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“In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be
enjoyed, not just endured.” President, Gordon B. Hinckley
* First Thing You See- The idea is simple; as you enter a room,
you fix, clean or put away the first thing you spot. Just the first
thing, nothing more. For instance, don’t do the entire sink of
dirty dishes, just do the large pasta pot that’s balancing
precariously atop a stack of dirty bowls. Once the pot is out of
the way, you can see the bowls as the “First Thing” the next time
you pass that way. Once the single task is finished, move on to the
next room and do the same. * Beat The Clock- When you write out
your list of chores, put down a time estimate next to each one. Set
a timer, if you have one, or write down the time when you start the
task. If you finish the task before your estimated time, use that
time to do something fun, or just put your feet up for a bit. * Get
Inspired- Turn your TV on and get to work! Watching a show on
Hoarders, Organization or Remodeling can inspire you to work hard
on your task at hand. * Shake your Body- Crank up the tunes! Put on
your favorite happy dance music and scrub to the beat. It’s okay to
take a minute off from dusting and bust a move, too. There is
nothing wrong with getting a little cardio in with your
housecleaning. * Take a Photo- You can take a before picture and an
after picture. Try to make the after picture a lot better, and then
when you are finished, you will be proud. If you have extra time,
“stage” the room as if you are selling that space. * Snack Attack-
Eat a little of your favorite food or leave little bowls of your
favorite candy in each room you are going to clean. Make it a
different type for each room and reward yourself when you are done
with each task. * Game Show- Pretend you are on a game show. Set a
timer and see how much you can accomplish in 10 minutes. Then move
on to the next task and do the same. * Competition- If you are
cleaning with the family, have a competition to see who can clean
their room faster. Have someone be a judge and rate the rooms 1-10.
The winner gets to choose the treat for after dinner. * Cleaning
w/Friends- If you have a friend who is also doing the same task as
you, for example the kitchen or laundry, set a time for both of you
to start ad see who can accomplish it the fastest. Call each other
or send texts as you go to motivate and inspire one another. * Make
it a Sport- Get a laundry basket and play “Basketball” with
everything that doesn’t belong in that room. See how far away you
can make it or do “trick shots” etc.
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by Hannah Keeley
Divide your home into four zones: Zone 1—Kitchen, Dining Room,
Pantry, Laundry Room, Zone 2—Living Areas, Play Rooms, Zone
3—Bathrooms and Bedrooms, Zone 4—Outdoor Areas, Garage, Mud
Room…feel free to add another zone, or change a zone up to fit your
personal needs better.
Then, number your weeks on your calendar from 1-4. On each
Sunday, beginning with the first Sunday on the calendar, write the
number of the week, starting with number 1. When you get to Week 4
it all starts over again with Week 1, and continually cycles
through.
Now when you are doing your morning homekeeping chores, add a
few of the big tasks that you normally put off for spring cleaning
that correspond to the zone you are currently working in. For
example, if I am currently in Zone 3, then I may wash the shower
curtain liners on Tuesday or vacuum under the beds on Friday. The
important thing is to write down the tasks that you are planning to
do on your calendar and then DO IT! When you space out the big
tasks throughout the calendar year, you don’t need to worry about
the break-your-back cleaning sessions that will, without a doubt,
get interrupted. A mountain of cleaning is almost impossible with
little ones underfoot. But biting off little chunks at a time is
something all of us moms can sink our teeth into!
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Tunes to help you "tidy up the place”
Love Today-Mika Footloose-Kenny Loggins
Beautiful Day-U2 Walking on Sunshine-Katrina and The Waves
Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen Daydream Believer-The
Monkeys
Twist and Shout-The Beatles Hey Soul Sister-Train
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun-Cindy Lauper Respect-Aretha
Franklin
Whip It-Devo Love Shack-The B-52S
Don’t Stop Believing-Journey The Twist-Chubby Checker
Hit Me With Your Best Shot-Pat Benatar Smooth-Santana & Rob
Thomas
The Way You Make Me Feel-Michael Jackson Sweet Home
Alabama-Lynard Skynard
Another One Bites The Dust-Queen Groove is in the
Heart-Deelite
Dancing Queen-ABBA Can’t Get You Out of My Head-Kylie
Minogue
Mr. Brightside-The Killers Firework-Katy Perry
It’s The End Of The World As We Know It-REM What I Like About
You-The Romantics
Walk Like An Egyptian-The Bangles Mony Mony-Billy Idol
Electric Avenue-Eddie Grant Heart of Glass-Blondie
I Will Survive-Gloria Gaynor Stayin’ Alive-The Bee Gees
Rock With You- Michael Jackson
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Baking Soda is a great naturally abrasive ingredient with mild
alkaline properties, it’s also a natural deodorizer and stain
remover, and it rinses easily, is completely non-toxic (no more
dangers for kids and pets licking surfaces that you’ve cleaned) and
it’s extremely affordable (you can grab a 12lb bag at Costco for
next to nothing).
