Laundry Room Day

Okay. I am a total loser! At least I will get my downstairs organized by Halloween! And my blogger friends-half the battle is continuing the battle!

When was the last time you cleaned under the lid of your washing machine? Mine was a LONG time ago. So start with that.
~GO CLEAN UNDER YOUR LID! (Tip of the day #1: Do you have some towels to wash? Turn the water on hot, add the soap and then with your rag clean away while the drum is filling. Use a tooth brush to get around any annoying objects (the bleach dispenser, who uses that thing anyway), and don’t forget the underside of the lid part.

You know the part with all the writing on it.
~Take you vacuum now and suck off all the lint that gathers on the top.

I also enjoy vacuuming off the lint trap itself, gives my dryer a new lease on life.
~Take you cleaning rag and quickly wipe off the dryer. It will thank you!
~Do you have a shelf? Cabinets? Cupboards? Drawers? WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
I have a shelf and two utility cabinets.

(I’ll call them cabinets because no one knows the difference!)

~On my shelf I have baskets, 4 to be exact. 2 big ones and 2 little ones.
In one big one I have all my cleaning rags, dust rags and

my little velvet brush for when the kids are naughty and need to brush the couch.
In the second big one I have (well not me really) Bill has his battery charging units. For his Dewalts! You know the black and yellow power tools that grow like weeds in your garage? Okay maybe just my garage. Anyway, down here, five miles from hell, dewalt chargers don’t do well in the heat, so ours live in the laundry room.
(Here is a side note of caution: Make sure the batteries have some room to breath.

Don’t cover them up!)
In the first little one I house my box/boxes of dryer sheets. I usually buy a big box from the big C store and the basket conceals it perfectly.
In the second little box I have a big box of baby wipes. Sorry Steph! We still use them occasionally. Sometimes big kids make messes too. Mine are no exception! And that concludes the tour of my shelf.
I set all the baskets on the washer and dryer and then dusted off the shelf, tidied up my rag basket a bit. And put everything back. Neat and tidy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On ward and upward!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have two of those cabinet/cupboard things hanging off the wall. Cleaning supplies, paper towels, wood glue, and gorilla glue is what lives here. Guess what I did? I bought some plastic tubs down the house wares aisle at the W store. These are about 3 inches deep and like 12”x16”. I tried to find a picture for you but at no avail. They are like old fashioned little plastic wash basins. I didn’t want anything with holes because my cleaning supplies might tip over and if there were to spill I want it contained. Sense?

~I organized out my bins in this way. Weekly/Daily cleaning products in one bin. (toilet bowel cleaner, dusting spray, laundry spot remover, etc) Not so often cleaning products in another. (Oven cleaner, Leather cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc) Then when I need something I pull it out and set it on the dryer, use the product, come back and put it away. All the way away!
~On my next shelf I house paper towels. That is it. I love it when the whole thing is full. That means I have enough paper towels to be able to buy them on sale! Oh and my favorite ones are soft and absorbent. And kind of pricey!
~Then I have a shelf of antibacterial wipes. Some are homemade: I have a great recipe! And some are store bought with coupons on sale.
~The last shelf houses all the Garage things that should really live in a garage anywhere other than 5 miles from H-E-, well you know, hockey sticks.

Now here is my unpainted laundry portrait. Notice I didn’t mention my laundry soap? Not really! I found these great big glass canisters at the Big T. I want to dump all my soap into one of those, wrap a cute ribbon around it and find a metal vintage scoop. I am sure someone I know had one in their flour. Then I would like a smaller glass canister for all of my “half” used dryer sheets. I hate throwing those things away. Really really hate it! Then I would place both these canisters on a cute little place mat on the dryer so it was so pretty that I wouldn’t want to mess it up. What do you think?

Then I want to put a cute little quote about laundry around the room so you have to spin circles to read it. Help me out here please:
Drop Yer Drawers here!
A mother’s love is like laundry, never ending!
I think I can, I think I can. I think I can…

Those just don’t seem perfect. Give me your ideas! Maybe if I like it, I’ll buy you one for your wall! (Anyone, Anyone?)

