Wednesday, July 4, 2012

A Wondering: Gone in 60 seconds

I have never been a neat freak - or a cleaning fanatic.  Just ask my mom, she'll be straight up honest and tell you I would just shove everything under my bed on cleaning day as a kid (and I had TWO beds in my room, all the more space to shove things under!!!)  As a wife, I wanted the cute clean house, but honestly I simply evolved from shoving under the bed to making piles.  Piles upon piles.
As a Mother, not only do I now crave organization - I want things to be semi CLEAN!

So I have started looking for ways to really clean and organize my house.  The first way way to hire a cleaning person- Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my cleaners, I can not express what a joy it was to have the ENTIRE house clean on one day.  But sadly; small budget, less work due to maternity leave timing, and funding the needs of 3 kiddos, did not leave room for the cleaners to stay.  It was a glorious 10 months though!
Now, I search for cleaning blogs, home organization tips, and the knowledge of others to become a lean green cleaning machine.  There is tons of good advice out there, and a gazillion different ways of doing something - but through all of it I keep coming back to a magazine article I read 10 years ago in college.
Essentially it said if you can do something in 60 seconds or less, do it NOW!!! 
I doesn't sound that earth shattering, but WOW does it make a difference.  Instead of coming home from a photo shoot and piling my equipment on the table (where busy hands could potentially reach it), it goes straight into my newly organized Office closet.  Instead of junk mail getting thrown on the buffet, I scan it and toss it.  When making Saturday pancakes, I wash the batter bowl while the last pancake cooks - no more stuck on mess of pancake goo.  And so on and so forth, My house isn't crystal clean yet, and I still struggle not to make piles, but I am making progress.

So, what can you do in 60 seconds???  Tell me the most hellpful cleaning/organizing tip you have ever come across!


Here is the AFTER on my office closet - I could still use some small bins for organizing - but the 'before' was three feet deep of clutter over the whole surface of the closet floor!!! Vast improvememtn don't you think???
*Tip for cleaning out a closet - REMOVE THE DOORS!  It gives you better access to everything and can let you see the whole space at once. (the doors are now securely back in place!)
The right hand side is all my photography equipment and business paraphernalia. (those two huge bins hold all my baby props, hats, backdrops, etc...).  The left hand side is all of my party planning accouterments, some crafting supplies, and yes - that in the back is my wedding dress!   

And HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY from Baby girl!!!

7 comments:

  1. I am a clean freak of sorts. I like my house to look clean and tidy. Now, if you look in the toilets, on top of the kitchen cabinets, in my linen closet....you can say work needs to be done. Instead of saying that Saturday afternoon will be devoted to bathrooms, I now will take 15 mins in a day and scrub the heck out of something or organize a closet. That way, I will always be productive and something will always be clean instead of waiting until your schedule suits you.

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    1. I love this - I have always tried to do the cleaning while the boys are taking naps or down for the night - but then I end up not getting down time ;o( I'm starting to try doing small things while they are awake: like vacuuming or sweeping the dining room while they chase me around (or try to unplug the vacuum), or cleaning the sink area of the bathroom while they take a bath... little things that add up!

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  2. Bathroom mildew on the tile or the mat in the tub is such a pain to clean. So there's those preventative measures that one can take (Bathroom fan -- bummer, don't have one in our apt.; 60 seconds to spray down the wall after a shower and to peel back the mat and let it dry out -- bummer, usually forget). Then there's the 60 second a day cleaning regimen. My daughter LOVES to use an old toothbrush to scrub the mat and the bathroom walls. She has since she was old enough to hold the toothbrush. A little bit of scrubbing every day sure makes a difference! (And sometimes while she's scrubbing I clean the counter or toilet or something). There's something about a preschooler's joy in the smallest activity that makes cleaning a bit more adventurous.
    Ellen

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    1. I love that she will scrub the grout... now how did you teach her this was not the teeth cleaning toothbrush? My boys love their toothbrushes and will suck on them for 10-20 minutes ;o)

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  3. Awesome job Suz! Just cleaning up after yourself makes a world of difference and the really cool thing is that your kids will grow up watching you do it...and will do it themselves when they're big enough without constantly asking "WHY?"
    If you're interested, the next step is things you can do in 15 minutes. Flylady.net has an awesome site and you can even sign up for a daily 15 minutes task. It doesn't sound like a lot, but do it for a month and you start to look around and feel less stressful about clutter...because it disappears :)

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    1. Ohhhhhhhhhhh -have to pin that page... I definitely want to get better, but you have to start somewhere right :o) I've also notice that since I started picking up the toys more often, the boys will occasionally put something back in a drawer or bring it to me when they are done with it. Baby steps can sometimes feel like miracles.

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  4. Suzanne, I wipe down everything in the bathroom right before I step in the shower, toilet included. If you do it daily the vanity will not get the chance to get cluttered and the toilet doesn't get so bad. Don't forget the outside of the bowl! It also goes along with your 60 second rule because it realy doesn't take much longer if any. :)

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