For real, ya'll. White vinegar is where it's at. We've all seen those posts online about "1000 Uses For White Vinegar," right? Well, they're all totally true. Okay, so I haven't tried out that many uses for it. But seriously, every single thing I've tried vinegar for totally works.
I think I started cleaning with white vinegar maybe 2 years ago. Though maybe its been closer to 3, since my child is now 3, and all this "crunchy" stuff started shortly after her birth. Anyway, I started with vinegar pretty slowly, just using up my regular cleaning stuff before replacing it with vinegar-based cleaners. And by that I mean homemade cleaners. Probably the first time I used vinegar for cleaning was when I ran out of Windex. I rinsed out the Windex bottle really well and filled it back up with 1/2 water and 1/2 white vinegar. I started using that to clean up tough messes in the kitchen. After that, I started cleaning the glass in the house with the solution. Not long after, my bathroom cleaners ran out, so I started using the same solution in the bathrooms. (Eventually, I discovered tea tree oil and its awesome powers, so my bathroom solution also got a few drops of TTO essential oil squirted in.) From there, my love of vinegar for cleaning has just spiraled.
When I switched to cloth diapers, I discovered that I am allergic to fabric softeners. (I had to quit using fabric softener since it builds up on cloth diapers, making them worthless, and it wasn't long before I realized I wasn't itching any more!) After some research, I realized that white vinegar is a great natural alternative for fabric softener. I've been using it ever since and I love it. Our clothes do NOT come out smelling like vinegar at all - trust me, if they did DH would complain! One thing I have found is that vinegar does NOT help much with static. Maybe I'm just not using enough in the washing machine, but when I dry clothes (I line dry almost everything, but then I "fluff up" the clothes so they're not wrinkly), there is always a TON of static. I use 2 dryer balls, but I'm thinking I need to invest in a few more, and possibly some wool ones. Either way, a little static doesn't bother me too much.
Basically, if I have something to clean in the house, I'm gonna grab the vinegar first. 9 times out of 10, that does the trick. My husband doesn't care for the smell, but he's usually not around when I'm cleaning, and by the time he gets home the smell is completely gone. It doesn't bother me at all, and I'd much rather smell vinegar than some of the cleaners that you can buy in the store!
One use for vinegar I've never tried is the ol' clean out the microwave trick. Why? Basically cause I don't clean the microwave very often. Ew, I know. I don't put anything in the microwave without a cover on it, to avoid splatters. DH forgets, but normally I'm right there with him to remind him if he microwaves something. I honestly don't use the microwave at home all that much, and when I do I'm in a hurry (which is why I'm using it in the first place...!) and don't even notice how gross it is in there.
Well, Jen at I Heart Organizing has started a daily cleaning task challenge on her blog. Its been very motivational for me. I get the basics done weekly or every other week, but things like wiping down cabinet fronts and cleaning the microwave usually get overlooked in my busy schedule. Jen has inspired me to get these little (yet annoying) tasks completed a little over time, instead of all at once (like on a "Spring Cleaning" day - ugh, I hate those!). One day last week, she cleaned her microwave and I was amazed at how easy it was. So on Saturday, I gave it a whirl.
I was already on a roll with my vinegar/water spray bottle that day. I wiped down the bathroom, the kitchen, and the washing machine. At lunch I had heated up some leftovers and noticed how yucky the microwave was, so after lunch I tried Jen's trick: I filled a bowl with about 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and a few drops of lemon essential oil (for the smell). I set the microwave for 10 minutes and continued my cleaning around the house. After 10 minutes, the microwave interior was nice and steamy (and the house smelled great from the lemon!). I just took a rag and wiped it down and voila! Clean! Admittedly, I did have to spray a little extra vinegar in there and go over a few tough spots (man, did we have a lot of butter build up in there!), but it really didn't take much elbow grease at all. And hopefully now it'll be easier for me to keep clean.
Oh, and I didn't take any before/after pics, cause who needs to see a gross microwave? And we all know what a clean one looks like. ( ;
Moral of the story: vinegar saves the day again! Do YOU have a favorite use for white vinegar around the home?? ( :
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
3.10.2014
11.04.2013
Fall Changes
Ah, life. I feel like I'm so busy all the time, but when I look back and try to write about what's been going on that's had me so busy, I come up empty-handed. What have I been doing with myself?? I've come to the conclusion that just life in general is busy and crazy. Even when I don't have events going on. And that's okay. Its my life, and I love it. ( :
Not all the time, of course. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that, exactly. Its not that I have true moments when I just hate my life. Hate certain situations, yes. Either way you look at it, I'm not happy-go-lucky all the time. My glass is not always half full.
I'm on the quest to find a new blog to follow. I know, I know, I need another blog to read like I need another hole in my head. But this blog I'm looking for will be different. All of the blogs I follow are written by stay-at-home-moms. And I love that. For them. I'm truly happy that these women can be with their kids every day. And I love that they have enough time to blog so people like me can read and learn from them.
But its hard to relate to SAHMs. And I feel like maybe they can't really relate to women like me, who have to work full-time and still figure out how to manage a family. I would love to be able to stay home with my daughter (and any future kids we may be blessed with), and I would love to eventually homeschool her, but right now that's not a possibility. No, I'm not giving up my dream of doing just that. Maybe one day it'll happen. But its time to stop daydreaming and start living in the here and now.
I'll still follow my beloved blogs by the SAHMs - they are good inspiration for me, and I truly love reading their stuff. I just want to find a good blogger who is a working mama. There's got to be some of us out there, right? Or are we all just too busy to do it all and blog about it? Cause I know that's my problem. I struggle with keeping up with all my normal, every day stuff - throwing a blog into the mix is almost impossible. Which is why this baby doesn't get updated daily. Or even weekly sometimes.
