day two: get out of the way of the professionals!

before.

before.

before.


today it was raining and damp here in newport, so it made for a bit of a challenge with the kids. i knew that i had to take rhys to preschool and that rosangela was coming at 11:30am to clean the house. in between, we were running over to my friend's home for a quick rainy day playdate. i was trying to figure out what we were going to do outside the home all afternoon (during when the boys are usually down for their naps and the girls and i get our quiet times). but another girlfriend (who has come over with her kids when her house was being cleaned) let us crash for a few hours. it was not until almost 5pm that i got a call from rosangela!! they had just finished.

yep folks: 11:30am to 4:45pm they cleaned, non-stop. and the house was amazing. AHHHH-MAAAA-ZZZING! it smelled so fresh and clean. god bless her!! it was a two-women job. that means if i had tried to do what they did it would have taken me at least 10 hours and probablylonger without a "system" and even longer had i had the kids with me, underfoot.

because of yesterday's clean sweep i have two tasks for tomorrow. one: make use of the "sell" and "give" boxes; and two: declutter all of the drawers and baskets that i stuffed full of junk that i "swept" off of the surfaces! its most likely going to continue raining here, so its a perfect day to do this. i will be modifying the spring cleaning party list to fit our home and pictures will be included. also ...

the spring clean party will go on a little longer here in our home b/c i will be heading out to california on friday for my grandmother's funeral. i am sure with jet lag and such i won't get back in to the party groove until next weekend. i am really enjoying this event so far and i think each time i come in to a space that has been cleared up and decluttered, my soul feels a little less burdened. clean, free, at peace, calm, zen-life.

today tsh at simplemom.net posted a very inspiring thought that sums up my feelings:

And the most important goal to spring cleaning in ten days? Decluttering. Getting rid of stuff. Saying goodbye to those things that are clogging your living spaces, and therefore causing visual stress.

When you have only what you need or love, it’s so much easier to clean - cleaning those surfaces several times a day isn’t as big a deal, because there’s not much stuff to begin with.
I encourage you to focus on getting rid of stuff. Make a hard-and-fast decision to kick out those things you don’t need or love. It sounds painful, but once you get into it, it’s cathartic, refreshing, and even fun.