Well, hello there. I know, I know, it's been a really long time. I have been very busy and out of town a lot lately, but that's no excuse. Well, my goal was to have my closets organized by March 16th. That didn't happen. However, I did get my office/Mary Kay closet cleaned out, painted, and somewhat organized. We painted it a glossy white because it was so dark in there. Now the light bounces around and I can see everything! We also painted the shelves a light pink which match the pink on my Mary Kay products. Now it is officially my "Mary Kay Closet"! By the way, it was my wonderful husband's idea to paint them pink. He even picked out the pink to match. I love him. All of my products are on shelves and organized. I have half of the closet set aside for cleaning supplies All I need to do for that closet is to organize my gift wrapping supplies. Piece of cake! So my new deadline is September 20th, one month from now to have this all done.
The next project is going to be the library closet and guest room closet so guests can actually hang clothes up and put their suitcases in there. I have boxes full of linens and towels so my plan is to make our coat closet a linen closet by adding shelves. That shouldn't be a huge project, just a one day deal.
I'm excited to get these done finally. We don't have plans to go out of town any time soon, so maybe I'll get some stuff done around here. Here's hoping.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
“Green, But Not Crunchy”
On the 3 Boys and a Dog blog, I found this wonderful post which I just had to share with you. It is written by a woman named Cathy. She has a website called http://www.letsbegreentogether.com/ Here is how she cleans with natural, safe products. Here is a Non-Toxic Cleaning Solutions – Plus Recipes!' target=_blank>link to the posting directly but I have cut and pasted it here also. Enjoy.
Green Cleaning
I have to say I don’t really like the term “green cleaning.” Technically, I have considered myself green for about two years, but I prefer to call my cleaning non-toxic because I am a bit selfish. I clean without chemicals for the health of my family, but the environment happens to benefit as well.
You do not need chemicals to clean effectively and I hope I can offer you some ideas to accomplish this without breaking the bank. I often hear from people that they would be more eco-conscious, but it is just too expensive. This is simply not the case. I actually spend very little on cleaning products for my home so let’s get started with some of my favorite cleaning methods. I will break it down on a room-by-room basis.
Kitchen Cleaning
Whether you wash dishes in the sink or in the dishwasher, or both, you want to avoid things such as bleach, phosphates, or anything artificial. If there is fragrance make sure it comes from essential oils and not something that is manmade. A brand I love for both my sink washing and my dishwasher is Seventh Generation. Their products don’t leave my hands dry(come on, admit it, after a long date with the kitchen sink and chemical laden detergents, your hands are probably pretty dry, aren’t they? As an interesting note, I will share something that may surprise you. It is actually more eco-friendly to use a dishwasher than to wash the dishes in the sink. This is because the water goes in and is used the entire cycle, whereas often times when sink washing, we let gallons and gallons of water flush down the drain (a lot of which is hot water, too – yikes!).
One of the biggest money savers for me is the fact that I make my homemade spray cleaner for everything from kitchen cabinets to bathroom fixtures.
My absolute favorite way to “dust” or polish wooden surfaces is with a simple mixture of olive oil and a few drop of essential oil. Orange, again, is one I just love for this. A little of this mixture goes a long way.
Bathroom Cleaning
I know, fun right? Not really. Well, first I use the spray cleaner for the mirrors and basically all surfaces including my sink. For the toilet, the commercial products out there are some of the most toxic for you to be using. All you need is either baking soda or Borax. Dump some in the bowl, leave it for about 15 minutes(I do it first then come back at the end of my bathroom cleaning) and scrub with toilet brush and flush. Done.
The tub…oh, the fun of cleaning the tub. I have the BEST recipe for that too, and you will actually enjoy breathing it in and won’t require any ventilation or open windows to avoid a headache while cleaning. That may have sounded like a joke, but think about it. Most of the products you clean with have those types of warnings on them. What does that tell you? They simply aren’t safe. Okay, back to the tub and my fabulous recipe. Here it is:
I hope all the information I have shared is at least a place to start for you. Even if you pick one room and start slowly, that’s great! Unless you are able to just get rid of all the bad stuff, I would finish what you already have and then start buying the better non-toxic stuff (or the ingredients for my homemade recipes).
Cathy loves to blog, eat a vegetarian diet, and keep her home as non-toxic as possible for her children and their well-being. She loves to be social on Twitter and would call herself green, but not crunchy! If you would like more green tips or to read her blog, please visit http://www.letsbegreentogether.com/. She would love to hear from you!
Green Cleaning
I have to say I don’t really like the term “green cleaning.” Technically, I have considered myself green for about two years, but I prefer to call my cleaning non-toxic because I am a bit selfish. I clean without chemicals for the health of my family, but the environment happens to benefit as well.
You do not need chemicals to clean effectively and I hope I can offer you some ideas to accomplish this without breaking the bank. I often hear from people that they would be more eco-conscious, but it is just too expensive. This is simply not the case. I actually spend very little on cleaning products for my home so let’s get started with some of my favorite cleaning methods. I will break it down on a room-by-room basis.
