• Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Happy Simple Mom logo

Simple, Clutter-Free Living

  • Start Here
  • Home
    • Declutter
    • Organization
    • Cleaning
  • Simplify
    • Minimalism
  • Mom Life
  • Save Money
  • About Me
  • Recommendations
  • SHOP
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Disclosure
  • Start Here
  • Home
    • Declutter
    • Organization
    • Cleaning
  • Simplify
    • Minimalism
  • Mom Life
  • Save Money
  • About Me
  • Recommendations
  • Search
  • SHOP

14-Day Home Catch-Up Plan: Spring Cleaning During Social Distancing

March 15 //  by Brooke//  Leave a Comment

Sharing is caring!

129shares
  • Share 55

Stuck at home the next two weeks? Yeah, me too. 

We aren’t sick, but schools are closed, work is closed for many, and grocery shopping is done.  I don’t guess there is really much else to do, except maybe catch-up at home!

Did you know a clean, tidy home can actually make you feel better? It can lower your anxiety, make you feel energized, and generally put you in a better mood.

I’m not saying you should spend your entire “mini-break” doing housework, but a little effort each day can put you feeling pretty good about your home in just two weeks. 

Catching up at home will also ensure you have a comfortable, happy place to work and hang out with your family.

Clean and tidy living room

Here is your 14-Day Home Catch-Up Plan:

1 – Catch up on paperwork.

You know that pile of mail and paperwork that’s been sitting in the “to-do” spot for longer than you would like to admit?  Let’s tackle it.

I recommend doing this task early in your social distancing before you are sick of your sweet, dear family. 

No one wants to pay bills, file papers, and generally do anything financial when they are starting to dislike everyone around them. 

Need more help getting paperwork under control? Check out how my best tips for mail organization without a big DIY project!

2 – Polish all the furniture.

I love the smell of fresh furniture polish, and I love the look even more!

Grab a bottle of polish and a couple of dusting rags and get to work! This task won’t take long, and your home will be shiny and pretty. 

This is a great task for kids too.  If they’ve never dusted before, give them a quick lesson and then trust them to get it done.

Want to get your kids involved in more chores? Check out this free downloadable chore chart for kids.

3 – Wipe down your kitchen cabinets.

My grandmother wipes down all her kitchen cabinets daily. I’m almost sure of it.

Me, not so much.  I try to do it monthly.  They probably could handle it weekly.

Grab your favorite kitchen cleaner and get ready to put in some elbow grease.  Get all the “tacky film”, you know that grimy stuff that builds up, off and enjoy your sparkling clean kitchen.

After getting all the grime off, I enjoy an extra wipe-down using Murphy’s Oil.  It gives a nice, shiny look to your cabinets.

4 – Inventory your food.

With all the panic and runs on the grocery store, it’s easy to want to freak out.  Chances are though, you have more food than you think you have in your freezer, fridge and pantry.

Grab a notebook and create three separate pages.  Title each page, “Fridge”, “Freezer” and “Pantry”. 

Next, write down every single thing you have in your inventory. 

For example:

  • 3 lbs chicken breaks
  • ½ bag of frozen broccoli
  • 2 containers of yogurt
  • 5 eggs

You might learn you can survive for weeks off of what is in your pantry!

Feeling lost on how to survive not grocery shopping every week? Check out my No Spend Grocery Challenge.  It may be the tool you need to make it another few weeks.

5 – Do a repair that’s been on your to-do list.  

You know that repair that’s been on your to-do list for weeks, maybe months? Now is the time.

Pick a repair or project you can do with the tools on hand, and get it done.

Don’t worry about something being outside your wheel-house.  YouTube can literally teach you how to do anything.  (I learned how to drywall from YouTube.  Seriously, you can learn anything.)

6 – Wash ALL your bedding

I wash our sheets often.  I don’t wash our blankets and comforters as often. 

Open a window, air out your room, and wash ALL the bedding.  You will feel so good when you crawl into bed later tonight.

7 – Wash your windows, inside and out.

Just because you are social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t go outside your home! 

Check off this spring cleaning task no one really wants to do but we all enjoy it when it is done. 

Get your kiddos to help with washing the windows on the inside.  This is a task they can likely help with if they are in elementary school or older.

8 – Organize your spices.

You are going to be cooking at home a lot more often than you might be used to before this crazy time.

Pull all of your spices out.  Then, inventory them if you like.

Think about what spices you use and how often.

Some people like to organize their spices in alphabetical order.  That’s not my jam.  I like to organize by what I use.

