#peacelovespringcleaning

My sacred book of lists.

Some of you might believe in spring cleaning...some might not. I pretty firmly believe that, for me in my season specifically, taking care of our home to the best of my ability is part of my SAHM Job Description...and that means spring cleaning. Ugh.

This spring I'm not making excuses, I'm doing the whole flipping house, not just stopping after I've finished the bedrooms (the easiest rooms to start and finish in one day).

Here are a few things that help me...

Lists. Preferably in a cute notebook. Sometimes it's the simple things that keep me motivated. Even stupid simple things. A few nights ago I started making my master list of each room I need to clean...then in the pages that followed I broke down each individual task in each room. Right down to 'wipe switch plates/vents/door knobs'...the more you write...the more you get to cross off! See what I did there? The weird thing was...after I made all those dang lists, I was super excited to take on cleaning our bedroom the next day. And today I woke up JACKED to clean Mav's room. Lists do weird things to me.

Focus. Don't flit around mindlessly from room to room. Stick with what you're doing from start to finish. It's sooooo easy to go look for batteries for the smoke detector that's not working in the bedroom and an hour later find yourself organizing the kitchen junk drawer. Nothing will kill your productivity quicker. Even if you're tempted to throw all the sheets together in one load because that will be more efficient...fight that sensible (misguided) urge. Yesterday afternoon I came SO CLOSE to taking down curtains in the whole house and washing them at the same time, which would have resulted in mass chaos trying to hang up curtains at 8pm in rooms that were still too dusty for clean curtains. I fought that urge and am happy to report Master Bedroom and Maverick Bedroom are both completely FINISHED.

Momentum. Do whatever it takes to keep the momentum going. There have been many years where I've started strong, and fizzled out after I finished the bedrooms and my bathroom...never making it across the rest of the house to the most important (and dirty room)...the kitchen. I like to start with the easy rooms so I feel really good about myself for 'getting so much done'...even though they are super easy. When I've started in the kitchen, I almost always quit after the refrigerator is cleaned. I absolutely loathe emptying and wiping out the refrigerator. I'm saving that gem for last. This way I have a week to mentally prepare myself for what's coming.

Fun. I don't care what it takes, figure out a way to make spring cleaning fun. Buy a new book to listen to. Find an excellent podcast to keep you going. Things I hate seem to go a lot quicker for me when I'm listening to something I love. Last summer when I put our IKEA dresser together by myself, I listened to Katy Perry all afternoon and couldn't believe three hours slipped by. When Kitchen Day arrives, I plan to activate the Katy Perry Station from start to finish.

Reasonable. Do not bite off more than you can chew...errr...clean. I'll say it again, it makes so much more sense NOT to tear into the whole house at once. It's less overwhelming and way easier to complete one. thing. at. a. time. I cannot live in mass chaos for a week, maybe some of you can. Multi-tasking is my mortal enemy. Today I finished cleaning and putting Maverick's room back together by 1:00, felt like I was on a roll, and wanted to start in on the bathroom. However, that would mean loading the dishwasher and finishing my Bible Study homework would be put off. Given that those are things I like to balance INTO my day, I chose to forgo tackling another room, so something else that's a priority wouldn't fall by the wayside.

Complete. This means my list is complete to the point that I'm finishing unfinished projects in each room; touching up paint where I've noticed places need it; testing and replacing batteries in our smoke detectors; putting odd things away that belong in other rooms; and organizing and donating items from closets/drawers/cupboards/shelves that need it. It ALL gets put on the list for each room and it ALL gets done before moving on. No corner is left untouched, no furniture is left unmoved (is that even a word?) Maybe you're better at spring cleaning in a less strict, more organic way (heaven forbid you clean the top of your refrigerator weekly...go you)...I have to make it a 'thing' to get me excited.

Rewards. Last night my reward for finishing our bedroom was Pinteresting and writing a new chalkboard. Ha. Today my reward for finishing Maverick's bedroom is going to Lowe's and finally buying some blackout blinds to install (he currently has three sets of curtains/fabric pinned together to make his room dark enough for naps and night...it's pathetic and I'm so over it). Create a simple, yet motivating reward for each room. It seriously helps.

Yesterday I realized the bed skirt I purchased for our bed at some point in the past five years had never been taken off and washed. CANNOT EVEN BELIEVE. Getting a queen-sized bed skirt off by yourself is hard ok?! Our showers have been neglected for far too long...this spring cleaning bit I pull is literally the only time this weird annoying stuff gets done. Please do not mistakenly think I'm amazing at any of this. It is HARD for me to WANT to clean Josh's toilet with a toothbrush. But I will because I believe it's part of my job and I want to do it well. Or something like that. Ugh. Toilets aren't coming for a few days, that's future Mollie's problem.

MmB