52 Weeks to a Clean House: Week 6 - If I Don't Come Out, Send a Search Party!

Home Office Space

I am loving the organized kitchen, and we are happily maintaining clear counters and clean sinks (no dirty dishes piling up!) The whole family is on board, and it is great. That almost gives me enough courage to tackle the catch-all space we call the "office."   There are lots of reasons to tackle this space next. The biggest reason is that this space is probably the most difficult space in the house. I believe if I am able to get this room organized and functional, then the rest of the house will be much, much easier.

My kitchen flows in one straight line into my dining room. It is all one big room. We did that intentionally when we remodeled, and I love it. At the dining room, however, the space turns north 90 degrees forming an L-shape. It is this northern open area that is our family disaster area. It holds books, scrapbooking supplies, photos, files, magazines, crafts, school supplies, office supplies, family history records, the home computer, and more. It is used by the entire family.

Books, scrapbooks, Lego and more!

 There are also some boxes.  What is in those boxes? I am not quite sure. But I am sure they all contain PAPER. Paper is my nemesis. Getting control of the tornado of paper that swirls through my home would be a major accomplishment and a big improvement in my life.

Dreaded pile of boxes

Since tax season is upon us, and since the papers needed for me to work on those tax returns are somewhere in this space, I figure it is time to go to work. I wish the documents I needed had a tracking beacon, but I know they are in here somewhere.

Photos (at least they are in boxes by year!)

I am planning to work through my office using organizer Julie Morgenstern's SPACE acronym.  SPACE stands for Sort, Purge, Assign a home, Containerize, and Equalize.  Today my goal is to sort and purge at least one of those annoying boxes. I have a feeling the office will take longer than the kitchen, but I am trying to stay optimistic.

Someone's projects.

If you don't hear from me the next week or so, send out a search party. I am lost in a mountain of paper!

Do you deal with paper clutter effectively in your home? What are your best tips?

Great link to tips on using the SPACE system

52 Weeks to A Clean House: Week 5 - Refrigerator Wars

I once had a poster that listed 101 ways to say "No" to something. One of the excuses included "I am making a movie about the thing that grew in my refrigerator."  If you have ever lived with roommates at college, you know what a viable excuse that is.

Removing everything from my fridge so I can clean.

My sophomore year of college, the kitchen of my apartment took on a horrible odor. My roomies and I were stumped. We took out trash, cleaned, and tried to locate the smell. Finally, we realized it was coming from beneath the refrigerator. Someone had spilled milk in the fridge, and it had flowed down into the area beneath the appliance, rotted, and now smelled like vomit. It was incredibly awful, and I think the roommates who cleaned up this rank mess deserve a medal.

Today as I started to clean my refrigerator, I was happy to find it was not in such a messy state, My husband routinely helps put away groceries, and while he is at it, he wipes out refrigerator produce drawers and tosses old food, so the fridge stays in pretty good shape. Still, it was time for a thorough cleaning.

Squeaky clean refrigerator!  Now if I can get those shelves back in...

Here are my observations from today's kitchen cleaning:

• I almost needed an engineering degree to remove refrigerator drawers and shelving, and get it all put back together.
• Baking soda is my favorite kitchen cleaner for tackling grime.
• It is a great victory when you remove expired food from your refrigerator AND get it in the trash can before garbage pick-up that day.
• If you don't know how long something has been in your refrigerator, chances are it has been there too long.
• It is best to clean the fridge before a trip to the grocery store...fewer items to take out!

I just have this week left to finish my kitchen, and things are looking good. I still have to clean a few miscellaneous cabinets and drawers, and the stove and oven.  Thankfully the oven is self-cleaning. And there are two clutter piles left for me to deal with, and one tiny landfill of papers by the toaster that belongs to my spouse, but I am pretty confident the kitchen will be clean and organized by January 31!

Fridge art, yes or no?

A last thought about refrigerators:  many organizing books say a fridge should have a clean exterior, meaning no items on the outside of your fridge. I admit the look is uncluttered, and it is easy to wipe off fingerprints or marks if there is nothing on your fridge. But my family is used to our fridge calender. Our fridge is also a mini-art gallery sporting magnets of famous paintings collected on various trips, as well as scenes from national parks. Those fridge magnets are fun memories of family vacations. So, I am torn about having a pristine refrigerator exterior, and having things I love on the front of my fridge.

What is your preference? Fridge art? or clean slate?

The Art By the Side of the Road...

Sign for Moqui Cave

One of the things I love about road trips is the odd and wonderful things you find by the side of the road. On a trip to the Grand Canyon, as we neared Kanab, UT, my husband and I saw a sign for the Moqui Cave. It looked like an obvious tourist trap, but we weren't in a big hurry, so we decided to take the tour.

Entrance to the Moqui Cave

It was a much better stop than I anticipated. Not only did the Moqui Cave have a colorful local history, but cavernous rooms inside now contain geology and artifact collections of museum quality. The cave has been used by humans since the Anasazi period. It was a Speakeasy during the 1920s, and in the 1950s it was converted to a tavern and dance hall. The inlaid bar counter contains semi-precious stones from Brazil, and is beautiful. The cave also houses pottery and artifacts from native peoples, and a big collection of fluorescent rocks. We enjoyed our time at Moqui Cave, and thought it was well worth the stop.

