4 Weeks To A More Organized Home: Day 7

Today, Money Saving Mom posted Day 7 assignments of her 4 Weeks to An Organized Home Challenge.  When the post appeared, I was sitting with my coffee trying to think of things that needed to go on my list today. I'm very glad she assigned the tasks that she did, because there were things that I was just thinking yesterday that I needed to get done, and had totally spaced out about them  (I need to go back to my running list of things that are bugging me approach).

Here was today's assignment:

--Get dressed in something that makes you feel great.
--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.
--Set the timer for 15 minutes and vacuum the main living areas of your home.
--Wipe down all the baseboards in your home. If you have children who can help, you might divide your home up into sections and have everyone take a section so you can get this job done quickly!
--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.

I did get dressed today (its becoming a habit now!), and you know I was having some coffee and making my list.  My morning routine was a little hectic this morning because shortly before my older girls alarm should have gone off, I heard a door open...and my younger girl came running down the hallway.   This wasn't a problem, I just wasn't expecting it, as I normally wake her to go to the bus stop and then feed her when we get back, but today we all had breakfast together.

Here's what my list looked like for today:

• Fold clothes (I had two loads waiting from yesterday and one that I washed today)
• Go To Albertson's  (Did that!)
• Cook Dinner
• Schedule doctor appt. for my little one (she's overdue for a check-up)
• Vacuum
• Wash baseboards
• Find 7 things to get rid of

After we got back from the bus stop, I let the little one watch a cartoon, and I decided to go ahead and do my vacuuming while she was pre-occupied.  Then I began making my Albertsons list while she played with her aunt.

After Albertsons, we had lunch, and then it was her naptime.  While she and my sister in law rested, I decided to tackle the baseboards.   I don't have pictures, but I'm very glad I tackled this today.  I only got in the kitchen, dining room, and hallway.  Most the one's in the living room are covered by furniture, and I didn't go into any of the bathrooms or bedrooms (I'll tackle those when I deep clean those rooms), but while I was at it I wiped down the bottom portion  (AKA toddler height and down) on the walls.  ICK.  And I've decided that the only hope for my hallway is probably a fresh paint job.

When I finished with that, I tackled the laundry, and then made a list of some things we had already put aside to sell so that I could research prices to ask for them and get them out of my garage finally.

One thing I'm learning by doing this challenge is that things don't take nearly as long to accomplish in real life as they do in my mind!  I dread doing things and fear there will never be enough hours in the day, but today I was done with my entire list before getting my daughter off the bus, and had dinner in the oven by the time my husband got home 45 minutes later, and she was even doing her homework while I  prepared it.

It's a great feeling knowing that things are getting accomplished around here because I know I have some busy days and some more houseguests arriving in the next two weeks, and I'm hoping to be able to keep up the momentum I've created.