by Rachel Paxton

Spring is in the air! It’s still chilly outside, but the glimpses of sunshine and warmer days are inspiring me to get out my cleaning supplies and begin my spring cleaning.

Every time I am in the middle of cleaning I think of other things I need to get around to doing and then forget about them later. I decided to sit down and make an exhaustive spring cleaning checklist. My list details every cleaning task I could think of, everything I hope to get around to taking care of this spring.

By no means, don’t think that you have to complete everything on this list. If you are a stay-at-home mom, you can probably comfortably accomplish at least two to three of these tasks a week. Get your kids involved and have them help!

Some days I won’t do any cleaning, and other days I might accomplish two or three of my spring cleaning tasks. If you work outside the home, it’s easy to let some of the cleaning go, but if you try to work in one or two small cleaning jobs on the weekend, you will be proud of your accomplishments. It’s amazing
how cleaning just one small area of your house can make your whole day and make you feel like you got something done.

SPRING CLEANING CHECKLIST

KITCHEN

___ CLEAN OUT AND ORGANIZE REFRIGERATOR
___ CLEAN INSIDE OF AND UNDER STOVE
___ CLEAN MICROWAVE
___ CLEAN TOASTER OVEN
___ CLEAN AND ORGANIZE PANTRY
___ CLEAN AND ORGANIZE FREEZER
___ WIPE DOWN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF KITCHEN CUPBOARDS

BEDROOMS

___ WASH OR DRYCLEAN BEDSPREADS
___ ORGANIZE/PURGE MASTER BEDROOM CLOSET
___ ORGANIZE/PURGE CHILDREN’S CLOSETS
___ ORGANIZE/PURGE CHILDREN’S TOYS

GENERAL

___ WIPE DOWN ALL DOORS; CLEAN DOOR HANDLES & MOLDINGS
___ WIPE OFF WINDOW SILLS
___ CLEAN INSIDE OF WINDOWS
___ WASH OR DRYCLEAN CURTAINS
___ DUST MINI-BLINDS
___ CLEAN SLIDING GLASS DOORS INSIDE AND OUT
___ REMOVE MARKS FROM WALLS; APPLY TOUCH UP PAINT
___ CLEAN WALL MOLDINGS
___ DUST CEILING FANS
___ DUST PICTURE FRAMES
___ DUST LAMP SHADES
___ STEAM CLEAN CARPETS
___ STEAM CLEAN FURNITURE
___ WASH OUT WASTEBASKETS
___ DUST ARTIFICIAL PLANTS
___ CHANGE BATTERIES IN SMOKE DETECTORS
___ ORGANIZE LINEN CLOSET
___ WIPE DOWN AND CLEAN UNDER WASHING MACHINE AND DRYER

OUTSIDE

___ CLEAN UP FLOWER BEDS
___ FINISH RAKING LEAVES
___ PREPARE PLANTERS FOR PLANTING
___ CLEAN AND FILL WATER FOUNTAINS
___ STRAIGHTEN STORAGE SHED
___ HOSE DOWN PATIO
___ CLEAN PATIO FURNITURE
___ CLEAN WINDOWS ON OUTSIDE
___ INSPECT AND REPAIR WINDOW SCREENS
___ WASH OUT GARBAGE CANS
___ CLEAN BARBECUE

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What’s for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

by Lara Velez

I am by no means a neat person. This humorous list is from my own vast personal experience with the messes. You may have your own. However, if you are organizationally challenged, you WILL relate to this humorous top ten type list! I am an official wannabe neat freak. Unfortunately, all you will get from me is humor, support, and insights into the mind of an organizationally challenged work at home, homeschooling, overworked, and underpaid Mom of two.

OK…so when these things are goin’ on in el’ fridgeO…well, it may be time to…ya know…

* You have some old fruit that could be donated to science for a new type of penicillin.
* Your magnets have gone on strike.
* Your Baking Soda is fuzzy.
* There is something in there with a hairdo.
* Your milk is still in a glass container from the 50’s.
* There is a hardened mass at the bottom that may be used to cut diamonds.
* You would rather use the fast food ketchup packs than what’s in your ketchup bottle.
* You swear that something is living in the veggie bin.
* Your lunch meat has become jerky…and you didn’t plan it.
* You can smell the contents of your fridge from the living room.
* When there is a package in there that says cheddar, but you swear it’s limburger.
* And…when what you thought were brussel sprouts are actually icicles.

