Making Your Home Sing Monday - A Book Review!

Yea!! Nan is back! That means Making Your Home Sing Monday is back too! Please lift her up in your prayers, kids - she's hurt her back and is still in some pain. Praying for a quick recovery for you, friend!!

If you want to learn more about Making Your Home Sing or if you would like to join in the link-up, visit Nan over at Mom's The Word to find out more about it!

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I don't do a whole lot of book reviews. I don't do a whole lot of reviews, period. There's a reason for that - if I don't really REALLY like or believe in something, I am not going to tell anyone they need to "rush out and get it". Just not my thing.

But there's this book . . .
It's amazing.
It has changed the way I look at housecleaning.
The name of the book is:
Just Clean Enough
By. I.B. Caruso and Jenny Schroedel

The book doesn't preach at you.
It doesn't tell you you you're wrong.
It doesn't even tell you you have to do 50,000 things at once to "get organized".
It goes through 365 days - that's one year - worth of "tasks" that you can do to help get your home where you want it to be.
Here's the secret to this book - you DON'T have to do things in order.
You can go room by room, day by day, week by week.
OR
You can search through the book for a task that takes 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30+ minutes, depending on how much time you have.
OR
You can just pick something at random!

And the tasks aren't hard or time consuming. Most of them don't take any longer than 10 minutes.
Like decluttering bath products in the bathroom.
Or picking up all your shoes in your bedroom.
Or polishing your kitchen table.

Some of these are things I do frequently, but some are things I never thought about!
For example:
washing the shower curtain
decorating the laundry room
putting a bulletin board in the living room

There are some wonderful ideas in this book. And I am going to do most of them (we don't have a basement or a huge attic like some of my northern friends might have).
I encourage you to check this book out. It's not about perfection, but about getting your home Just Clean Enough!

MYHSM: Adventures in Soap Making (finally)

Making Your Home Sing Monday . . . Er . . . Tuesday . . . 

ADVENTURES IN SOAP MAKING

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this or not, but I ♥ The Duggar family. Never do I miss an episode of 19 Kids and Counting. One of the things that I love the most about them is their ability to take care of so many children and not lose it.  One of the ways they do this is by doing everything they can to be thrifty. They shop at resale shops and thrift stores, they use coupons, and, when they are able, they make their own household products such as cleaners and detergents.

I am a firm believer in saving money, and I love making my own cleaners (I am a sucker for baking soda and vinegar), so when I saw their recipe for making your own laundry soap, I knew I had to jump on that band wagon. 

Laundry and dish detergents are two of the biggest expenses in our family. When Jake finally got out of diapers a few weeks ago, we jumped for joy. Knowing that we will never have to buy expensive laundry detergent again made us jump even higher. 

Before I go into details, let me go into a price comparison . . . 

I use All free and clear for my laundry detergent. I buy a 32 oz bottle of it every week for around $5. In a years time, that comes out to be a grand total of $260 in laundry soap.

Now, for the ingredients for the homemade soap, I spent around $11 total for a box of Borax, a bar of Fels-Naptha, and a box of washing soda. But here's the thing. I made five gallons. There are about four of my All containers to a gallon. Let's do some math, shall we?

4x5=20

20x5=100

100-11= 89

SO I've just saved my family $89 in laundry detergent. And let's not even mention the fact that the only thing that I will have to replace in about two years is the soap bar at $1.29. 

I'd say that's a pretty good deal.

Now, you wanna know how to do it?

Alright, let's have a short lesson (it's actually really easy!)

You will need:

1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda!!!)

and 1/2 cupBorax

You will also need:

LOTS of hot water

4 cups hot water

a 5 gallon bucket with a lid (found ours at wal-mart for around 6 bucks)

Don't forget a good pan and a measuring cup:

First, you're going to want to grate your soap on a hand grater:

I used a hand grater simply because I didn't think it would work very well in my food processor.

