I had a one day weekend and I decided to spend my Sunday cleaning, despite the beautiful sunshine outside and the color I could have added to my pale vampirish complexion I spent roughly 8 hours indoors doing what most people despise and cleaned.
I honestly really enjoy cleaning, it relaxes me and once I'm finished I have a feeling of such accomplishment and pride that it's so worth it - and trust me with a toddler and a puppy running around with free reign it is hard to keep things tidy (albeit that it never lasts very long...)
A tool I recently bought and absolutely LOVE to use is my Shark handheld steamer from Canadian Tire.
It's great for cleaning anything and everything and you don't need any chemicals at all which is a bonus and great for anyone with kids, plus the steam naturally kills bacteria and germs on surfaces!
(I really want the steam mop too...)
A little trick for hard water/soap stains in bathrooms is to scrub the surfaces with fabric sheets that have already been put through the dryer (that way the oils are out) and it will remove the stubborn spots.
Plus you can't go wrong for getting a 2 in 1 use out of them!
For kitchens a really good "Green" cleaner is lemons - they naturally disinfect and if you mix the juice with water to dilute it you can use it as a spray or sprinkle baking soda in your sinks and rub the halved lemon in it and scrub the sink down - it will scrub just like Comet but a more natural version.
Another thing I love about cleaning is de-cluttering my space. For some reason we seem to randomly collect things in our house that nobody seems to know (or wants to admit) where they came from in the first place, I emptied 3 garbage bags of this random "junk" lurking in the corners of my home and taking up precious (limited) space from us. I also filled 3 garbage bags full of donation items (mostly clothing) to get rid of.
I am attempting to include some sort of "de-junking" routine into my life at certain intervals - I've decided each season change I will go through my closet, junk drawers, knick knacks, ect and remove anything that I haven't used or looked at and that way I can keep everything I really need and want and nothing that I don't. (I have a confession to make; we've lived in this house almost 1 year and I still have unpacked boxes in the basement that I don't even know what the contents are! Obviously I haven't missed them...why are they there???)
I have come to the point where I realize I don't need so much "stuff" anymore, I want only what is necessary in making my house a home and nothing more. It's really refreshing to get rid of things that you don't use (or even like!) and make room for something else that you do - or just make room for the best thing of all.... space!
One thing I've added to my home after many failed attempts from my mother to get me to do so is plants.
I am not a green thumb, in fact I have no green anything - including maternal instincts towards the leafy ones, as I've admitted several times to D I am a bad plant mom... I have limited knowledge of what a plant needs and I seem to be missing the gene that my grandmother and mother had to let plants thrive in thier homes.
I was given two plants... one almost died, one half died... maybe they were attempting suicide I'm not sure?
I also bought two more plants... may they rest in peace as neither have made it to this day.
And a note for all my other non-green thumbs out there, those self watering bulbs do NOT work!!!
So as I try to revive my poor plants back to life I do admit that I really like having them in my home, one day... in the future... I think I would really like to have a garden... but that's a goal I will reach in good time (and patience and knowledge and....well more time)
So all of these things are my attempts at making this place we call home actually feel like one, if we are going to be stuck here I don't want to feel stuck I want to feel like it is our sanctuary... our comfort, ours.
If anyone has advice on how I can achieve this better please do tell!!
Yet another post! I love the green cleaning solutions. Last month J and I bought pinesol for the floors and it's hideous!!!! I am in desperate need of a better floor cleaner and I think a steamer might be the route I'll take... word to the wise, though: I have a friend who has tried the Shark mop and the H20 and he says the H2O is the winner, hands down.
ReplyDeletep.s. my brother and sister in law R&E are the BEST for de-cluttering. I swear they should write a book about it. First step? don't be sentimental—your stuff isn't your memories. Throw the stuff away and remember the good times (some people do the opposite).
Thanks for the tip - H20 Mop here I come!!
ReplyDeleteR&E should start thier own business on organizing and decorating, their home has ALWAYS been so beautiful - down to every last detail!