Yes, I'm Still Achieving!

I have been quite remiss in logging my progress, but progress I have had!

I finished last week in the kitchen, all the way through.  My poor kitchen is still a disastrous mess, but I cleaned out the refrigerator and got rid of some stuff.  I cleaned out my pantry closet, and a lot of time was spent catching up on cleaning dishes and sorting through boxes.

This week has been the bathroom, so I've come full circle.  It has been a full month that I've been doing this, and I know after another month, two months, three months, my house will look completely different. 

I've gotten 15 minutes done every day except last night, when dishes needed washing and I've been working under a teething-baby deadline.  James helped me load the dishwasher after I put Bean to bed, then we watched New Moon.  Bean woke up after only an hour or so, and only wanted to sleep on me.  I categorize yesterday under the "illness" category of acceptable excuses, even though the illness wasn't mine. :D

Great strides in the bathroom.  I went through my train case full of old cosmetics, cleaned out a cabinet under the sink, went through a little box that had been holding some of my old beauty stuff, and nearly finished the closet.  If Bean will let me today I'll do the other drawers on the other side of the sink. 

Next week: Master Bedroom again.  There will only be three days of this room, because on Thursday morning James, Bean and I are leaving for Salt Lake City.  We're attending the LDStorymakers conference next weekend.

I'm really enjoying seeing the difference on this second go-round of the house. 

Last Week, This Week

I was terrible at posting last week, but knowing I was going to kept me going.

15 minutes Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat.  Booyah!

The couches got cleared out underneath, piano cleared off and dusted, the cobwebs are gone from the walls, and the biggest layer of dust is gone from the pictures.  Perfect?  Not yet, but much better!

The kids forgot a couple of days (meaning I forgot to make them do it), but under Lion's bed is finally clear.  A few bits to sweep once we pull his bed out, but it is amazing!  A couple of weeks ago things were stuffed so hard under his bed they were completely spilling out.

This week is the most cluttered, un-functional place in my house: the kitchen. 

Living Room: Days 1 and 2

15 minutes, both days.

Not much to report, but the couches have been cleared out underneath, and it's much clearer.  The five loads of laundry have been reduced, and tomorrow should be eliminated.

The piano is next on my list for tomorrow!  (Actually today, since it's past midnight.  I'm getting the baby to sleep as I type this.)

Onward, ever onward, my friends!

Master Bedroom: Days 3,4,5 and 6; Sneak Peek for Next Week!

Wow.  I thought I had at least posted Wednesday!  Time flies when you have a fussy baby.  Well...not really, but it does pass.

I am very glad this week is over.  My bedroom isn't finished, but it looks so much better!  Here's the breakdown:

Day 3: Began decluttering the pile residing on the dresser
Day 4: Finished dresser, found odds and ends including a car title, various earrings, and my husband's lost scriptures. (Yes, it was really that bad.)
Day 5: Put stuff I didn't know what to do with yet into a couple of boxes already containing that variety of stuff, moved those and a humidifier that we have to take back to the store under the crib.  It's out of the way now, and the floor is clear.  Well...except for the dirty laundry, I need to fold some to empty a basket. I also need to get back to the awesome laundry system I had last year.  It's posted here somewhere.
Day 6: Worked on the bookshelf.  It's one of those short, small ones, but it has accumulated a lot of stuff, and not many books. The top looks pretty good now.

What a difference six days make!  My room, though still needing another week at least, doesn't look like a tornado hit it.  I actually feel like I can relax in there now.  Ahhhhhh.

Next week: the Living Room.  Dun dun dun....

Master Bedroom: Day 2

So today I started getting sick.  Felt nauseated part of the day, but it got better pretty quickly.  I was surprised, because for a while I was sure the flu was coming on.  I think it has to do with the green smoothies and healthy food I've been eating. (The feeling better part, not the sick part.)

I really didn't want to do my 15 minutes today.  I mean, really.

I forgot to make the kids do it.  Both boys weren't feeling so hot today, so since they're kids I kind of let it go earlier.  Then I forgot about it later, completely.  They were running around like they usually do and ate a hearty dinner, so they could have done it.  They'll get back in the saddle tomorrow.

There was nothing exciting about today, except that I found a book a friend loaned me.  I had lost it while in the middle of it and have been wanting to read the rest.  (It had snuck under the bed somehow!)  I just continued to clean up my floor and now we can get into the closet.  Our room becomes the receptacle for things we don't know what to do with, like boxes of stuff and odds and ends. Those are mostly out of the way now, stacked and waiting to be sorted through, instead of blocking part of our closet door. 

It does look better in there.  I'm so glad I just did it anyway. 

Master Bedroom: Day 1

Well, I took the plunge.  Our room is such a wreck, everything on the floor everywhere!  The 15 minutes were spent picking up dirty clothes, throwing away trash, and tossing the shoes into the closet.  I didn't even touch the boxes filled with things under the crib and the bed.

Those clothes are now mostly in the wash.  Yay!

Princess threw some of her dirty clothes in the hamper.  The boys mostly played catch-up from the weekend for their 15 minutes, but their room is ready to get cleaned further tomorrow. 

I'm happy to have gotten some things accomplished, especially since I could hardly put Bean down at all today.

I like it that he's snuggly when he's not feeling well, poor little guy.

I hope to see a major difference in my bedroom tomorrow!

Days 3&4: Bathroom

Ok, so I in fact did do my 15 minutes yesterday.  Pacific time instead of my current Central, but it still counts because it was before I went to bed! 

I had a full day yesterday, and by the time I got the teething baby settled down on Daddy (he was still working from home) and remembered about my 15 minute commitment, it was nearly 1:00 am.  What's another 15 minutes when you've already been up that late, right?

I got another two baskets cleared out last night, and another two today plus two small ones.  I'm going to have to do some reshuffling of some of them.  One of them is going to be divided into two baskets, but that's going to have to wait until the next Bathroom Week.  I also cleared some dirty clothes off of the counter and emptied out the wastebasket.  I've thrown out a whole lot of expired, empty, or no longer wanted bottles, jars and tubes.  The closet looks so much better!  I found a lot of hidden dirty laundry behind my diaper pail that is waiting to be washed.  I actually found my wetbag! (I do cloth diapers, and a wetbag is a small travel bag to put wet diapers in.)

The boys have done a fantastic job with their room, and they're not complaining as much about doing it.  They're seeing that a few minutes of diligence a day is really going to make their room clean.

Princess has picked up all her clothes off the floor.  Since her room is really a major mess, she's going to need my help.  After all, she's only four.

I really didn't want to do it today since I've been running around cleaning other things and doing laundry.  But, since I promised myself I'm glad I did!

Next week, as Flylady has scheduled:  Master Bedroom Week.  Yikes.  I admit, I'm not looking forward to that one.  I am looking forward to the results, though. The kids will continue on with their 15 minute cleaning in their rooms as well.

I'm doing all I can today to make Sunday an actual day of rest.  It hasn't been for me in a long time.

See you Monday!