Kitchen Cleaning
Whether you wash dishes in the sink or in the dishwasher, or both, you want to avoid things such as bleach, phosphates, or anything artificial. If there is fragrance make sure it comes from essential oils and not something that is manmade. A brand I love for both my sink washing and my dishwasher is Seventh Generation. Their products don’t leave my hands dry(come on, admit it, after a long date with the kitchen sink and chemical laden detergents, your hands are probably pretty dry, aren’t they? As an interesting note, I will share something that may surprise you. It is actually more eco-friendly to use a dishwasher than to wash the dishes in the sink. This is because the water goes in and is used the entire cycle, whereas often times when sink washing, we let gallons and gallons of water flush down the drain (a lot of which is hot water, too – yikes!).
One of the biggest money savers for me is the fact that I make my homemade spray cleaner for everything from kitchen cabinets to bathroom fixtures.
- 24oz. spray bottle
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon castile soap
- 20 drops tea tree oil
- 20 drops favorite essential oil for scent. I love orange!
My absolute favorite way to “dust” or polish wooden surfaces is with a simple mixture of olive oil and a few drop of essential oil. Orange, again, is one I just love for this. A little of this mixture goes a long way.
Bathroom Cleaning
I know, fun right? Not really. Well, first I use the spray cleaner for the mirrors and basically all surfaces including my sink. For the toilet, the commercial products out there are some of the most toxic for you to be using. All you need is either baking soda or Borax. Dump some in the bowl, leave it for about 15 minutes(I do it first then come back at the end of my bathroom cleaning) and scrub with toilet brush and flush. Done.
The tub…oh, the fun of cleaning the tub. I have the BEST recipe for that too, and you will actually enjoy breathing it in and won’t require any ventilation or open windows to avoid a headache while cleaning. That may have sounded like a joke, but think about it. Most of the products you clean with have those types of warnings on them. What does that tell you? They simply aren’t safe. Okay, back to the tub and my fabulous recipe. Here it is:
- ½ cup baking soda
- 3 tablespoons castile soap
- 22 drops lavender essential oil
- 10 drops tea tree oil
I hope all the information I have shared is at least a place to start for you. Even if you pick one room and start slowly, that’s great! Unless you are able to just get rid of all the bad stuff, I would finish what you already have and then start buying the better non-toxic stuff (or the ingredients for my homemade recipes).
Cathy loves to blog, eat a vegetarian diet, and keep her home as non-toxic as possible for her children and their well-being. She loves to be social on Twitter and would call herself green, but not crunchy! If you would like more green tips or to read her blog, please visit http://www.letsbegreentogether.com/. She would love to hear from you!
Monday, February 15, 2010
‘Real Simple’ Daily Quick Cleaning Checklist
I was searching the Real Simple website last night and came across this wonderful checklist. It provides a list of things to do each day to keep your house looking neat between your weekly cleanings. This entire list should take less than 30 minutes! I’m going to give it a try. Check it out! Click here.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
On My Way
Jake and I had our carpets cleaned last week by a great company called, "Free Carpet Care." No, the cleaning wasn't free but their last name is. Catchy huh? Anyway, they did a phenomenal job. They went into our office closet and saw a pile of broken down boxes on the floor. Sheri said she has a friend who is moving and needed boxes and asked if I would be willing to give them up. YES! Please take them! So, my office closet not only has a floor, but a clean one at that!
It's amazing how large it looks without the clutter on the floor. I'm on my way to having that closet cleaned out. My goal for our coming weekend (Tues and Wed) is to empty the closet completely, wipe down all of the shelves, and maybe finish painting in there so it flows with the rest of the room. I would also like to make our hall coat closet a linen closet instead by taking out the bar and adding more shelves.
Jake and I also had a friend of ours come over and analyze our bedroom. Jules is an interior designer and does decorative painting. She had some great ideas on where to put our furniture and some ideas for the walls to make things more interesting. I moved the furniture the other day and I'm very happy with it. We still have a lot more to do but I'm looking forward to making our bedroom a relaxing and beautiful place to be.
It's amazing how large it looks without the clutter on the floor. I'm on my way to having that closet cleaned out. My goal for our coming weekend (Tues and Wed) is to empty the closet completely, wipe down all of the shelves, and maybe finish painting in there so it flows with the rest of the room. I would also like to make our hall coat closet a linen closet instead by taking out the bar and adding more shelves.
Jake and I also had a friend of ours come over and analyze our bedroom. Jules is an interior designer and does decorative painting. She had some great ideas on where to put our furniture and some ideas for the walls to make things more interesting. I moved the furniture the other day and I'm very happy with it. We still have a lot more to do but I'm looking forward to making our bedroom a relaxing and beautiful place to be.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Tip 1, Reasons to Get Organzied
The tip for January 1 is, "What are your compelling reasons for getting organized? Write them down." Here are mine:
1. A cleaner house
2. A nicer looking home
3. More free time
4. Helping someone by donating my stuff
5. Have more visitors
6. Spend less time looking for things
What are yours?
1. A cleaner house
2. A nicer looking home
3. More free time
4. Helping someone by donating my stuff
5. Have more visitors
6. Spend less time looking for things
What are yours?
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