A-Z of Home Cleaning

I'm not posting this to encourage you to do the dishes or the washing more frequently..... we all know when they are overdue and need to be done.
I'm hoping this list can get you a little motivated to look around the home at other areas that are sometimes forgotten about.
Its not a complete list - but just a little something fun to help get the motivation flowing!!!

With March just around the corner, I'm planning to do a letter a day. And finish my alphabetical list just in time to relax before the Easter long weekend.
Everyone always mentions "Spring Cleaning" - well I reckon there's no reason not to clean in Autumn too! No-one wants the home to be un-organised going into winter!!! We need to feel comforted at home when we're stuck inside under blankets ;-)

• A - Appliances. Yes we all wipe over the kitchen bench several times a day - but how often do you give your appliances a wipe? Today wipe over the kettle, the coffee machine, the toaster, the blender and any other kitchen appliances that need your care.  Did you know that just shaking the crumbs out of your toaster really isn't enough?......To help give it a thorough clean, pour a quarter of a cup of salt into your toaster, let it sit for 10 minutes and then give it a good shake out. 

• B - Bathroom cabinet. Clean the toilet if you must, but also use today to clear everything out of the bathroom cabinet, wipe over the shelves & replace only those items that you know will be used. Bathrooms cabinets are often a place where items get jammed to the back and forgotten about.  

• C - Cushions and pillows. When was the last time you washed the couch cushions??? They tend to get forgotten. Today remove all the covers from cushions and pillows, wash and dry them. Wash the pillows if they are washable and if not, then hang them in direct sunlight to give them a freshen up. Give them a nice big fluff before replacing the clean covers.

• D - Dishes and dishwasher. This sounds boring doesn't it??? Today go through your everyday 'dish' cupboard and sort out which items you want to keep and not. Anything that is broken - toss it out (or find another purpose for it). Anything you no longer want or use, donate to charity. Clean your dishwasher by putting it on the hot cycle with just a jug of white vinegar in it!

• E -Education. Sort through any college/uni papers. Any school papers of the kids that need organising? Work papers scattered everywhere.... If you have some extra money pay off education loan! 

• F - Fridge and freezer. Hopefully its a nice hot day when you come across letter F! Remove everything from the fridge and wipe over with vanilla. Sort through containers & put back only what will be used. Toss any sauces, condiments etc that have sat in the fridge unused or are out-of-date. Defrost your freezer and check that nothing has sat in the bottom unused. If you have anything that is still in date but that you don't plan to use - why not cook a meal for your neighbour :-) 

 

• G - Garage. Ok I hear you - I know its a man's department. But you can make your hubbie feel really loved if you just give it a sweep and tidy a few odds and ends! 

 

• H - Hobby sorting. Most people have an area that is designated to their hobby activites. Whatever that is, craft, sewing, scrapbooking, other - tidy the area up. Sort through any piles that have accumulated and toss out any rubbish.

 

• I - Ironing. Ok today is a nice easy one. Yep, just get on top of that ironing pile!!!

• J - Jewellery and dressing table. Sort through your jewellery drawer & decide on pieces you want to keep/not keep. Sort out the top of that dressing table to have it looking lovely :-) 

 

• K - Kitchen cupboards. Most people I know have a kitchen cupboard that they just dread opening! Is it your tupperware cupboard??? Whichever cupboard it is - use today to tackle it. Sort out what you want to keep and what is no longer needed.

 

• L - Linen press. Sort out towels, handtowels, bed linen and other items that are stored in your linen press.
• M - Mending. Today is the day to finally tackle that pile of buttons, zippers, hemming and other mending jobs that have sat around for a few months! If you're not the mending type - then use today to make the trip to a tailor to get it done.
• N - Notes and notepads. Are you like me and have little bits of paper around the house everywhere? Go around the home and collect all the papers. Designate a proper place for 'notes', and check them weekly to sort which ones can be thrown away. Instead of having lots of little papers, see if you can keep one notepad with everything in it.

• O - Ornaments. If you are an ornment keeper you'll know that sometimes they can get really dusty! Use today to gently wipe over your collection & decide if you want to continue to keep the items. If you're not an ornament collector, use today to wipe over any decorative pieces you have on display in your home (vases, picture frames etc).

• P - Pantry! You knew it was coming right??? That's right - go through those shelves and toss old items. Donate items that won't be used. Items that are close to expiry put in a pile somewhere that they can be used in the next week.

