During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.
So, I had big plans that I was going to work ahead on the cleaning projects before I left for North Carolina today, but that didn’t happen. I did leave the house pretty clean, but I didn’t get any pictures and I didn’t do any special projects specifically for the 30-Day Challenge.
However, I thought that it’d be fun to share two of my most popular posts the next two days — both related to keeping the house clean.
Post #1 is a Q&A post I did answering a question from a reader who asked: How do you keep your kitchen countertops cleaned off?
If you’d like to know the answer to that question, you can read my detailed explanation here.
Join in the Chatter
::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on linky below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.
::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!
Denise says
Enjoyed reading this Q&A post! I may need to start brainstorming how I can shuffle things around in the pantry to get it off the countertops…love the look of a clean and clutter free countertop!
Also, it’s crazy to think that Pinterest has been around that long! You mentioned it in this post that was from Sept. 2011. Maybe it’s me, but I still feel like it’s a “new” thing…didn’t realize it’s been around that long already. Time flies, I guess!
Have fun in NC!
Denise
Emily says
Ok. Can you go in greater detail and show us your cabinets. Mine are full of pots and pans and Tupperware. There’s no room to store those big appliances. Do you just have tons of cabinet space?
Crystal says
I try to keep my appliances to a minimum and the ones I have I store either in the lazy susan or in the pantry. The one appliance that I can’t fit in either of those places — my Kitchenaid — is actually in a closet in the basement.
sarah says
I clicked through to the explanation and it shows where appliances are stored. That’s not what’s cluttering my kitchen. For us, it is….a glass for each family member, water bottles that are constantly in use, the mail, the newspaper, phones, ipods, ipad, and chargers. Plus my hand-lotion, hand-sanitizer, chapstick, camera, newspaper articles I’ve torn out, and lots of paper from school that is constantly in use or coming / going.
I’d love some ideas on corralling things you actually need to have in sight. I’ve adopted decorative trays.
Theresa says
Today’s challenge was an easy one, because I have been focusing on making surface cleaning a nightly routine. Three weeks ago, it would have taken me substantially more effort to complete these projects.
Today I shared the method I am using to align this challenge with my 30 by 30 goal to purge and declutter my home. Thanks so much for the accountability!
Crystal says
Woohoo! Way to go!
Sarah says
Crystal, I love the color of paint you used on your kitchen walls. I was wondering if you would be willing to share what the color and brand of paint is? Thank you!
Crystal says
I’d love to know myself, but it was painted that way when we bought it. 🙂
Sarah says
Bummer! Well, it’s very pretty. I’m on a quest now to find a similar color. I think it will work really well in my home. Thank you for replying 🙂
Denise says
I love cleaning on Monday! It gets the week started out perfectly with everything in order! I worked on pretty much surface cleaning the whole house, but showed pics of my bedroom progress on my blog.
Shelly says
I worked on the bedrooms today. The kitchen and living room and bathroom were still looking fairly good even after the weekend. I would love to have cleared off countertops like yours but I just don’t have the cupboard space. At our first home even though it was a much smaller house it had lots of cupboards. Our house now is bigger and it looks like there are lots of cupboards but I actually have 4 less than I had at our previous home. So I end up storing the mixer and toaster oven on the counter along with the cookbooks I use the most. It’s not ideal but I have learned to live with it. 🙂
Susan says
Crystal, you inspired me to clear off my counter. My counters may not be as cleared as yours, but it’s pretty good, if I may say so myself. We had out-of-town guests that stayed with us for a few days, so that helped kick-start my spring cleaning. Hubby even complained about having to put away the roll of saran wrap in the pantry closet, he thinks it’s inconvenient when it’s only 2 extra steps. So I just wanted to say THANKS for the inspiration. I’m loving my counter-top now. 🙂
Katie says
I didn’t get pictures today either mainly because there wasn’t much of a before&after difference visible on camera. Being in the habit of cleaning our bathrooms every day and tidying the kitchen before bed every night helps so much! Have a great time in North Carolina!
Erin says
Have a wonderful trip to NC! I hope I can listen in! I’ve never listened to a live webcast before.
Sarah @ShopaholicSarah.com says
I chose my kitchen, dirtiest area out of all of them. Do you find some of these too be too repetitive?