When you're done, it will look something like this:

(My son actually thought it was cheese)

Next, you're going to boil four cups of water:

Then you're going to turn your heat to medium and gradually add the soap to the water to dissolve and melt down. It will look like this until it's dissolved:

A little lumpy, but don't worry, it WILL melt eventually (it actually took me about 20 mintues). Just keep stirring and squishing and it'll get there.

After the soap has dissolved, you're going to fill a 5 gallon bucket about half way with HOT water:

Then you're going to add the melted soap, the borax, and the washing soda and mix it thoroughly.

Then you need to fill it up the rest of the way with more hot water.

Put the lid on and allow it to sit overnight.

The next morning it will look like this:

It will be a little gelatinous and lumpy, that's okay, just stir it up really good.

NOW, if you want, you can keep some in a used detergent bottle (I use one of my old All ones), or you can just use it straight from the bucket (although you will have to stir it up every time - I prefer the detergent bottle so I can just shake it).

*NOTE It WILL NOT suds up when you use it. This is fine - it IS cleaning your clothes! It doesn't suds because there aren't the chemicals that most commercial products use in it.*

So, how did it work?

Well, quite well, actually. The fragrance is nice and not overwhelming - just fresh. In fact, when the clothes are finished, you really don't smell anything. My clothes came out clean and fresh smelling, which is nice (I have a bed-wetter in the family, and those smells are HARD to get out, this got them out nicely).

Did it work as well as All? Yes. Yes it did.

I am pleased with the results, and look forward to using this for years to come!

*Next week I will be doing a review of my home made dish soap. Keep watching for that!*

Don't forget to visit my friend Nan at MomsTheWord to learn how you can make YOUR home sing!

Making Your Home Sing Monday!

Happy Monday Everyone! Let's get ready to Make Our Homes Sing!

Wanna join the fun, go visit Nan at MomsTheWord and link up!

Don't forget that one of the easiest ways to make your home sing is to make a meal plan and shop/prep in advance! Need some inspiration? Here's my menu for the week! Don't forget to check out the recipes too!

PICK UP AFTER YOURSELF

It sounds like a simple thing really, but I think that we adults don't really understand the impact it can have on a household. For those without children, sometimes it's a given and sometimes it's an "oh, I'll get to that later". And MOST of the time (unless you're a compulsive hoarder) that's just fine. If you have kids, though, it quickly becomes a necessity. Why? Well, quite simply because children mimic the actions they witness.

WE CANNOT EXPECT OUR CHILDREN TO EXHIBIT BEHAVIORS THAT WE DO NO EXHIBIT OURSELVES.

For example, you want your child to clean their room.  (If you follow me on facebook or twitter you know my story well with this one). BUT YOUR room is cluttered and filled with garbage and dirty clothes. Do you really expect your child to keep their room clean when you cannot?

It's the same with household chores - putting up dishes, picking up toys, vacuuming, picking up laundry, etc. If the kids witness you do it, then they'll be more likely to do it themselves when asked (and sometimes without being asked!)

Picking up after yourself will elicit a chain reaction in your home. It may take a while, but eventually everyone will jump on board themselves and start picking up after themselves too!

Supermom Product Plug - Lysol Duel Action Disinfecting Wipes

I am a clorox girl.  I have been for years.  But recently I decided to give Lysol's new product a try.  Now, those who have been following this blog know that it is rare that I do a product plug.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure I have ever done one here. But these deserve a plug.

One side has these little purple squiggly scrubbie things and the other side is completely smooth.  I tried it on my disgusting stove top, which hasn't been cleaned in a week - don't ask me why, I'm chocking it up to laziness and hormones.  Generally to do my stove I use a sponge and hot water.  It works after a while, but it usually takes me more than five minutes to wipe down my stove top.  With these new wipes, I was able to clean my stove top and the oven door in less than two!  One aspect that I really liked about them was the fact that you can feel where you're scrubbing, so to speak.  With a sponge, it doesn't really feel like you have the same kind of control.  I also like the fact that it's disinfecting, so you really get two jobs done in one.  The scent is pleasant, and not too overwhelming too.  Additionally, it's 50¢  cheaper than clorox wipes!

