Housecleaning Tell-All - Tell us what YOU Did Today (and I'll tell you what I did too!)

Now here's something useful...an occasional "Housecleaning Check-In" where you come and let all of us know what you did around the house today! And you know what - if you didn't do much, that's fine too. We all have days like that, right? And the comments of other posters might get you motivated to get up off the sofa and lift more than a remote control...maybe a duster or a broom?

Here's what I did so far today:

1. Worked on my book! Ack! (I'm getting a little bit stressed about the upcoming deadline next week...) And whenever I talk about it or type about it, I always end it with 'Ack!' as I just proved. Ack! (Because I got thinking about it again.)
2. Cleaning burst early this morning - dishwasher unloaded and reloaded with the few dishes in the sink. Made the bed. Simple and fast - probably took about three minutes, which is all it should take, I believe.
3. 1 load of laundry...not my favorite thing in the world to do, but I DO love clean laundry on the other hand. So, one sort of goes hand in hand with the other.
4. Made cookies. See, I can't eat wheat and am trying to eat very little refined sugar, so that leaves me baking. Often. But these were very good, so it was all worth it. I'm eating one now, in between typing fits.
5. Focus Room Cleaning...To do later today. 10 mins or so in our bedroom decluttering the bookshelves. Man, they were awful! I started this a few days ago and am working away at it bit by bit.
6. PM Cleaning Burst...Later, before bed. Hub will do sweeping floors, cat litter. I will make sure the dishes are under control, wipe down surfaces in kitchen and bath and tidy up VERY briefly.

Wow, to me that looks almost like a productive day! And it sounds like I cleaned a lot, but in reality it takes very little time - which is the point of it all.

Okay...YOUR turn! Post a comment and let the rest of us know what you did. I especially can't wait to hear about how you're using Cleaning Bursts and Focus Room Cleaning in your day-to-day routine. Spill the beans, please! (But then sweep them up. hardy har)

Are You in a "Note-y" Mood? Notes and Housecleaning

Are You in a "Note-y" Mood? Sticky Notes and House Cleaning

I don’t think I’m alone in my belief that sticky notes are hugely important in any household. They come in all sorts of fantastic designs, colors, shapes and sizes. Sort of like us Happy Slobs when you think about it…But, more importantly, (and hopefully unlike us happy slobs) they stick to any surface! (Important note: If YOU are sticking to any surface, time to walk...no RUN...to the nearest shower.)

They are great for:

• Honey-do lists. I often leave one in the morning for my husband, who is incredibly well intentioned, but has a memory as feeble as my own. "Please take out the garbage," with a huge heart added for good measure works wonders around here.
• Kiddy-do lists. I don’t have any kids, but I can imagine that sticky notes would be very helpful in motivating the little ones to help out. Oh, I know! Stick it on their box of Pop Tarts - they'll never miss it that way.
• Me-Do Lists. Wow, my grammar is incredible, isn't it? "Me can do! Me can do!" Sure, we're big into cleaning delegation around here, but we still need to remind OURSELVES to get up off the sofa and do a cleaning burst for heaven's sake. It can't ALL fall on our poor unsuspecting families.
• Motivation – "I am a mopping maven!" or "I can handle this toilet…it’s all only one flush away from clean!" And similar notices can help you keep the housecleaning in perspective.
• Inspiration – "Oprah says I can!" is sometimes all it takes, written in bold strokes across a sticky note. This one fits nearly any situation in life, making it incredibly useful. Feel free to stick the sticky on your forehead if you need extra inspirational power.

See, now don’t you have a sudden urge to hotfoot it to the office supply store and replenish your supply of sticky notes? You just never know when the next opportunity to use one will strike…Oh, and look...just when you think you've seen every sticky note known to mankind, they go and make ones that looks like these:

OH, so pretty! These would surely inspire us all to 'stick' with our cleaning routines. hehehe Sorry about that one...

Happy cleaning all!
Christina

Beyond Bleach to Disinfect...and no, It's Not Vinegar!

Ha, I'll bet you thought I'd suggest vinegar! (I do have a bit of a vinegar dependency issue...but we'll deal with that another day.) Today, the disinfectant of choice is hydrogen peroxide. AKA: My favorite new cleaning necessity.

Maybe you're the sort of person who grew up cleaning with bleach. You might have fond memories of Mom scrubbing the bathtub with scouring pads and bleach, her yellow rubber gloves tightly snapped on. Those bright yellow gloves meant business. And darn it, that cleaning business included heavy doses of chlorine bleach! Those fumes lingered in the air for days...ahhh, the memories.

But...since then a lot of us have decided that we're not so fond of cleaning with bleach. Mom (and Grandma, too) might deny that any other cleaner can clean as effectively, and can kill just as many germs. So, maybe we should keep this news of a 'new' bleach-y type cleaner all to ourselves.

Ta da! It's simply that bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide that you keep stored in the medicine chest for small scratches and assorted boo boos . This stuff is also an amazing, powerful disinfectant agent. And, if you're not so fond of the vinegar (which I've already admitted having a powerful bond with) then you'll like the very UN-vinegar-ish odor of hydrogen peroxide. Basically, peroxide has no odor. I smelled it today to make sure, and I can confirm 100% that it is practically odorless.

So, to whip up a natural cleaning and disinfectant cleaner, take a clean spray bottle (not one that has stored other chemicals - you just never know if there will be weird reactions) and:

• Fill about one half full with 3% hydrogen peroxide
• Fill the rest of the way with tap water or distilled water, if you so choose.
• Give the bottle a wee shake-up for good measure...
• And then clean to your heart's content! It's especially fantastic in those areas where germs like to gather - like the kitchen and bathroom.

More hydrogen peroxide tips to come...and if you have one to share, just post a comment or email me. Another quick one is to use hydrogen peroxide (just the 3% pharmacy stuff, not the ultra-powerful industrial strength 35% which is actually seriously heavy duty stuff) full strength on stains - really great on grout stains. (Just pour some on an oversized cotton pad or cotton ball and smoosh it right on the stain and let it sit a while. If you're worried about possible bleaching, just do a test spot somewhere inconspicuous first.)

Happy cleaning to you! (Yes, that is possible...You crazy cynics, you.)

Christina