A Few Nice Spaces

I think I've been convincing myself that our house was really not "that bad" for a while now.  We're able to easily clean it and get it ready when guests come and for the most part the floors are always picked up etc.  But there is just hidden STUFF everywhere.  I mean everywhere!!  It is amazing!  In order to combine my inevitable nesting, spring cleaning and just a desire to live with less I am doing my own version of the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.

I only have 34 days left until my due date plus I want to avoid cleaning on Sundays so I am doing a 20 day challenge.  I've made a list of small spaces in my house that I want to tackle and then I try to do two of these a day.  I know some days I might do three and some days I might do zero.  But it really helped to go through the house and make a list!!

Here are some of my completed spaces.

The Entryway

We don't really have super functional closets.  And with as little as the boys are I want to make cleaning accessible to them.  I had a small bin for shoes but now with two boys and feet that are getting bigger we were running out of space.  This equalled shoes all over the floor all the time.  They both are fabulous about taking off their shoes and putting them by the door so this was just the next step.

I also cleared off anything that didn't really have to do with either the car or diaper bag (or that is decorative).  I know I technically need some larger objects on it but it gets so much use and the boys climb on it I just don't want to invest in pieces right now that will get destroyed.  They've already broken a decorative vase so for now it will just stay like this.  I'd love to have a lamp but sadly there is no electrical outlet within 10 feet of it!  Peter and I each keep one pair of shoes (flipflops) for doing things like running the trash out etc otherwise our shoes go upstairs.  I also found the missing set of car keys so that will make Peter happy!

Tops of the Dresser & Chest of Drawers (Master Bedroom)

When we got married my sister gifted us a beautiful silver comforter.  So I painted our bedroom, our furniture and bought accessories to go with it.  Eventually that was replaced and I realized that I felt stuck with the dark color scheme.  This space was really hard for me to clean because I got rid of quite a few decorative pieces that I bought early in our marriage.  But we don't NEED them.  In fact they were just collecting dust which mean I never dusted because there was SO MUCH STUFF on top of both of these surfaces.  So yesterday I finally forced myself to just get rid of them.  And once I started it was actually pretty easy!  

When we moved here initially Peter deployed almost immediately.  I was way more concerned with learning where the nearest grocery store was and getting baby gates up and not too worried about paint color.  We also have a lot of plaster in this 100+ year old house.  It just makes doing improvements hard and since it's a rental and we know we won't be here forever it hasn't been worth it. So....I am living with the paint colors that I don't love and waiting until we move to change the color of furniture and curtains etc.

I moved most of my loose jewelry to the top of the chest so the boys can't get it.  They still can with a stool but unless the self create there isn't one readily available.  Then I put our picture frames on the dresser.  

The chest belongs to Peter and the dresser to me and we both still need to go through them but that is for another day!

Eaves Closet (Master Bedroom)

This is a tiny little space beside our bed but I love it!  I keep my business supplies for Rodan + Fields on the left side (mailing supplies...prizes for my awesome team....a few samples and products).  On the right side is a stack of books that I want to read.  We just don't have the space for a bookshelf (who am I kidding with only 2 bedrooms with barely have space for another baby!!) so they are stacked there out of the way.  I tend to be a stacker and these were in piles beside my bed...on the nightstand...on our coffee table.  Then we also have a small rod that I have baby girl's clothes hanging on.  She doesn't have a room or a closet or a dresser yet so until we get one they will have to stay there.

Hoarding Queen

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Here is an example of the ridiculousness that I found while cleaning.  I had bag after bag of empty button bags from clothes I had purchased.  What in the world was I keeping these for?  They were just taking up space and collecting dust.  My goal with this project is to really evaluate every single thing that is in our house to see if we need it!  It's been very freeing and I'm realizing that you just get tied down with stuff.  It's more to clean....more to organize...and you just don't use it all!

Here's my list!!  Some of my spaces are larger and will take more time like our back closet (kind of a catch all) or the built in.  But other spaces are small.  The pantry for instance is tiny so it won't take me too long to go through it.  But it's just good to do!  Other examples of nooks and crannies I included were the changing table, top of piano, mantle, all drawers in kitchen, top of washer and dryer. Can't wait to update as the house gets cleaner!!

Do you have a system for keeping junk and excess from accumulating in your house?  I'd love to hear your tips and tricks!!