My main focus of 2017 is to not only totally clean and organize my house but to purge it of all the unwanted and unneeded items. Let me just say, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be!
I was so fortunate to come across the 2017 Home Challenge by A Bowl Full of Lemons, which just so happens to coincide with my purge. It isn’t too late for you to join too. Just click, here for all of the info.
I’ve been keeping up, so far. I can already see me switching some rooms in the upcoming weeks. I don’t have any kids, so no playroom or a linen closet, so I’ll be able to use those weeks for the monstrosity that is my second bedroom. But for now, I am plugging along with the group.
I forgot to take before pics of some of my areas, which might not have been such a bad idea since my house looks like a cyclone hit it. In any case, I am VERY happy with the progress I have made so far.
Week 1: Kitchen
I really worked hard on the kitchen. It was a complete disaster. I came up with a pretty good plan on how to tackle the room.
I divided the room into four areas and worked from the dishwasher inward. I opened every cabinet and drawer and pulled everything out onto the kitchen table. I then went through everything and if I hadn’t used it in a year it went to the Goodwill or garbage. I then caulked any areas that needed it and cleaned all of the cabinets, countertops, baseboards, doors, and knobs. It was a HUGE task!
I think the hardest for me was my cabinet with all of my glasses and mugs. I had ALOT of glasses and mugs. So many that they were just crammed onto my four shelves. I really scaled down and kept only what I really needed.
I did the same with my plates and bowls. That cabinet was a bit easier since it was primarily full of my Fiestaware. I did find a few rogue pieces of non-Fiestaware, which went straight to the Goodwill. I also moved the bowls around a bit. The larger bowls I put up on the top and the smaller bowls and plates on the bottom. The little plates in the middle of the bottom shelf are Daphne’s food plates. 🙂
I think my favorite area of the kitchen is my tea station.
Having my teabags right on the counter makes it so convenient. Plus, it is also right next to the sugar canister. Score!
I also made a little area for Drusilla’s pills and chews. They used to be all over the place in my wooden tray, but now they have their own plastic container. Her daily pill containers fit nicely in front.
Week 2: Pantry
I hate to even post the before picture of my pantry because it was such a mess, but I’m keeping it real!
I could barely get into my pantry because there was so much stuff all over the floor. The paint cans were from the spring! Why I hadn’t moved them before last week I’ll never know. But I’ll tell you it feels so amazing to be able to open up the pantry and walk in without tripping over a bunch of crap!
I made everything a little more user-friendly too. I put a lot of the stuff I use all of the time in the front and the canned goods to the side. You can’t tell in this picture but the pantry goes a little more to the right side. It is a really funky shaped pantry. I also moved the girls’ food and treats onto the bottom shelf, closer to their litter. That is taking a bit to get used to, but it really does make more sense.
All nice and neat! And after 2-1/2 weeks I am happy to say everything still looks great!
We are on week 3 now, which is the dining room. I don’t really have a dining room. My table is in my kitchen, so I don’t have much to do this week. But, I do still have some stuff on the kitchen table that needs to go to the Goodwill. Once that is gone my kitchen will be 100% done!