Chemical free cleaning success

 I have seen this recipe all over pinterest. After working so very much lately my housework has fallen behind, especially my showers. So what better time to give it a try. 

Equal parts white vinegar and blue Dawn. 

Don't know why the specify blue Dawn but it needs to be the original. 

Warm the vinegar and mix it in with the dawn.

 A while back I picked up a large brush just for my showers. It is so much nicer for the larger areas.

 Just spray it on. You can wait a bit but I just set in running the scrubber over the tile. I am not feeling well today so trust me, I wasn't exactly "scrubbing". Can you see the difference?!

 

Ok, here is a better picture. No more yucky soap scum. I love my tile color cuz it hides the scum pretty well but my nose can tell. (I am allergic to soap scum, go figure)

This kind of improvement without much effort at all, perhaps just 5 minutes, and definitely no elbow grease. Yeah, I am a believer now. I think I will spray it on after I shower in the morning then let it sit for a bit before scrubbing.

Give it a try, let me know whatcha think.

A Clean Freeze

What could a pair of gloves....

a shop vac.....

and chunks of ice possibly have in common?

A clean freezer.

We try to purchase meat from local ranchers. It has a flavor that the store stuff can't match. It is from hormone free and grass fed animals. Plus it is much less expensive!

This year was the first year we purchased a pig. I am already LOVING it.

When I got back from the butchers I had to spend some time cleaning and organizing the freezer.

Winter is a great time to do this. You may get cold- just keep that coat in place- but you don't have to worry about anything thawing while you arrange your goods. It is also a great time to clear any ice buildup. My freezer had quite a bit.

I took a chisel and gently knocked away at the ice along the edges. I just let it fall to the bottom of my near empty freezer. The trick then came to how to get all those ice shavings out.

Out came the shop vac. If it didn't fit it stuck to the hose allowing me to toss it to the side. I pulled most of the baskets out. It didn't take to long. Most of the ice fell off in chunks. The gloves kept my fingers warm.

Before I knew it the ice was gone and my baskets could once again slide along the guides.

I organized the pork on the left side, chicken on the right and our soon to be purchased beef in the middle.

 

Larger cuts of meat all went in the bottom.

Smaller cuts and packages of ground meat went on the next row in baskets.

Popsicles, gogurts and other quick snacks for the boys go on the top. They will help to hold in the cold for the meat down below.

Organizing my freezer this way helps with temperature control. During the summer my boys are constantly getting in the freezer for ice cream and other cold treats. I don't want meat at the top exposed to the heat. It also helps with rotation and what gets eaten fastest.

Now I just need to make a bunch of pumpkin treats to use that frozen pumpkin before I get a new crop going this summer.
Pumpkin cookies or pumpkin bread? Hmm, maybe some of both.

Go ahead and clean out your freezer BEFORE your spring cleaning starts. You will be thrilled with the results. It just makes ya feel good. I love to look in my organized, clean freezer!

Stainless steal wipes...

When my dear hubby suggested buying these I scoffed. I thought I could just clean our new stainless steal fridge with the cleaner I had on hand. I was right. I could clean it every day over and over and over and still have smudges to fight. I finally bought some just to see if they really made a difference. 

Let me just say,

WOW!

 They are fantastic. I am able to wipe all the fingerprints smudges and water drips off. Then I take my microfiber cloth and go over it one more time to polish. It is easy. Only take a couple of minutes. No scrubbing needed.....

 And I think it actually repels smudges! I get to enjoy a shiny fridge for several days vs several hours with my old cleaner. I was shocked. This go 'round I even got the water stains off the plastic case around the water spout.

See. Nice huh!?!
Since I have to get every cent out of wipes products I even went on to clean my stove with this same wipe.

 Yucky, grease specks....

Ahh, shiny clean.
Stainless steal wipes are on my "worth it!" list!

oh- and no one paid me to say this. I just really like my clean fridge!

Cleaning hard water stains...

Got hard water deposits?

Use white vinegar....

Pour into a bowl.

And watch the bubbles work...

then leave the minerals in the bowl.

 
Enjoy clean freshness without scrubbing or harse chemicals!

A Clean Fridge in 15 minutes....

15 minutes at a time....

I don't know about you but I seldom have time, when the fridge is nearly empty, to clean it. Yet, it is amazing how quickly it gets yucky. I realize a house of starving boys leads to lots of scavaging but really...

