I keep my house clean. For the most part. I make sure it is always presentable when people walk through my doors. However, if you were to open a closet or drawer or cupboard, I would be petrified! My house is like a Monet. Looks good from afar - but far from good close up. But I want to change that. .and I challenge you to do the same! Following is a list of 30 days worth of organizing. When you try to tackle all at once {or even the thought of trying}, it is so overwhelming! You will quit before you even begin. However, taking it one day at a time. . .one small task. . . .very doable! Get a few totes, trash bags and boxes together. If you do a yearly garage sale, get out the tags and start marking as you store {Tip from a friend - Brilliant!}. If you donate to thrift stores, get those bags/boxes ready. If you save clothes for another sibling/friend/family, get those totes ready! If you sell on eBay {me} start a "need to list" tote. Join me in 30 days of Organized fun.
Day 1 - Junk Drawer{s} I have one in my kitchen where all things that have no place go. It is the catch all.
Day 2 - Pantry
Day 3 - Fridge/Freezer
Day 4 - Kitchen Cupboards
Day 5 - Coat Closet/Entry way Closet
Day 6 - Linen Closet
Day 7 - Kid #1 Closet If you have no kids. .BONUS 4 day break!
Day 8 - Kid #2 Closet If you only have 1 kid. . BONUS 3 day break!
Day 9 - Kid #3 Closet If you only have 2 kids. . {Why did I keep having kids?!}. . .2 day break!
Day 10-Kid #4 Closet No I don't have 4 kids. . .but I needed a break too! :)
Day 11-Master Bedroom Closet
Day 12-Bathroom #1 Under the sink/cabinet If you only have one bathroom {I'm jealous on bathroom cleaning day!} . .BONUS 2 days off!
Day 13-Bathroom #2 Under the sink/cabinet If you only have two bathrooms. . take a day off!
Day 14-Bathroom #3 Under the sink/cabinet Why did we add that extra bathroom?! If you have more than 3 bathrooms, I'm so sorry. I hope you have a maid :) Please finish #4, #5 and so on. .today.
Day 15-Master Bedroom Dresser{s} TODAY we are half way through our mission to be organized!
Day 16-Kid #1 Dresser{s} Again, here we go with the kids. . you know the routine.
Day 17-Kid #2 Dresser{s}
Day 18-Kid #3 Dresser{s}
Day 19-Kid #4 Dresser{s} By now you must have TON of stuff for your garage sale/donation!
Day 20-Laundry Room and/or space I honestly have a dungeon for a laundry room space. .but here is some great inspiration {ahh someday} Laundry Room Inspiration
Day 21-Living Room - clean out baskets, straighten up the entertainment center, clean the drawers in the end tables/coffee table
Day 22-Living Room/Den/Entertainment Room #2 - same as the living room
Day 23-Toy Box{s} NO! Not the dreaded Toy Box!!! Get your kiddos involved in this one. Chances are there are toys that have been buried for so long, they will feel like it's Christmas all over. Replace batteries. Find all the pieces to the puzzles. . all the blocks to the shape sorter. .all the accessories to the dolls/barbies. .you get the idea. *If you have a lot of toys that your children have grown out of and want to donate, contact your local women's shelters or children's hospitals. ..most of the time they are open and thankful for the donations.
Day 24-Buffet/Addl. Cabinets
Day 25-Office Desk Another "catch-all"
Day 26-Under the kitchen sink
Day 27-Book Shelf Again, refer to Day 23. . OR contact your local school {depending on the maturity of the books}. I know my son's teacher was thrilled when I gave her a box of old kids books.
Day 28-Car What?!?! That's not IN my house. Well, it's part of YOU. Get rid of the fossilized french fries under the seat. . .clean out all the clutter. Vacuum it out, Windex the windows, armor all the seats/interior. THEN, take your baby out for a nice wax/wash. Believe me, this will be a nice little treat when it's all done.
Day 29-X-tra storage area This includes an attic, basement, additional closets. If you have all of them. .no worries! Pick ONE today and then after this 30 day challenge go back and pick another. You should be a PRO by now.
Day 30-Yourself! Yes, you are part of this home. You just spent the last 29 days organizing and becoming clutter-free. You deserve a little pampering. Book a massage, manicure, pedicure, hair cut {OK well, not all of them. .maybe just one}. OR schedule in some "me time" for a great workout, time to just sit down and read a good book. Whatever it is that will make you feel REWARDED. You deserve it.
