Dusting, Windows, and Baseboards ... Oh My!

I feel the need to do some basic "Fall" cleaning activities. So the weekly challenge is a glorified 5 minute challenge: dusting, windows, and baseboards. Once they are all done we can keep them in rotation in 5 minute challenges so they'll stay done!!

5 Minute Challenges

Bet you thought I forgot? No, I just couldn't think about housework again after 3 hours in the bathrooms. Ugg. How do the kids manage to make such a mess? Anyway, there is a combined youth activity at my house tomorrow, so I will definitely be cleaning up the house tonight and getting my daily points!

1- clean garbage can
2- wash mirrors
3- clean sink
4- computer desk
5- top of washing machine

Weekly Assignments

Well, here it is Sunday, just as promised. (What do you mean its Monday? You must be dilusional !) Anway, here are the assignments this week:

5 minutes: Charlotte
Weekly: Kim
Tips: Tami

I tried to space out the assignments so that you only have to do one every other week. Good luck! I'll have to post the 5 minute challenges later (as I am in the middle of scouring my bathrooms now and only took a 5 minute break at the half way point). Lets keep track of our progress here!

No Fair

No fair. I worked so hard to earn the most points this month. I thought I was doing so well until i realized that no except Andrea was doing anything. Ok I will try hard this month to woop everyone and get the most points and the cleanest house.

Ditto!

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only slacker around here. I'm glad no one mentioned the "let's just start fresh next week" thing to me earlier, otherwise I would have had absolutely no motivation this week. As it is, I barely got the daily cleanings done, and not on the day I was sickest. (Did you notice I lost by one point?!)

Hooray for fresh starts and FALL!

Count me in too!

After a months absence from blogging, cleaning, and exercising I'M BACK! and way more dedicated. Although I've kept my house pretty clean I haven't done what I should have. I've been very lazy. I'm ready to get things back in order (by that I mean me winning!)

Time to Reclaim the House

I am more than ready to go in September. Do you mean starting this Monday (Aug 31?) I will post assignments tomorrow.

Now that my kids are in school I am feeling a huge drive to reclaim my house. Over the summer (and a little before to tell the truth) things have sunk into craziness and I have a list of things that need cleaned out and reorganized. The list included every area in my house :( My plan is to tackle one area a day until things get back into order. I have 4 hours every morning after the older kids leave and before Joseph heads to school. This will be my reclaiming time. So far there have been 2 days of school and I have cleaned 2 area. Until I get done my goals sidebar will be my reclaiming list. I'm hoping to be done in a few weeks. Wish me luck!!

Dropped the ball... off the empire state building.

So, I totally have dropped the ball these last few weeks. Sorry. I've been having a slightly rough time lately and it was unfortunately reflected in my blogging, my cleaning, and my weight loss. Sigh. Someday I will not be struggling with 2 children under 2 and my life will be in complete control (a girl can dream, right?). Anyway, just to inform everyone, although my points aren't even worth trying to calculate, I did complete the clothes challenge. I also completed Mom's bed challenge. I say we take this week off and start afresh with September. I will actually be out of town Sept 3 - 18th, but I can help with the cleaning in all the places I am staying and still try to keep track of points.
So, is everyone else ready to drop the summer funk behind them?? Let's get the party started.

Weekly Challenge: Beds!!!

Since no one posted a weekly challenge and I haven't chosen one yet I decided to do it. For the weekly challenge I think everyone should strip every bed in the house and wash the sheets, vacumn off the mattresses and flip or rotate them, then remaked the bed with clean sheets. Good luck and sleep well.

Tuesday Tip

I'm pretty sure it's my turn for a tip, and it's Tuesday, so... here it is.

Recently I have found something that has worked wonders for my housecleaning motivation:

Podacasts and Audiobooks.

Specifically, on my iPod. I've tried just bringing my laptop in the kitchen to listen while I cook or clean, but there are so many distractions it just doesn't cut it. So now I stick the earbuds in, turn on my book (I'm listening to Pretties right now), and blissfully ignore the children and all other household distractions while I finish what needs to be done. This has also helped me while running- I let myself get wrapped up in the story and forget what I'm doing for a few seconds.

