Rediscover Your Home - Loving the home you live in!
Loving the home you live in is a family affair. Sometimes mom does it. Sometimes dad does it. And sometimes everyone does it.
Think about your home for a minute. Do you like it? Do you love it? Is it too small? Too big? Does it need new carpet? More closets? A new kitchen? Perhaps granite countertops would make it perfect? Maybe a new knick-knack on top of the TV? A paint job? A bulldozer LOL?
All of us go through those feelings of wanting to make our homes better. Hardware stores used to be the domain of men, and now they target mostly female buyers. Decorating and decluttering shows on cable TV have inspired us to new heights (and in some cases, new lows) in color, style, MDF, and basket storage. Home renovation and home organization is big business. Just look at the magazine headlines at the grocery checkout. At least one will have the word "organization" and another will have the word "closet". All of them should have the word "BUY".
When you are unhappy with your home, or if you are stressed by a mess that never seems to go away, the temptation to BUY something to make things better or make things “look” better can become very strong. Some of us will even use a trip to the store or the mall as an excuse to escape this mess and this stress. Then the retailers, advertisers, and marketers begin to whisper their clever messages of BUY BUY BUY!
SHOP at home FIRST. Discover the treasures you have already paid for. Toss out a little clutter, DO a little cleaning, and rediscover your home. We are loving the home we live in!
The Secret to Loving Your Home is Tackling the NOT ME FIVE!
- Step 1: Start With the NOT ME FIVE: These are the five things that can quickly mess a home when you are not looking. "Not Me" is the person who did it (sound familiar). If you can take a few minutes everyday to tackle the "Not Me Five" you are going to enjoy your home and the space in your home a whole lot more! The neat part of the "Not Me Five" is that you can get everyone in the family involved in tracking them down - kind of like a treasure hunt.
- Step 2: Dusting and Vacuuming is next: Once you have taken care of the "NOT ME FIVE" dusting, vacuuming, and (gulp) even floor washing is a breeze (but still not fun LOL). White dog hair and red area rugs do not mix LOL.
DO You Have Clutter?
I know many of you have clutter. Enough clutter that the NOT ME "five" is actually more like NOT ME "hundreds". Those boxes, bags, shelves, and containers of stuff are a burden that weighs down on your home and your emotions. But know this… once you decide it is time to deal with this clutter, it will get easier and easier. Getting rid of clutter is like peeling an onion. You do it one layer, one box, one bag, and one shelf at a time. And you may shed a few tears along the way. We've been there and we've done that. Now we have a home that we can take care of in just a few minutes everyday.
Deep Cleaning ONE Room at a TIME!
Look out dust bunnies - here we come!
Every once in awhile, we need to roll up our sleeves and spend a little more than just a few minutes on a room. That's when it is time for the "deep clean." How often do I deep clean? It depends on the room. The kitchen and the bathrooms are done the most often. Then the kid's rooms. Then the family room, living room, and the master bedroom. The garage is done twice a year - in the spring and in the fall. The basement is done when I can't stand it anymore LOL.
Your Kitchen
A clean kitchen is the start to a wonderful meal!
When my kitchen is messy I don’t feel like cooking. I don’t feel like hunting through the cupboards, digging through the fridge, or planning a meal. I don’t know where to start and I just want to walk away from the mess. The result: fast food and wasted money! Been there, done that.
- DOing a Surface Clean: Don't worry about what's lurking in the cupboards or inside the fridge. Right now, we are simply tackling the NOT ME FIVE that tends to build up in our kitchen and then adding a little shine. That will keep us tidy - at least until the next meal (or a hungry kid decides to make a snack) LOL.
- Cleaning the Fridge: YIKES! Don't leave yet. You are going to love how easy it is to rediscover supper when you know what's in the fridge (and you know nothing in there can bite you - hee hee). Let's get rid of the leftovers that have started DOing the jig at the back of the fridge. If it moves - it is out of there!
- Caring for Those Hard Working Appliances: Set aside a few minutes to DO just ONE appliance at a time. We work these beasts hard and they deserve a little loving once in awhile too (plus they run better and more efficiently when we take the time to care for them).
- OH NO - NOT THE CUPBOARDS! Yes - we are going into just one cupboard and one drawer at a time. I like to get my husband and kids involved - it goes much faster when we all help.
