Ditched the Drying Rack

I was starting to hate our drying rack in the kitchen.  We do a fair amount of dishes by hand.  However, we (both my husband and myself) got into a bad habit of leaving the dishes in the drying rack.  It would never get cleaned out until more dishes were washed and then I would get frustrated because I had to put the dishes away before (or while) I was washing the next batch.  It drove me crazy.  I also hated that the drying rack itself needed cleaning often.  It all was just becoming a ball of frustration and extra cleaning.  I decided to do without the drying rack.  Now we just wash the dishes and dry them right away.  It actually takes less time than you would think.  I like how there isn't always something that needs to be put away in the kitchen.

A cleaning tip

Here's a tip I read a while back that can be really useful for cleaning.  I buy scrubbing pads at the Dollar Store and cut them in half. Often when I use my scrubbing pads for doing dishes with sticky food, such as cheese I end up having to toss after cleaning.   You can get 5 large pads for $1 at the dollar store. By cutting them in half, I actually get 10 scrubbing pads for $1.

Refilling the Swiffer

I don't really like the waste that using the Swiffer Wet Jet for cleaning of the floors can produce.  Not to mention the cost of refills.  I usually wash the floors by hand a couple times a month and Swiffer the rest of the time (because it is easier).  I bought my Swiffer at a garage sale for about $6 (unopened).  I figured out a way to not have to buy expensive refills for the cleaning solution.

I asked my husband (who given a challenge always comes through) to unscrew the unscrewable cap on the solution container for the Swiffer Wet Jet.  Then I just refill the solution with water and Mr. Clean Multisurfaces Liquid.  You only need to use about a 1/4 cup or less depending on the size of your original container.   I would imagine any cleaning solution will work.  I bought Mr. Clean because it is made by Proctor and Gamble (who makes Swiffer as well) and believe it will work the closest to the original solution.

• Cost for Mr Clean Multi-Surfaces Liquid -- less than $4 (coupons make it less) and you can use for lots and lots of times.
• Cost for one Swiffer Wet Jet Solution refill -- about $4 and you get about 2 or 3 uses out of it.  

As far as the refills for the pads, the only good alternative I've found are at the Dollar General.  They are okay, but don't expect them to work as good as the original.  They run about $4 for 12.  I alternate these with the Swiffer pads.

My latest plan

After our last move (4 in 2 years), I unpacked as quickly as I could.  But I did just put things in closets and drawers with the intent of reorganizing later.  Not messy or anything.  I just knew it might not be a permanent spot. That organization began last week.  In order to make the task lest daunting, I have made a schedule of one or two rooms to evaluate, reorganize and deep clean a week.  This way I can get to it when I can without it consuming my days.  I figure if I can devote even 20 minutes a day and finish by the end of the week, it will be much easier to accomplish.  We spend a lot of time away from home and the afternoons are devoted to quiet time.

My cleaning schedule looks like this:

Week 1: Master Bath, Second Bath and Linen closets -- clean shower curtain, organize drawers, etc
Week 2: Spare bedroom/craft room/office-- organize craft ideas, coupons, file bills, etc
Week 3: Daughter's bedroom - outgrown clothes, toys, closet, etc.
Week 4: Kitchen/Master Bedroom -- clean pantry, reorganize drawers, donate clothes
Week 5: Basement -- whatever can get done until we finish it
Week 6: Living Room

I figure this can be a regular schedule rotating schedule.  Maybe all the re-organizing won't need to be done each time, but the extra cleaning will be needed.  The main reason I started this is to fit something extra into the day-to-day tasks of cleaning and cooking.  Also, with summer coming we will be spending much of our time outdoors and the last thing I want to do when I'm inside is trying to figure out how to stay on top of the clutter.

Clean stains out of clothes

My husband's work shirts often get stained in the underarms.  We think it was caused by the deoderant he used.  I searched high and low for a solution to get the stains out.  I tried many different things.

What works best is to get a spray bottle, fill it with vinegar and spritz both the inside and outside of the shirt just prior to washing.  Wash as normal.  Stains disappear.

Sticky Surface - use this!

We had a keyboard that somehow got all sticky on the bottom.  It almost seemed like the rubber melted and felt like tar.  I used my favorite sticky remover Goo Gone on it, but it didn't work.  My husband got this crazy idea to use WD 40 and it cleaned the surface no problem.  His testimony "WD 40 works better than Goo Gone." He even used it to get some old duct tape residue off the freezer from the last move.  Be sure to test the surface before using, as with any product.

Cleaning the floors - ugh

When you have carpet throughout most of the house, it's easy to vacuum and clean it up.  But with wood and tiled floors, it's more of a challenge to clean.  I've found that cleaning the floors on my hands and knees is most effective.  The other day, I was spot cleaning some crayon off the floor with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.  And it clicked, why don't I use that to clean the floors?  I did cleaned the floors yesterday and went through 2 Magic Erasers.  I think the floors were extra dirty, even though I vacuum and sweep and mop every day (or every other day for mopping).  Dirty just surfaces.  It worked great.  I love using the Magic Eraser on toys and other tough spots, but I never thought to use it on the floor.  I would suggest (as it does on the package) to test a spot before cleaning any surface with it.  I've never had a surface it couldn't clean, but you never know.  