Podcasts I enjoy include Stuff You Should Know and This American Life.

I'd love to hear if anyone else tries this, and what books and/or Podcasts they like.

5 Minuters

1- Clean inside and outside of kitchen trash can
2- Wipe kitchen cupboard doors
3- Wipe bathroom cupboard doors
4- Dust: shelves, screens, clocks, tables
5- Wipe off at least two kitchen shelves

Weekly Challenge: Clothes

I know that I have been extremely remiss with this blog for the summer. But, there are only 2 weeks left before school begins and then I will be back with a vengence. I think I owe Andrea a prize and whomever won the last cycle. (Not sure who that is, someone want to clue me in?)

Anyway, the challenge for this month is school related. I know it is time for me to pull out the winter/fall clothes and make a list for school this year. The challenge is to go through the clothes again and make sure everything is organized. For me that involves putting away the outgrown things, pulling out the stored things that fit and making a list of any gaps in clothing that I need to fill. I like to do it before school starts each year. Good luck!

Challenge Review...CHECK!

I am super proud of myself. Last week I assigned the review week for the challenges. I did this because I had skipped out on so many of them, so I decided that instead of picking just one to do, I would try to get as many of them done as I could. Here are the ones I got done:

Closets

Laundry Room

Craft Room

Fridge

and.......

Garage!

I am SO glad to have a functioning garage again. It took me several hours on 3 different days to get it done, but it is so nice now. We even had some people stop by while we were finishing up and we weren't embarrassed to have them see the inside of our garage. We hung some shelves on the ceiling (that we bought over a year ago....maybe even 2 years ago) and also got some hooks to hang bikes, scooters and strollers. If you have forgotten, here are the before pictures and the after pictures.

August - Week 2

5 minute: Andrea
Weekly Challenge: Charlotte
Tips: Tami

Good luck.
N-O E-X-C-U-S-E-S this week ladies!

Keep track of your weekly points on this post.

5 minute challenges

Oops this week just flew by for me. So everyone gets to use their "Get out of Jail Free" card for this last week. Sorry I dropped that ball. I did get all my other points though.

Weekly Challenge Review

I am not sure if I am the only one who needs this one but summer has been a lot harder than I thought to keep up on everything. I am looking forward to school starting so that I an get back on the ball with my housework, not only do I have more going on but when my kids are home all day they are somehow able to make a TON more mess, so I have been hit or miss when it comes to the challenges. Some of them I get to a week or two after they are assigned and some just sit. As I looked around my house to see what I needed to get done I realized that everything that is still on my to do list has been assigned recently as a weekly challenge and I just didn't get to it. So this week is a review week. Take a minute to review the challenges that have been assigned, which ones you did, which ones you only started, which ones you neglected to do and pick one or more to do this week. I guess in order to get the bonus you would have to still have them all done. Here are some of the more recent challenges.

Closets ~ Outside ~ Sanitize ~ Craft Area ~ Garage ~ Carpets ~ Fridge/Freezer ~Kitchen Cupboards ~ Filing ~Bathroom Cupboards ~ Laundry Room ~ Computer Desk

Good Luck and Happy Cleaning!!

Weekly Tip

OK I forgot which day the tip was suppose to show on. I have one in mind today to I thought I would just post it.

Ten minutes a day saves an hour on Saturday. I have found during the many years of cleaning that if you just spend ten minutes at a task each day that it really does save in hour or more on Saturday, (that was my major cleaning day). I minute or two to wipe the tub after a bath, a minute or two to sweep the mess when it happens etc, a minute or two to sew on the lost button, etc. Hope this helps someone.

August Begins!!!

Okay Friends!!! Clean slates everyone!! Let's keep them clean. I feel pretty good about my performance last month, but I am bound & determined to have a perfect month this month.

Here are the assignments:

5 Minutes: Tamerel Jo
Weekly: Brenda Ranae
Tips: Mother LeAnn

Keep track of your points here ... no excuses this month ... good luck!!!