It is Blogmas Day 13 and wanted to share some more of my Autumn clean up. Yes Autumn is now over, as we are now into Winter, however I still want to share the areas I cleared our and cleaned up to help inspire you, if you want to do the same, to use these different seasons to do so. 

My storage boxes and bins can easily get clogged up and so I will during the months of Autumn, Winter and spring give these a good old fashioned spruce up. 

I go through any paper work, books and anything that is no longer being used or I care for. Storage bins can get very dusty too, so to clear the dust as my husband can really suffer if not, it is important that these are thoroughly cleaned out. 

The storage box above is one I keep in my sons closet, which now since it was cleaned up and cleared, has his bedding in it. This one was from Very. 

The Kon Mari Method of "Does it bring me joy?" does ring in my head now when I sort through my home. 

Bins are great but they can still hold clutter and become a rubbish tip, rather than somewhere that stores valuable items. 

There is no before picture, as I will often forget to take one because I get into the mindset of  "I just have to do it" sometimes rather than delay it any further. 

Keeping things to a minimum is helping a lot and when sorting out I will often find things especially in storage bins and boxes, that I have been searching for, for ages and found them in there. 

Breaking it up, doing bit by bit really helps and keeping things minimum is too and the other thing I love to do, is creating a Window Display. See above of the one I did of my son's bedroom window. 

I don't need loads of stuff to keep me happy, just the items that I need, brings me joy and keeps these areas tidy. Once they are cleared and organised helps make me feel better within myself. 

I hope this helps you clean up these areas clear and clean too, and share any tips you may have below, if you wish. 

So I will continue to blog throughout Blogmas. To be honest because I have been keeping up with my declutter and having a summer clean out too, I haven't had to do that much, but it doesn't mean that they won't. It is a work progress like everything else.

Please check out my Home page where there are links to my other Blogmas posts. 

Have a great weekend and I will blog again tomorrow on Day number 14.

Many thanks for reading,


Carrie X 

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The areas in which I wanted to focus on this year's Seasonal clean up is the kitchen and bathroom, because boy can these areas get clogged up with stuff. Food that never gets used and I had baking stuff from last year. Yes I am afraid this is true, I hold my hands up on that. 

So decided to go through my cupboards and have a good old clean out and clean up. 

Above is a picture of our main food cupboard and this got better organised, such as spreads we use for breakfast such as peanut butter and chocolate spread, spare teabags, which we stock up on and maple syrup at the top. 

Soups, tins of baked beans and spaghetti bolognese on the second shelf.

All condiments, Pasta and sauces and ketchup and brown sauce, on the third shelf.

Next shelf we have sachets of sauces, gravy and tinned fruit and custard tins.

I basically arranged my food cupboard and cleaned it through so I could go through everything, where yes, some jars of sauce and packets of noodles got wasted as they were well out of date, I am ashamed to say, and put everything that was still okay to eat with the label facing forwards so I could see everything we had. 

We have got better in not wasting food since and only buy now what we really need for the week. 

I find you can spend so much on food that you don't realised until items end up in the bin how much money you have wasted. So I am going to make sure all food is eaten before it is too late. 

(Here are the before picture I remembered to take in our bathroom, of our main shelf in our tall bathroom cabinet where we store our toiletries on that we use regularly and yes that is the mess and dirt they have created.

Bathrooms before you know can get so overflowed with stuff that they will develop dirt especially on shelves. 

It was a must that this area got cleaned, and sorted out, and this also meant that my bathroom windowsill was cleared and tidied aswell. 

To clean this area I used my very favourite anti-bacterial wipes (see below) from Poundland, and got this area spick and span. 

Above is the aftermath of my clean up of my bathroom shelf in our bathroom cabinet, and what a difference? 

So satisfying if I do say so myself. It was well worth the Saturday morning in which this was done. 

Above is how my bathroom windowsill looked before it was cleared, and below is after it had been cleared. 

It is amazing what a good old seasonal clean up can do to an area. 

We try not to store too many things on windowsills because these areas as can become super cluttered and things can quickly become mouldy the same with keeping items around the bath. 

If you store items on the windowsill then keeping them in a storage bin is the key, and what we keep in here, are sponges for my son, sanitary towels and Henry's body cream. 

There are some conkers on the windowsill too, because spiders love bathrooms, so if you don't like a spider in your bath then get those conkers ready. 

The other items we keep in our bathroom which gets locked away in our tall bathroom cabinet at the top in a closed cupboard is our bathroom cleaning items, such as bleach, sprays and spare cloths. Keep them out of sight and out of reach of children, because they can if not careful think these are new things to play with, which they are of course not. 

