Produce

Do you wash your produce?! If not, you really should! Its so easy! As soon as you get home from the grocery store fill your sink with cold water and dump in some vinegar, 1/4-1/2 cupish-I promise it won't change the taste of your fruit! I let mine sit while I put away the rest of the groceries. 

Then when everything else is put away I fish them all out....honestly this picture doesn't begin to show how gross and dirty the water is! 

So this not only will clean your produce BUT it will also help it last longer! My produce lasts 1-2 weeks longer when it's washed and soaked in this solution! 

Prepping produce before putting it away: I do these things because I find that we don't waste any produce when all we have to do us grab it and put it in our mouthes!

I take all my grapes off the vines & soak them, & cut my pineapples, strawberries and melons; then when they are done, they go straight to a bowl and into the fridge so they are ready to just eat, no work necessary! 

This process ads 1/2 an hour to my putting away groceries BUT my produce gets eaten before it goes bad because its easy and my kids have a GOOD easy snack rather then junk food! AND it doesn't take up as much room when it's all cut up and stacked in rubber-maids! 

Cleaning 101 Part 3

Deep Cleaning, this should be a piece of cake if you are keeping up with the other stuff! I do this every 2-3 weeks. I also usually do this during one of my normal weekly cleanings and just add this stuff in where it applies. ~Dusting-I take my norwex mop while its dry and go around all the ceiling edges to catch cob webs, I also run it along my base boards. (Takes maybe 10 minutes to whip around my entire tiny town house.) ~Wiping Walls-Go around and wipe with a wet cloth all high traffic door ways-especially at about 3-4 high where little hands grab the wall as they walk into a room. Wipe the walls in the kitchen and especially around the stove and garbage can. Check doors and handles for dirty handprints and then finish with the walls around the toilet. ~I don't always vacuum my entire house when I vacuum so I make sure to hit all bedrooms and the stairs when I do my deep cleaning.  ~Wash out and clean whatever you store your tooth brushes and other hygiene things in.  ~I normally have to organize and de-clutter my end table by my bed each time I deep clean too-I don't know how but it always seems to get so cluttered! ~This is the week I normally vinegar my cloths and wash all rugs in the house.  ONCE a month: ~vacuum under sofa cushions.  ~organize food cupboards. (mine tend to get a little dis-organized after my kids and hubby have been moving things around all month) ~wash any pillow case covers, table runners, place mats etc. I also wash the bigger bedding-blankets and comforters at this time too.  ~soak anything where mold can grow in bleach water-sippy cup lids, water bottles & straws, food choppers, bath toys, toys that end up going in babies mouths.  ONCE every 3 months: ~Clean out and wipe down drawers where you keep your kitchen utensils.  ~Clean stove. ONCE every 6 months: ~move fridge/stove and clean under them.  ~if you can move beds and sofa and vacuum under them. ~clean out closet, if you haven't worn it in 6 months to a year (depending on season) donate it. ~go through toys and donate what it is not EVER being played with.

