Our Focus Area approach to cleaning means that we are concentrating on one area of the house at a time. I don’t know about you, but my biggest obstacle when it comes to keeping up with organization and cleaning is my tendency to become overwhelmed by all of the different things that need attention in my house.

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If you are just now jumping in, I want to reassure you that even if you don’t do all the things on your list by the end of the month, you are making progress one task at a time. During the course of the year, you will hit every focus area at least twice. The next time it comes around, you can take care of that thing you missed.

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Focus on the Downstairs Bed and Bath RoomS In February

Of course your house is laid out differently than mine, and so your focus lists will look different too. This is what I’m working on in February, and in another post I will show you how I use Trello to set up automated to-do lists that everyone in the household can use.

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At the Red House, we have two downstairs bedrooms and the only full bathroom (so far). We are using one of the bedrooms to sleep in, even though there is a larger one upstairs. There is a fair amount of de-cluttering of sewing supplies upstairs, but that is a job for another time. If you are following along, consider this the time to focus on the primary adult bedroom and main family bathroom.

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• Clean ceiling and walls- a slightly damp and wrung-out dust mop works great for this. I’ve got a Libman with washable microfiber covers. Be careful not to dislodge ceiling texture, if you have it.

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• Clean all windows and frames.

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• Clean all light fixtures.

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• Clean all baseboards and molding.

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• Mover furniture out of the way and clean underneath.

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• Polish all wood furniture. I like Howard Restore-A-Finish and Feed-N-Wax.

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• Wash all the bedding, including pillows, mattress pads, duvets and quilts, and any pet bedding.

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• One at a time or all at once if that works for you, take all of your clothes and everything else out of the bedroom dresser drawers and closet. Sort through it, and make a give-away pile, a throw-away pile, and a keep pile. Clean out the storage space, and fold everything you want to keep neatly and put it away.

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• Clear off the tops of any tables and dressers (aka Stuff Collectors) and give it the same treatment. Dust what you are keeping, and arrange it back neatly. Also do any night stand drawers.

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• In the bathroom, do the drawers and cabinets. Discard any expired or unwanted items whether that is medicine, makeup, or 5 year old bottles of shampoo nobody liked.

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• Check the bathroom for caulk or grout issues, drips, leaks, drainage problems, and anything else that needs maintenance and take care of it.

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• Detail-clean the bathroom. Use a toothbrush, and get out the strongest chemicals you can tolerate to take care of soap scum and bathtub rings.

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Outside Garden Jobs for February

Where I live in the Willamette Valley, February is the real beginning of the growing season. This month, I will:

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• Continue clearing garden beds for spring.

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• Fertilize the garlic with blood meal (high nitrogen is the goal)

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• Start my peppers, tomatoes, an eggplants under lights. I started asparagus, artichokes, and cardoons too.

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• Plant dormant fruit trees. We are putting in an espalier cordon and a tiny orchard.

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• Prune roses when the forscythia blooms. (This might turn out to be a March job)

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• Add compost, mulch, and fertilizer to beds that need it.

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• Consider spraying dormant oil and/ or liquid copper on fruit trees and roses.

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• Place trellising for peas, beans, and squash.

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Organization is Self-Care

Our lists are aspirational. I will keep coming back to this point as this blog continues. I’m organized because I have to be. Trying to take care of basic household tasks without guidelines and task lists turns me into a nervous wreck. I become overwhelmed by the number of things that need to be done, and even if I take care of one thing, the mountain of things I didn’t do makes me unable to celebrate my small victory. That level of anxiety and self-deprecation drives me to dissociate rather than face what needs to be done by experiencing that kind of stress. If that sounds familiar, come hang out at the Red House, where organization is self-care, and we take small, achievable bites out of our to-do lists, and celebrate every victory.

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