Day 6 - Bathroom

Today was a tough start! I woke up late, with a headache and my ear playing up, and I was in no mood to clean AT ALL!

It was while reading through Facebook notifications with a coffee, that I read Tracey's comment on a status I posted on The Developing Housewife,  and it was that, that got me motivated to get up and get moving!

SO today was Bathroom Day! Mine wasn't as disgustingly dirty or messy as other rooms in the house (surprisingly). And it was only a few days ago that I cleaned the bath (and all the bath toys) as Mr Magoo poo'd in it!

I also went through and reorganised the cupboard under the basin, and tried to clean the shower.

Here are my before photos:

Before - Bathroom, standing at the door

It's clean, but not very tidy....

Before - The shower

I lose hair like no tomorrow - so the drain is forever getting clogged!! That's the kids' flannels on the bottom there.....

Before - The cupboards under the basin

Mr Mister and I went through this a couple of weeks ago and threw out a bag of stuff, but I can get away with tossing more stuff when he's not around...

Before - Bathroom, standing at the vanity

So much stuff on top of shower, that definitely doesn't need to be there! Also the mess and shoved in flannels in the wire basket shelfy thingy.

So after cleaning it all up, and reorganising things (I even added a couple of hooks for the kids' loofas above the bath....) it now looks like THIS:

After - Bathroom, standing at the door

How much BIGGER does it look?

After - Bathroom, standing at the vanity

All that crap on top of the shower is gorrrrrrrn! Oh and the wire basket shelfy thingy! However It is back - for Mr Magoo's nappies (and to hide the rotting wood).

.

Close up of the Vanity

The Vanity looks so clear and pretty I had to take another, closer photo of it LOL

After - Cupboards under the basin

Not a lot went on down here - I threw out a few more things, and put the extra hair products in a basket...

Moved and Reorganised the Flannels 

Oh and this is where I moved the flannels to... Miss tilly's, Jman's and Mr Magoo's.... In the back is Mine and Mr Mister's (we usually use loofas) and some spare crappy ones that I use to remove make up etc)

After getting all this done, I moved onto to toilet....

Here are the Before Photos:

It's a bit dark - I should have turned the light on :/
but you can see the silhouette of all the
rubbish on window sill 

I took the curtain down the other day - and it revealed all this web and dust covered stuff that I had forgotten about.

Rubbish on floor

Just yuck! Load of rubbish on the floor, and an extra toilet brush that I hadn't thrown out after buying the white one.

View from the loo

This is what you see, and look at when sitting on the loo.... Dirt, Miss Tilly's knickers and paper... but hey! The flowers were lovely!

So enough of the bad, onto the good! I held off the urge to pee, as I didn't want to dirty my nice clean toilet hahahaha

I turned the light on!

I moved the Toilet Brush up onto the window sill so the kids (Miss Tilly) couldn't 'help' clean the toilet any more. Especially before she had actually flushed it....

Rubbish be gone!

The floor looks so much nicer with no stuff on it! I even Hoovered!!!

Mr  Magoo helped organise the Toilet Paper 

No knickers!!! And the flowers look much better from this angle lol

So tomorrow, { day 7 } we're cleaning the fridge, and de-cluttering the cookbooks....  { printable }.

I am looking forward to cleaning the fridge - as I've been wanting to do it for a while now, but I'm definitely not looking forward to going through and/or purging my cookbooks.... So wish me luck on that one!!! Do you have loads of cookbooks? Do you see a picture on the front of those food magazines at the registers of the supermarket, and drool, so have to buy it, then never actually make it?? GUILTY! So maybe I can purge them......

On that note... I best be off. Talk to you tomorrow

Meegs xx

Weekend Wind Up and Day 6!

Hello there!!

How was your weekend?

Mine was brilliant! I caught up with a great friend - The lovely Miss Catherine. I am so super excited about the early birthday present she bought for me!! It is so pretty, and I can't stop looking at it,and touching it, and playing with it! 

I will write up a separate blog post about it on the weekend, as soon as I've got it all together and working for me :) However here is a sneak peek!

This was my teaser photo! 

OMG I am in stationary heaven!!! I LURRRRRRRRRRRRVE it! THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH CATHERINE!!! 

I am EXTREMELY excited haha

Going through all my goodies, with wine!

Going through all my goodies on the table after dinner with a glass of red! Oh how lucky am I to have such an awesome friend that lives so close to Office Works!!??!!

I WAS going to do a quick post yesterday, about my journey to becoming more organised (therefore efficient), but time ran away on me, so I will quickly touch on that now, before moving onto Day 6 of the Challenge.

I am determined to become more organised and efficient, and NEATER! Even on the INSIDE of my drawers and cupboards etc...

