Okay, whining session is officially over

It's amazing what a little rest will do. :)

So it was back to the grindstone today. This morning we hit two of the upstairs bedrooms. I went through every toy in their bedrooms as well as the toys in the playroom, culling out as much as I could. We have way too much stuff! The girls are pack rats, never wanting to throw away the tiniest craft made at scouts or awards they earned when they were 4. However, I did manage to throw away a full trash bag full of stuff, and have another full trash bag full of toys to either trade or donate. The girls got quite panicky when they realized "Mama is serious!" I think they thought I would throw everything out!

We also moved all the furniture and vacuumed behind them, dusting all pictures, candles, knick-knacks, fans, etc. We also emptied the closets and vacuumed in their too. It's amazing how much better you feel when a room is truly clean.

Now some of you may wonder why I am reporting on every little thing we do each day during this full house cleaning. Well there are a couple of reasons.

(1.) It keeps me accountable to someone. Yes I am a neat freak, with a control obsession. I like to have things clean and orderly. But I don't like to clean. Yes, you heard me right. I confess, my ultimate dream is to have a "Susan" from the Anne of Green Gables series. If I could afford to have someone come in and keep things clean for me, I would. Oh I get in moods when I want to clean, but usually, I get in the mood to clean out and organize, rather than actually clean. And since I will not, in the foreseeable future, be able to afford live-in help, I am training my daughters to be my live-in help, all in the guise of teaching them "life skills." ;)

(2.) On a regular basis, someone comments or asks me how I manage my time and keep organized in order to homeschool, keep my house clean, cook and bake, and do everything else. This once a year major clean is one way I do it. Yes it takes 2-3 weeks, as I usually only do it in the mornings and do school planning in the afternoons, but it gets everything so shiny and new that we can keep things clean otherwise with routine cleaning. It also just might inspire some of you less organized or motivated people out there. :)