What stands in your way of getting started on a project? Are you waiting for when you have more time?? Are you waiting until you feel more motivated? There will never be a perfect time, life will always be happening around you. The key to success is to actually get started.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” ~Mark Twain
Are you ready to get started??? I am so ready to start getting my house in order. I think the Cleaning Grand Plan is wonderful, but each person and house is different so feel free to adapt the plan to meet your needs. I have adapted the cleaning plan over the years, but it remains my guide.
Being a person who goes on frequent homevisits as part of their job, I can tell you the entry to your home gives your guest their first impression of your home. Do your guests have to step over things to get in the door?? Are they hit with an odor as soon as they walk in the door? Do you have clutter on your steps? Those are not the impression I want to make when you come to my house.
We live in a split entry home, so our entryway is very small. Any amount of clutter is too much! Granted you will often find my children's shoes scattered around the entry, but I do try to have them put them away nightly. Life happens...and there is alot of living going on in my home with 5.
Before you get started read the Entryway/Foyer Cleaning Grand Plan by Katie Leckey.
http://organizedhome.com/cleaning-grand-plan/entryway-foyer
My first step when cleaning my entryway was to remove all items that don't belong in the area. Clutter has a way of becoming invisible over time. Look at the area with new eyes and if it doesn't belong in the entryway - remove it!
Next, I removed all wall hangings and the panels of the chandelier in the entryway. Man were those dusty and full of cobwebs. Hubby helped to clean the window above our front door, as I was too short. Enlist any help you can as the faster you get this area done, the faster you can relax!
One task I added to my checklist this year, by accident, was to remove the cold air return grate and vacuum out the duct. The dust was visible through the grate so I thought I would give it a good cleaning! Wow, was I surprised when I removed the grate. I had no idea it was so full of dust. My hubby frequently has sneezing episodes in the middle of the night and I think this might be part of the problem. After seeing the amount of dust, my hubby removed all the grates on the main floor of the house and cleaned them out! He removed 1/2 of a grocery bag full of dust and lint. How gross is that???
Our house is mostly hardwood floors so the dust bunnies are easily visible. When scrubbing the floor in the entry I used a toothbrush to clean the crevice where the floor and baseboard meets. Once a year this is cleaned, might as well do a good job. I also took the time to scrub the floor the old fashioned way, on my hands and knees with a bucket and rag. I find this produces a better clean, but is only done this way once or twice a year. During the cleaning grand plan, I am allowed my obsessive cleaning behaviors, like using a toothbrush. The rest of the year, I don't have the time to clean that well and that is all right! Outside of the Cleaning Grand Plan - good enough is good enough!
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ENTRY - My Checklist
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January
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Clean Cobwebs
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x
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Dust Window Sills/Front Door
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x
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Wash Walls & Switch Plates
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x
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Give Plants a good Rinse
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x
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Dust Furniture
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x
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Clean Baseboards
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x
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Clean Pictures/mirror
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x
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Sweep and Mop Floor
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x
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Remove or Change Holiday Sign
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x
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Clean Chandelier Panels
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x
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Remove Grate and Vacuum Duct
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x
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Lastly, while completing the items on your checklist, keep a running list of the items you would like to buy for or do in this area. My list for the entry contains the following: buy new cold air grate, repaint the green portion of the wall.
Another suggestion I will offer that I find very helpful is to take pictures of the area you're working on before and after. I find the pictures very helpful in spotting things I want to change or improve that I don't notice on a daily basis. That is why you will see alot of pictures during my participation in the New Year's Cleaning Grand Plan.
God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household!
Proverbs 31:27
Congratulations - you are on your way to a more organized 2012!
Jen C
Previous Posts:
New Years...New Beginnings - intro post
Week #1: Gather Your Tools!
The menu is planned so we went to purchase groceries for the next two weeks. With my shopping list in hand, we headed off to Aldi's for the first round of purchases. My menu was made around the meat I had on hand. I am working on cleaning out my freezer so I can defrost it! 
With maybe only minimal purchases to make meals the 3rd week. 
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