Snap snap, get to it! Your laundry room thanks you!

Example of shelf

This is what the long shelf at the back of my pantry looks like (mine doesn't adjust though): Shelf

At Long Last: The PANTRY

I apologize that our “fun Friday night activity” didn’t take place. We ended up spending a Fun night in the hospital. But we are going to get back on track this week.

THE DREADED PANTRY

Does your pantry look like an overstuffed nightmare, just waiting to spill out? Or is it disorganized at every juncture? Mine is my nightmare. I am constantly shifting boxes and moving canisters and digging for cans. BUT with the limited space that I have available I am doing what works for now.

~Lets Unload. To make your life a little easier unload into categories: Cereal, Baking Mixes, Cans, Oils, jar goods, recipe books, etc. This will help in your replacing and sorting later.
~Clean your shelves (I almost said selves again…hee! Hee!) Get it all, sides, top and bottom. You will feel better about yourself and your pantry.
~Sorting and replacing. Since everyone has a different pantry layout you have unlimited options. I have a door with shelves. It is deep and not so wide. Things get lost in the back very easily. So here is my solutions to that. I went to the W store and I picked up some narrow white wire stacking shelves. They are about 4 inches wide, perfect for a couple of cans. So I have the “rest” of my canned goods stacked at the very back. I have to “dig” for them a bit, but it is easier to move a couple of boxes of cereal when I feel like Hormel Chili than moving a bunch of cans when I want a box of cereal. Get my drift?
I basically bought enough shelves to outfit the whole back wall of my pantry. I keep cookie mix, cake mixes, canned milk, evaporated milk, weird vegetables, canned fruit along the back of my pantry.
In front of all that I house all the big stuff. If I have more cereal than 4 boxes it goes into the storage under our stairs. The kids love going on an adventure when we need more cereal out. Plus if there is more than 4 boxes little brains can’t decide what to eat at 5 o’clock in the morning, less choices, less drama. Flour in big container, sugar in big container, oil, spaghetti ect are all in containers.
We have a large plastic ware container that is the snack bin. If the kids ask for a snack I usually tell them a piece of fruit or pick something out of the snack bin. The snack bin houses granola bars, raisins. Fruit leather this is our fav right now, fruit snacks, cracker snacks, etc. This is my buying gage. When the snack big is half full I know to put it on my grocery list. Again no fights because the kids have choices. Clever!

Here are some other ideas that might fit in with your particular pantry. *(If I ever have a real pantry I will definitely be implementing some of these idea.)

Set up food zones: Breakfast items, lunch items, Dinner items.
Grab some baskets and make meal baskets. For instance if your family LOVES spaghetti and you eat it once or more a week have a basket that is set up with noodles, sauce, mushrooms, garlic bread spread etc so on that meal night you know you have everything you need to make said item. Or have 5-7 baskets set up with the items you will need to cook your weeks worth of meals. Then each night as you go to prepare your dinner you just grab that basket and go. Beats walking back and forth 85 times to get items.
Use a cloth shoe organizer on the back of your pantry for packet items, kool aid, fruit snacks, and other light items. If you get the clear kind you can see exactly what it in it.
If you have a lot of space between the shelves use a bin that hangs from the shelf above it. (The big W store carries them) Use that bin for chips, breads, crackers. Anything that might get lost and smooshed in the shuffle of a busy family
Add some plastic drawers. These are fairly inexpensive and add to a clean look. These are perfect for those odd shaped items that don’t stack well. Chocolate Chips, coconut, bags of pasta and rice, side dish mixes, soup mixes. Even spices (label the top of the jar if you stand them up, so you can see all the names as soon as you open the drawer.)
Add some hooks to the side, hang up your apron, bbq tools, dish towels, plastic bag holder

If your pantry is really bugging you and you need a fresh set of eyes, email me a picture and I will try to help out!

That’s just the kind of gal I am! Have a happy day!

Day Nine: Kitchen-lower cabinets and dishwasher

Day Nine:
Kitchen-lower cabinets and dishwasher

Today is going to be much like the upper cabinets. I have a couple of tips and tricks that might help you out. As always though, if you have any tips for me I would love to hear them. I love incorporating ideas into my cleaning and organizing.