Well, I had only 15 minutes between grocery shopping and picking up boys at school. I decide to put groceries away after school. Instead I started with the door. I thought I would just do what I could and perhaps eventually it would be cleaned. Either that or it would become a cycling job, a shelf a day sort of deal. I didn't think to take a before picture, not sure you would want to see it...

 but now, I get to enjoy a sparkling clean fridge.

 Yeah, we go through a lot of milk. Ironically I never drank milk as a kid. We were allergic to it and never learned to like it. My boys on the other hand.....

 I got the door done before school and had to wait for this lovely part...

 O.J. down the side, really boys?!?

I managed to finish just before it was time to start dinner. Each shelf was taken out and washed. I put paper towels in the bottom of my vegi tray to help them stay crisper.

Ahh, all better.Sometimes you just have to start SOMEWHERE. 15 minutes may not sound like a lot of time but you'd be surprised at what you can finish in that time.

Give it a try. Set the time and dive into a 15 minute challenge.

Organizing bit by bit

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly things can get cluttered, especially with little boys around. While I was doing my regular house cleaning I decided to organize and re-organize a few areas of high traffic. The computer desk draw is constantly gotten into. It didn't take much but still needed some attention. Have you noticed how quickly pens, pencils, and markers collect?

I got rid of most of the extra writing tools. Tossed some old ones that didn't work and straightened everything else in the drawer. Chaos drives me buggy but neat and tidy- ahh, that's better....

Since I was working on laundry all day I decided it was time to do something to improve this area. I miss my laundry room tons! I have managed to revamp my laundry routine this summer to work with the laundry closet now but.....um yeah, it still needed some TLC.

Now the after....

The baskets on top hold towels and whites. I am thinking of putting vinyl labels on them. Since this is right by our garage door I plan to use the 2 empty shelves for things that need to go to grandma's or the DI etc; a sort of loading zone. 

I also worked on this little project....

I had this listed in my ideas labels. My favorite color is red, which is also easy to decorate with but I thought it would be nice to experiment with other colors. Since this is the laundry closet I figured it would be safe to explore other colors here....

The yellow and black aren't bad but they just don't sit well with me. Perhaps they are a bit to much contrast, I don't know. My husband and friend like it but I am going to try a softer green instead. Since I have been working all weekend I haven't gotten much done on it but keep watching for the next reveal. Will it be the color I stick with? All I can say is thank heavens for sanders....;-)

Vaccuums critiqued.....my new Dyson!

Women tend to have love hate relationships with vaccums. We love them for the first year or so then they lose suction and we start to hate them. A couple years ago I searched for a good, long lasting vaccuum. I would love to have a Kerby but it is simply cost prohibitive. I mean, $2000 on a vaccuum has to be excesive. I opted for a Lindhaus, commertial grade vaccuum from Don Asletts Cleaning Center.

I loved it, at first......

Yep, this summer I have started to hate it. My mom commented when cleaning our old house how poorly my vaccuum worked. I hadn't noticed.....

Without grass around our new home the trail of dirt into the house through doors and windows is exhausting. The other day I mentioned to my dear hubby that my vaccuum needed a little TLC or else I needed a new one. I had seen a Dyson get actually washed in the sink with soap and water. With my allergies this was intriguing. He mentioned for me to go ahead and get one. I figured I would watch for it to go on another great online deal (I'd seen them come up before). Saturday we headed off to Home Depot, bypassed the vaccuums and next thing I knew he had it in the cart. He played all inocent and sly but he knows how to sweet talk me! ;-) I thought I would vaccuum with both of them to see the difference but after getting my Dyson set up I couldn't help myself. "I'll just do a strip or two" I said to myself, but before I knew it I had vaccuumed the whole house and was headed down the stairs. So what did I think?

 I think I am in love again!

 This is the dirt I picked up after 2 vaccuumings! YUCK! And that was only 2 days apart! I vaccuumed Saturday evening and Monday morning to accumulate all this. Sunday was spent watching conference so not much tracked in then. Yep, I'd say my old vacuum wasn't sucking much up. My carpet is new, this is all us but I think it accumulated through the summer.

 Ahhh, clean floors feel good. Sorry Lindhaus, you are getting the boot. I have a new love- DYSON!

