31 days to clean: Week 1 Martha challenges.

How do we get so used to our junk that we don't even see it anymore? 

I clean all the time.  All.  The.  Time.

How do I walk around and not even notice the stuff?  I was looking through the pictures and realized that my house is much worse of a mess than I thought.  Especially with all the post Easter stuff just hanging around.

Alright.  No more beating myself up.  That's why I'm working on this challenge, right? 

Here are my before pictures:

This week's Martha challenges were:

1.  Gather your cleaning supplies. 
2.  Clean the fridge & freezers inside and out.
3.  Dust tops of cabniets, fridges, freezers, ect.  Shine cabniets.
4.  Clean microwave and oven - inside & out.

I decided to finally paint my kitchen as I was doing this.  I've had the paint since the Sherwin Williams sale a couple of months ago.  No better time then now, right?

I scrubbed the fridge and freezers with baking soda and hot water then reorganized using my baskets like before. 

I then attacked the tops of everything.  I cleaned out the baskets - putting like items together and sending some stuff on to the mission for someone else to use and some to the trash.  I also displayed our antiques.  Ronnie & I used to collect antiques and they've been put up out of the way.  I had been using the shelf tops for extra storage, but I'm sick of looking at all that junk up there.  I want it to be pretty!

The oven and microwave were actually pretty easy.  I clean the microwave weekly and the oven was just cleaned about a month ago.  I just did a good scrub on the outside and pulled it away from the wall to mop behind and underneath.  So gross.

Here's my afters:

I have one wall left to paint, but it will have to wait.  This weather change has really stirred up the boys' asthma and painting won't help anything. 

One room almost done!  (Insert happy dance here).