Spring Cleaning (and sorting and organizing and throwing out!)

We received a real gift this Spring Break when our friend Christy came down from Portland to help us organize and clean our house. Like nearly all busy families, our family has a case of clutteritis. The symptoms of this malady include disorganized counters and shelves, as well as messy rooms and stuff everywhere. Christy is an absolute whiz at organizing things, and the results are absolutely stunning. For about 10 hours a day for two straight days, she and Missi methodically went from room to room in our house and sorted, cleaned, and threw out all of the extra stuff we’ve accumulated over the years.

So what did I do as these two worked their magic? I was on full-time kid duty. Christy brought her three kids with her and so I took the five kiddos to the following events: storytime at the public library, looking at puppies at the pet store, pizza and playtime at Pappy’s Pizzeria, to the movie theater to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, browsing at Toys R’ Us, fun and games at Chuck E. Cheese’s, trying to stay warm on the play structure at Skinner’s Butte Park, and swimming at Echo Hollow Pool. I know, it sounds like all fun and games, but my job definitely had its challenging moments as I attempted to corral five kids (sort of like herding cats).

Look at these amazing before and after pictures!

Kitchen before

Kitchen after #1

Kitchen after #2

Pantry before

Pantry after

Sam's room before #1

Sam's Room before #2

Sam's room after

Missi made a comment to me last night that we have never lived in a house this well-organized, and I don’t disagree! Now we just have to hope that we can use this momentum to keep up the good work that has been accomplished by Christy and Missi.

P.S. There must be something to this whole “spring cleaning” thing – while we were undertaking this effort at our house, our good friends the Zimels were doing the same thing at their house in Austin!