Archive for the 'Cleaning and Organization' Category

Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling Day Seven: Organization, Part II

Published by Sarah Bray on May 21, 2008 in Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling and Cleaning and Organization. 10 Comments

Here we go with some more great entries!

Home management notebooks work for Toblerone over at Simple Mom. Will they work for you, too? Follow this excellent series to find out.

 

 

 

 

Being a stalker of good books, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to purge my collection in a way that pleases the Organization Gurus. But Debbie from Virtually Organized has some great ideas if you’re ready to part with the duds (and admit it, I’m sure you have some.)

 

 

 

If you are a penny-less organization junkie like myself, it is going to take all of your will power to resist lobotoME, a planner-lovers dreamboat. You might as well just throw in the towel when you see their adorable planner filler pages and list-makers.

 

 

 

You never want to think about disaster-related things happening to you or your family, but it’s still good to be prepared. Vera from BeSafeInsure brings us an article that will help you prepare…just in case.

 

 

 

Songbirdtiff has an eye for re-purposing things. She’s got some great tips so you can do it, too.

 

 

 

 

Tip Diva reminds us that if we want to be prepared for a fabulous summer, we need to do a bit of planning beforehand. Luckily, she’s done it for us!

 

We Are Not Our Children’s Slaves. Laura from Organizing Junkie reminds us that even though it might be “easier” to do everything around the house ourselves, taking the time to teach our kids will give them (and us!) long-term benefits. Preach it, sister!

Natural Carpet Disinfectant & Deodorizer — The Power of Baking Soda. Eco-mama from Ecopolitan Living gives us a useful recipe for a carpet disinfectant. So useful, in fact, I think I’ll make some up today, as I’ve just run out of my favorite stuff.

Okay, with all of that lovely stuff, I’m having a terribly hard time deciding upon a winner. But I must, mustn’t I? The award goes to…

Crystal for her DIY Crafts Center Tutorial! Congratulations, Crystal! Please send me an email with your address (sarahjoy AT todayshomemaker DOT com).

One more day, guys…and tomorrow we’ll be focusing on Outdoor Living — a great way to kick off the summer. See you then!

Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling Day Seven: Organization, Part I

Published by Sarah Bray on May 21, 2008 in Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling and Cleaning and Organization. 3 Comments

Toblerone over at Simple Mom has a fantastic post today on taking your shoes off before entering the house — her blog is quickly becoming one of my very favorites. If you’re looking for more good reading, check out our lovely sponsors!

Today’s topic is quite exciting for me. I am always on a mission to “get organized” — whatever that means. When will I have arrived? Well, when I can find everything I need quickly without rummaging through a bunch of stuff. When I feel calm and serene in my home. When I have everything I need and love and nothing else. It’s an ongoing process, but some people definitely are farther along than others. Perhaps you will be inspired after reading today’s incredible entries (we’re also including “cleaning” in this category, so you’ll find some good stuff about that, too.)

What I love the most about Crystal’s DIY craft center tutorial is the darling sewing table that is built right in. LOVE. IT.

 

 

 

 

Michelle from North of the 49 has created an extremely thorough post outlining essential moving tips based on her extensive experience. It’s a long post, but an excellent one!

 

 

 

 

Stephanie from Stop the Ride gives us a great post on mopping the old-fashioned way (aka: scrubbing). Ironically, I did this last week, and people came into my kitchen saying that it looked bigger. That had to be the reason — my floors were really clean, grout and all.

 

 

 

Tip Diva has tips for organizing your mail that will help you assassinate your paper clutter for once and always.

 

 

 

 

Have a lot of containers but don’t know what to do with them? Laura from Organizing Junkie has some practical solutions.

 

 

 

 

Amy Clark from Mom Advice gives us some tips on how to throw a retro housewife party. Love her apron collection!

 

 

 

 

Given up on ever getting organized and STAYING that way? No need to fret…Debbie from Virtually Organized thinks you might just have a system problem.

 

 

 

 

Have you run out of stain solution? Or maybe you’re just DIY-ish that way? Organized Everyday has a recipe for Spray and Wash that will keep you from running to the store.

 

 

 

 

Tip Diva has graced us with another great article. This time she outlines how to organize your medicine cabinet — no easy feat in our house!

 

 

Well, it looks like our cup is runneth-ing over. Stay tuned later this afternoon for the next part and to find out who won!

Tuesday’s challenge: Deep clean the living room

Published by Sarah Bray on April 8, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

So did I get everything done yesterday? No. No, I did not. I had some unexpected work come up, and that was that. But I got more done than I would have had I not had some sort of plan, so I’m pretty proud of myself.

So today’s plan is to go do the living room. For me, the living room is a much easier task to clean, but it’s much harder to KEEP clean. First of all, our couches are made entirely out of pillows. Guess how much fun it is for a three year old to stack up all the pillows and make forts and dog houses (yes, dog houses. That’s his favorite.)? A lot. And who am I to say that it’s not a good use of them?

So I make do. My plan for today is as follows:

  • Pick up the toys and clutter
  • Find a new place for the pile of shoes
  • Dust the ceiling fan, window sills, and furniture
  • Wipe down the furniture with pledge
  • Vacuum the couches
  • Vacuum the floor

Not too hard, really. And maybe I’ll clean up the playroom so they’ll want to play in there instead of the living room! Not much of a chance of that, but it’s worth the effort!

