Category Archives: Cleaning

The Donation Pile

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with ,

Remember Project Simplify? This week’s theme is “piles.”  (Last week’s theme was closets, but I didn’t manage to post anything about it. The Hub attacked the hall closet with extreme prejudice last week and now it’s looking–and functioning–much better. Winter gear purged and stored in the basement, and all the other bits that had accumulated were returned to their proper places.) Today I’ve got more than one pile of stuff that needs to be dealt with, including dishes in the sink, papers to be recycled, and more stuff lurking on and around my desk. I’m fairly certain I won’t get to much of it today.

But on Sunday I did tackle one pile that has been sitting in the basement for months: the donation pile. It was a combination of outgrown kids’ clothes, toys and games, as well as some adult clothing and housewares slated for donation.

Did I take a “before” picture? I did not. Let’s just all imagine that it was a big pile at the foot of the basement stairs: half a dozen overflowing boxes and bins, with more bags and bundles teetering precariously on top.

The St. Vincent de Paul truck was in our church parking lot on Sunday, so I dropped one large bag of clothing there. I sorted out a small bag of hand-me-downs to give to some friends with younger children, and set aside the box of clothes destined for a niece. Another pile of toys, games and tricycle is awaiting pick up for another friend’s toddler. I made an itemized list of everything else, and then posted the list to my local Freecycle group. By the end of the day Tuesday, all but one item had been claimed and picked up from my porch. All that remains is a trip to the post office to send the box to the niece before she outgrows everything in it, and arrange a time to deliver the toddler toys.

As always, clearing away one pile motivates me to tackle another one. Next: the family room. It’s all one big pile of toys, Wii games and accessories, newspapers and dirty socks, but I’m confident that it will only take 15 minutes to whip it back into shape.

Decluttering with Project Simplify

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with , , ,

One of those tasks that never ends is decluttering, and the longer days of spring seem to illuminate the dirt and clutter that have accumulated throughout the winter. To motivate myself to tackle some of these problem areas, I’m linking up with Project Simplify 2013 at Simple Mom. Sure, I can see what areas in my home need work, but it’s awfully nice to have someone else map out a timetable and a plan of attack.

This week’s project is about decluttering flat surfaces. Shelves, drawers, tables…you know the ones. In our house, the usual suspects are the family room coffee table, the hall table, the mail center cupboard, and my desk in the kitchen. At the moment, my desk is the problem. It regularly gets so stacked with stuff–much of which is NOT MINE, that I just lift up my computer and go elsewhere to work.

This was mostly paper, so I sorted out everything that could be recycled, and then filed the rest appropriately. I put away all the bits of toys and hair accessories. I assessed the notes on the memo board and culled anything outdated. Then I dumped out the entire container of pencils and pens. Though I love the oatmeal tin, it’s just too tall to use as a pencil cup–things get lost in the bottom. I threw away all the dried up pens, sharpened all the pencils, and resurrected this cute flower pot that I bought in Spain to hold them all. After a good dusting, I can once again work at my desk!

If you’d like to join Project Simplify, click on the graphic at the top of this post to get all the details. It’s a great way to get a handle on Spring Cleaning!

Computer desk plans

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Kids, Organizing and tagged with ,

Little Five lost his television and Wii privileges this week, and so there have been long afternoons when he has NOTHING to do and NO ONE to play with. Oh, and EVERYONE IS SO MEAN. On the plus side, he has spent some quality time with his matchbox cars and his Tag reader, and I haven’t listened to the Caillou theme song in four whole days.

So it’s been a tricky week for getting anything done. I suppose I should be embarrassed to admit that I can’t get anything done when my kid isn’t entertained by a screen of some kind, but there it is. Just Dance 4 has been my babysitter lately. He’s getting exercise, and I can attack a project or write an entire paragraph without interruption.

Did I accomplish anything this week, beyond emptying the dishwasher and folding clothes? I cleaned out the computer armoire, which is Step 1 toward the goal of replacing it with a simple desk. Step 2 is to measure and cut down one of our old closet doors into a desk top, then a trip to Ikea for some table legs (that’s on the calendar for next week). Just writing this post motivated me to find a home for the things I removed from the armoire (one bag of computer games to Freecycle, several reams of paper, a box of CDs and cords, and a stack of old photos).

Except for the photos, the contents of an entire cubby went straight into the recycling. This is why I want a desk without storage–fewer places for junk to hide. This is the computer the kids use, and the only desk accessory they really need is a waste basket. I envision an uncluttered desk with only a small tray containing a pencil cup, note pad, and a little box to store a few flash drives. We might keep a small memo board to post frequently used usernames and passwords, and maybe some hooks to hang their headphones.

