Cleaning series #4... Tricks, Tips, & Shortcuts

You won't hear me say "shortcuts" with cleaning very often, but every now and again, you do find yourself in a situation where you need to just give something a quick lick and a promise to get through your day or as a bonus.  I like to call anything that wasn't "on my list" a bonus so that's what we will call our shortcuts.
I thought I would share a few little tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way in hopes that someone else could share new ones with me.  So here we go...
#1. Use Scrubbing Bubbles to clean your silk plants/flower arrangements, wicker baskets, plastic fruit (if you have any), and your outdoor furniture (to remove pollen)
       a). All you have to do is take your item outside and spray with Scrubbing Bubbles (make sure it foams   up).
      b) Let it dry completely before taking it back inside.  There is no need to wipe off.
      c). I have used this on some of my lamp shades, but be careful with this as if it's a silk lamp shade, I'm not sure how it will work.

#2.  If you have a large garden style tub in your master bathroom that doesn't get used a lot you will notice it collects a lot of dust and ladies, our hair!  I like to use my vacuum hose to get the initial dust and hair out before cleaning it.  This makes a huge difference, for me anyway, when you go to wipe it down with your Pine Sol "momma stell" water.

#3. If you have a stubborn spot on most anything, use the Magic Eraser with just hot water.  I've found nothing it won't get off yet.

#4. Spot Shot (blue and orange spray can) is great for stains on carpets and outdoor patio furniture cushions.  You don't have to rub hard, just spray, leave a couple minutes, and then dab your clean rag over the spot and repeat if needed.  This is my favorite spot remover for carpets.

#5. I've also heard that using the compressed air (like you use for your computer keyboard) is good for lamp shades, but I admit, I've not tried this one yet.  If you have let us know how you like that method.

#6. I've never been a big fan of the "Swiffer" items, but I do like the one they make for mini-blinds.  I'm just getting introduced to the ones for hardwood floors so as soon as I make myself try a new method I will let you know how it works. 

#7. I really like the glass cleaner (see picture below) better than "The Leading Brand".  I am horrible at cleaning mirrors and windows, but this helps even me do a decent job and it smells nice.  I've tried newspapers and even that doesn't work for me on mirrors and windows.  If you have a trick for not leaving streaks or smudges please share.  I do keep wiping until completely dry, but I still give myself a "fail" on this duty.

#8. Tip - if you wipe down the outside of your washer and dryer after each use you will be amazed how much you will cut down on dust and detergent build up.  I sold a set that I had owned for approximately 9 years and they still looked brand new. 

#9. If you are in a hurry and/or just folding laundry and you use the dryer sheets... take your used sheet and wipe off your furniture that needs dusting.  It works!  (shortcut)

#10. Use your damp rag (with Pine Sol of course) to wipe off your candles.  It's amazing the dust that accumulates on those things.

#11. When you sweep up a room, rather than use the dust pan, grab your vacuum and suck it all up.  It takes care of the never-ending "dust line".

#12. The more you use your ceiling fans the more dust you will have in your room and on your fans.  If you are one that likes to run them all the time, you should probably dust them weekly.  I don't like to run mine (mainly because of the dust it creates) so I don't typically have to dust my fans but about once a month and sometimes can go two months.

#13. Final one... So I've been teased relentlessly at work for admitting to doing this, but if you ever try it once you will know why I do it from time to time...  If you find yourself sweeping and creating a lot of dust particles floating around in the air, just use your vacuum hose and vacuum the air.  I know it sounds crazy, but that dust has to land somewhere, why not IN your vacuum?



Some of my favorite cleaning supplies:

My most favorite!