•  Q - Quilts & blankets. Air all quilt and blankets. If you can hang them in direct sunlight that is best as it helps to kill mold spores. Mold can start to develop even before we can see it!  

• R- Rugs. Are you someone who vacuums over the rugs and forgets to lift it and actually vacuum under it??? I must admit that I'm quite guilty of that. Today lift any rugs off the floor - give them a good shake out and hang them in the sun. Actually vacuum the spot where the rug was before replacing the rug ;-)

• S - Spray and wipe. Clean over all the clear surfaces in your home. Dust settles so easily and just a fresh wipe makes everything feel sparkly clean. I highly recommend this all purpose cleaner that I use.  

•  T - Toy attack! With your child's help, sort out toys that are no longer wanted/used and create a pile to donate to charity. Sort the remaining toys into a sensible order that the child can access when wanting to. If you don't have children, I suggest using today to tackle that childhood soft toy collection that you might have! Give your furry friends a gentle wash & then decided if you still want to keep them! 

• U - Under the sink. Another area very prone to clutter. How many take-away lunch containers do you really need?!? Clear everything out of these cupboards & check for no signs of leaking. Wipe shelves & replace only things that are needed and will be used.  

• V - Vacuum. Another boring basic day! But just make sure that you do a proper job and use the skinny edge to clean along the skirting boards too! 

• W - Window sills. Wipe along all the window sills and blinds (if you have them). Cooled black tea is fantastic to use to clean wood.  

• X - X-tra. Have you found your motivation yet? Or lost it? Is there anything extra that you feel like sorting out in your home - then today is the day :-)

•  Y - Yard. I am an indoors person so you won't find me out in the yard too often! None the less, when the yard is looking tidy it is a wonderful feeling. Use today to pile up that pile of leaves, sweep over any paved areas and just give the yard a general tidy.  

• Z - zzzzzzzz. you've worked so hard over all these letter days! Use today to do anything else that you're motivated to clean and tidy - but whatever you do - make sure you get enough sleep tonight!!!

More organising.....

How are you going with the organised housewife 20 day challenge???
Just one more week left.
To be quite honest my enthusiasm has dwindled.....
But I am still doing odds and ends around the home to help it get more organised. I'm just not following the daily tasks quite as closely as when we started. I decided that my own problems areas were more important to tackle.

Problem areas tackled in the last week 
 --> bedroom 'stash'
 --> office desk

Cleaning and organising the office area was the daily task for day 14. So I used that for motivation to get it done..... well partly done!
I managed to clear my desk space so that I can have the space I need and sorted through huge piles of random scraps of paper. I'm yet to tackle the storage area above my actual desk.... That's up next!

Anyway,I need to keep my desk clear, to keep my little helper happy ;-) 

Before.... mess and clutter

After - much better, but still a bit to go!

Let's face it - some organisation is better than none! Right?!?!?!?

With that said, I then put away the pile of shoes that had 'magically' grown since tidy bedroom day ;-)

I guess at least they are lined up neatly!!!!!

I continued with the problem spots in the bedroom.
Remember my pile of boxes that I posted in my previous post - I finally tackled them - COMPLETELY! Not only did I sort and remove the pile I re-arranged our bedroom so that we have a lovely sitting area.

 And now comes the 'reward' of being able to select a lovely piece for the table! I CAN'T WAIT! How awesome does it feel to buy a new decoration item for the home?

I must admit that I was way toooo embarrassed to post my other problem area in the bedroom..... I had a table next to my bedside table that was FULL of enviro-bags that had so many odds and ends that I hadn't sorted since we moved.
Now that I have tackled it I really wish I had of taken a picture to show how awful it was!
None the less I am very pleased to announce that those piles NO LONGER EXIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY
I replaced the coffee table with a little bookshelf where I can neatly keep the few magazines that I want to hold onto in an orderly way.

Not embarrassed to take a picture of that!

Ok enough of all this cleaning and tidying stuff - this is my weekend we're talking about!
                        Besides....

         Well I don't totally agree with this - but it does give me a little chuckle!

Now to go and test out my new cookbook:

                    Isn't that what weekends are really for?!?!?

Organised Housewife-ing

How are you going on the Organised Housewife Challenge?

