Day 2 of Our Organizing Challenge

Today's task of wiping down kitchen counter tops is something I normally do three times a day anyway, so that much was easy. That's what happens when you live in a very dry and dusty area.

1.) Get dressed in something that makes you feel great. A Life is Good shirt is always good!

2.) Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of goals and make a list of 5-7 specific things to accomplish today. I didn't make a new list, but checked things off yesterday's list as I did them. I only crossed off 4 things, but I also had a boy's birthday to celebrate today!

(This boy is now 13, but I love this picture of him with the walrus tusks!)

3.) Set the timer for 10 minutes and do a quick-clean of your kitchen.

Before:

After:

(There are dishes in the sink -- but they're clean! And the pies are still cooling on top of the microwave. The shrimp is defrosting in the sink and the rice cooker is waiting for dinner!)

 

 Before:

 After:

4.) Set the timer for 10 minutes and do a quick clean of your refrigerator. I took more than 10 minutes doing this because there was a lot of dust on the top of my refrigerator! I cleaned off all the magnets, recipes, and artwork and put back just a few of the important things -- like the measurement conversion magnet! I didn't get pictures of this assignment, but the baggies you see in the pics above have been put away.

If you're wondering why in the world I'm showing you my messy kitchen, take a look at Money Saving Mom and her nifty plan. And then go check on my sister's progress!

My sister made me do it!

Ok, so maybe it was my idea to work on this challenge together. But it was her idea to blog about it! We're organizing our homes together even though we're 5,618 miles and 4 time zones apart and separated by the equator.

Today's challenge and the results:

1.) Get dressed in something that makes you feel great.
I read the challenge after getting dressed, but I was comfy so didn't change. Capris and a t-shirt are pretty standard around here.

2.) Sit down with a cup of coffee and make some goals for the week.
It was too late in the afternoon for coffee, so I had iced hierba luisa tea. Yum! I did make a list of almost a dozen things to do this week -- that's pretty much the same as goals, right?

3.) Set the timer for 15 min and clean the main areas of the house.
I am blessed with more than I really need and have two major stacks to take care of in my bedroom. I'll get on those right after I post this.
But I did straighten up the living room -- which is more of a school reading room!

4.) Clean out your purse or diaper bag.
Whew! This one was done on Saturday so I guess that leaves me a few extra minutes to put things away in my room.

We have a big birthday here tomorrow -- my boy turns 13! I did a lot of food prep this afternoon so I can have more fun time tomorrow. And, no big cake to make like in years past since he requested pumpkin pie!

A new family picture....

taken by hanging the camera in a tree and setting the timer!

We visited Cuicocha for the first time and hiked this trail for a bit. It goes all the way around the lake, but we didn't go that far. One might have to do some sort of training to tackle that.