- Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
- She looketh well to the ways of her household
- She eateth not the bread of idleness
Disclaimer: A Virtuous Woman tells the truth, even it isn't pretty. And this ain't pretty.
Although I haven't been participating every day, I've been following everyone else's adventures for the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom.
Last week, one of the days that I just pretended I didn't see the post was the day we were supposed to "surface clean the bedroom" in 15-20 minutes.
They have not seen my surfaces.
Actually, I haven't seen my surfaces in a while.
I have been doing better about making the bed lately, after falling off the 21-day Making New Habits Bandwagon. But I deluded myself on my last post on Saturday that the bedroom, of all places, while not clean, was looking better.
But this week, when the "surface clean your bedrooms" task came around, I knew I had to bite the bullet and Just Do It.
It's bad, ladies. Very, very bad. If you have small children, you may want to ask them to leave the room.
Mother, please don't look.
My husband's side of the bed.
That pile of gold stuff is our winter bedding, piled on a chair. We took off the winter bedding (only "winter" because, although lightweight, the comforter is warm. Too warm for Louisiana except in cold weather.) But before I could pack it away, it turned cold again. Then warm again. Then cold again. So we've been alternating according to the weather. But it just contributes to the overall disarray, although this is really just the least of it, as you'll see.
My side. Not any better.
This is where you may want to avert your eyes....
Yes, this is real.
And it is all my stuff.
Every stinking last bit of it.
Except the basket of towels waiting to be folded. Think just that one thing would make much difference?
The box is a "donate" box that I started months ago and never finished. The black trash bag is left from the last time I decided to clean and organize. An anthropologist would have a field day with all of this, wouldn't
they?
So. As ugly as it is, this was my truth. I could make a thousand excuses, but in the end, it is what it is.
But once it gets that bad, where do you begin?
Pick one thing, and do it.
I picked making the bed. It's the biggest thing in the room, and when the bed is made, it already gives a feeling of order to the room, even if the rest of it is a disaster.
Once you have a place to start, go the next place.
I actually cleaned and straightened the dressing table yesterday, you just couldn't see it past all of the stuff piled in the rocker in the earlier picture, but I did tweak a bit today, and emptied the trash can that you can't see behind the rocker.
Then I tackled the next biggest area--around and in front of my chest-of-drawers. I picked up shoes and put them away; sorted clothes for washing, mending, giving away and throwing away; packed away winter clothes as well as the winter bedding; started a laundry basket full of things that didn't belong in the bedroom; added to the box of to-be-donated items; threw away trash, and just generally sorted and cleaned.
Last was the top of the chest, which was an adventure all it's own. Sorting, cleaning, throwing away and putting away.
Don't look at the carpet, that's the last thing I have to do, and it's gonna take some extra effort--I do my hair at the dressing table, and the last time I vacuumed this area, hair tangled around the beater brush and broke the vacuum. So I have to use a brush or a static sheet or something similar to get the hair up before I vacuum now.
This closet originally had sliding doors, which we took off when we carpeted the room years ago, then when we tried to put them back they dragged on the carpet and we never replaced them. The closets in this house are shallow, but wide, and not having doors actually makes it easier to get to the things hanging on the ends. So this is the best this area gets.
Basket of clothes to be folded and put away tonight, trash to be hauled out, donate box to be loaded, and bag full of old sheets to be put in the rag box in the shed.
Next week's bedroom day--my husband's side of the room and whatever else I can find!
And now--nourish and hydrate!
This post is linked to:
30-Day House Cleaning Challenge at Money Saving Mom
Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
Titus Tuesday at Time-Warp Wife
Tuesday To Do at The Blackberry Vine
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Until next time...
To see other posts in this series, click on Clean in 30
Great job! You got a lot accomplished :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I wash exhausted, but it was definitely worth it. Now that it's clean, it'll be much easier to keep clean, if that makes sense!
DeleteWow, good job :) I keep thinking I need to try and get onboard with the challenge, but it is overwhelming. I'm happy that I got my sheets washed, folded and put away (all in a 2 hour period), made the bed and put away our "big green monster" winter blanket. Every little thing helps!!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely been that for me, as well. It seems pointless sometimes to do something small when there's so much to be done, but even in this short time, I'm finding that just doing a little inspires me to do a little more, and to try to keep up what's been done. Until a day like this one, where I finally dove in and just kept at it. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteGood job! Our bedroom is so small that, except for the dresser tops, I cant let it pile up too much or we don't have anywhere to walk. My challenging clutter spots are my craft desk (in the dining room - ack), my sewing room and the breezeway and garage which are piled with stuff (some of which, ok, a good portion of which is *not* ours). :-) But, I did start working seriously on the garage this year! I've made some progress, and have the support of the family members who own much of the stuff - which is good. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNOTE on getting that nasty hair off the floor to save your vacuum cleaner - put on a pair of rubber soled shoes (tennis shoes, Crocs, etc.) and then rub your foot/feet over the surface of the carpet. The hair sill start to collect into clumps/twists which will grow as you work at it. Then you can just pick them up and throw them in the trash. :-)
Oh, cool tip! I hate cleaning up the hair, but I have long (below the shoulders) hair, so it has to be dealt with. Avoidance clealy has not worked, lol!
DeleteMy worse spot, which I hope to get to next week, is my "spare bedroom" which is a dumping ground for everything!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
You are very brave to show your stuff. I try to be tidy, but always fall short. My friend Mary's husband teases her. He says he has to be careful, when he gets up to go to the bathroom during the night, Mary makes the bed. Like I said I try to be tidy, but always fall short. Good luck with your challenge.
ReplyDelete