TOH 20 day challenge ~ Week 1

Well - we are 5 days in – and I am pleased to report that I am still going strong with The Organised' Housewife’s 20 day cleaning / organising challenge.

I’ve really enjoyed receiving the daily emails in my in-box each afternoon, with all manner of cleaning, de-cluttering and organising tasks for the day ahead.  And so much of our house (*cough* microwave *cough*) is already thanking me for it!

I have mostly completed the daily cleaning and organising tasks. Although given many of the ‘new habits’ are ‘habits’ for us already –  I won’t detail those too much.

Time to recap what has been completed so far.

Day 1 – Kitchen

Day 1 was all about the kitchen. Cleaning the sink, benches, cupboard doors, window sills and the microwave. And, as this challenge started the day after our Father’s Day lunch, my kitchen was in need of a good clean that’s for sure.

Before…

After…

(photo-bombed by none other than the little miss…a recurring theme you will discover)

As I mentioned above, on the list of items to clean was the microwave – something that was well overdue.

Before…

After…

Much better!

The organisation task for the day was the dreaded under sink cupboard. Ours was actually not too bad to begin with, but it was great to pull everything out, give it a good clean, and organise things a little more orderly.

Before…

After…

Day 2 – Master bedroom

Day 2 was all about the master bedroom – excluding the ensuite and wardrobe. Bed linen was to be stripped, cleaned and changed, the surfaces dusted and the floors vacuumed.

I am normally pretty good when it comes to tidying our bedroom and making the bed each morning, but I took a ‘before’ shot for comparison’s sake. You will have to excuse the glaringly blank walls – that I am still deciding how to fill!

Before…

And after…

Bed linen changed, clothes put away, and clutter removed / tidied.

(let’s play “spot the baby”…..)

This challenge was the perfect opportunity to finally tackle the pile of clutter (mostly books!) that had accumulated beside my bed.

Before…

(Foot high pile of books, water glasses, phone, diary, hair clips, nursing pillow and bonjela…you know…the usual).

After…

= a far more respectable pile of books, and some pictures that desperately need to be hung!

Day 3 – Laundry

Day 3 was all about the laundry – and owing to a manic cleaning episode I had last week (during which I gave the laundry a big clean) there wasn’t a lot I needed to do, cleaning wise.

Just a quick wipe over the surfaces, and the laundry was done.

Day 4 – Living Room

Day 4 focussed on tidying and cleaning the living room. Ours is relatively clutter-free anyway – but it did benefit from a general tidy, dust and clean.

Before…

After…

Only a subtle difference.

(ps – I have a rug on order, and am looking for some orange cushions to replace the grey ones…)

Day 5 – Pantry

The final tasks for the week included cleaning the floors (ugh not my favourite thing to do) and organising the pantry. You have previously seen my baking cupboard (here), so I used the opportunity to organise the main pantry – which desperately needed a general tidy up anyway.

Before…

And after..

Another view - side by side with the baking cupboard…

Much better!

Now all I have to do is go vacuum and mop the floors…….

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Well that has been Week 1 of the Challenge so far! Lots achieved, but a lot still left to do (I suspect).

Who knows what next week will bring?