray on March 13, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

I seem to be operating on the opposite timetable as everyone else around these parts. Spring comes, and most people want to get organized. Makes sense. The new is coming, and you want to be ready for it. I haven’t given up on the idea altogether. In fact, I currently have an ad out for a cleaning professional.

In case I don’t find someone I want to work with, Amy from MomAdvice.com has an EXCEPTIONAL series going on right now going step-by-step through the spring cleaning process. She is spot on her with her postings, and I so admire her passion for this. You really must stop over.

I wish I’d caught on sooner so that you could start with her from the beginning, but as Amy says, it’s never too late to start. Just pretend that your spring cleaning journey is starting today (or next week or whenever you get inspired) and go with it!

Wednesday’s challenge: Clean the front of your dishwasher

Published by Sarah Bray on March 12, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

My dishwasher is notorious for being neglected. I mean, who ever thinks to clean the thing that cleans things? Not usually I. But the other day, I was noticing that it is looking especially grimy. Admittedly, I haven’t ever cleaned it, and it’s been sitting there for the better part of three years, so that might be why. Maybe.

This will be a quick task — 5 minutes tops. Even I (might) have time for that today!