I would do the same for items such as razors, make up and nail polishes and removers. 

Spare items do not need to be displayed and kept out of sight, and as long as you know that they are there, that is okay. 

So that's it for this blog, and I will post more. Sorry for the delay, it is a very busy time of year for me as I have many birthdays and then Christmas but will get out more blogs on my seasonal clean ups this year, as we continue on. 

Please make sure you check out my other sites I write on listed below:

https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com/
https://everydaylivingandlifestyle.wordpress.com/
https://theparentingadventurestipsandtricks.wordpress.com/
https://theparentingadventuresthebirthofmyson.wordpress.com
https://sportsandfitnesspassion.wordpress.com/

Many thanks for reading, 


Carrie X 

Yes it has! My Autumn Clean Up has begun and well and truly under way. 

The first place I started was the top of my Cube units. The one beside my bed and the one by my built in closet. 

The tops were full of clutter and was really getting on my nerves.

I know I have only myself to blame, but as a busy mum it can be hard to juggle organisation and a busy schedule so doing my Seasonal clean ups really helps discipline me to declutter and take action. 

As you can see from the picture above it was a mess, with a Filofax I no longer used, perfume bottle that was empty, a bottle of children's Calpol that had been there for a while, so of course threw these away.

My makeup caddy was filthy, and so cleared this out, and disposed of some not used stick on nails, a eye pencil I knew I wouldn't use and some makeup remover which had been there over a year or two. I will no longer waste money on such items.

I have moved my makeup to one area, my Studio unit.   

As I was clearing this space I was already feeling a level of satisfaction and accomplishment.

The picture above is of my makeup which is in my studio unit. It is good to have it all in one area now rather having to move to o and fro, I can just get there and it is beside our tall mirror so perfect location.

I will be making more space in this area as I know I don't need all those makeup/toiletry bags, but keeping it like this for now until I have given my cube units a good clearing out.

With decluttering and having a busy schedule doing little bits at a time can be the best way. Doing too much in one go can easily blow you out, and destroy your motivation.

This is the after picture of the top of my Black cube unit by my bed, and as you can see it is a lot better. On top is a shoe box I recycled as storage of some bits and bobs, like my USB stick,  some  broken jewellery that I do plan to fix, just items I want to keep for now but not sure what to do with. 

Then on top of this is an opened dated week-to-week planner which I have used to display any important events or appointments I need to remember. 

Next to this, are my deodorant sprays, hair refresher and hand cream.

I really love this area now, as it is clutter free and minimal, with a few and I mean a few items in storage. I cleared out my shoe box too, as this was full of items I no longer needed aswell.

So all in all a really good fresh area now, and makes me feel within a whole lot better.

I also cleared the top of my other cube unit, as again it was cluttered with some out of date Filofax planner inserts  as I had accidentally bought two lots on Amazon. They were for my financial planner.

There was a children's story book CD, a hair band and just rubbish. So cleared this off. 

Sorry that there isn't a before picture, I started clearing this off and only after I cleaned it, did I remember that I hadn't taken a before picture. However see above, is the finished result.

I used Mr Sheen to polish and to dust it off, and now there is a lovely photo frame, which I bought from Poundland and has a picture of my Great Grandmother, my mums dads mother, an owl candle from I believe was from Poundland to, a a Friends Always photo frame, which I found in a charity shop and  the photo is from my wedding with my friends I have known since school and a clock which I purchased from Avon.

There are a few conkers to help keep the spiders away that creep in to keep warm doing the Autumn and Winter months.

I like once again that it is clutter free,  minimal and pleasant to look at now.

The other areas I cleaned up in my husband and I's bedroom was the tops of my plastic storage units. I see from the photo my husband has got to do his one, however mine as you can see from the photo are clutter free.

There were clothes that needed to be put away, which I did, my hair dryer, a pink tie that I know my husband wasn't never gonna wear again, a bit of string from one of his fleeces, a tie from I think a dress I had, had, but no longer do, and another toiletry bag, which I put in my Studio unit.

The Plastic storage units are I think from Wilko and Homebase.

Gave these a dust and hey presto the area was cleared and cleaned. HOORAY!

​I will try my hardest to keep these areas clutter free.

​I also cleared the windowsills. As you can see in the picture above the one on the left, this is of  my which was okay accept that there was another clock the same style as the one on my cube unit, so decided to use this for the guest bedroom once I get it to work. All it needs is a battery so will get this done at some point.

The candles were okay, but had these for a while and so want to burn these out when it is safe, best to do it at night when son is in bed or away, as he had the tendency to grab such items if they are reachable. These candles if you wanted to know were from Avon again. I would like to eventually get a more Autumnal candle to suit the season better.

