Clean up that Me$$

Getting rid of Grease stains

I occasionally get grease splatters on clothing when cooking.  To remove the grease from clothing I saturate the stain with dish washing liquid before laundering.  Be sure to check to see that the grease came out before placing your garment in the dryer.  If not ,l repeat the process.

Spill the olive oil on the table cloth?  Blot up as much as you can with a clean dry cloth.  Then,sprinkle salt on the mess to absorb the oil and lift some of the stain.  Treat with dish washing liquid and launder as usual.

To make cleanup easier when baking with items like honey or molasses I coat the inside of my measuring cup with cooking spray.  Less waste too.

Clean your cast iron skillets with a paste of coarse salt and water.

31 day$ to a Le$$ Cluttered Life #3

If you've completed the first 10 challenges you are over 1/3 of the way through the month!  Congrats.  It takes 30 days to make a habit!

11) Listen to something you enjoy as you de-clutter.  Perhaps your favorite rock and roll tune or classical music gets you motivated.  Maybe it is a book on tape or your favorite pod cast...

While you are at it, clean out the apps on your phone that you no longer use.  Technology needs de-cluttering occasionally too!

12)  Tackle the coat closet next.
Donate or consign those items that are too small or are never warn,
Repair items that need a button secured.
Launder or dry clean other items.
Place baskets or bins in the closet to house scarves, hats and mittens or gloves.  Find the missing mates or toss.

13)  I love to cook and I regularly tear recipes out of magazines and the newspaper.  I find the change of seasons an ideal time to purge my files and pull out recipes I want to try for the coming season.  Toss recipes you KNOW you'll never make and file the rest in an accordion file by type (chicken, pasta, breakfast).  Purge any cookbooks that just didn't live up to their color photos on the front cover.

14)  This is also the perfect time to purge the spice rack of that cardamom (or any other spice) you bought 3 Christmas's ago and the pantry of expired canned goods .  I make a "bucket list" of 3-5 recipes I want to make and put the special ingredients on my shopping list.    

The pantry purge gives me ideas on how to use up what I have.  This Frugality girl hates to wast good food!

15)  And now to purge the baking dishes and cookie sheets.  I may never really get rid of that pumpkin shaped cake pan but I do remember that I have it and make a plan to use it for the next Halloween neighborhood potluck!

31 day$ to a Le$$ Cluttered Life #1

I'm inclined to agree with my dear Daughter, Alayna, who says a new school year is almost better than the New Year we celebrate on January 1 for starting new habits and shedding old...SO it is to that sentiment that this post is dedicated.
Here is my list of suggestions to de-clutter your life in 31 days or less.  If you employ one of these each day for a month, you'll have a less cluttered life and all of the benefits that go with that!

1)  Stash the Trash

When papers come home from school or in the mail employ the TOUCH ONCE and be done policy.
Note from the teacher?  Read and Sign it and place it back in Juniors backpack.
Reminder notice for the PTA meeting next week?  Put it on your family calendar and in your phones calendar and throw the paper away.
If you get these reminders electronically you can employ the same habit.

Art work from your preschool students?  Place in a "pizza box" labeled with the name of the child and the year.  These stack nicely and you can find them years later when Junior goes off to college.   Use these to create greeting cards or wrapping paper for grandparents or far-flung relatives.



My boxes, pictured at right are actually 12x12 scrapbook paper boxes.

2)  Clean out the Junk Drawer:
Get rid of those pens that no longer work or markers that have dried up.
Can't identify the key and it won't fit any doors you have?  Toss or (as I do) use in a Steam Punk art project. If you aren't crafty you could still donate to your high school art teacher (trust me on this...she will be glad to get your cast offs).
Address book?  Enter the information into your phone.
Sequester your rubber bands in a box or Ziploc bag.  Place paperclips in a magnetic holder, put stamps and address labels in a plastic envelope to keep them usable.
Some dollar store divided boxes help keep the clutter at bay.

 3)  New School year always means exposure to more germs, colds and viruses.  Take this opportunity to clean out your medicine chest or drawer and dispose of any outdated or expired  medicines.  At a minimum,make sure you have a thermometer, band aids, hydro cortisone cream, benadryl, pain relief and perhaps a cold/flu medicine on hand for those middle of the night emergencies.  

4)  If back to school means shopping for new clothes to your family then use this time to purge the closet and drawers.  If the kids didn't wear the garment  in the last 12 months or it no longer fits , it goes into my consignment box or donate (if it is worn, stained or out of style).  Many charities are able to use bulk garments even if they are not suitable for wear-so I never throw these items in the trash.  Stained and mismatched socks-GONE!  Worn shoes are donated to Edge ministries to help fund clean water in those areas in need.  If it is missing a button and I KNOW I don't have the replacement or won't fix it then it is recycled.  The only exception to my recycling of clothing rule is that old undies are tossed in the garbage!

Clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, coats, etc. are taken to a local consignment store that pays for my STASH in CASH.  The items they reject are then consigned to a sale hosted by my church.  Anything that doesn't sell does NOT come home but is donated.

