CHRISTMAS CLEANALONG

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Hi all. So for the first time ever I will be hosting Christmas Day dinner in my home.

And to that end, I've decided to give my house a massive clean, declutter & reorganisation (very badly needed!).

I've worked out there are 16 weekends to Christmas (well actually 17 but I want to use the last one for food prep) so I'm dividing my house into 16 sections & going to spend one day every weekend on a different section.

I'm starting this weekend. Would anyone like to join?

I bought some thin bristle crevice brushes to do the fiddly bits round the taps , and grouting and round the back of the bath taps ( there's 5 , so the kitchen/bathroom/downstairs loo can have one each there's a couple spare if I put them somewhere safe )
Had a quick try out and they really work

Our robot vacuum is being an utter pain in the arse , it keeps stopping then we get the Your RoboVac roller is jammed , please remove the roller bar message , It bloody isn't , it is clear .
I had to wrestle the George 3-in-1 out and have a workout with it cleaning the bedroom/ DD bedroom/Hall carpets .

I brushed the stairs ( one of those rubber Buddy Brushes) and found a cat whisker for my collection .

Loads of laundry done

Bag of DD socks recycled

I was going to replace the waste bins but I thought "No , they're functional , just given then a scrub " and they;re fine .

I think I need to replace the toilet brushes though

@70isaLimitNotaTarget, send me a link to your crevice brushes. I was using an old toothbrush to clean today, but it's not flexible enough to get where I need it!

I think I need to replace the toilet brushes though
70isaLimitNotaTarget , do yourself a favour, and buy a toilet blade! You will never look back. I bought mine in John Lewis.

Dressing room took quite a few hours to declutter spread over the week, but it is clean, neat and tidy and now I know what is in the top cupboards (Christmas stuff and holiday stuff). Found a necklace I had been looking for (caught on a button on a jacket!)

Added a couple of items to snagging list for DH.
Master bedroom this week.

8/9 En suite ✔
15/9 Dressing room ✔
22/9 Master bedroom
29/9 Bathroom
6/10 Spare room
13/10 Hallway, stairs and landing, incl airing cupboard
20/10 Study
27/10 Sitting room
3/11 Utility room
10/11 Larder
17/11 Kitchen part one
24/11 Kitchen part two
01/12 Any areas missed

I keep doing jobs that weren't on my list clearly trying to avoid the garage which has at least one giant spider in it. I cleaned the French doors in the kitchen (inside and out, plus the frames / threshold) and the downstairs loo window yesterday. They were very grubby with spider webs and muck.

I do most of the skirting as well as all the doors / doorframes / architraves every week, so that's not a rare job for this house. I don't move heavy furniture, but I do reach behind sofas etc to do those bits. I blame having a new build and feeling compelled to try to keep it nice!

Same here @NoNoWordForFluffy - my plan has lost out to distractions!

I want to clean all the doors this week - upstairs and downstairs rooms then finish with the kitchen at the weekend. I should also check the cupboards and freezer for anything stashed away and leftovers that should be used. Hoping to find something nice!

I have my eye on the venetian blinds this week - very long and hence thin and bendy. I hate them with a vengence. They need a good clean.

Progress! Got through masses of paperwork! Chucked most of what I don't need. Felt amazing.

Piles for scanning, piles for filing, files ordered! So pleased with myself.

Also cleared out the games cupboard and have got a bag of charity clothes.

Real progress here. So far my output is:

Week 1 Kitchen : deep clean
Week 2 Main Bedroom: Finished the coving I put up in January, papered one wall, coat of emulsion on the rest
Week 3: Pantry: deep clean, throw out of date stuff, reorganise
Week 4: Landing and small bedroom: paper 2 walls, clean skirtings. Identify books to sell.

This has made a massive difference, I was in full on procrastination mode and the structure of this is really working for me.

I've moved on to bathroom which is tiny and hallway. Was pretty ruthless throwing out old stuff! I need to sort towels and other piles of stuff next - should be an easy week but I didn't get as far with my bedroom as I would have liked so might try to do a bit of that as well!

Have done the linen cupboard and just did the porch.

It isn't finished but looks better - I wouldn't have even started it if it wasn't for this thread.

I want to do the hallway before Saturday.

I need to sort the porch , there's a shoe rack , bags , random car stuff.
Job for this weekend

Third Wednesday in a row, and I've sorted the hallway! Scrubbed from top to bottom, cleaned all the books and DVDs, cleaned all the woodwork and skirting.

Took hours!

Annoyingly, have just seen the light shade needs to be dusted. I'll do it tomorrow, then I'll vacuum it all up.

