Two Hours One Morning :: Corner View {Home}

I had planned to write this post yesterday but the evening got away from me.   Luckily, the theme of this week's Corner View fits perfectly so I can  kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  I would never
willingly kill a real bird.  I love birds.

Anyhoo ....

My house has been DRIVING ME CRAZY!
I've had a few piles of stuff laying around that I needed put away
or find "homes" for but just hadn't made the time to do it.

I had the day off yesterday, the children were home too, a fact that actually worked in my favor.  I set the timer for two hours, gave them a small list of tasks
and told them once those were done, they were free to do anything
they wanted, as long as it was quiet and in their individual
rooms.  They are great little workers, my two,
they set about their tasks and got them
done quickly.  I did not hear from
them much after that, but that could have been because
I had the music  cranked on the  surround sound and I didn't hear much else!
A word of warning, if you hear loud music coming from my house during the day, you should
never and I mean NOT EVER look in the windows.  The music
I clean to is pretty darn up beat ... hip hop sort of stuff ... and my feet, in the
privacy of my own home, can't help but dance!  Every Zumba move I have incorrectly interpreted is happening!  My kids think is it embarrassingly hilarious.
Seriously ... it is not something you want to see.  EVER. 
never. ever.
So ... I set my timer.



Two hours.

Before I started, I did a walk through and took "before" shots of all the
problem areas in case I got distracted.  I had to use the photos a
couple of times to get me back on track.

Here's what I accomplished.



I started by making my bed.  This always makes my room feel instantly tidier. 
I (almost) always make my bed.  I hate it when I'm too lazy and don't.



I tidied up Rory's music table and the floor beneath. 
Not much though, just enough to get the pedals up off the floor
and move the guitars out of the way of the bathroom door!



Laundry baskets full of clean laundry!  A shopping bag with toiletries to be put away.
Movies the kids have watched in our bedroom, an iPhone charger that needed
to go back to the docking station in the family room.  A library book. 
All of these things have homes ... I just hadn't put them in them!



Rory likes to refer to the elliptical as my coat rack ....
I won't lie, it's easy to hang my clothes there.
Although ... those jeans are his!



Cleaning stuff left on the bathroom sink after Alia cleaned the kids bathroom ... ON SATURDAY!
I went ahead and cleaned the sink and put those cleaners away!



Guest bedroom bed ... Alia pulled the sheets up a few weeks ago after she and her friend
had slept in there one Friday night but it was bugging me.  I remade the bed.  Baby clothes that I had to wash after the ants made a nest in the box they live in!
They are washed, dried and folded ... waiting for me to put them away. I'll get to it, that project is bigger than just putting them away!



Two boxes that I bought for the guest bedroom closet, and movies left out.
Putting the movies away was one of the jobs on the kids lists!
The boxes in the guest bedroom closet, they are a project for another time but at least they aren't in the family
room anymore!!



My sock drawer has been driving me nuts.  I had too many socks. 
The drawer wouldn't close.  I pulled out the socks that I don't
ever wear, put them in my 'to get rid of box' in the garage.
Drawer now closes. Job well done. 



Dirty laundry.  Now washed.



And dried.  And folded.  And put away.



And even a shelf labeled .... to avoid confusion with the kids. 
No-one wants to dry their hands on the dog's bath towel!



A bit of pencil art of the top of our side table.
Gone.



Junk along the top of the kitchen bench.  Gone. Except for the "junk" that lives there.

This little box sits beside my desk.  It's where I put tiny little things that need to be put away but I don't want to get up and put them away at just that moment.  You know, like things that the kids bring me or things that I had in my purse but took out.  Something I was planning to use but didn't.  Just little bits and pieces.  I just put them in the box until I have a day like yesterday and then I carry the box around and put everything away. Now, the box is empty and ready for the next bit or piece ....

The dining room table.  Most of the time it doesn't look like the first photo.  Most of the time
it looks like the second photo.  It's like my bed ... the whole house looks neater to me if the
table is clear!  Busyness had caused this little pile up ... but now it is gone.

As well, I had a pile of jackets and blankets on the back of my desk chair.  Put away.
The kids had think piled on my craft desk in the garage.  Put away.
The shoe shelf need organizing.  Done.

There were socks randomly scattered on the 'riding' toy shelf in the garage.  Put in the hamper.

On a hunch, I asked the kids to check their school bags for Tupperware containers
(even though school finished a week ago and I asked them to check then!)
They brought out 6 Tupperware between them,
complete with food and mold.
All clean now.

I needed to hang a hook in the bathroom.  Done. 

I needed to hang a fire blanket in the kitchen.  Done.

Seriously ... it was the most productive two hours EVER! Sometimes, that's all it takes!

**

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.  It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up over at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other Corner Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations of the themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !