July Cleaning and Organizing Thread

[midtnmama]

Welcome if you are new or old to the thread. Share your challenges and successes here as we clean our homes and don't waste money buying seconds of things we cannot find!
You don't have to follow flylady, but I try to post flylady weekly tasks designed to help you clean your entire home in one year.

Flylady Tasks Week of July 1, 2017    www.flylady.net
This week we are in 2 Zones:

Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room

Zone 2: The Kitchen



This month's Habit is: Swish & Swipe


Spend 10 to 15 min each day on the missions. If you have more time, proceed to the deep cleaning list:

 Monday: sweep your front porch area around your front door. Shake out your welcome mats and wipe down your front door.FlyLady Rebecca

Tuesday
:dust the base boards in the entrance and dining room.
Wednesday:Quick clean of refrigerator. Throw out old stuff, wipe down shelves without taking everything out. quick wipe of door.
Thurs: Check out cleaning supplies and see if something is needed. Throw out old used sponges, etc..
Friday: Sweep and mop your floor



Kitchen: Detailed Cleaning List

Empty refg/clean thoroughly

Clean microwave inside and out

Clean stove/oven

Wash canister/knick-knacks

Straighten drawers/cupboards

Wipe fingerprints off walls

Wash inside windows

Clean fan/vent-a-hood filters and hood

Scrub down cabinet fronts (only a few at a time)

Clean light defusing bowls (glass globes over light bulbs)

Clean under sink/throw away old rags

Clean pet dishes

[lindy]

I don't generally follow the flylady lists as written, but I have picked up some great tips from her routines that work for me. I always make sure the the kitchen sinks are empty and wiped and the counters and stove are wiped too before I go to bed. The cloth I use to wipe down everything goes into a pail in the laundry as do any kitchen towels, tea towels. I set out fresh towels and dishcloths and then I turn out the light for the night. It's always nice to see a reasonably orderly kitchen at 6:30 am.

Another habit I picked up from her was giving a set amount of time each day to cleaning something. I personally pick 30 minutes,and set a timer, which is enough time to dust or vacuum my whole small apartment properly, or wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. Sometimes I straighten out a couple drawers, sometimes I do windows or change all the bedding. From time to time the timer goes off while I'm in the middle of a task so I'll continue, but generally won't start anything new.It's amazing how much you can get done when you are focused during this half hour.

The last tip I picked from her was to wear shoes while I'm working. It's impossible for me to "accidentally" end up on the couch or a chair while I'm tidying them up while wearing shoes. Nope, can't be done.

[midtnmama]

Lindy: Very good points. I find that another way she helped me is to see the even smaller increments of time that I waste--ten minutes here, even the few minutes that I'm waiting for something in the microwave.

Even if you only do the 10 minute tasks, over the course of a year, your house will be much cleaner.

I work full time and commute 3 hours daily, but I try to do one task in the morning and one task after dinner is done/cleaned up in the evening. If I do that, it is so much better overall.

[midtnmama]

Week of 7/16/17 Zone: Master Bedroom
Do the following daily missions for ten minutes, then skip to the detail cleaning below if you have extra time:

Mon:Clean under the bed and vacuum under the bed
Tues: Declutter for 10 minutes. do the 27 boogie Fling! (throw out, donate, put away 27 things)
Wed: Clean off the nightstand and get sheets/blankets cleaned for Friday's task
Thurs: Purge old jewelry and scarves
Fri: Change your sheets

Deep Cleaning
Master Bathroom Detailed Cleaning List

Wash area rugs
Straighten up makeup
Straighten drawer cabinets
Clean shower/stall demold
Wash shower doors
Master Bedroom Detail Cleaning List

Polish Furniture
Clean off the desks
Clean cobwebs
Wash mattress pad/dust ruffle
Flip mattress
Empty trash
Wash windows
Cull some books from bookcase
Straighten drawers
Clean under the bed
Closet Detailed Cleaning List

Straighten the top shelves
Arrange the shoes
Take Suitcases to basement
Dust shoe bookcase

[lindy]

Jul 17, 2017 13:00:09 GMT midtnmama said:

Lindy: Very good points. I find that another way she helped me is to see the even smaller increments of time that I waste--ten minutes here, even the few minutes that I'm waiting for something in the microwave.

Even if you only do the 10 minute tasks, over the course of a year, your house will be much cleaner.

I work full time and commute 3 hours daily, but I try to do one task in the morning and one task after dinner is done/cleaned up in the evening. If I do that, it is so much better overall.

Until a few years ago I also commuted 3 hours round trip daily to a full time job so boy do I sympathize with your stretched thin amount of  time. I never seemed to have any time for just living when I was out the door by 8 and walked in around 7pm.  The last thing I wanted to do was, well any type of housework so I really felt a sense of accomplishment when I could at least see the clean sink and counters.

Tonight I sorted the recycling while I was waiting for the pasta water to boil.  Looking around I'm pretty sure that my 30 minutes after dinner  will be best spent vacuuming. Why did I ever think a light grey white wall to wall carpet was a good decorating choice?

[belldandy]

Ohhh...some of this really resonates. My house and yard would be spotless top to bottom if I didn't spend so much time online. It makes me passive, too. Of course, I do learn things from various forums. But if I could just swish 'n' swipe ten minutes at a time!

[feather]

You each know, midtnmama,lindy,belldandy, you can't actually make me do any of this! ha ha ha.

I get tired just reading the lists!

Still I appreciate your efforts.