One Room a Week Challenge?

wizbeth1218
wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
in Motivation and Support
Ok, so this is not necessarily weight and exercise-related. However, I figure that since I am committing to getting my physical self in order, I can also work on getting my HOME in order.

Hubby and I both work full-time, I have 2 additional part-time jobs, and we have 5 kids. Needless to say, our house is NOT in order. But I love the feeling of peace I have when I am in my home, in a room that is decluttered, ordered, and clean.

So... I want to commit to spending 20 minutes per day in one room per week. It's not a huge thing, and I may not completely finish a room in a week (ok, let's be real, I know that I won't!) but at least I will develop a habit of working a little bit every day to keep my house in order... just like I am doing for my body.

Wanna join me?

(please say yes) :happy:

Post below what room you will start with first, and maybe a before picture if you are brave.

I'm looking forward to a well-ordered home to go with the new well-ordered ME. :)

Replies

  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    I'll go first. :laugh:

    I am going to start with our bonus room. It's a spare room over our garage, where our kids hang out when they have friends over. It's also where I work out each morning. That's what got me thinking about doing this; I'm tired of looking around the room while I work out and being irritated by the piles of blankets, random DVD cases, dead Wii controllers, and lost game pieces all over the place.

    I will edit this after work to add a before picture.
  • Halcyon3608
    Halcyon3608 Posts: 28 Member
    You should check out un****yourhabitat.tumblr.com (the **** is a certain f-word). Yes, there's profanity, but the central tenet is that you don't do marathon sessions of cleaning. Instead, you set a timer for 20 minutes (you've already got the right idea!) and work on what you can, then take a break for 10 minutes, and repeat. There are many more tips, so take a look!
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
    I only have my room to worry about (and that's plenty enough). I know there is easily hours of work to be done in regards to cleaning then there's the matter of the walls needing to be painted and the carpeting pulled up.

    I will join in with cleaning for 20 minutes a day...makes it seem less intimidating that way.
  • Cynkane
    Cynkane Posts: 55 Member
    I am in. I am however, not brave enough to post pictures. :/ I think I am going to start today in our bedroom. It is the worst room in the house becuase with three kids and both of us working insane hours, when we have time to clean it is always the rooms everyone can see so our bedroom always gets the least amount of love.

    I love this idea.
  • Sunray777
    Sunray777 Posts: 10 Member
    I'll join you - need to do 20 mins per day in my house, though. Good luck!
    I'll start with my bedroom/bath.
  • Nix143
    Nix143 Posts: 522 Member
    You should check out un****yourhabitat.tumblr.com (the **** is a certain f-word). Yes, there's profanity, but the central tenet is that you don't do marathon sessions of cleaning. Instead, you set a timer for 20 minutes (you've already got the right idea!) and work on what you can, then take a break for 10 minutes, and repeat. There are many more tips, so take a look!

    Love that website!
  • SonjaJohnson03
    SonjaJohnson03 Posts: 4 Member
    I will join you!! I will have to start in my scrapbook room..urrgghh 20mins a day I may be finsihed in a couple of months!!
  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    Yay!! That's what I love about MFP... it's wonderful to be a part of a community, no matter what you are doing.

    ** happy dance **
  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    Alrightie then. I guess I waited too long to edit my post, so I'll have to add my before pics in a new post. :)

    Here's my bonus room, where I work out each morning and the teens hang out with their friends. We had movie night with a couple dozen teens a few weeks ago and the room hasn't been picked up since. There are blankets and pillows everywhere and it's cluttery. Clutter makes my teeth hurt. Grrrr.
    Before1.jpg

    See? More clutter. And little bits of crap everywhere.
    Before2.jpg

    And the furniture was just pushed to the walls and then piled with pillows and blankets. Again... grrrrr.
    Before3_zps6a846734.jpg

    Confession time: I spent more than 20 minutes. I prolly spent more than an hour. But all of that was straightening and organizing. I still haven't done any real cleaning, other than dusting. So tomorrow I will haul the vacuum upstairs and get the carpet less gross.

    I re-positioned the furniture:
    After1_zps20262dbb.jpg

    And now there's a defined conversation area:
    photo6.jpg

    And nice, clean, uncluttered horizontal surfaces!
    photo8.jpg

    (deep breath) I love an organized room! :)
  • barbara4599
    barbara4599 Posts: 114 Member
    Great idea! Can I count a closet as a room?
  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    Great idea! Can I count a closet as a room?

    Oh my goodness... definitely! And if it is my closet, it counts as TWO rooms! :)

    Welcome to the party!
  • Cheryl188
    Cheryl188 Posts: 113 Member
    WOW! Thank you for this! We moved into a new house 4 months ago and all motivation is lost to finish organizing. I'm so with you on this challenge. I'm starting with my formal living room.
  • Anamaere
    Anamaere Posts: 60 Member
    :D I started doing this a couple days ago withotu realising it was a thing. After completely falling off the bandwagon for a few days and eating REALLY badly, I cleaned out hthe fridge and freezer and completely cleaned up my kitchen (not that that lasted). Then yesterday I had to clean the lounge because I got a wii (yay!) and i started to actually unpack and organise my bedroom and closet. The bedroom is going to take me FOREVER. I whinge all the time about not being able to find clothes 'because im fat' but i actually own a hell of a lot of clothing! It's both constructive and good exercise :) and you're right about the mental calm a clean and organised room brings, it's fantastic :)
  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    I didn't do the bonus room today as planned. We had several folks over tonight so I scurried for a good 20 minutes to declutter and straighten the kitchen and living room. That means that all the folded laundry on the kitchen table got scooped up and dumped on my bed! Ugh!

    I know that I'm not the only one that does this... "cleaning" the house by hiding everything in your bedroom. I read once that keeping your bedroom clean, tidy, and uncluttered actually improves your marriage. Hmmmm...

    I hope you were able to step back after your cleaning time and feel a sense of progress and satisfaction!
  • wizbeth1218
    wizbeth1218 Posts: 358 Member
    Spent some more time in the bonus room today. I had planned to just finish the deep cleaning, but I decided that it was time to completely rearrange the furniture.

    Anyone else get a random wild hair and need to change up the furniture a few times a year? :)

    Here are some pics:

    roomafter0_zps5ca5893b.jpg

    roomafter1_zps098b503b.jpg

    roomafter2_zps1ff09c73.jpg

    Next week: my bedroom! :ohwell:

Categories