Cleaning Challenge Update Second Week--Kitchen & Living Room

Update on the 31 Days to Clean Challenge: Days 6-10

Day 6

Just one major cabinet that is working now.

For day 6, I had to clean the inside of my kitchen cabinets.  I did not clean the shelves, but I had moved stuff around in my kitchen previously in April.  Perhaps in some other month, I will clean and line my shelves.

We also had to list 6 top priorities of things to do per day.  A blank page was provided in the Ebook I'm using.  I faltered on Thursday.  I think that I don't want to be on a formal schedule.  I am having problems with staying motivated because of my health.  

I think my biggest challenge is getting up early.  Of course, I must go to sleep early.  I need to work on that next week.  I'm not gonna be hard on myself about it. 

Day 7

Pantry is working wonderfully now that I have that organizer on the door.

On day 7, I read about the curse of having to clean continually.  Yes, the mess we make is the mess we have to clean.  That doesn't bother me as much.  It is the accumulation of paper, toys, and other things that bothers me.  I just wish I had enough time to fit in the shuffling and shredding of old paper, for example.


We had already moved things around for the pantry in April.  This was before I even heard about this challenge of cleaning.  I decided to use this time wisely.  I tore apart my favorite magazines.  I shredded what I didn't want.

Day 8

For day 8, we had to ponder about areas that God has worked in our lives.  I had developed Bell's Palsy 10 years ago.  Bell's Palsy can affect your face's appearance.  Mostly, I healed, but if you look closely, you can see subtle changes in my face.  God showed me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that He can help you in any area of your life.

For this day, we had to work in the drawers in the kitchen.  I had already weeded out the clutter.  Back in April, I unloaded bags of utensils and sippy cup tops that we did not need.  I asked my hubby to just take the stuff out and shake out the crumbs.  Because of health problems, I could not walk much so I appreciated my hubby's help with the three drawers in my small kitchen.

Day 9

For day 9, I read about laziness.  Yes, I'm guilty of laziness.  I have to admit that.  I don't like cleaning, but that doesn't mean that I have dishes or toys in the living room.  I have taught my kids better.

The laziness comes in the form of letting paper clutter and that messy drawer syndrome.  I have files, but they are scattered.  I have about 3 places where I hold household files.  Then, I have boxes, yes, boxes of stuff to weed through of things that need to be put back in their houses.  I readily confess that I am too lazy to go through those boxes.

Day 10

Tip: Use a wheeled chair and basket to move heavy items within the home.

For day 10, I read about tips on how to attack the feeling of frustration that comes when looking at all the clutter and cleaning.  I think the best tip, to me, is that you must start.  If you keep wondering about how to attack something, you'll never get it done.  We just have to plunge in and get down and dirty with it.  I tell my kids that if they get their body and/or clothes dirty while cleaning, they and their clothes are washable.

Enlisted my teenager to sweep and mop small kitchen floor.

For today (which should have been for day 9), I asked Iris, my teenage daughter, to sweep and mop my small kitchen.  I am not going to do everything in my house.  I asked her to do it, while I swept my room, living/dining area.  I also asked my teenage son to dust my room, too.  Together, we get the jobs done faster, and one person is not left to do everything.  

What lurks behind those blue curtains?

With this in mind, I hope to clean my mini-blinds outside with a water hose in the weekend.  I had already changed the curtains.  I need to clean the windows, too.  If my curtains are dirty after this, I might just have to wash them again.  I might also wash some of the mini-blinds from other rooms, while washing the ones from the living room.

Finally, I had to think about the ideal home.  I had my ideal home already about 7 years ago, but we had to move.  My hubby had created the ideal home for me, but it was in a terrible neighborhood.  I miss my eat-in kitchen.  I have a very small kitchen now, and it doesn't allow for too many people to help to cook and/or clean.  

Really, I don't like to think of what an ideal home would be for me.  I am happy with how clean my home appears to others.  I really don't care what others think about my home, if it is negative.  I do wish that we could paint inside and out, but with money and time, it is not possible.  I would like my hubby to finish the trimming inside and to paint and perhaps expand my utility room, but I am grateful for what I have already.

Thanks for reading this entry (update) and viewing the pictures.  

I hope you were inspired.

How about you, my readers?  Have you done any decluttering at your home?  Are you deep cleaning?  Are you wanting to deep clean, but you don't know where to get started?  I hope you will try to do the cleaning piecemeal.  The link above leads to an Ebook which can be helpful in prioritizing and breaking down the cleaning.  I encourage you to click on the link if you need more help.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry has been part of the Family Fun Fridays series.