Clean House Challenge

I'll admit it, I've never been a great housekeeper. Okay, I've never even been a good housekeeper. I envy my mother-in-law whose house is always spotless. We could show up at her house at 11:00 at night and her house is clean as can be. Luke will drop some crumbs and she'll come running out with a broom and dust pan. She's 71 years old by the way! I even went as far as Googling "how to become an obsessive compulsive cleaner". Can you believe there's no information on that topic on the Internet?!? I thought you could find anything online? Apparently not! I wish I was the kind of person that is bothered by clutter and no organization. Unfortunately, it doesn't affect me, but it does affect those around me. So, I'm going to do something about it!

I always seem to find myself rushing to 'clean' the house right before we're planning to have company over. Every single time I wear myself out and feel like crap the day of the get together. I keep telling myself that I'm going to deep clean and organize the house once and for all, yet it never happens! Well, Luke's 3rd birthday party is in 18 days, and I'm determined to get my house in tip-top shape for the party, and for good!

I used to make excuses like; I work all the time, I have two kids (how can I keep up with them?), I don't have enough space, I'm always so tired, etc. But it just dawned on me that... "Hello, your not the only mom that works, has kids, doesn't have their dream home, or is always tired!" Suck it up and deal with it woman! So, I'm dealing with it.

Luke and Jake's Bedroom

Now, in the last week I've made huge progress for myself.

1) I cleaned Luke and Jake's room the other day which probably hasn't gotten any attention from me since February. I know, that's terrible, but every morning when he leaves for school now, I go in there and straighten up and it's stayed spotless for 5 whole days, which is progress in my opinion.

Still clean...

2) My first day back as a stay at home mom, I washed every dirty dish in my house. Probably even some clean ones that had been sitting out so long, I couldn't remember if they were clean or dirty. Now I do the breakfast and lunch dishes when Luke is napping, and I do the rest of the dishes right before I go to bed. I've kept up with this routine for 13 days now!

3) The first day Luke went to school, I didn't know what to do with myself. Jake immediately fell asleep when we got back from the bus stop, and I was so emotional that day. So, I decided to do laundry. I did at least 6 loads just that day. Every day for the passed 11 days I've done at least one load of laundry (normally 2-3 including diapers and baby clothes), and my laundry room almost has a floor again!

Anyway, I only have 18 more days to get my house in order and I'm challenging anyone out there who needs the motivation to clean their house, to join me. I'll be posting before and after pictures with my progress, tips to get motivated, tips to keep things clean and organized, and tricks to declutter.

I have four rooms in my house and 1.5 bathrooms. Master bedroom, Luke and Jake's bedroom, living room, kitchen, master bathroom, half bath, and laundry room (though it's more like a closet).

And here is my time line:

6/1-6/4:
Kitchen

6/5-6/8: 
Living Room

6/9-6/12: 
Master Bedroom

6/13-6/15: 
Luke and Jake's Bedroom

6/16-6/17:
Bathrooms 

I may jump around a bit if I finish a room before my deadline, but this is my goal. I better go get started.

Posted in: Cleaning,In the Kitchen,Laundry,SAHM,WAHM