In the before picture you can see an owl photo frame, which had been broken, so needed replacing.

Plus I wanted some other photos to be there instead.

Moving onto the after picture which is to the right of the screen is the revamped version and I am pretty pleased with it. Very cost effective. The frames were from Poundland, I also got two little white shells from Dunelm. One for my windowsill and one for my husbands. These were only £2.50 and of course as mentioned I kept the candles.

I really like this space now and feel it is more pleasing to the eye than it was before. It is nice to create areas which can make you feel  calm, relaxed and at peace. I printed the photos that are in the frames using an APP called FreePrints. 

Onto my husbands  windowsill which I also changed See photo above. The photo frame again is from Poundland, the shell with the conkers on it was from Dunelm, the skull ashtray which my husband uses to keep knick-knacks  we bought when we lived in Bognor Regis  and they had a Gothic kind of shop. The skull beer canter is from a shop in Epsom called Quest.

So I will add more as I continue on with my Autumn Clean up, but for now I hope this has inspired you to also have a clear out and get ready for the new season ahead.

Remember I also share blogs on this site on my Fashion/Books/Gallery/Gift Idea pages. In Managing the home you can find my Seasonal Clean up blogs page, I share details of Homewares , about Filofaxes and Planners  and free Printables  and I also write blogs on WordPress.com too (see below):

https://everydaylivingandlifestyle.wordpress.com/
https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com/
https://theparentingadventures.wordpress.com/
https://theparentingadventurestipsandtricks.wordpress.com/
https://theparentingadventurestipsandtricks.wordpress.com/​

Many thanks for reading.


Carrie Challoner 

P.S: I am also around on Pinterest and on social media (see below):

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Facebook:
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Yes it is that time of the year again where I like to have a good old deep clean and change certain areas of my home around ready to begin a new season.

"Preparing for the Autumn"

​"Help clear those bugs"

Today my husband and I sanitized and deep cleaned our home, using Flash Cleaning Spray, All In One Dettol spray, kitchen towel and anti-bacterial wipes. Then after once the cleaning is done we spray each room with, Wilko's Scented Room Mists, to help make each room smell nice and refreshed. 

So this morning my husband did the kitchen and Vacuumed the entire house using our Dyson Cordless Vacuum and I focused on cleaning the floors such as the kitchen and our living room floor, which has wooden flooring, used our Flash spray mop. I love using this as it really helps save time and gets the job done. 

You do need to change the pad underneath at the bottom of the spray mop, but really helps clear that dirt. 

As you can see from the photos above, I cleaned all areas in which our son in particular could come into contact with, as he has already started to get sick, and has a nasty cough, so I cleaned all the windowsills, door handles, our Hi-Fi, fireplace, TV units, his bedroom chest of draws, my cube units, my studio unit in areas where he can easily reach, the corner units we have, my husbands bedroom unit that is beside our bed, the hanging shelves and our bed which has a TV installed in it. 

To deep clean and sanitize the kitchen he used Flash Cleaning spray and Dettol All In One Spray and cleaned the kitchen units, the doors and handles, the microwave and oven and I then gave the sink a good old scrub. 

When it comes to using these two products, the Flash Kitchen spray, spray it then leave it a couple of minutes to do its work, then wipe away with a damp cloth or use kitchen towel. 

​With the Dettol All in One spray, you can spray it and leave it. 

We usually get our cleaning products from either Poundland or Wilko's, as they are the same products you get in supermarkets, but I find the pricing to be a lot more inexpensive.

Then as mentioned above we then spray each room with the Wilko's Room Mists. 

When it comes to Polishing I always use Mr Sheen or Pledge. Then Polishing was done yesterday.

If you need some more inspiration then check out these videos below. One is by Emily Norris, Clear out 100 things! Extreme Declutter and Minimalise.

The other one is by Do It On a Dime, about being unmotivated to clean, it is an ultimate clean with me video. See below:

"So are you ready to spruce up your home?"

I would love to know what products you use to clean your home with and how you declutter. You can fill out the contact form below or leave a comment below.

​Lets get cleaning and ready for the Autumn, and as it is quite wet and rainy at the moment, well it is in the UK lets take advantage of that, put some tunes on and lets clean our homes. 

Please check out my other pages, where I share books I have read and written, fashion and beauty, Gift Ideas, Filofax and Planners, photos in my gallery page, Homewares, and Printables. 

I also write blogs on WordPress.com. See below:

https://everydaylivingandlifestyle.wordpress.com
https://theparentingadventures.wordpress.com
https://theparentingadventurestipsandtricks.wordpress.com
https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com 
https://sportsandfitnesspassion.wordpress.com 

Many thanks for reading, 


​Carrie X 

First of all, sorry for not posting any more videos of my Spring clean up I did this year, but the videos didn't come out so well, so wanted to spare you with the pain of watching them. 

