JEN SEVERN'S BLOG

FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED. What? The other day I posted an article about the best  advice a woman ever heard about cleaning. I read it and her advice was "finish what you started". I like this idea and thought I'd give it a try. This is proving to be one of my worst qualities. I know I love to start things and hate to finish them. I get bored easily and then I'm on to the next shiny thing. I am more of a visionary and a strategic arranger than a maintainer. Change and efficiency energizes me.  Our house will be on the market in less than 10 days! My goal, set by my relator is to clear off my horizontal spaces. I am wondering why this seems so difficult only to find this: FIVE partially used bottles of lotion on my bathroom counter. One I got from my son as a gift, another from my MIL, one has glitter so that can't be used everyday, one is my favorite and another the lady at Sephora somehow talked me into buying. My love for variety a...

Are you ready for a modern challenge?  Today  your goal is to clean out your email inbox.  DELETE!  Make folders and drag important emails to a safe folder.  Answer emails.   I have mine all cleaned up and organized.  Just 4 emails in my inbox.  Yeah!

Your challenge today is to straighten up a linnen closet.  I worked on my bathroom yesterday, so for me this is part two from spring cleaning my place where I get ready. I have a linnen closet in my bathroom.  It stands 6 shelves high.  I store  towels, finger nail polish, and lots of extras in there.  I keep extras of thing I hate running out of.  It's a real bummer when there is no shampoo or contact solution, so I try to keep a few extras, and purchase them when they are on sale. I have extra shampoo, soap, lotion, cosmetics, contact care, dental hygiene products and personal items for traveling.  Each category has a basket or a bin.  We keep all of our extra dental hygiene products in one basket, another for eye care and so on.  Today I plan to go through each of those baskets or bins.  I will clean them out.  Get rid of or recycle what I will not use.  Resort.  Clean the inside of each bin. Before  I ...

Make-up mayhem.  What is under my sink? Today's challenge is to go to the bathroom where you get ready and clean out the the area!  All the hustle and bustle and the morning rush can leave this area a disaster over time.  It is a place we use every day, so it gets lots of love.  My area needs a make-over, and a through spring cleaning! Every morning when I go to put on my make-up I tug on my hickory cabinet gingerly, expecting something to come crashing on to my toes.  My make-up is nicely organized into a pink polka-dot traveling case.  One section holds foundation products, one for eye make-up and one for lips.  It works well and it's washable!  It is great for running off to the gym and it's one less thing to pack when I am getting ready for a vacation. Here is the problem.  My pink case is sitting on top of a big black caboodle type box.  It is NASTY inside.  Coated with layers of old mak...

Hey friends!  Here is your challenge for today.  Think of an area that is cluttered and driving you crazy.  Make time to tackle that area this week/end.  If you live with someone get on the same page, and plan how you will accomplish your goals.  I suggest doing it on a day when you don't have a lot going on.  Carve out plenty of time to get it done.  Put good music on!  Music makes the time go by faster and eases the tension.  Order pizza for dinner that night or do something easy.  If it's a big project you will be cooked by the end and no one wants to stand in the kitchen after a day like that.  My husband and I attacked our storage room today.  It was a disaster.  You really could hardly walk from one end to the other.  We stopped half way and bought 4 new clear storage bins with lids from Target and then finished it up.  It feels GREAT!  We are already planning to take on the garage next ...

Here is an EASY one!  Go to a place where your magazines accumulate and clean it out.  My magazines tend to pile up.  I have the best of intentions to read all the interesting articles in my favorite magazines and it seems a new one is in my mail box before I have read the last one.  Recycle!!!  Start fresh.  Clean out those magazine racks!  Maybe only leave one.  Or get rid of all of them, and then choose a new one on spring time topics.  Good luck! Start FRESH! This looks much more appealing.  One or two magazines looks clean, appealing, inviting, neat, orderly, and inspiring.  Keep it clean!  Something so small can change the look and feel of a room.

Day 3 Today's challenge is to attack one stack of papers.  Sometimes I feel like I am overwhelmed with papers.  Papers from school, mail, bills, recipes, coupons, news letters I want to read someday, tax documents, lists, papers I need to sign, thank you notes I need to send... Papers, Papers, Papers...  So what do I do?  Put them in a pile.  Today's challenge is to find one spot that you stack papers and go through them.  Put them where they belong.  Throw out trash.  Read it and recycle.  Get the letters in the mail.  One stack completely done!  You can do it!  Okay I am off to do mine.  Have a wonderful day friends! 30 Minutes maybe an hour.  You could even watch a show while you do it? Good luck!  I know you will feel a weight off your shoulders, and maybe you didn't even know it was there!  Happy Wednesday Everyone! No stacks of papers on this desk and isn't it NICE!

DAY 2 We all have those drawers that we shut as FAST as we can because they are so messy.  They are usually the ones we use the most.  They are a great place to stash stuff you want to get off the counter quick.  Choose just ONE of those drawers today and take everything out of it .   Wipe out the bottom of the drawer and only put back what you actually USE .   Put things away where they belong.  Group like objects.  Create a space for the useful items in the drawer. Use small plastic containers or an ice cube tray.   Start a give away bag.   Throw out what you don't use.   Just one drawer, you can do that!   Have FUN!  Feel good? Your stress level will go down. Less stuff.  Less Mess.