We're up to day 10 today, though I must admit that this week I have been a little bit behind. I haven't got to tidy my desk like I had hoped to do on Wednesday's list......
I am finding I can get a few odds and ends done on my workdays but not as much as I would like to achieve. Of course that means all the "harder-to-sort" things stay put ;-)
None the less I'm ploughing on & doing what I can.

I LOVE the feeling of going through cupboards & sorting them out knowing that they are getting a proper clean & being sorted through so that excess is not being kept!

Here's our 2 tupperware cupboards - cleaned and sorted today:

Before

 

After

Now I have to admit that I didn't really need to sort out this Tupperware cupboard as I'm quite particular about this one - but I did straighten out a few piles & wipe the shelves down.  Can't hurt to keep on top of it!

And here's our organised and cleaned fridge!
I love the smell of vanilla spray! :D Always a pleasure to sort the fridge out!!!

Spring Cleaning

YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How excited am I that this blog was linked up to the organised housewife challenge!
Check it out! That's my alphabetical pantry you see there ;-)

How are you going with the 20 day challenge?

Did you follow todays plan?

Today is the first day since last Autumn that I've been able to hang washing on the line and actually have it dry!

I guess that's lucky since washing bed linen always takes up so much space!!! lol

 After all - is there anything so lovely as a clean fresh bed at night time?

I was debating if its time to put away the winter blanket yet.... but then I remembered its the cats favourite sleeping spot, so for now it stays!

My problem with clutter in the bedroom happens around my clothing :-/

I tend to throw items on this lovely wooden box & leave them there. Don't you think I have a nice shoe collection too?!!?
Sometimes the pile is clean clothes that are waiting to be put away, and sometimes its... well lets just say not-so-clean clothes!
Either way I think I'll officially add to my housewife New Habit list "To clear clothing pile each night". 

And I did just that this afternoon:

Clearly this took a bit of time because the sun went down quite significantly between the photos!!!
The pile of boxes on the left hand-side is from when we moved in :-/

Oh dear! I have added that to my weekend list!

Since I am still working during school hours, yet I want to make the most of the housewife challenge, I am keeping myself a list of tasks-to-do on the weekend that completely tackle all of the clutter and not just 'surface clutter' as I like to call it. Its all very well and good to clear desk tops & wash linen but these boxes are the type of things that I always overlook when I 'clean and tidy'. That's why they sit well hidden in the corner - so that most of the time they don't bother me! 

This week I also started following the PCRM's 21 day kickstart.

Of course I still had to grocery shop & write my meals down, but that's an easy week of meal planning since there was no thought involved!

The meals on the kickstart are so tasty & I have enjoyed following along the kickstart program for a number of years now!

They have a forum where you can get involved with questions/comments if you have any concerns.

I plan to blog about all the DIY recipes that it encourages us to do. So stayed tuned for some tasty recipes!

Are you spring cleaning?

Do you like to spring clean your home or your body more?

Meal Planning Tips

Where do you stand regarding the whole meal planning issue?

Do you find it easier to meal plan? Does it help your week feel more organised?

Do you wish you could meal plan but it just doesn't seem to happen?

I have meal planned for a few years now. Though it has always seemed to be in a different way!

I am amazed by the people who say they can meal plan for a month in advance!!!! That just simply blows my mind!
To be honest I struggle with planning a whole week at once!!!

And besides, I like my fresh fruit & veg too much!

Here's what working for me currently:

I have recently decided to shop 2 times a week instead of once.

Sounds silly, but it actually SAVES us money! And it also makes each shop much quicker. I was finding that by the middle of the week we needed fresh bread & more vegetables and other random odds and ends which somehow didn't make it on the list the first time. This always meant that even if I intended to get just 3 things, I would always come out with another trolley load! Come on admit it..... that happens to us all hey ;-)

This helps us also if we have last minute plans for the weekends, extra leftovers that we weren't expecting to have or if we decided we feel like something special.

It has really helped us to reduce waste & feel a lot more organised when it comes to our pantry and fridge. 

An overloaded fridge at the start of the week can be so frustrating. Shopping twice a week stops the fridge being so full that you can't get to the things at the back of the shelves.

So I shop on Sunday & Thursday. Each of those days I sit down and plan what we'll have til the next shopping day - taking into account, what we already have as supplies, what we felt like during the last couple of days and what leftovers we have that need to be used up.