While cleaning my room on Day 2, I came upon a problem whilst trying to put all my clothes away! That problem would be, I have too many! I was in no mood to try and decide which things (my tops mainly) to keep or toss/donate, I just wanted to get them all away! I had so much trouble trying to get all my tops into my drawer, that I had to come up with a better way to organise them. I remembered seeing something on a you tube video, and thought I would try it out. I reckon it works well for me, and will be even better once we've gone through our clothes on Day 16...

I wanted to try and re-do it a little neater before taking a photo to share, but I didn't get time, so I will share this one.. Please keep in mind that it will only get neater and better than this!

My T-shirts and tops... I can see all of them!

Oooooh colourful! I can now see ALL my tops and T-shirts! No more stacking them on top of one another, needing to lift up the top ones, to see what's underneath, only to have them all fall over (or out) when you grab one from the middle of the stack!  On the far left of the photo, are my singlets, then my sleeveless tops, then all my other tops and t-shirts on the right! 

So that's my start to getting more organised... 1 small step for Meegs, 1 Giant Leap For MeegsKind!

So! What's on for this week??? For the Challenge this week, we will be cleaning the Bathrooms, Fridges, Toy/Craft/Spare Room, Junk Drawer and the dreaded Oven! We will also be de-cluttering the Bathroom Vanity, Cookbooks (sob), Toys, and Kitchen Cupboards (does the fact that I have drawers, not cupboards mean I am exempt from this task??).. hehe

So to start - { Day 6 }- Bathroom(s).  Your printable To-Do List is { here }.

I did a quick sweep through the vanity and cupboard under the sink a couple of weeks ago, so this challenge shouldn't be too hard (the de-cluttering part anyway) however I'm sure it could be organised better (need more baskets)....

My shower is disgusting - (its so old and previous owners didn't take very good care of it) and no matter what I use I can't lift the stains.......  Any tips before I get started??

Well that's it for me - I am still trying to catch up on washing and trying to implement that new laundry routine... I can hear my washing machine singing, so that's cue for me to get it out of the machine and onto the clothes horses to dry...

Have a great night. Talk to you tomorrow

Meegs xx

Day 5 & the Lipstick Bandit!!

What a Challenging day today was!!! And not so much because of  today's task's, BLOODY KIDS! I was soooooooo mad! You will see why shortly!

Today's Tasks were to do the floors and the pantry (get rid of out of date food and reorganise it a little).

I didn't do tooooooo bad! My pantry needs a complete overhaul! I need to rethink its layout and storage ideas - Its chaos! I have a large pantry that all my friends are jealous of (and it may have been the selling point when looking at the house ha-ha)! One day would not be enough time to completely gut it and start again, I would need a full weekend and Mr Mister's help for that job. So thank goodness Kat wasn't asking us to do that today *wipes brow* phew

I did my pantry first so I could hoover and mop in there at the same time as the kitchen and dining room, and also just in case something spilled (which it did) I wasn't going to be cursing as "I just bloody mopped that!!" 

So here are the before photos of my pantry......

Before - My disgraceful pantry

See! Massive!

Before - My disgraceful pantry again 

This is the side with all the food! On the opposite wall (the one you can't see hehehe)  is baking trays and cake pans, corningware, cook books and  medicines....

I pulled out 2 green bags of lunch boxes/tins the kids don't use, a couple of appliances that we either don't use or were broken and a whole 'big, heavy, split as you try and lift it into wheelie bin' bag of out of date food.... *hangs head* oops.   

I didn't do a great deal of reorganising, except for the floor. But now there is loads more room on the shelves, and I did shift some things around.

Here are the after photos..

After - My Un-disgraced pantry

How amazing is it? I love my big, giant walk in pantry!!! It's going to be great when I can create some better storage solutions and REALLY get it organised and pretty!

After - My Un-disgraced Pantry floor!

Oh Em Gee! You can SEE the floor!!!!! We created so much room on the shelves after purging all the off food, that I was able to shift things around and get the things that were on the ground up onto a shelf! 

I have 1 more after photo (of the pantry) to upload - this one is especially for my Mum xxx

The entrance

Look Marjar!!! Nothing in the doorway! *gasp*

The Floors! OMG, in the lounge room, I had to empty the hoover after having just done the rug! I did the rug first, then had to empty it before I could move onto the rest of the room! How awful is that......  

I wasn't going to take any before and afters of the floors - although I did take 1......

Before

This is beside the fridge, where the rubbish and recycle bins were kept.... gross

After

See - clean. But not that exciting...... It was while I was doing this that the kids started playing up... Especially Miss Tilly! I was ropeable!! 

I wont even begin to tell you what she did - I will just show you.......

Stay put { even when you spew }
lipstick 

She did a great job putting
it on her lips.....

And the rest of her face!

OH! And all over her hands { including the backs of them }

And the wall........