Now go clean out that junk drawer, cause I'm sure it's a mess again! :)
*Feel free to copy/paste this, print and tape on your fridge, bulletin board, wherever you will be reminded.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Put some spunk on that GUNK and get rid of that junk!
I cook a lot and my stove is always needing a good cleaning. It is stainless and shows every smudge, finger print and of course gunk. For the longest time I had this nasty gunk on the front and back of my stove. I tried everything to get it off. Soap and water. . .nope! Goo be Gone. . nope! Awesome cleaner, Comet, elbow grease. . .nope, nope and NOPE. The other day I was wandering through the amazing site, Pinterest, and came across this tip to "Remove Gunk". The recipe called for a vinegar and Cream of Tartar. I had the vinegar, but needed to purchase some COT. I added it to my grocery list and a week later {today} I finally decided to give it a try. . . . A-MAZ-ING & blog worthy!!!!!
Recipe:
3 tsp Vinegar {I used apple cider, but white would work fine}
3 tsp Cream of Tartar {found in the spice isle at your local supermarket}
I used a damp dish rag to apply and then use a wet rag to remove. The results will astound you.
Recipe:
3 tsp Vinegar {I used apple cider, but white would work fine}
3 tsp Cream of Tartar {found in the spice isle at your local supermarket}
I used a damp dish rag to apply and then use a wet rag to remove. The results will astound you.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Green, Clean & Mean. .Carpet freshner
For years I have used carpet freshener. You know, the stuff that comes in powder form and you sprinkle on right before you vacuum? It always makes the house smell so good. . .for few hours and then the smell is gone. And I do love it, but I've always been concerned about the chemicals in it. I have a little one who still spends a lot of time on the floor and I have fur babies {1 cat-1 dog}. Just recently I started making my own and to my surprise, it last all day. A few days in fact. And it is Safe and GREEN! Waaaa HOOOO! It is as simple as this:
Baking Soda
A few drops of Essential Oil
You can use as much or as little baking soda as you would like. I have been using an old Parmesan cheese container/shaker and making enough to fill it up. With as much as I vacuum {daily}, it last a few days. For those that don't vacuum as often, it could last a few weeks. As long as the container you use has a seal, it will stay fresh and fragrant for a long, long time.
Grab a mixing bowl. Add your baking soda. Drop in several drops of your essential oil*. I'd say 10-15 drops for a 1/2 box of soda. Then you use a wire whisk to combine it all together. Pour into your shaker and it is ready to use. {Simple}
For use: Sprinkle on your carpets. Let set 10 minutes. Vacuum up.
The smell will last for days!
To add more fragrance to your home, you can throw in a sauce pan:
2 cups of water
1 T olive oil
7 drops of Essential oil
Simmer on the stove top for instant potpourri.
OR, if you have a canister vacuum, you can add a few essential drops to a cotton ball. Throw the cotton ball in your canister. As you vacuum, the smell with pump through the air in your vacuum and fill your home with the same fragrance.
*Where can you buy essential oil? Most health food stores carry it. You can also find it on Amazon.com or eBay. I used Jasmin. But you can use any scent you like.
Baking Soda
A few drops of Essential Oil
You can use as much or as little baking soda as you would like. I have been using an old Parmesan cheese container/shaker and making enough to fill it up. With as much as I vacuum {daily}, it last a few days. For those that don't vacuum as often, it could last a few weeks. As long as the container you use has a seal, it will stay fresh and fragrant for a long, long time.
Grab a mixing bowl. Add your baking soda. Drop in several drops of your essential oil*. I'd say 10-15 drops for a 1/2 box of soda. Then you use a wire whisk to combine it all together. Pour into your shaker and it is ready to use. {Simple}
For use: Sprinkle on your carpets. Let set 10 minutes. Vacuum up.
The smell will last for days!
To add more fragrance to your home, you can throw in a sauce pan:
2 cups of water
1 T olive oil
7 drops of Essential oil
Simmer on the stove top for instant potpourri.
OR, if you have a canister vacuum, you can add a few essential drops to a cotton ball. Throw the cotton ball in your canister. As you vacuum, the smell with pump through the air in your vacuum and fill your home with the same fragrance.
*Where can you buy essential oil? Most health food stores carry it. You can also find it on Amazon.com or eBay. I used Jasmin. But you can use any scent you like.
