Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 20 (The Last Day!)

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #20 - Reorganize and clean-out your medicine cabinets. Ensure you properly dispose of any out of date medicines. Call your local pharmacy for more information.

Now, I know today is July 2nd and this challenge was suppose to end in June, but my husband took last Friday off from work to spend the day with me. I just had to do the same!

Congratulations on completing 20 days of decluttering and organizing!

Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Days 17 & 18

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge # 17 - Reorganize your kitchen cabinets!

While I did this a few weeks back, I still need to re-straighten the pots and pans area. My boys help put dishes away and sometimes they just don't get all items back in the right spot. I don't complain; I'm just glad they help me out!

Challenge #18 - Clean your closet floors. Vacuum carpeted floors and sweep and mop tile or wood floors.

I'm working on this right now! The boys' closet carpets were vacuumed last Thursday, but my tile definitely could use a lite sweeping.

Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 16

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

This is our last week!

Challenge #16 - Clean out your vents! Wash them down if they are in the ceiling or vacuum them out if they are in the floor.

I'm a little tired from our busy weekend, so I'm hoping to get this accomplished sometime after lunch!

Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Days 14 & 15

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge # 14 - Clean out the junk drawer!

I definitely have had one of these.

I'm ashamed to show you all such a mess. I found a new debit card, all the stamps I could ever need, gift cards, a brand new flash light, and 45 cents.

This is it  - a notepad, sd cards, cds, a stapler, tissues, headphones, a handful of reward cards and a bag of box tops.

Challenge #15 - Clean your computer. Wipe down the screen. Replace the mouse batteries. Clean up the email clutter.

This is an easy enough task, but I bet you spend most of your time deleting emails!

Enjoy your weekend. We've got one week left!

Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 13

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #13 - Clean the top of your kitchen cabinets and the top of your refrigerator. Wipe down the outside of the kitchen cabinets.

If your fridge has a ton of clutter up top, go through it! Throw out what you don't need and find a new place to put your fridge clutter.

Good luck!

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 12 & Cleaning Tip #7

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #12 - Clean out the microwave and the stove top!

Every Friday, I scrub out the microwave. However, after searching on Pinterest for some new microwave tips, I wanted to share my new favorite with you.

Cleaning Tip #7 : The Lemon Method

First, cut a lemon in half. Place it cut-side down on a plate; add one tablespoon of water to the plate. Then, microwave the lemon dish for three minutes. Wipe down the microwave with a towel and wash the rotating plate. Don't forget to wipe down the inner glass door as well as the outside of your microwave.

Don't throw away your lemon if you have a garbage disposal; lemons make great disposal cleaners!

I clean my glass stove top everyday - usually after the elements have cooled. I swear by Weiman's glass cook top formula and a simple kitchen rag. If things are looking really bad, I use Weiman's red scrub pad to help with burnt residue.

 

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 10 & 11

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #10 - Dust all ceiling fans in the house and wipe down all light fixtures. Check to see if they have bugs trapped inside, if so, remove and wash out.

Challenge #11 - Clean out your utensil drawer. Pull out the tray and empty all debris from it (crumbs, dust). Vacuum out the drawer and remove any unused items in it.

I've actually completed both of these challenges less than a week ago. I usually dust on Fridays, and all the kitchen drawers were emptied and cleaned for the upcoming garage sale. It's nice to have a reprieve!

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 9

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #9 - Wipe down all light switch plates in the house!

This is a great task for the children in your life.

It's raining here this morning and this makes for a great project until we join our friends bowling or at the park.

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 8

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #8 - Wipe down the door handles and doors throughout the entire house. {Don't forget to clean both sides!}

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Days 6 & 7

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #6 - Clean out the car!

and

Challenge #7 - Wipe down all the baseboards in your home!

Our car was not a complete disaster - this week! We did have a few drinks and snacks leftover from the weekend and we definitely needed to vacuum. My eldest son used a lint roller brush to remove all the dog hair from our recent outing to the lake. I think we finished this task in about 20 minutes.

The baseboards definitely needed a good wipe down! We've had a ton of dust this Spring. I got the boys on the task and taught them all about the wax on, wax off theory. It took them about 30 minutes to do all the baseboards in the house (including bathrooms and closets). They did a smashing job and even had a little help from Duchess!

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 5

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #5 - Clean out the couch and chairs!

I didn't get a chance to conquer this task on Friday because I was preparing for a family reunion. However, after only finding a pair of socks, a doggie toy, and a handful of LEGOs I certainly should have.

I'm secretly wondering if you found anything interesting or unusual?

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 4

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #4 - Clean out under the beds!

We have 3 bedrooms, but only one bed that accumulates things under it - mine!

