Search Results for: blog how clean is your kitchen

Get Your Porch Organized and Decorated for Fall

Fall is fun! There is nothing like the crisp air, the bright colors, and the last push for outdoor adventures before the cold winds of winter start bringing everyone in doors. While you can still enjoy the outside, why not get your porch organized and decorated for Fall? Fall is a great excuse for decorating, but who has the motivation when the front porch is filled with clutter and debris? This area sets the first impression whenever anyone visits your home. Start by removing everything from your porch, so you can clean the floors. Shake out those rugs, use a … Continue reading →

Homemade Cleaning Recipes: Wipes

Make your own laundry detergent; prepare some homemade cleaners; make your own baking mixes.  Whatever it is that you currently buy at the store to keep your home running, from baby wipes to toilet cleaner, chances are that there is a homemade version that will save your money, be gentle on your cleaning surfaces and your family. Non-toxic cleaners are healthier and easily made. Plus, who doesn’t like saving money in the household budget? I’ve gather some of the best and complete homemade cleaning recipes and make your own blog posts on Families.com. Bookmark these posts, so you can come … Continue reading →

Fire Your Maid Service and Get Your Family Cleaning

Admittedly, I wouldn’t say no to maid service, if it was free that is. Since it isn’t I have to rely on myself and my family to do the cleaning. Getting three kids to clean is a chore in itself, even when just has to do with cleaning up after themselves. Still, I’d rather have train the family to clean than pay for a maid. Plus, this way, my kids get some valuable real-life lessons, thrown in. Routine is Everything Establish some cleaning routines, and cleaning won’t take up so much time. It is easier to do a quick wipe … Continue reading →

Speed Cleaning

Have you ever received that last minute call, “Guess who’s coming over for dinner tonight honey?”  Or you suddenly remembered that so-and-so was stopping by to go over notes for an upcoming meeting. Maybe you have family coming by but you got lost in a good book.  Suddenly you look at the clock and realize you have an hour before they arrive. All of these scenarios can leave anyone feeling overwhelmed and unprepared.  But this is where speed cleaning comes in. Speed cleaning requires fast movement.  In fact, you need to set a timer so that you have a deadline … Continue reading →

Could Your Clutter Be Putting You at Risk?

Don’t let your clutter control your life or your finances. Taking some time to de-clutter your home can not only be more freeing, but it could possible reduce your risk of going into debt. Here is why. Clutter Can Be Overwhelming When clutter gets out of control, you can quickly become overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed means that you will have less focus and energy to live your life. Studies have shown that too much clutter may even contribute to depression. With less focus and energy for work and life, plus possible “retail therapy” to lift the spirits, debt could quickly get … Continue reading →

Learning Marriage from Your Parents

I was raised with somewhat progressive views on marriage.  It feels strange to even be typing that, and it’s certainly nothing I ever thought growing up.  I know that on the overall spectrum of views on marriage, the ideals with which I was raised would only be in the middle, and probably closer to the conservative side of the middle.  But it’s still so surprising to me how many people aren’t even that far. I’ve already shared my story about my college roommate.   The reason she and her boyfriend didn’t talk for years about division of labor in the household, … Continue reading →

Easy Ways to Clean Your Kitchen Floor

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of things to keep our kitchen floor clean. For a while there, it seemed like the best results and convenience were had by the most expensive systems. Fortunately, there are ways around the expense. Try one of the following ideas. The Cheapest An old fashioned floor scrub will be the cheapest. It only requires a bucket (or just a sink), some soap and something to apply the soap, from a brush to an old towel. You have to get down on your hands and knees and scrub and then rinse the floors with … Continue reading →

Holiday Preparations: Cleaning

So did you purchase a binder to start your holiday organizer? Or perhaps you found another method that works better for you. We are now just over a week until Thanksgiving. So it’s time to start preparing your home for guests and that means…cleaning. One of the suggestions I had given in my previous blog was to write down the rooms that need some extra attention before you have family and friends over. If you haven’t already done that, use your holiday organizing binder to make notes. The point of writing it down is that you don’t feel like you … Continue reading →

Organization under the Kitchen Sink

What is it with trying to keep the area under the kitchen sink organized? That is probably one of the most neglected spots in my kitchen. When you have nothing but a wide open space, I think it’s just easier to store things in there. But it can quickly become cluttered and pretty soon, you have no idea what’s underneath there anymore. This weekend I plan on doing something about it. I am going to take out everything and get rid of items that are no longer usable. But I’m not just going to toss the remaining stuff back inside. … Continue reading →

Cleaning while Cooking

This week my 15-year-old daughter made an entire meal by herself. It was meat loaf and fried potatoes. I wasn’t home to help her, so she was entirely on her own. When I did come home, it was to a huge mess. I had done a really good job teaching her how to make one of our favorite meals but I had apparently not taught her the art of keeping the kitchen clean while you cook. It drives me crazy when I see someone cooking or baking and there is a mess everywhere. That’s probably why I especially enjoy the … Continue reading →