Day 1-Spring Cleaning for the Rest of Us: 30 Days to a Cleaner, Fresher Home

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***Imagine this

Spring has sprung (well here in Texas at least…sorry those of you still covered in snow!) and thoughts of spring bring to mind thoughts of sweet little girls and boys frolicking around outside in the bright green freshly cut grass in clean white linen springtime outfits (no grass stains allowed in this fairytale).

Of course all of the windows are open (hope you don’t have allergies!) and the sun is shining brightly throughout your house, (yes, this means you must walk around your house fully dressed because the blinds are open) and there is not a dust speck in sight. Now, I don’t even need to tell you that of course  your floors and windows are sparkling at this point (you knew that already, right?). You better also hope you are currently positioned in the kitchen in your prim and proper apron baking some fresh bread (with your hair and makeup done of course).

Oh that’s not your life?

It’s not mine either.

***I am not a neat person

You see, spring might have sprung around these parts, but I’m still trudging along barely able to keep up with the day to day of keeping this household clean. Organization, neatness and attention to details are simply not characteristics that are wired into my DNA.

• I mean, I like clean things.
• I like them a lot.
• I am more productive when my house is clean.
• I am happier when my house is clean.

It’s just, I’m not really the Martha Stewart type. I’m kind of a mess. Maybe it’s the writer/scatterbrain in me? I have no idea. I can walk over the same pile of junk 50 times before noticing it. Maybe I’m thinking about the diaper I need to change, the article I need to write or butterflies and fluffy clouds, who knows?

All I know is, being neat doesn’t naturally occur to me.

Which brings me to Spring Cleaning. How can one get involved in spring cleaning when they are barely finishing up Tuesday’s cleaning (from last week)?

I know this house needs a good scrubbing. It needs a good spring cleaning, but when? Do I ask my husband to leave with the kids and take a vacation without me to the local Motel 6 so I can tackle the baseboards or the crayon on the walls? I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure he would not appreciate that suggestion.

Yet, spring cleaning needs to happen. I know this, my house knows this and now you do too.

When I finally came to this decision (somewhat begrudgingly), I took it to my best friend and worst enemy…Google. Google knows who the authority is on spring cleaning, and I suspect you do to.

***Why, Martha Stewart of course (duh)!

I’m not a huge fan of Ms Martha, she’s the anti me. My friend Meg loves her, and I love my friend Meg…but me and Martha? I’m thinking the fact that I get her magazine every month (free of course) and immediately scoff at the first article I open up to (pretty much without fail) means that we likely wouldn’t have much in common if we ever were to meet face to face.

I will say one thing though. That lady knows cleaning.

So I downloaded her spring cleaning checklist and had a good cry over it. I’m sure I’m not the only one! Then I thought about it and realized that because I’m probably not alone in this, I could likely rally some support here on my blog! I’m sure I’m not the only one that doesn’t want to spend spring break ignoring my kids while I clean refrigerator coils and inspect light fixtures (right? Maybe some of you neat folks actually enjoy that kind of thing?). I decided to challenge myself…and my readers…to spring clean, and I do mean thoroughly spring clean!

***The Challenge:

I am going to start a series on here starting today titled, “Spring Cleaning for the Rest Of Us-30 Days to a Cleaner, Fresher Home“. We will be going off of Martha’s spring cleaning checklist here and completing each major task, only we’ll be doing just 1 a day.

Now, I know some of you will likely go on vacation or get sick or maybe you don’t do housework on Sundays…and that’s fine. You’ll just have to double up some other days (or go a bit longer than 30 days). It’s also likely that there will be a day that doesn’t apply to you (maybe it’s a day we wax our floors and none of your floors are the type to need waxing), so you get that day off. Some of you might also have older kids that can help out with some of the more complex tasks, that’s fine too! I encourage you to get the whole family involved, cleaning is everyone’s job .

All that matters is that we get this stuff done, without getting even further behind on our day to day housekeeping.

***Day 1 Task:

Today our task has two parts, but they really shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes:

1. Either print or bookmark Martha’s Spring Cleaning checklist. Look it over and read her little tips and tricks. Don’t get discouraged, we will get to all of it.
2. You might have already completed the second part of today’s step yesterday. It’s a common time change task for most of us! Today we will:

Ensure Fire Safety: Change batteries in smoke detectors (this should be done twice a year), and make sure units are free of dust. Teach everyone in your household how to use a fire extinguisher, and review escape plans.

 

That’s it for today!

Click below to complete any of the Spring Cleaning in 30 days challenges!

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12
• Day 13
• Day 14
• Day 15
• Day 16
• Day 17
• Day 18
• Day 19
• Day 20
• Day 21
• Day 22
• Day 23
• Day 24
• Day 25
• Day 26
• Day 27
• Day 28
• Day 29
• Day 30 

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