The Preppy Farmgirl: "It's FALL Y'ALL Cleaning Challenge" Day 4

This new blog of mine has done nothing if not kept me honest and on-track with my Fall Clean-Up!

I'm still a day behind on my cleaning-schedule, but the majority of the first floor of our home has been deep cleaned. Friday night (with the hubby on-duty) I can clean late into the evening...especially after the littles have been put to bed! That means cracking open a cold one or pouring myself a glass of wine (I'm not particular!), cranking up the "Big Band" era music and cleaning/organizing to my hearts content. Sounds like an exciting Friday night, huh?! :)

Anyway, today, I managed to get my First Floor Half-Bath and Laundry Room deep cleaned. Here's my accountability checklist...

First Floor Half-Bath

Dusted Circulating Vent
Dusted Hanging Shelf
Cleaned Toilet Bowl
Cleaned Back of Toilet/Cleaned Around Toilet Base (ugh!)
Cleaned Pedestal Sink
Refilled Toilet Paper Basket
Emptied/Freshened Wastebasket
Vacuumed/Dusted and Wiped Down Baseboards
Mopped Hardwoods

As you can see, I have a theme going in my house...blah, blah, and more blah. It hasn't been until I started systematically photographing each room that I realized how very little decorating I've done!

One thing I can say is that as I have aged, I have become more confident in what I like and what I don't like. I no longer feel confined by certain decorating rules or that I need to conform to the style du jour. Rather, I feel more confident in my ability to mix what I love...with what I already have...and with what I hope to purchase and/or re-purpose in the future.

And with a new job...and PAYCHECK...that means I can begin to decorate and update our home without feeling guilty about dipping into the grocery or dance class budgets! :)

And...while it may be "blah"...it's clean! Right?!!!

Laundry Room

Vacuumed Ceiling/Walls (I plan to paint this room first in our home update projects!)
Vacuumed Back of Washer/Dryer
Wiped Down Tops of Washer/Dryer
Scrubbed Stainless Steel Wash Sink/Wiped Down Counter Top
Wiped Down Cabinetry
Vacuumed/Dusted and Wiped Down Baseboards
Mopped Linoleum Floor (UGH! Hate the linoleum...why did we not do tile like our builder suggested???!!!)

Couple Features of Note About Our Laundry Room

This room is a nice size, but it is long and narrow...not very deep...so little space between the walls and the washer and dryer.

The washer and dryer are one of the original sets of Front Loaders that came onto the market. To know my hubby is to know that he LOVES anything innovative. I think they've made major improvements to these HE machines over the past 12 years, but I still think that many people also like top loaders for better performance.

The backpacks and hoodies hang from an ORIGINAL SCHOOLHOUSE COAT RACK that was part of the elementary school that my sister-in-law (brother's wife) attended as a child in Chillicothe, Missouri. The school (I think it was well over 100 years old) was eventually demolished, but not before local townspeople were able to claim pieces of history. My sister-in-love...knowing my love for education...thought that the coat rack hooks would make the perfect birthday gift and would fit well in my laundry room! She was right. They've hung in my laundry room for over 10-years now. LoVe!!!