Cleaning 101 Part 2

For your 'regular' or weekly cleaning-that stuff that doesn't need done EVERY day but often. P.S. if you do the things I listed in part 1, this will be quick and easy.  I don't have the main things broken down by room because I do a task and go from room to room doing that one thing, then I move onto the next and move from room to room doing it. ~Dust-I use a dry micro fiber cloth on all my large and/or wood surfaces. I then wet the cloth and wipe down picture frames, lamp bases, random decor pieces.  ~Windows/Mirrors/Glass Surfaces-I use a norwex window cloth-MUST have-I wipe everything down with the wet cloth and then anything that has a glass or mirrored surface I wipe dry with the window cloth. This HONESTLY keeps things from accumulating dust for SO long! I use this on my mirrors, glassed picture frames, tv, windows, you name it.  ~Vacuum-Now that I have any excess dust and dirt on the floor I vacuum  As previously stated in part 1 I hate sweeping so I use my hand tools to do the kitchen, entry ways and bathrooms. Because I use my hand tool to do the hard floors after I do the living room, stairs and bedrooms, I get it out on my way back to the hard floors and get the edges of the room and hard to reach spaces. It takes a few extra minutes but saves when it comes to deep cleaning time and things don't have the time to get dusty and gross. (P.S. I have a dyson and I LOVE it. . .just sayin) ~Mop-Use what you like to mop. I like the magic eraser mop for linoleum floors and for hard wood I like the Norwex mop or something similar. I use a water and vinegar mix for the floors when using norwex mop. This shouldn't take long because if your keeping the dirt and food off the floor in the kitchen on a regular basis, and wiping up spills when they happen, there won't be much to get up!  ~Laundry-wash clothes, sheets, towels, wash cloths etc. (If you have easy access to your washer and dryer I'd do this through out the week. Mine are in my basement and its a pain so I do it all at once.) Now the main rooms are done. . .S.A.W.E.E.T.  All that is left is the toilet in the bathroom! I personally keep those clorox wipes close to get any messes when I see them and then I also keep a clorox wand -BEST INVENTION EVER- next to the toilet too so that when I see a ring starting I can just take care of it right then, SO. . .the toilet is already DONE! 

Cleaning 101 Part 1

So...I'm a clean freak & I have a few things I do all the time that make 'deep' cleaning faster & easier. I have a friend that asked me if I'd share, so here we go. These sound simple but they are a lot of little things people don't do and it makes more work later, and can make your house look dirty. I will do a 3 part series. . .the 'everyday' stuff, the 'regular scheduled' stuff, & the 'deep cleaning' stuff.

~when you see a spill, clean it NOW. If you put if off it won't get done. This means: in the fridge, on the leg of a chair, on the stove, in the microwave, down the side of the garbage can, on the end table etc. (by doing this you'll never have 'clean out' the fridge, microwave etc. because they will always be clean)

~hang all cloths to dry-do NOT leave them wadded up. Letting them DRY will keep stink out longer. (I use micro fiber cloths and prefer Norwex) (IF you do get stinky cloths use vinegar through your washer-this will clean out your washer and get the funk out of your cloths and towels-I do this every few months on all my towels and cloths 'just in case')

~clean the sink every time you use it. When your in the kitchen and wiping down counters, when you rinse out your cloth, wipe down the sink. In the bathroom when you wash your hands or brush your teeth quickly wipe down the sink before finishing. (This is a MUST at homes with small children. Toothpaste, sand, you name it, it gets left in the sink.) I also make my kids do the same thing when I am with them helping them to help make it a habit.

~leave Clorox wipes in bathroom so you can wipe down the toilet when needed. (With little boys this is more often the not...)

~hose down shower when you finish showering, that way grime doesn't have time to grow.

~don't wear shoes that you wear outside inside. Carrying in dirt and grossness make for more vacuuming and sweeping. & honestly think about where you walk...public restrooms...enough said.

~get a small hand vac and vacuum under the table after every meal. (Or you can sweep-I hate sweeping) this only takes a few minutes, but you will find you only need to mop once every few weeks by keeping things off the floor and not getting stepped on and ground in. (this also makes a HUGE difference in how clean your kitchen appears and feels)

~clean as you cook. Wash dishes as you go. If you can't wash the dishes as you go at least rinse/soak them so food doesn't get hard and crusty and harder to wash. (Or load the dishes in the dishwasher if you have one...I don't) Wipe up spills as you go, put away mixer when done using it, etc.

~THROW AWAY CRAP & file necessary paper. Don't let papers and mail clutter an area. Have a place for everything-if you don't have a place-make a place.

~If you have small children, have a place for their toys to go. If you have a 'stash' of living room toys, have a storage space for them to go so that you can have them put away when they aren't being used. This will help your room feel less cluttered and more like a living room then a play room.