We’re almost to the finish line of this 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home Challenge! Thanks to those of you who have diligently joined me in this month-long challenge. And thanks to the rest of you for following along — or being willing to skip over so many home organization posts! 😉
I have another fun challenge planned for next month… but you’ll have to wait a few days to see what that’s going to be. 🙂
Day 19 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, and make a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and wipe down your windowsills and trim around your windows (if you didn’t wipe these when we wiped down the baseboards earlier this month).
::Clean your windows and blinds and/or window treatments. If you want to get really ambitious, you can take the screens off (if you have screens) and clean the outside of your windows. Or, you can just use window cleaner and clean your windows on the inside. Dust or wash your blinds. Remove any washable window treatments and launder them.
::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.
Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.
Around 9 p.m. ET tonight, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too. Here’s to our productivity today!
I chose cleaning the blinds for my weekly task the last week of February. It took me 4 weeks to finally finish them. If I hadn’t been posting my weekly “extra” household chores each week I probably would have given up. They hadn’t been even dusted in the 14 months we’d lived here! Since they are the large slat faux wood I found that they had to be dry dusted first, then hand cleaned with cleaner (water and vinegar). Wearing the sock rags worked best. I would work for an hour or so and do what I could, then pick it up again a few days later. I am definitely going to choose dusting them as a task more frequently. Having a little peer pressure definitely helps too 😉
Since I am a “C” personality- I was going back and writing down all the previous days of the cleaning challenge, so I could go back and do this again. In writing them down I noticed that you didn’t have a day 15 in the list. I am looking forward (such a nerd I know) to starting these tomorrow! I look forward to your updates every day and love your site- you have been such an inspiration to me in the last weeks since I started following you! I have been challenging myself to better the way I do things! Thanks!
Yikes! I have 45 windows and 20 of them are double panes that need removed and cleaned. Hmmmm, that isn’t going to happen. I really liked the day I wiped off the doorknobs….
One hint: I have very long paned windows on my first floor. My husband uses the pressure washer, broom, and squeegy to clean the outside of them. It takes him 30 minutes to do what takes me all day! Husbands are great!
I have to say that this challenage sounds really hard because I have 14 windows to do and some of my blinds need to be replaced because they are falling apart. The last time I cleaned them, I took them outside on the driveway, sprayed them with bleach, rinsed them with the hose, and let them dry (just to help some if they don’t have room in the tub). I will most likely be doing this assignment over the weekend. I have been in school full-time up until last week so I’m trying to cram all 4 weeks worth of assignments into 2! I’m sure I can get them all done though! I can already tell the difference just in the half of the assignments that I have done!
So funny you should assign this today! I just got new curtains for the family room last night (yay for Target gift cards!) and was wondering why you haven’t assigned washing all the curtains yet =)
For some reason, I would rather clean windows and wash curtains than clean out the refrigerator. The cleaning out the fridge post inspired me though and I finally got to it today after putting it off for way to long. And let me tell you it was definitely worth it…I feel so much better having that job done and not hanging over my head!
Blinds are no fun to clean. I use my swifter once a month and go over them (i have wood ones). Sometimes use a damp cloth, really like the sock on the hands suggestion! Another tip, keep them turned towards the window when closed. I feel it helps keep the dust off longer….not sure if it really does but hey, it makes me feel good!
Cleaned my windows last weekend!
Wow. Being a working full-time mom (away from home), I have not really done much of this challenge (although my house desperately needs someone to do it). That said, I’ve got part of this one done.
We had our living room repainted recently and so all the curtains and roman shades had to come down. I vacuumed all of them before rehanging. Now…the curtains in my bedroom are quite yucky. This may have just given me the boost I needed to toss them in the wash when I get home from work. In between taking care of my daughter and making dinner…of course. 😉
lolol…the inside maybe, but the out side of the windows is a bit out of reach. We live in an apartment with 12 foot ceilings and we are on the second floor! Not much chance of that happening! Especially not 8 months pregnant…=)
Perfect timing – I posted today a quick, frugal recipe for glass cleaner! Check it out – tip #3:
http://behealthybehappywellness.com/blog/2012/04/ten-easy-ways-to-be-a-little-greener
I already cleaned the inside of my windows and window sills. I have a lot of metal mini-blinds to clean today with a few fabric window treatments. I am glad I clean the blinds about every two months they really build up the dust. I may even have time to do the windows outside but it is raining so I will have to see if I can get out there between showers.