I hope this made you laugh and encourages you to clean your refrigerator! It can be quite a daunting task, however, once you get it clean, you will be happier! Plus, you will reduce the risk of getting any food born illnesses!

I would love for you to stop by ThouShaltClean.com and submit your own humorous tales. However, I must warn you, if you are naturally neat, you may not fit in to the chaos!

Copyright © Lara Velez, ThouShaltClean.com

Lara Velez is a Christian wife and homeschooling Mother of two. She is a published writer, successful web designer (http://designedbylara.com), and the owner of ThouShaltClean.com (http://thoushaltclean.com), a site for the organizationally challenged. She also enjoys cooking, writing, scrapbooking, and web design.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

By Stephanie Herman

Most websites encouraging people to clean green at home focus on eco-friendly cleaners. These cleaners fall into two categories: homemade natural cleaners, and eco-friendly commercial cleaners. Websites encouraging eco-friendly and frugal cleaners will focus on the homemade natural cleaners that we already have in the pantry. But what all these websites forget is to encourage people to keep their cleaning tools clean - using green methods!

Why is this important?

Because if you keep your cleaning tools clean, you can use them longer. That translates into less waste; you throw away your cleaning tools more slowly, filling landfills at a slower rate. You’re also buying fewer cleaning tools over time, slowing your rate of consumption of natural resources.

Simple, right? But how can you keep your cleaning tools cleaner, longer, and do it in an eco-friendly and frugal way? It’s a no-brainer: use simple baking soda and vinegar.

Although it has literally thousands of cleaning uses, some people avoid using vinegar to clean the house because of the smell. But when you’re cleaning the cleaning tools, the smell of vinegar becomes much less important.

Take, for example, your toilet bowl brushes. Once weekly, try sprinkling a generous amount of baking soda into the container housing your toilet brush (with your brush in there). Then pour in enough vinegar to bubble up over the top of the brush. The smell of vinegar is probably going to be an odor improvement, in this case! Plus, there’s a great added benefit - there’s no need to rinse your toilet brush once you clean it. You can simply continue its use; the vinegar and baking soda will loosen from the brush the next time you clean your toilet, and will do nothing but add to your efforts!

Are your rags and sponges getting stained and smelly from use? Soak them overnight in vinegar and baking soda to prolong their use and eliminate those odors. You’ll throw sponges and rags away less often if they’re still looking and smelling nice. That means, again, that you’ll be buying fewer new ones. Overconsumption isn’t solved by consuming more eco-friendly products more often - it’s solved by consuming everything more slowly.

And here’s an ecologically unfriendly cleaning tool you can avoid: scouring pads. Instead, use baking soda and vinegar to loosen stuck-on or burnt-on food in your pots and pans. An overnight soak will allow you to easily wipe off the debris with little to no scrubbing.

Think green when you’re cleaning your home, and when cleaning your tools - it’ll save you money, time, elbow grease, and natural resources.

Stephanie Herman runs the Cleaning-Green website where she shares tips and recipes for natural homemade, eco-friendly cleaners.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Herman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Cleaning-Green?-Dont-Forget-Your-Tools&id=804631

Thanks to one of the readers of this blog, I have a great deal to share with you!

If you’ve checked out the “Shop” tab on the top of the page, you know one of the books I highly recommend is “Clean House, Clean Planet”

Right now you can get that book for $4 and change through a cool promotion at Buy.com if you use Google checkout for the first time.

Clean House, Clean Planet: Clean Your House for Pennies a Day the Safe, Nontoxic Way This easy-to-use guide for everyone who is concerned about the toxic chemicals in cleaning products includes remarkably simple recipes for natural, non-toxic household cleaners that really work–the secrets the cleaning industry doesn’t want consumers to know.

Note from Michelle: With the tips in this article you can brighten your natural cleaning with herbs and essential oils! I do not, however, recommend reusing commercial cleaner containers to store your homemade cleaners. You can buy new plastic spray bottles and squirt bottles very cheaply and I suggest those instead.

