So I'm about half way in, and after cleaning out the toy room, I was hoping to make the next week an "easy" room. But, a couple things have happened. First off, there are no easy rooms left. The small rooms are full of stuff (like the laundry room), and the big rooms, even if they aren't too cluttered, just take a lot of time to cover all the corners.
But, I knew that next week we'd be heading out of town, and it might be nice to open the door and come into a family room that wasn't a giant clutter-bomb. And really, I think the biggest challenge in this room was going to be the dust. Up-high shelves, recessed lighting, a ceiling fan, and a never used fireplace were great places for dust to settle that wouldn't get cleaned up in the regular tidy up sessions that happen every once in a blue moon.
Using gravity to my advantage I started high and worked my way down. Removing and dusting everything from (and including) the top shelves of the display area and sneezed my way down through these shelves. I also sorted the pictures and knick knacks to try to give things amore cohesive look. And, I removed a few of the bigger photos - I am thinking there might be a wall that could use them.
Here's the shelves before and after:
After that, I tackled the recessed lighting, vents, ceiling fan, and fireplace screen. Crazy amounts of dust. Dust elephants were marching through the air on their way to the carpet.
Putting away the things on the tables, and Violet's toy kitchen wasn't too tricky, and that made things look considerably neater. The cabinet on one side of the display area was easy too - as I could move all the games into the newly cleaned toy closet from last week.
The cabinet before and after:
But, then there was the yarn closet. I have a lot of yarn. Compared to some ladies I met while working at the Shabby Sheep for 5 years, maybe not so much. But, I try not to buy things I am not going to use right away, so the fact that there was a cabinet full, plus books, 3 kits of needles and a smattering of knitting bags and gadgets was a little disheartening. I got to it though - sorting things into "special" and "left overs" and moved the books to the craft section of the toy closet. Still, there was a lot in there. Maybe when I am done cleaning, I can spend a year knitting on projects from the yarn I already have - maybe 2 years? I feel guilty to think about it. Maybe the next time I am tempted to buy yarn, I will try to remember what is down there and spend the money on shoes instead.
Since none of those things were really that bad I decided I would take a little time and clean the couches. Our distressed leather couches are older than our marriage. Kevin got them back when we were dating, and they are still some of the best pieces of furniture in the house. They just get a little grimy from time to time. So, I put together my soap solution, and then wiped down each cushion. From there, I unzipped and unhooked all the cushions so that I could get up the dust that was under them.
Imagine my shock - SHOCK! - when it wasn't just an odd cheerio or sock in there, but piles of dirt. Real dirt! Full of dog hair and rocks(?) and clumps of the dirt similar to what you would find in our yard. Not to mention Han Solo's blaster, a wooden snake toy, countless hair bands, almost a dollar in change, and the plastic flag from some toy (although none of us could say which toy for sure). I am truly mortified that Fletch's teacher sat on that couch during a visit not too long ago.
Still, after all that cleaning and dusting, and a fair share of vacuuming the family room is now pretty darn great. I have also noted that someone could come in my front door, and walk through my house to the back door and only be in rooms that are neat and tidy. This must be how normal people live. I am looking forward to it myself.
I am starting to feel a bit like "Extreme Dirt Makeover" but here are the rest of the before and after shots from the family room...
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