The closet purge is completed when old bent or broken hangers are pitched in the trash

5)  Bathroom Drawers are cleaned out of broken hair-ties, half used lip-gloss and the dried up nail polish.  If I am feeling really motivated, I may reline these drawers with new shelf paper.  Half empty bottles are consolidated or discarded.  Hairbrushes are washed and cleaned of that hairball and readied for use.

We make a list of any new makeup that might be required and add to our back to school shopping list.

Pick a start date
Set a timer for 15 minutes and tackle one of these clutter busters
When the time rings, you're done fro the day.
Check back for 5 more tips in my next post.

Happy Purging!

What if it $tinks?

I swear I am the ONLY person in my house who can smell a rotting onion or potato in the pantry!  The thing could putrefy before anyone besides deal old mom searches out the stink and removes the offending object...We've all had those (embarrassing )bad smells emanating from some place in the kitchen and they can be hard to get rid of so here are a few ideas to keep the kitchen odor free.

Garbage disposal:  pour a cup of boiling water through the disposal which will clean the blades.  Follow with the peels of a lemon or orange.

Fridge:  give the interior a good wipe down occasionally with a clean rag dipped in diluted white vinegar, place a new box of baking soda in the back and dip a cotton ball in vanilla extract (place it in a bowl) on the lowest shelf.  Remove after a few days>  Of if you prefer, use coffee beans/used grounds instead.

Dishwasher:  Don't let a half full dishwasher stink up your kitchen.  Rinse dishes if they are going to sit for more than a day or two.  IF a really bad odor persists, you may have to clean the filters.  Some food particles may be stuck.

Stove:  Turn on your range hood when you cook, clean the grate over the fan, which collects grease.  Clean your oven occasionally along with the drip pan under the burners to remove food particles that can create a smell. 

The bathroom:  For those embarrassing "personal odors", light a match to quickly dispel the stink.  That's probably why a wise hostess has a candle burning in the powder room during her parties...

Baking soda, white vinegar and borax (like a concentrated baking soda) work wonders at removing odors. 
Brush your dog regularly, vacuum regularly and light a candle

Clean it like you mean it

I love a clean house but don't often have the time to do it as well or as thoroughly as I'd like and I am too cheap to employ a professional cleaning lady so...here is what works for me

De-clutter before you begin to clean

--remove items from table tops and counters

--throw away junk mail and newspapers

Work Clockwise and set a time limit

--set a time limit to assure you'll work efficiently. Play lively music to get you going and make it seem less a chore

--If you are using a cleaning product (toilet bowl or tub, for example) Spray first and allow the product to work while you focus on other cleaning tasks. This uses less elbow grease

--start at the entrance of a room and clean clockwise until you are back at the entrance of the room

--vacuum first and then dust to catch what dust you stirred up while vacuuming

IF you are dusting walls and baseboards, light fixtures, etc be sure to dust those first and then do the furniture after you've vacuumed

SIMPLIFY

--use only a few cleaning products that work for you

--I LOVE microfiber cleaning cloths. Dampen slightly and use to clean glass table tops, mirrors and windows. These are perfect dust catchers and even work on your blinds.

--Mr. Clean magic erasers work for those fingerprints on door and banisters-no scrubbing required

--Scrub using BOTH Hands for more power or wash with the right hand and dry with the left hand

--reduce clutter (knick-knacks) to make cleaning easier

--sometimes good enough is...well, GOOD enough!

--get in the habit of putting things away or wiping up the spill as soon as you you're done (let me know how you teach this to your pre-teen)

The devil is in the details

--don't forget door handles, cabinet pulls, behind the appliances on the counter

--sometimes just replacing that nasty shower curtain liner or the stove burner is more efficient than cleaning it

--if you're in a pinch, only do the room that company will see or hit only the hot spots (clean the toilet, vacuum high traffic areas)

$mells? How to air out your house just in time for $pring!

Time to open the windows and get some of that fresh spring air smell inside! 
Here are some tips on the BEST way to bring only the best of the great outdoors inside.

1) Keep the screens in so varmints don't get in along with that fresh spring air.
2) If you have double hung Windows, open the top and bottom equal amounts.  Warm air will escape out the top and the cooler air will enter through the bottom of the window.
3) Open windows across the hall from each other.  Outside air will enter through one and that stale air will exit through the other.
4) Change your furnace filter regularly.  Run your A/C on low to filter out particulates (which trap odor molecules)
5) Place fans strategically in conjunction with your open windows to get the most benefit
6)  Clean your blinds and windows while you are at it to maximize that spring cleaning feel.

To clean blinds and windows arm yourself with a MR Clean magic eraser (new) and several microfiber towels and a few rags.
Lightly moisten the magic eraser with water and clean the blinds by stroking the eraser across the blinds. 
Wipe clean with a damp rag, dry with a clean rag. 
Moisten half of a microfiber towel and "wash" the window".  Dry with a clean microfiber towel.  Viola!  Sparkling clean with no streaks or use of chemicals!