Have half done the hallway. Have tidied but not cleaned.

My mother would have said what's the point in a half job, but it looks loads better.

So delighted this thread is still going. You're all doing better than me lol.

I'm working during the week so in the evening I'm good for nothing so weekends are really the best time.
This weekend I'm at an afternoon tea on Saturday for a friends 50th. It's 1.5 hours drive away so I'll basically be gone all day.
Sunday I'll be assembling ds's new furniture & then watching football so probably won't get much done but I might try make a start on my clothes drawers. Ds got a new chest of drawers & im taking his old one once he takes his clothes out so it's a good time to get organised.

Had a sock and underwear cull yesterday.
I can open and close drawers properly now.
Have started adding large bottles of mineral water to each shop - last year the water main broke 5 days before Christmas - it was touch and go for our street wether we would have water at Christmas.

It's been slower going here. I've hit a lull with the bedroom. It's not done done yet, but I'm waiting on some bits to be delivered before I can do next steps. Here's a pic of my wardrobe efforts, no more stack of doom on the top!

I'm going to tackle conservatory tomorrow. Needs a good deep clean. We took the old sofa to the tip this week after no takers on local freebie sites. It already looks better.

I did vacuum the light fitting, and thoroughly vacuumed the stairs and the front room (including using a window squeege for getting up the long hairs). Scrubbed the kettle too.

I'm starting to see a difference in the house. Still got lots of work in the living/dining room/kitchen.

Then I need to sort through the toy graveyards that are the DC's bedrooms...

@lightningstrikes I have wardrobe envy

Where did you get those wicker baskets from?

Thank you! Bought off eBay 12 years ago! The baskets are off Amazon, there are several versions. These were the less expensive end for the big size at £55 each. I searched by dimensions I needed.

How's everyone doing? Although I'm not posting much, this thread keeps,popping up on my 'threads I'm on' list as a reminder to tackle the next job.

I had today off work for an appointment, which got cancelled at the last minute. So I've used the free day to get ahead of this weekend's tasks.

I'm working the next couple of weekends, so may fall a little behind.

• Living room
• Kitchen
• Pantry
• Bathroom and utility (both new so will only need an hour each)
• Sitting room
• Front garden
• Car
• Bedroom
• Bathroom 2
10. DD room (she can do this herself, so I might spend some time in the back garden).
11. Work weekend 1
12. Work weekend 2
13. Work weekend 3
14. Manchester trip
15. Christmas baking weekend
16. Decorate and fun

Porch cleaned (its very small but it got ignored , every time I thought "Oh I nust clean here" )

Cooker hob cleaned , not my favourite task but ongoing .

Pleased to say DS 2s room is nearly complete. Clothes and storage reorganised. A couple of small DIY jobs sorted and he's now deep dusting all the shelves and Lego he's got displayed. I've also cleared and lined a junk drawer. I've been less productive in the conservatory. Maybe next week. I've dug out the autumn candle and it's feeling quite calm and seasonal here. 🍂🌰🍁

Well, I assembled DS's chest of drawers today. Only took me three hours . Then went to assemble his desk. It's a folding wall desk from IKEA. It is attached to the wall and then folds down when not in use. Which will be so handy in his room as he is in the smallest room in the house. However, IKEA don't include the screws to attach it to the wall. For a wall desk! I didn't have the correct screws myself so I wasn't able to do the desk. I don't think it will take too long to assemble once I have the screws so I'll get them during the week. Really annoying though because I was in the zone.

Afterwards, we all went to my parents house to watch the Man City V Arsenal match (absolutely heartbreaking for Arsenal) so I didn't get much else done.

Master bedroom 90% done and it was lovely to climb into a freshly made bed last night. The 10% not done is the bed storage; there are a few framed pictures in there that were stored while the kitchen was being painted and they need to be taken out and decisions made on where they should go otherwise they will just get forgotten.

DH is working on some plumbing in the bathroom so I can't get in there until that is finished so I shall do some sorting/cleaning in the kitchen (I've been itching to get started in there anyway; I put the Christmas cake fruit in to soak in brandy this weekend and the drawer where my baking stuff lives really needs fettling). The snagging list is getting ever longer but he is cracking on!

8/9 En suite ✔
15/9 Dressing room ✔
22/9 Master bedroom ✔
29/9 Bathroom/kitchen
6/10 Spare room
13/10 Hallway, stairs and landing, incl airing cupboard
20/10 Study
27/10 Sitting room
3/11 Utility room
10/11 Larder
17/11 Kitchen part one
24/11 Kitchen part two
01/12 Any areas missed