Monday, November 30, 2009

Home: Tidy

Good morning! I'm ready to get started and I know that my home and heart will be so blessed from the effort I invest this week.

Today, I'll be focusing on clearing all the clutter! It is amazing to me how fast it accumulates! It seems that I work and work to clear clutter and then it appears again in no time! But, our homes are so hard to clean when there are piles and things out of place. So, this is a great place to start.

Here is my list for today (and it is a very ambitious one):

Quiet Time
Assign chores to little ladies, tie on an apron
Breakfast
Start load of sheets
Girls morning chores
Set mashed banana out of freezer
School time
Snack/Switch laundry
Put folded laundry away
Littles play outside, me - tidy
Lunch
Garlands ready to mail (for paid orders)
Cut strips of paper for paper chains to make tomorrow
Tidy, tidy, tidy! Areas I want to work on are my dining room table, counters, Christmas decoration boxes and the top of the washer and dryer.
Make banana bread
Ladies to ballet
CVS
Dinner: Leftovers
Sewing Night at a friends' house (working on Christmas pj's)

And, just to show you how much I need to do this - I ashamedly present my clutter. Now, all of you who thought I was good at keeping house will know that this is not true!

Ok, tell me about your day! What is on your agenda? What are you fixing for dinner? I'm not planning to do the Mr. Linky this week just because it takes so much time, so let's just chat about all of this in the comments! I'll share my progress and pix tomorrow morning!

37 comments:

lecia said...

Monica,

You do have a very long to do list. I notice you have to go out twice today, do you find that affects how much you can do? I struggle to focus on extra chores when I have to go out. Perhaps it is because we live so far away from anything that driving takes up so much time, but I can't seem to go out and work at home (at least nothing more than the basics) in the same day.
Today I am going to focus on clearing some clutter as well. We decorated for Christmas over the weekend and there is stuff everywhere!

Monica Wilkinson said...

Hi Lecia,

Those are our Christmas boxes as we are in the process of decorating too!

Yes, I'd prefer to stay home all day or combine all my trips in one. In this case - we have ballet every Monday and a few friends are sewing every Monday night just through December to get a few Christmas projects done without our children around! :)

I usually do errands during ballet time - but today is dance-with-your ballerina day! So, I'll be doing ballet through two sessions! :)

Have a great day!
Monica

Unknown said...

I really appreciate your honesty in sharing pictures of your house when it looks less than perfect. It is encouraging to me to know that I am not the only one who falls behind on housework. I can tell you really try to make your home pleasant and welcoming, and I can see that you are striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Thank you for all the encouragement and inspiration you provide!

Riverswamp said...

Monica,
Nice to see all your clutter ;)
Today I am working on our bedroom curtains and organizing the laundry.My list is long,too, and we have guitar lessons on Modays that are 45 minutes away.
I really like using my Motivated Mom's calendar. It has a detailed list each day for me to tackle and I add one or two things to customize it.You can get it with or without the selected Bible readings for each day, too.
Stephanie in SC

Leanne said...

get up, drink huge cup of coffee,
fold laundry, start new load,put dinner in the crock pot, get all three boys ready to go "bye-bye",Christopher to school, Run 5 miles, Target, pick Christopher up from school, get home, lunch, boys devotions, more laundry, quiet time for boys and Mommy--I'm reading a book called Counsel from the Cross, vacuum, "tidy up", put laundry away, dinner and clean up....bath time, play time with boys, boys to bed (by 8pm)...then collapse in utter exhaustion! You know, the USUAL DAY!!
Have a great one, Monica!

Leanne said...

p.s. If the Lord should choose to take you home, NO ONE would care that your house is cluttered...they will remember your kindness, generosity, and your devotion to being wife and mother! Seriously, I am a NEAT FREAK, and I have to remind myself of that truth all the time!

asnipofgoodness said...

Oh Monica how ambitious you are! I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the Christmas expectations looming very close! A sewing get together sounds like just the ticket to jump start my get up and go! tehe I have a few sewing projects myself, and getting back on track from thanksgiving company,....laundry, always laundry, and school, and for dinner, shepherds pie with some of the leftover turkey, yum, love that!

Amy said...

