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Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing

 

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Tackling the Dining Room

September 8, 2009 By Dana White | 38 Comments

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Decluttering-the-Dining-Room-Table title at ASlobComesClean.com_

Welcome to my Tackle it Tuesday post for this week. Any guesses what I tackled?

I had no intention of that picture being the first thing you see. I had planned to explain myself, rationalize, etc before the pic, but I’m still figuring out this Blogger stuff, and now I don’t know how to move it.

There you go. I am a slob. I know that it is in my blog title and I’ve been attempting to be totally honest, but there is always that part of me that hopes people won’t think I’m really as bad as I say. I am. Probably worse. Not sugar-coating things is really hard.

The above picture is my dining room. It is the very first room you see when you walk into my home. And there is no hiding it. There is no door to shut it off. You have to walk through it to get to my finally-clean kitchen, so by then you’re surely already thinking bad thoughts about me and you probably don’t even notice how sparkly the kitchen is.

When it’s clean, I love this room. It makes me happy to walk by it. The problem is that it is the first open space with a flat surface that I pass after getting the mail. And after getting the paper. So, things just pile there. (Again, I blame the inanimate objects.) It isn’t a room that is “used” daily either, so I can pretend it doesn’t exist, until the doorbell rings and my heart jumps and then I kick myself for letting it get this bad.

Here is my problem. When I set about to clean my house, (as is totally necessary this week since we are having the inlaws over on Saturday), I have to first unearth my house in order to start cleaning. It took me less than an hour to declutter this room. But, if I hadn’t let it get to this point, I could have spent that hour doing some deep cleaning. I could shine my beautiful floors that remain neglected. I could fix that picture that keeps sliding down in its frame.

I’m glad to have a deadline this week. Next week is when things will get really crazy. I have three major happenings next week, and for two of them I have big responsibilities. These are the times when I typically let everything go. My house slips back into chaos.

There is a difference this time. Typically when I know that a week like that is coming, I start to feel nervous and like any control I’ve had over my house is slipping out of my fingers. I feel as if I’m on top of a very unstable hill, waiting to fall at any moment.

This time, though, my kitchen is under control. For more than two weeks, my kitchen has been clean before 7 a.m. Even though my days will be crazy, pre-7 a.m. should be about the same.

I can do this.

Here are the after pictures. Again, I debated about moving that paper off the table for the picture. But it is a paper that has to be filled out and turned in tomorrow night at church. I also really debated about moving the bikes. The reality is that we use them. If we don’t store them in there, we have to drag them through the entire house each time the boys want to ride bikes. I’m okay with that.

 

 

And the VERY BEST part of all of this was that someone dropped by soon after I finished, and I opened the door and ushered her right in. No heart palpitations!

Check out my Decluttering page to see more of my decluttering projects and read what I’ve learned (from way too much experience) about how to declutter.

Decluttering-the-Dining-Room-Table pin at ASlobComesClean.com_

Read Newer Post Out for the day
Read Older Post Wise Words from a Neat Freak

Filed Under: figuring myself out, tackle it Tuesday | 38 Comments

Wise Words from a Neat Freak

September 8, 2009 By Dana White | 14 Comments

80shares 80 0 0 Not me of course. I started my new non-negotiable task of picking up the floors in each bathroom every morning. I know that this is only a teeeeeny tiiiiny part of what needs to be done daily to keep bathrooms ship-shape, but I have to start somewhere. I am doing my […]

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Filed Under: daily checklist, duh, Non-negotiable tasks | 14 Comments

New Task for Week 3

September 7, 2009 By Dana White | 4 Comments

129shares 1 0 128Here we are. Week 3 of my new way of life. It’s time to add another non-negotiable task for the week. Like last week, my mind fills quickly with all of the tasks I need to turn into habits. I have really enjoyed having a daily-swept kitchen this week. The task is […]

Read More

Filed Under: Non-negotiable tasks | 4 Comments

My Menu for the Week

September 7, 2009 By Dana White | 5 Comments

26shares 2 0 24I must say that doing Menu Plan Monday last week was a huge success for me. It was as simple as thinking up a few meals ahead of time instead of 15 minutes before we should be eating. Somehow, that takes away so much stress. Strange. Monday – Cookout with friends Tuesday […]

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Filed Under: Menu Plan Monday | 5 Comments

Maybe it’s not just me?

September 6, 2009 By Dana White | 10 Comments

156shares 126 0 30 I visited orgjunkie.com this morning. This is the site that hosts Menu Plan Monday, which is always so fun to visit. She also has great organizing tips and is extremely encouraging. But . . . she’s one of them. You know, the people who actually get excited over organizing something. They […]

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Filed Under: breakthroughs, figuring myself out | 10 Comments

Am I afraid to call myself lazy?

September 5, 2009 By Dana White | 28 Comments

190shares 184 0 6At this point I have no readers. The understood “you” in all of these posts doesn’t actually exist. However, I find myself hesitant to say certain things. Sometimes it is because honesty hurts. I’m used to putting a positive spin on things that need to be said more bluntly here. Sometimes, though, […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized | 28 Comments

Daily CHecklist

September 5, 2009 By Dana White | 4 Comments

1share 1 0 0Saturday. The day routine goes out the window. This is the best and the worst thing about Saturday. It’s nice to relax, spend time together, get things done that just don’t fit into the schedule of the week. However, I tend to neglect any mundane routine on the weekends. Things such as […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Daily Checklist

September 4, 2009 By Dana White | 1 Comment

1share 1 0 0Got up at 6:15. Made bed. Emptied dishwasher. Cleaned kitchen. Started a load of laundry. Cleared a major clutter area. Go me! Read Newer Post Daily CHecklist Read Older Post Friday!

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Filed Under: daily checklist | 1 Comment

Friday!

September 4, 2009 By Dana White | 5 Comments

2shares 1 0 1  I love Fridays. I don’t cook on Friday nights. I’ve always loved Fridays because if I clean my kitchen, it stays clean for almost 24 hours! This Friday is the best though, because it has been clean for two weeks now, and I even cleared the other corner’s pile today so […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized | 5 Comments

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A Slob Comes Clean is the completely honest (and never-ending) story of my deslobification process. As I find ways to keep my home under control, I share the truth about cleaning and organization methods that actually work for a real-life slob. And I'm funny.

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  • Home
  • Get Started!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
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    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
      • Claim Your Preorder Bonus
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
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  • Shortcut Solutions
    • Take Your House Back
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me – free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
  • Decluttering Certification
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