Here are a few other oddities I have seen by the side of the road.

World's Largest Dinosaur

Yup, we paid the fee here, too. We climbed up into the mouth of the World's Largest Dinosaur in Drumheller, Canada. Also worth the price of admission.

I love road signs.

Road signs are great, and this one had an amazing cloud formation behind it. When you see signs that say things like "Plates on the Road," it is completely worth it. 

Cemeteries are always worth a look.

I am a sucker for cemeteries.  This little cemetery in Utah is surprisingly well-kept. Family members still gather here every year, and it is very pleasant. Again, just something we saw out the car window by the side of the road that begged us to stop for a few minutes.

Wilson Arch

Wilson Arch outside of Moab, Utah, is a great natural roadside attraction. I've passed it many times, but one lovely day we stopped to take a closer look.

Truck in Nine Mile Canyon.

Who can resist this great old truck? The sagebrush in the hood is almost comical. I am not sure if it is a statement about man's blight on the land, or on nature's power to reclaim its territory. Loved seeing this, though.

Aliens?

We passed this rock on the way to the Spiral Jetty.  Looks like a likely spot for an alien landing. Perhaps this rock is giving directions?

Shoe Tree

One of my new favorites was this tree full of shoes we passed driving from Great Basin National Park back to Delta, Utah.  I don't know who started throwing shoes in this tree, but obviously several other people have joined the fun.  Litter? Art? Social bonding? Whatever your perspective, it is a sight to behold.

I can't wait to plan another road trip and see what else I will discover by the side of the road!

What are some of the best "roadside atractions" you have seen?

52 Weeks to a Clean House: Week 4 - A Lick and a Promise

Clean Pantry!

This is one of those weeks when I have extra things going on, so I am a little concerned I will fall behind on my schedule to get my kitchen cleaned and organized this month. You know those weeks...when you have a sick child, or an extra project at work, or other demands on your time that disrupt your routine. I am trying hard this week to do basic cleaning, make progress in my kitchen, and juggle everything else. 

My mom (who is a VERY clean and organized person) has come to clean for me at various points in my life when I was struggling through a difficult pregnancy or rehabilitating herniated discs in my back. She would whip through my home in a blur of cleaning efficiency, doing dishes, sweeping floors and cleaning bathrooms. Then she would say, "Well, that will have to do...I just gave it a lick and promise." Of course, the bathrooms were sparkling, but I knew what she meant. Sometimes we only have time for a quick slick-over, not a deep clean. This is a "lick and a promise" week on my cleaning schedule.

I knew this would be a busy week, so I made a plan on Sunday. Tasks got assigned to each day, and I marked days when I could squeeze in a little of my cleaning and organizing efforts. This is not going to be a real deep cleaning week (look out Week 5!), so I chose things I could do quickly in small blocks of time in order to keep moving forward on my project.

If you don't have a lid, you can't stay....

I started with some drawers that are in pretty decent shape, and wiped them out and tidied them up. Then I tackled the container drawer. It had become pretty jumbled. I pulled everything out and said "If you don't have lid, you can't stay." A quick match of containers to lids eliminated a few things right away. Next I pulled out things with broken lids, or containers that have seen better days. Out to the recycling bin!

The survivors.

After tucking the lids in their box and nesting the containers, everything fit easily back in the drawer. I am almost done cleaning and organizing drawers and cabinets. Today I also pulled a bottom drawer completely out and looked beneath it.

Yeah, that's dust.

Scary. But that is the "cleaning" part of the project, right? The hot pads were rescued from exile and after a good washing, I am sure they will be fine. Thank goodness for small vacuums with handy attachments. This looked better in no time, and now I know this part of my kitchen is clean.

Speaking of my kitchen, I have fallen back in love with it this month as I have reclaimed parts of it, cleaned other areas, and unloaded unwanted items. We lived in our home about a year before we pulled together the money to remodel our kitchen. I have an 8-foot island, and plenty of cabinet space. I have a built in pantry and a window seat. It is a great space. When we met with the cabinet designer, I wanted some small drawers beneath one cabinet. He asked me what I was going to put in the drawers. I used it for things like markers, glue, and colored pencils when my kids were small. And notepads. And film.

Film... oh, relic from my past...

He said I was the first person he had talked to who had a plan for those little drawers. I love them!

Love my small drawers (and yes, my kitchen trouble spot is still clean!)

The kids are much older now, and I no longer need glue sticks and markers in the kitchen for homework projects. But I found a new use for one of these little drawers. It is a perfect home for cell phone chargers and other electronic stuff! Now when the chargers are not in use, I can put them away, which helps keep my counters clear and looking tidy.

New home for cell phone chargers.

Even though I don't have a lot of time to commit to cleaning this week, I am forging ahead. I have still managed to make progress. When your life gets busy, does your cleaning routine fall apart, or do you manage with a lick and a promise?

Celebrating Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. ...I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Profound words of hope. If everyone could rise from that starless midnight and work toward that bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood...then King's vision could be a reality.