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Davonne Parks

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The Difference Three Hours Can Make

Cleaning Encouragement· My Messes & Successes

19 Aug

I rose early, resisting the temptation to snuggle close to my husband and drift back to dreamland. Tiptoeing across the hardwood floor to the kitchen, I squinted at the glowing numbers on our 1980’s microwave. Three hours. That’s all I had. I knew I couldn’t do everything I needed to in that amount of time.

But I could do something.

3 hours to a haven

So I wiped the previous evening’s mascara from my eyes, brushed my teeth, and pulled open curtains to let the morning light softly awaken my home.

Time to work, I told myself softly.

As I hurried, I kept silently echoing a phrase: Love them enough to give them a soft place to land. Focused on that thought, I rapidly waded through clutter, scrubbed counters and swept floors, one eye continually on the clock.

Only three hours.

Here’s the difference:

Kitchen Before and After

“Our kitchens are where we pour love into the foods we make, reconnect as a family, entertain guests, sit and linger over coffee with friends, and where many childhood memories are made.” – Davonne Parks, Chaos to Clutter-Free

Living Room Before and After

“Remember that the less there is, the less there is to clean. And, the less stuff there is, the more usable space you will have.” – Davonne Parks, Chaos to Clutter-Free

Bathroom Hallway Before After

Wanting an easy success, I tackled the bathroom and hallway next. What you’re seeing on the toilet paper holder isn’t toilet paper – those are paper towels that I tore into fourths. #KeepingItReal

Bedroom Before and After

It took exactly 30 minutes to make the master bedroom feel clean and cozy(ish) again. Hemming curtains and replacing the mirror are on my mental to-do list.

girls room cleanup

And then I decided that, bad allergies or not, it was time for my sleeping beauties to rise and shine.

playroom cleanup

By this time I was tired and wanted to stop cleaning. But I decided I could push through for just a little longer and do a 30-minute power session in our school/play room.

Far from perfect. But so much better. Three hours (and sixteen minutes). That’s all it took to create a haven, a soft place for my family to land, at the end of a long day.

How would you bless your home if you had three extra hours?

home is a haven

$500 Cash Giveaway

Friends, I am so excited to share with you that housekeeping isn’t the only thing I’ve been working on – I’ve also gotten together with a group of bloggers to bless a family with $500 (Paypal) CASH!

Our hope is that we can monetarily bless a family so they can pay off a bill, be able to have their kids participate in extra curricular activities, begin an emergency fund, or take a little weekend getaway.

500CashGiveaway

For your chance to win $500 CASH, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter –

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends August 25th, 2015 at 11:59pm EDT.  Must be at least 18 years of age.  Selected winner will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.

I’d love to hear – what would you do with an extra $500?

38 Comments

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Comments

  1. Teresa says

    August 20, 2015 at 7:23 am

    Take my grandkids to an amusement park, have been working slot of hours all summer.

    Reply
    • Davonne says

      September 26, 2015 at 11:51 pm

      That sounds lovely, Teresa!

      Reply
  2. Jessica whitd says

    August 20, 2015 at 7:58 am

    $500 would be an incredible blessing to our family, it would allow us to pay off several bills that are hanging over our heads. Ones that we just don’t have the money for right now.

    Reply
  3. Sara says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:25 am

    I would use to buy a laptop for homeschooling.

    Reply
  4. Stephanie Phelps says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:48 am

    This money would bless our family by giving me the money to make a better space for our homeschooling! Buying the table and chairs and supplies!

    Reply
  5. Diana Scholz says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:58 am

    This giveaway would do more than bless my family. I am a single mother and going through a bit of a rough patch finance wise! I would use this win to catch up on some bills and take a big grocery shopping trip!

    Reply
  6. Heather says

    August 20, 2015 at 9:22 am

    What an Awesome Giveaway! We are entering a tight season financially as my husband is in school, but also has back problems so is taking off more work than usual. Baby #2 is also on the way! This would help with groceries & bills during this time 😉

    Reply
  7. Melissa Lynch says

    August 20, 2015 at 9:26 am

    Winning this giveaway would bless our family by helping rebuild our emergency fund that we’ve had to use again and again (and again) this year; it would give my husband (and myself) peace.

    Reply
  8. Molly says

    August 20, 2015 at 10:16 am

    How cool! Y’all are so sweet! This could certainly help a family. We are so close to {finally} paying off our car — this would go a long way to get that done. (The first of our “snowballs” to debt free living.)

    Reply
  9. Regina says

    August 20, 2015 at 10:44 am

    That’s an awesome giveaway! If I won, l would pay off some medical bills and bless someone else in turn.

    Reply
  10. Jill says

    August 20, 2015 at 1:18 pm

    What a wonderful giveaway! Thank you. If we won, we would put this towards paying off some of our bills on our way to being debt-free again!

    Reply
  11. Elizabeth says

    August 20, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    If we are blessed with winning the $500, it would go toward some car repairs and the rest in the emergency fund toward rebuilding that!

    Reply
  12. carol clark says

    August 20, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    this would help pay bills for a month so we could catch up and would be great to start saving for christmas when the bills are paid

    Reply
  13. Angela says

    August 20, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    I would use the money to pay on our ever increasing medical bills.

    Reply
  14. jennifer says

    August 20, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    I think I would use save the money for Christmas. I hope to get my kids e-readers to help with their schoolwork.

    Reply
  15. Trisha says

    August 20, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    We would use the money to pay some bills and pay for a birthday party for our son.

    Reply
  16. Jennie says

    August 20, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    This would be such a treat. It would be so nice to go on a little vacation with this money! 🙂

    Reply
  17. Kim says

    August 20, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    It would be awesome to win the $500 and use it to help pay for some much needed home repairs! Thank you!

