Tackling Cleaning Projects 101 – Tips and Tricks #HealthyFamilies
Summer time – a great time for relaxing lazy days, vacations and BBQs. Also a great time to tackle those cleaning projects that just pile up. We all have them the “We will get to that…” “I will tackle that one day…” “When we have time I will…” projects that never seem to get done. Yes you did your spring cleaning and the floors are washed (well maybe yours are, mine aren’t… but that is for another day), but what about all of those other projects that just keep getting pushed back.
In our house there are 2 problem areas – the Garage and the Office. The garage is hubby’s domain and is piled with building materials, projects that are on the go, many seasonal items/A.C.’s outdoor toys, and stores our gardening equipment and some of hubby’s tools for work. It is a MESS you can’t even walk through it, let alone park a car inside!
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| Think we need to do some organizing???? |
The Office on the other hand… well that mess comes from me. It is my dumping ground for everything that does not have a “home” yet, as well as piles of bills/paperwork for our house, blogging and Hubby’s business. We clean it and before I know it the chaos starts creeping back up again.
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| Yes this is really my “Office” aka the dumping ground |
With Baby #2 on the way these are 2 areas we would like to get organized before we are even more sleep deprived then we are now. Here are my tips for helping you to clean and get organized:
- Time – Set aside a chunk of dedicated time for cleaning. I am not talking about a whole weekend of scrubbing and sorting, since in the summer time there are rarely weekends that you have nothing going on. How about 1-2 hrs per week for the next 4 weeks? Set a timer, this is still enough time to get something accomplished, and will help keep you motivated as you know you do not need to complete the whole job at once
- List – Make a list of tasks that need to be done and prioritize them. Break down a big job into smaller more manageable tasks that can be completed in the time slots you have set aside. Suddenly “Organize the office” becomes: file bills that have been paid, go through book collection and pick half to donate, put loose photos into albums. As you complete each task cross it off your list, nothing makes you feel better (or helps keep you motivated) like taking things off your to do list.
- Sort – When sorting and organizing make 3 groups of stuff: Keep, Donate and Toss. Find out where you closest donation centre is for Good Will, Salvation Army etc. Or if you can’t drop off your items many areas have groups that will come and pick UP from you. Give them a call to schedule a pick up.
- Gets worse before it gets better – Know that as you make your way through your project, it may start to look worse before it gets better. You might need to make a bit of a mess while sorting in order to make some progress. But in the end it will be worth it
- Celebrate – Make sure you celebrate your accomplishments! Of course not by postponing your next cleaning session, but maybe head out the store and buy that cute storage basket you have had your eye on.
So what are your cleaning and organizing tips? What keeps you motivated to finish a project?
Disclosure: I am part of the Lysol® Healthy Families Ambassador Program by Mom Central. I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
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Ugh, my garage looked exactly the same as yours. Until the other day that is! My wife gave me the entire morning all to myself so I could take the time needed to get it in shape. I went to Canadian Tire and bough a bunch of wall organization stuff and now I couldn't be happier with how it looks! I think the first step in any major cleaning job, is having the alone time to work on it. When kids are running in and out, it's impossible to get anything done.
LOL this garage is absolutely in great shape… Compared to mine that is.. I am not kidding when I say if I open the door everything will fall out in a pile. Ugh someday's I just wanna light a match to it and say poof mess gone lol.
My office once looked like yours but we recently renovated it to create sensible organization. Now it's much easier to maintain but mostly it causes me to deal with the stuff before it just gets dumped. So my suggestion is create really sensible and easy storage solutions!
I have a room that looks like that! My craft room, AKA the dumping ground. I find clutter so suffocating at times and it's really important to purg… I just did some purging!
Tips: get rid of it, because in life it's not the stuff that keeps you happy it's the memories & people in it!
These are great tips! My lower basement looks like a jumbled mess of boxes right now and I REALLY need to put aside some specific time to sort through it. I feel nauseated every time I have step foot down there
I sorted through all the kid's old toys, but yet to get rid of them lol. My tip is BINS! I love bins for organizing and get them while they're on sale…all sizes 
if I don't keep things organized it would drive me crazy
I put things right away or keep it in a pile to do 
We moved in the winter so things just got thrown in the house (due to the cold). Never again will I move in the winter. Funny you post this because we are organizing our spare room (where everyhting gets dumped) this weekend!
I will be making the list!! This will keep hubby motivated!
Thanks for the tips.
Sadly my office looks much like yours. Thanks for the fantastic tips!
My whole house looks like your office right now
well we are moving in a couple days so our whole house looks like a bomb went off lol! Hopefully in a few weeks our new home will look all pretty and organized though!