~The Focus Area/ Routine Wrap Up~

Part of my latest routine is dedicating 15 minutes a day to a predetermined area of the house. Last week was the basement. I only worked on it for about 20-30 minutes all week. *tisk, tisk* But the reality is that while I only got around to it for 30 minutes, that is 30 more minutes than I ever would have spent on it last week. Like the kitchen, this too is on a 6 week rotation. This idea is from "Large Family Logistics" by Kim Brenneman Here is how mine is set up:

Week 1: Bathroom
Week 2: Bedrooms
Week 3: Livingroom
Week 4: Guest room/office
Week 5: Toys/games/crafts
Week 6: Basement

This week's area is the bathroom. Each week, the deep cleaning is broken up by days of the week.

Monday: Declutter
Tuesday: Dust
Wednesday: Straighten drawers, cabinets, shelves
Thursday: Curtains, windows, area rugs
Friday: Vacuum (corners, under, in and around furniture)
Saturday: "Pretty up" Add a touch of beauty, freshen up the space

Once again, the hardest, longest part for me right now is the decluttering. My bathroom is tiny, yet I managed to toss an entire kitchen sized trash bag of stuff. Broken, empty containers, unused items, etc. Under my sink, I found a small bottle of Febreze with Gain fabric freshener. As I was putting the things I wanted to keep back under the sink, I picked it up thinking "I might want this for the couch or something." Then I stopped, held it for a couple seconds and wondered what I actually bought it for in the first place. Then I couldn't remember ever using it, certainly not within the last year. It went into the trash. It is things like that that become clutter.
     Getting our toothbrushes out of the cabinet had become somewhat of a gamble. Who would get hit in the head with deodorant today? And all of those little things on the bottom shelf kept falling into the sink. Roar. All I wanted to do was brush my teeth, not play ''52 pick up'' first thing in the morning. Especially before having my coffee! Again, roar. Three years ago I did a bathroom post here. When I was done cleaning, I had a lot more under the sink then than I do now. In part because I kept more stuff. A lot more stuff. But I've also moved in a small end table for rolled up bath towels, making more room in the wall cabinet for some of the things that used to be under the sink. This is what it looks like now:

 Not very pretty, but organized and decluttered. I took a pencil basket (they come 2 or 3 for $1 at Dollar Tree) from elsewhere in the house and duct taped it down to the cabinet shelf (Redneck version of Command products) and used some baby food jars to hold razors, toothpaste, all that skinny clumsy stuff that falls out all the time.

 The former towel cabinet. Wish I had a before picture to show you how bad it was. The bottom shelf was chaos.

My "girly" stuff. Hair products, makeup remover, hair ties, moisturizer. I keep the white clip here for when I  wash my face.

That is the latest on routine goodies around here. Do I get everything done in a day that I aspire to? Meaning everything on my list, no. Is there ever a week when it all goes the way it is on paper, no. But you know what isn't written on the list? Real life. The important stuff. The stuff life is made of. Like when your toddler comes to you saying "Read story?". And you leave the dishes in the sink, sit on the couch with your little boys and read for a half an hour, starting with the book he loves so much that you've read it so many times you don't need the actual book to tell the story. Tickling, playing hide and seek, holding the baby all afternoon because he doesn't feel well. They are growing so fast. I don't want to look back on life wishing I spent less time trying to make my house look just right and more time delving into my children's fleeting childhood. I also don't want us to have so much stuff that it interferes with our lives, stealing precious time from our family that we can never get it back. That is why I'm constantly in declutter mode. When I think of the negativity of having too much stuff, especially when most of it is truly junk, I can get pretty ruthless. I envy our fore-mothers who simply didn't have the stuff in the first place. It is a balancing act. And I don't always get it right, but I try my best, and never stop learning. That is what I hope you take away from this series. Not just tips on a routine, but a hunger to keep the important things first. God, family, friends. People. It is easier to focus on the important when your life and home isn't filled with the unimportant. What's really going to matter when all is said and done? What will you leave behind? Because, you simply can't take it with you. Now shut your computer off and go get rid of some worthless stuff! Take your life back so that you can give it to those around you!