Monday, October 22, 2012
It's a Doozy cleaning the Jacuzzi
I always thought it would be wonderful owning a tub with jets, until I owned one. They are not easy to keep clean and for an OCD gal like myself, it can be an absolute nightmare to clean. It didn't start off that way. The tub always looked lovely {from the outside} and it wasn't until a year or so in when I turned on the jets and noticed this God awful GUNK floating around in the water! I realized that my "clean" tub, was not so clean. I did some research and have figured out something very important for Jacuzzi tubs {or any tub with jets}:
If you are going to run the jets, run them BEFORE you shampoo your hair, wash your body, add scented oils, bubble bath etc. You should only run pure 100% water through the jets. If you run "tainted" water through, when you drain the tub, some water remains in the jets and the substance in the water drys on the inside causing a nasty film over time.
Over the past few years I have developed a cleaning routine for the tub and it has worked wonderful! The tub gets a detailed cleaning every other week. This formula not only keeps it clean on the outside, but keeps the pipes/jets clean on the inside. . .No more GUNK!
You will need 2 simple ingredients:
1/2 cup Bleach
2 T powder dishwasher soap
Fill your tub with HOT water approx. 1" above the top jet.
Turn your jets on the highest setting and add bleach and dishwasher soap. {you will have bubbles}
Let jets run 30 minutes.
Drain tub and fill with cold water.
Run jets 10 minutes.
Drain tub. Run jets (with no water) for 5 minutes (this drys out the lines)
Wipe down tub.
40 minutes to clean a tub?! Well, you don't think I just stand there and watch do you? During this time is a great time to wash your sink, clean your mirror, scrub the toilet. Which leads me to another tip for this post. Since I already have the hot water and bleach out for "tub day", I clean my toilet and then sanitize my scrub brush on the same day. I picked up this great vase from a local thrift store and it matches my bathroom! I store this beside my toilet and it keeps that nasty brush off the floor.
Fill with a little bit a bleach, hot water and cover the brush. Let set 10 minutes and rinse out. Can you imagine all the nastiness on that brush. . .ewww! I usually purchase a new toilet scrub brush every 3 months. You can find them at dollar stores everywhere. A good investment if you ask me :)
If you are going to run the jets, run them BEFORE you shampoo your hair, wash your body, add scented oils, bubble bath etc. You should only run pure 100% water through the jets. If you run "tainted" water through, when you drain the tub, some water remains in the jets and the substance in the water drys on the inside causing a nasty film over time.
Over the past few years I have developed a cleaning routine for the tub and it has worked wonderful! The tub gets a detailed cleaning every other week. This formula not only keeps it clean on the outside, but keeps the pipes/jets clean on the inside. . .No more GUNK!
You will need 2 simple ingredients:
1/2 cup Bleach
2 T powder dishwasher soap
Fill your tub with HOT water approx. 1" above the top jet.
Turn your jets on the highest setting and add bleach and dishwasher soap. {you will have bubbles}
Let jets run 30 minutes.
Drain tub and fill with cold water.
Run jets 10 minutes.
Drain tub. Run jets (with no water) for 5 minutes (this drys out the lines)
Wipe down tub.
40 minutes to clean a tub?! Well, you don't think I just stand there and watch do you? During this time is a great time to wash your sink, clean your mirror, scrub the toilet. Which leads me to another tip for this post. Since I already have the hot water and bleach out for "tub day", I clean my toilet and then sanitize my scrub brush on the same day. I picked up this great vase from a local thrift store and it matches my bathroom! I store this beside my toilet and it keeps that nasty brush off the floor.
Fill with a little bit a bleach, hot water and cover the brush. Let set 10 minutes and rinse out. Can you imagine all the nastiness on that brush. . .ewww! I usually purchase a new toilet scrub brush every 3 months. You can find them at dollar stores everywhere. A good investment if you ask me :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Move over with your garbage bowl Rachel Ray!
I will start off by saying I absolutely adore Rachel Ray! Love her cooking. Love her shows. Love her ideas. One of her ideas is cooking/prepping food with a "garbage bowl". She simply places a bowl on her counter top and throws all her scraps and trash into the bowl. When she is done prepping, all of the trash/scraps are in one bowl and it is easy to dump in the trash and be rid of it.