By Lisa Fraley

There are benefits if you use a homemade natural cleaning product instead of a chemically laden commercial one.

Making your own cleaning product doesn’t consume a lot of time and it is inexpensive too. How long does it take to fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, water and a few drops of essential oil? About a minute or two.
Once it’s done you have an appliance and glass cleaner that’s natural and chemical free.

Commercial cleaners can be very expensive and the prices are rising. Homemade alternatives cost only pennies to make and you don’t need to use as much.

Most homemade natural formulas are multi purpose so you will need less space to store cleaning products. This is a big help for those of us who are limited on storage space.

You can be creative with your packaging too. Wash out those old containers that use to store the commercial products and reuse them to store your homemade natural products instead. Store car and wood polishes in recycled coffee tins (the kind with the plastic lid). For your homemade powder cleansers reuse sprinkle top plastic containers (bulk spices come in these).

Essential oils
Essential oils are available in health food stores and you can find them online also. Be sure you are buying pure, undiluted oil and not one that has been diluted with carrier oil. Store your oils away from heat and light to keep them potent for the longest amount of time. The bottle will come with a dropper and that is what you use to measure how much you put into your cleaners. Essential oils can irritate the skin and must be diluted with either carrier oil or other liquid before use.

Here is a list of oils and herbs to have on hand if you are just starting out:

Oils:
Citronella
Citrus (sweet orange or lemon)
Wintergreen (take extra care when handling this oil)
Tea Tree

Herbs:
Thyme - antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral
Rosemary - antibacterial
Basil - anti-fungal
Mint - antibacterial
Oregano - antibiotic, antiviral
Lavender - antibiotic, antiviral, anti-fungal, antiviral
Lemon Balm - antiviral
Sage - antibacterial

Here are a few natural cleaning product recipes you may be able to make right now. The ingredients are common items you may already have on hand.

Herbal Sink Scrub
½ cup baking soda
½ cup coarsely ground sage leaves
¼ cup ground rosemary leaves
Combine all ingredients in an airtight container and blend together by shaking. Sprinkle a small amount into the sink and scrub with a damp sponge or cloth. Rinse the sink well. Use only whole dried sage and rosemary leaves.

Rust Remover
¼ cup baking soda
Juice from half a lemon
Sprinkle the baking soda directly on the rust stain. Sprinkle the baking soda with lemon juice. Let set undisturbed no stain overnight. Wipe away baking soda and rinse thoroughly.

No scrub Toilet Bowl Cleanser
1 cup borax
1 cup vinegar
Combine both in a plastic bowl or bottle and pour all at once into the toilet bowl. Allow it to sit overnight and in the morning just flush. This works great for toilets that have an everlasting ring around them. By morning even the toughest stains will be gone!