Your Bathroom
We spend a lot of time in our bathrooms. And when company comes, we like our bathrooms to shine! Well, actually, we like them to shine all the time, but well... when you spend a lot of time in your bathroom... Normally, a purge of wet towels, dirty laundry, a spritz of cleaner in the sink to get rid of the toothpaste splatters, a sparkle to the mirror, and a swipe on the toilet will keep the daily clean quick and simple - but every once inawhile we need to go in. We need to DEEP CLEAN!
Your Laundry Area
Not having control of your laundry can be expensive. That's how we end up with too many new pairs of underpants and socks - they were in the laundry when we needed them! With a little care and a little loving, your laundry area may become a place to rediscover a lost wardrobe!
- Simplify Your Laundry: Quick tips to help you get through those loads of laundry a little faster!
- Deep Cleaning the Laundry Room: If it has been years since you put a little shine on your washer and dryer, you are going to be amazed at the transformation from Laundry "Pit" to Laundry "Room" after it has been deep cleaned! Have fun!
Your Living Room (and/or Family Room, Recreation Room, etc.)
Hmmmm - this one is going to have to wait until I am a little more inspired to tackle this room - right now it is filled with holiday goodies LOL! The best we can do is try to keep up with the NOT ME FIVE (Laundry, papers, trash, dishes, and stuff that doesn't belong) and then occasionally dust and vacuum). Once the holidays are over, this room is getting a DEEP CLEAN. I think my spare keys are hiding between the sofa cushions!
Your Master Bedroom
It doesn't matter whether you share your bedroom with a special partner, a couple dogs, and a cat, or you enjoy it on your own, your master bedroom deserves to be a room, a haven, that you love, enjoy, and want to rest, relax, and sleep in everyday. And when you love this room, you stop buying "stuff" to make it better.
- Surface Clean: Our bedrooms are a notorious stomping ground for the NOT ME FIVE!! Everything that doesn't seem to have a home someplace else in the house, finds its way into our bedrooms. Been there, done that (and still do that - big sigh). We are not alone. However, you will be amazed by how quickly you can rediscover your bedroom when you get rid of the NOT ME FIVE. What do you have to lose, except perhaps a good night's sleep. Hee hee!
- The Master Bedroom Closet: (Imagine the JAWS shark music inserted here - DA DUM, DA DUM!) Yes, we are going in. Someplace under those heaps and piles, the shelves, and the floor, we have real clothing! Clothes we love (yes we may have to iron them first). We paid good money for these clothes. It is time to rediscover our wardrobes and start wearing them again!
Loving Your Children's Bedrooms - YIKES!
We are going to take you and your kids on an adventure that will take you into places no mom really dares to go. The deep dark corners of your children's bedrooms, the tops of the closet, the bottoms of the drawers, and even GASP! under the beds. Throughout our travels we will find treasures and create open spaces. At the end of this adventure, your child will have a peaceful place to sleep, an inspiring spot to do homework and a quiet spot to read and think. You will find kid clothing that still fits, missing socks, school supplies that can be used another year, and maybe even that long overdue libray book LOL. We will keep our eyes open for things which crawl, jump, or slither (or used to crawl, jump, or slither YIKES!).
- Children's Clean Room Challenge: This is a card game developed by my kids and me to help them tackle their bedrooms while having fun at the same time (Yes - they love this game - sort of LOL). Feel free to print out the cards, cut them up, and try them out in your home. Let me know how it goes!
Loving The Hidden Parts of Your Home
Yes we are covering all the bases. We are going into those deep, dark corners. The spots where you've commented many times, "I should clean that up some day." Been there done that (and will still have to keep DOing that LOL). The basements, the garages, the closets, and all the other corners where we stash Christmas decorations, sports equipment, our treasures and memories, canning jars, and eeeks! what is that thing??? It is much easier to SHOP at home FIRST when we know what we have at home. We're blowing the dust out of the corners. We are hauling out the treasures that help us DO (and we are tossing the stuff that holds us back!). One hidden part at a time!
- The Case of the Missing Mitt: When you are stubborn like I am and KNOW there is a missing mitt hiding someplace in your home, there is only one way to find it - TACKLE the closet(s)! This is the sad story of one missing mitt and its lonely mate (don't worry, there is a happy ending). Plus you get to see inside my closets - YIKES!
|
