Cleaning Challenge Update Fourth Week--Bedrooms and Bathrooms

Update on the 31 Days to Clean Challenge: Days 16-20

One of the targets for this week--bedroom shelves

 

Day 16

I'm falling behind.  I'm upset that my writing course has been extended.  I did not expect it.  I am ready for the course to end.  Want to move forward, but I know that I am still have some learning to do.  

Iris has been teaching Kaelyn how to sweep.  

I asked the kids to sweep their rooms.  I have often asked the kids to pick up the slack because I suffer with pain.  My sickness often leads to laziness.  I have to pace myself with the illness because the stress causes inflammation.  The inflammation leads to pain.  I am now eating anti-inflammatory foods which are helping to squash the pain.  Yes!

Blogging is taking a lot of my time.  I'm better at writing.  I might have to take some time off, though.  Perhaps it can coincide with the kids' time off. 

Day 17

11 year-old's bookcase--he needs direction

 

I asked the kids to dust their books and declutter their bookcases.  Have they done it?  I don't think so...

Under the DISC personality quiz, I scored as the cautious type.  I'm calculating, contemplative, and careful.  I like for things to make sense, and I need to understand the reasons behind situations.  I tend to focus on making things "right" and follow some sort of routine.  My weakness is taking too much time to make decisions.

I think it helps me understand that I calculate how to delegate chores.  I contemplate how much to assign.  I am careful not to burden my kids with too much to do.  I have been indecisive as to giving them more detailed instructions because I'm afraid the kids will revolt.

Day 18

For today, I was supposed to clean out our closets, but we had already done that in March.  I did work on my closet problem more recently.

 

Sampling of clutter from our closets--March

Problem in my closet--clothes too tight

Closeup of shoe rack taking space

Opposite door is bare

Over-door rack for shoes at Walmart

Clothes breathing; caps now in utility room

Unpainted wall, yes

Twin flat sheet to hide closet

I had to write out a tentative schedule:

Wake up

Pray

Breakfast

Exercise

Work on Writing

Lunch

Blog

Clean

Homeschool

Dinner

Browse Internet

Day 19 

I had to do a Bible study on the words joy and self-discipline.  It is too detailed to post it here.  I will post it on Sunday.  I did jot down a few Bible verses, but I want to give the study a good treatment.

Had already cleaned out expired medications and toiletries.  Had updated my first aid kit to take to our trip.  I cleaned out my old cosmetics, too.  Well, I kept a few items.  I don't wear too much makeup so I am holding on to the minimum.

Following are before and after pictures of my decluttering:

Messy medicine shelf

Closeup of medicines

Bag containing summer medications

Expiration dates to weed out

Result of messiness--too many band aids

Walmart bag full of old toiletries and medications

Medications organized in bigger basket

Medicine bag on the go

Basket on shelf; travel toiletries and summer meds. on side

Messy shelf for vitamins and supplements

Difficult to see labels of vitamins and supplements

Rack borrowed from elsewhere for vitamins and supplements

Container for toiletries in master bathroom

First drawer of toiletries in master bathroom

Second drawer for toiletries in master bathroom

Day 20

Had to clean bathroom mirrors, windows, and walls.  Used mint-scented Method glass cleaner for the window and mirrors.  Need to dust.

Also, need to assess how I spend my time.  I have to do it honestly to figure out where I am wasting time.  I know that I spend too much time on the internet and watching TV again.  I need to do things in moderation.

Like I said before, I am not gonna stress if I didn't get to everything.  I'm about 60-70% of optimum health.  I am feeling a lot better, and I am working on my diet, weeding out the junkfood.  This cleaning challenge has covered many areas of my life, not just the house situation.  I am very grateful for this opportunity to improve the quality of life for my family.

Well, thanks for reading this update 

and viewing the pictures. 

I hope this entry has inspired you to clean your homes.

How about you, my readers?  Have you deep cleaned your bedrooms?  Have you weeded out expired medications and old cosmetics?  Are you wanting to deep clean, but you don't know where to get started?  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.

Safety with Medications and Cleaning Agents

These leaning agents and medications have been labeled as poisonous.

Recently, my daughter had a worksheet that had multiple copies of a skull and crossbones.  She colored and cut them.  Then, she brought them to me.  We taped the pictures on some items.  I taught her that she is not allowed to touch them.

That got me to thinking about my brush with poison and forbidden items.

One thing that I determined as a mother-to-be is to keep my family safe.  That has always been priority number one.  I have very important reasons for that.  When I was seven years-old, my father had suffered a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital.  As if that weren't bad enough, my youngest brother, and I hope he doesn't mind my mentioning it, was poisoned. 

That day, and the events that followed, really were a big impact in my life.  I value life.  I try to live my life like everyday could be my last day alive.  The people I am entrusted with are precious to me.  I am overly protective of family members and friends. 

That's why I think it's important to keep medications and cleaning agents out of reach of children.  I still remember seeing my not-even-two-year-old brother bent over, while my cousin made him vomit the poison.  I also remember how mad my dad had been previously when we kids had spilled the sugar on the floor.  I believe that in our defense, the sugar was within our reach.  I think it was too harsh for my dad to have spanked us so hard.

I now keep all cleaning agents, medications, and yes, even the sugar, out of reach of my own children.  I have always made sure to keep those things way up high.  I cringe when I see parents leave their cleaning agents under their sink or on the floor in the bathroom.  I also cringe when I've seen ideal kitchens with the cleaning agents like Ajax and Palmolive under the sink.  My mother had the sugar under the sink, which was within our reach.  We kids played with the sugar and suffered a bad consequence.

I guess you could say that I have internalized two traumatic events.  

 

My siblings and I received spankings after getting into the sugar.  The sugar was under the sink.  My brother poisoned himself.  The reality is that my father had used the poison and left it outside on the porch where my tiny brother access to it.  I associate spilled sugar and accidental poisoning with anything that could be under the sink or within a child's reach as a bad combination.

 

 

I  keep poisonous materials out of reach of children.

 

I decided the best place for the vitamins, minerals, all-purpose cleaners, and cough medicines in my home turned out to be ideal.  I have a pantry in the hallway, which is centrally located.  The top shelf houses the cleaning agents, which include, for example the toilet cleaner.  Medications are on the next shelf.  The third shelf is for vitamins and minerals, and the last shelf is currently for paper and plastic products.

The lock is too high for my youngest, who is five years-old.

 

The door to the pantry started sticking a few years ago.  The door was shaved.  The door stayed ajar.  Now, we have a lock on it to keep it closed.  Bonus: the lock is too high for young children to reach.

Well, I hope I have compelled you all to keep your medications and cleaning agents out of reach of all children.  I know that there are locks available for the lower cabinets. I just think it's not worth the chance that your children could get poisoned if they open those locks.  I don't think anyone would want to see a child choking on poisonous liquids and/or pills.  Would anyone like to see a child having to vomit out poison?

How about it, my readers?  Do you have poisonous items out of reach of children?  Even out of reach of visiting children?  I encourage you to do so.  Please don't even trust the organic cleaners.  It's not worth taking that chance.

I pray that God's wisdom and peace fill you all, my beloveds.

This entry is for the Family (Fun) Fridays series.