They also have one for stainless steel... Love them both

Cleaning series #3... Laundry

I know, how can laundry be fun?  Well, it's not really the "act" of doing laundry that is fun, it's the accomplishment of completing the laundry that is so fun!  Usually Sunday is my laundry day (this is subject to change depending on what is going on) and I like to start early.  Usually I start with the sheets (by the way, I love the original Downy fabric softener.  I use it on all things expect towels and I use a little extra on sheets) on our bed because I like to have the bed made as quickly as the sheets are done so the bed is all put together.  Any who... Once I've done my laundry (1 load of colors, 1 load of whites, and 1 load of towels every two weeks) I have a separate stack of clothes to iron.  Once all the laundry is done I fold and put away as soon as it comes out of the dryer.  There is no leaving clean clothes in baskets or piles in this house.  Just can't/won't happen.  You pull it from the dryer, it gets folded, and it gets put away in the proper place.  This task does not take much time.  Maybe 15 minutes (tops).  Accomplishment!  WooHoo!
I get my ironing board out and start my ironing.  There is no right or wrong way to do your ironing, but I like to start with my pillow cases (once in a while I will iron my sheets, but it drives me crazy because the ironing board is just not conducive to ironing sheets, but I recommend at least trying it once.  It is amazing), then I do Tebo's pants and shirts and then whatever I have I will iron.  As I complete ironing a piece of clothing I will directly put it on the hanger and then they all get hung up at once.  Speaking of hanging clothes I might just include a bonus blog on organize your clothes in the closet (yeah)...
Once you have completed all your laundry and have put everything away, there is no dreading picking your clothes out for the next day, because everything is in place, clean, and pressed.
I use starch and I make sure I have plenty of water in the iron so I get a good steam.  Everyone likes their clothes pressed in specific ways, but for me I like to press the pants where they have a nice clean crisp seam down the center of the pant leg and I like all collars nice and even and the arms of my shirts I like to have a nice crisp seam down the center of the sleeve.  Just things I like, everyone is different.  When I hang shirts on the hanger after ironing I like to make sure the top button is buttoned so it hangs nice and neat and I like all my buttons on the shirts to be facing the same way and to achieve that (for me) is to make sure all hangers are hanging the same direction.  None of that forward/backward stuff for this girl.  It all needs to be the same.  Now for my hubby, he likes the wooden hangers for his clothes and it does make for a pretty nice looking closet.  If you are the type of person that dreads laundry and put off the folding, ironing, and putting away then at least attempt this and I would venture to say that you will be glad you did.  I promise you will feel better.  You need to do laundry at least once a week though so you don't get overwhelmed if you tend to have a lot of laundry.  Tebo's mom does a small load every day and my mom tends to do several small loads a week as well.  For us, once a week works well and it's all done and there is no dreading. 
Happy cleaning....

Cleaning series #2... Morning routine

Every weekday morning I do the same thing.  I know some will say, I just don't have time to do those things in the morning, but from the moment I get out of bed to walking out the door for work it takes me 40 minutes.  Here's what I do.  I wake up and immediately make the bed and put all the throw pillows on (tip, if you take them off in order the night before you will just have to pick them up in the reverse order and they are always just like you need them to be).  I pick up any clothes that were left on the floor or in the chair from the night before (usually just the shorts and t-shirt Tebo wore after work) and I either put them up or put them in the dirty clothes hamper. 
I turn on the water in the shower, plug in my flat iron and curling iron and hop in the shower.  I get out  and brush my teeth.  While my hair is still in the towel I apply my make up.  Once I finish my make up it all goes back in my make up bag and back into my drawer.  By the way, once I have put the toothpaste on my tooth brush I place it back in the drawer and the same with my tooth brush when I'm done.  Once I've done my make up I dry my hair.  Once my hair is dry I return the dryer to the cabinet in which it came.  Then I start fixing my hair.  Once I've completed my hair all hair products and the irons used go back to their respectful places and I get dressed.  Once I'm dressed I turn all the lights off and check out the living room.  Sometimes my hubby will leave a glass or something in the living room next to his chair and I will put it in the dishwasher.  I make sure there aren't anything laying out that doesn't belong there and I grab my purse and head out the door.  Now when I return home from work guess what?  The house is picked up and all I really have to worry about is cleaning up our dinner mess.  It sure makes coming home so easy, because everything is where it belongs.  Oh yeah, AND, it's ok if someone wants to just pop over unannounced, because you house is neat and organized.  It feels great! 
Happy cleaning...

Ok, I give up, not sure why it won't rotate my pic, but you see how nice it is made up... I cannot get into an un-made bed at night!

See, all nice and cleaned off.  I love it!

Wouldn't this be nice to come home to at night and not worry about dishes or shoes laying around?

