Whole House Overhaul in 6 Weeks: Week 6
Week 6 of the Whole House Overhaul in 6 Weeks: Toy Room, Schoolroom, Bookshelves
Welcome to Week 6 of the Whole House Overhaul! This week, we’re going to focus on the Toy Room, Schoolroom (if you homeschool), and bookshelves of your home. If you missed Week 1 through 5 of the Whole House Overhaul in 6 Weeks, read them here.
Clean and Organize the Toys
Depending on your situation you may have a designated toy room, play area, or basement. Or perhaps your toys are in the living areas of the home. Whatever your situation, this is the week to sort through, organize and clean the toy areas of your home. Depending on your unique situation, you may have taken care of these areas at other points in the 6 Week Overhaul. If not, it’s time to do it now.
Clean and Organize the Homeschool Room
Homeschoolers, this is the week to organize and clean the schoolroom. Inevitably there are books, programs, or activities that you are finished with and it may be time to pass them on. Sort through as you organize, setting aside items you no longer use. Also, organize your arts and crafts supplies this week.
Clean and Organize the Bookshelves
This is also the week to sort through your books and organize them like a library. There are handy stickers you can find online to put on the spines to organize your books in whichever way works best for your family. The goal is to be able to find what you need- not just you, but any person in your family should be able to find what they’re looking for. There are many ways to organize your books. I’ve heard that some decorators organize books by color; while that method may look good in photos, I personally wouldn’t appreciate that type of organization for my books.
Getting Started
As with the other weeks in the Whole House Overhaul, we’re going to add these extra deep cleaning and organizing tasks to the normal weekly cleaning.
We’re going to work top to bottom and left to right- cleaning in an orderly method to help stay focused and on-track.
Collect the trash and take out. Remove anything that doesn’t belong in the Toy Room, Schoolroom, or on your Bookshelves and put it in its rightful place. If something does not have a designated place then assign one.
Lets Clean!
It’s time to deep clean the Toy Room, Schoolroom, and Bookshelves.
Start with catching cobwebs.
Next, clean the light fixtures and change any burnt out bulbs.
Dust the walls, baseboards and doors.
Clean the windows, curtains, and blinds.
Clear off the tops of all flat surfaces.
Sort through and organize any cupboards, drawers, tubs, baskets, boxes, carts, and other containers. Then arrange items neatly.
Clean out any closets and arrange appropriately.
Dust shelves and arrange items/books in a logical way. A few examples of how to sort books are:
- Eras in history
- Biographies
- Science by topic
- Children’s
- Youth
- Adult
Vacuum the furniture, pillows, cushions and fabric of upholstery. Remove stains. Wipe any leather furniture with a damp cloth or leather cleaner.
Vacuum the floor, then move the furniture and vacuum underneath. Use an edge attachment on your vacuum to clean the edges of the carpet.
Rearrange if you need to, want to, or discover a better layout. A fresh look in a room is inspiring!
Look around for anything that would make the room or area more usable, and make a list of shopping items.
You’ve got this!
By following these simple steps, your toy room, schoolroom, and bookshelves can get the reboot they need. You and your family can enjoy a clean and organized space to play and learn in, and your bookshelves will become a more efficient space too.
To help you along with this journey, I’ve created a Week 6 Checklist in the resource library.
If you’ve enjoyed the Whole House Overhaul in 6 Weeks, you’ll love the home management techniques in the book! Home Management: Plain and Simple is a book written just for moms and homemakers like you. In it, you’ll find home management solutions applicable to your unique situation. Get the book here!