Laundry Fabric Softener
6 cups of white vinegar
1 cup of water
1 cup of baking soda
Combine all ingredients into a plastic container (heavy duty). Only takes 1 cup in your rinse cycle per load for wonderfully soft clothes. If you want to scent this, simply add about 15 drops of your favorite citrus essential oil.

~~~
Lisa Fraley is the author of “Frugal Comes In Green“. An e-book packed with earth friendly ways you can have more money for the things you want.

Article Directory: Article Dashboard

Note from Michelle: This article offers some good, basic cleaner recipes and suggestion for safer, cheaper cleaning supplies.

By Wendy Mitchell

Cleaning house has come a long way since the days of doing laundry in a washbasin and scrubbing the floors with vinegar and water. Yet with all that progress comes some drawbacks, namely dangerous chemicals that can pose risks to your family’s health as well as the environment.

Prior to World War II, most homeowners kept a cleaning toolbox of only a few healthy, natural items they mixed themselves to use all over the house. Today, advances in chemistry and cleaning have stocked store shelves with products for nearly any household chore. But those choices might not make your home any healthier, so it might be time to consider looking to the past for safe, all-natural cleaning tools.

Here are a few time-tested, all-natural cleaning products, as well as a couple of recipes to consider incorporating into your home- cleaning routine.

White vinegar-One of the most versatile and affordable cleaning agents around, white vinegar’s grease-cutting powers can be used to clean your dishes and countertops, polish some metals, clean glass and even absorb smoke odors.

20 Mule Team Borax-For doing laundry, nothing kicks out stains better than 20 Mule Team Borax, a brand-name natural laundry booster that’s more than 115 years old. Team it up with your favorite laundry detergent for whiter whites and brighter colors. Borax is also versatile enough to make everything sparkle-from fine china and cookware to showers, tubs and tiles. It’s also a natural deodorizer.

Lemon juice-Affordable and naturally fresh smelling, lemons are excellent for breaking down hard water and soap scum build-ups. Lemons can also be combined with vinegar to create a bleach substitute, to be used on clothing and cutting boards. Throw one down the garbage disposal to get rid of unwelcome odors.

Baking soda-This is another solution for absorbing bad odors, such as those in the refrigerator. Rather than dumping unhealthy chemicals into the sewer system, mix baking soda with boiling water for a safe and effective drain cleaner.

Here are a couple of recipes to get you going on the road to natural cleaning:

General Household Cleaner

1/4 cup baking soda

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1/2 cup vinegar

1 gallon water

Window/Glass Cleaner

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 quart water

For more recipes, tips and information, visit www.20muleteamlaundry.com.

Article Directory: Article Dashboard

As a regular reader of Dr. Mercola’s website and newsletter I had to share this link when I saw it:
Items Hiding in Your Kitchen Cabinets to Use as Alternatives to Toxic Cleaners

Elsewhere on the Mercola website you can find other great related articles. Just start at the homepage and search: www.mercola.com

By hari

Having kids means that there will be disasters to your upholstery, carpets, walls and furniture. It just goes with the territory. Chewing gum on new tile floor, crayon on the freshly painted walls, and… who KNOWS what that tacky black stuff on the sofa cushion is. The only thing you’re sure of is it isn’t supposed to be there.

Welcome to the wonderful world of sticky kid stuff. If you found us because you were searching for how to remove gum techniques, or how to remove crayon from furniture, then you’re in luck. We’ve got a handful of tricks to help you get gum, crayon, tar and … oh, I know what that is on the sofa cushion! Melted Gummi worms! Right – if you’ve got kids like mine, I’ve got some helpful household hints that can help save your furniture – and your sanity.

You’re supposed to keep the gum IN your mouth!
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said that, I could just replace the carpets, bedspreads and furniture that ‘wasn’t me!’ smeared with chewing gum. Here’s how to get chewing gum (and most other sticky stuff) out of just about anything.

- Getting Chewing Gum Out of Hair
There are three things to try before resorting to the scissors – and all three are relatively painless.
The Peanut Butter Method: Rub a glob of peanut butter into the hair around the gum. Keep massaging it between your fingers. The oil in the peanut butter will help loosen the gu so you can pick it free.
The Ice Cube Trick: Rub an ice cube against the gum so that it gets hard and losses its tackiness. Again, you should be able to pick the hair free once the gum is hard.
The Citrus Remover: The oils in citrus fruits are a natural solvent. Use orange peels or lemon peels. Rub them against the gum to get it loosened up so you can pick it out of the hair.
Picking the Gum Out: Don’t try to pull the gum out of the hair – pull the hair out of the gum. You’ll find that if you work on a few strands at a time, it will hurt a lot less than if you try to yank the gum out of the hair.

- Getting Sticky Stuff Off Of Clothing
Any of the above methods will work on clothes too – but the citrus and the peanut butter are likely to stain. One neat trick is to put the gum-enhanced article of clothing in a plastic bag and stick it in the freezer. Once the gum is hard, you can bend the cloth and practically peel it off. Treat anything that remains with a stain remover that’s meant to get out the tough stains .