I take on a different approach. When cooking/prepping food, simply line the bottom of your sink with a plastic bag {I used a Meijer bag. .any super market bag will work} and throw your scraps on top of it. When you are finished prepping, grab diagonal corners and gather up. . throw away. Always trying to save an extra step. . no dish to wash! {so if you are more "green" than me, stick with the garbage bowl.}
I started using this technique for peeling potatoes. I hated bending over the trash can and the skins were never 100% accurate on their trash can aim. I'd end up with more skins on the floor than in the bin. So I came up with the idea to line the sink with a bag and gather them that way.
I take on a different approach. When cooking/prepping food, simply line the bottom of your sink with a plastic bag {I used a Meijer bag. .any super market bag will work} and throw your scraps on top of it. When you are finished prepping, grab diagonal corners and gather up. . throw away. Always trying to save an extra step. . no dish to wash! {so if you are more "green" than me, stick with the garbage bowl.}
I started using this technique for peeling potatoes. I hated bending over the trash can and the skins were never 100% accurate on their trash can aim. I'd end up with more skins on the floor than in the bin. So I came up with the idea to line the sink with a bag and gather them that way.
What did this scrap make? . . .
. . . A yummy salad of course!!!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
QUICK! Super FRESH!!! Fast way to scent the home.
I love the smell of laundry! No, not dirty laundry. . .fresh, clean, lightly scented, tossed in a dryer sheet laundry. The smell is refreshing and whenever I smell it, I think "Clean". I am a runner and there are often times that I am out for a run and I run by a house that is doing laundry. . and smell it. Fresh clean laundry! It's like a super power for me :) All of a sudden I have a little bit more energy to run a little bit further {Like Jenny telling Forest to run!}. Laugh if you must. .but it's what works for me. Want to know my Kryptonite? People who pass by in their car smoking. Yup. The smell of cigarette smoke irritates my breathing and slows me down. So there you have it. . ever want to slow me down in a race? Just blow smoke in my face as I run by. {please don't}
So what is the point of this blog post? Laundry. Nope. . not laundry, but laundry related. Here is a trick I often use in the fall/winter {when the heat is on} to quickly boost a clean, fresh scent into my home. Simply take a dryer sheet {I think Snuggle and Bounce are the most fragrant} and place under any vent. I usually place one in a main area {my great room} and one in each bedroom. When the heat kicks on, it is total Laundry freshness {without hassle of doing laundry} and will last a couple of days.
So what is the point of this blog post? Laundry. Nope. . not laundry, but laundry related. Here is a trick I often use in the fall/winter {when the heat is on} to quickly boost a clean, fresh scent into my home. Simply take a dryer sheet {I think Snuggle and Bounce are the most fragrant} and place under any vent. I usually place one in a main area {my great room} and one in each bedroom. When the heat kicks on, it is total Laundry freshness {without hassle of doing laundry} and will last a couple of days.
 |
| You can use any dryer sheet |
 |
| Take one dryer sheet. . |
 |
| Lift up your vent and place the sheet just on the edge to make sure it doesn't fall donw into the vent. |
 |
| Make sure the vent is resting on a piece of it so it doesn't slip down into the vent. Remove when scent is gone. |
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
My Top 10 Maintenence Tips
So people will often ask me, "How do you do it? How do you raise 3 active kids, run a full time business and keep the house so clean?" The answer. . . it's a daily maintenance that I have developed over the years. It has taken many years to figure out what works for me and finding the balance. You will hear me say that a lot, "Finding the balance." This is an ongoing battle for me. I have to tell myself {very} often, things are not perfect. I am not perfect. This house is not perfect. This top 10 list helps me with my balance and keeps things on track. I find that if these things are not done on a DAILY basis, the house tends to get away from me. So this is a list of things I do daily and I think if you give it a try, you will find that your home and your sanity will be better.
I'm the type of person that likes to work with a fresh slate. . so it may be better to give your home a one day scrub/clean/tidy up and start from there. Meaning; take one day to scrub all the bathrooms, scrub the floors, clean all the dishes. You know, the gritty stuff. Then that is where the "maintenance" comes into play. You see, the thing about keeping a clean house, is to never let it get out of hand. Once that happens, it's going to take a whole day to get it back into order. If you make it a daily chore to pick up, clean up, it will never seem so out of control. If you do take a day off, that's ok. I do too! It will just take some extra time to get everything back into order. Ok. .so before I continue to ramble on any more with how to keep up on your house {I'm sure over time you will figure it out. If not, please ask for tips/tricks. I will be happy to help you solve your problems}, here is how to achieve my level of OCD cleanliness.
