Our cabinets are organized, there is no cleaning to be done and we can always find things that we're looking for. Yeah right - we're dreaming!
Who doesn't love a clean, organized home? If we are honest , we all do. However, achieving that can be difficult at times. With our busy lives: working, watching grandbabies, enjoying life and so on, it's almost impossible to keep up with the house. Springtime is a great time to do some deep cleaning and organizing! So, put on your favorite music, grab your cleaning supplies and hop to it!
We thought we would give you some tips that have helped us organize our messes and we hope you'll find these tips helpful as well.
Gigi Lori
Decluttering and organizing
Have you ever wanted to truly declutter your home but find it is overwhelming? If you answered yes, then I would highly suggest this book - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up written by Marie Kondo.
The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up takes you through the process of simplifying, organizing and storing your belongings step by step, to make your home a place of peace and clarity.
Marie Kondo's 6 basic rules of tidying
Commit yourself to tidying up.
Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
Finish discarding first.
Tidy by category, not by location.
Follow the right order.
Ask yourself if it sparks joy.
After you have read the book, you are eager to begin the tidying process and honestly once you commit to tidying, you will feel joy that unwanted items are given away to a new home and things are in order and easy to locate.
"Decluttering isn't just about letting go. It's also an opportunity to pass things on to those who need them." Author unknown
Gigi Lori
Gigi Susie
Kitchen Cleaning
The kitchen is one of the key areas in a home and I find if my kitchen is cleaned, the whole house feels clean to me - kinda like bathrooms!
So. here's what I try to do daily (keyword here is TRY):
Kitchen-To-Do Daily:
Empty the dishwasher
Rinse out the sink - once a week, I use Bar Keepers Friend
Wipe off the dishwasher and oven
Wipe stovetop
Wipe down the countertops
I love to make this DIY non-toxic cleaner. It smells so good and does a great job on my counters. My countertops are granite (check to see what you can use on yours).
This is my countertop cleanser:
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
3 drops of dish soap
5-10 drops of essential oil (depending on the season, I change it up from lemon - cinnamon)
water
Put into a spray bottle
Clean inside of microwave (once a week). This works wonders and more than likely you have these items on hand:
one cup of water
one cups of white vinegar
add lemon slices (if you have)
microwave for 5-6 minutes
Wipe inside with a damp cloth or sponge with time is complete
As far as organizing, here's what I found to work best for me
lucite containers for my cupboards in my cabinets
spice organizer for my drawers
Oxo containers are what I use for my sugars, flours, baking soda, baking powder, etc.
Hope this inspires you to organize your kitchen. It's not a glamorous job for sure but one that needs to be done.
xoxoxoxoxo
Gigi Susie
Lala Malana
I recently replaced a big area of my home with hardwood floors. I love the look and feel of them. Of course, when I see the dust accumulating, which here in Arizona is non-stop, it drives me a little crazy. Recognizing how much of that dust was accumulating in my carpet makes me realize I made the right decision. It just feels cleaner and healthier.
I have made it my weekly routine to use the Bona Premium Microfiber Dust Mop first and follow behind with the Bona Hardwood Floor Premium Spray Mop to give it a fresh clean finish. I started with the Bona dust mop with a separate spray bottle of the Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner formula which is made especially for hardwood floors. However, using the mop with the attached spray bottle was a game changer.
It is actually fun. Well, fun in a cleaning sort of way. It certainly helps to expedite the chore. I also feel like dusting first helps prep the floors for the wet mopping and the dust mop works perfectly. The Bona dust mop and wet mop can also be used on other hard surfaces. The Bona products can be found at most retail stores that sell mops and other cleaning products for your floor. You can also purchase them on Amazon.
While we are on the subject of dusting, the Norwex Dusting Mitt is my favorite tool for the rest of the furniture. It fits easily over your hand and is extremely convenient for those hard to get
places. The dust sticks to the microfiber mitt instead of being pushed around on the surface. Simply brush those dust bunnies off the mitt with the Norwex Brush and keep going. I also use the rubber brush to clean my Bona microfiber pads.
I love all of the Norwex products. If you don't have a consultant, you can find these products and more here.
I hope these ideas help get your spring cleaning off to a good start. It is time for the Easter Bunny and the dust bunnies to move on.
Have fun!
Lala Malana
Mimi Jackie
We all know that a good spring-cleaning session is like breathing new life into your home after a long winter. It will not only leave your home shining from top to bottom but will also be that breath of fresh air we all crave in our home. After all the cleaning is done, be sure to reward yourself! If you missed our previous blog on our favorite Amazon Spring Home Finds you can read it here. There are a lot of great décor items and many of them I display in my home every Spring.
When I think about spring-cleaning my home, one of the areas I don’t want to skip are my tile floors. You can usually find me vacuuming and mopping most evenings, because we always have a handful of our grandchildren coming over almost daily (which I completely LOVE) however, the grout is what I focus on when I'm deep cleaning. I LOVE using my Bissell Steam Shot Handheld Steam Cleaner. I purchased mine on Amazon and it can be found at this link. One of the things I love most about it is that it’s a 100% chemical-free way to clean. The machine uses only water to steam clean, making it completely safe to use around kids and pets. Not only do I use it on my floor grout but also on the grout in our bathroom showers, and many other hard surfaces. The machine isn’t too heavy, which is really nice because sometimes I get carried away and I’m off deep cleaning everything in sight! It also comes with seven different tools for any of those hard to reach places. I love knowing I’m not only cleaning but also disinfecting and sanitizing as I go. The steamer eliminates 99.9% of germs and bacteria. Trust me, you’ll be amazed at the spots and stains that vanish as you’re steam cleaning. It’s such a good feeling and for me it’s a little therapeutic too.
For every minute spent on cleaning and organizing, an hour is earned!
Happy Spring friends!
xoxo
Mimi Jackie
Nana Alison
I’m not sure why, but Spring always seems like a good time to declutter and reorganize. The kitchen pantry is a good place to start. It’s time to throw out the leftover Christmas candy and donate the extra cans of sweet potatoes and pumpkin. While you’re at it, why not start with some new tools to help you keep everything in an easy-to-find place?
My daughter-in-law tipped me off on these black metal bins from Target. I love that they are see through and large enough to hold several fairly large items. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, you can just remove the whole bin without searching behind individual stacked items and half bags of chips. These farmhouse chic baskets come in two sizes and both fit well on my shallow walk-in pantry shelves. (It looks like Target is ready to close these out, so you might want to check your store quickly...or try these similar ones from Amazon.) I also found these cute attachable hanging chalkboard tags. Below, is a picture of my Keto (diet) snacks bin. If you want to read my post about the Keto way of eating click here.
Thanks to these handy bins and labels, I am well on my way to a freshly organized pantry which makes this Nana feel so good!
"Get rid of clutter and you may just find that it was blocking the door you've been looking for" Katrina Mayer
Hope this inspires you to spring into action!
Nana Alison
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