While I was at it, I also tried out their original wipes for my morning "swish and swipe" routine in the bathroom.  Typically it takes me two or three wipes to wipe down the mirror, sink, and toilet, because the wipe will start to fall apart.  I was able to do it with ONE of these!

Needless to say . . . I'm a convert!

Purging!

We all have to do it at some time in another.

We look around that table, that desk, that box, that ROOM (for some of us, that HOUSE!!) and groan because we know that the dreaded act of purging is upon us for some reason or another.  Maybe you need to have dinner on that table.  Maybe you have a 150 page thesis to write at that desk.  Maybe you need to transform that room into a guest room.  Whatever your reason, you know the task is overwhelming.  Well, in my own journey to purge my own home, I have learned a few things.  Today I will share them with you all.

Before you purge:
Take a look around the room.  Give yourself a point of reference of where you want to stop and start for the day.  It could be a square footage, it could be a time limit, it could be a number of things.  Give your self a starting and stopping point.

Plan.  Break up the gigantic task into smaller ones.  Don't think you have to tackle it all at once.  Do a little today, then more tomorrow, and more the next day.  Little by little it will add up.

Be prepared.  Gather up anything you might need.  Most organizers and cleaning gurus suggest having three boxes/bags to use as you purge, labeling them : Keep, Toss, Sell/Donate.  I recommend adding one more to that, if it's a big job and you're in a hurry: The I Don't Know box.  That will keep you from spending 15 minutes trying to decide if you really want to keep Aunt Marge's ugly bud vase or not.

Ask for help.  If you aren't sure you can do it on your own, ask a close friend or family member (or two or three) to come help you.  Make a party out of it, serving lemonade and cookies and playing some fabulous music!

The Purging Process

As you purge, you're going to come across things that you really don't know about.  When this happens, it's good to have a list of criteria that an item has to meet in order to make it to the "keep" box.  My personal list is as follows:

1) Is the item torn or broken? If so, it immediately goes to the trash box.
2) Do I have a home for this item?
3) If not, have I used this item in the last six months?
4) If not, would I use this item if it was accessible? If not, it goes to sell/donate.
5) If so, can I MAKE a home for this item?  If not, it goes to sell/donate.

When the keep box is full, take some time to put all those items away in their homes. If you don't have a home for that item yet, commit to create a home for it within a time frame (I like a month).  Write this time on your calendar!  If you haven't found a home for it yet in your home, it's time to donate or sell it.

When the trash box is full, take it to the trash can or dumpster, empty it, and take it back to what you were doing.

When the sell/donate box is full, close it and tape it shut.  If you are donating it, put it in your car right then!  If you are selling, write down on your calender when you want your sale to be and commit to it!  If the sale doesn't happen by the date you commit to, put it in the back of your car and donate it.

When you are done for the day, take the  I Don't Know box to another room and go through it one item at a time.  If you have gone through the questions and you STILL want to keep it (even though it doesn't meet the requirements) ask yourself "Do I LOVE it?".  If not, then get rid of it!  There's no use in keeping something you don't love and will never use.

If you find that even after all this, you can't get rid of a significant amount of items (such as a whole room or houseful), or if you can't get rid of trash items such as aluminum cans, Styrofoam cups, etc., you might consider the possibility that you may be a chronic hoarder, and might consider looking into treatment options.

Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.  It took time for the mess to occur, and it's going to take time to get rid of. But it will happen, little by little.

Now, go purge!