Top 10 Daily Maintenance program:
1. Be a Stranger in your own home. The one thing I find myself constantly doing is standing in my entry way at my front door and pretending I am a stranger . My #1 goal is to be clutter free and clean from a guest's point of view. At this point, the rest of the house does not matters. Ever had an unexpected guest and just felt completely embarrassed that they seen your house in that order? Here is a quick fix. Stand in your main entry and ask yourself what can I do to make this look more organized and clean? Is there clutter on the floor? Pick it up and move it to the appropriate room/place. If it belongs in a bedroom, simply put it on the floor of that room (we'll come back to that later to put it away. . for now, we are just getting it out of the problem area). Is there dirt/pet hair on the floor? This may lead to #5, but we'll get to that. Are there shoes everywhere? Put them in pairs along the wall, under the bench, in a bin in a closet. I have an entry way that leads into a great room. My living room, kitchen and dining room are all one big room. Lucky me :) Had I done it differently, I would have put up a wall between the dining and living area, but when we built in 2004, I was just happy to be building. It was our first home and I didn't have a clue on floor plans. Do your guests come in from the garage door? Back door? Wherever they come in, make that space/area your number one goal to keep organized and clean. This is my "Optical Illusion" to all my friends/family (ahh ha! you finally know my secret) The rest of my house could be a HOT MESS, but my entry areas will {for the most part} always be in order and clean.
2. Make a Daily List. If there is one thing that keeps my sanity in check, it is a daily list. Every morning I make a list of things I need to accomplish in the day. Most of the items are from my Top 10 list, but then there are always a few extras. Including tasks for my eBay home business, appointments, kids school activities, errands that I have to run, etc. This list keeps me on track and every time I cross out a task, I feel as if I've accomplished something big. When the last item is crossed off, it is a feeling of accomplishment. Do I always get the entire list checked off???. . .uhhhh, no! It's just like a math problem. I carry it over to the next day’s list. I always have wired notebooks on hand and if you were to come over to my house and go thru my junk drawer, you would find several notebooks filled with list after list after list . . .it really does work! I encourage you to give this a try for a week or so and tell me you don't get more done on a daily basis.
(Example: My list for today: 1. Vacuum 2. load of laundry & B's bedding (B is one of 3 kiddos. I will refer to them as A, B and C from time to time.) 3. Package eBay orders 4. eBay pics for listings 5. Prep dinner 6. trip to P.O 7. Tidy up Great Room 8. Take out trash 9. Schedule B's eye appt. 10. Clean main bath 11. Top 10 Blog post)
*I do realize I am very fortunate to work from home, so I know I have more time to work on my home compared to those of you who work out of the home. I still encourage you to make a list and get what you can get done in the morning and work on the rest after you return.
3. Make the beds. This one is so simple yet makes all the difference in the world. Make it a habit to pull the covers up and fluff the pillows before you even leave your room and grab that first cup of coffee. It doesn't have to be perfect, but a room with a made up bed looks 10x cleaner than a room with a messy bed. I do this for my kiddos as well. As soon as they get up for the day, I throw the comforter over their bed and fluff their pillows. My oldest, C, is twelve and plenty old enough to this himself :)
4. Keep the dishes out of the sink! If there is one pet peeve I have, it is dishes in the sink or on the counter tops. If there are dirty dishes in my sink, I simply cannot sleep until they are cleaned or put in the dishwasher. Now I have been known to entertain and be exhausted and just go to bed and leave a few dishes in the sink for morning. And that is fine. But on a day to day basis, keep those dishes clean/put away. Your kitchen will bump up a few extra points on the "clean scale" by doing this simple task.
5. Vacuum/Sweep your main area. This includes the high traffic areas. Entry way, Living room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Hallways leading to and from. This is where the OCD kicks in, because I know a lot of you are reading this and saying, "Vacuum EVERY day?! This girl is crazy!" And yes, I may be. ..But I don't vacuum the entire house. Just what gets the most traffic (refer to tip #1). I have kids, I have a hubby that works out doors and "forgets" to remove his shoes, I have HAIRY pets. . if I didn't do this on a daily basis, these floors would be disgusting. I'd have pet hair balls rolling down the hallways and animal cracker crumbs crushed in my carpets and an inch of dirt on the hardwood. It doesn't take long. . maybe 10 minutes and the house will look so fresh! I have a setting on my vacuum for "hard surface", but if you don't, invest in a cheap dirt devil or something to use on the hard wood/tile areas. OR if you like the good ol' fashion broom. .go for it! In my opinion, clean floors = a clean house. I see vacuum lines and it's like the gates of Heaven have opened and I can hear the choirs of angels singing, "HAaaaaaa LAY LU YA!!!!" Yes, I know its spelt "hallelujah".
