If you’re already caught up with your lists and cards (or main lists in your binder if you’re going that route) then lets move on to our next room. If you’re not, that’s ok, we can work on that together.

This week, we’re going to be working in the living room.

If you haven’t created a master cleaning list for this room, now is the time. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and take a good look around your room. Start writing down everything that needs to be done to keep this room clean not just for one day, but for an entire month. Make sure that you’re thinking of everything that possibly needs to be done!

Here is my master cleaning list for the living room:

mop floor

take down cobwebs

clean windows (don’t forget the window sills!)

wipe down blinds

wash all knick knacks

dust

straighten entertainment centre, organize movies and games

clean out end table drawers

polish furniture

wipe fingerprints off walls

clean and vacuum under cushions

move furniture out and sweep and mop underneath

Now, my list does change sometimes as I find something I’ve forgotten, or I change something in the room.

I want all of us to spend a half an hour a day in the living room this week, working on our lists. You can do it however you want, 3 10 minute cleans, 2 15 minutes cleans, 1 half hour clean, it doesn’t make a bit of difference. The important thing is to get it done!

I love Sundays!

I spend today with my family, playing games, talking, baking or just being together.

It’s so important that no matter if we’re stay at home moms, working moms or work at home moms that we set aside one day a week that is just for fun. It doesn’t have to be Sunday, but there must be one day.

Yes, keeping our houses clean and well organized is important.

Yes, working is essential.

But, if we don’t take care of ourselves, no one else will. And if we are down and out because we’re exhausted, then who is going to do the work?

So, find some time for you. Have a bubble bath, take a walk, watch a movie with hubby and the kids if you have either. Whatever you do today, make sure it’s fun and rejuvinating!

I like to take time on the weekends to stop and reflect on how the previous week went. Where did I do well? Where did I not do so well? Is there anything about my routines or scheduling that I need to change?

Now that we have a solid morning, afternoon and evening routines, we won’t fall behind on the weekend either. So, come Monday morning, the house will still be shiny clean and we’ll be ready to start our week on the right foot.

If you’re taking time to reflect this weekend, do it with a piece of paper and a pencil. Write down all the things that did work and all the things that didn’t. Then take a few minutes to see if you can work those into your routines.  Our routines need to be flexible. If we have them written in stone, and unable to change, we’ll fail. Bottom line. We need to be able to switch things around and make them more useful as time goes on.

So, join me today in reflecting on the week that just past!

When I first decided to dig myself out of my mess and get organized, I felt like I was working all day long and not getting anywhere. I was disorganized and really feeling like it was useless.

It really started to get me down. Until I started making lists and crossing out what I had already done.

What a great feeling! To look at a list that in the morning seemed so long and unattainable, and at the end of the day see that everything on the list has been crossed off and completed!

I like to keep my lists right out where I can see them. They are kept in a zippered binder, so they’re not added clutter, but they work as an incentive to me to keep working away. I love seeing those blue highlighter lines through every single item on my To Do list.

It’s a great way to keep myself motivated.

And of course, once I’m done, I’m able to look around my sparkling clean, wonderfully organized home and breathe a sigh of complete satisfaction.

Try it! Make yourself a list, along with your daily routines. Start crossing things off as you do them. It’s a great sense of freedom and accomplishment!

Are you ready?

Ok, then! Lets get to work!

Today’s Cleaning Challenge is to clean the inside of your microwave. It gets so dirty and gungy inside. Some days you don’t even want to put more food in there, it’s so dirty!

An easy way to get the baked on dirt off is to fill a measuring cup or bowl with water and “cook” it for 5-10 minutes. The steam that comes off the water will help to soften the crusties and they’ll wipe off with very little effort.

When you’re done the inside, don’t forget the inside too! Use a nice damp cloth and then some window cleaner to get it nice and shiny.

Have fun!

Unfortunately, that’ means that I’ve lost all my readers and those who were depending on me to help them. I’m so very sorry for that.

Now that things have slowed down offline, though, I’m able to get online again and try to get this blog back up and running!

My routines have helped keep my house running smoothly and keep my family stress free and organized! I can’t say enough good things about having a well thought out routine and list!

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask. I will be back soon with more information, product reviews, tips and hints and all around goodness! Not to mention our daily challenges!

So, what I did was actually sit down and make a list. Yes, another list! But this list helped me to actually fully realize how many bad habits I had aquired over the years. Then, once I had a short list (I couldn’t think of too many, you know! LOL!) I posted it on my fridge where I could see it every day with a note at the top that read “You Can Beat These!” Every time I went to the fridge, I would see this list and it would remind me of the little thigns I was doing all the time to sabotage my own progress.

Then, as new bad habits that I hadn’t thought of when I made my original list started showing themselves (I was shocked at how many more there really were!) I added them on.

I now have a fairly long list stuck to my fridge to remind me not to shoot myself in the foot by bringing these bad habits along with me on my journey towards loving my home. Here is an example of what I have:

-forget to bring dirty dishes out of the living room

-forget to pick up after myself before bed

-forget to file papers regularly

Those are just three examples of what I mean by bad habits that are holding me back and keep popping up.

I strongly urge you to create a list of your own. You’ll be amazed at how helpful it is to have your bad habits displayed right in front of you. Once you have control of them, you can beat them!

For instance, my weekly schedule looks like this:

Monday: Heavy Cleaning

Tuesday – Free Day

Wednesday – Desk Day

Thursday – Light Cleaning Day

Friday – Errand Day

On Monday this week, we experienced the tail end of Hurricane Ike which knocked out our power for about 8 hours. We woke up to no power after a night of no sleep. So, a heavy cleaning day was out.

Friday’s are generally my Errand day. That’s when I do my grocery shopping, pick up extras that we need, make appointments if I can, that sort of thing. This Friday is a PA day at school and my husband is working. So, we’re going today rather than tomorrow.

It’s important to have a schedule to keep ourselves organized and focused. It’s equally important to be able to switch those days out when needed without going into panic mode and losing all sense of focus.

Using your lists and cards effectively (meaning making them workable and relevant to your home and sticking to them every single day) will mean that when life does throw you a curveball, you can make the changes that need to be made to your weekly schedule with ease.

If you haven’t planned your week yet, that’s ok. I’ll be posting a page about that soon. If you have, remember, it’s on paper, not carved in stone. You run your home and your plan, they don’t run you. You’re the boss, you’re in charge and you make them work for you!

If you haven’t joined the Yahoo group yet, it’s a great place to keep in touch with other members, chat and have some fun at the same time! The link is along the right sidebar. Just give it a click and join the fun.

If you’re having any trouble at all, or have any questions, click the Contact Us link, send me an email and I’ll get back to you right away.

1. Work on weeding the gardens to get ready for fall planting. Due
to inclement weather, I wasn’t able to finish this last week.

2. Unpack for 15 minutes per room

3. Finish organizing the den

4. Get chicken coop ready for the chickens

5. Get my Avon business organized and ready to go!

Remember, these are 5 little tasks that you’ve either been putting off finishing up or things that you really need to get done this week. They don’t need to be big jobs, and you can work at them at your own speed.

Make sure to write them on a new card and place them in the front of your recipe box so you can grab them every morning with your morning tasks.

Have a great day!