Perfection-Free Zone (1 Corinthians 13:10)

1 Corinthians 13:10 " . . . but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears . . ."

I used to get so frustrated when I looked at my home.  It was filthy.  It was worse than filthy in some respects. Cluttered, dirty, ugly.  When I'd clean, I'd be exhausted within fifteen minutes.  Why?  Not because of the mess, but because I was striving for something unattainable - perfection.  There was only one perfect being that ever walked the earth, and frankly, I'm not Him.

It took a while for me to see the problem with perfection.  It made me crazy.  I would clean, and turn around and it would be imperfect again.  I would throw my hands up and yell "what's the point?".  I fussed at my children, my spouse, myself.  I was miserable and so was everyone around me.  It was not until I finally realized that perfection wasn't going to happen that I was able to let go of this mindset.

I look around now at my imperfect home.  My floors are currently not vacuumed, swept, or mopped ( I will get to that later this week) but the floors are picked up and free from clutter.  My sink (due to a broken dishwasher) is currently filled with dirty dishes.  But my stove top, my counters, and even my appliances are clean. I have dirt behind the refrigerator, under the couch, behind the toilet.  But you can't see it.  It drives me crazy, to a point, to know that these imperfections are there, but then I think about my own imperfections in my sinful, human nature.

God doesn't seek perfection in us, why should we seek it in our own lives?  I am not perfect.  I am a sinner.  I try to do God's will, but sometimes it eludes me.  I forget to read my bible one day, I skip church services to sleep in, I yell at my children, I even say a choice word or two to idiots in my child's school car line.  God loves me anyway. So, I have to look at my home imperfections in the same way God looks at mine.  They're there, but forgivable. They exist, but they don't change the heart of my home.

I have deemed my home perfection-free.  I no longer seek perfection, but rather I seek "good enough".  If I'm good enough for God, with all of my imperfections, then my home should be good enough for me with all of its imperfections.

Making Schedules

I have learned that schedules help with so many things.  They keep us focused at the task at hand, and remind us what's coming up later. I have schedules for everything: My daughter's morning and afternoon routines, cleaning routines, laundry routines . . . you name it.  Even my meal plans are a kind of schedule.  Here are a few examples:

Laundry Schedule:
Monday:
Sheets and Blankets
Towels
Tuesday:
Blues
Greens
Yellows
Wednesday
Reds
Thursday
Blacks
Browns/Grays
Friday 
Whites
Misc.
Saturday
Emergency Wash
Clean Laundry Room
Sunday
NONE


This has helped us tremendously with our laundry issue.

Another schedule I use is my cleaning schedule.  Of course, there are things (like dishes and general picking up) that need to be done daily, but for detailed things I use this list (along with my Fly Lady Daily Challenges)

Monday
Change Sheets
Sort Laundry
Take Trash Cans to Curb
Tuesday
DeClutter
Sweep and Mop
Vacuum
Wednesday
(Class this day, so no detail cleaning)
Thursday
Clean Fridge
Pantry/Fridge/Freezer inventory
Meal plan for next week
DeClutter Kids Rooms
Friday
Bathroom
Sweep and Mop
Vacuum
Saturday
Weekly Home Blessing
Kids Clean their Rooms
Laundry Room
Sunday
Day Of Rest


Then, of course, there is daily schedules and routines for my daughter (6):

After School Schedule
3:30-4 Snack
4-5 Homework time (If no homework, may play outside or with toys)
5-5:30 DVD/TV time
5:30-6 Dinner
6-6:10 10 minute tidy in room
6:10-6:30 DVD/TV time
6:30-7 Bath Time
7-7:30 Quiet time
7:30-7:45 Reading Time
7:45 Bed Time


Emily's Morning Routine


Make Bed
Put clothes in hamper
Get Dressed to shoes and hair
Take breakfast dishes to sink when done
Make sure backpack gets to car


These are just a few of the examples of how schedules can improve your life.  I am a chronically disorganized person by nature - I have to have these (posted everywhere, mind you) otherwise, my home is in shambles. Give them a try, if you dare!  You might find they improve your life as well!