6. A sink of hot, soapy dishwater will do the trick. After the dishes have been cleared, put away and the counter tops are clutter free, I will fill up my sink with hot, soapy dishwater and wipe down the counter tops. Do I do this if I cooked the night before and did it then? Yes. Do I do this if I haven't used the kitchen? Yes. It is amazing what can settle on a countertop overnight and throughout the day {oh the germs! Don't get me started!}. I wash down my counter tops, stove top and appliances daily {and sometimes more than once if I've cooked. .of course I clean up after I prep food/prepare a meal. {We will get to this another day, another time}. If your kitchen table is close by, do that too. I don't do it all the time, but on days where I need to clear smudges or crud from my wood floors, I will use this water to mop up those areas. {of course after I have washed off everything else. .PLEASE don't scrub your floors and then use the same water to clean your counter tops or wash dishes. .Please!}
7. NO INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA until my list is complete! I think this is why a lot of employers have banned Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or internet in general from their place of work. It is so easy to get sucked in and loose an hour or two by catching up with everyone’s status updates, checking the latest Tweets, or my guilty pleasure. . Pinterest! I could easily sit at the computer all day and do nothing. I really could. Let's face it, the internet is Addicting!!! So I have to tell myself, "Danielle, when you get your list done, then you can go play." Am I a stickler? Pfffff. . .uhh I'd be lying if I told you yes. BUT, I do make a conscience effort to get my work done first. I encourage you to try it. Even if you have to shut down the laptop and hide your smartphone. . .you will survive. I promise! {Cue Gloria Gaynor, I will survive - "At first I was afraid. I was petrified!"}
8. Start every day with a cup of Laundry detergent. You thought I was going to say coffee?! Well, that is a gimme. If there was a #1 complaint I've heard over the years on cleaning and keeping up on house work, this would be it! Laundry is a chore. It's not something {most people} LOVE to do. It's one of those things that will NEVER end {unless you have a maid or are adopted by the Kardashian family where you would have an outfit for every day of the year}. So to think that you will just get to it on the weekend.. . who wants to spend an entire day off doing laundry?! Not this girl. I try to get a load in first thing in the morning and work on it throughout the day. If you work out of the home. .one load in at night, one load in the morning. Keep the rotations going. It will never be caught up, so why spend an entire day doing it only to have another mountain waiting for you next weekend?
9. Dress for Cleaning Success. Ok, so I work from the home so it is easy for me to hang out in my cleaning clothes all day {aka jeans and a t-shirt}. I do this more than not, but I still get myself around in the morning by showering, doing my hair, putting on a little bit of makeup - making myself {somewhat} presentable - I'm not a slob. . .I really am not :). No matter your profession, you must dress the part. Same goes with cleaning. You can't wear a dress and heels and clean your home. You simply cannot {unless you are Brie Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives}. But it's just not reality. When you are ready to take on your list, get into something comfortable and roll up your sleeves. It really will make a huge difference.
10. Give yourself 1 Organizing/Cleaning Challenge each day. Outside of my daily maintenance, I have extra challenges. Some days it is washing bedding, others it is cleaning a bathroom. Some days it is organizing the kitchen pantry and some days it is cleaning closets. There are so many areas of maintenance in home and in reality it will NEVER all be done. I find that if I keep a schedule of doing certain things on certain days, it helps keep me organized and on track. For you, it may be adding that "Challenge" to your list of things to do for the day. Here is my example:
Monday - Bathrooms
Tuesday - Bedding & wash/polish wood floors
Wednesday - Dust & Vacuum downstairs area
Best of luck at your Maintenance program. I'm sure once you give these tips a spin, you will find ways to tweak them to your own liking and figure out what works best for you, your family and your schedule. I'd love to hear your tips too!
I'm the type of person that likes to work with a fresh slate. . so it may be better to give your home a one day scrub/clean/tidy up and start from there. Meaning; take one day to scrub all the bathrooms, scrub the floors, clean all the dishes. You know, the gritty stuff. Then that is where the "maintenance" comes into play. You see, the thing about keeping a clean house, is to never let it get out of hand. Once that happens, it's going to take a whole day to get it back into order. If you make it a daily chore to pick up, clean up, it will never seem so out of control. If you do take a day off, that's ok. I do too! It will just take some extra time to get everything back into order. Ok. .so before I continue to ramble on any more with how to keep up on your house {I'm sure over time you will figure it out. If not, please ask for tips/tricks. I will be happy to help you solve your problems}, here is how to achieve my level of OCD cleanliness.