SAHM Tips

As a still new stay-at-home mom, I've found one thing that works for me.  

Make tasks short and manageable.

For me that means, only folding a load of laundry at a time.  And it should only take me 5 minutes to fold and put away.  If laundry piles up then, it just overwhelms me and it slows me down because it takes longer.

It also means that the dishes should only take about 15 minutes during the mid-day washing and about a half hour at night.  I hate having a messy kitchen and if I had to do all the dishes at once it also would become overwhelming.

I try to vacuum and mop every other day.  I have a couple different options to do this.  Again if that is long overdue, than I spend more time scrubbing than I would like.  I can usually mop during my daughter's nap time and it only takes about 10 minutes to do the whole house.  

Cooking is a little different story since I make lots of things from scratch.  However, I have found that starting in the morning makes it less work in the later part of the day.  

The reason why I like to make my tasks manageable is because I am home to be with my daughter.  I would much rather spend 20 minutes reading stories than doing laundry.  I think sometimes stay-at-home moms lose sight of why they are home -- to be with the kids.  

Clorox Anywhere Spray

A while ago I posted on how I use Clorox Anywhere Spray. Recently I read a post on Deal Seeking Mom on how to make your own Clorox Anywhere Spray really cheap. Check it out here!

Dish Detergent

It's been a busy Monday morning here. We're trying to catch up from the four-day weekend and get our Christmas decorations up, although that's going to be a slow process I'm afraid with a toddler running around.

So a quick organizational Monday recommendation: We use Palmolive Oxy Clean dish soap and it works fantastic. I used to use Dawn, but now this is the only product we use for cleaning dishes.

In the persuit to find a photo, I found coupons for several products. Click here to see.

Cleaning the Microwave

I had read this tip a long time ago and finally tried it a few months ago. It is a really simple way to clean the microwave.

** Put a wet rag in the microwave and heat it up for 30 seconds. Then wipe out the microwave. The steam from the rag spreads throughout the whole microwave making it easy to wipe out. Do be careful, though, the rag will be very hot with steam**

Busy Morning

For some reason Mondays are my most productive day. I woke up at 6:50 a.m. and showered before the baby got up (something that's very hard for me to do). Here's a list of everything I got done before 10 a.m. today.

• Made dairy-free french toast (recipe here)
• Gave the baby a bath
• Made a pot of beef vegetable soup to freeze
• Vacuumed
• Did my Monday morning purge
• Got three loads of laundry started (one folded and put away)
• Did an octopus craft with my daughter
• Read a couple of stories
• Danced and sang songs
• Not to mention all the little odds and ends such as changing diapers, etc.

Monday Morning Purge

Our garbage gets picked up on Mondays around 11 a.m. I normally clean up the house and empty all the garbage cans Sunday night while my husband is here to watch the baby. Then on Monday morning I purge even more. I can usually get another bag of garbage out by emptying boxes, restocking and taking things out of packages. I also clean out the fridge. We used to live in an apartment, so I could do that whenever I wanted. But now Monday mornings are my purging mornings. It's almost like a game to see how much more garbage I can find in the house.

Stay tuned for a two (or three) part series

on Halloween crafts for toddlers.

To be published on Tuesdays!

Cleaner Recommendation

My daughter has sensitive skin, so I finding a safe cleaner for her high chair is important. I found a cleaner that works really well for us. Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Spray. I like that it cleans up the stains on the highchair, but it seems to be a gentle cleaner for kids. We use it several times a day.

Take the Cleaning Challenge

This article describes how you can clean your house in 19 minutes. Could you do it? I think you have to start with a fairly organized house to begin with. I also think that would also work if you don't have kids hanging around all day making it messy. I read recently using a timer can help you get your cleaning done faster. It's kind of like playing "beat the clock." I do this sometimes. Tell myself I have fifteen minutes to get something done and have at it. But 19 minutes to clean the house?? It takes me 20 minutes to vacuum. I do agree that having a plan makes cleaning a lot less overwhelming.

Anyone have any tricks to getting everything clean quickly?

Cleaning toys

I've just had a burst of "cleaning" energy lately. I've been just cleaning all the clutter the last week. Although I'm still not done (will there ever be an end), I decided today I would clean all the toys. I normally try to wash soft toys every now and then, and wipe down the plastic stuff when I can. I decided since my daughter had a cold recently to just do it all. I put all the plastic toys in the dishwasher. Fortunately we have a dishwasher that allows us to put plastic on the bottom rack as well as the top rack. I used a mesh bag (the kind you use in the laundry) to put those little pieces in that would surely fall into the heating mechanism. It was an easy way to get it done. It took longer but less of my time washing. We have so many toys.