Cleaning Frenzy!

It's spring time again! We all know what that means, right? Taking down the drapes, cleaning out the closets, decluttering the kitchen. Right? Well, not for me. That's right, I have taken a vow to SPRING CLEAN NO MORE. Why? Well, first of all, let's face it, unless you are "B.O. (born organized)" it is NOT going to get done. And if it does? Well, it's not going to make much difference b/c by next week it's all going to be right back to where you started! So what's my point?

Rather than planning on doing it one weekend, a year, why not plan on doing it ALL THE TIME! Stay with me here . . . No, I'm not crazy.

If you've ever heard of Marla Cilley (a.k.a. the Fly Lady), then you know just what I'm talking about. She has devised her own system (taken from several different systems and mixed in with her own genius) that takes away the need for "spring cleaning".

It's all about the baby steps. What's a baby step you may ask? Well, a baby step is EXACTLY what it sounds like. Rather than jumping right in and cleaning your entire house from top to bottom, Marla has shown us how to do smaller chunks of things, one at a time. And it all begins with shining your sink. But that's just the beginning. For the fist 28 days, you have a new task to try. Everything from the ridiculous to the mundane. But by the end of it all, your home will look better than it has ever looked.

The secret? Don't do more than you can do in small chunks of time. Got 15 minutes? Do a declutter in one of your messiest rooms. Only got two? Put out a hot spot. Get the point?

One of the Fly Lady's mantras is "You can do ANYTHING in 15 minutes". How true this is. From cleaning a desk to scrubbing a bath tub. It might not be DONE in 15 minutes, but it will surly look better than it did before you started!

And DON'T try to shoot for perfection. WHY? Well, because frankly, it's pretty much unattainable. In her book "Sink Reflections", Marla tells us "We are imperfect beings and PRAISE GOD FOR OUR IMPERFECTION" (15). The only perfect being that ever walked the earth was Christ himself. Although as Christians we should strive to be Christ like, we cannot attain it - which is why He paid the ultimate price for us. Not to mention the fact that the need and desire for that perfection is what got our homes as messy as they got to begin with.

SO, if you have a home that is frankly, embarrassing, then DO something about it. One 15 minute segment at a time.

Incidentally, my own mantra combines the wisdom of the Fly Lady and the catchiness of Geico - "15 minutes now may save you an hour or more later". And it is so true.

So, go. Meet the Fly Lady at www.flylady.net. And while your at it, go pick up a copy of Sink Reflections. I promise you, she will change your life. She changed mine!

When your child is underfoot . . .

Do you ever have issues with your children being underfoot when you're cleaning? I have a solution. It's not a new one, mind you, and I'm sure I probably heard it somewhere myself. But I know for a fact it works.

In the kitchen/bathroom: Give your child a spray bottle filled with water. You can add a drop of vinegar, essential oil, or bleach to give it that "cleaner" smell. Now give them a rag and tell them to "have at it". They LOVE to spray down cabinets, floors, walls, doors, baseboards, appliances . . . You name it.

In the living room: If your child is five or older, allow them to vacuum (with supervision, of course). Smaller children can "dust" (make sure any sacred breakables are put up and out of reach, first) with an old rag. Older children can dust knick-knacks.

This is what will happen - either 1) Your child will get REALLY into helping, so you gain an assistant or 2) Your child will botch at having to help (this is usually the older ones) and go retreat to their rooms. Either way, you get what you want!

Elbow Grease

You know, Aimee, my best friend of well over 20 years (we won't say how many so that we don't age ourselves, here, LOL) once told me that to get something REALLY clean, all it took was "a lot of really hot water and elbow grease". After using cleaner after cleaner and never really being satisfied with any of the results, I grew to embrace that philosophy. And I still hold to that.

