PROJECT CLEAN HOUSE: Kids' Bathroom

This week I decided that I had had enough of staring at the multi-colored walls in the kids' bathroom.  The people who lived in the house before us had children and had used an underwater creature theme.  When we moved in there were plastic peel away stickers all over the wall and I immediately pulled them down but just got busy with other things and didn't paint.  Up until now, the only people to use this bathroom are overnight guests so I just haven't made it a priority.

Now that Kanin takes showers on his own and all three kids are brush, brush, brushing those teeth, I would like for them to start using their own bathroom.  We have family coming in this weekend, too, and I am notorious for starting a project with a set deadline.  (Click HERE to read about Scott's mom's buffet project).

So here it goes.  Be prepared.  I had to use 3 coats of primer plus the paint.

BEFORE

I had primer and a neutral paint down in the basement.  I decided to go ahead and use the same shower curtain because I really loved it but I just bought a new liner.  I also used the same shower curtain hangers.  I told Scott this morning that between the primer, paint and shower curtain I probably saved a good $100. 

I received a $50 gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond for Christmas so in total I spent $55 extra dollars (total of $105) on this bathroom.  I bought 2 pictures, 2 small hanging things, 1 decorative hand towel and 2 useable hand towel and a shower curtain liner.

AFTER

I think it looks so much better and I don't have to wear sunglasses when I go in there anymore.  LOL

PROJECT CLEAN HOUSE 40 Bags in 40 Days (The Unspeakables)

In an effort to make sure I go through everything I decided to tackle my underwear drawer.  I should have done that a long time ago.  I had stuffed crammed in that drawer that I know I've had for years.  (Ewwwww)

Here's the throw away pile.

I took a long overdue and much needed trip to Victoria's Secret yesterday.  Who knew new underwear could make a girl so happy?

PROJECT CLEAN HOUSE 40 Bags in 40 Days Part IV

If you were wondering, I am still doing my 40 Bags in 40 Days project.  These boxes are from our basement with so many more to go!!

PROJECT: CLEAN HOUSE 40 Bags in 40 Days Part III

Today I moved on to the kids' playroom.  I didn't take a "before" picture because it was just really cluttered so you really wouldn't be able to tell what I got rid of and what I didn't. 

Here is the pile of donate, consign, and trash.

A clean playroom.  I'm sure this will last for all of 2.5 seconds.

PROJECT: CLEAN HOUSE 40 Bags in 40 Days part II

I started on the kitchen today in my 40 Bags in 40 Days.  If you've been following for a while, you know that I organized my pantry just a few months ago.  Well, of course, it got away from me again.

I started looking at all of the expiration dates and I saw these two:  20 July 2007 and 21 October 2004.  Ok, now I will own the 20 Jul 2007 even though I don't think it can be possible since we have moved twice since then and I just clean this thing out but the 21 October 2004-there is NO WAY!  That is before I even met Scott and is actually two years to the day of my anniversary in 2006.

Here it is after cleaning out again. 

Here are some of the items that I only use a couple of times a year so I moved them downstairs.  The blender is shot so it went into the trash pile.

After the pantry, I moved on to the seasoning cabinet. 

All of these items were trashed because they were over the expiration date.

We buy a lot of bulk items from Costco so there were several boxes that just had a couple of bags of whatever left in it so I consolidated a lot, threw away old stuff and things we didn't like or didn't eat.  Here's what I ended up with for trash:

I didn't get to the refrigerator today but that will be over the weekend.  Next room, dining room.

Stay tuned.  If you are playing along, let me know!

So, All I Wanted To Do Was Clean My House

As you might know I have been really excited to start cleaning my house in the 40 Bags in 40 Days.  Yeah, Yeah, I know I didn't have to wait until Ash Wednesday to start really cleaning the house but I guess the thought of purging my house during Lent and starting anew on Easter seemed like it had extra meaning to it.  Call me weird.

So this morning I hopped out of bed, got Kanin off to school, drank some coffee, grabbed the babies and headed off upstairs to start in the master bathroom.  Now on a normal morning Caleb and Gracie could care less what I was doing.  If Dora or Bubble Guppies are on then it is as if I don't exist; however, on this morning I suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world.

From Gracie:

"Why are you cleaning that bathtub?"

"Why did you dump all of this stuff in the floor."

"Don't throw away your make-up."

From Caleb:

"Cup.  Cup." (The cup that I use when they take a bath)

"Bath" (As I am cleaning the bathtub and he is trying to take off his clothes)

From Me:

"Why can't these kids just leave me alone for 10 minutes so I can clean?"

"You guys get into that playroom THIS MINUTE!!"

"Caleb, DO NOT put your hands in the toilet!!"

I realized (again) why I don't clean more often.  Who can get anything done around here.  Oh well, every little bit helps so I am determined to move on to the kitchen tomorrow.

PROJECT: CLEAN HOUSE 40 Bags in 40 Days

Today was the day.  I started a deep cleaning of my house.  I got this idea from Sarah over at Clover Lane.  Sarah did this last year so I was hoping that she would do it again this year so that I could join in.  To see some of Sarah's tips, click HERE.