Top 10 Daily Maintenance program:
1. Be a Stranger in your own home. The one thing I find myself constantly doing is standing in my entry way at my front door and pretending I am a stranger . My #1 goal is to be clutter free and clean from a guest's point of view. At this point, the rest of the house does not matters. Ever had an unexpected guest and just felt completely embarrassed that they seen your house in that order? Here is a quick fix. Stand in your main entry and ask yourself what can I do to make this look more organized and clean? Is there clutter on the floor? Pick it up and move it to the appropriate room/place. If it belongs in a bedroom, simply put it on the floor of that room (we'll come back to that later to put it away. . for now, we are just getting it out of the problem area). Is there dirt/pet hair on the floor? This may lead to #5, but we'll get to that. Are there shoes everywhere? Put them in pairs along the wall, under the bench, in a bin in a closet. I have an entry way that leads into a great room. My living room, kitchen and dining room are all one big room. Lucky me :) Had I done it differently, I would have put up a wall between the dining and living area, but when we built in 2004, I was just happy to be building. It was our first home and I didn't have a clue on floor plans. Do your guests come in from the garage door? Back door? Wherever they come in, make that space/area your number one goal to keep organized and clean. This is my "Optical Illusion" to all my friends/family (ahh ha! you finally know my secret) The rest of my house could be a HOT MESS, but my entry areas will {for the most part} always be in order and clean.
2. Make a Daily List. If there is one thing that keeps my sanity in check, it is a daily list. Every morning I make a list of things I need to accomplish in the day. Most of the items are from my Top 10 list, but then there are always a few extras. Including tasks for my eBay home business, appointments, kids school activities, errands that I have to run, etc. This list keeps me on track and every time I cross out a task, I feel as if I've accomplished something big. When the last item is crossed off, it is a feeling of accomplishment. Do I always get the entire list checked off???. . .uhhhh, no! It's just like a math problem. I carry it over to the next day’s list. I always have wired notebooks on hand and if you were to come over to my house and go thru my junk drawer, you would find several notebooks filled with list after list after list . . .it really does work! I encourage you to give this a try for a week or so and tell me you don't get more done on a daily basis.
(Example: My list for today: 1. Vacuum 2. load of laundry & B's bedding (B is one of 3 kiddos. I will refer to them as A, B and C from time to time.) 3. Package eBay orders 4. eBay pics for listings 5. Prep dinner 6. trip to P.O 7. Tidy up Great Room 8. Take out trash 9. Schedule B's eye appt. 10. Clean main bath 11. Top 10 Blog post)
*I do realize I am very fortunate to work from home, so I know I have more time to work on my home compared to those of you who work out of the home. I still encourage you to make a list and get what you can get done in the morning and work on the rest after you return.
3. Make the beds. This one is so simple yet makes all the difference in the world. Make it a habit to pull the covers up and fluff the pillows before you even leave your room and grab that first cup of coffee. It doesn't have to be perfect, but a room with a made up bed looks 10x cleaner than a room with a messy bed. I do this for my kiddos as well. As soon as they get up for the day, I throw the comforter over their bed and fluff their pillows. My oldest, C, is twelve and plenty old enough to this himself :)
4. Keep the dishes out of the sink! If there is one pet peeve I have, it is dishes in the sink or on the counter tops. If there are dirty dishes in my sink, I simply cannot sleep until they are cleaned or put in the dishwasher. Now I have been known to entertain and be exhausted and just go to bed and leave a few dishes in the sink for morning. And that is fine. But on a day to day basis, keep those dishes clean/put away. Your kitchen will bump up a few extra points on the "clean scale" by doing this simple task.