Baking spices and baking additions go on the top shelf.  I bake less often than I cook. 

The weird spices we love but don’t use often, those go on the middle shelf.  The least used go in the very back, on a stair-stepping type shelf.  The more popular go towards the front.

The spices we use daily go on the bottom shelf, with the most used spices in the very front.  It works!

9 – Declutter and organize a storage closet

Had enough of your family? Go lock yourself in a storage closet.  Seriously.  It’s a place no one will want to help you!

Go find a box or two you’ve been meaning to tackle for YEARS, and start decluttering.   If you can’t go anywhere right now, consider moving the give-away pile to the front of the closet, to the trunk of your car, or to the garage. 

Finally, organize what is left.

10 – Declutter and organize your clothes closet.

If you are home a lot, you may be getting caught up on laundry.  Use this time to declutter your clothes you don’t wear that often or have been meaning to go through.

Look for clothes you haven’t work recently, still have tags on them, or don’t fit

Need more help? Check out these posts:

  • How to Declutter Your Closet Fast
  • How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe: Beginner’s Guide Included
  • 9 Proven Methods to Decluttering Your Closet Without Regrets

11 – Declutter and organize kids’ toys.

If you are spending more time with your kids than usual at home, you are probably getting a really good idea of the toys they continue to play with every day and the ones they skip over.

Use this opportunity to purge toys they have outgrown, don’t like, or that you hate.  (It’s ok to hate a toy and find it a new home.  I’m not judging you!)

Related Posts:

  • How to Manage Toy Clutter in 9 Simple Steps
  • Get Rid of Toys (With The Help of Your Kids)

12 – Declutter and organize your craft space.

If you find yourself not going anywhere and spending time doing more crafts and projects, use this time to be honest with yourself about the types of crafts you enjoy.

If you have a craft that used to be your thing, and now you don’t enjoy it anymore, move it to the give-away pile. 

Use this time at home to finish any projects too. 

Finally, organize what is left. 

Don’t go buying more craft supplies until you have used up what you have on hand!

Related post: Declutter and Organize Your Craft Room

13 – Tidy up your entry-way

Your entry-way is the first space you see when you or guests enter your home.  It can also set the tone for the rest of the space it flows into.

Use this time at home to tidy up your entry-way and organize things like shoes, coats, and any other items you store in an entry-way closet. 

I like to keep my shoes organized on a shoe rack in the entry-way closet.  Maybe you enjoy a basket or a door hanging organizer.  Find what works for your space, and get that project finally done!

14 – Clean out and detail your car.

OK, so your car isn’t inside of your home, but when you are finally able to travel freely without worry, you will have a spic and span car to travel in. 

Bonus, make your kids help.  They can empty out trash, see all the fun treats they left under the car seats, and generally make the task a little less daunting. 

14-Day Home Catch-Up Plan

If you are stuck at home for two weeks with your kids out of school and no businesses to really frequent, then now is the time for a home catch-up plan. 

Check off a quick task every day, and when we all no longer isolated, you will feel calmer and have a clean home!

Good luck!

Sharing is caring!

129shares
  • Share 55

Category: Cleaning

You may also like…

  • 11 Simple Tasks To Ease Into Decluttering
  • The Top 10 Areas to Declutter Before the Holidays
  • Pandemic Parenting: 12 Tiny Coping Strategies
  • The Ultimate Gift Guide for Minimalists | Useful Gifts for Everyone On Your List (2020)
  • 10 Brilliant Ways Minimalism Can Save You Money in 2021
Previous Post: « An Easy 30 Day Decluttering Challenge for Cleaning Out Your Clothes
Next Post: An Invitation… #100SimpleJoys #100SimpleJoys»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Join the Happy Simple Mom community:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Happy Simple MomHello, I’m Brooke! My goal is to share lessons I’ve learned to live simply and clutter-free with a family. Don’t let excess stuff and too many obligations weigh you down. Reduce your stress, and live a happy life!

Recent Posts

junk drawer full of stuff that needs decluttering

11 Simple Tasks To Ease Into Decluttering

The Top 10 Areas to Declutter Before the Holidays

mom doing yoga with her baby

Pandemic Parenting: 12 Tiny Coping Strategies

The Ultimate Gift Guide for Minimalists | Useful Gifts for Everyone On Your List (2020)

Join a 5-Day Decluttering Challenge!
  • Privacy Policy and Disclosure
  • Contact

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2021 Happy Simple Mom · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.