30 House Cleaning Challenge- Day 9

Yesterday was a looong day. It was gloomy here and I felt it all day long. Crabby kids and a crabby mom are not a good mix. I finally went to bed early and never got to the challenge.

Today is another day. It is still yucky here but I decided early today not to be a grump. Just making that choice made for a much better day!

Today's challenge is to surface clean a bedroom. I decided to work in my girl's bedroom. It needed some attention.

I noticed that the biggest challenge in their room is that they have a LOT of books. It makes me happy that my kids love books!

We put some of my older daughter's chapter books away that she has grown out of but Aubrey isn't ready for quite yet.

The books were overflowing onto their dresser.

Because we had put away some books, we had room to put these books onto her shelf. Soo much better!

This is our picture book basket. It looks like a garbage bin!

I love an organized book bin. :)

We still have some work to do but I am happy with the cleared off spaces!

30 House Cleaning Challenge- Days 5-7

Today's challenge was a choice- Surface clean the living room and kitchen, clean a bathroom, or clean your interior windows.

I chose to surface clean my living room and kitchen. I can never seem to stay ahead of these two rooms. They are heavily used by our family of six!

Our toy corner very rarely looks like it should!

Better!

Flat surfaces don't stay clear for long here!

After-

My daughter made this in Pioneers while they were preparing for Easter. Isn't it amazing?

I hate when I let dishes pile up. I wasn't happy to wake up to this mess this morning.

Clear counters make me happy! (This is as clear as our counters get!)

After one week doing this challenge, I am hooked. My house is started to feel cleaner. I LOVE doing a little each day. If you are doing this challenge, what did you think of the first week?

30 House Cleaning Challenge- Day 4 (Finally!)

Today's project is to surface clean an extra room in your house.

Our laundry area is in a corner of our basement. It is the LAST area to get cleaned.

I don't care if this area is sparkly clean. However, it has been bothering me that it is a COMPLETE disaster!

It felt great to have it cleaned up. Hopefully I will be motivated to keep it that way!

I would love to know if anyone else has a corner in the basement for their laundry. It seems like everyone has beautiful laundry rooms!

30 Day Cleaning Challenge- Day 3

Today's cleaning challenge is to surface clean your bedrooms.

I was dreading this challenge. Our bedroom is far from the restful, romantic retreat that I would like it to be. It is much more of our I'm not sure what to do with this so I will just throw it in my bedroom room.

It took me about an hour to get it cleaned up. I don't know why I let it get so gross. I love how it feels to have a clean bedroom!

Before- (UGHHHH!)

After-

Before-

After-

Before-

After-

Soo much better!!

Am I the only one that lets their bedroom get so embarrassing? Please say no!

30 Day Cleaning Challenge- Day 2

Today is Day 2 of the cleaning challenge! The task is to surface clean your bathrooms.

I have to admit that I would not have cleaned the bathrooms today if I wasn't I participating in this challenge! The accountability is helping. :)

Here is a picture of our clean bathroom-

I also have decided to find 7 things to throw away each day. Here is my pile. (I couldn't figure out why there were only 6 things. I "found" the seventh thing after taking the picture in my hand! Yikes!

Are you doing any spring cleaning? I can't wait for it to feel like spring. It has been COLD here in Wisconsin!

30 Day Cleaning Challenge- Day 1

I am so excited to be participating in the 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge that is going on over at MoneySavingMom.

Today's challenge is to surface clean your living room. I am glad today is an easy challenge. I am tired out from the long Easter weekend!

These are the things my living room needed-
Toys put back into toy room
Dusting
Vacuuming
TV cabinet straightened
Easter basket put away

It didn't take me long at all to get this room whipped into shape. It sure felt good to have it cleaned up!

Ugh! I was so disappointed with these photos. The afternoon sun was pouring in and I just couldn't get them to be very clear. Maybe that means I should get my work done a little earlier in the day tomorrow. :)

February "35 List" update

I thought I would post an update on how I am doing on my "35 List". I love that we have done some things we wouldn't have otherwise done without the list. I do need to pick up the pace if I want to complete the list!

Marriage-
1.Go on an overnight getaway.
2.Do "The Love Dare".
3.Go golfing together.
4.Go to a marriage retreat.

Mothering-
5.Go to see Ruben graduate basic training.
6.Take Ethan golfing.
7.Take girls for a coffee date.  This was so much fun! One of my favorite moments from this morning was when my 4 year old daughter looked at me, totally serious and asked, "When can I have my boyfriend sleep over?" I almost spit out my coffee! Not sure if I was more disturbed that she thought she had a boyfriend or that she wanted him to sleep over! 
8.Take Ruben to PF Changs.
9.Teach kids to play tennis.
10.Create and use prayer journals for each child. I love the process of journaling my prayers. I feel like I am more attentive to making sure I pray for the things I really desire for my children.

Personal-
11.Run a 5K. I am plugging away at this! Running is so difficult for me. Am I doing something wrong??
12.Learn basic photoshop.
13.Finish my version of Project Life.
14.Take a ClickinMom Breakout Session.
15.Create a wardrobe that I love.
16.Have a "give back" birthday. (Celebrate my 35th birthday by thanking those in my life that are important to me.)

Home-
17.Create a beautiful desk area for myself.
18.Redo the girls room and get Aubrey a big girl bed.
19.Redo boys room for Ethan.
20.Plant white hydrangeas in the front of the house.

Financial-
21.Fund a trip to see Ruben graduate basic training.
22.Fund next year's tuition for the children's schooling.
23.Sell 50 things we no longer use or love. I have sold 4 things.

Activities-
24.Go to the zoo.
25.Take kids to the Rivoli Theater.
26.Go to Betty Brinn's Children's Museum.
27.Go to Milwaukee Public Museum.
28.Go rollerskating.
29.Go sledding.   I was so glad I added this to my list. We went so I could check it off the list and had a blast!
30.Go to a beach at a state park.
31.Have a game night with Grandparents.
32.Host a Thirty One Party. 
33.Have a cook out with friends.
34.Take a retreat day for myself.
35.Go to dinner at Riverside Brewery with family.