Erica in OR Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The day some of the content was lost on the board it appears there was a thread about a "52 weeks to an organized home" challenge, with a link to the site http://www.home-stor...ized-home.html. I was interested in finding the thread to join in and get some support and make myself more accountable for following along with the challenge all year. Wasn't able to find it through a new thread http://forums.welltr...e-thread—where/, but one suggestion was to just create a new thread. So here it is. Join in on the challenge of 52 weeks to get your home more organized, with short tasks to do for just 15 minutes a day. The website has weekly challenges. Next week starts with your kitchen countertops and sink. This week is a prep week, with small tasks each day. At the website http://www.home-stor...nized-home.html you can sign up for email reminders, or just grab the weekly challenge from the web each week. They have a Facebook page too—https://www.facebook...ageSolutions101 I'll try to create a new thread each week for that week's challenge, where you can let everyone know what you've been doing, for motivation and accountability. The January calendar is at http://www.home-stor...ar-january.html. [edited to add: Trying to link again, using the link from their Facebook page, since isn't working for some. Worked when I previewed post, so fingers crossed.] Who's in? Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I signed up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The January calendar is not showing up for me. It is saying page not found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I signed up too. I am focusing on the weekly challenges and will do the occasional daily challenge. I'm afraid I'll get overwhelmed and drop it altogether if I get hung up on doing both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm tentatively in! With a new baby in Feb, I'm trying not to box myself in with my own expectations, but a more organized house would be a win for everyone around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm in! We definitely need a bit more organization around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeemama Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Looks do-able! I'm in too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I signed up and printed up my calendar. Thanks for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Relinked the January calendar in my original post, so hope it works again. I'm feeling less futile looking around the house, seeing things that should get decluttered, knowing that I've got a plan and thinking "Your week will come." Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm sort of in. I have my Motivated Moms going for the day to day stuff, but I could probably stand to do the weekly challenges. I'm off to print my schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm in. Thanks for starting the challenge thread. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm joining up! I did this last year and loved every step of the way. My home is still very organized, but this will help me to touch up and continue to maintain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am definitely in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am in...I have a whole room just dedicated to stuff that I want to tackle.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Subbing this for future reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I joined. We're doubling our current living space so I have a lot of stuff still boxed up from a move. I may have to sidetrack when the construction stuff is done to focus on unpacking 16 years of stuff but I love the idea of focused organizing efforts so I hope I can do the weekly challenges too. ETA: those daily challenges look daunting to me. Can people really do those tasks in 15 minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I would LOVE to have a more organized home. So would everyone else in this house! So I'm going to sign up and pray that I can just do each day and not get overwhelmed with it all! Thanks for the links and information. I just signed up. Yea!!! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in SC Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm definitely in. Thanks for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I am in!! I am doing the daily stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garddwr Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm in. I signed up for their emails, and deciding if I want to like their FB page or not. Not sure if I will follow it exactly, since I am also waiting to order GTD and going that way, but between teh 2 I will find a way that works for me and get my home and life organized. This week I am working on my bedroom so I have a sanctuary to retreat to at the end of each day once the challenges begin next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm in. Organization is definitely one of my weak points but this looks doable and I need to start somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Is it cheating to join just to feel like you've done something for not too much effort? :D Not that I'm the neatest housekeeper in the world, but I don't tend to accrue much in the way of clutter. Even if my house looks trashed, all the cabinets and closets are reasonably well organized! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm in. I have so little free time but I can squeeze in 15 minutes of organizing daily and the weekly tasks look manageable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I printed the calendar! All 12 months! I hung it on the fridge with two strong magnetic clips. I am ready to declutter! And what does Jan 3 say? "Create a template for daily to do list that works." :blink: Erm...anyone have a good one?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 ETA: those daily challenges look daunting to me. Can people really do those tasks in 15 minutes? :iagree: And the scariest part is, there is a whole YEAR of tasks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm going to do the daily challenges when they apply (my counters are already decluttered, for example) as well as the weekly challenges. Our cabinets and closets are decluttered and organized. However, I have approximately 50 boxes of items I took when we sold my parents' house that need to be sorted once again and absorbed into our house... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I made a household notebook last year but i cleaned it p and updated it last night. I am ready for todays challenge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm on day 6. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I printed the calendar! All 12 months! I hung it on the fridge with two strong magnetic clips. I am ready to declutter! And what does Jan 3 say? "Create a template for daily to do list that works." :blink: Erm...anyone have a good one?? This is my go to list for daily chore focus. I obviously do the dishes, laundry, and tidy the house daily. I have 1 focus chore each day. Here is my schedule. HTH Monday: Vacuum house. This includes all bedrooms, living space, closets, ect..... Tuesday: Clean front bathroom. Deep cleaning includes cleaning toilets, tubs, shower, mirrors, counters.....stocking towels, toilet paper, take inventory of what's low and needs replacing..ect Wednesday: Clean master bathroom. Same as above bathroom instructions. Thursday: Clean Kitchen. I put this here because trash day is on Friday and I clean out fridge and freezers on clean kitchen day. Scrub counters, stove, microwave, fridge, sweep, mop, take inventory of what's low and needs replacing...ect Friday: Dust entire house. From top to bottom dust pictures on the wall, wall decor, computers, tv's, ect... Wash bedding as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 A shout-out to the decluttering! I cleaned up the piles in the kitchen and then cleaned out my purse. And THEN cleaned my desk--and found $300 in 20's! I have no idea why it was tucked in there, but before I could think of all the places I could use it, I gave it to the starving grad student! We both cried as she had no idea how she was going to make rent this month... This is SO cool -- that you found $300 that you didn't know you had AND that you gave it to a worthy cause :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garddwr Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm looking at the daily task calendar right now. I haven't had any time to dedicate to this yet--most of my energy for the last two days has gone to getting us up and running with a new daily school schedule. Still needs some tweaking... But anyway, looks like Jan 1 was set up a collection station for donate/sell items; don't really need to do that, I always donate rather than sell and I've always got a plastic bag or two hanging on a door handle to collect things. Then they go to the corner of the garage and eventually to the back of the van. Jan 2nd was create a binder for a household notebook. I have a binder I made a couple of years ago but haven't used recently, I need to go dig it out. Jan 3 Is create a template for a daily to-do list that works. I'm off to the Donna Young site, I think I remember a form over there that might work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 If you use Excel, you might find the site http://www.vertex42....and-family.html useful for pre-made templates for the binder. I downloaded the house cleaning schedule and the weekly meal planner spreadsheets to try out. What I like about the meal planning sheet is that each cell that holds a breakfast, lunch, supper entree, supper side dish, has a pull-down menu of different things that you tend to cook so you can select something from the list instead of just typing it in if you wish. It has a default list built into the sheet, but you can easily add/subtract to match your own favorites. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm in. I signed up for their emails, and deciding if I want to like their FB page or not. Not sure if I will follow it exactly, since I am also waiting to order GTD and going that way, but between teh 2 I will find a way that works for me and get my home and life organized. This week I am working on my bedroom so I have a sanctuary to retreat to at the end of each day once the challenges begin next week. Same here. I signed up but I'll be silmultaneously working through GTD, so may opt out of some of the 52 weeks. I'm slowly working on my bedroom too. I cleared my dresser top and reorganized make up and facial products into a smaller bin (I have nowhere else in the house to keep these). Also went through my clothes and gave some to Dd (not sure how I should feel about her fitting into my clothes--I kinda outgrew them, but then again she is only barely 11). I still need to go through the book pile by my bed and throughly clean. I'm considering decluttering my dresser even more by putting away the old china doll from when I was little, but I kind of like to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I signed up...but I am afraid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I signed up...but I am afraid! Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 What is GTD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 What is GTD? Getting Things Done by David Allen There's quite a thread on the Education board, in case you haven't seen it. I'm just using some of the ideas, not sure I'll be really hard core about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 So far I am up to date on the daily tasks. I still need to do the weekly task regarding the kitchen counters. Most of ours are fine but I have one problem spot over in the corner of the kitchen next to the door we come in. We always end up putting our things down there when we walk in the door and then it just grows. It is continually a problem. I clean it, it comes back every.single.time. I am really tired of it and really want to tackle that area for good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 So far I am up to date on the daily tasks. I still need to do the weekly task regarding the kitchen counters. Most of ours are fine but I have one problem spot over in the corner of the kitchen next to the door we come in. We always end up putting our things down there when we walk in the door and then it just grows. It is continually a problem. I clean it, it comes back every.single.time. I am really tired of it and really want to tackle that area for good! Don't know if this would work for you, but I was given advice about a similar situation. Once you've de-junked the area, find some sort of object to keep in that spot which will prevent you (and others) from being able to put anything there. Maybe a large bowl with fruit in it so it will be useful and not simply clutter? Or move something else you like to keep out on the counter there (like a mixer, blender?) Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm in! I printed out the full year's daily task calendar hoping to tackle that from time to time but really want to make sure I at least get the daily stuff done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If you need a blank to do list, I like this Peek at the Week free printable from I Heart Organizing. (Scroll down.) http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com.au/p/free-printables.html?m=0 It's pretty and has room for everything if your list isn't too long. I like seeing my whole week rather than just a day at a time, but that's just me. I'm considering signing up for this, a lot of the tasks seem doable. We just need a list for the schoolroom... -Go through unused curriculum and decide if you will ever use it. Sort into piles...give to hs friend, sell, or hang onto because it is so pretty and cost so much and maybe you'll be able to use it with your youngest one day. -Declutter and clear off school table. You know, the one that hasn't been cleaned off since the beginning of the year. -Declutter hs supply closet. Discover tons of resources you forgot you had. -Go through art supplies and throw away dried up paints, chewed up pencils, and dried-up markers. -Determine storage system for schoolwork. Try not to cry at how much filing you need to do. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I was all excited about that Get the App button, thinking there must be an app with a calendar and reminders, but it's just an unrelated ad. Pity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Oh, my gosh, I forgot the GARAGE. Yes, that is going to be hideous. :) It get terrible over the summer when it's hot and miserable to work in, and I felt awful in the fall, so it only got worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I printed out 6 months of the calendars & the page that lists the 52 weekly challenges last week. I have this months calendar on a clipboard by my desk & I cross off the daily jobs as I finish them. I keep reminding myself that by babysteps I'll get my house (& life) in order this year. I picked up GTD at the library yesterday & aim to read it before it's due back the end of January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 This is my go to list for daily chore focus. I obviously do the dishes, laundry, and tidy the house daily. I have 1 focus chore each day. Here is my schedule. HTH Monday: Vacuum house. This includes all bedrooms, living space, closets, ect..... Tuesday: Clean front bathroom. Deep cleaning includes cleaning toilets, tubs, shower, mirrors, counters.....stocking towels, toilet paper, take inventory of what's low and needs replacing..ect Wednesday: Clean master bathroom. Same as above bathroom instructions. Thursday: Clean Kitchen. I put this here because trash day is on Friday and I clean out fridge and freezers on clean kitchen day. Scrub counters, stove, microwave, fridge, sweep, mop, take inventory of what's low and needs replacing...ect Friday: Dust entire house. From top to bottom dust pictures on the wall, wall decor, computers, tv's, ect... Wash bedding as needed. Oh! I thought it was a to-do like with items like "dentist appointment" and "mail birthday card" -- not household stuff! Thanks for sharing how you manage your list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm in! A few days behind but after years of trying to come up with a perfect system, maybe I need to try having someone just tell me what to do :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Is anyone interested in having a daily thread for this challenge? That might help some of us stay on track better and we can share what we've accomplished each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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