Monday’s challenge: Deep clean the kitchen

Published by Sarah Bray on April 7, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

My dad called a few days ago (must call him back!) and left a message that he, my mom, and my brother are coming to visit this weekend. Now I know they could care less what my house looks like, but this gives me a good opportunity to straighten up before they get here. I like a clean house too, you know.

So today I’m going to start in the kitchen. Here are my lofty goals:

  • Catch up on dishes from the weekend
  • Put stuff that has piled up on countertops back where it belongs
  • Wipe down countertops and actually get under and in between appliances, etc.
  • Clean the outside of the stove really well
  • Clean out the fridge
  • Clean out the pantry
  • Sweep and mop floors
  • Scrub grout on the floors1
  • Take some pledge to the table and chairs so that it smells really good and clean
  • Straighten office area

Whew! If I can get all of that stuff done, I will be SO proud!

  1. This is a strrretch…ha! [↩]

Thursday’s challenge: Sweep your front porch

Published by Sarah Bray on April 3, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

We have two front porches. Stoops, actually. Two doors, too. People think we live in a duplex half the time.

The person who sold us our house (built in 1959) said that the floorplan was designed so that the “important” company would go through one door, leading to the formal living room. Friends and family would enter through the door in the kitchen.

So as you are sweeping your front porch today, just be thankful that you don’t have two to keep up with!

Wednesday’s challenge: De-clutter a drawer (or a closet!)

Published by Sarah Bray on April 2, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

I have been in the mood to de-clutter lately. My daughter’s clothes have been my obsession. I told John yesterday that I am envious of her wardrobe (all given to us by a mother with VERY good taste). She has no idea how stylish she is!

Or maybe she does. I got a few new beaded bracelets that are extremely cute and stretchy, and as soon as she saw them, she took them off my wrists and put them on her own. She’s 14 months old, and already she’s acting like a little prima donna. I know I’m in trouble.

Anyway, I have seen lots of tutorials for turning an entertainment center into an armoire, and I did that yesterday. So now she has this adorable little wardrobe for her…wardrobe. (It’s about time! I’ve been meaning to do this for a year and a half!) I’m extremely proud of myself. All of those tiny shoes are lined up neatly under her pretty dresses that hang just-so. Her little tights and teeny tiny socks are in their proper basket. All nightgowns and blankets are folded up in the drawers underneath.

Sigh. Maybe just one more baby…maybe.

Tuesday’s challenge: Purge your medicine cabinet

Published by Sarah Bray on April 1, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

I’ve got quite a collection of medications, I’ve found. Unfortunately, many of them are out of date. So today I’m going to get rid of a bunch of them and make room for something else that actually needs the space.

Did you know that it’s not safe to just throw all your medicines in the garbage can? Yep, it’s true. Can be harmful to pets, children, and the planet. Here’s an article on how to get rid of them safely.

By the way, get ready for our first “In the Garden” article at noon! I had a lot of fun researching that post. Today’s supposed to be beautiful, so hopefully I can get out there and wreak all sorts of havoc.

Monday’s challenge: Straighten up your back porch/patio

Published by Sarah Bray on March 31, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

Ahh spring. It makes me so happy. I just want to dance and do the Snow White thing (you know, with all of the little animals flocking around me as I sing throughout the forest). It smells good, and I’m so glad it’s finally here.

So why is it cold today? I had great plans for today. I guess those great plans will have to wait until tomorrow when we’re experiencing temperatures in the 70s again.

But I will take a little trip to my long-neglected back porch. Everyone’s always telling me that they would love to have our screened-in porch, and there mine has been sitting, drab and alone. Things are piled everywhere, and it’s definitely not an inviting place to be right now.

Today I’m going to get rid of all of the stuff that doesn’t belong there. The broken microwave (what, oh what, am I going to do with that?), the giant coolers, the piles of boxes that I didn’t have the heart to throw away…all of it. Then I’m going to dream about patio furniture that is actually comfortable. I can only afford to dream at this point, but it’s a start.

Want to join me outdoors today?

Friday’s challenge: Clean a wall

Published by Sarah Bray on March 28, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 1 Comment

Do you have walls in your house that are actually dirty? I have one. Our living room is red, and the walls show nearly every particle of food that sticks when my toddlers get to flinging. So today I’m going to spray it with a bit of mild cleaner and and wipe it down.

If you don’t have any walls that are particularly dirty, you might consider dusting them instead. Walls really do get dusty eventually, though I’m not sure how that happens.

Note: Oh yes, and don’t forget to enter the Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling before my virtual voice is gone from going on and on about it. The competition looks like it will be pretty stiff, but it will be lots of fun!

Thursday’s challenge: Fill up your soap dispensers

Published by Sarah Bray on March 27, 2008 in Cleaning and Organization. 0 Comments

Soap! How exciting! Actually, it really is my two-year-old’s favorite thing at the moment. With all the soap he’s using up in learning to wash his hands, I could probably clean the planet. (Theoretically.)

Needless to say, I have several soap dispensers that have been giving me that pathetic thwoot sound when I pump them. Nothing is coming out, and I just keep getting irritated. So today’s challenge is to fill them up so that I can be happy. (Don’t you love how I always think of YOU, dear readers, when coming up with these challenges?)

But really, I know full soap dispensers make you happy, too. Right?

(Oh yes, and if you’re keeping up with it, Part 3 of the series on The 7 Deadly Sins of Creative Professionals is now up!)