I want to read about someone else who is struggling like I am. Struggling with having to be away from home 50+ hours a week and not having enough time after work to get things done that need to be done. Struggling with the fact that I leave my child every day to be raised by someone else. Struggling with the fact that I miss out on so many moments with her, and that I missed so many of her firsts. Struggling with coming home and trying to be the wife God has called me to be, and the mother He has called me to be, all while being exhausted from working all day. Struggling to cook good meals for my family when I am home just a few waking hours every day. Struggling with wanting to spend time with my daughter after work, but needing to wash clothes and cook supper, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I know SAHMs struggle, too. I know they're busy. I know that. I know when you're home all day with a toddler or a baby its hard to get stuff done, and I know how an entire day can go by without you realizing it. But its still a different struggle. Cause us working moms have to deal with all that, plus our mommy-guilt over not being with our kids all day. At least, I do. Every day, it kills me to leave C with her grandma. Even though I know my MIL is doing an excellent job with her, and C is shaping up to be a nicely mannered girl.
So when I get home at 5:45 with her, I want to just drop everything and play with her, make memories with her, do stuff with her. Instead, I have time to take just a few minutes to talk with her, maybe read a quick story, then I have to rush around and start supper, do laundry, what have you. Otherwise, I'll spend my entire Saturday doing nothing but cleaning. As it is, I spend at least 1-2 hours on Saturdays just cleaning. And I feel guilty for doing that, cause Saturdays are supposed to be our days together. Guilt is so powerful.
Sure, C helps me around the house. She likes to "help" in the kitchen when I cook - but not all the time. She likes to help get clothes out of the dryer, or put them in. She likes to help hang wet clothes on the drying rack. She likes to "sweep" with her little broom while I sweep the house. So we're spending time together, and I have to remind myself that that's what's important. It doesn't really matter what we're doing. And I know that having her help me do housework is good for her.
But some nights I lay her in her bed and think wow, we didn't do anything fun tonight. We just worked. And it makes me sad.
So, I'm gonna make a few changes in my life. (Again. I feel like I am constantly doing that! But I guess that's good, cause it means I am constantly trying to improve myself, right?) Three weeks ago, my iPhone was stolen. (Yeah, that was a fun day.) Since then, my boss hasn't given me a new one. At first, I was pretty bummed, and couldn't wait for a new phone. Now, though, I kind of like it. I didn't realize how attached I was to that thing. I still have my other cell phone, so I've gone back to using it. I can talk and text on it, and that's it. Sometimes it would be nice to have a smart phone (like when I need directions!), but for the most part, I don't need it. Its been nice to be "unplugged" a bit. I don't have my phone attached to my hand at all times anymore, so I'm not constantly checking facebook and my email. Or taking random pictures. I have, however, taken way more "real" photos with my nice camera.
However, I still have the iPad. Its big and bulky and heavy, and I don't like using it, but its easier than my laptop, so I do use it quite a bit now. I don't use it to check email and facebook as much as I was with the phone, but I still do it more than necessary. So I'm gonna put a stop to that. Starting tonight. Tonight, I will not touch the iPad until I'm rocking C to sleep. Instead of taking a few minutes after supper (and before bath time) to scroll through facebook, I'm gonna play with my daughter. I'm gonna squeeze in as much time with her as possible. When she's asleep and I lay her down, I'm gonna put the iPad away for the night. If I don't go right to bed, I'm gonna talk to my husband. Instead of ignoring him like its so easy for me to do.
And tomorrow morning when I'm eating my breakfast, instead of opening up the iPad and checking facebook and Instagram, I'm gonna do a Bible study. It just hit me earlier today that during breakfast is the perfect time for me to do Bible study. I always eat alone, since DH is gone by then and C's not up yet, but every morning I eat and stare at the iPad. I attempt to do Bible study at night, after C is asleep, but I'm normally too exhausted to do it then, and some nights I don't even lay her down until 11 or after, then I need to get to sleep myself. So breakfast and Bible study it is. I'm kinda excited to start tomorrow. And I wish I had thought of this sooner!
What else? Well, I'm finally gonna make a budget. I've been talking about it for a year almost, and its time to get serious. That's my plan tonight, actually. I want to sit down with DH and get him to help me. I want to be smarter with my money. Even if I'm never able to be a SAHM, I need to do this. And if I'm ever gonna be able to be a SAHM, I need to do this. No matter how you look at it, I need to do this!
Starting this week, I'm also gonna get back into meal planning. I haven't done it for several months, and supper time has been so stressful. This time, though, I want to do it a little differently. I want to meal plan and shop accordingly. The last time I did meal planning, I just planned meals based on what we had already. Which was fine, and its a good way to go through your pantry/freezer/frigde. I'll be doing that again, and then when its time to buy groceries, I want to shop with a plan of what we'll be cooking. Eventually, I want to try once a month shopping, but at first I think weekly or hopefully bi-weekly shopping will do. We need to cut out these little quick grocery store trips. And I want to cut out all this eating out we've been doing lately. (Well, its only once a week or so, but it adds up!)
The last change I want to make is to employ a home management schedule. I started one a while back and stuck to it for a while, but for whatever reason I just abandoned it. I need to go back and think on that, figure out what went wrong so I don't make the same mistakes this time around. My house cleaning goal is to do a little bit every day, so that I can have the weekends to have fun. A little cleaning on Saturdays is okay, but I don't want to be doing heavy cleaning every Saturday. Plus, more often than not, I end up gone for at least part of the day on Saturdays, so my house needs to be in order prior to that.
In reality, I end up just doing the bare minimum during the week (keeping the kitchen clean, washing clothes, sweeping - which is a daily task for me), and on Saturday mornings I find myself having to vacuum, dust, clean the bathrooms, etc. Luckily, it doesn't take me all day since I live in a small house. But I feel like I could be using my time better during the week.
No, I don't have a lot of time between the time I get home from work and the time I put C to bed, and I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but I also want to spend as much time with her on Saturdays as possible. If that means sacrificing just a few more minutes with her each night to do something quick (like wiping down the bathrooms so they don't need to be scrubbed on the weekend), then so be it. More likely, it'll mean "sacrificing" a few minutes on facebook each evening. I can do that. I'm already halfway there, since I don't have the easy temptation of the iPhone to deal with anymore. I can do it!