My house looks soooo much worse than that today. I am going to be playing catch-up on laundry and housework over here too!

Michele said...

Today is back to school after almost a week out. My goals for today:
laundry
progress report-due today, a must do
start supper at 3pm since it's turkey with trimmings,we like to extend the eating!
get a start on some gifts that need to be sewn
de-clutter
work on some custom orders that need to go out

being molded said...

Hi Monica,
I must admit, I am glad to see your clutter too. I always feel like I am "the only one" who doesn't have everything put away all the time.
I would lvoe to get together to sew with friends. Unfortunnately none of mine sew.
For today I have so shower yet
~go to my mils to talk about Christmas gifts for my oldest dd
~grocery store
~laundry
~clean off front porch
~sew pj's for my son
~work on crochet dish towels for a friends birthday
~dinner out with my mom and brother who goes back to MN tomorrow.
I'll be praying we get out lists finished.
Have a wonderful day!
Cindy

Wendi said...

Glad to know I am not the only one that lets clutter get the best of me! Today I am going to tackle the mountain of laundry and going through the fall and Christmas decor. I am feeling the need to downsize some of my things.

Good luck!

Michelle said...

Ahh, I'm so glad that you posted pictures of your clutter! I always picture you as having a clean, tidy home, and it's refreshing to know that someone else has just as much clutter as I do! LOL Thank you for being so transparent in this matter!

I am going to be cleaning and tidying along with you. We have a busy week planned, but we're also planning on putting up a Christmas tree on Saturday, so I want everything nice and clean and inviting before then.

Happy tidying!

Chrissy said...

Monica...

My house is a bit of a jumble now too...having half decorated for Christmas, I have boxes of decorations stacked along one side of the living room...waiting for D to carry them out to the garage since I can't lift yet since my appendectomy. I had company over Thanksgiving and the bathrooms saw a lot of use during that time so they need a little TLC as well.

I'm staying home this week as much as possible...doing some Christmas shopping online and just being still.

MameyJane said...

Monica,
I had purposed in my heart this morning to de-clutter as well. My MIL has moved in with us this weekend, so I have to make room for her things somewhere!
I also have challenges with my kids' drawers being unorganized and needing cleaning out--it seems they outgrow things overnight!

Today, I plan to:
~Clean out drawers/take excess to Goodwill
~Go grocery shopping (I hate to do this on Monday, but if I don't what will we eat? :)
~Put away clothes/finish up laundry
~Tidy my laundry room
~Put out more Christmas decor (gotta have something fun to look forward to).

Thanks for sharing your clutter with us and showing us if we purpose to do something we can accomplish it!
Your blog is a blessing!

~Amy

Katy said...

I am working on decluttering my bedroom. We don't have closets in my home...so my room is the place that stuff gets stored, unfortunately. :) Best of luck with your day! :)

Janice Kay said...

Monica,

My table is my desk also =(
It's always a mess and I took everything off so we could eat our Thanksgiving dinner! So today I need to re-clutter my table and find the bills that need to get paid and make some phone calls to set appointments for next week. I work at home and set appointments for sales reps! I am in a wheel chair due to muscular dystrophy...but life goes on and I'm just happy I can work out of my home and in my pj's.. I hate clutter also but it's just life...stuff happens and it always finds it way to my kitchen table...My children keep telling me that I'm a paper hoarder!! I know I must throw stuff away because no one else will want my paper junk! Wish me luck as I start to de-clutter my home too!

Tim, Allyson, and kids said...

We're tidying by putting away 3 loads of laundry today as well as tackling our normal Monday chores and room cleaning (main bathroom).

Somehow the lighting of your photos makes even the clutter look nice :)

Have a great day!
Allyson

Jen~ Lipstick and Laundry said...

I love it! Make me feel not so alone in this clutter battle... I seriously didn't even want to decorate for Christmas, because of ALL of my MANY piles... SO overwhelming, but I think today, I will tackle some of my clutter, thanks for the inspiration!

Megan said...

Thank you. Just. Thank you. That is all. *grin*

I couldn't take it anymore today either so we just did a downstairs tidy. No more sewing until we vacuum!!

Heather said...

I love the pictures - what a great reminder that we moms are all in the same boat!

