Using Command Hooks to Organize

Command hook

Instruction to hooks

Command hooks are my friends.  They help me stay organized.  They help house my objects.  Things that we need at our fingertips are readily available to us.  Whether we hide our items behind closed doors or leave them out in the open, we know where each of these important items are.

Clipboard hangs

Chore charts hang

Above, in the left picture, my clipboard hangs on the door of my office cabinet.  To the right is a photo of my daughters' room, where their chore charts dangle on the wall.

Wall is utilized for space

The picture to the right illustrates how I've employed Command hooks in the kitchen.  I wanted to free up some slots for more cooking utensils.  I applied hooks under a shelf and moved the measuring cups to the left of my stove.  I hung strainers and funnels.

Light-weight cleaners hanging

The picture to the left shows how I've hung light-weight cleaning helpers.  They are off the floor and hanging on the inside of a door.  There is no space taken over.  As soon as one opens the door, one can pull them off and use them right away.

Old dress holding plastic bags

Finally, this picture shows an old dress that holds plastic reusable bags.  Long ago, I sewed the bottom of the dress shut.  That allowed a bounty of space to fill it up with the bags.  The small metal part of the hanger hung securely on the hook.

Command hooks in different sizes

There are countless ways to use Command hooks.  There are other rooms where the hooks can be of great value.  For the bathroom, I have hung my exfoliating sponge.  In the classroom, it could hold interchangeable small posters.  No matter what the project, Command hooks are removable and reusable.

Well, thanks for reading this entry about how I've used Command hooks in my house.
If you enjoyed this entry, please share it with others.
I would appreciate that very much.

How about it, my readers?  Have you organized anything in your house lately?  Would you consider using Command hooks?  How would you use Command hooks?  Right now is the perfect opportunity to do your fall cleaning.  I hope you will find time to change things up for the fall season. 

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry is part of the Family Fun Fridays series.

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. 

Cleaning Challenge Update First Week--Kitchen

Update on the 31 Days to Clean Challenge: Days 1-5

My white, smallish kitchen

Day 1

I read this first chapter and became so encouraged.  I worked in my utility room.  I started off on the right track.  I hope to show pictures on another blog entry.

My mission statement about cleanliness is the following:

I want efficiency. 
I want a well-run household, as if I weren't around.
Time management is necessary to fit in all the necessary activities of family life. 
An organized home brings harmony to the family. 
The mess one makes is the mess one cleans up.

Day 2

Before picture of freezer

After picture of freezer

Before picture of freezer door

After picture of freezer door

Hubby and I had worked on the freezer in late April.  We had bought plastic containers to house the food instead of bags because we couldn't see what we had in there.  As for the bottom of the refrigerator, my two teens and I spent about 2 hours cleaning it.  It was a big effort, but we did it.  I feel a deep sense of accomplishment.

Before picture of inside refrigerator

Before picture of yucky refrigerator

 I didn't even know all those racks could be removed!

Inside of refrigerator scrubbed clean

Inside of refrigerator filled in

I switched two shelves around.  I used a homemade laundry detergent to scrub the gunk.  By the way, the gunk is build up of too many years.  Can you tell that I never addressed it before?  Didn't know I could do so much in there; daughter said two people could fit in the empty refrigerator.

Before picture of refrigerator door with food

Before picture of refrigerator door without food

After picture of refrigerator door cleaned

After picture of food on refrigerator door

I had to think about how to bring harmony into my family.  I believe that if I play Christian music, specifically worship music, my family will have a deeper sense of peace.  The kids have let me know that I get mad when I don't get my way.  Peaceful music can help calm me down.

Day 3

Before picture of top of refrigerator

Closeup picture of top of refrigerator

Tools I had to use to clean the top of refrigerator

I'm short.  I had to use a stool to reach the top of the refrigerator.  I still could not reach the back of the top of the refrigerator.  I had to use the Swiffer-like stick and attach a double sided rag.  I used the homemade detergent which helped scrub the gunk off the cooler portion of the refrigerator.

After picture of top of refrigerator now clean

I did not just dust the top of the refrigerator, I had to scrub it.  It was too wide to reach to the back so I used the Swiffer and attached a rag to reach the back.  I had homemade detergent that was tough enough to scrape the gunk.

White cabinets needed scrubbing

I then cleaned the doors to the white cabinets in my kitchen.  I had to do some major scrubbing.  Again, my homemade laundry detergent came to the rescue.  I had poured some into a spray bottle.  I even mopped the floor in my small kitchen, using that laundry detergent. 

I did not clean the actual drawers and inside the cabinets.  I ran out of time and was already feeling sick.  I had already moved things around in my cabinets.  I do not know if I will be able to catch up on this day.  Might have to leave that for another month.

My family couldn't really give me any positive comments about how they feel when I care for the home.  My kids have told me in the past that they don't like it when I move things around often.  My house is small, and I often have to figure out if things are working in the home, especially since we homeschool.

Day 4

With my skin condition flaring up, I felt too sick to clean.  I had to take the day off.  Thursday is not a good day to invite people over because of school and/or work schedules.  Perhaps the weekend may yield something better.  I will have to see how my health holds up.

I did not clean my oven and microwave.  The microwave is not hard to clean.  I often have my oldest clean it.  That is not a problem.  I hope to get to that in the weekend if I feel better.

Day 5

In April, I had changed out the curtains in the kitchen.  Will only have to clean the windows.  Don't know if I will get to them today.  I will try to catch up on the weekend.  I need to continue to rest to recuperated.

As for my list of priorities, here they are, with my sense of progress:

1. God--I blog to share the gospel for others and my children to read.

Progress--I have continued to blog on Sundays and Wednesdays about spiritual matter.

2. My husband--I want my husband to come home to a clean home.  He works so hard to provide us the house.  I should make sure it feels homey.

Progress--I think we need to go on dates.  We need to reconnect.  Now that my oldest is of age to care for the children, we are able to go to the stores on our own.

3. My children--I homeschool them.  I need to find their materials quickly as they finish their work.

Progress--My children are doing well in their work.  I will need to assess what has been finished and what still needs doing.

4. My own growth--I am taking a writing course and blogging.  Writing is a big outlet for my emotional health.  My writing is getting better.  I have grown so much.

Progress--I am writing so I can sharpen my skill.  I have been writing and know that I have improved.

5. Our health--exercise and eat better.  I want to get healthier.  Blogging is helping me document my efforts.  Our diet must include better alternatives.  Gardening helps. 

Progress--I suffered a setback.  I need to change what I am eating.  Hopefully, if I eat anti-inflammatory foods, my health will improve.

In conclusion, I started cleaning with much motivation.  Then, I suffered a health setback.  I am not going to stress about falling behind.  I cannot be hard on myself.  I will catch up when I can.

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

I hope you were inspired by it.

How about you, my readers?  Have you taken on this challenge like I have?  Are you deep cleaning your homes?  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.