Okay, normally when I write things down and blog about it, I do it. Hopefully that'll be the case this time. This blog will hold me accountable, like it has for so many other things before. Wish me luck! Oh, and if you know of any bloggers who are in my situation, please share! Cause I truly want to read about other women like me! ( :
Not all the time, of course. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that, exactly. Its not that I have true moments when I just hate my life. Hate certain situations, yes. Either way you look at it, I'm not happy-go-lucky all the time. My glass is not always half full.
I'm on the quest to find a new blog to follow. I know, I know, I need another blog to read like I need another hole in my head. But this blog I'm looking for will be different. All of the blogs I follow are written by stay-at-home-moms. And I love that. For them. I'm truly happy that these women can be with their kids every day. And I love that they have enough time to blog so people like me can read and learn from them.
But its hard to relate to SAHMs. And I feel like maybe they can't really relate to women like me, who have to work full-time and still figure out how to manage a family. I would love to be able to stay home with my daughter (and any future kids we may be blessed with), and I would love to eventually homeschool her, but right now that's not a possibility. No, I'm not giving up my dream of doing just that. Maybe one day it'll happen. But its time to stop daydreaming and start living in the here and now.
I'll still follow my beloved blogs by the SAHMs - they are good inspiration for me, and I truly love reading their stuff. I just want to find a good blogger who is a working mama. There's got to be some of us out there, right? Or are we all just too busy to do it all and blog about it? Cause I know that's my problem. I struggle with keeping up with all my normal, every day stuff - throwing a blog into the mix is almost impossible. Which is why this baby doesn't get updated daily. Or even weekly sometimes.
I want to read about someone else who is struggling like I am. Struggling with having to be away from home 50+ hours a week and not having enough time after work to get things done that need to be done. Struggling with the fact that I leave my child every day to be raised by someone else. Struggling with the fact that I miss out on so many moments with her, and that I missed so many of her firsts. Struggling with coming home and trying to be the wife God has called me to be, and the mother He has called me to be, all while being exhausted from working all day. Struggling to cook good meals for my family when I am home just a few waking hours every day. Struggling with wanting to spend time with my daughter after work, but needing to wash clothes and cook supper, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I know SAHMs struggle, too. I know they're busy. I know that. I know when you're home all day with a toddler or a baby its hard to get stuff done, and I know how an entire day can go by without you realizing it. But its still a different struggle. Cause us working moms have to deal with all that, plus our mommy-guilt over not being with our kids all day. At least, I do. Every day, it kills me to leave C with her grandma. Even though I know my MIL is doing an excellent job with her, and C is shaping up to be a nicely mannered girl.
So when I get home at 5:45 with her, I want to just drop everything and play with her, make memories with her, do stuff with her. Instead, I have time to take just a few minutes to talk with her, maybe read a quick story, then I have to rush around and start supper, do laundry, what have you. Otherwise, I'll spend my entire Saturday doing nothing but cleaning. As it is, I spend at least 1-2 hours on Saturdays just cleaning. And I feel guilty for doing that, cause Saturdays are supposed to be our days together. Guilt is so powerful.
Sure, C helps me around the house. She likes to "help" in the kitchen when I cook - but not all the time. She likes to help get clothes out of the dryer, or put them in. She likes to help hang wet clothes on the drying rack. She likes to "sweep" with her little broom while I sweep the house. So we're spending time together, and I have to remind myself that that's what's important. It doesn't really matter what we're doing. And I know that having her help me do housework is good for her.
But some nights I lay her in her bed and think wow, we didn't do anything fun tonight. We just worked. And it makes me sad.
So, I'm gonna make a few changes in my life. (Again. I feel like I am constantly doing that! But I guess that's good, cause it means I am constantly trying to improve myself, right?) Three weeks ago, my iPhone was stolen. (Yeah, that was a fun day.) Since then, my boss hasn't given me a new one. At first, I was pretty bummed, and couldn't wait for a new phone. Now, though, I kind of like it. I didn't realize how attached I was to that thing. I still have my other cell phone, so I've gone back to using it. I can talk and text on it, and that's it. Sometimes it would be nice to have a smart phone (like when I need directions!), but for the most part, I don't need it. Its been nice to be "unplugged" a bit. I don't have my phone attached to my hand at all times anymore, so I'm not constantly checking facebook and my email. Or taking random pictures. I have, however, taken way more "real" photos with my nice camera.
However, I still have the iPad. Its big and bulky and heavy, and I don't like using it, but its easier than my laptop, so I do use it quite a bit now. I don't use it to check email and facebook as much as I was with the phone, but I still do it more than necessary. So I'm gonna put a stop to that. Starting tonight. Tonight, I will not touch the iPad until I'm rocking C to sleep. Instead of taking a few minutes after supper (and before bath time) to scroll through facebook, I'm gonna play with my daughter. I'm gonna squeeze in as much time with her as possible. When she's asleep and I lay her down, I'm gonna put the iPad away for the night. If I don't go right to bed, I'm gonna talk to my husband. Instead of ignoring him like its so easy for me to do.
And tomorrow morning when I'm eating my breakfast, instead of opening up the iPad and checking facebook and Instagram, I'm gonna do a Bible study. It just hit me earlier today that during breakfast is the perfect time for me to do Bible study. I always eat alone, since DH is gone by then and C's not up yet, but every morning I eat and stare at the iPad. I attempt to do Bible study at night, after C is asleep, but I'm normally too exhausted to do it then, and some nights I don't even lay her down until 11 or after, then I need to get to sleep myself. So breakfast and Bible study it is. I'm kinda excited to start tomorrow. And I wish I had thought of this sooner!
