Happy January friends!  I hope you all had a nice holiday!  I completely unplugged this past week (hardly touched my computer and phone) and it felt so nice!  A little technology detox is good for the soul isn’t it!?  :)  I was able to really be present with my family and re-charge.  We made a quick trip to Utah to visit grandparents and cousins after Christmas and have been in total lounge mode ever since!  Favorite pj’s have been on major rotation around here. :) I started taking down my Christmas decor a couple of days ago and I have to admit.. it makes me so depressed!

We’ve gone from festive and fun..

To a complete mess of dishes, Christmas toys and half taken down holiday decor.  My post Christmas funk has taken over and for me there’s only one way out of it.

To clean.

And to organize.

You knew that was coming. :)  My house always looks so empty after the holidays and while it totally depresses me to take down my Christmas decor, there really is something so refreshing about a fresh start and a clean slate.  I have so many fun organizing posts coming and can’t wait to get started on my 2018 to-organize list!  Making that list and cleaning my house always snaps me out of my post Christmas blues.

Using cleaning supplies I love helps with this cleaning, organizing, cheering myself up process immensely! :)  I’ve shared my favorite cleaning supplies with you all before, but for those of you who don’t know, I order my supplies through Grove Collaborative and love it!  All of their products are affordable, non toxic and safe for the environment.  Plus they are pretty and look stylish in your home.  Huge bonus for me!  Grove simplifies shopping for cleaning supplies by delivering everything right to your door.  Instead of spending a fortune on who knows what at Target, you can come home to all of your favorite healthy, affordable products sitting on your doorstep.  I seriously hardly go to Target anymore!  Kinda sad.. I love that store.  But I’d always go for toilet paper and laundry stain remover and come home with new planners and notepads, a fun vase for the coffee table and clothes for the kids.  Raise your hand if you know that story well.  Ha!  For this single reason my husband loves Grove too. ;)

Now is a great time to give Grove a try if you haven’t yet, because they’re offering a free New Year, New You Set with your first order of $20 to help you create your own healthy home care routine!

If you’re already a Grove customer (I know a lot of you have joined already and love it too!), click here to get a free set of Grove walnut scrubber sponges.  They are my favorite!  They work so well and are pretty so I don’t mind having them out next to my sink.

You can choose the scent you want (my favorite is Lavender) and how cute is this little cleaning caddy!?

Perfect to corral supplies.  I’m going to keep one upstairs in my girls’ bathroom so that they’ll have everything they need to clean that space, and then keep another one downstairs for me to use when I’m sprucing up bathrooms or my kitchen.  The best part for me about Grove is that I can customize what I’m getting each month.  Once I had ordered enough to build up the cleaning supplies I use every day I started just ordering basic things we always need like toilet paper, paper towels and hand soap.  They get delivered each month and when I’m running low on something else I just add it to my next order!  So easy and having things like toilet paper delivered is the best – one less thing I have to think about!

If you feel like you are running on empty after the holidays (I love December but I always spend January recuperating!) creating a clean, organized environment in your home can really help you relax and breathe again.  When my house is a jumbled mess so is my brain!  It always amazes me how much better I feel after rolling up my sleeves and whipping my house into shape.  I’ve shared some of these before, but I thought this time of year might be a good time for a little re-cap of some of my best cleaning/organizing tips!  I need the reminders too. :)

1 – Start the new year off right by establishing a cleaning routine that works for you and your schedule.  I have set days/times I clean my house and do laundry.  My cleaning schedule changes as my kids’ activities and our schedule changes, but I always have a loose schedule in place so that things never get out of control.  (Also consider hiring help if needed!  With our jobs and kids’ schedules there is no way I could stay on top of this house alone.  I have help with my deep cleaning – sometimes every week – sometimes every other week.  Even paying someone to come and deep clean once a month if it works with your budget can make a huge difference.)

2 – Constantly get rid of things!  Emphasis on the CONSTANTLY!  Honestly.. I can’t stress this one enough!  We always have a goodwill bag or two in progress in our garage.  New things are constantly coming into your home so things you aren’t loving or using need to constantly head out!  It’s so much easier to stay organized when you have less stuff.  This is always a work in progress for me, but I feel like the past two years I have really created a good system and have no problem saying good-bye to things that at the end of the day are just clutter.  Clutter can’t be organized!  Clear the clutter from your home and you will stay organized!  True story. :)

3 – Create a place for things you do keep.  Everything in your home needs its own home!  If you’re finding certain things are constantly being left out and creating a mess maybe it’s time to re-think where/how you’re storing them.  Create a system that makes sense so that you’ll be able to easily put things away where they belong.

4 – Don’t procrastinate.  Put things away where they go immediately.  It always starts with one thing!  You can have a perfectly clean living room but as soon as one person leaves their shoes on the rug, the next person tosses their papers on the coffee table and before you know it there is stuff EVERYWHERE.  The new year is a perfect time to get your whole family on board for this one!  We had a little pep talk about this very thing again a few days ago. (If you fix a snack.. put the food away and bring your dishes to the sink right after you eat!)  I have my kids help remind each other and that works well too.  Put things away where they go!  Sounds so simple doesn’t it!?  If only it was.  But after years of harping gently reminding, my kids (and husband!) are getting much better at this one. ;)

5 – When cleaning, attack one room at a time and don’t lose focus!  I tend to be a distracted person at heart. :)  It’s really easy for me to start cleaning the kitchen and then go to put something away in my office.  Then before I know it, I’m organizing a drawer in my office or answering e-mails instead of finishing the kitchen I started!  I constantly remind myself to stick to ONE room at a time.  That way if I only have 20 minutes to clean I at least get one or two spaces completely done instead of 4 spaces half way done.  Which feels like I have nothing to show for my work! :)

6 – Clean your kitchen each evening before bed.  I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen!  It just starts my day off all wrong.  I’m in the habit now of making sure my kitchen is spotless and dishes are all loaded before going to bed and I always thank myself in the morning!

7 – Involve your kids in the cleaning and organizing.  My husband always teases me that I’m such a “delegator” and it’s true!  I’m constantly assigning my kids to do things.  But we all live in this house and mess it up and I truly believe that it shouldn’t just be me cleaning it up everyday!  Make chore charts, assign weekly jobs, or just write a daily list.  Whatever works for you and your family!  My kids know that they are going to have to pick up their rooms/bathroom every night before they go to bed so they’ve learned the magic trick.  Don’t let the room get messy in the first place!  Of course they are kids.. and their rooms do get messy.  But they never get out of control.  My kids always pick up their toys and clothes quickly so that they won’t have to do a major cleaning that evening.  Making sure everything in their room is clean each evening is part of their routine just like brushing their teeth and homework are.  Establish good routines and start involving your kids in the housework as young as possible!  It has paid off big time for me. 

8 – Make cleaning fun!  It really can be. :)  I know cleaning is a chore and it can be stressful trying to keep up with all of the housework (it’s truly never ending!), but I always try to make my cleaning time each day as enjoyable as I possibly can.  I use products I love.  I turn on some good music or listen to a podcast.  I light a candle.  I zone out and let my mind wander.  It can be so very therapeutic!  And like I mentioned above.. it’s really the only thing that lifts my spirits after the holidays because I always get in a major funk when the party is over!

Here’s to a clean, organized, beautifully decorated home that you love in 2018!  I hope that my future posts will help inspire just that!  It’s a new year and I have exciting things planned for Sunny Side Up.

Bring it on.

:)