With an open desk, I’m going to have to wrangle some cords and decide how to disguise the modem and router, but I’m not there yet. Baby steps, no?

Garage, girl’s room, and plenty of recycling

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, DIY, Organizing and tagged with , ,

Clearing one area in the house makes me long for a magic wand to zap away all the other messes, visible and invisible. Very soon–maybe today!–I’m going to clean out the computer armoire in the living room. It’s full of old Christmas cards, empty printer ink cartridges and defunct computer games that won’t play on our computer.

Over the weekend, back when it was 47 degrees (and before the thermometer plummeted to 3–have I mentioned how climate change is beginning to feel so immediate and scary?), we did the garage cleaning we should have done in the fall. Hanging the bikes, collecting the outdoor toys, putting garden tools away in the shed, and sorting the pile of recycling that had accumulated since Christmas. Now the second car fits in the garage, making the Hub’s mornings slightly less chilly.

I also dealt with the large pile of Christmas boxes and gift wrap in the basement. All the boxes and packaging to recycle went on the curb, all the reusable wrapping got folded and put away in the proper place. Yesterday I even took a trunk full of plastic grocery bags to the recycling bin at the grocery store. For people who usually use reusable grocery bags, I don’t know why we had so many. Usually isn’t the same as always, apparently.

The Hub also dragged the 8′ x 10′ rag rug (possibly originally from Pottery Barn) I bought on Craigslist for Miss Seven’s room to the laundromat. He brought it home, clean but wet, and we hauled it to the basement and draped it over every spare chair and stool to dry. Three days later, I took it up two flights of stairs (dry, it was much lighter), rearranged all Miss Seven’s furniture, and installed the clean rug. Now I’m getting motivated to get the brown dresser down to the basement so I can begin the process of stripping and restaining it. (Hot pink! I mean, “Sangria.”)

What else? I got out my tube of epoxy and glued the casters back on the Hub’s reject Ikea office chair. It still doesn’t roll very well, but the casters don’t fall out and it works well at my kitchen desk where I have no need to roll, anyhow. It has lumbar support! My back approves.

It all felt so productive, so I looked at my New Year’s resolutions. Surely I could cross something off the list. January is nearly over! Alas. We did make progress on Miss Seven’s room, but that’s not going to be finished quickly. I have seven more days. Which project should I choose?

Cleaning out the pantry

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with

Saturday morning, while the Hub got the oil changed in his car and the kids played Just Dance 4 in their pajamas, I cleaned out the pantry. The Hub did it about a year ago, and I know we cleaned it out at least a couple of times before that (when we renovated the kitchen we went from two pantries to one and did a major overhaul then). So honestly, this time it wasn’t that bad. I forgot to take a picture of the worst part, which was the floor. Ew. Crumbs, dust, lost craft supplies, onion skins….It had also become the catch-all for empty plastic containers and anything that didn’t have a place in the kitchen proper.

The rest of the pantry just needed a good maintenance clean. The general organizational system has been working well for us over the past year, but things had gotten messy.

I removed every bin, rinsed out the crumbs, and threw away expired or empty containers. Everything that didn’t belong (gift bags, grill accessories) got put away elsewhere. Then I used my label maker to label the bins. I’m thinking about labeling the shelves, too.

The biggest change was that I removed the kids’ craft cart from under the lowest shelf and moved it to the basement. They have two tables and plenty of space to make a big mess create down there. I sorted through all the aprons and the giant bag of lunch bags that hang from hooks on the left side (just outside the picture), narrowing down the selection to those we actually use daily. The rest went to the basement with the picnic supplies. Suddenly there was so much space, I was able to slide in the extra set of counter stools that we use in the kitchen. Convenient, but out of sight. (I’d love to paint those stools a fun color. Suggestions?)

With that chore completed, the kitchen is in pretty good shape. The cupboards and drawers are staying organized, and there is a place for everything. Of course, now I really notice how much everything needs a good scrubbing. And I really ought to finish painting the trim inside the door frame.

Another day.

Reorganizing board games

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Kids, Organizing and tagged with , ,

Yesterday I boxed up all the Christmas decorations and returned them to the basement. I stopped there, not returning any pictures or other decorative stuff to their previous places. I figured it would be a good time to rethink what I want to display, and besides, everything needs a good dusting. Since we concentrated most of our holiday decor in the family room (the fireplace and tree were there), it looks the most bare at this point. I can imagine all sorts of things if I could have a clean slate and start over with paint, new furniture, built-in bookcases and a fireplace renovation. But since that’s all just in the thinking phase, I decided to finally sort out the mess of board games in the corner cupboard that I don’t like.