5. Vacuum/Sweep your main area. This includes the high traffic areas. Entry way, Living room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Hallways leading to and from. This is where the OCD kicks in, because I know a lot of you are reading this and saying, "Vacuum EVERY day?! This girl is crazy!" And yes, I may be. ..But I don't vacuum the entire house. Just what gets the most traffic (refer to tip #1). I have kids, I have a hubby that works out doors and "forgets" to remove his shoes, I have HAIRY pets. . if I didn't do this on a daily basis, these floors would be disgusting. I'd have pet hair balls rolling down the hallways and animal cracker crumbs crushed in my carpets and an inch of dirt on the hardwood. It doesn't take long. . maybe 10 minutes and the house will look so fresh! I have a setting on my vacuum for "hard surface", but if you don't, invest in a cheap dirt devil or something to use on the hard wood/tile areas. OR if you like the good ol' fashion broom. .go for it! In my opinion, clean floors = a clean house. I see vacuum lines and it's like the gates of Heaven have opened and I can hear the choirs of angels singing, "HAaaaaaa LAY LU YA!!!!" Yes, I know its spelt "hallelujah".
6. A sink of hot, soapy dishwater will do the trick. After the dishes have been cleared, put away and the counter tops are clutter free, I will fill up my sink with hot, soapy dishwater and wipe down the counter tops. Do I do this if I cooked the night before and did it then? Yes. Do I do this if I haven't used the kitchen? Yes. It is amazing what can settle on a countertop overnight and throughout the day {oh the germs! Don't get me started!}. I wash down my counter tops, stove top and appliances daily {and sometimes more than once if I've cooked. .of course I clean up after I prep food/prepare a meal. {We will get to this another day, another time}. If your kitchen table is close by, do that too. I don't do it all the time, but on days where I need to clear smudges or crud from my wood floors, I will use this water to mop up those areas. {of course after I have washed off everything else. .PLEASE don't scrub your floors and then use the same water to clean your counter tops or wash dishes. .Please!}
7. NO INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA until my list is complete! I think this is why a lot of employers have banned Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or internet in general from their place of work. It is so easy to get sucked in and loose an hour or two by catching up with everyone’s status updates, checking the latest Tweets, or my guilty pleasure. . Pinterest! I could easily sit at the computer all day and do nothing. I really could. Let's face it, the internet is Addicting!!! So I have to tell myself, "Danielle, when you get your list done, then you can go play." Am I a stickler? Pfffff. . .uhh I'd be lying if I told you yes. BUT, I do make a conscience effort to get my work done first. I encourage you to try it. Even if you have to shut down the laptop and hide your smartphone. . .you will survive. I promise! {Cue Gloria Gaynor, I will survive - "At first I was afraid. I was petrified!"}
8. Start every day with a cup of Laundry detergent. You thought I was going to say coffee?! Well, that is a gimme. If there was a #1 complaint I've heard over the years on cleaning and keeping up on house work, this would be it! Laundry is a chore. It's not something {most people} LOVE to do. It's one of those things that will NEVER end {unless you have a maid or are adopted by the Kardashian family where you would have an outfit for every day of the year}. So to think that you will just get to it on the weekend.. . who wants to spend an entire day off doing laundry?! Not this girl. I try to get a load in first thing in the morning and work on it throughout the day. If you work out of the home. .one load in at night, one load in the morning. Keep the rotations going. It will never be caught up, so why spend an entire day doing it only to have another mountain waiting for you next weekend?
9. Dress for Cleaning Success. Ok, so I work from the home so it is easy for me to hang out in my cleaning clothes all day {aka jeans and a t-shirt}. I do this more than not, but I still get myself around in the morning by showering, doing my hair, putting on a little bit of makeup - making myself {somewhat} presentable - I'm not a slob. . .I really am not :). No matter your profession, you must dress the part. Same goes with cleaning. You can't wear a dress and heels and clean your home. You simply cannot {unless you are Brie Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives}. But it's just not reality. When you are ready to take on your list, get into something comfortable and roll up your sleeves. It really will make a huge difference.
10. Give yourself 1 Organizing/Cleaning Challenge each day. Outside of my daily maintenance, I have extra challenges. Some days it is washing bedding, others it is cleaning a bathroom. Some days it is organizing the kitchen pantry and some days it is cleaning closets. There are so many areas of maintenance in home and in reality it will NEVER all be done. I find that if I keep a schedule of doing certain things on certain days, it helps keep me organized and on track. For you, it may be adding that "Challenge" to your list of things to do for the day. Here is my example:
Monday - Bathrooms
Tuesday - Bedding & wash/polish wood floors
Wednesday - Dust & Vacuum downstairs area
Best of luck at your Maintenance program. I'm sure once you give these tips a spin, you will find ways to tweak them to your own liking and figure out what works best for you, your family and your schedule. I'd love to hear your tips too!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)