Closet Cleaning (aka: Good-bye 1995!)

Whew...

These past three days have been a whirlwind!

There have been several trips down memory lane as I have gone through my clothes...did I really have clothes that are more than 15 years old? Yep...how cool does that make me?

Here's how I "ran" my clean-out:

Each naptime, before Little Miss and I shared time, I dug into the closet for 15 minutes. I pulled straight from the rack and anything that was either a) older than my marriage (7 years) or b) faded beyond belief was g.o.n.e.

Then, when my 15 minutes were up, I took a section out of the closet at a time and laid them on my bed. In the middle of it. So I couldn't sleep without going through it.

Brilliant.

Then, after the kiddos were dreaming of sugarplums or ice cream, I would not allow myself to take a shower until the bed was cleared off.

The "rule" I used was: If I didn't wear it the last season, it was gone (unless it was a special dress, etc).

How cruel am I?

But...after 3 nights, here it is:

Before: Right Side of the Closet                                         After: Whoa!                              

                

Left Side of the Closet After

(Not too sure where the before is....)

The Grand Total

6 Bags to Donate!

(And 1 to junk!)

I now have about 2/3 the amount of clothing I had before, maybe less. It's a little unsettling...

It's also a little free-ing!

I also realized, through this journey, that I have an unhealthy love affair with turtlenecks. It's kind of like Diane Keaton in "Something's Gotta Give"...I guess they're my thing! ;)

My dear, sweet, "just like me - only cooler" friend and I were talking this afternoon and came up with a thought to get us through this purging:

I would rather have 5 outfits I could really strut my stuff in and look/feel great than 100 that make me feel "meh".

So...how did you do? How many bags is your closet?

Stain Removal Cheat Sheets (Links Fixed!)

Spring is almost here (Yippee!), and we've already been playing outside every day for the past two weeks. This has increased my laundry two-fold...is that even possible? And, it has required a re-newed interest in stain removal expertise.

I have two handy Stain Removal "Cheat Sheets" that I keep posted in my laundry room. I can't tell you how many times I have used them...and saved the kids' clothes.

The first is from the queen of domesticity, Martha Stewart:

Click Here

The second, I copied years ago from Good Housekeeping.

Not that I need ANY help with stains!

Ha ha!

Happy Friday!

Linking with:

Do You Know What Color Your Floor Is (Supposed To Be?)

Moving into this home 9 months ago, we fell in love with the kitchen. Something about it being light and bright. I vaguely remember the floor being light, too.

Between three little ones, a big galoot of a dog, a hubby and one tired Mama...I have forgotten what color the floor really is. Or rather, what the grout color is supposed to be.

On a total whim this morning, I took out my trusty Shaklee H2 cleaner and Scour Off, a scrub brush, a towel and a cup of water (to rinse my brush off).

What I am about to share with you is of a very personal nature...and could be a bit embarrassing... 

Please don't judge me! :)

Before - Brown/Tan (?) Grout

Now, we got to work.

**Note to any lawyers out there...no, this is not child labor. Little Miss asked me if she could help! It was so cute, and she did a great job! {All 25 seconds she scrubbed} -- I love that little girl! :) 

 

I am fairly new to Shaklee, but I have to say that I {heart} this stuff!

I thought that I would need the "Big Gun" at first, so I busted out Scour off. Which is the *most* amazing stuff ever. It has renewed my love of my glass top stove. I can finally get it clean! And it's made of...cherry pits! It smells divine!

...It worked awesomely...

Then I thought I would try the H2 Cleaner. I must say that I was actually surprised how well this worked... I shouldn't have been. I sprayed it onto the grout, let it sit for about 30 seconds or so and then scrubbed with the brush. I wiped the tiles clean with a towel after scrubbing.

I think my tiles started singing to me. It sounded like a chorus of "Alleluia".

Now, I can tell you with confidence...my grout is PINK!! :o



Before





After



To browse, shop, or learn more about the Shaklee brand, name, or amazing cleaning products, please stop by my website: Meg's Shaklee Website.

You can also e-mail at any time! OurSuburbanCircus@hotmail.com

Fixing Up Our "Launch Pad"

I recently learned that the place on your home where you leave from or come home to most is known as your "launch pad". You know, where the shoes get put on/off, keys are dropped and coats are thrown on the floor hung up.

It's time to fix ours up!

We come in through our garage mostly, right through the laundry room. It's a good sized room, nothing too big, but large enough to turn around...