We bought this cupboard from the previous owners because it fit the space, and we knew we needed storage. It’s designed as a media cabinet for a small television and components, but ours is too big for it, so we’ve always used it to store toys and games. Unfortunately, the triangular shape is less than ideal and the oak finish is dated. We paid too much for it at the time, and I regret it. We’ve lived with it for five years, but maybe in the next couple of years we can replace it.

Before Christmas, I cleaned out the toy shelves, but gave up before tackling the games. Despite the dusting I still haven’t done, the four half-built Lego sets and mess of stuff on the coffee table, the crumbs on the kitchen counter and floor, I feel incredibly productive now that I’ve sorted through that game cupboard.

 

I filled two boxes with games and puzzles that we don’t play with anymore. I set aside one stack of games for Miss Seven to decide their fate. I sorted all the scattered playing cards (miraculously, there are several complete decks) and returned stray pieces to their boxes. I culled the duplicates–how many versions of Memory do we need? I even branched out and sorted through the puzzle cupboard under the tv, where wooden toddler puzzles and bead stringing sets have gathered dust for many months.

 

Even though I am eager to demolish those dinky little concrete shelves above the fireplace, and fill the niches on either side with shelving, at least things are tidy for now. I want to take plenty of time and thought (and save some money) before making those big changes. And now I’m off to see if I have some volunteers to dust and sweep.

Organizing the freezer

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Food, Organizing and tagged with , ,

Cleaning out the freezer has been on my mental list of things to do for months. No, years. It must have been on my husband’s list, too, because one morning he just started pulling everything out and stacking it on the counter. (You never know when he’s going to snap like that.) We said goodbye to unidentifiable leftovers and tiny containers of mysterious sauces. The lack of labeling was a serious problem. We tossed everything that had excessive freezer burn. To be fair, our freezer is not that big, and we didn’t have some kind of stockpile going to waste. Mostly, it housed bits of things we felt bad about throwing away, so we stashed them in the freezer for another day. Too bad another day never came.

Once the freezer was empty, I vacuumed up the crumbs and scrubbed all the sticky spilled somethings out of the drawer. I don’t have a before picture–just use your imagination. I grouped like items together, consolidating the packaging if possible, and labeled everything. I designated the upper basket as the lunch supply area, and corralled the smaller ice packs in a bowl. The coffee is up there, too, because when you need coffee, you shouldn’t have to dig for it.

As I put everything back into the freezer, my husband wrote each item down on a list. A few days later I googled “freezer inventory sheet” and was rewarded with a huge selection of choices to print. Some were broken into categories, some were not. I decided to go category-free (I’m a rebel like that) because the categories didn’t seem to fit our items, which mostly fall under “Other.” Sure, I could have made my own inventory, but why? Excel is not one of my strong points, and there wasn’t a good reason to reinvent the freezer inventory. I bookmarked the one I printed so that I can print another when this one is used up.

I have a few rules for maintaining this freezer nirvana.

  1. Always label everything. Always. Everything.
  2. Freeze leftovers in single-serve containers, easy to pull out for lunches.
  3. Cook and freeze extra meals more often.

Maybe next week we’ll inventory the pantry. But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. The pantry is a lot bigger than the freezer.

Getting organized for homework and music practice

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Kids, Organizing, School and tagged with , , ,

This is a project I should have tackled a month ago, but better late than never, right? Mr. Nine and Miss Seven, in fourth and second grades, have daily homework this year. Miss Seven and Little Four take piano lessons, and Mr. Nine is starting the clarinet in band. Now that the dust has settled on the first few weeks of school and lessons, we need to get organized.

I’ve been keeping the kitchen desk fairly clear, but today things seem to have piled up. I cleared off the desk–sorting, recycling, filing–and then moved on to the file boxes I have for each child. They were overflowing with papers from last year, most of it obsolete now. I kept the nicest artwork and a couple writing samples to keep in their files in the basement, and recycled all the old spelling lists, classroom newsletters and old book order forms. I even organized my own file box with labeled folders.

  

My last step was to clear the memo board and reorganize the important information so that we can see it and reach it. The kids each have a clip with their current week’s homework and any logs they need to fill out (reading log, math facts log, karate practice log). Finally, I found a basket to contain their math fact practice workbooks and flash cards. We use them every day, so they need to be accessible.