What else? Well, I'm finally gonna make a budget. I've been talking about it for a year almost, and its time to get serious. That's my plan tonight, actually. I want to sit down with DH and get him to help me. I want to be smarter with my money. Even if I'm never able to be a SAHM, I need to do this. And if I'm ever gonna be able to be a SAHM, I need to do this. No matter how you look at it, I need to do this!
Starting this week, I'm also gonna get back into meal planning. I haven't done it for several months, and supper time has been so stressful. This time, though, I want to do it a little differently. I want to meal plan and shop accordingly. The last time I did meal planning, I just planned meals based on what we had already. Which was fine, and its a good way to go through your pantry/freezer/frigde. I'll be doing that again, and then when its time to buy groceries, I want to shop with a plan of what we'll be cooking. Eventually, I want to try once a month shopping, but at first I think weekly or hopefully bi-weekly shopping will do. We need to cut out these little quick grocery store trips. And I want to cut out all this eating out we've been doing lately. (Well, its only once a week or so, but it adds up!)
The last change I want to make is to employ a home management schedule. I started one a while back and stuck to it for a while, but for whatever reason I just abandoned it. I need to go back and think on that, figure out what went wrong so I don't make the same mistakes this time around. My house cleaning goal is to do a little bit every day, so that I can have the weekends to have fun. A little cleaning on Saturdays is okay, but I don't want to be doing heavy cleaning every Saturday. Plus, more often than not, I end up gone for at least part of the day on Saturdays, so my house needs to be in order prior to that.
In reality, I end up just doing the bare minimum during the week (keeping the kitchen clean, washing clothes, sweeping - which is a daily task for me), and on Saturday mornings I find myself having to vacuum, dust, clean the bathrooms, etc. Luckily, it doesn't take me all day since I live in a small house. But I feel like I could be using my time better during the week.
No, I don't have a lot of time between the time I get home from work and the time I put C to bed, and I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but I also want to spend as much time with her on Saturdays as possible. If that means sacrificing just a few more minutes with her each night to do something quick (like wiping down the bathrooms so they don't need to be scrubbed on the weekend), then so be it. More likely, it'll mean "sacrificing" a few minutes on facebook each evening. I can do that. I'm already halfway there, since I don't have the easy temptation of the iPhone to deal with anymore. I can do it!
Okay, normally when I write things down and blog about it, I do it. Hopefully that'll be the case this time. This blog will hold me accountable, like it has for so many other things before. Wish me luck! Oh, and if you know of any bloggers who are in my situation, please share! Cause I truly want to read about other women like me! ( :
9.04.2013
Labor Day Project
We had a pretty uneventful Labor Day weekend at our house. I had thought about heading to the coast, but in the end decided to just stay home and relax, and that's pretty much what happened!
On Monday, I decided to tackle a small project that's been on my mind for a WHILE now: my desk in our office. It had really gotten out of hand:
Yikes. Actually, this is not as bad as it has been in the past. Since I completed my Master's degree in 2011, my desk has been used as a dumping ground for all types of stuff (as you can see!). Anything I didn't have the time or energy to deal with got thrown onto my desk for me to handle "later." Since I graduated, I've been going through phases with this desk. I'll clean and organize it really well, keep it that way for a month or two, then it goes right back to the mess you see here.
My plan to stop that cycle (cause let's be real, I'm never gonna be good about immediately putting things away rather than just dumpin them on that handy flat surface!) is to get rid of the desk. I'll still need the storage for important papers and what-not, but I think a small bookcase can accomplish the same thing. We'll see what happens. Its not a huge goal on my list right now.
In the meantime, I decided to clean my desk (again). It took me about an hour, but I was so pleased with the results!
Ahhh, much better. The only thing left on there are my laptops (neither of which I use very often at all), a Mary Kay magazine (the current one - I throw out all the old ones now), and those 2 shoe boxes (which I'll explain in a minute). I was amazed at how much junk I was able to throw away!
I didn't do any organization of the drawers. Believe it or not, they're pretty tidy. Not perfect by any means, but I know where everything is in there. Not that I use most of it anymore, but still. There are, however, a ton of papers in both of the bottom (deeper) drawers that really need to be organized and filed better. At some point I'll come up with a system for that - probably when/if we ever get rid of this bulky desk.
My plan is to decorate those shoe boxes so they look prettier. But for now, they work so they're fine. The bottom box is full of craft stuff for C - coloring books, colored pencils, stickers, Modge Podge, etc.
I realize at some point I'll have accumulated enough craft stuff to warrant a much bigger storage solution, but for now this is fine. Its nice to have everything rounded up in one spot!
The other shoe box now houses my hair bow-making supplies: ribbon, scissors, wire, etc.
Such a big improvement over the grocery bag I was keepin this stuff in! I think I'm doin pretty well on the ribbon front, too. I've been making hair bows for C for several months now, and this is all the ribbon I've bought! I thought once I learned how to do it I'd go crazy, but I just don't feel the need to have a bunch of patterned bows for her. I like hers to be solid and simple.
So that's it! It was a simple project for the holiday, but it makes a huge impact on the office as a whole. Now I gotta do the same thing to my Mary Kay space on the other side of the closet..
I didn't take a picture cause its disgraceful to the Mary Kay brand (lol). My husband had a gorgeous shelf custom-built for my MK stuff, but something fell over and knocked a lot of stuff around, and I've been too lazy to fix it. It looks awful! One day I'd love to completely redo the office - get rid of my desk, get DH a new, nicer looking desk, pretty up the filing cabinet, get some curtains, etc. But the space is so unimportant to me that its not even on my list of house-related things to do (though maybe because its such a long list...haha!). ( :
On Monday, I decided to tackle a small project that's been on my mind for a WHILE now: my desk in our office. It had really gotten out of hand:
My plan to stop that cycle (cause let's be real, I'm never gonna be good about immediately putting things away rather than just dumpin them on that handy flat surface!) is to get rid of the desk. I'll still need the storage for important papers and what-not, but I think a small bookcase can accomplish the same thing. We'll see what happens. Its not a huge goal on my list right now.
