Day 1: Clear all surfaces throughout the house

The goal for Day 1 of the "31 Days to Clean" Spring Cleaning Challenge might not be as simple as it seems.  Go through each room of your house and clear the surfaces.  For some, this might take less than an hour, for others, this could be a day-long project.

Don't get overwhelmed by this first assignment.  Grab a basket for items that belong in other rooms of the house and be sure to get the kids involved.  When I went through my house, I had a basket at the top of the stairs (for items that were upstairs, but belonged downstairs) and a basket at the bottom of the stairs (for items to bring upstairs) so I didn't make myself crazy get distracted running all over my house putting away this and that. Every few minutes, I'd hand Kaylin a handful of things to deliver to her room or the boys' room or the laundry room...she was thrilled to help and having a little errand girl saved me tons of time.

- In the kitchen, clear the counters and kitchen table.  If you don't have the time (or energy) to load the dishwasher, at least make sure the dishes are in the sink. 

- In the bedrooms, clear the tops of the dressers and night stands.

- In the bathrooms, clear the counters.

- In the office, clear off the desk.  If needed, put paperwork in a box, bag or bin to tackle on Day 13.  If you have bills or other items that will need attention before March 17th, put those someplace that will be easy to find...just not on the surface of the desk.

- In the laundry room/mud room/hallway, put away clean clothes, shoes, coats and backpacks.

- Scan the house for toys and get everyone in the habit of doing a "5 minute pick up" every day before lunch and again before bedtime.  Teach the kids to put away one toy/game before moving on to a new toy/game.

Before you get started, go around the house and take "before" pictures even if you don't plan on sharing them with us.  Seeing your progress will be a huge motivator to keep going through the process and your house will look amazing. Then, when you're done and all of the surfaces are tidy, take "after" pictures. It will motivate you to make it look as neat as possible!

If you DO want to share your photos, please leave a comment with a link below.  I'm still figuring out how to add the Linky Tool.  It will be up in the next day or so...