Wow! Can you believe week five is already here? The main living areas of your house must be looking fabulous! This week we are working on bedrooms and bathrooms. Then, for our final week, we’ll be organizing the office/den/craft room – whichever you have! – and cleaning the laundry room. Plus you’ll have two days to work on any additional spaces that need cleaning, and to catch up on anything you may have missed. Let’s finish strong so we can move on to the fun stuff: decorating and making gifts!!!

Let’s talk a little about how our families help around the house. I have a 12 year old daughter. She is old enough to keep her bedroom and bathroom clean, but still needs me to remind and encourage her on a regular basis. She may not clean and organize it exactly how I would, but it’s important that we let our children be responsible for their own belongings. It’s also important that we give our children proper instruction. If we tell them to do something, but don’t take the time to teach them how, we can’t get frustrated when the results are not what we expected. When cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms in your house this week, please don’t do it all by yourself if you have children at home. Even preschoolers can (and should!) help keep their rooms clean! For those of you with children, how do you encourage them to help keep their space clean? Share your tips below, then head on over to our facebook group where we’ll have a little fun and share pictures of our progress!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Let’s pray:

We just want to thank you, Lord, for helping us stay on task. Please give us the fortitude we will need to finish strong these next two weeks.  Replace unwilling and complaining attitudes with cooperation and cheerfulness as we ask our families to pitch in, and instill in us an attitude of gratitude as we care for all You’ve blessed us with. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Your assignment:

***For some brilliant cleaning and organization ideas, go to our “Saturdays with Shandy” board on Pinterest! You’ll find all kinds of tips relevant to this week’s assignment. http://pinterest.com/gchministries/saturdays-with-shandy/

Today –  Break out those rubber gloves, girls. We’re deep cleaning the bathrooms today! This is an important day, I kid you not. A pristine powder room is a must, especially when you have company coming over for holiday celebrations! Because there are so many things I want to share with you about cleaning your bathrooms, please head on over to Pinterest for everything you need to know to do the job, and do it well.

Monday – Today, we are showing our master bedroom some love. I could do a whole post on just this room alone! Your bedroom is your own private retreat. Do you treat it as such, or is it a catch-all? Let’s work on making it a serene, inviting, romantic place to be.

Let’s start by stripping the bed of all linens, including the mattress cover. Throw them in the washing machine so it can work while we work. Next, take down your window treatments and blinds. Wash your blinds (remember, there’s an excellent way to do this… see the post on Pinterest!) Wash your window treatments once your bedding is done.

If there’s anything on your floor, or clutter on your dresser or nightstand, pick it up and put it away. We don’t want to clean around “stuff.” Once everything is picked up and organized, we’ll move on to dusting…

Dust your ceiling fan (check our Pinterest board for the how-to!) Then dust the furniture, lamps, clocks, and decor. Wipe down walls, light switches, trim, and baseboards. Clean your light fixture, then wash the windows and mirrors. (My husband and I agreed not to have a television in our bedroom, but if you have one, now is the time to clean it. Don’t forget to clean your remote, too!)

Before making your bed, check out Pinterest to find out how to clean your mattress. Very important step! Vacuum (be sure to move your furniture!) or sweep & mop if you have hardwood. Then, make your bed, taking the time to make it look nice!

Now let’s clean those closets! You guessed it! Check our Pinterest board! (I’m telling you… it’s absolutely awesome!) When you’re done, put your window treatments back up, light a candle, and invite your hubby in to look at what you’ve accomplished!

Tuesday –  Moving on to bedroom #2… Since you’ve mastered the master bedroom, you’ll know what to do for the other bedrooms in your home! 🙂 Check out Pinterest for tips especially for children’s rooms and guest rooms.

Wednesday – Bedroom #3 is next. (If you don’t have a 3rd bedroom, you can catch up on anything you’ve missed, or work in an area of your house, like the basement, that we’re not covering during these six weeks.)

Thursday – Today, we’re working on bedroom #4. (See Wednesday’s assignment if you don’t have a 4th bedroom.)

Friday – Catch up on anything else you haven’t completed. Smile at a job well done, then enjoy your evening!

Blessings,

Shandy

You can visit Shandy’s personal blog at: http://aprons-n-pearls.blogspot.com