Tackle It Tuesday — Susan’s Turn

by Susan

Tackle It Tuesday Meme

Click here to get the banner code and start tackling.

This time it’s my turn to tackle…

Janice is usually the regular tackler here at 5 Minutes for Mom, but my playroom area has been long overdue for a serious cleaning.

So the other day my good friend Julie came over and helped me sort through the mess. We hauled out a few garbage bags full of old, unused toys and junk.

I’m a real pack-rat so letting go of anything is a huge challenge. My minimalist friend Julie forced me to say good-bye to every item that did not deserve to take up critical space in my tiny townhouse. (We’re not done yet… but the playroom area is much improved.)

But my little girl Julia (almost 3) isn’t much of an inspiration. The next day she came into the room and said: “Hey, where are my toys? I want a mess!”

I forgot to get a before picture, but here’s a photo of Julie sorting toys.

julie-tackling.jpg

And here’s the final scene… it’s not perfect, but it is more organized.

susan-playroom-tackling.jpg


What are you tackling? Link up and let us know!

Join Us For Tackle It Tuesday

We’re making housework blog-able!

Each week on Tuesday, we are posting before and after pictures of a project or trouble area that we tackled this week.

Find out more about Tackle It Tuesday here.

The project can be little or big – whatever you want. Basically, Tackle It Tuesday is about giving ourselves incentive, deadlines and satisfaction in getting our household tasks done. (It doesn’t even have to be housework… just whatever is on your To Do list.)

If you tackled a project this week, just add a comment and add your link below.



Email Author    |    Website About Susan

Susan is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. Along with her twin sister Janice and their mother Joan, Susan also owns two online toy stores where they love to help other moms find the perfect gift like a Pedal Car or a Rocking Horse for their children to treasure forever. Susan has two sweet little girls and is constantly in awe of her luck in life.

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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Karen Erickson March 18, 2008 at 1:39 am

Tackling the hall closet this week. The before picture is up on my blog – ugh the humiliation!

Your playroom looks fab. I junked a bunch of stuff after Christmas and it’s stayed under semi-control so far. :)

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2 Stephanie March 18, 2008 at 1:52 am

What a great friend you have! The playroom looks excellent.

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3 Heather* March 18, 2008 at 2:59 am

I am tackling the boys rooms this week! Sorting through clothes, toys and books.

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4 Jana (sidetrack'd) March 18, 2008 at 6:03 am

Playrooms/toy areas are always a big tackle. It looks great!

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5 Danielle March 18, 2008 at 6:56 am

You\’ve given me something to look forward to in 5 years after we have kids that start making messes. :) Looks great!!!

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6 Deb - Mom of 3 Girls March 18, 2008 at 8:40 am

Cleaning and organizing is always more fun with a friend. Your room looks amazing! :)

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7 TCC March 18, 2008 at 8:42 am

I think work is easier to complete when someone is doing it with you. Have a successful day!

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8 Devildogwife March 18, 2008 at 9:13 am

Getting rid of toys is always difficult for me. We’re slowly going through Munchkin’s toys and passing them on to someone else who can use them. **sigh** They grow up too fast. ;)

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9 JessicaB March 18, 2008 at 9:15 am

I have so much cleaning and organizing to tackle but one thing at a time.

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10 Lynne March 18, 2008 at 9:27 am

I am afraid of sorting in our toy room! It’s insane how much stuff is in there!

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11 Miss Expatria March 18, 2008 at 9:31 am

My mom and dad have been in their house for 30 years, and my mom got sick of being a packrat. She throws out, donates or sells one thing a day – and has been doing it for over two years!

If you have something your packrat brain doesn’t want to let go of, but you know you’ll never use or it has outlasted its use, have a Moment of Silence. I’ve done this, actually, before moving to Rome. You put the object on a table or cradle it in your arms, tell a story about it, then have a moment of silence for it and say goodbye. It really works!

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12 feefifoto March 18, 2008 at 9:38 am

Just spent an hour tidying up our bookshelves. Everything’s sorted and arranged. I’m wondering how long it will last.

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13 Amy March 18, 2008 at 10:10 am

We tackled painting the entire house! Now, I have to tackle washing the windows. I hope to begin and end this evening! Thank goodness for daylight savings time and the added daylight!

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14 Morning Rose March 18, 2008 at 10:35 am

Great tackle! The after picture looks wonderful! We made a housekeeping schedule this week. Now we just have to follow it!

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15 Sasha March 18, 2008 at 11:45 am

I have to tackle our game room one of these days.

Looks good!

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16 Jen March 18, 2008 at 11:52 am

I needed some extra motivation today, so I joined in. I’ll update my post with pictures later today. It is motivating to see what others are getting done today as well. Off I go!

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17 kellys March 18, 2008 at 11:58 am

If we could just tackle the hot spot and then it would stay that way!

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18 Rhen March 18, 2008 at 1:07 pm

I used to be a pack rat but one great purge and I was hooked on cleaning things out. I am still working on each room but they all will get done!
Great tackle!

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19 Nodin's Nest March 18, 2008 at 1:24 pm

I tackled finishing my taxes! yeah all done. Now where’s my refund?

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20 Tanya March 18, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Wow, great job! I’m doing laundry, actually putting it all away, in drawers!

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21 Phyl March 18, 2008 at 2:10 pm

I am sooo in…lol.

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22 Patti March 18, 2008 at 2:44 pm

Thanks for the inspiration…bathroom vanity cleaned top to bottom!!

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23 Sheila Gregoire March 18, 2008 at 3:01 pm

I couldn’t handle much today–I’ve quit Diet Pepsi for the 42nd time and it’s rough today. So I tackled something small. And did it! Yay!

Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!

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24 Leah March 18, 2008 at 4:17 pm

The playroom looks great! Ugggh, that reminds me I need to clean out toys too!

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25 Karrine March 18, 2008 at 4:54 pm

Today was my one no work day over the Spring Break… Of course thats paid employment ;) The children and I organized a NEW system at our main door to get homework, activity, coats shoes and our calender all in one place. No more missed school notices :-)

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26 Homemaking Mama March 18, 2008 at 6:23 pm

The playroom looks fantastic, my girls would love a playroom like that :) Great tackle.

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27 Jamie Lea March 18, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Great job, love the color in that room!

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28 donetta March 18, 2008 at 7:42 pm

The toys have a multiplier…if only our cash flows did that:)

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29 Michelle March 18, 2008 at 7:58 pm

i bet it feels good to have a cleaner play room :)

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30 Shauntelle March 18, 2008 at 9:25 pm

I’m sooo close to finishing the redesign of the youngest kids room, I can taste it!!! I tried so hard today, but I guess next Tuesday will be the big reveal… I’m extra proud of the $12 spent on recovering my dining room chairs though… and getting the goody bag off, only one week late. sigh. At least it’s getting done, right?!

Shauntelle

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31 Barb March 18, 2008 at 10:23 pm

I have just discovered this meme fromyou and love it… thanks for motivating me. My bedroom looks great now.

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32 Multitasking Mama March 20, 2008 at 7:57 am

OK, I want to know where you got the basket tower over in the corner…. :)

Good job on the playroom! Our playroom is actually my son’s room and boy is it crowded! LOL! We still have the changing table in there, but now the baskets and shelves hold toys. We also use baskets / canvas boxes under the crib (guess it’ll be converted to the toddler bed soon – where does the time go??) to store toys. We also have an “underbed” type wrapping paper organize that works great for small toys and has easy access. Those Rubbermaid totes make great toy boxes (we have one a clear tinted blue color which fits great with his room and it wasn’t planned).

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