Stuck at Home? Top 3 Projects You Can Do Now!

So you’re stuck at home during this pandemic, like everyone else in the world. Hey, we’re all in this together right? Here at Details, we’re looking at the bright side of things! There are so many fun things that you can do while you’re home! We wanted to give you some great home projects to do whether you’re quarantined, working from home or just forced to stay home with the kids! In Western Massachusetts, the weather is starting to get warmer and the days are getting longer. It’s beginning to feel like spring, and it’s the perfect time to start cleaning and sprucing up your home! Let’s get to it!

The first is Declutter!

Whether you’re housebound or just have the spring cleaning bug, decluttering is the perfect place to start. I could go on and on about decluttering. (Actually I do, here in my Declutter Challenge!) But here, we’ll just go over the basics. There are SO many things in your home that seem to attract clutter. Start with your countertops and surfaces. Grab a medium sized basket or bucket, and go around your home. Take anything that doesn’t belong where it is and put it in the basket. Mail and keys on the kitchen countertop? Put them in the basket. A pair of scissors on the dining table? Put them in the basket. Once you’re finished, go through the basket and put everything away where it goes. As I always say, my kids will tell you, if everything has a home then you always know where to put it.

Having trouble finding a place to put the mail or the keys? Hang a hook on the wall near the door you come in and out of for keys. If you have a table in your entryway, put a basket there to put all of your incoming mail in. Whatever it is that you’re having trouble finding a place for, think about where it’s used most and put it in some sort of drawer, basket or container in that space. If it has a dedicated location, it’s more likely to make it there at the end of the day.

The second is to Organize!

Closet organization is one of those things that we don’t always have time to get to. But guess what? There’s plenty of time when you’re avoiding the virus! It’s easy to just throw something in a closet and shut the door. But now is the time to just do it. Start with the linen closet or wherever you keep your towels, sheets, etc. Take everything out and see what you’ve got. Are there things that don’t belong there? Put them in a pile. Assess the towels and sheets to see if any are worn and need to be discarded. Put those in a pile.

Next you may want to clean the shelves with a duster or wipes just to get rid of any fibers or dust before putting your clean items back in.
Before putting your sheets and towels back in the closet, make sure they’re folded neatly. I find the best way to store sheets is to put them inside of the matching pillow case. They’re kind of like “packets” and easy to grab and go.

Any toiletries or first aid items can be placed in a shoe box or bin so you can easily find what you need.
You can even add an over the door towel rack to hang tablecloths on to avoid wrinkles.

You can find a whole month’s worth of decluttering and organizing tips in the Declutter Challenge. It has one easy task per day on the calendar. But, with this whole stay home thing you could probably get more than one task done per day and breeze through the whole challenge in a couple of weeks!

The third is Clean Out Bathroom Cabinets!

It’s easy to let things get pushed to the way back of the bathroom cabinet and let it stay there forever! Take some time and really clean it out. Take everything out of it and clean the cabinet. Wipe it down with Lysol wipes if you have them. If not, make a bucket of soapy water. You’ll be ok.

Next, go through the pile of things you took out of the cabinet. Only keep what you need in that bathroom. Put anything that doesn’t belong into a pile and put it away when you’re done. If something is almost empty and you haven’t used it, throw it out. Then group all like items together. Plan where they’re going to go, and get some organizers or bins to keep things from tipping over and keep items together. Ice cube trays are great for hair ties and small items, and they can easily be stacked in a drawer. You can add sliding bins like the ones above or even add a piece of a shoe organizer to the door. Now you should be able to easily find and access whatever you need!

Don’t forget that the kids can help with these tasks!

Kids are great at sorting. Have them sort the toiletries from your bathroom cabinets, WITH supervision of course and depending on their age. They can put all the hair products together, etc. Then they can put them in the corresponding baskets or bins.
If you have items that need to be put away, hand the item to them and tell them exactly where to put it. Not only does this help you right now, but it also lets them know exactly where everything goes.
You can also give them a basket and have them go around and collect everything that is theirs that needs to be put away. Make a game, or a competition, out of it. See who can put away the most items in the least amount of time.
Kids can also dust. Hand them a swiffer and let them have at it. Who cares if they miss a spot? At least they’re getting some of it AND they’re keeping busy.
They can also create a donation box. Have them go through their toys, books or clothes and add items to the box that they no longer need or use. When this pandemic is all over there will be plenty of people in need that you can donate to.
You can also do the same with nonperishable food items. If there are items that you are not going to use why not donate them to your local food pantry?
In fact, here is a whole list of 20 Things You Can Get Rid of Now

Now that will at least get you started and keep you busy this weekend! Stay tuned next week for some more fun things to do while you’re home like creating a family game area and more…

Don’t forget that there are a bunch of free Tip Sheets to help you with any home project HERE

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