Thursday, February 23, 2012

40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

This Lenten season, I will, besides cleaning out the clutter of my heart and mind in preparation for Easter's glorious celebration, also be cleaning up the "stuff" that's overtaking our drawers, closets, and other spaces. I'm taking Clover Lane's 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge.

Over the next six weeks, I'll be collecting at least 40 bags of stuff to giveaway, toss, or donate to the Goodwill. I'm all over this idea. I've been reading Clover Lane for a number of years and have always loved how uncluttered and organized her home and life seems to be. I figure if she can do it with five kids; I can easily do it with three kids. 

Here's my list of the areas I plan on tackling over the next 40 Days. Once I've finished cleaning an area, I'll report back how many bags we're generating.  I'll be honest that because I work best in short little bursts, I'll probably not tackle the entire room in one sweep.  While I love progress, I'll probably work a few small projects on busy days and then tackle the big ones on days set aside for nothing else but cleaning.

The Kitchen: Pantry, Cleaning Supplies, China and Specialty Items, Art Cabinet, Junk Drawers and Paperwork Storage

The Family Room: TV Cabinet full of DVDs and CD's,  Bookshelves

The Computer/Study Room: Computer Armour full of old computer games, files and gadgets; Mr C's Desk

The Dinning Room: Hutch Clean out (this has become scrapbook storage #2 and GS stuff) Dust and Reorganize decorative shelves, top of the hutch; seasonal decor hideaway- must go

The Laundry Room: Cabinets and Coat Storage, Hooks and Laundry Organization.

The Big Kids' Rooms:  Drawers, Under beds and Closets

Miss A's Room: Storage Solution to Barbie Overload and American Girl Doll Stuff, Closet, Drawers, Nightstand, Books sorted and donated

Master Bedroom and Bathroom:Closet Purged and Organized, Scrapbook Nook, Dressers, Bathroom Storage Purged

Kid's Bathroom: Organize the Drawers, Sort through the Hair Stuff (two girls, enough said)
Guest Bathroom: Clean out Medicine Cabinet and purge the First Aid Kit

Basement: Kids TV Room; crafting, gaming all organized and purged; Storage Areas: Purge Seasonal Clothing and Kids' Clothing donated; Weight Room and American Girl Doll Dreamhouse Organized

Whoosh!  That sounds like three years worth of Lent!  I'm thinking I won't have any trouble coming up with 40 Bags in 40 Days.  I'm not even putting the Bonus Room on the list, I figure I'll need a real Spring Cleaning Item to look forward to and this will be it!

Sadly, I gave up Diet Pepsi for Lent so I can't even count on a caffeine high to get me through all this stuff!  I'm hoping that the "cleaning high" I'll get will be similar to the endorphins you get from running a marathon because this is sounding like a marathon to me!

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