Wednesday, October 19, 2011

It Begins! Express Happy House Challenge Plus!

This challenge will be run like the last Express Happy House Challenge. 2 new tasks added each week, for 5 weeks, totaling 10 daily tasks to keep our homes in good shape. BUT, since we are prepping for the big holiday season, we're going to add one more piece. Each week, I'll give you your two tasks, PLUS one room to deep clean. By the end of the 5 weeks, your family will be wondering if they are at your house of if somehow they've found their way to Martha's estate.

So, I know you are up for the challenge. And trust me, it's way more fun to clean when you have a bunch of blogging friends to join you. Really, it won't be the same if you aren't here every week telling me how great...or even how not so great you did. The effort is key!

Now, there is one more piece to this, if you care to join. It will be a Blog Hop Photo Challenge as well. We'll take pictures of our designated rooms showing the before and after. Then create a post to show all our hard work. It'll be a great chance to see new spaces (real ones- my favorite!) and make new blogging friends. And no worries if you don't keep a blog, you can share your photos on the My Happy House Facebook page!

So here is the process broken down:

1. Wednesday is the first day of the week for the challenge. I will assign two daily tasks and one room of the house to deep clean, including all the tasks that go with it.
2. (This part is optional) Take a photo of the designated room for the before. Throughout the week, give it the deep clean it so lovingly deserves! Then take your after photo some time before the next Wednesday.
3. Be sure to do the daily tasks each day of the week.
4. Check back in the next Wednesday and link up your post with your before/after photos or feel free to share them on Facebook if you don't keep a blog!
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until the challenge is over!

So simple! Let's get started shall we?

Make the Bed!!

Not much explaining here. Simply making the bed in the morning will get you started on the right foot and in a clean and organized mode. Forget to do it in the morning? No worries, do it when you get home. Trust me, even if it's only made for a couple hours, diving into a neat looking bed at the end of a long day is SO refreshing!

And...
Empty the Sink!
I'm a huge advocate of not letting dirty dishes pile up. Having a clean sink will instantly make the kitchen look cleaner. It's a great habit to get into. If you have a dishwasher, and more dishes that night than it can hold, just rinse your remaining dirty dishes and put them on one side of the sink. They can go in when you empty the dishwasher, and since they are already rinsed, it will only take a moment to do so rather than trying to scrape off leftover food from the night before!

Challenge PLUS:
Week 1: Kitchen
  • Clean out the cupboards- interiors and exteriors
  • Wipe down all appliances
  • Clean windows
  • Clean blinds/drapery
  • Clean out fridge- interior, check for expired items, minimize to make room for holiday cooking/baking products
  • Clean out pantry- check for expired items and donate items you won't use to a food closet. Plus it will help take inventory for what you need for holiday cooking/baking
  • Deep clean counters and small appliances
  • Deep clean floors and garbage/recycling containers


So there we have it. This week we are making our beds and emptying our sinks, PLUS really cleaning our kitchens. We'll check in next Wednesday to see how you all did. Did you make your bed today? If not, don't forget to do it now or when you get home! And also, remember to take your kitchen before photo!

We'll always end with our recaps.

Week 1: Make the Bed & Empty the Sink!! + The Kitchen!

Are you joining me? You might have committed in the previous post, but show everyone just how committed your are! Let me know in the comments if you are taking the challenge!

17 comments:

  1. Great challenge! I have to say, you prompted me to begin making the bed every day and I'm so glad I got in the habit. I started doing it when we moved to the new house in September and it's now become second-nature. It may not be perfect, but I won't be embarrassed if someone walks by the bedroom. =)

    I've been getting into the habit of doing a room a night. It only takes 25 minutes or so and the house has been staying pretty clean.

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  2. I'm in. I really need to get back on task since we're re-renovating our lower level.

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  3. I'm in and looking forward to creating some great habits over the next five weeks!

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  4. I'm definitely in!!!! I need to get on task and start a routine for house cleaning. What a great challenge!

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  5. Im joining even though I am dreading it..haha! With a 5 week old at home I will see how I keep up! thanks for the motivation!

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  6. Im joining in again. With a newborn at hone I have been slacking. Time to get my butt in gear ans out of bed

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  7. I'm in! I took my before kitchen picture today :(~ Akk! I am more than ready. Let's hope my 3 year old and 8 month old will let me do it properly! Can't wait to get it together.

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  8. I'm in! Thankfully I had already cleaned out the sink and made my bed this morning!

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  9. I'm in I'm in I'm in! Going to make my bed now! Will post photos via FB, no blog here! We host Thanksgiving every year for our family, so the timing of this challenge is PERFECT!

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  10. I'm definitely in!!!! Can't wait to get our house clean and ready for the holidays! =) Already got a great start!

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  11. I'm in! I love this, what a great idea! I definitely work better with an army of motivators in the same position haha.
    I've been making excuses lately because our kitchen is in the midst of a reno that can't get done while the mister is working out of town. But it's not getting completed any time soon so I need to just start working with what I've got.
    My two things every day are a made bed and empty sink so I'm already feeling good!

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  12. I'm in! Already posted about it and I'm excited to get started on my day off on Monday!

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  13. As they say, "a day late and a dollar short" but I'm here!

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  14. Molly, you are so motivating! My house would be a dump if I didn't read your blog. Maybe not a dump, but kind of like the house across the street from the dump.

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  15. I can't participate for a couple of weeks. I had a c-section Wednesday and my husband would have a stroke if he saw me so much as glance at my vacuum cleaner. :)

    On the upside, though, I did deep-clean my house in the month leading up to delivery, so it looks great still. :D

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  16. I can't go to bed with dishes in the sink! Now, making my bed...that's another story!

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