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A Clean Sweep: Part I

July 22, 2013 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Hearth & Home, Homeschooling, Honest Blogging, Minnesota Me 14 Comments

The Minnesota Mom Edition

~ for Jamie ~

Now granted, I’m just one Minnesota mom….

Clean Sweep III

…but I’ve got enough clutter and mess to fill the state.

Clean Sweep I

Where is Waldo? (aka the teen who hangs out 
in the classroom because it’s got great WiFi)

At least, it feels that way sometimes.

Clean Sweep II

There he is! 

These are shots of our classroom/craft room/computer room/office. We are in the process of converting it to a bedroom–a bedroom!–for our three daughters, who are 12, 10 & 8-years-old and who are spilling out of their current room.

Clean Sweep IV

Check out the awesome peeling paint on that metal bunk bed! I’m so proud. 

A spilled little girl is very messy. I usually try to look away.

Clean Sweep V

Where is Waldo? (aka the reading ‘tween) 

Clean Sweep VI

There she is! She is, like, one of those people that you have 
to tell, “Stop reading!” It sounds so not right saying it, 
but if I didn’t, she would lie there all week and ultimately get 
buried beneath all her sisters’ clutter. 

The truth is, we are not the most organized of families at present. We are not the most…ordered. My goal for this summer–a HUGE goal–is to get rid of a ton of accumulated “stuff” and make a nice clean sweep of things.

To that end, I have checked out every single Peter Walsh book from the library. Don’t believe me? Just ask my husband about those piles of Peter Walsh books. (John refers to all my stacks of stuff as “Maggie’s piles.” Sounds kind of gross, don’t it? Like a really embarrassing medical condition.)

One of the reasons that I didn’t blog for over a week is that I thought, I shouldn’t be blogging where there’s so much WORK to do. The fact is, though, if I don’t stop from time to time [emphasis mine] to take a creative break…

I will get totally overwhelmed and completely burned out.

Besides, a (semi-)organized hom is a more peaceful home, and a more peaceful home is one where I just might…possibly, if their luck holds out…

Polly's Perfect Blueberry Pie

Bake pie.

Recipe to be posted on Grab Bag Thursday? Hard to say! That’s a crap shoot.

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Comments

  1. Charlotte (WaltzingM) says

    July 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    Love Peter Walsh! Good luck, sweetie.

    Reply
  2. Colleen says

    July 22, 2013 at 5:39 pm

    Oh, that pie looks so good. Just keep showing up photos like that and we'll forget the state of the rest of your house. Maybe you will too!

    Reply
  3. Jamie Jo says

    July 22, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    Yay!! Did you post this just for me? Love it. And I love your attitude. You have time. When it's done it will be the room you worked on all summer! Will the school room be in the girls' old room–or the kitchen?

    I love seeing what creative ways larger families make room for more!

    Reply
    • minnesotamom says

      July 22, 2013 at 6:21 pm

      Of course I posted that just for you, Sweetie! Off to add the dedication now…

      Reply
    • Jamie Jo says

      July 22, 2013 at 10:11 pm

      🙂

      (and I was only kidding about the boob, I think it's a beautiful photo!)

      Reply
  4. Aimee says

    July 22, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    Just posted about the big room switch we did! I thought it would take a weekend — it took 3 weeks. I should have known. 😉

    Reply
  5. The Kibbes! says

    July 22, 2013 at 8:05 pm

    Okay question… how do your younger kids ages 5 and below handle sharing a room? More specifically going to bed at night? We will have a 3.5 yr old and 18 month old in the same room in about a month and the thought is slightly horrifying (at least for the first week or two)!

    Reply
  6. Nella @McDonald's In Heaven says

    July 22, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    Thank you for this, especially the pictures. It is balm for my soul to see pictures of a "real" house on a blog now and then!

    Reply
  7. Grace says

    July 22, 2013 at 9:07 pm

    I'm so glad you posted your homeschool room shots. I just pulled all of our homeschool books out…..to sell (gulp!). I don't want to get rid of any of them, but I kinda need the money and won't be using a lot of them for a while….that's a later post. Me, too…..think I have too much WORK to post anything. Does this challenge feel good? I'm enjoying it.:) The pie looks amazing!

    Reply
  8. The Road Scholar says

    July 23, 2013 at 1:41 am

    The pie must have been gone by the time I got there :-(. Thanks for your help today!!! You would never know that's going on upstairs. You make me feel better because, as you know, I am so worried about people seeing my type of organization (not). You are my hero. I now want to check out a Peter Walsh book, but the library web site said they were all checked out. 😛

    Reply
  9. Christine says

    July 23, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    I hate cleaning in the summer. Summer goes by so fast here in Minnesota..so my messes are pretty big right now.

    I still have 3 kids in one room upstairs. It is a small room also but nobody wants to move out! They actually love being together.

    That pie is awesome. Only apple pies cooking at this home.

    Happy Cleaning!!

    Reply
  10. Kate J says

    July 23, 2013 at 10:20 pm

    I hope you will post the pie recipe! I make a great apple pie, but my blueberry has been not quite right…

    Reply
  11. Joolz says

    July 23, 2013 at 11:27 pm

    This Aussie mum has lots of tips for tidying and decluttering. lots of yummy recipes too!
    http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/

    Cheers – Joolz

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Day in the Life says:
    July 29, 2015 at 4:34 am

    […] still ordering curriculum! We are still attempting to move the three girls into the classroom–a HUGE project which has completely stalled–and thus, the reference to the messy classroom. I can honestly say, though, that it was all […]

    Reply

Hi there!

I’m Margaret in Minnesota, and this is my mom's-eye perspective of a kid-heavy life. I love the Lord; I take lots of photos; and I always try to tell it like it is, from sex to depression and everything in between! I hope you enjoy your time here. ♥

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Hi there!

I’m Margaret in Minnesota, and this is my mom's-eye perspective of a kid-heavy life. I love the Lord; I take lots of photos; and I try to always tell it like it is, from sex to depression and everything in between! I hope you enjoy your time here. ♥

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