Here is my plan for the day:
Shower/breakfast
Tidy kitchen and living room to prepare for my girls' playdate
Vacuum/dust
Bake brownies and prepare snack
Make lunch
Put baby down for nap
Quiet prayer time and Advent readings while girls play
Laundry
Sort/empty a few boxes of Christmas decorations
Donate excess Christmas decorations
to St.Vincent DePaul Society
Dinner - Taco Bar, refried beans, Spanish rice
Work on Advent activities with girls
Homework and pack bookbags and lunchboxes
Pull out Elf on the Shelf and read story
Work on Christmas craft or address Christmas cards
Bedtime

Blissful & Domestic said...

do you happen to have a activity where you present a piece of the nativity one at a time? I have always just put it out, but thgis year my kiddos are older and I want to do more with our nativity scene. I have an idea of what I will do so we can talk about each piece of the nativity scene individually, but I was wondering if you have done this before with your family and how you went about doing it.

Debra said...

Thanks for sharing your pictures and your day. We were out of town for 5 days so my house looks much worse than yours. :)

I plan to unpack, do laundry (doing this as I type), clean bathrooms, generally clean up the things that line every counter and table,pay some bills, take my daughter to church after school, then to hockey. I also want to work on my Christmas letter so I can get cards out @ the end of the week.

I love the idea of a sewing night. Have fun!

Mrs. Pear said...

In our house we call this the weekend wreckage!

And we have some of that to clean up too, especially after the long weekend of Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating!

My top priorities for today seeing as Bible reading and read aloud are done are:

School Time
Clean Kitchen
Finish Christmas Garland for Laminating (Using Isaiah 9:6)
Do one Christmas Baking thing
Wrap 2 presents
Consider plan for making Christmas gift tags (I am almost out and cannot find nice ones that do not cost the mint).
Figure out 12 Days of Christmas Catechism to do twice before Christmas starting tomorrow (thinking lunch time)
Find place for each girls Advent calendar.

And more that I am forgetting.

snippity1 said...

Monica,
Thank you for showing us the 'real' life aspect of a home! I struggle with clutter & really don't have a plan to deal with it! My laundry room is chaos, as most of the clutter just gets shoved in there. Today, I have a lot left to do, even though the day is half over! Kids are down for nap, and I am giving the kitchen a cleaning while they sleep. then, my big kids will be homne from school, and I have to take one of them to the dentist. I have an errand to run at the hardware store while out, then I will be coming home to do some crafting. I already have dinner ready, so I did make some headway this morning! Thanks for sharing with us!

Amanda said...

Oh, thank you for this! I'm feeling a little behind not being quite ready to put out Christmas decorations -- even just a couple days of decluttering will help!

(And so funny -- I also made banana bread today, and am sewing pjs for Christmas! LOL)

Shannon said...

Monica - Thank you for being brave enough to share you'tr clutter! I lurk round here all the time - you have a beautiful site - but I have to join you this week! This is just what I needed!
We're jumping back into school this week and have a lot to do so that we can take a few weeks off at Christmas. Also I want to get my kitchen cleaned and organized - probably a two day job at minimum. There's lots of clutter laying around so I think I'll try to take little bites out of that as we go along:)
I'm really looking forward to this week!

Lauren said...

I was so excited to see your post this morning!! I had quite a bit of e-cluttering to do myself and your post was such an encouragment. Here is a link to my blog post with my list and pictures. Happy cleaning!!

http://homewitholivia.blogspot.com/2009/11/making-my-home-haven-tidy.html

Davonne said...

I was so excited to do this, and now I'm sick, argh!! I will try to just do things a day behind if I feel well enough (or maybe even tidy up tonight if I feel better this evening). Am looking forward to reading!

Thanks for posting your mess - makes me not feel so bad that my husbands parents stopped by when there were dishes all over the counter :)

La Familia Garcia said...

Thanks for posting those pictures...I always picture your house so charming...all the time...and not so "lived in" I just appreciate you baring it all to show us! (even if it doesn't come close to what I'm up against!!) =)

Mom2fur said...

