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Right now, my life and home are more chaotic than ever. This Simplify Life Challenge couldn’t have come fast enough ….. I went to bed with dishes in the sink, the whole house is a disaster, I need to buy groceries, and I have so much to get done before my head hits the pillow tonight.
Real life, honey! Sound familiar?
When my life gets in this situation (which seems to happen every year about now), it’s time for an intervention – a challenge to keep myself accountable and I plan to drag you along for the ride in case you need a little intervention too. These challenges work because we can both complete the tasks without getting overwhelmed. Piece by piece, it gets done.
No matter what month of the year it is, follow along with this first week and the three weeks that will follow as a way to get our homes in order (slowly and without stress) over the next month.
You up for the challenge, Sistahs? Let’s get with it then …..
Simplify Life Week One
This week, we’re gonna focus on the heart of the home – our kitchen and dining room. I’m starting here because it’s where so much living actually happens for families. Whether we like it or not, we need to spend time in the kitchen to feed our people and nobody wants to cook in a messy kitchen! Can’t. Do. It.
Don’t believe my house is a hot mess? Here’s are shots of the kitchen and dining:
Typically I have a system in place that helps me simplify life in the kitchen but I’ve gotten out of the habit. I’ll talk about that awesome life hack in a minute.
But first, I need you to stop reading this, set your phone timer to twenty minutes and then remove all the junk (that doesn’t belong) from your kitchen and dining room. Find a box or bag to put the misplaced items in – don’t waste your time putting away these things yet. When you finish that, clean up until the timer buzzes.
Ready. Set. GO! I’ll see you in twenty.
Whew! Now look around at what you accomplished in that short time frame. My two rooms look amazingly better. Take a look:
Simply Life Homework
Your missions for the rest of the week, should you choose to accept, are the following:
- Clean up food and dishes immediately after dinner every night. If I get comfortable on the couch after eating without cleaning the kitchen, it is torture to get back in there and do what needs to be done.
- Run the dishwasher immediately after “dinner clean up” each night. If you don’t have a dishwasher, handwash all dishes before bed.
- Put away clean dishes FIRST thing every morning. Dishes are put away for all to use and life is good.
- Load dishwasher with dirty dishes throughout the day. This keeps dirty dishes out of the sink all day long and gets them all ready for when you are going to turn on the dishwasher after dinner every night.
- Find or make a Spring decoration for the kitchen and the dining room. It’s amazing how much a vase of Spring flowers in the kitchen windowsill or a bright centerpiece on the dining room table will lift your mood and delight your family (whether they admit it or not).
- Put away all the misplaced items that you put in that box during clean-up time. Take this opportunity to purge all that you can and then use this week to put the rest away.
- Pick one area that needs an overhaul and organize it this week. Whether it’s the Tupperware area, the pantry, or the junk drawer (yes, we all have one of those), give it a good clean and pat yourself on the back afterward!
Simplify Life Challenge
This simple dishwasher system keeps the dishes under control. If you have kids at home, I suggest making these their chores. My oldest’s job was to load dishes at night, and my youngest knew that she always had to put up clean dishes in the morning.
It just takes intention – let’s simplify life together!
Let’s connect on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll be asking how you are doing on your Simplify Life Challenge & sharing photos of how I’m doing over here — so look for me! Oh yeah, when you finish your challenge each day this week, you have my permission to eat a cupcake!
Are you in for the Simplify Life Challenge for March?
UPDATE:
Feel welcome to go through this Wife challenge at your own pace and any month of the year. The next post in the progression of taking a month to get our homes in order and lose the chaos is How to Declutter Clothes & Chaos in Your Laundry Room this week!
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Published on HuffPost, Okefenokee Living Magazine, and more, Shan is a Family Travel Journalist with a passion for helping women lose the overwhelm of planning family-friendly trips in the south. She shares travel reviews & insider secrets that Women REALLY want to know about Georgia, Florida, & the Carolinas vacations.
☕️ It’s THE REAL DEAL around here ☕️
I am such a minimalist by nature so I’m a little crazy w getting rid of stuff!!!
Great challenge! We don’t have a dishwasher so I just wash dishes as soon as a meal is over…it really makes things simpler I think than waiting til the end of thebday
I love the challenge. We don’t have a dishwasher and the kids are all old enough to get their own food needs throughout the day, so trying to keep up with the dishes is a major battle in my house. I probably should work on a goal of getting our old dishwasher replace with one that works. I will be sharing this post with my Friendly Meal Planning Facebook group. I’m sure some of them would love to get their kitchen tidied up.
– http://www.momentsformeonline.com
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Thanks so very much, Wendy!
blessings,
Shan
Love this challenge! I find decluttering and simplifying such a cathartic challenge for me!
I love that you posted pictures of the before. 🙂 So much fun to see the transformation! These are the healthy habits I’m working on building in my life so it’s nice to know other people are right there with me. 🙂
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Yay, Carina! Yes, we are all in this together. I love to share when I don’t have it all together. Even though I wrote a book about ‘How to Have a Happy Healthy Home,’ I don’t want ppl to think all is perfect all the time!!!
blessings,
Shan
This is so good! I recently started to load the dishwasher with dirty dishes throughout the day and it makes such a difference. I love flowers in my kitchen and having them helps me to keep my counter clean so I can focus on them and not the junk. So Trader Joe’s here I come.
These are great tips and I’m looking forward to hearing more! It’s amazing how little things like filling the dishwasher right after dinner can make life so much easier.
Dishes is a big one for me. Putting them in the washer throughout the day helps me a lot and makes it esier to keep things tiday! Nice list by the way!
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Thank you so much, Gloryanna
blessings,
Shan
OMG, can’t believe I didn’t think about some of these things e.g putting dishes in the dishwasher during the day. I’m gonna use this tip. Great tips!
Author
Don’t feel bad, Tendai. I always say that the best ideas are always right in front of me. Sometimes it takes me a long time to figure them out. Took me a long time, but when I do, they are live changing. 😉
blessings,
Shan
These are great tips! I find that doing things daily helps a lot too. If I postpone anything one day, everything piles up and becomes unmanageable!
Good challenge! I do some of it already but not all. ?
great challenge-i def notice a difference in productivity if i go ahead and get all chores done immediately
Great challenge! I’m all about a simplified life!
These are great tips. I found such a difference when I just got into the routine of filling the dishwasher and running it every night.
Can always use a declutter challenge! It piles up so fast!
Loading the dishwasher throughout the day makes a HUGE difference! I’m going to try some of these other great suggestions too!
I think that tip about unloading the dishwasher first thing is brilliant. If you don’t, you end up with double the work, because the kids can’t put their dirty dishes in it. (Or they do and they get all the clean ones dirty!)
Love love love this! Our kitchen island always ends up with junk and it feels so good when it’s cleared off. Definitely doing this!
I don’t have a dishwasher, so this will truly be a challenge! It is good to have a goal.
I love these tips and the challenge. They really make cleaning seem more manageable!
I know how you feel girl! My kids have toys EVERYWHERE! I’m always stepping on their toys? My kitchen out of everything has to stay clean! My daughter cleans it everyday after dinner! Back when I only had one child it was easy to keep the house cleans but now with THREE it seems impossible ?
I already do all those things except for the flowers. I like the flower idea.
Great list! It really is amazing how good I feel if I take the time to clean up and stay organized – it’s a sense of relief!
Yes to the dishes rule! It’s such an obnoxious habit but it’s so worth it when you can avoid the piling!
Great pics of before and after. Nice to see. I hate clutter but I like going through stuff on a regular basis. Great article!
Great tips! We don’t always clean up after dinner but I know when we do I wake up feeling less frazzled.
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Yes! Annie – makes such a difference in my morning attitude! haha
Well I’m halfway done with the getting rid of stuff 🙂
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WooHoo! Andrea. WTG!
i CANNOT STAND a dirty kitchen — yet it’s the grossest room in the house lol its because its the social hub for everyone and everything. kids play at the table or do their homework and we eat, so we’re always in the kitchen. i love these tips. i don’t have a dishwasher, but i do make my oldest help with putting dishes away!
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I’m with ya Justine!
I’m forwarding this to my husband so we can do it together!!!!
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GREAT idea, Amy! 😉
You made me laugh because I have been exactly in your position and it is driving me crazy. I only set my timer for 15 minutes just think what I could have done in 5 more minutes.
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Yes!!! Candy – it piles up quick but wow it feels great to get it together.
I love these ideas. I’ve started putting away my dried dishes every morning and it’s so helpful to not have them left on the drying mat forever!
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Awesome, Dara. Every little bit helps and these small hacks become good habits very quickly that don’t even use any brain space or anxiety! 😉
Really great advice! I am totally taking on these tips to simplify and they are all so helpful!
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Thank you so much, Jehava! I appreciate the kind words.
If I’m really on top of my game I’ll unload the dishwasher at night too. I love starting the day with an empty dishwasher.
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YES! That’s what it’s all about Catherine, isn’t it. That awesome feeling of starting the day with a clean kitchen.
These are great ideas. We also run the dishwasher every evening and it makes such a difference to wake up with no dishes in the sink~
Thank you!! I totally need some kitchen help!!!
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So glad it was helpful, Lisa!
I hate doing dishes soooooo muchhhhh. I am guilty of leaving them in hopes my husband will get fed up and do them. Can you guess how often that works??
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You made me laugh out loud, Ayana! 🙂 Thanks for making my day!
I am In love with your kitchen it’s beautiful. Love those chairs as well, such a great pictures.
Love these ideas! can’t wait till my kiddo is old enough to actually help!
Great tips! Love minimalist spaces. So much nicer, and brings my anxiety down! Cannot stand clutter!
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Me too, Yvette! I can’t’ handle cluttered rooms! I was minimal before it was cool. hahaha 🙂
1-4 are lifesavers! I’ll even run the dishwasher throughout the day if needed.
I’ve been trying to keep the kitchen clean to and it is always so. hard. I too *try* to clean up dishes right away so Im not left with dirty dishes in the sink.
This challenge actually sounds like fun! I really need to declutter my kitchen!
These are great tips! I need to get the clutter out!!
There are a few things that I make sure are done every night — and one of them is that the kitchen is totally cleaned up. 🙂 It’s just one of the things that keeps me sane.