Cleaning the blinds has been on my to-do list FOREVER, but can’t do it today as it won’t leave me much time to celebrate my husband’s birthday. I’ll continue to use this challenge as a motivator and next week I will finally be able to cross it off!
I have finally learned to like cleaning the blinds – sort of . . . 🙂
I used to get so frustrated b/c the dust would be so built up that I would have to spend hours to wipe them about 6 times to get them clean – then about a month later they would look nasty, and I would think – there is no way I am spending all of that time again to clean them so soon. I would wait about 6 months to wipe them again.
One day I finally clued in – for every month I waited, I would (on average) have to wipe them an extra time – and in the meantime they would look nasty.
About 6 months ago, I decided to wipe them one time once a month and
I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see the shiny blinds – they rarely get gross now, yet I am doing the same amount of work. 🙂
Make sure your pollen season is over before cleaning outside windows!
Good for you! Well worth the money!
Can I offer a cheat? 🙂 I was planning to clean my standard sized mini blinds in the living room last week, until I realized that they are only $3.96 at Lowe’s. So, I bought four, took the old ones down and popped the new ones in. There. Clean and fresh mini blinds for the price of $16. Selling the old ones in the yard sale next month.
I have four littles ones under the age of four at home. No time to scrub each individual blind the way I want it to look at the end. New was easier and a much more efficient use of my time and money.
Totally agree. Same as buying new drip pans for the stove!
Good idea, and I’d say worth the $16. Too bad I have way more than 4 windows in our house or I’d steal your idea!
My hubby will be so happy! He has been waiting for a window assignment all month. Of course he is about to leave for work shortly so it will be me doing them. I am going to modify this just a bit and simply dust the tops of my curtains, they were washed not that long ago. Going to miss this series when it ends tomorrow! I am thinking of throwing some type of celebration though for myself and my children for successfully sticking to this series all 4 weeks!
I would love to know if anybody has suggestions for cleaning metal mini-blinds.
i was thinking of tossing them in the shower?? but i’ve never cleaned them before, other than while they are still hanging up.
I have wooden blinds…. other than wiping down each slat… is there an easier way??
you can vac them 1st, but my favorite tip is to wear old socks on both of your hands – then you can work double time.
i really like to use the micro-fleece socks – my mom gives me some of those every winter.
Do the micro-fleece socks pick up the dust more easily? Thanks for the suggestion of using the vacuum!
I have wood blinds too in a few rooms, which is why they only get cleaned like once a year. I have found that wiping down each slat is the best way to get them really clean.
As much as mine need it, I am really not motivated for this right now! 🙂
I wash ours in the tub, and scrub with the toilet bowl brush.
i hope you have a separate brush than the one you are actually cleaning the toilet with. otherwise that sounds pretty disgusting – i’m sure that brush is all sorts of germy. i wouldn’t use a toilet brush anyplace other than a toilet, even if it was bleached to death between uses.
I have a separate brush for the blinds.
I clean mine by putting hot soapy water in the bathtub and washing them with a brush. I rinse them with a handheld shower head, wrap them in a towel, and put them outside to dry. My husband hooks up some bungee cords for me to dry them on,=) but a clothesline would work, too. You could also lay them on a deck to dry in the sun.
If it’s warm outside, I’ve heard of people taking them out on the cement, spraying with the hose, then spraying with Scrubbing Bubbles, then spraying with water again. I have personally tried it, but it may eliminate the hand scrubbing aspect.
I meant to say I HAVEN’T personally tried it.
The big job sounds really ambitious! I may wait for that one till the weekend…. but, I’ve said that to myself before with some of these challenges and ended up surprising myself! Are we having a challenge on Monday, since it’s still April? Looking forward to the May challenge!