Aiming for progress, not perfection.

"...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Monday, May 04, 2009

spring cleaning party: clean sweep photos. (updated!)

i've raved about simple mom before, and i'll do it again. simple mom is greatness!

i have had her "spring cleaning whenever" e-book for a couple months. and while i love it, and i can totally tell it would work, i haven't gotten up the motivation to begin the process. until now. tsh and her readers are participating in a 10-day spring cleaning party, complete with before and after photos of every step for those bloggers among us. i do things so much better in groups so this is just the motivation i needed.

i checked out some of the before and after photos in the comments from today's first step, the clean sweep, and i have to say, i beat everyone by a long shot.

tsh is so funny with "see? i'm a real person! i have clutter!" uh, a kleenex and one stray sippy cup is not clutter. bless her sweet little heart.

these, mine, are SO bad. and i'm only sharing the communal spaces. the master bedroom? oh...my...goodness. but we'll get to it! that's the point of this, right? not shame, but motivation and a new (cleaner, straighter) start.

so, deep breath. and go...

living room: explosion of toys and yet-to-be-folded laundry.

the living room: the addition of a husband makes it oh, so much more inviting! :) i took my "coffee table" out of there just to see what i thought. i'm not against coffee tables. but i didn't think what i had going on was beautiful, and it was always covered in mess. so.. i took it out. thoughts? also, do my trying-to-be-artistic shelves come across that way? or do they just look junky? closer pics might be helpful.

hall bathroom: not too bad. except for my lunchbox is in here...???

hall bathroom: not that much difference except for the lunchbox and the makeshift purple hand towel/bath mat is gone. oh, also i took out the faux plant. i didn't hate it, but i didn't love it. it was there for lack of a better option, i guess. sorta like the coffee table situation. like it better with or without?

we even have clutter in the tub! oh. that's the babies. (terrible photo, sorry.) we could probably stand to lose some bath toys though. sheesh. there's hardly room for the kids in there.

kitchen table: etsy stuff and lots of tea stuff waiting to be put away.

kitchen table area: ahhh.. much better. except i hate, HATE that electrical outlet that's way up high on the wall. this is the only place we can plug in our cable modem, and the big black plug makes me HATE the location even more. ugh. any creative ideas for hiding that?

kitchen counter/sink area: dirty dishes, open cupboards, more etsy stuff and other randomness.

the kitchen: funny how pictures make you notice things you don't notice in real life. like how i should keep the front of the fridge clean. and clean off the top.

the idea of the clean sweep step is to clear surfaces, throw away trash and move things to their proper home. tsh also says to decide quickly about things you come across as far as whether you'll keep them, sell them or give them away. her mantra is if you don't need it or find it beautiful, lose it. it's a pretty liberating exercise, i'll say.

on to the living room... there are many dust bunnies about to meet their maker.

17 comments:

cls said...

Good for you! Spring cleaning is always so...cleansing.

Might I add a recommendation? I know you didn't post pics of the master bedroom because I'm assuming it's...bad? The master bedroom, in my opinion, MUST BE clutter free and kept clean to a T. Aaron and I had a pretty messy bedroom the first year or two of marriage and I had had enough! I finally got new decor, paint, organized our closets, drawers, etc. and life in that room is so much better!

It has become our sanctuary, our haven. It makes sleeping so much easier and well, I'm not gonna lie...the sex life is better, too (at least when he's not in Iraq...ha). TMI? Sorry.

I say make the bedroom a priority. It'll revolutionize your life, your sleep, and well...other things ;)

Good luck with the cleaning!

kj said...

oooh!! this is so fun! you know i'm a sucker for things like this! can't wait for the after shots.

i too believe that if you have something you don't love or find beautiful it should be excommunicated from your life. michael thinks i'm spoiled. i explained that actually, i'm just not a pack rat like he is. :)

good luck, sister!

kj said...

looks awesome! i like the living room with the table, but it looks good without too. the shelves look awesome. i love the mantle!

i vote for leaving the faux plant out of the bathroom. the picture frames are much better!

i think it all looks wonderfully warm and cozy! great job! :)

crys said...

i agree with kj on the faux plant. much better without.

and i've gone years without a coffee table...since having children. it's just another place for stuff. looks good without it.

Chele said...

I am behind on the Spring Cleaning party too! I really like the fact that I am seeing other Moms with the same issues in their homes! Good luck today and I can't wait to see the after pictures! Now, back to my living room!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what I was thinking. Your after pics are there and it looks great! Wow! Maybe I should have another cup of coffee!! LOL

Anonymous said...

okay so bear with me here! I'm still learning this blogging thing! Michele is Lifesblessings too! Alright maybe I don't need more coffee..haha!

Adam said...

wow! so when do you think you can make it to odessa and spring clean casa de lewis?? :)

Anonymous said...

Looks great Mrs. Henry!!! Moving into a new house has definately put me in a cleaning and organizing frenzy! I went and bought tupperware containers and have my label maker on hand at all times. I am going through everything and as kj said, if I dont love it...it goes into the trash or garage sale pile...If I do likes, it goes into a container that is labeled and into the closet. I got that from Michelle! I love it!

I love your pics though! Looks like you have been hard at work and doing a great job!

Christal said...

Wow, i am impressed! I like how you rearranged your furniture.

Greta said...

Great job with the clean sweep! You did a lot of work and it shows.

Teri Lynne Underwood said...

Wow! You did a great job. And I think accepting the toys is the first step toward not being frustrated by them. LOL

An idea about your up high outlet ... get one of those little shelves and place it just under the outlet or just over it and then display a favorite picture or something on the small shelf.

Abbie said...

Wonderful inspiring pics! I love the one of the person relaxing in your "now-clean" living room. I am curious, did that relaxing person help make your living room clean? And the pic of your kids in the tub...so cute. :)
Thanks for the post.
Abbie

marme said...

I think it looks incredible. I saw it in person. WOW! Thanks for losing the faux plant in the bathroom...that was going to be my suggestion. Keep up the great work!

marme said...

oh, and the outlet...get one of those tall table and chairs!

Laurie said...

Great pics! Please do not declutter the babies, they are too cute :)

Rana said...

Great job on the cleaning. We used to have a cedar chest as a coffee table I moved it out of the living room last year. It just gives us so much more space to play. I think your shelves look great!