Vinegar is an all natural and mild acid, it’s also a known
disinfectant that can remove stains, sanitize, and it’s also
completely non-toxic and inexpensive (you can also grab a giant jug
of it at Costco for an extremely reasonable price). It should be
noted that it shouldn’t be used on stone surfaces or acetate
fabrics but there are many other natural cleaning methods that work
for those surfaces.
Hydrogen Peroxide is also non-toxic (learn more about it and
it’s many uses here) and is known to be a natural bleaching agent
with disinfectant and stain removing properties. It’s also
extremely inexpensive (just $1 for three bottles at
Walgreen’s).
All Natural Tea Tree Oil And Grapefruit Oil (which have known
antibacterial properties) And Lemon Juice (which naturally cuts
grease and leaves a totally fresh scent) are also extremely helpful
to have in your all-natural cleaning arsenal.
Liquid Castile Soap (like Dr. Bronner’s, sold at Target, Trader
Joe’s, etc) is a vegetable based soap as opposed to a petroleum
based one, which makes it completely non-toxic so it can be used on
your face and body but will also work well when it comes to
cleaning your home. It’s not quite as inexpensive as baking soda or
vinegar, but a large 32 oz containter is just $8.99 at Trader
Joe’s.
Surface Spray:
16 oz spray bottle 2 tsp. borax ¼ tsp. liquid castile soap (like
Dr. Bronner’s) hot water
All Purpose Liquid Cleaner:
1 gal. hot water 1 tbsp. baking soda 2 tbsp. liquid soap (like
Dr. Bronner’s)
All Purpose Abrasive Cleaner:
liquid soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) 2 tbsp. baking soda
Mix to make a foamy paste.
Refrigerator Cleaner:
2 tbs. baking soda in 1 qt warm water
Wipe down inside and out and rinse with a clean wet cloth.
Oven Cleaner:
Dampen with water Sprinkle liberally with baking soda
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/
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Leave 20 minutes, then scrub until clean.
Microwave Cleaner:
½ c. vinegar 2 c. water
Combine in microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 3-4 minutes,
remove bowl and wipe down inside of microwave.
Dishwasher Detergent:
2 c. borax 2 c. baking soda 4 little packages of unsweetened
lemon Kool-Aid (or generic)
Mix together and store. You can substitute ½ c. of citric acid
for the Kool-Aid but it’s harder to find.
Gorgeously Green All-Purpose Spray:
32-ounce plastic spray bottle 2 cups water 1/2 cup distilled
white vinegar 1 teaspoon pure castile soap (peppermint) 3/4 cup
hydrogen peroxide 20 drops tea tree oil 20 drops of lavender
essential oil
Fruit and Vegetable Wash:
1 cup water 1 cup white vinegar 1 tbsp. baking soda 20 drops
grapefruit seed extract
Spray on produce, rinse after 5 minutes.
Fruit and Vegetable Wash #2:
1 cup water 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. baking soda
Spray on produce, wipe after 5 minutes.
Drain Cleaner:
1 c. baking soda first 1 c. white vinegar second 1 gallon
boiling water
Allow to foam for 5 minutes before adding water.
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Window, Glass and Chrome Cleaner:
5 parts water to 1 part white vinegar, OR 1 c. water, 1 c.
vinegar, ½ tsp. castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s)
Toilet Bowl Cleaners:
Liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) Baking soda or
borax
Scrub with a toilet brush.