~First step is clear out all the shelves. (you can break this up and do it by shelf if you want)
~Take you cleaning products and rag and clean all the sides and surfaces of the shelves. Doesn’t it feel good to start with a clean slate.
~Now let’s turn our attention to the sorting table. This is the contents of my lower cabinets: *Pots and Pans (these take up two whole lower cabinets, but I have them on a very cool slide out system so this cupboard isn’t messy, just needed a little dusting and wiping.)
*Plastic ware (I have one whole cabinet set up for all my plastic crap) This Is my motto here, “If it don’t fit, I don’t need it” Usually this is the cupboard that I open up a squinch (is that even a word?) and throw in there what I am trying to put away and shut the door as fast as I can. This is also high on my list of “you-are-TOTALLY-annoying-me-right-now-so-you-must-need-a-chore” list. I can’t ever get my husband to do it though. JK babe! So if you have anything plastic ware now is a good time to go through, make sure we have lids, they fit, nothing is cracked or melted. Here is a great recycling opportunity! And can I say just as a side note that I am really starting to dig vintage Tupperware. Someone stop me from searching ebay for it!
*Some of my stoneware-mini loaf pans, muffins tins, pie plates
*Misc kitchen gadgets: graters, chopper, immersion blender
*Can goods and pantry items: I keep most of my limited can goods here on the very bottom shelf of my cupboards. I found some great little plastic baskets at the big W store down the house wares aisle, for right around a dollar I think. I bought enough to fit length wise across the back of my cupboard and then like 3 to go across the front part. This is not a whole lot of “extra” can goods, but until we add on the island part of my kitchen this is where I am at. Anyway back to the baskets. The lower cabinets are much deeper also so this helps to get to things that are trapped clear at the back. I have each basket labels for different items: fruits, tomatoes, soup, side dishes, pasta, peanut butter, mustard (yes I have one labeled for mustard, with coupons I get it free all summer), and condiments. I have found that by having these items in baskets, I can’t fit as much in, but I can get to things easier without making a mess or causing frustration. Worth the dollar-ish in my mind.
~That is the extent of my lower cabinets. So we can put everything back. And if you get the little plastic baskets it will be a snap.

~Dishwasher-Give it some loves: you can buy a cleaner at the store. All you do is run it through an empty dishwasher and it makes the inside clean and sparkly. Or you can try this great homemade remedy. Your dishwasher thanks you!

Stay tuned for our Fun Friday night Activity: The pantry!!! My Pantry is a tiny closet so I have had to get pretty creative here.

Day 8-Lazy Day

I am going to be short and sweet tonight cause, quite honestly, I don't feel like blogging. I have a date with some hair spray and a batch of uniforms as someone decided to put a blue ink pen in his pocket.

~So go clean your counters off. Move things and wipe, rearrange and put back.
~Wash the dished in your sink. If that means running the dish washer more power to ya!

Your kitchen will love you for it. And you will feel great in the morning.

Day 6: Journey of Dishes and Top shelf Treasures

~Today’s chore is upper cabinets. You know, the ones that hang over your head while you cook, clean, or reheat and throw away, whatever your MO is. :- )
NOW, if your cookbooks live in one of these uppers, you are in luck cause we already did that. If you have no upper cabinets then you are again in luck. Go make yourself a straw-nana-go smoothies and sit by the pool. (The high today according to smart people is supposed to be 98 degrees here 5 miles from hell.)

~ I am going to start from the tippy top. Unload ONLY the top shelf onto your sorting space.
~Take your cleaning product and rag and clean the top, sides and surface of your self, er shelf unless you haven’t had a shower yet today. Then go ahead and clean yourself!
~Let’s take a look at the things on our sorting surface. Ask yourself our decluttering questions: Have you used this in 6 months? Have you ever used this? Did you borrow this and need to return it? Is it broken? Is it missing a part? Are you REALLY ever going to replace it or fix it? NOTE: Don’t donate things that need repair. It costs more money for those places then just recycling it or donating it!
~Now that we have at least organized our items from the top shelf we can start putting things back. BUT WAIT…before you put things back let’s think for a minute. Do you like where it is? Would you prefer to have it on a lower shelf? (If that is the case, take out a sticky note or masking tape and mark it to move later)
~You can now reload your top shelves. That’s it for today. Don’t worry we will get through it all. But I work a full time job and I need something that is fast and easy.