    Reply
  18. M.Clark says

    August 21, 2015 at 1:57 am

    This cash would help with paying bills.

    Reply
  19. Elisa says

    August 21, 2015 at 2:45 am

    It’s hard to pick just one! We’re having a cash flow problem right now as I’ve stopped working in preparation for baby number three (due in two weeks!). So just keeping on top of the essentials without having to go further into debt would be great!

    Reply
  20. Julia says

    August 21, 2015 at 10:39 am

    We’d use it to help with extra curricular activities line soccer and gymnastics

    Reply
  21. Kellie W says

    August 21, 2015 at 10:49 am

    We have some much needed technology updates (for school) that we are holding off on until the money is available.

    Reply
  22. Kaeli says

    August 21, 2015 at 11:06 am

    We are in the year where all our large appliances are starting to go, our washing machine is slowly dying (no more repairs can be done), our microwave has started to growl, the water heater is passing the 10 year mark (so we know it is a matter of time) and our dryer is having episodes, ha! This would bless us with extra cash to get appliances replaced.

    Reply
  23. Mallory says

    August 21, 2015 at 11:26 am

    It would bless us in so many ways! We hit a financial road block several months ago and have since been struggling to get back on our feet. We’re getting there slowly but surely!

    Reply
  24. Rachel @ Smart Mom Smart Ideas says

    August 22, 2015 at 11:36 am

    It would be a blessing to meet a number of expenses we have especially with back to school.

    Reply
  25. Candy says

    August 23, 2015 at 7:06 am

    I would help my daughter pay for college tuition and books.

    Reply
  26. Marlo says

    August 24, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    I live your blog and your heart. Thank you for writing and for the giveaway chance. The money would bless our large family as we school and as we look to make repairs we have waited to make to our home.

    Reply
  27. Bekah says

    August 25, 2015 at 8:30 am

    Great idea! $500 would be awesome for our family. My youngest needs therapy for sensory/reflex issues and it would help pay for some sessions and needed equipment. Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply
  28. Jen E says

    August 25, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    Winning this would really bless my family. We have been on a tight budget lately and we have been looking to purge our closet and splurge on updating with just a few new (to us) pieces to complete the closet, rather than a whole bunch of – this is just ok – that currently fills it.

    Reply
  29. Hannah Adams says

    September 18, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    I LOVE this post! It was most encouraging to me how you started out by making that always-tough decision to just get out of bed and get started! (That’s always my biggest challenge!) 😉 But I know the rewards are always amazing, as your pictures show. What a simple transformation that helps the inner peace of every family member!

    I’m reading a book right now called Shelter for the Spirit: How to Make Your Home a Haven in a Hectic World by Victoria Moran. It is very, very good! I know we kind of have similar reading-interests, so I thought I’d recommend it if you haven’t heard of it already, since it goes right along with your post! I have it checked out from our local library!

    I love everything you write and I love you!

    Reply
    • Davonne says

      September 26, 2015 at 11:48 pm

      Thank you so much, Hannah! I have not heard of that book – I will have to check it out because you make wonderful book selections. I hope you’re adjusting well with your new move – email or call me anytime <3

      Reply
  30. Molly Donohue says

    September 23, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Thank you Davonne, for the inspiring post on how to help create a home haven in 3 hours-ish. Really loved the pictures and the minutes included! How encouraging! I found your site from the Daily Marriage Prayers I get via email from Darlene Schacht (Time-Warp Wife Ministries). I am looking forward to the 31 days of Prayer through Proverbs.

    What a special blessing you bestowed on Janelle W with the $500 cash giveaway you had in August. That gave me chills!

    I’m looking forward to returning to your site time and time again.
    Keep doing what you’re doing!

    Joyfully,

    Molly

    Reply
    • Davonne says

      September 26, 2015 at 11:47 pm

      Thank you for your kind encouragement Molly! I am looking forward to the series as well, working on it thus far has been an incredible honor. So glad you’re joining in.

      Reply
  31. Liz says

    December 5, 2015 at 8:15 pm

    What a great blog post! I really needed it; seeing the before and afters along with how long it took you opened my eyes to what I really can accomplish. Often times I get so overwhelmed with the mess in our small apartment full of 5 people that I just don’t know where to start.

    Reply
    • Davonne says

      December 5, 2015 at 11:18 pm

      Thank you so much, Liz! I can imagine that keeping an apartment organized with 5 people in it is a challenge. Here are a few online spaces I think may help you:

      1) When your house is just too small article: http://www.davonneparks.com/house-isnt-big-enough/
      2) A short video I made for when housekeeping feels overwhelming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSxwVG_k3LE
      3) Top 10 Housekeeping Tips series that I’m currently running on my new blog: http://www.thetidymom.com/category/top-ten-housekeeping-tips/
      4) The private Tidy Up club on Facebook, where the community shares photos, inspiration, and encouragement on a near-daily basis: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405997082909230/

      I can’t wait to hear about the difference three hours makes in your home!

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    February 14, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    […] Clean the kitchen and light a candle while dinner is in the oven. […]

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  2. When The Perfect Plans Go Awry says:
    May 2, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    […] We can now clean the entire house in three hours, because often, three hours is really all we have. […]

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  3. How to Maintain the Progress You’ve Made in Your Home says:
    May 16, 2017 at 6:01 am

    […] Regularly give your home a little extra time to take care of anything the fifteen minutes couldn’t do. The more cleaning sessions you have planned each week, the better, because a few day’s worth of stuff is easier to clean up than a full week’s. And, if you have multiple cleaning sessions scheduled each week and need to skip one, you know you’ll have another coming up soon. […]

    Reply

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