It was also on the bathroom floor and after she used my lipstick as hand cream - she went and touched the sofa!!! Gahhhhhhhhhh! 

Needless to say, no other floors were hoovered or mopped today, and My pretty 3yo went up for adoption! { not literally, of course }

It took an eternity to get it off her, which called for a message to my Beauty guru, Katy, for tips to get it off! Thanks love! You're a lifesaver!! { you can find Katy and her Beauty Blog here }

This was the bath after we finally got her clean......

I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but the ring around the bath is pink!
As is her hand prints on the bottom 

Just what I always wanted!! MORE cleaning! *sigh*

On a happier, less grumpy note... Week 1 of the Challenge is DONE!!!! 

The last to-do list of week 1
I didn't tick the "relax while floors dry" box, as I was scrubbing lipstick off my daughter 

Now we can relax a little over the weekend, remembering to keep up with our daily chores (which I am going to rename 'responsibilities' as I hate the word 'chore') and routines! I have been so good, making sure that all my dishes are done and every kitchen surface is wiped down every night after dinner. I have surprised myself and gotten up at 6:30 am { almost } every morning, and although I'm still trying to get used to it, I am feeling a lot better for it. I get so much more done!

Anyway - I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I will be! My friend Catherine { Girl from Three Birches } (go check out her blog) is coming to have a sleep over tomorrow night to make me what looks like a delicious frittata, and give me my (early) birthday present!! I am so super excited about it, and will share it with you in a week or so!  I also have a shite load of washing to catch up on after cleaning my room! 

First up next week is 'Bathrooms' so rest up! 

I 'may' have a special 'inside Meegie's organisation journey' post tomorrow - depending on how it works out! LOL

Talk to you soon

Meegs xx 

Day 4 - Lounge Room

We are almost to the end of the end of our first week!! How exciting is that!?

Before I get onto todays tasks, I want to quickly share with you an update on the Laundry...

LOOK!!!

Hanging up on the Laundry Wall

 I did however have to edit them to fit into these frames, as although they're an 8x10, the glass isn't.......

These Frames are from the Reject Shop and cost $7 for anyone interested, and I will share the resized images to fit these frames at the end of the post. YAY!

Ok, so the Lounge Room.... This room had been neglected for so long... I got it in my mind that I didn't have to pick up, I didn't have to deal with Mount Foldmore, or dust the surfaces (with a fire it gets dusty so so quickly), as I would do it in the challenge.... Needless to say it was a tip!

Here is the evidence.....

Before - Standing in doorway to kitchen

Mr Magoo was in a foul mood again this morning..... Note the tears ......Grumpy Bum

Before - Standing in opposite doorway

It's a bit dark,  { sorry }

Fireplace

See? Told ya!!! A tip!! 

But the kids and I { well, Mr Magoo and I } were very busy! Magoo Helped me pick up clothes and put them into the washing basket... However I did the majority of this room once they were down for a nap! They just wanted to play with the toys I was trying to put away, try on the clothes I was picking up off the floor and how dare I throw away the arm from Shredder (Baddie from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for those of you that don't remember) that had somehow { Miss Tilly } snapped off!!

Mr Mister helped me on his lunch break by reaching all the photo frames above the sliding doors so I could dust them xx

I forgot to take a photo of my shelves before - but other than the toys NOT being in it, and EXTREMELY dusty, it doesn't differ much to the after photo.... 

So here are the after photos........

After 

LOOK!!!! I DO have a floor!

Sofa - After

And, would you believe it!? A Sofa too!!! Oh, and who knew I had a coffee table?? LOL

After - Fire place

Toasty warm! But boy it makes everything so dusty!

After - Forgot the Before photo - OOPS

Although this isn't technically my lounge room, I noticed you could see  some of it and its mess in the before photo, so wanted to address this area too.

After - again, OOPS - forgot Before photo

My favourite piece of furniture in the lounge! I Adore this!!!

Kicking back on the sofa 

Relaxing after hoovering the sofa, which was my last task for the day. Sitting back, enjoying how HUGE the room now looked, and felt - too bad it was to Dora the Explorer on TV ......... but oh well!

Mr Magoo - My Biggest Helper

Look at this mum! I can actually sit on this part of the sofa!! Cheeky Monkey! Its blurry as he moved.. Just before the shutter went, he was laying on his tummy with his chin in his hands! Too Cute!

Very pleased with today's efforts - again! Mr Mister even picked up some toys tonight after kids went to bed! 

So... What's on tomorrow? Tomorrow { day 5 } we are doing the floors, and organising the pantry, getting rid of all out of date food etc! Again, there is a  printable for tomorrow, which you can find here.