Yep, my hubby spoils me. Maybe I will make him some Snickerdoodles tonight!
THANKS BABE!

Cleaning tips....

I kinda fell off track with my tips so here are the rest. 

I take one day a week to try to deep clean everything. Then the rest of the week I can surface clean sorta speak.

Using bleach cleaner in the bathroom to kill the odors.

Set up a loading and unloading zone. Robin likes to keep things in his pocket. By having a basket in the closet he can unload his keys, badge and other pocket contents. The next morning he knows exactly where things are and this helps him get ready faster in the mornings.

I also try to walk around the house with a wash cloth just washing knobs and door jams. With little fingers door knobs get sticky lots. I hate to grab a yucky knob. If I take the cloth I simple wipe at Matthew's height.

Just about any day you can find me in an apron. I love to have pockets in it too. Then as I walk around cleaning I can pick up those lego pieces deposit it into my apron pocket then unload once I get back to the boys room.

Okay- your turn. What cleaning tips do you have?

Getting the kids to clean.....

This one is always tricky. Kids just wanna play. They need to play but this momma needs a clean house once in a while too. Besides, have you stepped on a lego piece lately? OUCH! THEY HURT!!

So here are the rules of our house:

Each boy has to clean their room well enough to be vacuumed each day. I don't vacuum this often but that is a way they can tell if it will pass inspection.

Then they each have another room assignment. For now it works that there are 3 main rooms and 3 boys old enough for chores. The kitchen, bathroom and living room. I let them decide how many days to have each assignment and how to rotate. They decided to rotate each day. So in addition to cleaning their rooms they have to clean one of the other rooms. Each chore has to pass moms inspection before they can play. I am stricter with the older ones. Generally they have to pick up toys, load and unload the dishwasher, wipe counter tops down and wipe the mirror down. I keep clorox wipes under the bathroom sink as well as wipes for the mirror. These tend to get pricey but for me it's worth it. They boys learn to clean and in return are more careful about the messes they make. SCORE! for mom!

The toilet is always a problem area with boys but they are also responsible for wiping that down and around the floor at the base of the toilet. I am surprised at how much more careful they are in the bathroom when they have to clean the mess up.

We have had days of no playing with friends because they decided to fight the system sorta speak. They have to get their chores done to go play. If they don't they don't play. Very seldom is this rule broken. So, if they mess around they get to hear all the other kids playing while they are still stuck inside. UGH! Since this is a daily routine it doesn't usually take too long to get things picked up, beds made and clothes put away.

The rule is that if your friends leave a mess you have to clean it up. This has helped the boys be more responsible and speak up for themselves too. They don't like having to clean up all the legos by themselves. Josh had problems with this and no one cleaning up before leaving so he made his room off limits for a while. I think they learn to appreciate what they have and to take care of things better.

I live by the motto "A place for everything and everything in it's place". I try to organize the boys rooms to make clean up as easy as possible. They have different bins for sets of toys; legos, action heros, balls, etc. Plus each one has a bookshelf in their room. Once in a while I will go in and do a mom cleaning where I just organize books and what not. For the most part this works and they are able to control their own rooms.

Of course all this said, I am not above bribery at all. When we were (read "mom was") trying to unpack I gave them 15 minute challenges. Boys love challenges, especially when the reward is food! Mom supervised the cleaning and organizing and general unpacking of the bedrooms. When the timer went off I got to decide who had helped and cleaned the most with the best attitude. Josh can get the most done but he is 10 and doesn't always like the extra work. So with that I had to add about having a good attitude. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place got 1, 2, or 3 pieces of parade candy respectively. I managed to get 1 1/2 hours work out of them; above their regular chores! WHOO HOO! Then I sent them outside to run off the sugar energy.

We have also done reward charts. They got stars throughout the week based on overall attitude, behavior, and getting their chores etc done. Each Saturday night is family pizza night. We make pizza and watch a movie. They get "concessions" based on their stars. Some weeks they have had so many they couldn't use them all. Other weeks they had only 1 star. We even had a week where they had lost all their stars for bad behavior. That wasn't a very fun movie night.

Moving to a new area I have often said, "if we get ..... done then we can go ....". The boys know that I will follow through with what I say. If it's done- we go; if not- we don't. Simple and predictable.