Tub And Tile Cleaner:
Apply vinegar full-strength to a sponge and wipe Scour with
baking soda
Soft Scrub for Fixtures:
½ c. baking soda Castile soap 10 drops of antibacterial
essential oil (optional)
Add enough castile soap until you have a frosting like
consistency. Scrub, then rinse with water.
Mildew/Germ Killer:
2 c. water 25 drops of tea tree oil 25 drops of lavender oil
Spray on tile and do not wipe off.
Mildew/Germ Killer 2:
16 oz spray bottle 1 part hydrogen peroxide 2 parts water
Spray, let sit. Rinse after 1 hour.
Wood Floor Cleaner:
¼ c. vinegar 1 gal. warm water
Mop or rag should be slightly damp for cleaning.
Linoleum Floor Cleaner:
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1 c. vinegar 2 gal. warm water
Mop or rag can be fully wet for cleaning.
Carpet Stain Remover:
1 part borax 10 parts warm water
Combine in spray bottle. Spray on stain, wait 5 minutes, blot
with clean rag.
Carpet Stain Remover:
vinegar baking soda
Mix vinegar and baking soda into a paste. Gently work into stain
with a toothbrush. Let dry then vacuum completely.
Carpet Deodorizer:
Baking soda 10 drops of essential oil (optional)
Mix together then sprinkle generously on carpet, wait 15 minutes
and vacuum.
All-Purpose Carpet Cleaner:
After vacuuming first,
1 c. white vinegar 3 c. boiling water
Blot mixture onto nap of rug with a wet rag, Dry and air
thoroughly. Vacuum.
Air Freshener:
2 parts water 1 part rubbing alcohol Essential oil
Mix in spray bottle, don’t spray on silks or delicates.
Experiment with how much oil to add, but start with 5 drops.
Air Freshener 2:
1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice 2 c. hot
water
Mix in spray bottle, don’t spray on silks or delicates.
Dusting:
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Slightly dampened microfiber cloth
Furniture Polish:
½ tsp. olive oil ¼ c. vinegar or lemon juice
Mix in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe
onto wood surfaces.
Scratches:
1 part lemon juice 1 part vegetable oil
Rub into the scratches and polish.
Rust Remover:
Sprinkle area with salt Squeeze lime onto salt
Leave sit for 2-3 hours, then scrub w/ lime rind (or try
Almost-Doctor Dan’s method).
Metal Polish (copper and brass):
2 tbsp. salt
Add vinegar until you make a paste. Rub on metal with a clean
rag. Wipe clean.
Powdered Laundry Detergent:
1 c. grated Fels Naptha soap ½ c. washing soda ½ c. borax
For light load, use 1 tablespoon. For heavy or soiled load, use
2 tablespoons.
Liquid Laundry Detergent:
3 pints water 1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated ½ c. washing soda
½ c. borax 2 gallon bucket 1 quart hot water
Mix soap in saucepan with 3 pints of water. Heat on low until
dissolved. Stir in soda and borax until thickened. Remove from
heat. Add 1 quart hot water to bucket, then soap mixture, mix well.
Fill rest of bucket with hot water, mix and let sit for 24 hours.
Use ½ c. per laundry load.
Laundry Pre-treatment:
http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/easy-upgrade-leave-em-in-the-dust/http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/08/ask-almost-doctor-dan-coke-cleaning/
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½ c. ammonia ½ c. white vinegar ¼ c. baking soda 2 tbsp. liquid
soap or laundry detergent 2 quarts water
Mix in spray bottle. Spray spot.
Laundry Pre-treatment 2:
1 tsp. liquid laundry detergent 2 tbsp. ammonia 1 pt. warm
water
Mix in spray bottle. Spray spot, let sit for 20 minutes.
Fabric Softener:
Add ½ – 1 c. vinegar to your softener dispenser
Bleach Alternative (Laundry):
¼ c. hydrogen peroxide
Window Cleaner-outside
½ Gal. warm water 2 Tbs. Jet Dry 3 Tbs. Dawn dish soap
Mix in bucket and wipe down window using a sponge mop. Rinse
with hose and air dry. No streaks or water spots.
Window Cleaner-inside
1 pint rubbing alcohol 2 Tbs. ammonia
Put in gallon jug and fill the rest of the way with water. Add 1
Tbs. Dawn dish soap and put in squirt bottle.