I always leave Sunday nights as 'free' meals to be filled in later with whatever we have on hand.

Here's our meal plan board:

Its a contact chalk board that we purchased from Myer.

Works a treat & so easy to use. It sits where visitors cannot easily see it and doesn't then look 'messy' in the kitchen (yes my writing on here is not so neat and its often written in code!). 

Because I eat different meals to my husband (mostly) we have a separate column for dinner each & there is also a column for my daughters lunch (she has the same dinner as me). I like to give her a variety of lunch box items so she isn't always having a sandwich (post on that coming soon).

I have a column for Fuhrman's gombbs to remind me of all the healthful food I should be eating each day. 

Its also nice to be able to at a glance note if either of us will be out for the evening meal. I am often home rather late on my travel-to-work day, so I often use Wednesday as leftovers day - alternatively I am catching up with friends and have a meal out with them. 

This is also a great way to be able to note food that is in the fridge that needs to be used up asap. I can just write a quick word in the gombbs column to remind me. I guess its more like a reminder column than anything else!!!!

I am finding that I only really need to 'plan' our evening meals as breakfast is easy enough & I usually just have salad for lunch, or any leftovers that need to be used up. I used to plan the other meals though.

I haven't always had this marvellous board (don't I have a clever hubby! <3)
I used a printed spreadsheet for ages, that I just printed multiple times and then would fill in each week.

So don't think you need anything special to make meal-planning work.

I always make a shopping list - ALWAYS!

Yes, I literally sit down with a pen and paper and go through catalogues! It doesn't really take that long and it saves me time in the grocery store.

I always check out the weekly specials at the grocery stores to work out what items I wish to purchase from which stores. 

This is another reason I find shopping twice a week works out better.

I used to get so annoyed that half the things we needed were on special at one store and half at another store & I did not like having to decide which to shop at!!!

Problem solved - on the weeks where they have equally inviting specials, I can do one shop at either!

It makes "cactus" hour so much easier!

There is nothing worse than getting to meal starting time and having no idea what you should make. It takes forever to decide and then it always seems that you don't really have 'all' the ingredients you need!

And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that always the time when children are the most grizzly too?!?!?  ;-)

I have always involved my daughter in my cooking since she was quite young. I found that when she was younger this really helped me cope with cactus hour. She would nibble on chopped veggies (chick peas have always been a huge favourite!) & get odds and ends out of the cupboard for me. It has well and truly paid off now! She is an amazing little helper in the kitchen & finally I can say that she really is more help than hindrance!!! There are several things that she can even cook herself like pasta, pancakes & cookies. Not bad for a 7 year old! I wonder how many more years til I don't even need to cook at all ;-) 

Only joking, I LOVE cooking, and its soooooooo much more enjoyable with a plan to stick to! Even if that means I just write a few ingredients on the board so that I can experiment with a new recipe!

How I Organised my Craft Room

Well to tell the truth its actually the craft "side-of-the-room" as I do share it with my office for when I work at home!

But none the less, it needed to be organised!

It was very frustrating to want to sew and not be able to find the items needed easily.

Step One: 

Determine what pieces of furniture are needed.

Previously these Ikea shelves were in my daughters room, but when we moved she now has a massive built in wardrobe that fits everything, so I inherited these shelves for my craft room! 
Obviously I needed my sewing table (again inherited from my daughter's previous room as she now has a built in desk too!). I would like to invest in a proper sewing table oneday so I can also fit my over-looker on, but for now, this will make do! Organising doesn't have to be expensive.
I needed 'somewhere' to put my half done projects that would be easily accessible & where they wouldn't be put away and forgotten. I bought an ottoman with a removable lid. This works fantastic because if someone needs to come in & chat to me while I'm sewing they have a comfy little seat! 

Step Two:

Work out what you want to keep.

This part can be hard! I had so many boxes of craft things when we moved & I just had to sit down & go through ~every~single~one~ of them & sort out what I wanted to keep and what I didn't.

I did this out of the room so that nothing was put away & forgotten about.

Step Three:

Determine 'how' your items will be stored.

I wanted to make all my items fit & be easy to access. 

I worked out which type of storage would work best for what I needed stored and I slowly bought storage pieces to fit into the cubes in matching colours.

Step Four: 

Work out where the things will go.

