Saturdays with Shandy: 6 Weeks to Make Your Home Shine for the Holidays! Week 3

Happy Saturday! Are your living and dining rooms sparkling clean? Doesn’t it feel like a weight is being lifted each week? I know it does for me! Each week, we are one step closer to having a sparkling clean home for the holidays! And how did you do with tuning into your five senses while cleaning? Let me tell you… my house smells amazing!

This week and next, we are focusing on the kitchen! These are, perhaps, the two most important weeks of this 6 week journey, as the kitchen is where we do all of our preparing! Cooking, baking, freezing items for later, wrapping presents… the list goes on!

It’s possible you noticed the picture at the top of the page and maybe it made you smile a little. I want you to read (or sing!) these words with me…

A robin feathering his nest has very little time to rest while gathering his bits of twine and twig.  Though quite intent in his pursuit, he has a merry tune to toot.  He knows a song will move the job along…

We all know that song, right? At least most of us here in the States. So what does Mary Poppins have to do with cleaning? Listen carefully to the words she says at the beginning of the song…

In every job that must be done

There is an element of fun.

You find the fun, and… snap!

The job’s a game!

Do any of us really think that scrubbing our floors, cleaning the stove, and polishing woodwork is fun? I’m going to be 100% honest with you. As much as I love being a housewife, that part of my job is usually not a fun time for me. I love the results, and I love blessing my family this way. I do not, however, love the hard work. I want to love the work, but I’m just not there yet. Can you relate? But remember in Colossians 3:23 we’re told to do everything enthusiastically, so let’s do this with a smile on our faces, a song in our hearts, and some songs on our iPods or CD players! Music can be the element of FUN! A song will move the job along! “They themselves lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.” Job 21:12 (AMP)

After we pray, and after reading your assignments for the week, please comment here letting us know how last week went for you and share your thoughts about this week… what do YOU do to make a job fun??? Then head on over to our Facebook group to share your pictures and to find out what our fun activity it is! And be sure to join us next week as we continue to make our homes shine for the holidays, and for some free Christmas planning printables!

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Let’s pray:

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Lord, thank you for another week. Thank you that we are able to work with our hands to serve our families this way. Let our work be pleasing to you, and let it bless our families. Holy Spirit, please be with us and put a song in our hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Your assignment:

Today – Today we are tackling our pantries! This is super important, as we tend to do a lot of shopping for holiday cooking/baking, and need plenty of room. Remove everything from your pantry. Throw away anything that is expired or questionable. Wipe down the shelves. Put in new shelf-liner if you’d like! If you have a walk-in pantry, give the walls a scrubbing if they need it, and make sure ceiling is free of spider webs. Wipe down the baseboard, and sweep & mop the floor.

Now it’s time to get organized and put everything back! I just LOVE an organized pantry!  All the veggies in one place, all the breakfast items in another, all the pasta in another, etc., etc. If you have cleaning and miscellaneous supplies in your pantry, those get organized, too. Two half-empty bottles of the same cleaner? Combine them, and recycle the extra container.  Cleaning rags that should’ve been thrown out long ago? Time to bid them farewell. You get the idea! This is the time I would also clean up my vacuum and disinfect my mop.

For some awesome pantry organization ideas, you can go to our Saturdays with Shandy board on Pinterest! I will have some great cleaning tips there for you, too! http://pinterest.com/gchministries/saturdays-with-shandy/

Monday – Today we are working on our refrigerator! Start by getting rid of expired items and forgotten “science experiments” if you have any. This is definitely the time to have the dishwasher empty and ready to clean any dishes you may be taking out. Now get some hot, soapy water and clean the refrigerator shelves, followed by wiping down the inside walls and door(s). Just like with the pantry, organize as you put items back. Do you have a bunch of ketchup or hot sauce packets from take-out places? Toss them if they’re old, or if you have newer ones you want to keep, put them all together in a plastic container. Salad dressings go on one shelf; condiments on another, etc. I will post a picture today (Saturday) of my before and after from when I did this a few months ago, so you can see how I organize my fridge. Now that we’ve moved, that refrigerator is now in our garage and is all clean, empty, and awaiting Christmas goodies and extra beverages, but I do have the refrigerator in our new kitchen to clean! I am doing this right along with you!  Grumbling Rejoicing right along with you!

Now that you are done with the inside of the refrigerator, do the same with the freezer. While you’re cleaning the inside, make sure you are cleaning the seal and any crevices carefully. Things like to hide in there if you aren’t careful to keep it clean. Now that the outside is clean, clear off the outside – remove magnets, notes, artwork, and anything else that may be there. Wipe down all sides of the fridge, including the top! Carefully move the fridge away from the wall (careful if you have a water line!) and clear away any dust bunnies that have accumulated. Now is a good time to sweep and wipe down the floor back there before pushing it back up to the wall. Be selective in what you place on top and on the doors and side of your refrigerator. Clutter makes it look untidy, even if it’s the cleanest fridge on the block!

Tues – Today we are cleaning our microwave and small appliances like the toaster and coffee maker. If anyone needs tips on how to get any of these clean, just ask! I have a great tip on how to clean your microwave on our Saturdays with Shandy Pinterest board! It’s the way I personally clean mine and it works great! You definitely don’t want to clean the inside of your microwave with a chemical cleaner, so take special care.

Wed – Time to clean the dishwasher. For a great how-to, check out our Pinterest board!

Thurs – We are cleaning our oven/stove today. I personally do not use the chemical sprays in mine. I don’t like the fumes, and it’s just not a very safe method. And you guessed it… there is another how-to on our Pinterest board! (Why try to reinvent the wheel? LOL)

Fri – Catch up on anything you haven’t completed. Then, enjoy your evening! You’ve definitely earned it this week!  We’ll be back in the kitchen for week 4, but isn’t it great to know the hard stuff is behind us? What a relief!!!

Blessings,

Shandy

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