A Call to Arms (Or Elbow grease)

21 Day Cleaning Challenge 

I'm a good mother, really.  I'm creative, loving, and can cook up a mean étouffée.  What I am NOT is a good housekeeper.  I'll admit it... I'm a clutterer.  For some reason, if I think I can find a use for it later, I want to keep it.  Nevermind that "later" may never come, I have a hard time throwing stuff away.  Add the clutter to a small house, three kids (four if you count my husband), and me preferring to play with the kids over emptying the dishwasher and you get....

A Royal Mess.

I blame it on my mother and grandmother.  My mother lives in a nest of papers and things she hasn't gotten around to putting away, and my grandmother used to wash and reuse Ziplock bags and Cool Whip containers.  She grew up during the Depression, so she learned not to waste anything.  I'm not sure what my mother's excuse is.  All I know is that I think there may be a "I've got to save _____ because I might need it" gene.  Scientists should search for it and develop gene therapy.  Until then, I'm going to have to find a different way to deal with my mess.

So I'm putting up a call to arms.  I am going to battle my clutter.  I will vanquish the dust bunnies.  My junk closet will quake in fear of my cleansing powers!  Here's my battle plan:

• I swear to pick up for 20 minutes every night.  I will set an egg timer so I can't cheat and stop after a measly 15 minutes.  Going over 20 minutes is okay.
• I will tackle a project every day.  (That junk closet, my linen closet, and (shudder) my laundry room are prime examples of my enemies)  

I've heard that it takes 21 days to replace an old habit with a new one.  Well, I'm hoping that at the end of my Cleaning Challenge I'll have learned how to keep my house nice enough to not be embarrassed when the Peapod delivery guy comes by, and actually let him carry my groceries to the kitchen.  (He always offers, and I always say "Just put them by the door.")

Feel free, my cyber friends, to join me in the challenge.  We can wage war together, and maybe win a few battles against the junk.  At best we'll have a house to be proud of.  At worst we'll be able to have the in-laws stop by without feeling shame.

Day One:
The bookshelf by my front door is my first project.  It has become a catch-all for stuff that comes in the house, and this eyesore is in my sights...

Before:




After:



Day one, Mission One:  Complete!

It took me 2 1/2 hours - remember, I have 3 little ones that need to be wrangled.  If I don't watch them closely World War III just might break out; at the very least the cat would be scarred for life.  So it took me longer than it might have if I were childless, but it did get done.

It's amazing how looking at a photo gives me perspective.  Now that I actually see a picture of my finished project I realize that my coat rack is an eyesore.  I would put my coats in the front closet, but that closet is also known as our "junk closet" and there simply isn't room for four more coats (sad, isn't it?).  The junk closet will have to be a project for another day.

After all that work I think it's time for a cup of coffee.  Or maybe a cocktail.