31 Days to Clean

Cleaning is a four letter word to me. I hate cleaning. Most everyone that knows me knows that I'm not an organized person when it comes to my house. By no means is my house dirty or super unorganized but it's not what it could be. I'm going to try to change that in the next 31 days. School starts August 22 so what better way to get ready for a semester, that is going to be horrible, than to clean your entire house so that you don't have to stress about it while trying to take an ungodly amount of studio classes and working full time. (If you can't tell I'm not excited about school next semester. That post will come soon about what my plans are for next semester.)

I hope to blog my progress throughout this whole experience so it can help keep me motivated to stay on task. I don't have any plans for the next month (i.e. vacations, traveling,  school, etc.) except for the SEMO Bloggers meeting that is coming up.  Which by the way is Monday, July 11th at 6pm at Calix coffeebar on Broadway and bloggers and non-bloggers are invited.

Anyway...

I'm reading the book 31 Days to Clean, Having a Martha House the Mary Way by Sarah Mae. Please check her website out here. I feel like it's a good way to go about getting a deep clean to your house because not only does she give you a great guide on WHAT to clean in your house but she also gives a good message as to why you should WANT to clean your house and how to make your life happier by keeping your house a clean domain. She includes bible versus as well as some really great quotes to keep you motivated.

Let's start this experience...

Day 1 Why clean?

Why do you want a clean home? 

I never really thought about why I want a clean house. I always just thought of it as I NEED to clean my house because that's what you're supposed to do. The more I think about it, the more I can see why I really want to make my house clean.

Here is why I want a clean house.

-a clean house is inviting- 

When I have friends over I don't want them to be uncomfortable because my house is a mess. I also don't want to have to shut doors to rooms because my house is such a mess. I know I'm not fooling anyone. I want to be able to show my house off for what it is. I nice home.

-a clean house is more calming then a messy house-

I can't sit still and relax when my house is a mess. It's especially hard for me to get my schoolwork done knowing my house is such a mess. If I have a clean house I think I will be able to focus more on my school work and it would help with my stress level.

-a clean house causes less fights-

Derek and I argue a lot when it comes to messes around the house. I was always taught that if you made the mess, you pick it up. But, as I have gotten older I've become worse at this. I make messes ( though they may be small ) and I don't always pick them up. Derek is really good about picking up after himself. If I were better at cleaning up after myself I think we would fight about petty things less.

-your house smells better when it's clean-

My biggest fear is someone coming into my house and it not smelling good. I hate going into someones house and smelling their garbage or smelling the kitty litter box. A clean house doesn't have those problems. Our bedroom was the worst. When the dirty clothes would pile up it would make our room smell like...well dirty clothes. I want to change this and make my house smell GREAT!

-when you keep up with laundry, you have more to wear-

 I hate when I want to wear a shirt but when I go to look for it I find it crumpled up in the bottom of the laundry hamper. If I stayed on top of our laundry I could make better use of the clothes that I really enjoy wearing. 

Now I'm supposed to make a mission statement that motivates me.

My mission statement:  

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it.  I want my house to go unnoticed. Not because it's boring or drab, but because it's clean, crisp, not dusty, and SMELLS GOOD!

Next I'm making a list of everything that I will need to clean my entire house for the next 31 days. 

Off the top of my head I know I need the following:

-a new toilet wand

-swiffer dusters

-bleach wipes

-book shelf or wire shelving

-new clothes hamper

Any love sent my way is much appreciated and if you would like to join me on this mission please feel free to go to www.31daystoclean.com and buy the book. You can download the PDF for only $4.99. Very well worth it if you ask me. I'll keep you all updated with pictures. I'll do before and after. Hope everyone enjoys me trying to fix one of my biggest flaws.