Sometimes even I have been disappointed to not be able to go but that is how it is and the boys learn this quick.

Mostly, I make a point to tell them how much their help means. At dinner I unload to dad the days events and what each boy did. Just another chance to be in the spotlight. Perhaps I am trying to "kill them with kindness" but I think it all combined is working. Hopefully I don't have to punish them too often for naughty behavior.

What about at your house? Share your tips with me!

House cleaning tips

Trust me I am no June Cleaver. In fact I have often felt I just plain came up short. My house is not emaculate; I am not sure that word with my name has ever been in the same sentance. Rather my house is lived in. It is full of 4 rambunctious boys that are unceasingly hungry and have energy to power a rocket ship (which they often do after building ANOTHER fort in my living room). But as I was cleaning today I thought of all the times we moms and dads have wished for a "How to..." book on parenting. I doubt this book will ever be published as it would be outdated the moment it went to the printers, but I have learned a few things in my travels and thought that I would share them. So for this week, each day I will share a tip I have found on maintaining my sanity and some semblance of clean in a house of growing children- BOYS!- in the 21st century. 

I am a working mom. I craft, blog, facebook, scrapbook, excersice, volunteer, etc etc etc. The list never ends. In short, I am just an average mom. I use to believe "Molly Mormon" really did exist. I think I may even have met her a time or two. I, however, am not. I've learned that it's ok to let my friends see my house a disaster (albeit only my close friends and family). Why in the world would I say this you ask? Well, there's a story for this.... 

A couple of years ago I stopped by my best friend's house. She had been gone through the weekend and just returned from shopping. She was inside so I grabbed a couple of grocery bags and headed in to greet her. "In" meant going through her garage entrance. For most of us, this entrance is sacred and reserved for family only. Not even grandparents are to tread here and for good reason- it's usually a disaster area. I thought nothing of it though. She, however, was APPAULED! She commented on how embarressed she was that I saw the piles of laudry, the piles of dishes on the counter and in the sink, the sacks of groceries unpacked and the general disaster area we all experience after a weekend away with 4 kids. I told her it didn't matter- she had seen my house in a disarray numerous times and I already knew she was a great mom and a good housekeeper. No Judging Here! We laughed and talked then went on our ways. 

The next week she stopped by. I was in the middle of canning and it was one of "those days"! I said, "Rebekah, you've gotta see my kitchen!!" She couldn't figure out what was going on but went in to see..... Tornado Alley! *sigh* Yep, I invited her into see, not a clean sparking kitchen, but one in the throws of canning and food prep and simply a MESS! We laughed and I realized that we both felt a little better having seen each others house in the disaster stage. For me, a little pressure was lifted. I no longer felt my house had to be PERFECT every second of the day. Or not even every DAY for that matter. I mean who are we all kidding anyway? Who has a house of happy children in whose lives they are involved that also keeps a spotless house? (ok, don't tell me! please just let me continue to build my fantasy world!)

So for today my tip is to relax. My house isn't perfect and I don't expect yours to be either. 

HELLO! WE HAVE CHILDREN TO RAISE! 

We clean up first thing in the morning and then don't worry about it too much. I try to get the boys to pick up after themselves (tips for this to follow) which helps a lot too. Needless to say, if you are to drop by my house in the evening you will most likely find, remnants of Tyler's lego star fighter ship on the floor, the train book that Matthew was fascinated with for all of 5 minutes, Keegan's DS game sitting on the couch, Josh's latest book or books stacked around the couch and dishes in the sink. It will all be cleaned up again in the morning but for now, we are working and playing together as a family. 

So come on in. Make yourself at home. This house is lived in! 

"Mothers of happy children have dirty floors"

Oh, and mom, I haven't dusted yet today either. ;-)

Organizing baskets

Saturday night Robin informed me our old Easter baskets were destroyed. I showed him this post from Be Different...Act Normal  Then I sent him off to see what he could find. Since it was 9:30 at night there wasn't many options but he came back with these baskets from Walmart.

I am loving these baskets. They turned out great. Plus the boys, Matthew especially can tote his treasures around with him. PLUS! They were only $1 each. NICE DAD!!! So this morning I was looking for more  organizing supplies and came across these....

