Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Homemaking for the Holidays

Okay, I made my list and I am a woman on a mission. There are so many things in the house I want to do before Thanksgiving. We don't have the official Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but family is in and out for the long weekend and I want to be able to relax and not be having a conniption fit the day before they all arrive. And plus, it just needs to be done anyway.

So...here is the plan. I have 24 projects that need to be done in my home. These are in addition to all the normal stuff, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc... These are the things you might just do naturally, but I usually have to have some kind of motivation to tackle. Some big and some little. Some the kiddos will help with and some they will be banished to the yard while I am working on them. I am also planning on purging many many things this month also. I will not be doing any projects on Sunday and I will allow myself to double up if I have time left in the day. I am going to reallllly try NOT to get behind, but I live with a bunch of Clarks and danger is their name (think yesterday) and I know I will be dealing with dust allergies at some time during the process.

I will need your help and one of my favorite things to do is give people prizes! So, I will do all the work and one of you will win the prize! And my prize will (hopefully) be a clutter-free home by Thanksgiving.

The Prize: A Yankee Candle Gingerbread votive holder with two votives in the Christmas Cookie scent. I wish I could send you the smell. Yum. (US only, as my kiddos are expecting Christmas presents this year).

How To Enter: Read over my list. And leave me a comment with a helpful hint for tackling one of the jobs. That's all. I will draw a name on Thanksgiving morning.

Here we go:
November 1-make my list - DONE
2-Clean my TV/video cabinet (and the top of it)-DONE
3-Deep clean my bedroom-DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4-Clean off the top of my fridge-DONE, and if you are tall and have seen the top of my fridge, I am so so sorry.
5-Clean under couch and chairs-DONE
6-Clean and purge inside of my kitchen cabinets and move the computer to the computer table-DONE!
8-Clean out the hall closet-DONE (and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be)
9-Purge and dust the bookshelves-DONE
10-Deep clean my bathroom and the kids bathroom-DONE
11-Find another place that will work for my library box-DONE
12-Clean out my closet-DONE
13-Deep clean the boy's room and closet-DONE (by the boys)
15-Clean the glass shelves in my curio cabinet
16-Clean out the fridge and pantry-DONE
17-Clean my blinds-DONE (by Abbie!)
18-Clean out the linen shelves-DONE
19-Recover my piano bench and hang some pictures (Rebekah, will you help?)-Sorta DONE
20-Scrub walls from all the little handprints about my house-DONE
22-Clean all the baseboards (kiddos will definitely be helping with this one)-DONE
23-Scrub the kitchen floor and the corners. Boo-Hiss
24-Make the front porch welcoming and give everything a final lick.

So, do you have any hints for old MamaHen? Other than getting a maid? Cause I have been suggesting that for a long time and no one is listening.

16 comments:

  1. How about putting your library box in the trunk of your car. If you (or kids) finish a book you can put it near your purse so the next time you head to the car you can drop it in...out of sight in the house but ready for the library run...

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  2. Wow, that sure is a big list! Don't think I'm to the point yet to give any good house cleaning tips :)
    Hope the Clark house is spotless by Thanksgiving!

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  3. Wendy, don't give up. You can definitely do this. And there are a LOT of things the kids can help with. But sorry, I have not good tips on getting it all done! However, can I take a look at the books you purge:)?

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  4. No good tips. But I can tell you what NOT to do......I deep cleaned before going to China. I decided to attack the air conditioning return thing, which had always looked dingy to me. It was a major undertaking, but spotless when I finished. Soon after, DH decided to freshen the air with febreeze. With good intentions, he sprayed the intake vent, thinking the fresh clean scent would circulate throught out the house. Then every spec of dust that was getting sucked in, proceeded to stick to the damp vent....and is still there.=(

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  5. You can do it, yes you can!

    If you can't do it, no one can!!!

    (And recruit the kids!)

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  6. Dear Boo-hiss,
    Tall orders there, lady! I am a big fan of the Fly Lady and my suggestion is to pace yourself. Baby steps! Set a timer and work on the project for fifteen minutes then go work on your other household upkeep. Don't get so wrapped up in the biggness of it all that all the small things you normally do start to pile up. Don't get burnt out and forget to focus on what the holiday is really about! :) Otherwise, GOOD LUCK!!!

    Love,
    Fall Cleaning Happening in NE

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  7. And when you finish, you're coming to my house, right?? Right?? Because that would be an AWESOME prize!!

    I say carry a giant trash bag from room to room with you. If it doesn't have a home, it goes right into trash (or donate.)

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  8. OK, I know I can't get my list done, but I can help cheer you on in your desire to get yours done! Pick one thing each day perhaps.
    Good Luck!

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  9. Our library box is working great in the kitchen.

    Totally would do my room first, because it's more restful when it's cleaner, if I know this why isn't my room clean?

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  10. To make cleaning the top of the fridge easier, I just put down a thin layer of newspaper. When it's "kinda grimy" (you know how the top of the fridge gets) I just throw away the paper, wipe the fridge down and add a new layer.

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  11. What a great way to accomplish things, one thing per day- I think it's just the list for me! No hints, if one day you aren't able to accomplish the goal don't be too hard on yourself.

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  12. You totally included my hint when you said the kiddos would be helping with the baseboards - recruit the help is the best hint ever!

    But did you realize that you skipped a number (#22 I think) but if you fix that...then your list just got shorter!! Now how's that for helpin'???!!

    You go girl!

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  13. OK, well, you porbably know all of my tips already, but here goes....
    #6 be brutal. Get rid of anything you don't really use
    #12 same tip
    #16 lay a damp paper towel on the fridge shelves while you're dumping out the leftovers and the shelves will be easy to wipe off
    #20 those Mr.Clean brick things work GREAT for this (and also cleaning doorways)
    #24 do this as a game with your kids, ending in lemonade or hot chocolate (depending on the weather) sitting on the porch.

    #25 Have fun! Lisa~

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  14. Thanks for visiting my blog! I like to set my timer to keep me motivated to get the job done before the timer goes off and also to keep me from spending too much working on a cleaning project. That way I still make time for cooking and my day to day cleaning jobs. Best of luck!

    Rachel
    debtfreedowds.wordpress.com

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  15. Get the magic eraser for cleaning the handprints off the walls. I wanna win b/c I love the smell of Christmas cookie candles.

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