Here is the before:

Not too bad...but the pile of Norman's (our dog's) towels was driving me crazy. Also, I had (what I thought was billiantly at the time) created a shoe storage in our kitchen's corner. We have all learned by now my problem with clutter in the kitchen.

I went to Tar-jay this morning, after dropping Little Miss off at Preschool. I picked up a ClosetMaid DIY cubbie. I was able to put it together with the help of the Littlests...

And here is the After photo!

A Fabric cubby box for each child's shoes, hats, gloves, etc. Three open shelves for Norman's towels, etc.

I LOVE it! :)

Kid's Art Organizing

Mother of the year award?

Hmmm...probably not. This is what I have done with my beloved daughter's art...after it has been taken down off the walls of our kitchen:

A pile...that was on top of the armoire in our playroom.

Not a good thing.

I suppose I am a sentimental mush, but this year is her first year of preschool. The first time she has ever been away from me for more than an hour...ever. And I miss her when she's there. All three hours, three days a week.

I keep her art.

All of it.

And I need a good way to organize it (and keep it forever and ever.

I went to Office Max today, with grandiose plans of making my own art portfolio. I had poster boards in my hands and a plan written up.

And then I passed this:

For $8.99 - less than I would have spent on making my own portfolio.

Cha-Ching!

I organized all of Little Miss's artwork tonight, while I watched television. And, yes, I did get a little misty-eyed when I saw some of those hand-prints.

Simple, and I think I will do this every year with all the little one's school work(s).

Here's is the folder all "stuffed up" and full!

Organizing the Playroom - It's a Start!

Does your playroom taunt you like mine does?

I swear sometimes that the toys have actually learned to jump out of there assigned spaces and make a mess all by themselves. I am certain it has absolutely nothing to do with the three little maniacs that are running around this house on a daily basis, right?

Here's what the playroom looks like on a daily basis:

Pretty messy, right?

Oh, and, yeah...this is TOTALLY why we bought this house! :)

So today, as Miss Priss is playing with Play Doh and making hair for the chicken and the cow and the Littlests have tapped out for their nap, I went to work.

I grabbed some organizing bins, paper and a Sharpie. Time to label.

Does labeling things make you feel productive, too? I swear, if I could label EVERYTHING in this house, I would! (Is that a problem? ;) )

Anyway, Little Miss can't read yet, but we are working on recognizing letters and the sounds they make, so I need to have pictures on my labels, too.

Enter my uh-maze-ing artistic abilities. Don't be too jealous! Ha! Seriously, anyone want to teach me to draw?

Here's what I came up with for now:

And a couple of close-ups:

The bookshelf is one we got several years ago at Ikea (love that store!).

The bins were purchased at Wal-Mart.

And that, my dear friends, is my first step to organizing the playroom.



Pinching Pennies - Make Your Own Dishwasher Detergent

So many of you told me you were needing to find inexpensive alternatives to everyday living items, like laundry detergent. Well, I went on a mission to find out what else we can use our stock supplies for (Borax, Super Washing soda, Vinegar, etc)

How about making our own dishwashing detergent?

This one does not to be pre-mixed. It's even easier than the laundry detergent here.

Instead of dropping your old dish washing detergent into the tray, add:

1 Tbsp Borax

1 Tbsp Super Washing Soda

In the Rinse Agent Dispenser area, add:

1 Tbsp Vinegar

That's it!

What other necessities should we find a cheap alternative for?

Cleaning Brick Around a Fireplace

We moved into our new home about 8 months ago. Little by little, it is becoming our home. There is one place in the den which we look at every night...

the fireplace...

Where we can only imagine that someone once lost their eyebrows while lighting a fire.

Look at these flash burns!

I've been doing a little research and have "heard" that foaming bath cleaner (e.g. Scrubbing Bubbles, etc) works to get those burns/soot/ash/someone's eyebrows off of brick.

Today, while the Littlests are napping and Lil Bit is eager to "squirt the bubbles"...we are going to (try and) clean!!

First, I went into this with a lot of confidence, spraying the cleaner across all the bricks. It soaks in...FAST.

After a while, I got a bit of a rhythm going.

Here's some pointers I have:

Have a large cup of water handy to dip your brush into. You'll need to get the suds/grime off every so often. The water gets dirty fast...you'll have to change the water out several times.

Have a cloth available to wipe down the metal hearth surround. It gets goopy and grimey and gross. (But, when you see how much dirt is coming off, you will re-inspired).

Steps1. Spray one (maybe 2) brick(s) with the cleaner.

2. Grab a coarse bristled brush.

3. Scrub with all your might!

Here are the before/after pics. What do you think?

BEFORE

AFTER