LOL, it looks like my house. I guess we're only human. I find that cleaning one area at a time, instead of flitting here and there, is the best way to go. Really, a made bed or a neat countertop makes a whole room look better! At least, until the next mess appears. Really, honestly, where does it all come from?????

Mom2fur said...

BTW, we had crockpot beef and gravy, homemade Italian bread and salad for dinner. The bread recipe came from this month's issue of Taste of Home and I'm very happy with it! (I like anything that's easy!)

Bell said...

Bless your heart, Monica. I have read your blog forever and loved it. Today I love you even more for sharing those pictures of reality. I hope you got tons of stuff done today!

West Hill Heritage said...

I feel the same - my house feels the same. With kids it is sometimes hard to keep it all tidy. My list is just as long. Good luck -

Dayna (Spear) Guenther said...

Monica,
Wow! Thanks for your transparency! You've encouraged me that I'm not the only one who continually fights clutter. I struggle many days with the discipline to stick to my list. I'm like Lecia... I get easily sidetracked, especially if I have to go out. My list is also ambitious, but it usually is... and then I allow that to discourage me. You have encouraged me! :)
My list:
-put load of laundry in dryer
-take daughter to school
-feed horses, dog, cats
-switch laundry
-quiet time
-fold laundry
-clean upstairs bathroom
-take shower
-menu planning
-grocery shopping
-pick up daughter from school
-front entryway clutter
-tidy living room and bedroom
-labels for Swiss Mocha mix gifts
-switch laundry
-skim coat front entryway
-switch laundry/fold
-sweep and wash floors
-Mocha mix into Ziplocs/apply labels
-switch laundry/fold
-sand front entryway
-supper
-if time (evening): start daughter's bedroom walls (sanding/priming)

Jennie Shutt said...

Hi Monica,

I am so glad to be participating in your Lady Wisdom Series this week. It is so much fun to see what everyone else is doing. It feels like we are all working together.

Here is my list for today:

Quiet Time: Tea Time with God pg 8&9

Breakfast: Chocolate Silk Coffee (Folgers) & Banana Oatmeal Bread

Laundry: Wash, fold, and put away3 loads of laundry- towels, husbands & I, and daughter #2

Tidy, tidy, tidy! I walk around my house and put everything away that is out of place each morning and again before bed.

Read: I have been reading Christmas themed books all of November and the one I am currently reading is The Gift of Christmas Present by Melody Carlson

My Office: Clean off the top of my desk and put thing away.
Planning: Gather my cookbooks and cooking magazines so I can menu plan later this week including for the holidays and special treats.

Decorations: collect, box up, and put away all the fall decorations. I like to clean up the seasonal decorations and leave the house bear for the week while I clean and plan for the next season. We will put up the Christmas decorations this weekend so today the day to get it done.

Lunch: Leftovers

Computer: Check email

Master Bedroom: put things away, and do a detailed cleaning.

Kitchen: Pick up the kitchen and put things away. Wash, dry, and put away the dishes. Wash the top of the stove and the refrigerator shelves.

Read: Continue reading The Gift of Christmas Present by Melody Carlson

Baking: I baked 2 dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from dough that I had pre-frozen.

Dinner: Leftovers

Date Night: My husband and I went to the Annual Christmas Walk. We looked at many downtown stores and even enjoyed some cookies. This was a free event and we didn’t buy anything and the cookies were free also. My husband got lots of ideas he said of things I liked that could be Christmas gifts. I seen a really cute tea cup wall hanger and a matching tiered tea cup stand that I may have to go back to get soon since my husband said I could go back for them so I wouldn’t have to wait for Christmas. They were about $17.00 each which is a little pricy to me but sometimes you have to go for it.

Computer: read blogs and blog.

Tidy, tidy, tidy! My before bed routine.

Visit my blog to see the pictures.
http://awelcomingheart.blogspot.com/2009/12/home-tidy.html

Mrs. Little said...

What an ambitious list! Funny how your Christmas boxes are in the same spot as mine are!

Anonymous said...

Hi Monica,
Love to share with you a website i found, www.flylady.net , helping me deal with clutter and all sorts of housekeeping issues i have (i.e. never learned to keep a house tidy, now have a whirlwind of a two year old....)
Your blog is great, really enjoy what you guys get up to, great crafty ideas... :-)