2016 Clean Home & Organizing Challenge Week 4 ~ Dining Room + Eating Area

Week 4~ This week we are going to work on the dining room and eating area! Now that the kitchen is decluttered and sparking clean, the eating areas naturally come next. We will complete this room by the weekend, just by working 15 minutes a day. Next week we will start working on the bathrooms.

My dining room is tiny, shares the same space with my laundry room, and is directly connected to my kitchen. I have an extreme love/hate relationship with this area of my home. I love it because it's easy to maintain and clean and it's perfect for our family of two, and I hate it because it's tiny and only fits a small table with 4 chairs, which makes it difficult for me to have large groups over for company. So if you come over to eat dinner here, plan on eating in the living room ;)

If you're just joining in, please read last week post here, where we finished deep cleaning the kitchen. You can very easily catch up if you want to. Fifteen minutes a day is pretty manageable and when you set a timer and put a little "pressure" on yourself, you can get a lot done! We're still using #2016HowJenDoesItChallenge on Instagram, if you want to see every ones progress.

You can check out this weeks video from Jen, from HowJenDoesIt, here. For the next several weeks there will be a new challenge and video from Jen for different areas of the home. This seems extremely do-able. We can do it!!

• Monday ~ Declutter your dining room table. Today I want to to clean off your table, as well as any other place that you eat your meals, countertop bar, breakfast nook table etc. If your table has become a catch-all, now the time to clear it off and put everything away where it belongs. Throw away or shred any loose papers and mail that you don't need and put away everything that doesn't belong in the eating area where it belongs. Now try to keep it clutter free. Instead of letting things pile back up on it, every night before bed, do a quick check of the room, clear it off and put things away.
• Tuesday ~ Wipe down your dining room table, base & chairs. Today, clean your table and chairs top to bottom. This includes your barstools & highchairs too. I like to use a damp microfiber cloth (the yellow ones from Costco are my favorite) and wipe everything down first to make sure all the greasy fingerprints and food is off, then I go back over it with a cloth and furniture polish.   
• Wednesday ~ Light fixtures & Baseboards. Today you are going to be cleaning and wiping down your light fixtures. I use a damp microfiber cloth and start at the top and work my way down.  Check the corners of the room for any cobwebs and remove those as well. Also it's a good time to replace any burn out bulbs. Next wipe down the baseboards and clean any corners that might normally get missed with a mop. I also spot clean the walls & doors if I see anything on them.
• Thursday ~ Windows. Clean the windows inside and out. Also clean the tracks, screens and seals.
• Friday ~ Declutter & clean your buffet table or hutch. Remove everything, clean the wood and glass, and get rid of anything that you don't want or use anymore. Also if that area is a catch-all, try to put everything away before bed to keep it tidy.
• BONUS! Clean the floors. Vacuum and mop the floors and your eating areas are all done! Great job! 

That's it! She wants this to be quick so it's not overwhelming. If you need more than 15 minutes in an area, then of course take the extra time.

I am excited to continue this! Let me know if you plan on trying this too. 

Happy cleaning and thanks for reading :)