Tuesday, October 25, 2011

40 Days of Organization

Recently I was reading this blog and loved her idea of delving deep into her house and organizing things. The idea is called "40 Bags in 40 Days." Last week, I got the itch to make my own list of things that I wanted to get to a good place. So, I sat down, numbered a piece of paper from 1-40 and started writing. I didn't stop - even writing things that were "okay." By making this list, I was committing to [everyday] picking something off of the list to get done. The idea is to get your house deep cleaned and organized without feeling overwhelmed. It's just one thing everyday - and hopefully that one thing won't take you more than an hour. 

Here's my list!

 Now, Brad and I have only been living in our apartment for a little over a year, so it was kind of shocking to me how many spaces needed deep cleaning or serious organization. Some of things I wrote down weren't terrible and to the naked eye may not be a problem, but that's because they don't look close enough. :)

After I made my list, I actually got started and started cleaning and organizing the outside of my fridge. We had a lot of old Christmas pictures and the top of the fridge was pretty dusty...

This is a picture of the THIRD clorox wipe I used to wipe off the top.


Here's the front of the fridge after I wiped it down and organized important pictures, etc. I wish I'd gotten a before picture...it was so disheveled!


I had kind of gotten into the mood to organize after making this list and knew that I wouldn't have the opportunity to clean in the following few days (due to weddings, etc). So, I decided to get a head start and not get behind. I went ahead and organized our medicine cabinet in the main bathroom and our pots and pans cabinet. Then I deep cleaned the microwave. The medicine cabinet is the only place that I got a before picture of...sorry!

Pots and Pans "After" Picture


Medicine Cabinet "Before" Picture


The Medicine Cabinet "After" Picture


The microwave "After" Picture
I saw a post on Pinterest that said to fill a bowl half full of vinegar and the rest of the way with  hot water. Place it in your microwave for 5 minutes on high. Then wipe it down. Our apartment smelled a little bit like vinegar for an hour or so, but all the baked on stains in the microwave wiped away like nothing! It was great!


Here's my list after I finished my first few projects. It is a nice feeling to see some of those red "X's" on that sheet! I have a ways to go, but I'm excited to do it all!


I guess I forgot to mark off the microwave... :)

30 comments:

  1. Love it!!! This is what I need to do.

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  2. Love this idea - it is so simple and can be customized to your own home!
    www.ourhouseishome.com

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  3. Brilliant idea good to see that you make this idea pretty simple :)

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  4. Amazing idea love the way you have performed this task.This looks so much simple all credit goes to you.

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  5. You can use lemon juice instead of vinegar, it does a great job too. Plus you won't have the smell. :)

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  6. What a great idea, will definitely try.

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  7. Plain water in the microwave works just as well! It's the steam that loosens the crud :) After I sterilize my (wet) sponge in the microwave, I take a plain paper towel and wipe down the inside!

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  8. Made my list this morning. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  9. Love the organization planner! Just a tip for those that commented on boiling water in the microwave to clean it...DON'T HEAT WATER I'M THE MICROWAVE!! I've seen this Happen....
    http://chemistry.about.com/b/2013/01/31/the-myth-about-superheating-water-in-the-microwave.htm

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    Replies
    1. not bloody likey. snopes. com

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    2. I did that, but with Baby food I was warming. took it out to stir, and BOOM right in my face. luckily I wore glasses at the time, or I'd be blind. I had 2nd degree burns all over my face and hands, mostly around my eyes. not sure if it is a easy to do with water, since it jiggles so easily, but still...

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  10. Great idea.

    Me and some pals did a De-clutter challenge in January. The challenge was to get rid of 10 items a day for 30 days. Boy...did it set off some serious decluttering! For a few it was just enough incentive to get a move on doing something, for others it was a challenge to themselves to finally be rid of STUFF. I'm definitely going to try your 40 day list.

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  11. I love your handwriting !!

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  12. I like the simple idea. I'm off to make my list. Hoping to be as productive and organized as you!

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  13. I'm going to start this, THIS WEEK! Thank you for this post!

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  14. I like this idea very much :) I'm gonna give it my best shot!!!

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  15. For the Microwave Instead of having a vinegar smell you can instead do a cup of water with like three drops of your favorite dish soap.... I LOVE this and my house doesn't stink like vinegar at all... Although I do Love vinegar and use it for other cleaning, I do this for my microwave :) Love your blog! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Great idea! What was that calendar/organizer on your fridge? It looks neat!

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  17. Can't read the list!!!!

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  18. More like 20 days of organizing stretched out to 40. lol

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  20. wow thank you for this. I guess i share the same sentiment as others that feel overwhelmed thinking where to start and which part of the house etc. But the list is indeed a great way to kick start this. 😁😁😁

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  21. wow thank you for this. I guess i share the same sentiment as others that feel overwhelmed thinking where to start and which part of the house etc. But the list is indeed a great way to kick start this. 😁😁😁

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  22. wow thank you for this. I guess i share the same sentiment as others that feel overwhelmed thinking where to start and which part of the house etc. But the list is indeed a great way to kick start this. 😁😁😁

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  23. Donate good things you don't need to a charity, or join Freecycle.org . The 2 main rules for organizing are very simple. 1. Keep things that are the same type of thing together, in the room where you use them.2. Always put things back in the place where they belong, when they're not in use.

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  24. So glad to see that i'm not the only one with all this pendings on my head!!!! Thank you for the idea!!!!

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  25. Some people dont have a laundry room, but if you do then you can add cleaning under the washer and dryer. I really dont like to but it needs it.

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  26. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to start this tomorrow! Want to help?!?

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