IF YOU HAPPEN to be an over achiever then go ahead and do all your upper cabinet shelves. Then you can take a couple of days off.

Day 5-Light and airy

Today is my favorite day. I LOVE cookbooks! I love looking at them, I love reading recipes and envisioning the wonderful fragrant smells that come from cooking them. I buy them, I am gifted them, I have inherited a couple, I drool over them, I might even lick one that I liked so much. I'm just saying!

~Today's "chore" (although I wouldn't really call it a chore) is to go through and organize your cookbooks.
~Brew some tea, coffee or hot cocoa. What ever your heart desires. Have a cookie too if your husband was nice enough to make some. :-)
~Take all of the cookbooks out of your space and transfer them to your sorting area. My cookbooks live in my small pantry space so I will be cleaning off a shelf as I go today.
~Now lets take a hard look at what you have in front of you. NO not in your mug.
~Make some piles. Have you noticed that I LOVE piles? Pile them into catagories: main dishes, desserts, all purpose, family cookbooks, side dishes, healthy recipes, and on and on.
~Here is your de-clutter question: Have you used this cookbook in 6 months? Have you ever used that cookbook? Did you borrow this and need to return it? (NO COMMENT MOM :-)!!!)
~Now that you have looked at all the cookbooks that you have, let get ready to return them. How do you like to have them organized? By size, type, color, frequency of use, etc. Put them in stacks accordingly.
~Before we return them, clean the shelf they lived on. In my case I am taking a damp rag and wiping out the bottom of the shelf above, the back and the sides and of course the bottom.
~Put them back in their home.
~What do you think? Were you able to down size? Did you find a recipe that you love and couldn't find?
~I have to admit that although sometimes I find cooking a chore, I also enjoy it. But I enjoy it more when I have a clean and tidy shelf full of my favorite cookbooks. (They really are ALL my favorite cookbooks.)

Did this help you with your cookbooks shelf? Do you have your cookbooks stored another way that this didn't help? I am more than willing to help you figure out your space. I love helping others organize their spaces so that life is calm and enjoyable.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more kitchen fun!

Day 4, short and sweet

Okay so here it is 7pm on day 4. We had a long busy day at our house today. Here is the good news. The chore list is short today. Today er tonight we are going to tackle the tip tops of your kitchen.
~Take you long dust wand and swipe around the top of your walls. Dust bunnies and cob webs you know.
~If your cupboards drop down then dust the top of cupboards off.
~If you have decorative items up there now is the time to dust them off. Here is my advise about that: do a good cleaning once in a while and then touch up frequently. And here is where I will keep it real with you, I don’t have anything on top of my cupboards because I don’t want to keep it up.

So that is the list. Keeping it real friends, so go get your dusting on.

DAY 3-Finish front room

Day Three:
Still in the Front Room (in my case it is our Formal Living Room/Entryway)

Here we are at day 3. Today we finish up in the front area. This is clean up day. You have previously dusted all the surfaces and inside your furniture. This is an easy day. We are going to start at the top. Literally at the top.

For this little exercise you will need a long reach duster. WHAT? You don’t have one? No big deal. Find a long stick, star wars sword, handle of your broom or mop. Take a wash cloth and ball it up, then take your soft cloth and lay it over the top. You will then take a rubber band and it goes in this order. Stick (or whatever) then wash cloth on the top and lay the cloth over the wash cloth and rubber band it to the stick (or whatever).

Make sense?

