Cleaning Up Before #Blissdom

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In less than 3 weeks I’ll be headed to Blissdom, my favorite blogging conference, as a Blogging 101 Community Leader! Admittedly, it’s my favorite because it’s the only blogging conference I’ve ever attended. But it’s also one where babies are welcomed and loved on big time so I’m excited my little 10 week old will get to tag along! Plus, Blissdom was actually a big motivator to start iDreamofClean so it will alway hold a special place in my heart.

There have been many, many posts written about what to bring, who to know, etc. but I thought I’d take a little different spin on how to successfully prepare for Blissdom. You know, one that relates to the overarching subject here at iDreamofClean: Cleaning!

Cleaning Up Before #Blissdom

Have you ever noticed that you are the most caught up at work before you go on vacation? You stay late to organize your desk, empty your in-box, and plow through your to-do list.

Well the same thing can be done at home before traveling. It’s the perfect opportunity to clean some of the things you usually don’t bother cleaning like…

Wipe down and organize make-up cases or bags. I don’t know about you, but anything holding my make-up gets d.i.r.t.y. very quickly. Powdered blush and eye shadow can quickly cover your make-up bag. We see it drop but rarely do anything to clean it up. So, take the opportunity to clean your make-up case with these quick steps:

• Empty all the contents from your make-up bag.
• Determine if any of the make-up is expired and should be trashed.
• Wipe, scrub, bleach (okay, don’t bleach) all that gunk out the best you can. It may take some elbow grease!
• Place make-up and other toiletries back in the make-up bag, being sure to only take what you actually use on a regular basis.
• Trash or store anything deemed not appropriate for the make-up case.

Clean make-up brushes. While you’re cleaning out your make-up bag, take a few minutes to also clean your make up brushes. It’s actually quite easy. Your brushes will be clean, you won’t be spreading germs all over your face, and your make-up will actually apply better. That means you’ll look and feel great at the conference!

Disinfect toothbrush. Okay this isn’t for everyone. But if you’ve been sick you might want to disinfect your toothbrush or at least get a new one. There’s no reason to have another flare up when you’re planning to mingle and have the time of your life!

Straighten up your closet. There’s been much talk about picking out clothes and even getting a few new outfits for this conference. If you’re stressing about what to wear, don’t worry, just put a smile on your face and you’ll look great! I know that’s easier said than done, though, so here’s a recommendation on how to clean out your closet as you pack for Blissdom:

• As you look though your closet, you most likely will find at least 10 pieces of clothing you don’t like before you get to the ones you like. Take what doesn’t fit or look great on you, put it in a bag, and immediately take it to the trunk of your car to drop off at the nearest donation center. I’m certainly not suggesting that you clean out your entire closet, but since you’re taking this time to focus on your clothing, you might as well streamline your closet in the process!
• If you are buying new outfits for the conference, remove one piece of rarely used or worn out clothing for each new item you buy. We all know most of us only wear 20% of our clothes, so use this One-in-One-out method to eliminate a cluttered closet in the first place.

Disinfect your phone, iPad, etc. We all know that this group is one of the most connected around. Why else would they set up an entire internet network just for us to use? That means we’ll be following the twitter stream, texting, and taking notes on our phones and tablets. So, before you arrive at the conference, take the opportunity to disinfect your iPhone, iPad or other touch screen device. Oh, and then you might want to do it again when you get home!

Clean up the house. If you are extra motivated, feel free to straighten up the house or prepare some meals for your family while you’re gone. Or maybe, just maybe this will be a good time for your kids to use the skills you’ve been teaching them all year so THEY can clean the house for YOU!

I personally cleaned out my make-up bag this morning, but have yet to do anything else to prepare for the conference. From the looks of the #Blissdom and #BlissdomNewbies twitter stream everyone else has it all together. So, if you see a disheveled someone with a little bambino, that’s probably me. Come over and say, “hi!”. I’ll do the same!

linked to WFMW