Store-bought cleaners are nothing more that money making schemes and chemicals that are harmful to us, our children, and our pets. I made a promise that I would stop buying those that are not certified to be "green" (and am holding to that) but I also started to make a plan to make many of my own. Not necessarily to "clean" - let's face it, you can't GET much cleaner than scrubbing a counter for three or four minutes with soap and hot water. No, these are more sanitizers than cleaners. Now, we can buy a bottle of chemical sanitizer or buy those cool wipes (which I, admittedly, use on occasion), but why waste money and add chemicals to our home when we can make our own that is safe?

Generally speaking, I use two types of household sanitizer - I use a food-grade one for the kitchen and a bleach-based one for the bathroom (mostly bleach). The recipes are so simple - simply one part vinegar or bleach to four parts water. That's it. I mix these up in bottles and keep them in their prospective places. The food grade one is great for counters, cutting boards, sinks, etc. The other is perfect for toilet areas, bathroom sinks, and bathtubs or showers. Incidentally, you can switch out the vinegar/bleach for ammonia, which works great on glass!

So that's it - to get anything really, REALLY clean, all you need is some soap, hot water, and a sanitizer.

Oh yeah, and some of Aimee's elbow grease . . .

Mom-Liness Part Deux . . .

When I woke up this morning, I went into my clean living room. Sat on my clutter-free couch, looked at my neat coffee table and sighed in contentment. Then I went into my clean kitchen, admired the shining sink and clean countertops, and marveled at my clean stovetop. Then I made me a cup of coffee, drank it, and put the cup into a half-full dishwasher. And I smiled.

For the first time since we have lived in this house, the living room and the kitchen have been clean for longer than 24 hours. I have kept them up for 24 HOURS!!

Now, that might not seem like a big deal to any of you, but for ME - THIS is a MILESTONE!! My best friends, my husband, and my mom can tell you - housekeeping is not really my forte. But yesterday, I got on a kick. And you know what? It's STUCK!! Today, I have done laundry and actually put it away. I put the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped off the counter after breakfast. I swept the kitchen when I dropped something on the floor. In a nutshell - I have cleaned as I go today. And you know what? I feel GOOD.

Something about looking around at a clean house just makes me feel good. Knowing that my husband, who has worked hard all day, will come home to a clean house and have a minimal amount to do to help out feels GOOD. And you know what? I have more time to myself today. While Jake naps and Emily watches Dora, I have time to send out a couple of much-needed emails, look up some songs, and blog.

Wow . . .

Now I need to clean my bathroom. That won't take 20 minutes. After that comes my and Ronnie's room . . . now THAT one's going to be fun . . .

It's Too Freakin' Early

So my wonderful infant son wakes up at 6 freakin' 30 this morning. No worries, I was just going to change him and give him a bottle and crawl back into bed to snuggle with hubby until everyone else wakes up at around 8:30. WISHFUL THINKING. Who should I hear come up behind me (talking almost as loud as possible) - my step son. I love my kids - all of them weather I gave birth to them or not. But I had NO intention of being awake at 6:30 this morning, nor did I have any intention of STAYING awake. But, of course, Jake decided "no bottle for me, momma - Garrett's up - it's time to PLAY". So here it is, roughly 8:05 my time and I have been up for an hour and a half on a Saturday on Memorial Day weekend. Niiice . . . (catch the sarcasm there?)

On the bright side, now I have an excuse to wake hubby up at 8:30 (if the loud children don't wake him first). I plan on getting this house CLEAN this weekend. Not just a little clean. I mean CLEAN clean. The I-can-eat-off-my-countertops-without-being-afraid-of-a-staph-infection clean. If I have to be the only one cleaning this weekend - it WILL happen. I am tired of the mess and the filth. For every five things I pick up, seventeen more remain. And MOST of it isn't even mine!! So I have decided we are going to become minimalists. Yup. Nothing I don't need is staying. I am holding on to a few baby items for my hubby's pregnant cousin (we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet) but other than that - everything not necessary to life in our household is GOING. I hope . . .