Have you been keeping up with your tasks? I must admit, I went to bed last night without making sure my sink was clean, and I woke up feeling overwhelmed before I even ate breakfast! My kitchen has little counter space, they are covered, my sink is full of dirty dishes, and my dishwasher is full of clean dishes (that should have been put away last night!). But I am starting a new day, and can get that all accomplished today, right?

Today's task is to sweep the kitchen floor. This is my least favorite yet, but I dislike mopping the floor even more, and if I sweep, it makes mopping fewer and farther between. So, everyday (okay, almost!), I grab that broom and sweep up all those crumbs!

Here's your list for today:

1. Get dressed down to shoes.
2. Make your bed.
3. Shine that sink!
4. Swish the toilet.
5. Sweep the kitchen.
6. Spend 5 minutes decluttering.

Have fun! Try setting your timer and seeing if you can beat it. Make it a challenge and reward yourself when you finish. And have a GREAT day!

P.S. I got a new book yesterday that I can't wait to dig into! It has homemade cleaning recipes for almost everything you could ever need. I'm going to have to mail order some essential oils for this, but I can't wait to try them and share some with you!

Are you looking for your task for today?

Are you looking for your task for today?;) I thought you might be. Today we are going to start the daily task of swishing the toilet. Unless it has been a while since you cleaned the toilet, there's no need to use toilet bowl cleaner. Just give it a little swish. If there are some wipes around, wipe the seat and rest of the toilet off. Do this everyday and you'll always wake up to find a shining toilet!

I'm going to add one small task that you need to complete sometime this week. We are going to create a control center for your home. You can do this however you like. I prefer note cards, others prefer notebooks or binders. For note cards, you'll need white and multi-colored cards, along with dividers. To do a notebook or binder, you'll need paper and dividers in a notebook/binder. Just decide what will work best for you, and gather the supplies. They don't need to be fancy or new. Just a way to organize your tasks.

has the clutterbug attacked you yet?

Our major task this week is to start decluttering. I'm starting at my front door and working my way around. This means that I'll begin with the front hall closet. Its cluttered with winter coats, hats, gloves, electric candles, broken umbrellas, old shoes. You get the picture.

Do this for five minutes each day. Take out only what you can clean up in five minutes. Remember, we are starting small. The worst thing we can possibly do right now is take everything out of the closet, get completely overwhelmed, and throw everything back in! Five minutes! Set your timer, and see if you can beat it!

Also, for this week, we are going to start adding a new task each day. Don't worry, it will be small. For today, make your bed. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just walk in there and pull the blankets up to the top. If you are really motivated, you can make it pretty and fluff the pillows. This in addition to the habits we have already started.

So this is what your day looks like:

1. Get dressed down to shoes.
2. Make your bed.
3. Keep your sink shining!
4. Spend five minutes decluttering.

Can you see your reflection?

Okay, so I didn't get our first task posted when I said I would. Its our first lesson in perfectionism. So it didn't get done when I thought it would, but here it is! Just Because we don't start something when we intended doesn't mean we can't jump in where we are.

Our first task is two fold. First, we must prepare ourselves for work. Whether this is your first job, second, third, your calling in life, or just something you have to do, you wouldn't show up to your place of employment in your pajamas! The same goes here. Get dressed down to your shoes. Prepare yourself enough that you could leave the house by grabbing keys and a bag. I don't mean dressing up, or even putting on makeup necessarily, but make yourself presentable. Get some clean clothes that aren't stained or wrinkled. Put on some comfortable shoes. I find that when I put on shoes, I get SO much more done. It's hard to sit down and get comfortable with a good pair of tennis shoes on, so you will get more tasks accomplished not sitting!

Next, we are going to clean the sink. I know, this sounds very minimal to you. I can hear you now, "But I have all these messes around me, and you want me to clean my sink?!" Believe me, when you get the sink clean, it becomes contagious. Load those dishes into the dishwasher, or wash them. Get a sponge and scrub that sink until it shines. Oh, and stop whining! It takes work to get and keep a clean home, but we'll try to make it enjoyable!

Generally, for me, this includes soaking it in hot water and bleach for an hour. Rinse it out well. Next, I use Comet or Borax to scrub it with a sponge. Rinse again, and then use a clean kitchen towel to dry. If its still not gleaming, try polishing with car wax or CLR. I find CLR will take the really hard water spots off right away. Just be sure to rinse very, very well. Dry it with that towel again until it shines, and encourage your family to do the same should they use the sink. They may think you've gone crazy, but they'll think the same when they see you out of your jammies at 10 am!

(I am working on finding a natural solution to those hard water spots, as I hate using those chemicals so near to my cooking area. If anyone knows a good secret, let me know!)

These are your daily tasks for this week: Getting dressed, and keeping your sink sparkling! A shiny sink is hard to keep if it has dishes in it, so they will magically start being put in the dishwasher.

If you need more information about cleaning your sink, check out this site. FlyLady is where I started from. Sink Reflections is a good book, as is also Sidetracked Home Executives. Both are very similar, but Sink Reflections uses a notebook, while Sidetracked uses note cards in a file. As a perfectionist, I get caught up in what my notebook looks like, instead of the tasks inside!