End of Spring Cleaning

Spring is almost over, and even though it feels like Summer down here in So Flo, we're not quite there.We ARE getting ready for it though! The past few weekends we have been cleaning things up around the house. Well, the boy has. I've been helping/supervising. 

We cut the lawn (I actually did this...), the boy trimmed the neighbors trees that have been intruding into our backyard, I helped pile it all up out front for bulk pickup, he cut up our non-functioning hot tub, I helped stack that up out front.... and then we successfully looked like white trash for 4 days until the truck came and picked it all up....

 

And then this past weekend, the boy pressure cleaned the patio, the sidewalk, and the windows. He's such a hard worker, even on his days off...

There was absolutely nothing I could do to help with this task except to keep his coozie full with a nice cold Budweiser. I finally decided that I needed to be productive too, so I took to organizing some stuff on the inside of the house!

I like to stay pretty organized, but every now and then even my most organized areas need a little sprucing. It seems to work best to just pull everything out and start over. So that's exactly what I did. 

The linen closet was the first victim. 

I emptied everything out... and then started putting it back in. 

 

 

I keep all my seasonal and extra scented oils, and travel items in these stackable bins.  I love these little bins. I got them at Target and they are all over my house. 

See? This is my guest bathroom cabinet.

I also use them in my deep freezer. 

So after I sorted through everything and put them in their respective bins, I put everything back in. 

 TA-DA!!!!! 

I know it looks like there is much more stuff in there now, and there is. I actually had a huge stack of towels on the table that I had been needing to put in, but I was putting it off because it was such a mess that I knew they wouldn't fit. I rolled up the beach towels, instead of folding (I think I can fit more this way) and I moved around the junk up top. I'm gonna get some more bins for the extra soaps and such on the right next time I hit Target. 

Next up, I decided to re-do the junk drawer in the kitchen using some bins I got at Staples - 3 for $1!

  

I emptied that whole mess out onto the counter. Set out my bins, and then started the sorting.

Some stuff had to find a new home. And that new home may or may not have been the garbage can. 

And then there was the talking beer opener. It definitely needed a new home. It went to live in the garage on the beer fridge, where I believe it should have always lived. I have no idea how it wound up in the junk drawer. Or why it's still in it's package....

 

So there it went to live. Still in it's package.

And I had a pretty organized junk drawer! 

Keepin' it clean...

I'm not gonna lie... I'm really not very good at this "housewife" stuff. I'm hoping one day I will be, and I think I'm getting better all the time, but I am a work in progress. My house is not always clean. My bed usually isn't made, I don't recommend the 5 second rule around here, and my dog does a lot of artwork on my sliding glass doors...

Source: carrotsncake.com via Amy on Pinterest

BUT - there are a few things I have to keep clean. I like a clean kitchen, and clean bathrooms. The rest I can tolerate. We empty the sink every night after dinner so dirty dishes don't pile up, I wipe down the kitchen counters all the time and I get really frustrated when the boy empties out his pockets on the bar and spreads everything out, so I try and pile it all up

and put it in "his basket". Seriously, when you open my front door this is what you see.

(note overflowing green "basket" that needs to be cleaned out...sigh...at least it's in a basket!)

It's the main focal point of our little house. If the kitchen was grody anyone that comes to the door would see it, and I certainly don't want my UPS man thinking we are the dirty people in the neighborhood. That's not cool. I also insist on keeping my guest bathroom tidy. Mostly because I don't like gross bathroom germs, but also because honestly, you just never know when someone is gonna ask you if they can "take a leak" and I don't want them seein' our pee dribbles, that's kind of embarrassing. Since I'm really not good at this cleaning stuff one of my little "tricks" is to keep some of these in both bathrooms.

They work great for a quick cleanup whenever it needs it, or when you know someone is on their way. You can use them on almost every surface in there to spruce it up at the last minute. (and I may have actually used them to clean the entire bathroom today) Keeping one in each bathroom has definitely made a difference. I used to just say "oh, the counter is getting grungy, next time I walk to the other bathroom I'll grab the cleaner and wipe it", but now I just pull out a wipe and do it. The other thing I keep in both bathrooms is toilet bowl cleaner and a brush. To some it might seem silly to have two of all this stuff, but to me, it helps me keep up on the little things that make a big difference. Countertops and toilets are where are the nasty stuff lives, and nobody wants to get someone elses nasties on them when they visit. That's just gross.

Do you have any daily cleanup tips that can help out this un-wife housewife with a busy life from putting off the little things? I would surely appreciate them. And please, if you are gonna stop by, gimme a 5 min warning so I can wipe everything down and we can pretend that I keep a clean house :)

**I wasn't asked by Clorox to write this post... I was just giving ya'll my advice on semi housekeeping and asking for yours! :) **