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First of all today I wanted to show you my new pretty
ceiling fan duster
If you have ceiling fans in your house like me, then you must have had the experience of dusting them and in the process of doing so, getting covered in dust yourself and having dust all over the floor under the fan!
NO MORE!!
Jenni from Snippets of my Family, Faith and Crafting, just posted a super simple tutorial on her blog for making a clever
ceiling fan duster!
It's basically like a little bag that you slip over the fan blades and wipe the dust into it!
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GENIUS!
So all the dust goes inside the bag instead of on you or the floor!
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Then you can just throw the bag in the wash!
I saw this tutorial yesterday and as part of my new plan to 'just do things' and stop procrastinating, I sat down and whipped one up straight away and cleaned all the fans in my house!
Making this bag also meant I had to use my overlocker (serger) and had to fix the broken needle I'd left in there from last time I used it!
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(You see I'm terrible at leaving jobs 'til later....)
Now having shared that new 'gadget' with you - let me explain more about my 'just do it' plan!
Recently I have come to realise that it's basically my tutorials and clothes upcycles that brings visitors to my blog. My other posts seem to make little or no impact or difference.
SO, aside from focussing on more tutorials and upcycles, I've decided to use the extra days and posts to my own advantage and do something that will help me personally - and who knows maybe inspire others to take action to! I don't know that this will help grow my blog or not - but it's just something I feel I need to do for myself, and at the end maybe my head along with my house will be clearer and I'll come up with a new fabulous masterplan for the blog!
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A while ago. I used my facebook page to try to change my messy habits and learn to keep the surfaces in my house clean by using the theory that it takes 21 days to form a habit.
Every single day of those 21 days, I took a photo of my nice tidy surfaces and posted them on facebook. This worked by keeping me accountable
( thank you to those facebook friends who liked and commented on those photos and kept me going!)
And you know what? I did it! For 21 days I kept those surfaces clean and clear, and 6 months later they are STILL clean and clear! I like my new 'tidy surfaces' habit!
I do have lots of these bursts of motivation and get myself into gear, but, like everyone I have spells of laziness and inactivity. What I really need to be is CONSISTENT!
So - now I'm going to set myself an even bigger challenge and one that will benefit me HUGELY and hopefully have a very positive knock on effect to all areas of my life, including my blog!
I have a BIG list of things that need doing, sorting, organising and tidying in my house. I've made lists, I've even made plans, but the list just keeps on growing and not much gets done.
So I have set myself a time limit, and will post my progress on my blog and facebook to keep myself accountable!
My time limit is to have my house, yes my WHOLE ENTIRE house, organised, tidy and sorted by November!
I chose this date as it's roughly 10 weeks away, which is a nice round number, and also, I know that once November arrives, I'll want to be Christmas crafting and sewing; the school year will be almost at an end, and summer will be upon us here in Cairns.
A couple of days ago I decided to start with my bedside cabinet drawers. Stuffed full of things I don't know what to do with , but I'm sure are useful!
When I came back from dropping my girls at school, I emptied the drawers onto my bed:
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Mmm - not so pretty hey?
I looked at the pile and thought - B#@#$%$!! I don't know what to do with it all! Precicely the reason they've stayed like that for so long!
But - this time I'm all action remember! So I gradually sorted through the mess, and by the end of the day..
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Yippee! A great start!
So now I've got to keep this going!
Some jobs are simple tidies like this, some are ones that I need to sew some nifty organising things for (which means more tutorials for the blog!! Bonus!) , some are fixing, and who knows what else!
But by November my house will be so tidy and organised that I'll be able to look at the world with fresh eyes and and a clear mind! I'm sure my family will be happier too!
And for anyone who has lasted to the end of this post with boring photos of my messy drawers - thanks !
Does anyone want to join me in this challenge and get their house in order? Every Friday I'm going to post my progress and show what I've done to organise or tidy my house. So do come on my and share what you've done too!
Or are you perhaps one of those people that I'm striving to be like and you already have a tidy, organised living and working space! If so - good for you! I'll be joining you soon!
Love your plan !! We're moving into a new house in 5 weeks and as soon as we are done unpacking I want to implement the "no clutter" principles and keep the house tidy
ReplyDeleteThanks for passing on my tutorial! I'm so excited that you made one right away! :)
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of tackling the house-cleaning as a blog project. I need to do something similar but instead of house-cleaning I'd re-paint (almost) every room instead. Some of our walls are truly shameful... Hmm... I'll have to think hard on that as a possibility for fall...
ReplyDeleteWishing you all success, Jill! I have been inspired by your personal posts in the past, and can sure use this tidying thing in my life. Will enjoy reading about your progress and might even try some tidying myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat plan - I started earlier this summer and managed the junk drawer in the kitchen, my vanity, and the message center before I got derailed by the summer crazies. Need to get back on track (and dust my fan blades!)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for the fan duster, now I have no excuse.
ReplyDeleteI should totally try and keep up with your de-cluttering my house is just a collection of clutter stations. I've been trying to keep one area at a time clear and replace it with something pretty that I won't want to obscure with junk. 2 places down so far, still too chicken to tackle my craft areas. Way to motivate us Jill :)
Thanks everyone! I've started my second week going out hard with the organisation! The more I do the more motivated I get! I'm starting to see little results - in the house and the garden!! Having a time limit - and a commitment to post my progress is helping me keep going! Good luck to everyone else who is tackling sorting and organisation projects!!! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI have often thought about your clutter-free kitchen benches and wondered whether they stayed clear - usually as I'm contemplating my own and wondering where all that mess appeared from! I'm so pleased they are still clear. It gives me hope for the future!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Megan (sorry I'm late in replying to comments - had a crazy week!). Yes I am amazed my surfaces still remain clear 6 months on! I do still dump things on them, but there's something ingrained in me now that won't let the mess stay there!! I really do need to do another 21 day challenge to make me keep the rest of the house tidy now!
DeleteThis makes me want to get more organized. I love the fan duster. So great!
ReplyDeleteThanks Danielle!!
DeleteGuau!Me encanta cuando las personas se proponen algo y lo logran.Mañana tirare a la basura muchas cosas ,tengo que comenzar no solo organizar también poner en la calle lo que no utilizo para que alguien que lo vea le de una utilidad.Felicitaciones y cariños.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Susana - and good luck with your own organisation!
DeleteJust read your second installment of getting organized. Three weeks ago my husband moved the sewing room half of my former sewing room/office down to our unfinished basement. I had been reluctant to be "banished to the basement"...but much to my amazement, I like it! The sewing area is in the southwest corner of the basement with a window near ceiling level on both the south and the west walls. Lots of natural light during the day! I have a small table with my laptop on it, a recliner we picked up at an auction for $5, a reclaimed office chair that my husband repaired which is the perfect height for my sewing machine/serger table, two table height cupboards and the huge former TV armoire for fabric storage, and my iron and ironing board which can be left out for use all the time. The big payoff is that this is near the laundry area, so when I am downstairs doing laundry, I can sew, relax in the recliner for 10-15 minutes, sew some more or organize my stash better, etc. I no longer feel banished--it's my woman cave! And I've even begun to reorganize my office to boot! Very slow progress due to going back to my second semester of college taking two courses and going to physical therapy twice a week for back problems, but progress is being made. Thank you, thank you for the inspiration to just do a task when I see it!
ReplyDeleteThat is so great!! Your sewing room sounds marvellous! Good luck with your continued progress in organisation!!
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