In the meantime, I decided to clean my desk (again). It took me about an hour, but I was so pleased with the results!
I didn't do any organization of the drawers. Believe it or not, they're pretty tidy. Not perfect by any means, but I know where everything is in there. Not that I use most of it anymore, but still. There are, however, a ton of papers in both of the bottom (deeper) drawers that really need to be organized and filed better. At some point I'll come up with a system for that - probably when/if we ever get rid of this bulky desk.
My plan is to decorate those shoe boxes so they look prettier. But for now, they work so they're fine. The bottom box is full of craft stuff for C - coloring books, colored pencils, stickers, Modge Podge, etc.
The other shoe box now houses my hair bow-making supplies: ribbon, scissors, wire, etc.
So that's it! It was a simple project for the holiday, but it makes a huge impact on the office as a whole. Now I gotta do the same thing to my Mary Kay space on the other side of the closet..
I didn't take a picture cause its disgraceful to the Mary Kay brand (lol). My husband had a gorgeous shelf custom-built for my MK stuff, but something fell over and knocked a lot of stuff around, and I've been too lazy to fix it. It looks awful! One day I'd love to completely redo the office - get rid of my desk, get DH a new, nicer looking desk, pretty up the filing cabinet, get some curtains, etc. But the space is so unimportant to me that its not even on my list of house-related things to do (though maybe because its such a long list...haha!). ( :
8.02.2013
Closet Organization
I haven't done an organizing post in a while! That's because not much organizing has taken place in my house lately...whoops. I have tons of projects I want to take on, but limited funds and time makes it difficult. Plus, my husband has been talking about some major renovations to the house at some point in the near future, so I feel like I can't justify spending money on little things that are not absolute necessities. (Third world problems, much?)
Anyway, my daughter's closet has been LONG overdue for some help. Around this time last year, I bought a bunch of space bags and packed up all her baby clothes in them. (I really hope we put those bags in the shop, cause now I can't find them - oops). For about a month, we were organized. The problem with children is, though, that they just keep growing and outgrowing clothes! Every time I think I've got her clothes sorted so that only what fits is hanging up and in her drawers, she shoots up a size. So its a never ending battle.
My tactic for dealing with said clothes for the past year has been to just pile them in the bottom of C's closet. (I don't want to get rid of anything in case we ever have another girl baby.) At first, I had neat little stacks, just waiting to be stuffed into space bags or Rubbermaid containers. Over time, though, the piles got way out of control. It got to the point where I was ashamed to let anyone see her closet. Seriously. It was bad. Don't believe me? See for yourself:
See? I wasn't lyin! Embarrassing.
Last Friday I had finally had ENOUGH! I went to Target on my lunch break and noticed that they had some nice Rubbermaid containers for a good price. I think they were cheaper cause they were an ugly brown/beige color. But who cares about color? They will eventually be moved into our shop, so I am not concerned at all with how they look. I got 3 of them, and it turned out to be just enough (for right now).
When I got home from work, me and C completely emptied her closet. I was amazed at how much I had stuffed in there. It took over her entire room. For serious, you couldn't see the floor anymore (and C has a pretty big room). DH walked in at one point and his jaw dropped, haha. I told him to just turn around and pretend he hadn't seen anything! hehe
I found stuff I had completely forgotten about in that closet. C was thrilled to find new things to play with (as if she doesn't have a zillion toys already!). Once I got everything out of the closet and got it vacuumed, I sorted all the clothes and shoes (and oh boy, I clearly have a shoe obsession for my child...) by size. After a while, C got bored and asked if she could play in her crib. I don't know why she gets such a kick out of being in there when she's not sleeping, but whatever.
The whole ordeal took me over 2 hours, but it was well worth it! I have a pretty big pile of trash waiting to go to the dump - mostly damaged shoe boxes and bags. I found a bag of ancient cloth diapers that someone gave me a few years ago. I got them mainly to see what I thought about the whole cloth thing, but I quickly realized that these were not usable anymore. Completely worn out. Why was I holding on to them??? Hello, pack rat.
After all that work, I was left with this:
I know it doesn't really look much better to most people. There's still a ton of clothes in this closet. But now its all organized and neat! The 3 containers and those space bags will eventually put into the shop (as soon as DH makes some room out there), so the closet will have more room after that. I debated on whether I should keep that hanging organizer or not. The only thing I have stored in there now are shoes that C currently wears and baby blankets (that we no longer use, but I just don't have another place for them right now). I might see if DH can help me figure out how to hang that thing on the side of her closet. There's plenty of room, and that way I could still use it and have more space for hanging clothes.
I follow a lot of blogs, and I keep seeing posts on organized children's closets. And in those closets are like 8 outfits. With exactly an inch between each hanger. And then at the bottom of the closet is a stockpile of diapers and wipes. And that's it. What are those children wearing every day??! If C had so few clothes, I'd be washing every single day. Honestly, she has way too many clothes, but they're almost all given to me, and I don't turn down free stuff! And I like havin options for what to let her wear every day.
C has one dresser in her room, which is also used as a changing table. It has 3 drawers and 2 shelves (which are covered by a door). The shelves store cloth diapers (she's still in them at night). The top drawer holds panties and socks and hair ties; the middle drawer holds shorts and skirts; and the bottom drawer holds long pants and pajamas. And all the drawers are completely stuffed. So everything else gets hung in her closet. Maybe other mothers fold all their children's clothes??
Also in C's room is an antique cedar wardrobe and a cedar chest. The chest holds a gazillion blankets and quilts. It really needs to be gone through, but I just don't know where else to store that stuff. And the wardrobe is stuffed full of clothes for the next season. My mother and I buy stuff when its on sale, so we've been getting C some pretty cheap fall and winter clothes. Plus a family I know gave me a ton of clothes that C will be able to wear this winter.
