New Years clean up---day one

By golly I am going to start the New Year with a lovely and clean house! Here's what I did today...

• Clean out the fridge, inside and out!
• De-clutter those kitchen hot spots, basically this is every flat surface in the room.
  
• De-clutter back of stove and give it a good wipedown.
• Cull any old spices from the spice cabinet and make a shopping list for fresh jars.
  
• Wash up the oilcloth cat mat and give that part of the floor a good scrub.
• Take down all the notes, numbers, and recipes, file them away.
• Re-cure the cast iron skillet that Christy lovingly saved for me!
  

I took some time to repurpose the Christmas flowers, I weeded out the old tired ones and put them in some new containers. The red carnations are in a new and fantastic milk glass vase from Janet. It is a really great addition to the collection! Thanks Janet, I love it. The other flowers (I have no idea what they are) are in a recycled pizza sauce can I used for Maddie's 11th birthday party last week. I just had to buy that sauce because of the bright, colorful label, Don Pepino's Pizza Sauce, and the great illustration on the brightly painted label! Perfection. Don had put his clipping of a passion flower vine in it a few days ago, I added the pretty white flowers to spruce it up a bit.

I could spend a whole week in the kitchen but honestly that ain't happenin'. Maybe I will do some fly lady stuff later but for now I have other rooms to get to!


After a long lunch I got to it again! This time I hit the dining room from hell. Clutter, holiday dishes, and Legos EVERYWHERE! Yikes. At least Don was kind enough, or fed up enough, to remove the leaves from the table. That is a big help.

• Dishes, time to pack up all those fun holiday dishes that I love so much.
  
• Aidan moved all the Lego's to his room!
  
• Finally put way all the birthday banners and decorations from Maddie's B-day.
• Maddie was supposed to wipe down all the chairs but my TWEEN coped some "tude." I'll get her to do it tomorrow instead of skate boarding all afternoon. Hee, hee.
  
• Cleared off the counter top that separates the dining room and kitchen--that's a real treat!
  
• Grab paper bag and colect all the recycling laying about the house from presents.
  
• Finished dumping out my oilcloth owl tote that has been all over the dining room table for days. I filed all the receipts into my "file pile."
  
• Cleared off the dining room desk and tided up the drawers a bit.
  
• Dusted like a mad woman.
  
• Vacuumed floors and baseboards.
  

I left up the holiday display on the ledges because I love them so very much. The ornaments on the wall are from my childhood, the white garland is from Ikea (I regret not buying tons of it), the ornaments in my fab punch bowl are from here there and everywhere and are all vintage.

Next up was the living room!

• Bag Attack, take two bags, one for recycling and one for trash, and don't leave the room until all the crap is gone!
  
• Kid pile up--put all the kid stuff on their side's of the couch to go upstairs, and don't allow any PS2 gaming (Cute Hubby brought out his "mistress" to share alongside our Gamecube as a way to delay the inevitable Wii purchase) until all of it is put away in their rooms.
  
• De-clutter the hot spots.
  
• Dust and Vacuum.
  
• I took off the couch's slip cover and shook it off outside, then put it back on all nice and straight!
  

And I save the worst for last, the front hall. This is where all the real junk ends up. All the piddly stuff that needs to go up stairs but never seems to make it there.

• Remove all the Christmas cards from garland (hugh difference!).
• Take 500 trips up the stairs (good exercise).
  
• Tidy up bookshelves.
  
• Put Beth's tablecloths in my van so she actually gets them someday.
• Vacuum hall and steps.
  

Now I am off to get pretty(ish) for out New Years Eve tradition, Bowling! Silly and fun.

Happy New Years everyone!