I added one last touch: a jar of candy kisses. I just read The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills, by Daniel Coyle. I’ve used several of the tips this week to help with piano practice, and the difference has been amazing. Tip #41 advises, “End on a positive note.” That is, give a small reward at the end of a successful practice. For Miss Seven, one candy kiss to put in her lunch box at the end of her morning practice has transformed her attitude. Instead of racing through her assigned songs, oblivious to the quality of her performance, she has willingly repeated sticky passages and improved her technique. (By the way, other tips have been equally effective and easy to implement. I highly recommend the book to anyone who needs some help learning or coaching a skill. Thanks to the folks at Dinner: A Love Story for recommending it!)

Musical chairs and hidden treasure

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing, thoughts and tagged with , , , ,

We had a recliner in our family room that we bought just after we got married and moved into our first house. Twelve years and three kids later, the springs had detached from the frame and the padding was worn down to the wood on the arms. Everyone avoided sitting in it; the only protest when I gave it away was from Mr. Nine, who asked what he would climb on to reach his fishbowl on the mantel each morning.

We moved the chair from the living room into the family room so there is enough seating for family movie nights. But that left no chairs in the living room, and that’s the spot where we most often entertain. So we moved the chair from our bedroom into the living room.

We liked the chair in the living room, and have been thinking about getting a second one to make it a pair. In the meantime, we’ve been searching for something else to put in the now chairless bedroom. The Hub likes to lounge in the bedroom, away from the Legos, Tinker Toys, trains and Wii remotes that litter the family room. He wants a place to stretch out and read or watch tv. He suggested that if we moved my dresser from the corner of the bedroom, we’d have more room for comfy seating. He offered to move his things to the closet and empty his dresser for me to use. My dresser can be passed on to Miss Seven.

And so we did. I whittled my stuff from five drawers down to two (with a few things stored under the bed–painting clothes and out of season stuff), gave one drawer back to my husband, and kept one last drawer to store my jewelry box and a few accessories. But before I moved the jewelry box, I decided it was finally time to clean it out.

What treasures did I find in the jewelry box that my husband gave me on our very first Christmas? Thirteen plastic sandwich bags, each containing a single baby tooth. A large handful of loose change (helpfully corralled in a coffee filter, usually dipped into by the Tooth Fairy). Countless buttons, pins, nails, screws, and hair elastics. Two pairs of old sunglasses. Several luggage locks and keys. One pacifier. Four positive pregnancy tests. A stack of blank thank you notes. A tiny screwdriver. Oh, and some jewelry.

The story of my life in one wooden box.

I took everything out of the box and lifted the dust from the velvet lining with a piece of masking tape. I tightened the loose screws in the hinges. And then I returned only jewelry to the box. I put away or tossed everything else. Nobody’s using a pacifier anymore, and the excitement of finding out I was pregnant has been eclipsed by the real personalities those children have become. The Tooth Fairy still has a lot of teeth to collect at our house, so I found another convenient receptacle for the change.

We’re still looking for a chair, and haven’t rearranged Miss Seven’s room yet to accommodate the empty dresser. Time marches on, and every project begets another.

Empty drawers…so much possibility…

Dust-free drapes

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Laundry and tagged with , , ,

The summer is still barreling along at a frantic pace, and I’m only just hanging on. Thursday arrived and I could no longer put off cleaning the house. No time for special projects–just clean the house. Wipe down the bathrooms, vacuum up the cobwebs. It took me all day. I had hoped to break it down throughout the week, but I just wasn’t home.

I spent a lot of time in the family room, that ground zero of kid-created disaster. I eradicated the broken crayons, the tiny bits of shredded paper, the Legos, the crumbled half-eaten cereal bars and discarded wrappers and yogurt cups from under the sofa. (And that was just the mess of the past few days.) Then I rearranged the furniture and dragged the old recliner out to the garage (a victim of one too many sessions as a trampoline) to be picked up by a Craigslist reader.

After all that, I couldn’t ignore the thick layer of dust on the drapes any longer. I noticed it a couple of months ago, but couldn’t decide what to do. They are the most expensive drapes I’ve ever bought–lined and double-width made to fit our sliding doors. Dry clean? Wash on the delicate cycle and hang to dry? I consulted my mother. She warned me that she has had poor results from both options, and suggested instead tumbling them in the dryer on a cool setting with a couple of dryer sheets. I added a clean, damp towel as well, and used the “extra delicate” temperature setting (one step above “air fluff”).

It worked perfectly. Thirty minutes in the dryer for each panel (because they are so big and I wanted to give them enough room to tumble), and I was able to hang them right up without even touching them up with the iron.

Thanks, Mom. (And Happy Birthday!)