I decided to start in the master bathroom.  All five of us take showers and baths in this bathroom so it gets dirty very quickly.

Of course I had a helper . . .

This basket is supposed to hold hair stuff.

Here is all of the stuff crap that was stuffed down in there.

I really need a new make-up bag.  This one is stuffed to the guilds.

I never wear any of these.  What a waste of money.

I am either going to giveaway, donate, or sell this stuff at consignment.

After the bathroom, I moved on to the master bedroom. The nightstand/armoire/TV stand was a mess.

Here is the pile of stuff that I ended up with. All of this stuff will either be thrown out, consigned, or donated.


Check back for more bags.  Are you purging, too?  If so, leave me a link so I can check it out.

PROJECT: CLEAN HOUSE Cleaning Schedule

I have been on a mission for a while to get and keep my house clean.  I have certain tasks that I do every single day when I wake up:
 1. Start coffee
 2. Empty dishwasher
 3. Fill dishwasher
 4. Empty/Change/Begin laundry

I mean I do those four things every single day.  After that stuff, though, I usually spend the rest of my day running and chasing after kids, making and cleaning up kid meals, getting kids to take a nap and more laundry.  The bottom line is what I've been doing is NOT working.  My house is still constantly cluttered and it drives me crazy.

I decided today that I would look up house cleaning schedules on-line to kind of get a idea how to juggle everything.  I know that this sounds ridiculous, even to me.  When I think about the fact that I am here all day long and yet my house is still a wreck, I just don't know how that can be possible but did I mention that I run after kids all day?

Over the past few months my mom (check out her stories, they are really good) has helped me by coming over and doing the big cleaning like the toilets, bathtubs, dusting, etc. and then I have just tried to maintain the hard work that she has put into it.  I usually keep it pretty clean for about 3-4 days and then it will slowly get cluttered again.  Recently, though, my mom has been working a lot at her job and she just hasn't had the time or energy to come clean over here. 

So, today I decided that I have got to take matters into my own hands. 

Here are the first papers that I found:

I then added some of my own notes.

Finally, I came up with my own list.  Here is what it reads:

Everyday
Dishes, Make Bed, Pick Up, Laundry

Monday
Vacuum downstairs
Mop all floors

Tuesday
Wash sheets
Wipe down all counters

Wednesday
Scrub bathrooms
Wipe down all cabinets

Thursday
Wash windows
Clean microwave

Friday
Dust
Vacuum upstairs

1st of the month
Clean out refrigerator
Clean baseboards downstairs
Cobwebs downstairs

15th of the month
Clean oven
Clean baseboards upstairs
Cobwebs downstairs

I'm not saying that this is the perfect solution but I feel that maybe it will make it not so overwhelming.  As it is, I look around and see the mess and I look at everything that I do on a day-to-day basis and it just feels like I'm getting nothing done.

Please pray that this helps!  I'll keep you posted.

I Can See Clearly Now

Today was a very exciting day at the Westerhold house.  As you know, we bought this foreclosed house back in December 2008.  There are so many different things that need to be done to this house but one thing that was vital was to cut down some over-grown trees in our backyard.

I guess one of the previous owners had planted some trees and then they sprouted out until it became one big mess.  There were 7 trees in our little backyard with roots growing on top of the ground.  We never went back there and the kids never played because it was so full of holes and roots that it just wasn't a good area.

Well, finally, we got started on some renovating and the trees came down today.  All of our neighbors were just as excited as we were.  In fact, dad and our neighbor, Corey, sat outside all day and watched all of them come down.  I have to tell you that we were amazed at how precise the cuts were and how they had to hang the ropes just right so that the branches would fall exactly where they wanted.  All in all, it took about 10 hours.


First cut!

View from the deck at the house directly behind us.

This was the first tree that they took down and as soon as they started, it made a world of difference.  We can actually see the neighbor's house now.

This was actually 2 trees that had grown together and they were totally rotted in the middle.  They would have eventually fell over into the neighbor's yard.

Tackling the cottonwood . . .

This cottonwood tree has been such a pain for the entire neighborhood.  When it blooms, there are literally little pieces of cotton floating in the air (hello, allergies!!).  The cotton gets sucked up into each neighbor's air conditioner filter so everyone had to make sure to constantly spray them down.  Our garage has cotton pockets everywhere.  So happy to see it come down.

This was amazing to see and scary for the guy up in the tree.  He cut it and it was just hanging in the air parallel to the ground.  When he cut it the whole tree shook.

The last of the tree coming down.  I video taped this, too.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1LX2jhZO24

After taking down the trees, then they had to grind the stumps.  There were so many roots above ground and the roots were so big that they almost dug up the entire backyard.

Where the cottonwood tree used to be.  Notice the next door neighbor who came out to check it out.

It honestly looks like a whole new yard.  It doubled the size.  There is obviously still a lot of work to do but we are so happy with this start!