Today begins our Fast and Furious Fall Cleaning! (FFFC/O)

If you’re like me, you have been anticipating this event because there are things that just really need to be done in the house and you need some motivation.

I hope I can provide just that!

You might have better success today if you print this out and take it with you. Then, just come back during the day when you are taking a break to read and see what everyone else is doing. If you are participating in the FFFC/O, try to stay away from the computer today unless you are breaking or of course unless you are done! You might also want to print out the natural cleaner formulas if you will be using them.

To make your own Natural Cleaners check HERE.

Remember that this kind of cleaning isn’t for everyone. Its for those who are physically able to move about and work fast and furiously. If you can’t keep up, please don’t feel badly. Just do what you can and feel good about it! Root for the rest of the ladies, and clean as you are able! We will cheer you on, too!

DISCLAIMER: I have to tell you….I don’t know what is in your home, don’t know what your furniture, rugs, curtains, floors are made of….. so you will have to take responsibility for making decisions about what methods to use to clean some of these things. If I say wash your curtains and your fall apart… you probably should have read the label! laugh.gif

The Master Bedroom

Now, you may have other things that need to be done in your bedroom, but these are the essentials of a thorough cleaning and decluttered/organized bedroom.

First – Take down curtains and wash them if you are able. If you cannot wash them, hang them outside to air. Be sure not to hang them in full sun if you think they may fade.

Second – Strip the bed linens and put them in to wash or in the laundry room.

Third – Hang up and put away all clothes or laundry. Yes….. I can see in your bedroom today! If there are clothes that need to be put in someone else’s room, do it. If there are clothes that need to be stored, store them. If there are clothes that need to go to GoodWill, take them!

If you just don’t have any way to store those clothes, get rid of some of them! Let’s also see if anyone has some good ideas for impromptu storage techniques… If you do, speak up while we clean this room.

Fourth – Get yourself three baskets, boxes or bags. Label these containers:

Throw Away
Give Away
Put Away

Walk around your room and put everything that you don’t want in the room in one of these boxes.
When this is done…

Find a fourth box…. put all your trinkets, doo-dads and nicnacs that you are going to keep in this box (think about getting rid of some of these! ). Put your alarm clock, pictures, wall decor, everything that will stay in the room. Place this box in the dining room or kitchen. You can enlist a child to dust and clean these items or save this for yourself for later.

Fifth – Pull everything out of the closet. Oh yes, the closet. Pull it all OUT. All of it. Everything. Now go through it quickly and put each item in one of your four boxes. Hang up clothes and sort them into the boxes quickly. Don’t take too much time with this. If you have not worn the item in 2 years, toss it or give it away.

If an item you pull out of your closet does not belong in the closet, if the closet is not where you really should store it, then move it to its rightful place. If you don’t have anywhere else for this item, then its rightful place is the closet. Only you know.

Dust, sweep and clean the inside of the closet. Rehang the clothes. Arrange the contents of the closet that are going back in it, correctly and neatly. Robin will probably have some ideas for storage and organizational issues…

Sixth – Clean out from under the bed. Pull it all out, divide the under-bed contents into your four boxes. Sweep and mop under the bed when everything is moved out from under it.

There are lots of good ideas for under-bed storage. Those bed risers that I talk about every year are really a handy thing to have. Here is a photo of a bed-riser:
bed-risers.jpg

You can see that it can give you up to 10 inches of space to store things. They cost about $ 8.95 – $14.95 for four of them. This is one of the best investments for the household I have ever made. I bought mine at Linen’s and Things. Flat plastic boxes are great for under the bed too.

Seventh – We’re on the home stretch! Dust the ceilings, tops of windows and door frames, and walls. If you walls are dirty and you want to wash them, go for it! Use a mild detergent or soap and warm water if you have painted walls. If you have wallpaper, you will want to use a barely damp sponge and a drying towel. Work from the top of the wall down to the floor. If you have carpet, cover it!

Now to the Nitty Gritty Cleaning of the Room:

Wash the windows. Use my homemade window cleaner or what ever you have on hand. Use newspaper to dry them for a streak free shine!

Clean up the window frames now and dry them well.

Clean the baseboards with a soapy solution of mild dish soap and warm water or your natural cleaner

Dust all furniture. Use lemon oil or orange oil on all wood. Use a mild soap and warm water on other furniture according to what its made of. Wash doilies and table covers.

If you haven’t yet cleaned the nicnacs and needful items that go in your room go do that now. When they are cleaned, replace them where they go in the room.

Think about adding a doilie or a table skirt to soften the room. Think about what you use to make the room a pleasant place to be with your husband or just to go to relax.

Press and rehang your curtains.

Sweep, vacuum and mop the floor depending on what you need to do. If your floors are hard, use which ever chemicals you have success with. I use a wood soap on my hardwood and then a wood shiner product made by Glade. Sometimes I even use orange oil on the floors and rub them to a deep shine. You must rub the wood very vigorously so that it won’t be slick!

Dress the bed. Its getting to be cooler here in the US so dress your bed in sheets and two quilts OR with one quilt and one blanket. Think about getting a skirt to hide the under bed contents. I found a white cotton one at Good Will for $3.49 !

Replace rugs

Light a candle and take your “after” picture!

I’m going to be checking in throughout the day to see how you are doing!

Got questions? Got organizing nightmares and de-cluttering woes? ASK! Robin, or myself or one of the other ladies here is sure to have some ideas.