enter the spring cleaning challenge + tackling my living room

It's the first day of Spring!! Wow! How exciting to see another season!

Something about fresh lovely air, great temperatures, and the flowers blooming makes me want to clean everything, doesn't it you? heehee, okay, so not so much. It makes me want to be outside! ;)

But I do love a deeply cleaned and organized home- it makes my brain function so much better! And that's worth the little bit of extra time it takes to get it that way!

As I was thinking about my spring cleaning projects, I wanted to share something with you:

Don't feel bad if you don't do spring cleaning.

I'm so not a spring cleaner. This is the first year I've really done it. Part of it is that I've had four littles for almost three years now{!}. Sometimes it's just not the season for deep cleaning. Cleaning out your deep freezer before everything melts and replacing pacis and changing diapers at the same time might just drive you to tears. Trust me.

So read all the spring cleaning posts if you like to do that, but please, please don't feel bad or guilty if you can't pull apart your cabinets and declutter every corner of your home in two weeks.  It's okay!! :D Really. It is. Someday you will breathe again. I promise.

{and if reading spring cleaning posts makes you feel anxious in the meantime, don't do it! skip over them!}

Our life is so busy right now, and we still have little ones in the middle of everything so my game plan is to tackle a little project each day if I can! It might take until summer, but hey, that still leaves me ahead of where I started! 


One project at a time is my mantra for this season! It keeps spring cleaning from becoming overwhelming for me. :)


I'm working on our living room first! 

spring cleaning list for the living room:

Wash couch covers

clean blinds

clean ceiling fan 

organize entryway buffet
dust pictures on walls

organize green radio cabinet

wipe down leather sofa

wash chair cover

wash curtains {if I get to them... ;)}

clean out coffee table cubbies


I tackled the buffet first since it needed some serious organizing! You can see more pictures of our entryway reveal here!

BEFORE:

So pretty. On the outside anyway...

Here's what it looked like on the inside:

It was hiding a monster! ;)

During:

I took everything out of the drawers and made several piles.

Vacuumed the drawers:

 After:

I ended up with almost three empty drawers! Yes!!

On to the couch and fans tomorrow! I'll share more details over the next two weeks!

The Spring Cleaning Challenge details:

SHARE YOUR PROJECT:


Link up your post with one of these buttons, and link up below. If you don't have a blog, no worries, just enter the url of your online photo album. Easy, right? :D You have until April 5 to link up!

<a href="http://www.idreamofclean.net/spring-cleaning-challenge/"><img src="http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/SCC-Im-Joining.jpg" /></a>

ENCOURAGEMENT ALONG THE WAY:

• If you’re tweeting about your progress, use the hashtag #SpringCleaning12 so we can all follow along and encourage one another!
• Go visit the SCC '12 Pinterest board to get more ideas for spring cleaning!
• We'll be sharing our favorite projects you link up on Facebook!
• Christine from iDream of Clean created a customizable Spring Cleaning Checklist to keep you on track! You can download it to make your list!
• you can also visit these sweet hostess bloggers to see what they're cleaning:
Spring Clean : The Why :: Home-EC 101
Spring Clean: Bathrooms :: i Dream of Clean
Spring Clean: Floors and Windows :: Amy’s Finer Things
Spring Clean: The Kitchen :: Tidy Mom
Spring Clean: Home Office :: Untrained Housewife
Spring Clean: Declutter Around the House :: Live Renewed
Spring Clean: Conquering the Kids' Room :: Living Well Spending Less
Spring Clean: Outdoor Living Spaces :: The Greenbacks Gal
Spring Clean: Garage and Cars :: Organize365

HOW TO ENTER TO WIN:
Just leave a comment telling me your least favorite place to clean to enter!! Use the RaffleCopter below to enter a link to your blog post or follow any of the hostesses for an entry to win these amazing prizes:

GE Appliances : Facebook : Twitter

Prizes up for Grab: TWO Washer/Dryer sets 

The Stow Company : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter

Prize up for Grab: one Do-it-Yourself Easy Track Deluxe Closet Organization Kit 

Shark Clean : Facebook : Twitter

Prize up for Grab: one Professional Steam Pocket Mop

Rules: 

While anyone can enter their Spring Cleaning link below, the following prize promotion is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are at least 18 years of age and have a valid email address. You may view the official rules here. 

Link up your spring cleaning efforts here: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway