Clean The Things That Clean The Things
Guys! It’s the first weekend of the month! This is my favorite! Time to clean all the things :)
It’s probably self explanatory, but you can’t clean things with dirty things.
Washing machine: on my front loader, I have a door that drops down with access to the drain pump and filter. Empty both of those. Spray the gasket inside the door with multi purpose cleaner and wipe down. Throw in a washing machine cleaner tablet (like Affresh) and start a cycle.
Dryer: clean the lint trap and use a vacuum attachment to vacuum the vent. If you can access it from outside easily, also do this side.
Dishwasher: there’s a filter inside (I promise). On mine it’s on the bottom. Pull it out, spray it off and put it back. Use an Affresh dishwasher tablet and start a cycle.
Clean out the bristles of your broom and spray off your dustpan.
Clean out the bar inside the vacuum. If it has a filter, wash or replace this also.
Wash your mop! Depending what style you have, there’s probably a reusable pad you can wash in the washing machine.
Cleaning rags: throw these in the wash with your mop pad.
A/C vents and filters, baseboard heaters, radiators, etc: vacuum, dust, spray and wipe, replace any filters.
Humidifiers and air purifiers: clean these out according to manufacturer instructions. Change and filters.
Hair brushes: remove as much hair as possible, soak in warm soapy water for 10-15 minutes to get the stuff you can’t get off easily.
Electric clippers and beard trimmers: brush off any loose hair. Fill a small dish with rubbing alcohol, submerge just the blade a run for a few seconds. Let drip dry on a towel and use a drop or two of clipper oil to prevent rust.
Toothbrush: throw away your old one (can also be used to clean grout, window tracks and other small hard to reach places).
What other things do you have around the house that need to be cleaned to help you clean?
Cleaning Out My (Bathroom) Closet
Hi all, happy almost Friday.
I decided today that I needed to clean out my messy bathroom cabinet. I could never find anything I wanted to look for and there was a bunch of stuff I didn’t use and need. (See photos at the end). Now I want y’all to do the same!
Clean Out A Cabinet Challenge:
Pick your cabinet of choice
Grab a few garbage bags
Pull everything out of the entire cabinet
Wipe cabinet down
Group like items
Throw away anything that is broken or you know you don’t need or use
Put items that are in the wrong spot in the correct spot
Put items that you use more often in easy to access spots and items you don’t use often can go in the bottom or back.
Congrats! You’re done! Share below what cabinet you cleaned up! How long did it take you?
What Is Midimalism? (And A Cleaning Challenge)
The goal of midimalism is to find a balance between minimalism and maximalism that works for you. The point is not to shame either style, but to incorporate whatever characteristics fit your style.
Decluttering does not mean you have to throw items away that you still use. It just meant to get rid of unnecessary items (items that you don’t use, need or want anymore). Everyone’s lifestyle is different, so there no right or wrong answer or style. Everyone is welcome here and encouraged to comment and share their thoughts.
So here is a simple cleaning challenge that (probably) everyone can benefit from.
Pick one room in your house that you spend a good amount of time in and open your stop watch on your phone or watch or tablet. (Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc)
Grab a trash bag (either kitchen sized or from a grocery store) and a basket (I use laundry baskets for this).
Start the stop watch.
Put anything that is trash or broken in the trash bag. (Are you really going to fix it? How long has it been broken for? Did you already buy a new one? When was the last time you needed it?)
Put anything that is in the wrong room in the basket. (If you were looking for this thing in the future, where would you first look for it?)
Stop when you feel like you are running out of steam or your bag and basket are full. Maybe you can do this for an hour, maybe it takes you five minutes. The goal is to show you how quick you can make an impact.
Throw the trash bag away.
Put everything in the basket where it belongs. (If you were looking for this thing in the future, where would you first look for it?)
That’s it! Congrats, you made progress! Comment below what room you cleaned and how long it took you. Did you find any missing items or something cool you forgot about?
A Successful Weekend
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Hope everyone stayed safe today.
We had a weekend with no kid sports! First one since December. I used this weekend to really clean, and the kids chipped in too.
Dishes and laundry done. Sheets washed. Bathrooms cleaned. Fridge and freezer cleaned out. Wiped down the outside of the fridge, dishwasher and oven. Vacuumed most of the house. The kids wiped down the light switches and doorknobs, cleaned out the fire place, picked up their rooms (well, partway), cleaned some windows and dusted the baseboard heaters.
Now we really need to dust the ceiling fans and mop. Those are probably some of my least favorite chores, besides cleaning the walls around the toilets. Yuck.
What chores do you dislike? Which ones are your favorites? I’m weird and really enjoy folding and putting away laundry.
First Decluttering Challenge
It’s almost the weekend, hallelujah!
For a first decluttering challenge, let’s do something fun. I want you to find a small drawer or bin where things get shoved. For me this is the junk drawer. don’t got for something too time consuming or daunting. The point of this is to be quick and easy.
What drawer are you going to clean out? What missing item did you find? How long did it take you?
Start by emptying everything out of the drawer.
Throw away anything trash or broken. (Are you really going to fix it? How long has it been broken for? Did you already buy a new one? When was the last time you needed it?)
Now take anything that’s in the wrong space and put it where it makes the most sense. (If you were looking for this thing in the future, where would you first look for it?)
Vacuum and wipe out the drawer so it’s nice and clean.
If you have a divider or organizer you can use in this drawer, time to put it in there.
Time to put stuff away. Don’t just shove items in there. If you place them so you can see everything, it will make it more likely that you will keep it organized.
Second Post
Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great day.
So far so good getting my house clean. I had every plan to be productive this weekend - but that didn’t happen. I was out of the house at a dance competition Saturday and Sunday, leaving my husband and son alone. Let’s just say negative things got done. Oh, and my daughter and I got sick.
Over the weekend laundry got done, and toilets got clean, everything else got messier. It was also daylight savings. Spring forward is everyone’s favorite, right?
Monday my daughter and I were self appointed sick blobs. Made the bed when I woke up. I cleaned off the kitchen table and washed the tablecloth and reusable napkins. Did the dishes at the end of the night. I submitted my homework assignment late (it was due last night.) Rough start to the week.
Tuesday (today) I cleaned the Ninja Air Fryer lid because the smoke alarm went off last night making dinner. I cleaned out the fridge of old food. I also watered plants and trimmed dead leaves (I have too many plants so this actually took a while).
Tomorrow is back to the office and back to school.
What did you accomplish over the weekend? What do you plan to work on this week?
Today’s Cleaning Tip:
How to clean a Ninja Food Air Fryer/Pressure Cooker:
Boil water in a kettle or on the stovetop.
Add water and lemon to the pot, close the lid. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Scrub around the electric coil on the lid with a sponge.
Repeat steps 1-4 a few times. I used new water because it actually got gross pretty quick.
My First Step
Hi everyone! I am here to start my decluttering, cleaning and organizing journey and bring you along with me. I’m here to be open and honest, learn a thing or two (or a few hundred) and bring you along with me. I’d love for you to share your story and progress with me.
My day one goal is to set a quick and easy routine with “non-negotiables” for the bare minimum I will do around my house every single day.
Every morning when I wake up, I will make my bed and every night before bed I will make sure all dirty dishes are in the dishwasher or clean on the drying rack. The kids will also do their own part by emptying their backpacks (and folders), putting their snow shoes on the rack, and hanging up their jackets and snow pants.
What did you clean around your house today? What do you make sure to complete daily? Is there anything new you are going to add to your daily list?