Hurry though, your princess might see it and think it is her fairy wand

or your son will see you with his star wars sword and cry.
~With a long duster, reach up into the corners of your room and wipe. I like to trace the shape of the ceiling. Make a box shape. Make a circle. What ever the shape may be. That was kind of fun.
~Do you have a light fixture or ceiling fan hanging from the ceiling? Take your long duster and dust it off. NOTE OF CAUTION: If you live where I live, and you have a ceiling fan that hasn’t been dusted in a while I would use the long hose on the vacuum to vacuum it off. Otherwise you and your furniture will look like Mount St. Helen erupted and the ash made it all the way south to your house. Not that I would know from experience or anything.
~ Don’t you feel good that your ceiling is now cob web dust bunny free?
~Next I have some lamps that I need to dust off. Did you know the best way to dust lamp shades is with a clean never been painted with bristle paint brush (the foam doesn’t work as good…I don’t know why..)? Yep so grab your brush and paint your shade from the top down. Take you dust rag and wipe off the rest of your lamp. Dust settles there too you know.
~In my front room I have both curtains and wood blinds, so I am going to give them both a nice gentle wipe down. Make sure you life the blinds up and wipe out the corners of the window as well. (Make a game for your kids to see how many dead flies laid to rest there. JUST kidding. I would never have dead flies in the corner of my windows, next year!)
~SO let’s recap: Ceiling-check
Light Fixture/Fan- check
Windows-check
~Great, let’s move on to the furniture. What ever it may be. I have some leather couches so I am going to dust off the back of them, fluff the pillows and maybe spray some smell good spray on the throw. (Or you could be wild and crazy and just wash it quick. PARTY!)
~ At this point all of my other surfaces were done in the previous two days, so I am going to wipe my cloth to make sure no other dust deposited in case mount saint Helens did erupt accidentally!
~Floor. Now. Here is the thing; I have a tile floor with a small area rug. So my steps are this: Vacuum on bare floor setting, change setting to carpet and vacuum rug. Then I take either hot water with a tad bid of bleach (seriously like a capful) and mop the tile, OR I take a new swiffer wet pad and swiffer the front room. Depends on my mood. Today I was feeling a little lazy and went the swiffer route.

WHAT ARE YOUR Favorite FLOOR TRICKS?
Share them with us.

Did you play along? How do you feel? I LOVE walking into the front room to a nice clean, organized space. At night it makes me want to light candles, turn the air conditioning down (WHAT? It is still in the 100’s man), snuggle under a warm clean throw and read my favorite book. Reminds me to forget where I live and pretend I am in the midst of a stormy snow storm in the Antarctic I tell you!

Get Ready! The kitchen is my next room to tackle! We may be here for a couple of days, but this is the perfect weekend room. Put on a pot of soup and enjoy your space.

De-Clutter Clean and Organize Day 2

Day Two:

Still in the Front Room (in my case it is our Formal Living Room/Entryway)

~In my front room I have a “Larry.” (What? Not everyone names their furniture? Okay, so it a beautiful buffet hutch that I fell in love with one day while we were looking for a sofa. Who needs a dining room table to go with it?) The “Larry” is really our catch all.

Top Drawer: Keys, sunglasses, receipts, gum wrappers, cell phones, pens, and other assorted weird things end up scattered in here. (Where did the vampire teeth come from.)

Second Drawer: I keep table cloths (I do have a kitchen table at the moment, but I am not fond of it, so I keep it covered with a cloth), placemats and cloth napkins.

Left Side Door: Candle Holders, large candles and a bunch of glade plug in’s that my cute hubby won’t let me plug in anymore. Safety hazard.

Right Side Door: Table cloth tilted on it’s side so you can close the door, and then votive candles and tea light candles.

~Next, I am going to follow the same sorting procedure as I did for the top surfaces. Empty everything out onto the sorting surface. Place like items together: sunglasses, receipts, gum wrappers, pens, candle holders, table cloths, you get the idea right? Now DO NOT put the gum wrappers back! Throw them away. Unless you have a gum wrapper collection and then put it in the appropriate display container. Get your container out for returning items and take 2 minutes to put things away.

~Now that we have an empty drawers and cupboards lets use our favorite handy dandy cleaner and wipe out the whole inside of the drawers and cupboard spaces. Don’t forget to wipe the sides down also, especially where I live, it needs it!

