I looked around and I was amazed. I couldn’t believe I had actually finished. I had managed to clean and organize my entire home in less than 8 hours. Want to know the best part? It was NOT as hard as it seems. Stick with me to the end to learn my secret!
I started by making my own cleaning products with essential oils, vinegar and crushed lavender from my garden. I then moved on to the actual cleaning and organizing.
- Closets! I threw away anything that didn’t fit, was stained, ripped, broken. I purchased pretty hangers in all the same color and threw away the old mix match ones and found cute baskets, clothing dividers, hooks, & tags so I could put everything back by color and style. Jewelry & hats were hung on rustic hooks found while scrumming though an abandon barn while purses and bags were sorted and stored in eco-friendly wooden bins.
- Linen closets! I started by tossing any medicine, lotion, or personal care item older then 60 days and any towel that wasn’t made of organic cotton. I put it all back in labeled bins or basket by use or season. I made sure to roll each towel and washcloth and printed cute little tags to attach to each one with clothes pins purchased at local antique store. I also spray painted adorable baskets found at a local storage unit auction.
- Bedrooms & Living Rooms! I cleared out any drawer, nook and cranny, hand wiped fans, vents, baseboards, window sills & tracks with home made cleaning products as well as dusting oil made from the hibiscus flower. I dusted high to low (including walls) in a clock like rotation around each room & oiled all furniture. I vacuumed under each bed, along baseboards, and finished the room vacuuming in a v like formation. I then sprayed essential oil room spray on all bedding and closed each door.
- Bathrooms! Bathrooms took longer then my estimated 20 minutes but it was well worth it. I threw away old make-up, bath toys, and toiletries we don’t need or use. I organized all items alphabetical order and put them in charming wooden baskets made from reclaimed wood. Tubs & showers were scrubbed making full use an old toothbrush and cleaned inside/outside of all toilets with a sea sponge purchased at local health food store. I hand mopped with warm soapy water and essential oils.
- Kitchen! I cleared and organized all cupboards, drawers, pantry, fridge, freezer, oven and donated what we didn’t need. I detail cleaned each appliance and tied each cord nicely with hemp sting to keep from getting tangled. I labeled inside each cupboard and drawer, hung hooks for pot holders, various lids and utensils, purchased fridge and freezer bins, canned food holder, cute basket for eggs (once again from local market), and re purposed old canisters for flour, sugar, salt, coffee, etc.
- Windows & Tracks! This was my last big job and I was so ready to tackle it! It has been weeks since I last cleaned them. I started with the window track using a negative ion wand (attracts dirt) and microfiber cloth along with q-tips to cleaning all hard to reach areas along the track. I then cleaned inside and outside of each window using a squeegee, & soap. Then used special goat utter balm to buff out any water spots and make them sparkle!
Because I made such great time, I was able to get more done then expected! Here’s what I did with the rest of my epic cleaning/organizing time in no particular order!
- Organized the entire laundry room & storage room
- Organized all pictures and important documents and uploaded to the cloud.
- Made several DVD’s as back up to give to family should my home burn down.
- Got rid of any cords, old cell phone, or electronics not used in the past year.
- Organized all winter hats, boots, gloves, head warmers, and scarves. Placed in labeled bins.
- Updated kids baby books
- Organized kids artwork and school pictures.
- Hand painted frames found at an estate sale and made gallery wall in basement. Also made shadow boxes and placed old baby shoes, hospital hat & bracelet as well as first hair cut clippings inside.
- Placed all baby items and keepsakes from kids in bins grouped by age (1-5 years, 5-10 years, etc.).
- Decluttered all email Made binders for bank statements, bills, etc.
- Put important dates on calendar for the next year.
- Made cleaning schedule for the next year.
- Organized all coupons and planned all shopping and meals for next year.
Friends! Next to the experience of birthing my two children, this was the single most gratifying experience of my life. There was nothing I could think of I hadn’t cleaned, organized or decluttered. I felt accomplished! I felt organized! I felt like SUPER MOM…
…until I opened my eyes and realized it was all a dream.
Sigh. A girl can dream right?