I can't decide if I really hope we have another girl or not. If we do, we'll have plenty of clothes for her. If we have a boy next, we'll have to start all over. If C ends up being an only child, there's no need in keepin all this stuff! But how do you know?
So that's one more thing I can cross off my list. I still like opening up the door to C's closet and just smiling at how much better it looks! I'm a nerd like that. ( :
While cleaning out the closet, I found the t-ball stand that goes with a set C's had since she was a newborn. She's been playing with the super soft bat and balls (they're made for toddlers), but I had put the stand away for later, and then forgot about it. I had to explain to C what it was, but she immediately wanted to go outside and play ball. Then I found her tutu, and she said, "Mama, I want to wear my tutu and play ball!" So when the closet was finished, that's exactly what we did. I tied that tutu around her waist and we headed outside for some ball time. Man, I love my kid! ( :
Anyway, my daughter's closet has been LONG overdue for some help. Around this time last year, I bought a bunch of space bags and packed up all her baby clothes in them. (I really hope we put those bags in the shop, cause now I can't find them - oops). For about a month, we were organized. The problem with children is, though, that they just keep growing and outgrowing clothes! Every time I think I've got her clothes sorted so that only what fits is hanging up and in her drawers, she shoots up a size. So its a never ending battle.
My tactic for dealing with said clothes for the past year has been to just pile them in the bottom of C's closet. (I don't want to get rid of anything in case we ever have another girl baby.) At first, I had neat little stacks, just waiting to be stuffed into space bags or Rubbermaid containers. Over time, though, the piles got way out of control. It got to the point where I was ashamed to let anyone see her closet. Seriously. It was bad. Don't believe me? See for yourself:
 |
| anyone know why I randomly get dark spots on my pictures like this?? that's not a shadow! |
Last Friday I had finally had ENOUGH! I went to Target on my lunch break and noticed that they had some nice Rubbermaid containers for a good price. I think they were cheaper cause they were an ugly brown/beige color. But who cares about color? They will eventually be moved into our shop, so I am not concerned at all with how they look. I got 3 of them, and it turned out to be just enough (for right now).
When I got home from work, me and C completely emptied her closet. I was amazed at how much I had stuffed in there. It took over her entire room. For serious, you couldn't see the floor anymore (and C has a pretty big room). DH walked in at one point and his jaw dropped, haha. I told him to just turn around and pretend he hadn't seen anything! hehe
I found stuff I had completely forgotten about in that closet. C was thrilled to find new things to play with (as if she doesn't have a zillion toys already!). Once I got everything out of the closet and got it vacuumed, I sorted all the clothes and shoes (and oh boy, I clearly have a shoe obsession for my child...) by size. After a while, C got bored and asked if she could play in her crib. I don't know why she gets such a kick out of being in there when she's not sleeping, but whatever.
The whole ordeal took me over 2 hours, but it was well worth it! I have a pretty big pile of trash waiting to go to the dump - mostly damaged shoe boxes and bags. I found a bag of ancient cloth diapers that someone gave me a few years ago. I got them mainly to see what I thought about the whole cloth thing, but I quickly realized that these were not usable anymore. Completely worn out. Why was I holding on to them??? Hello, pack rat.
After all that work, I was left with this:
I follow a lot of blogs, and I keep seeing posts on organized children's closets. And in those closets are like 8 outfits. With exactly an inch between each hanger. And then at the bottom of the closet is a stockpile of diapers and wipes. And that's it. What are those children wearing every day??! If C had so few clothes, I'd be washing every single day. Honestly, she has way too many clothes, but they're almost all given to me, and I don't turn down free stuff! And I like havin options for what to let her wear every day.
C has one dresser in her room, which is also used as a changing table. It has 3 drawers and 2 shelves (which are covered by a door). The shelves store cloth diapers (she's still in them at night). The top drawer holds panties and socks and hair ties; the middle drawer holds shorts and skirts; and the bottom drawer holds long pants and pajamas. And all the drawers are completely stuffed. So everything else gets hung in her closet. Maybe other mothers fold all their children's clothes??
Also in C's room is an antique cedar wardrobe and a cedar chest. The chest holds a gazillion blankets and quilts. It really needs to be gone through, but I just don't know where else to store that stuff. And the wardrobe is stuffed full of clothes for the next season. My mother and I buy stuff when its on sale, so we've been getting C some pretty cheap fall and winter clothes. Plus a family I know gave me a ton of clothes that C will be able to wear this winter.
I can't decide if I really hope we have another girl or not. If we do, we'll have plenty of clothes for her. If we have a boy next, we'll have to start all over. If C ends up being an only child, there's no need in keepin all this stuff! But how do you know?
So that's one more thing I can cross off my list. I still like opening up the door to C's closet and just smiling at how much better it looks! I'm a nerd like that. ( :
While cleaning out the closet, I found the t-ball stand that goes with a set C's had since she was a newborn. She's been playing with the super soft bat and balls (they're made for toddlers), but I had put the stand away for later, and then forgot about it. I had to explain to C what it was, but she immediately wanted to go outside and play ball. Then I found her tutu, and she said, "Mama, I want to wear my tutu and play ball!" So when the closet was finished, that's exactly what we did. I tied that tutu around her waist and we headed outside for some ball time. Man, I love my kid! ( :
4.12.2013
My "Green" Cleaning Solution
It seems like "green," "natural," and "homemade" cleaning solutions are all the rage these days. I jumped on the train last fall.
"Green" cleaners that you buy in the store have never appealed to me. For one, they are outrageously expensive. Who wants to spend that much on cleaning products?! Not me. Two, how "green" are those products, really? I don't trust them. I read the labels of a few products labeled "green" last year, and I sure didn't get the warm and fuzzies from what I read. Oh, I'm sure there are wonderful "green" cleaning products out there, but I am and always will be a skeptic at heart. At any rate, there's not enough evidence to make me want to try them for myself.
Same goes for "natural" products. Lots of things are "natural." Doesn't make them safe! And I don't see how anything sold in mass volumes can be totally natural and harmless, anyway. Something, somewhere along the production process, has nasty, unwanted chemicals lurking. I don't know much about chemicals and this sort of thing, so please don't think I'm making some kind of scientific statement here! Just calling it like I see it. I also know that I will never be able to get away from certain things. Like plastic. Yeah, I keep reading about how bad it is, but let's be honest - plastic is a HUGE part of our lives (well, most of us). Anyway, I'm getting way off track here...
Then comes homemade cleaning products. This I can be down with. If I make it myself, I know exactly what's in there. Its why I like to make my own bread (though I do still eat store bought bread, don't get me wrong). Its why I like that we grow a lot of vegetables in the summer. Its why I like that we raise a lot of our own meat (and all our milk).
Do a Google search and you will find thousands of "recipes" for homemade cleaning solutions. There are different solutions for bathrooms, kitchens, toilets, shower mildew, disinfectants, clothes washing, you name it and someone has come up with a "simple" solution to clean it. Some of them truly are simple, but some are pretty involved. (Which is why I haven't ventured into making my own washing detergent, and I doubt I ever will. Too many steps that I could mess up!) Some call for all kinds of essential oils. I think essential oils are wonderful, but boy are they expensive!!!
This little guy was over $9! Fortunately, essential oils last a long time because you only use a few drops at a time. I bought this tee tree oil back when we thought C had a yeast rash (tea tree oil is great for getting yeast out of cloth diapers). The other problem I have with essential oils is they aren't easy to buy locally. We have one store around here that sells them, but not a huge variety. So I don't want to get too much into the oils and be disappointed when I can't buy what I want locally. I'm not big on shopping online, either. I will if its necessary, but I prefer to buy things in person (I'm old fashioned, I guess!).
Last fall, I read that white vinegar is great for a great many things, including cleaning. I ran out of bathroom cleaner, so I decided to give it a try. I stuck to a simple "recipe" - I just used straight vinegar. Boy, was that smelly! But it worked. I poured the vinegar into a spray bottle and just sprayed the entire bathroom down, then used a wet rag to wash everything.
By the way, straight vinegar (even vinegar mixed with water) works great for cleaning mirrors. Just make sure your rag is DRY. For some reason, if the rag is wet, it leaves spots and streaks. But if I use a dry rag, the mirrors look perfect.
After a few months, I got tired of such a strong smell, even though it was much better than the terrible smells I was getting from my old commercial cleaners. So then I remembered that tea tree oil I had purchased a few months ago. Tea tree oil is a great disinfectant. I figured it would be perfect in the bathroom. I happen to love the smell of tea tree oil, but it is kinda strong.
I just made a spray bottle filled with 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water (I found that mixing the vinegar with water really doesn't make it less effective, and the smell is easier to handle), and then added 3-4 drops of tea tree oil. Just enough so that I could smell it, but not so much that the smell was overpowering.
Ta-da!
I thought vinegar cleaned like a charm. But adding just that tiny amount of tea tree oil made a HUGE difference. Before, I had to spray everything down, then use my wet rag to wipe and scrub. And sometimes scrub a lot. I am not a fan of scrubbing. Now, I just spray everything down, and within a few minutes its ready to wipe. And that's it! No scrubbing. I swear I'm not lying.
I don't have a picture cause I don't like to document nastiness, but my shower gets pretty gross. The shower head drips constantly (despite DH's attempts to fix it; he says to fix it we'll have to work on the plumbing, and that just sounds way to involved), so the shower never dries. Which means, of course, mold/mildew is constantly growing in there. EW. (For the record, I used to use Tilex shower spray every single day in hopes that the gunk would be held at bay, but it never even slowed down.) Straight vinegar took care of the nastiness very nicely, but like I said, I had to use some elbow grease. NOW, however, I can seriously just spray it down, wait, then wipe it off with a rag. And presto! Clean, mold-free shower! For a few days, at least...
So that's it. My truly simple all-purpose cleaning solution. Here it is in a list in case you missed it before...
For the kitchen, I suppose you could use the same solution. For now, I've just been using 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle. A few weekends ago I cleaned every cabinet door in there with that solution and was very pleased with the results. (And woah, were they nasty!!) DH doesn't really like the smell, but he's never home when I'm cleaning, so its not a big deal. Plus, I think he secretly likes walkin into a home that smells like vinegar, now that he knows why it smells like that! ( :
If anyone else has any SIMPLE homemade cleaning solutions, I'd love to hear them! I'm certainly not claiming that my method is the best, and I may in the future change it completely. For now, though, it works and I am happy. And I don't feel worried that my baby (or myself!) will die from toxic fumes when I clean!
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that this solution is CHEAP. White vinegar is not very expensive at all, and you really don't use that much cleaning every week (or every other week if you're lazy like me...!).
One more use for white vinegar in my house - fabric softener!! When we started using cloth diapers (2 years ago this month - wow!), I realized I could no longer use fabric softeners, because they can build up on diapers and affect their absorbency. Not good. It turned out to be a really good thing because my allergies got a LOT better once I quit using fabric softener (and switched to All Free & Clear detergent) - turns out, I'm allergic to basically all fragrances and perfumes that they put in cleaning products.
So, I started adding about a cup or so (depending on the load size) to the fabric softener dispenser in my top loader washing machine. It really does help keep the clothes soft. Plus, if I forget about a load of clothes in the washer and they start to smell musty, I just toss in some more vinegar and run another quick cycle, and that takes care of it. This has been tested many, many times in my house...haha.
I still haven't figured out a good way to get rid of static when I dry clothes in the dryer (I mostly air dry things, but then throw them in the dryer to "fluff them up" and they are always super static-y). I use dryer balls, but they're not wool. Maybe I don't have enough of them? Or maybe I just need to invest in some wool ones. Stay tuned....