Along the bottom I have the largest tubs and I have card making supplies in two and jewellery making supplies in the other two. 

I have put several sewing odds and ends in smaller boxes so they are easier to access when needed.

I have all my patterns and books along the top in magazine holders & small crates.

So far this is working out fantastically!

Step Five:

Set a day aside for the big clean out!

That meant moving all the things out of the cubes & into the lounge room where they would be allocated into their new boxes & put back - neat and tidy and in order! 

I must add how helpful it was to already have my plan in mind of where I wanted everything to go, so I wasn't left wondering where to put what as I bought things back into my craft room.

 So, here's what I started with:

 

And here's how it ended up:

And the other side of the room
From this:

To this:

 

A much calmer & more organised place to get creative in!

I did have a little helper along the way ;-)

Next in line for a good clean up is:

When life throws you lemons......

Ever bought a lemon-of-a-car??

I've had my first experience of that happening this month. :''(
I cannot explain how incredibly frustrating it is..... and how hopeless you feel in the waiting moments to hear from mechanics/auto-electricians if it can be fixed..... or the dreaded bill..... when they haven't really solved the problem.

So when life throws you lemons.............

Make an all-purpose cleaning spray!!!!!!!!!!!

Because you need something to do while you're stuck at home with no car to drive ;-)

  Cut up some lemons into wedges and put into a cleaned glass jar. Pour cleaning vinegar over the top of the lemons. White vinegar works too.

Put the jars into a sink & cover with boiling water. Don't pour the water directly onto the jars in case they crack.

Leave to sit until the water has completely cooled down (or overnight).

Then you can empty the sink & strain the lemon/vinegar mixture into a spray bottle. (You can leave the mixture to sit in the jars for up to 2 weeks if you want!)

Your all-purpose cleaner is done! It will keep for about a month.

Now I can be a lean, mean, green cleaning machine!

What!!! Lean - phef, I'm a woman I have round bits & I don't want to be mean! 
And after all lemons are yellow.
Let's just say - now I can be a cleaning fanatic ;-p

Today is the last day for the pre-challenge tasks on the organised housewife challenge. Have you decided to join in? Have you done all the pre-challenge tasks? What are you most looking forward too?

I hope you have your list of goals handy so you can refer to them to keep you motivated!

I've got my folder all set-up and ready to go! I did it whilst enjoying a coffee and the sunshine (of course!)

I'm becoming an organised housewife!!!

I've been really motivated to clean & tidy the last few months.

Have you read my post about how I've switched to chemical free cleaning?

It's so refreshing to have things organised, clean & tidy.

We bought our very first home 10 months ago!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYY! :D 

A life long dream of mine after renting for over 10 years. However, moving is never fun, no matter when or where you end up and I must admit that there were several places in our home that didn't quite get the unpacking attention they deserved, especially as our unpacking was somewhat crowded by the Christmas time rush. I have been very motivated to get EVERYTHING all sorted out properly & when I stumbled across this the other day I was HUGELY excited!

                      GUESS WHAT......

                                  And the best news is that you can too!
The amazing website The Organised Housewife has put together a challenge called 20-days-to-organise-and-clean-your-home.  Why not sign up to the fun & join hundreds of other ladies as we seek to clean & organise our homes!

There was a time when my home was in a complete ~SHAMOZZLE~ to say the least, with little time or energy to fix it even though I so desperately wanted to!
I must admit I am so pleased with how our home is today. Yes it takes a bit of time, but it never hurt me to turn off the TV or close down that facebook page! In fact, in made me feel SOOOO good if I did!
After all - a home is supposed to be somewhere that we can relax & feel comfortable & enjoy being. 

I LOVE COMING HOME TO OUR HOME.

Here's some pictures of what I have already done prior to even knowing about the organised housewife challenge! I just wish I had of taken more "before" pictures! I just get so excited when I have achieved the "after" that I remember to take happy snaps ;-)

Every woman needs an organised dresser! Sure beats the pile of tissues and make-up and pens and pins it used to have on it!

How can it be that having an organised under-the-sink can feel so good?

I love a Tupperwared pantry ;-)

Especially when its arranged alphabetically!!!

But for now.... it's bed time!
I'm going to continue to post about my journey through the challenge with more pictures to come!
Starting with how I managed to organise my craft side-of-the-room just a few weekends ago! There's already plenty of photos on this post! ;-)