I removed several old, broken boxes full of pictures: my childhood, highschool, college, the first day I met Jake, our family pictures, and more. I also found a box of greeting cards we'd sent each other, as well as letters Jake sent from his time away in the Navy. I even found a pennet from UT, which now hangs in my eldest son's room.

To go along with the boxes, I found a curtain rod (garage sale item), 3 pairs of socks, and a tank top I'd been looking for.

I think the best find under the bed was actually a gold ring I'd had forever. It wasn't anything I would want to keep and had believed it to have been gone a long time ago. I took it to the Cash for Gold place and sold it for $40. I've never been in one of those places, but the experience was pleasant. Jake said, "You could have got a lot more for it", but in the end, he agreed it was better than giving it away.

What to do with all of this stuff? I went through all the photos and organized them nicely. I threw away some trash - there wasn't much. I found 3 stacking boxes at Michael's Craft Store for $14.99 and placed everything inside. It will serve as a storage facility, as well as a recharging station for my husband's iPhone.

What did you find lurking below your bed?

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 3

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge # 3 - The Freezer! Dun, Dun, Dun....

I've actually been putting the task of sorting and cleaning the freezer out for quite some time. (We do have a little stand alone freezer in the garage, but I organzied it last weekend.) I threw out a few older packs of veggies and soup cubes (I freeze my leftover soups and stocks), as well as, some older fish.

Surprisingly, this didn't take very long - about 15 minutes. I now have a lovely freezer to accompany the fridge. I'm really enjoying this challenge!

Let me know how your freezer cleaning turns out! 

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 2

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Throughout the month, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #2 - Cleaning out the refrigerator.

This didn't take long at all; maybe 15 to 20 minutes tops. I removed leftovers, out of date yogurt and pie crust, over ripe fruit, cheese past its prime, and more.

I actually took a before photo to share with you all. Brave, I know! However, the SD bandit had struck again and my SD card was not inside my camera as I began cleaning. So, while I can offer up a very clean fridge, I'm thankful you don't get to see how truly messy it was.

Enjoy today's challenge! I love opening a neat and organized fridge!

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: Day 1

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

Starting today, I'll be completing Crystal's 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home with several of my friends and readers. I'll list each challenge daily on Texas Homemaking, as well as via Twitter and Facebook. I'll post before/after pics of a few of the tasks - as long as you all promise not to judge me too harshly if things might get a little chaotic.

Challenge #1 : Clean out your purse and/or diaper bag!

For those of you whom don't already know, I wear several different hats; and because of this, I need to carry several different bags. I started this challenge with three bags, and I promise I'm not trying to win the "challenge award!"

This mess was from the little canvas purse with the pink flower.

I have not carried this purse in a week. But, I was amiss to find $2.61, a handful of pens, an application for a women's gun safety class, and mostly trash.

This is what went back inside the canvas purse! Gee!

My most carried bag is the Lands End blue canvas. It is my go-to bag because of its volume capacity and its durability. I absolute love this bag!

The Lands End bag shows several of the hats I wear!

I carried this bag all last week. Notice the 4H record book info, the JMG manuals, the calendars (two of them), another huge stack of pens (so, that's where they have been hiding), stamps I thought I lost, and more trash.

All that was left of the 3o pound bag...good grief!

 Now, I usually carry my black 31 bag to meetings or in the Fall. This one hasn't been cleaned out in a while.  

 

Are those last year's football tickets and how old are those peppermints?

This bag surprised me. I honestly did not expect to reach inside a pocket and pull out a pretzel stick, an expired coupon for a DVD, and more stinking pens! Everything went either in the trash or in the office, this bag is officially empty!

It amuses me at the amount of pens discovered in 3 bags. I've been looking for all my pens for weeks and blaming the kids, the husband, the dog...ugh, now for a round of apologies!

I have to be honest with you all. I did find another purse put away that was not cleaned out. I found $2.25 in change, more pens, tissue, and the receipt for my washer & dryer.

It's been an adventure! Let me know how you do!

June's Declutter & Organize Challenge :: 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home

Declutter & Organize Challenge!

One of my favorite bloggers is at it again! Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has offered her readers a 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home printable checklist to go along with her recent blog series. You can visit Crystal's blog and either subscribe to her 4 week challenge to receive daily emails or read through each of her individual posts.

This is a great opportunity for many of my friends and readers to help reorganize their homes over the summer. I love how Crystal's expanded list and short list both are streamlined and attainable goals for not only the busy homemaker, but also for working parents.

I'm planning to begin this challenge next Monday, so why don't you join me then and we can work through the clutter and get a little better organized in the process. I know the first challenge may take me a little while longer than most - I've got 3 bags I switch between and each one of them needs to be decluttered!