~Go back to your sort pile and start putting things back with like items. Tablecloths with table cloths, candles with candles, etc. This is a great chance to see what you have and get rid of things that you don’t use anymore.

~Don’t you feel good! We have tackled the top surface of your front room and now we have talked the inside surface.

~Conquer any more drawers, cabinets or shelves that you might have left in this particular room. We have a piano bench, so that is the last thing on my list today!

So, it has been two days now? I know I feel great. How about you? Remember we do have 30 days so relax and enjoy your home. I love my home. It is my sanctuary. Taking the time to keep it clean and tidy only leaves you with more time to enjoy your family and friends.

De-Clutter Clean and Organize Day 1

How to de-clutter, clean and organize your entire home in 30 days

ESPECIALLY if you work a full time job.

The way I have broken this down, you can either start at the back/top of the home or go from the front/bottom of your home.(0nce it is all posted) Each room is broken down step by step so you can spend as much or as little time on each process (Marked with a bullet).

*Always try to start with a clean surface to sort on (even if it is an area on the floor).*

Day One:

Front Room (in my case it is our Formal Living Room/Entryway)

~Remove all items off of surfaces. Place on your sort surface. If you have kids this is a great way for them to help you, but be careful if those items are breakable.

~Take your favorite dusting product and dust all of these newly cleaned off surfaces.

~Now go to your sorting area. Combine like items into piles or stacks. The purpose of sorting is to go through your things and see what you have. If you are done with something it is time to pass it on, recycle or reuse it. I love donating to the good will, and passing used items onto my friends and neighbors who might need them. Or put it in a box labeled garage sale and actually have one.

• Magazines: Donate any magazines that are 6 months or older. Local library, woman’s shelter or even elementary schools are a great place to do this with.
• Books: Stack into piles divided by subject, author, color . If any are library books-separate them out for return
• Paperwork: I sort my paperwork into 4 piles: Bills to Pay, Things to file (including paid bills), Shred Pile (all that pesky junk mail with our names and addresses all over it) and To Look at/Read over pile-this pile eventually goes into one of the previous piles.
• Keys: Combine into a pile, taking care to make sure they are labeled first.
• Misc Odds and Ends: Make sure they belong here. If they are misplaces put them in a carrying vessel. This can be a big Tupperware bowl from your kitchen or a basket or a box, what ever you have will work. Take 2 minutes and go put these away. Do not stop and get distracted. You are only putting these items back where they belong. Again if you have kids and they are home make them your little runners. Teaching your children that everything in it’s place is a great thing. And they are never to young to learn and I believe that they are never too old to learn (ie spouses but it may take a bit of prodding).

~This should take care of your surfaces. Now is the time to put your items back. Keep in mind this #1 rule never put something back that doesn’t belong there. I love rearranging, making new vignettes, freshening up my old items. I might just even get out my fall/Halloween decorations. J That is it for day one. Stay tuned for day two where I will still be working my way through my front room.

How to de-clutter, clean and organize your entire home in 30 days

How cool would it be to have a clean and organized home before the holidays? After 10 years of staying home with my children I am now a full time working mom. My house has slowly turned from

Anal Retentive Obsessive Compulsively Clean and Organized

to a war zone.

Instead of spending quality time with my children and my husband at night and on the weekends I am always frantically cleaning trying to stay caught up. So this is where my neat nick bone is going to kick in. I am going to teach you how to methodically go through each room and clean and organize it, while at the same time cleaning and organizing my home just in time for Halloween. Think of all the fun things you can do during the holidays if you aren’t worrying about all the clutter around your home. Plus I will inject some great housekeeping tips I learned as a housecleaning some years ago, to make the job just a little easier. If you have areas that you need help with

feel free to leave a comment to ask.

I will do periodic updates to help everyone out. Just think if one person is asking, then at least 2 people somewhere need to know. :-) And if you have any tips to help me out please leave them in the comments and I will add them. (Remember I am playing along too)

Oh and don’t forget to bookmark me. I will be updating everyday from now until Halloween.

And one more ps. I have tried to fly and I just can't seem to get into the swing of that right now.