However this year I not only had a spring clean up, but had a massive declutter over the summer too.

I cleared out my cube units, as they were full with books, which were overwhelming me, so I decided to be ruthless and clear some out, and keep only those I know I am going to read. 

I have now made a rule with my self that I will only buy a book once one book has been read, and I am going to try my hardest not buy any more books until I have read the ones I have got.

​This has helped me make space to keep some items of clothing as I don't have much closet space.

Speaking of my of my Closet I cleared out the top part as it was full of Christmas decor, which is now in the shed, some hats and belt that I was never going to wear again, shoes I have never worn and some other bits of I can only describe a junk.

I also cleared out my wardrobe and was able to make space to hang some more clothing. 

I have stored my bags underneath.


I think am going to make clearing out my wardrobe a regular thing, perhaps every quarter of the year. 

I no longer want to keep junk, but what brings me joy as like Marie Kondo says and what I need. 

The other area my husband and I decluttered is the living room. We took one of the corner units and put this upstairs and now only have two in the living room, which keeps our CDS, my recipe books and journals. 

We also got rid of our Cinema Surround sound as we never used it, our Xbox which Elv has kept for Henry in the future, but stored this in the shed and now all we have on our TV unit, is the TV, some DVD's (mainly my workout ones) and our Now TV box. 

As you can see from the picture above we bought a new sofa, which I think I have shown, but not sure. This was from Oak Furniture Land, in New Malden. 

We wanted to create a living room space and a dining area, so we could all sit at the table together and eat our meals, great way of having some family time.

Here is the Dining area of our living room. The table and chairs are from Argos. 

I also revamped our Fireplace. I was going to get some nice candles but Henry (our son) has the tendency to grab things like candles so wasn't safe to do this, so I decided to use the space to display some photos. 

The Frames: Starting from left to right. First one was a present from my Step-sister and is a picture of my family at mine and Elv's wedding, the second one I bought from local store in Wimbledon, but sorry can't remember the name of it, it is showing a family photo of my mum's Christening, the third one is my husbands family at our wedding, which I bought off Amazon and the last one is of Henry and my husband, which I created for my husband one Father's day from Poundland. 

The vase at the bottom was given to use by my mum, no idea where she bought it, but the flowers, which are fake are from Wilkos.

My husband helped me with the guest bedroom by moving our white bookcase which keeps my diaries, scrapbooks, photo albums, craft tools and some stickers into the built in closet. 

We also cleared the top and now only keeps a storage container, which keeps some files and important documents. 

This is my office space, but I don't really tend to use it now, so I am thinking of changing this at some point, but I am not sure of how I would like it. Here I keep more stickers, diaries, craft tools and some CD's. 

We wanted to clear off the tops and keep as minimal amount of stuff as possible. It is good to have such a cleared area, but like I say this won't be looking like this forever and will be changing. 

We also in the summer decided to give our garden a bit of a makeover and so my husband cleared the unwanted bushes, and tree that was there, and created some flower beds for me. 

The Flowers and plants were all from Homebase, as they were closing down, and were doing some great offers on flowers and plants.

We also created a centre piece in between the flower beds too (see below).

The pot we have had since we moved in, the flowers are from Homebase. 

My husband put down some Blue Slate Cornish Stones, which he bought from the Ashtead Garden Centre and Homebase.

He also bought a Water Feature which goes into the corner of our garden, from Primrose.

It really has been good to have a clear out this summer and I think I will continue doing so as it really has helped us make the most of our summer days and good to get ready for each season. 

Many thanks for reading

Carrie X 

Hi everyone and welcome to my seasonal clean up page, where I post videos and blog posts of my seasonal clean ups I like to do each year. 

Here is video 1 Part 1, as I have had to film this in three parts, of my first Spring clean up video for 2019.

Here is my last video of Winter Clean up, opening up some presents my son never got around to opening and sorting through his book collection. My spring clean up, has started to be film too so watch this space more videos coming soon. 

Here is a new video showing me cleaning  out my son's top draw of his chest of draws. I will do more videos cleaning out the rest in my Spring Clean up, but really wanted to get his top draw tidied and more organised. 

I apologize that the video has frozen in parts I am process of trying to fix these issues for my next videos. 

If you need some motivation to get cleaning then check these inspiring video.

Check out my new Winter clean video, showing how I have reorganized the bags in my wardrobe and belts and shoes. Plus showing my tidied Guest Bedroom as I cleared all the paperwork.