- Getting Gum and Jelly Beans and Marshmallows Off the Upholstery or Carpet
Obviously, you can’t toss your couch into the freezer to get that gum out. If your kids have managed to get sticky stuff in your carpets or upholstery, your first step is to try with an ice cube. Rub the ice cube on the blob till it’s hard, then try scraping it away with a dull knife. Hit anything that’s left with a spritz of a citrus based gum removing spray.

- Or spray it with a shot of Freeze It, which is specially designed for removing gum, candle wax and other sticky stuff from your furniture and walls.

- Removing Crayon from Furniture and Walls
- Gum’s not the only thing the little critters smear on the furniture and walls. If your little Rembrandts leave their marks on furniture, floors and walls, a good citrus based solvent will power it off without damaging the fabric or wood.

Author Vincent Platania represents the Fuller Brush Company.
Fuller Brush has been in business since 1906, and offers safe, environmentally friendly products for keeping your home and your body clean.
Visit http://www.fuller-brush-products.com

Article Source: Sustainable Living Articles

By Rachel Paxton

1) Make a paste of baking soda and water and rub on insect bites to relieve itching.

2) Remove coffee and tea stains by scrubbing pots or cups with baking soda and a plastic scouring pad.

3) Add 1/3 cup baking soda to a wash cycle as a bleach booster or to the rinse cycle for cleaner smelling laundry.

4) To remove black scuff marks from floor, rub them with a paste of baking soda and water.

5) Clean fiberglass showers and tubs with baking soda sprinkled on a sponge. Sponge clean and wipe dry.

6) Soak sour smelling dishcloths and sponges in water and baking soda solution.

7) Use a solution of water and baking soda to clean and deodorize the inside of your microwave.

Put a few spoonfuls in a cup of water in the microwave, boil for two minutes, then wipe down the inside with a sponge.

9) Sprinkle a little baking soda into the laundry hamper to minimize odors.

10) Remove crayon marks from walls by scrubbing gently with an old toothbrush and a paste of baking soda and water.

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What’s for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: www.ladypens.com

By Stephanie Davies

Your home office can be the central business center of the home, and oftentimes with all of those papers and documents, it may be hard to focus on where to get started, or exactly how to clean.

Dust is public enemy number one when it comes to a home office. It seems to pervade everything, including computer screens, keyboards, bookshelves, and desktops. Of course we all know that the leading killer of dust is pledge and a dustcloth, but here are a few tips you may not have known.

To keep your computer and keyboards from getting dusty, purchase plastic covers for them. You can also make your own out of trash sacks, or, if you have a creative streak, by sewing custom covers from fabric or old curtains.

If neither of those options work for you, there are other ways of keeping computers and their equipment dust-free. The keyboard dusters you can purchase are ideal for this. They are an aerosol can that sprays intense bursts of air, and be used for more than just a keyboard!

Did you also know that it is safe to use Windex on your computer screens? Many people are under the mistaken assumption that using Windex on a computer screen (or rough paper towels) will damage the screen. Not so unless perhaps you own a computer monitor from before 1990 (if you do, please consult the owners manual that came with the monitor before cleaning). Also, a good way to rid computer screens from dust longer, is after cleaning, to give them one good final wipe down with a fabric softener sheet (the kind that you thrown in the dryer). It takes away most of the static from the screen that draws dust.

Also, you can easily clean a mousepad with regular dish detergent and warm water. Just scrub the pad with dish soap, rinse well with water, and pat dry with a paper towel!

A mouse is easily cleaned by removing the cover from in front of the ball, taking out the ball, and cleaning out any dirt inside with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol.

You can also save time and money in a home office in high traffic carpet areas, and places where sliding chairs sit by purchasing heavy plastic floor mats made for this purpose (just like you see in office building) at your local office supply superstore, such as Staples. This will make your floor cleaning so much easier, and will extend the life of your carpet.

To give your office a quick lift if you have artificial flowers or plants is to spray the pants directly with an aerosol air freshener. Not only does it make the leaves instantly shiny, it also leaves a pleasant scent that will last.

If you own a pet, like I do, and you are constantly trying to remove pet hairs from chairs in your home office, a simple way to remove them is to wrap clear shipping tape backwards around your hand, sticky side out, and pat away at the chairs. An even simpler and faster way is to use an old paint roller, wrapping the tape backwards around it, and rolling it quickly across the furniture to remove hair. The tape can be reused until it has lost its stickiness.

Remember, motivation and perseverance are the keys to a clean home! Stay focused, and best of luck!

Stephanie Davies is a 28 year old work at home mom to a 9 year old boy in Mid-Missouri. Her hosting company, Hosting WAHMs at http://www.hostingwahms.com offers premium webhosting from $2 per month and up, with an easy to use sitebuilder! She also loves to knit, build websites, and talk to people.

Article Source: www.ladypens.com