On her blog she also links us to one of her posts about storage solutions for the pantry, which includes a video! You can check that out here . She says she doesn't want us to go and pull everything out of the pantry (thank goodness - as my pantry is enormous, and has loads of crap  I mean, things, in it!), she just wants us to organise it a bit so its more manageable.

OK - So that's about it for me tonight! Hope you all enjoy your clean floors and organised pantry's tomorrow. I will only have 1 child home tomorrow - as Miss Tilly has 'kids', (and the 2 older boys have school of course) so I will be able to get my floors done when Magoo goes down for his nap.... I have it all planned LOL

Have a great day tomorrow!

Meegs xx

P.S Here are links to resized printables - 

Laundry Routine

Laundry Room

Day 3 - Laundry

 Whoa! What a day!! Miss Tilly had Dance this morning, but I did get the sinks clear before we left.. Whilst I was in town I had to run a few errands, that took a lot longer than expected! However I did get some GREAT bargains ($2 for a pair of ladies pyjama's - yes please!!)

After getting home I had my mum and a friend pop in to visit, and make sure I hadn't photo shopped my room clean LOL

I got stuck in at about 3 pm, finishing at 7 pm! Mr Magoo had a great time helping me! 

Giving Mum a hand xx

OK so here is the dreaded before photos! *View at your own risk*

Before - Standing at Laundry/Hallway door

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND

Before - Standing at the toilet door (opposite) 

All I managed before heading into town was find the sinks!

It may have been a late start, and a late finish, and it threw the evening routine out the window, but I still managed to get it done and I am so super proud!! I also got 3 loads of washing done, {2 of which are folded and put away} plus I did the dishes and tidied the kitchen! I even bought myself some flowers while in town to put in my dining room! 

I think I have deserved these bragging rights - and it is with a big head and a shit load of gloating that I share these AFTER photos!!

After - Standing at Laundry Door

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND

After - Standing at Toilet Door

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!  Now you can see why I am a little proud!! Boo came in to talk to me as I was finishing up and the room actually echoed!!! 

I have some more before and afters to share too!!!

This is the shelving unit we use for all the cleaning products (and stuff)......

Before...

After :)

The hardest part of organising these shelves was working out what to put where! LOL 

Ok, here is another........ This time - Under the Laundry Sink.

Before

After

It was EMPTY!!! I think we just shoved everything onto that shelf, forgetting that there was storage under the sinks...... But to be able to use these cupboards, you have to actually see them, and we couldn't! But I will tell everyone that is was because I didn't want cleaning products down low where the kids could find them...... Yep, I will go with that!!! *wink* (on a serious note - Mr Mister is going to fashion some kind of lock for those doors)

Here are some more 'After' photos:

Tick, tick, tick and...... TICK!

I LOVE being able to tick stuff off the list!

Washing Basket and Mop Bucket

I want a really pretty rattan/wicker washing basket! Might have to add that to my wish list :)

On top of my Dryer

Have put my washing powder in the 'CLEAN' tin and gotten the big bucket up off the floor.. If we ever forgot to shut the lid properly, the kids would get it EVERYWHERE!

A special place for my cleaning kit

A special spot for my 'Cleaning Kit' and the box behind that is for all my Wicked Wickz empties to be taken back for refills :)

Another Task for today was to "Create a laundry routine".  I really like the routine that Kat has so I am going to copy that, and see if it works for me - If not I will tweak it to suit me and our family. So here it is

Monday – colours

Tuesday – bed sheets

Wednesday – darks

Thursday – kitchen linens

Friday – bath towels

Saturday – whites & darks

Sunday – day off

Like Kat {The organised Housewife}- I made a printable and bought some white frames from the Reject Shop to put them in. I will take a photo to share with you once they are on the wall. I simply ran out of time today. I can, however, show you what I made, and will give you a link to download them for yourself {should you wish to do so}. Click to download, then click "View PDF Version" to save it on your computer. {They are 8x10 in size}

Click to download

Click to download

I am more proud today, than I have been so far in the Challenge, as the Laundry is a room I have been wanting to tackle for a long  time! I am on a roll now!!!!

On to tomorrow's Challenge - the Lounge Room! Get your To-do List {here}. Oh - I just had a thought! Did you know that if you click on the area we will be tackling tomorrow (ie, the "Laundry" from yesterdays post, "Lounge Room" from tonight's) it will take you to Kat's list of tasks for the Challenge??? Well you do now! Go on try it!! (I think the words To-Do list, were the link to the printable/s)... I'm sorry, I didn't even think to explain!

Anyway! I'm off to bed now - I am kerrrrrrrrrrrr-knackered as one of my friends puts it, but before I go - Here are some flowers for you! Thank you for coming along for the ride and supporting me *insert <3 heart here*

Thank You xxx

Good Luck with your Lounge Rooms tomorrow.

Meegs