"Green" cleaners that you buy in the store have never appealed to me. For one, they are outrageously expensive. Who wants to spend that much on cleaning products?! Not me. Two, how "green" are those products, really? I don't trust them. I read the labels of a few products labeled "green" last year, and I sure didn't get the warm and fuzzies from what I read. Oh, I'm sure there are wonderful "green" cleaning products out there, but I am and always will be a skeptic at heart. At any rate, there's not enough evidence to make me want to try them for myself.
Same goes for "natural" products. Lots of things are "natural." Doesn't make them safe! And I don't see how anything sold in mass volumes can be totally natural and harmless, anyway. Something, somewhere along the production process, has nasty, unwanted chemicals lurking. I don't know much about chemicals and this sort of thing, so please don't think I'm making some kind of scientific statement here! Just calling it like I see it. I also know that I will never be able to get away from certain things. Like plastic. Yeah, I keep reading about how bad it is, but let's be honest - plastic is a HUGE part of our lives (well, most of us). Anyway, I'm getting way off track here...
Then comes homemade cleaning products. This I can be down with. If I make it myself, I know exactly what's in there. Its why I like to make my own bread (though I do still eat store bought bread, don't get me wrong). Its why I like that we grow a lot of vegetables in the summer. Its why I like that we raise a lot of our own meat (and all our milk).
Do a Google search and you will find thousands of "recipes" for homemade cleaning solutions. There are different solutions for bathrooms, kitchens, toilets, shower mildew, disinfectants, clothes washing, you name it and someone has come up with a "simple" solution to clean it. Some of them truly are simple, but some are pretty involved. (Which is why I haven't ventured into making my own washing detergent, and I doubt I ever will. Too many steps that I could mess up!) Some call for all kinds of essential oils. I think essential oils are wonderful, but boy are they expensive!!!
Last fall, I read that white vinegar is great for a great many things, including cleaning. I ran out of bathroom cleaner, so I decided to give it a try. I stuck to a simple "recipe" - I just used straight vinegar. Boy, was that smelly! But it worked. I poured the vinegar into a spray bottle and just sprayed the entire bathroom down, then used a wet rag to wash everything.
By the way, straight vinegar (even vinegar mixed with water) works great for cleaning mirrors. Just make sure your rag is DRY. For some reason, if the rag is wet, it leaves spots and streaks. But if I use a dry rag, the mirrors look perfect.
After a few months, I got tired of such a strong smell, even though it was much better than the terrible smells I was getting from my old commercial cleaners. So then I remembered that tea tree oil I had purchased a few months ago. Tea tree oil is a great disinfectant. I figured it would be perfect in the bathroom. I happen to love the smell of tea tree oil, but it is kinda strong.
I just made a spray bottle filled with 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water (I found that mixing the vinegar with water really doesn't make it less effective, and the smell is easier to handle), and then added 3-4 drops of tea tree oil. Just enough so that I could smell it, but not so much that the smell was overpowering.
Ta-da!
I thought vinegar cleaned like a charm. But adding just that tiny amount of tea tree oil made a HUGE difference. Before, I had to spray everything down, then use my wet rag to wipe and scrub. And sometimes scrub a lot. I am not a fan of scrubbing. Now, I just spray everything down, and within a few minutes its ready to wipe. And that's it! No scrubbing. I swear I'm not lying.
I don't have a picture cause I don't like to document nastiness, but my shower gets pretty gross. The shower head drips constantly (despite DH's attempts to fix it; he says to fix it we'll have to work on the plumbing, and that just sounds way to involved), so the shower never dries. Which means, of course, mold/mildew is constantly growing in there. EW. (For the record, I used to use Tilex shower spray every single day in hopes that the gunk would be held at bay, but it never even slowed down.) Straight vinegar took care of the nastiness very nicely, but like I said, I had to use some elbow grease. NOW, however, I can seriously just spray it down, wait, then wipe it off with a rag. And presto! Clean, mold-free shower! For a few days, at least...
So that's it. My truly simple all-purpose cleaning solution. Here it is in a list in case you missed it before...
In a spray bottle, combine...
1 part water
1 part white vinegar
3-4 drops of tea tree oil.
And you're done!
For the kitchen, I suppose you could use the same solution. For now, I've just been using 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle. A few weekends ago I cleaned every cabinet door in there with that solution and was very pleased with the results. (And woah, were they nasty!!) DH doesn't really like the smell, but he's never home when I'm cleaning, so its not a big deal. Plus, I think he secretly likes walkin into a home that smells like vinegar, now that he knows why it smells like that! ( :
If anyone else has any SIMPLE homemade cleaning solutions, I'd love to hear them! I'm certainly not claiming that my method is the best, and I may in the future change it completely. For now, though, it works and I am happy. And I don't feel worried that my baby (or myself!) will die from toxic fumes when I clean!
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that this solution is CHEAP. White vinegar is not very expensive at all, and you really don't use that much cleaning every week (or every other week if you're lazy like me...!).
One more use for white vinegar in my house - fabric softener!! When we started using cloth diapers (2 years ago this month - wow!), I realized I could no longer use fabric softeners, because they can build up on diapers and affect their absorbency. Not good. It turned out to be a really good thing because my allergies got a LOT better once I quit using fabric softener (and switched to All Free & Clear detergent) - turns out, I'm allergic to basically all fragrances and perfumes that they put in cleaning products.
So, I started adding about a cup or so (depending on the load size) to the fabric softener dispenser in my top loader washing machine. It really does help keep the clothes soft. Plus, if I forget about a load of clothes in the washer and they start to smell musty, I just toss in some more vinegar and run another quick cycle, and that takes care of it. This has been tested many, many times in my house...haha.
I still haven't figured out a good way to get rid of static when I dry clothes in the dryer (I mostly air dry things, but then throw them in the dryer to "fluff them up" and they are always super static-y). I use dryer balls, but they're not wool. Maybe I don't have enough of them? Or maybe I just need to invest in some wool ones. Stay tuned....
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