30 Day Recap, and Goals for May

Yesterday was the last day of the 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge. Project 30 was to clean electronics. I had cleaned all of our electronics this past weekend (something we have to do quite often due to 20 sticky little fingers).

Since our electronics were clean, I had decided my sewing machine deserved some love. Sorry no pictures, but it is done!

Today I wanted to share the lessons I have learned from participating in the 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge.

1. Surface cleaning is something that must be done every day around here. It is amazing how fast cluttered chaos occurs by going to bed with dirty dishes.
2. I need to spend some time developing my nightly routines. Doing things like picking up the living room, doing dishes, folding the last bit of laundry before bed takes under an hour total. Spending under an hour helps us start off the next day on a positive note.
3. I need lists. I always knew this, but this last month has solidified that concept. Having the cleaning list helped me stay on track. Keeping a running to-do list on the back guaranteed that I wouldn’t forget those little things I wanted to do.
4. We have too much stuff. This undertaking has made me realize that household purging will more than likely be a never-ending process around here. *As an added bonus to this challenge; I have become a hater of STUFF.
5. I am able to overcome unexpected bumps in the road. When the basement started filling with water, I didn’t panic or give up (I may have in the past). I just did what I could and kept plugging on.

I’m going to stop there.

I have a few more things I would like to cover today.

First off, Crystal is doing another challenge. May is the Clutter Busting Challenge. The challenge is to get rid of 7 things everyday in May.

This one is right up my alley. We have a huge garage sale with the neighbors every June, so the timing is perfect.

This past month I have been very tempted to pack everything up and take it to a donation center. Then I remind myself that every year our family usually makes $300 or more. For two days. I guess I can deal with this stuff for one more month. For the month of May I am focusing on ruthlessly going through our house.

Are you in? Can you commit to finding 7 things to get rid of for 31 days? As a side note, I think I will only post updates once or twice a week.

Here’s today’s purge:

Lastly, I’ll leave you with my goals for May:

• Go through the house top to bottom.
• Price everything for garage sale.
• Clean out garage.
• Plant garden.
• Open that darned etsy shop.
• Build up inventory, and decide what venues to try selling at this summer.
• Finish boys’ summer wardrobe.
• Get back on track with menu planning.
• Finish/post 31 by 31 list.

That’s not a complete list, but I’m heading in the right direction.

What are your goals for May?