They were only $2 each. My plan is to have the boys pick up the family room by placing their stuff in their basket. When it's full they have to carry it to their room to be emptied. Hopefully, emptied into the right places and not just dumped in the middle of the room. I know, big expectations but it's a start. I am thinking of using these to organize my laundry room a bit too. I love them. Matthew had a great time toting things around this morning in them too. What better sound than a little boy making car noises and traipsing around the house playing. Makes my heart smile.....

Project 18 of 52: Swifter duster

I Made it Monday!

I love Swiffer dusters especially for vaulted ceilings and walls. Last week I got started on my spring cleaning. While prepping for painting I used these on my walls and ceilings. here is the before:

Then after cleaning walls and my ceilings, no counter or table tops. It's amazing what can accumulate through winter!

YUCK! This little things pick up a lot but then you have to trash them. I love them but HATE how expensive they are. So I was thrilled to find this tutorial. Today I finally got a chance to make them. I just used left over flannel from a quilt. I actually made 3 of them in about a 1/2 hour.

 

Simple!! Plus I will get to reuse them. We will see how they do. I think they would make good gifts too. I was thinking I could put a couple in my juice canister. So what have you made lately? Any good ideas?

An Aversion to Cleaning

My darling husband has been in charge of the laundry the last several weeks as I worked extra shifts. Today, I sought a more normal routine. I kicked him out to go study and took a dive head first into the laundry room. Monday is the usual laundry day around our house so it was backed up as usual. I figured I would also do a little sorting while I was at it. 1st up, the oldest boys room. Oh boy! (before going further you have to know my biggest pet peive is open drawers and cupboards, items should be in the drawer and the drawer should be able to close completely) His pants drawers were a shambles. I knelt down and started sorting, too small, not long enough, too many holes, ?baby brothers shorts?, little brothers sweats? What the heck. Ok, pants and shorts folded and placed neatly in the drawer. Bottom drawer in the process of getting glued back together AGAIN. I then turned to hang some clothes in the closet when what to my wondering eyes did I spy? THIS.....

Yep- all those CLEAN clothes piled randomly in the bottom of his closet. Is there something wrong with the hangers? No wonder he is always wearing the same thing. He can't find the other buried in his toys.

Next up. Boy #2. His wasn't as bad but after going through his drawers I realized he didn't need the 2 new pants we just bought as much as he thought he did. And he is DEVINANTLY stocked for summer in the shorts department.

Now I have an idea of what to expect in the little boys' room. After all, I am in there several time every day and obviously have to help them get dressed more. Still, I found THIS....

Apparently big brothers' lessons are better learned than moms. No frets, I got most of it taken care of, re-ironed, and re-hung. Crazy boys. I know I will be right back at it in a week or two. At least now I know where we stand on each boy's clothing supply. Plus they should have the correct sizes in their closet, for now anyway.

What do you do to get your children to keep their clothes hung up? Our closets are within reach and each has an organizer to help. Or is this one of the mysteries of motherhood that would make me a millionaire if I could find the answer?

Clean Carpets!

I spent my grocery money this week on carpet cleaning. For $104 I got 3 rooms, the hallway and my stairs cleaned. It was worth it! What do you think? Best Price Carpet Cleaning did it. They were a great bunch; nice and very efficient. Here is my living room before- yuck!

and the after:

You could literally see black and white as they were cleaning. Now to keep it clean. I thought of demanding "stocking feet only" but they are usually barefoot....hmmmm gonna have to think.....

Piano makeover

I finally had my piano tuned. Jerry Clark did a great job. He took over 2 hrs. He was also able to give me some history about my piano which was made in 1927 by a short lived company from Milwaukee. I asked him about painting my piano because of all the scraps and scratches. He suggested trying Murphy's oil with stain first. Check out the before and after pictures and judge for yourself. I was thrilled! It was only about $4 for the oil and was much easier and less messy than painting would have been.
I started with the side that was the worst. It had been severely scratched. I wish I would have taken before pictures of that side to see the most dramatic difference but I didn't realize how much of a change would be taking place. I love the way it looks now. Some places still show through but I don't mind. Plus the oil put a beautiful shine to a dull finish. Thanks Jerry. I also learned a little about my piano which was fun. This instrument was saved from the trash- literally- given to me by my mom and now has my son plunking away as he learns to play. One man's trash is TRUELY another man's treasure!