Cleaning Series #1 - Dishes

You might think, dishes?  Really?  She feels the need to blog about dishes?  Well, yes I do.... Here's why.  There are some people who can cook, eat dinner (or whatever meal) and then just sit and either watch TV or go on doing whatever it is they were doing and before they know it the sink is full and things are all around the kitchen counters and then they feel overwhelmed and don't want to do anything at all with the kitchen.  Well, I'm not one of those.  I cannot sit and relax if there is something left un-done (don't judge the spelling, I sometimes make words up).  So here is what I do... IF (I say IF, because it is very rare that I do this) I cook, I typically clean whatever I am using as soon as I am finished with it.  If it's a pot or a pan (apparently those are different items) I will at least put it in the sink with hot soapy water until after dinner.  Either way, I try to make sure anything not being used to serve dinner (or whatever meal) it is in the sink soaking for the clean up.  As soon as I have completed my meal, I immediately get up from my seat and begin cleaning the kitchen.  I make sure all dishes are cleaned off and placed in the dishwasher and I typically wash all pots and pans by hand as well as any wine glasses.
Of course, there is a specific  way I like to load the dishwasher, but a great little tip my amazing husband taught me when we were dating was to put all silverware together (i.e. all spoons together, all forks together, etc.).  BTW, I love that tip!  His reason for doing it was to make it easier to grab and put away once they are clean, but I like that little tip, because then everything is in order.
Once you have loaded the dishwasher and washed all the pots and pans make sure you wipe down all the counters and if you had anything that splashed (like grease, yuck) wipe down those as well (i.e. microwave, stove, etc.).    The last thing I like to do is dry the sink of all water before I turn out the light and leave the kitchen.
Once all this is done I guarantee you will feel better and I know your kitchen will look better!
Happy cleaning....

My favorite granite cleaner (and it smells good)

You will get addicted to a clean dry sink (btw, to clean your stainless steel sink I suggest Bartender's Keeper)

Ahhhhh.... nice clean counter top!  

New cleaning series.... Intro

So I've decided I don't want to focus on "my feelings" anymore (for a while, subject to change) so I decided to focus on what I like....  cleaning!  Yes ladies, cleaning (for me) is like therapy.  For those of you that know me (and you really don't have to know me very well) know that this is serious business for me.  I love to clean and it truly allows me to clear my head.  If (and I mean IF) I ever get mad (which is very rare) I clean baseboards on "non-scheduled" times and usually everyone who is in the house understands that they just need to allow me to do my baseboards and leave me alone (and they do).  So I decided I would share some of my ideas and hopefully in the process I will learn new ways to clean or new tricks that I may not know.  I also don't know how many have "cleaning schedules", but I do and I believe it helps me make sure I don't miss anything and everything gets equal time (so to speak)....  So to start I will lay out my basic plan for my cleaning schedule or how I like to do things.  If you are interested and continue reading (I realize I've probably already lost many) I welcome any and all tips/tricks for cleaning, because I'm always looking to improve what I do today.
I tend to clean baseboards at least every 3 months (more often if "therapy" is needed).  Yes, I also have a routine on where I start with baseboards and where I finish.  The reason for the "3 month" rule is because it's easy to remember, because that's when we change our air filters in the house.  I will go into more detail on the baseboard cleaning in one of the series, but you get the jest...  I also do laundry every week and I typically have 3 loads (not to include my sheets).  I will share more details on each "chore" within that series.  Seriously, if you can follow a schedule (whatever works for you) I promise the weekends spent having to clean the whole house will be over.  You will find that basically your house seems to clean itself. Honest!
So stay tuned (if you are interested) and I will share the tricks of the trade that I know and I can't wait to hear any and all suggestions of things I don't know.  Yeah, this is going to be so exciting!

Oh my heart

What can I say except my heart hurts.  :(  I don't know what's going on lately other than knowing Chad's birthday is right around the corner and all these emotions are flooding me lately.  Not all these emotions are welcomed by any means.  I think it's the anger I feel that I hate the most.  I don't like anger and I don't usually do anger very well and while I am doing a decent job of keeping it tucked away deep inside, some days it seems to take more of a toll on my heart than I would think possible. 
I hate this to say the very least.  I know there is nothing I can do to change the circumstances (if we could wouldn't we all), but some days it just seems more impossible than others. 
I had my bestie tell me something that is perfect to describe how I feel.  She said people use to tell her when her daddy died that it would get easier and she would say I don't want it to ever get easy to miss him.  I feel exactly the same way.  I never want it to get easy to miss Chad, but I know what they mean when they tell you that. 
I've been dreaming a lot lately (well nightmares really) and can't shut my mind off at night.  Needless to say that means I'm not sleeping well and I'm sure that lends to how I'm feeling lately, but it is what it is and there isn't much I can do about that right now, but pray that part eases some. 
I've also been in a purging mode again and find myself getting rid of things I never thought I would (silly sentimental things only meaning anything to me of course), but sometimes it feels therapeutic to do that and boy have I been having lots of therapy lately. 
Poor Tebo, I don't know how he manages to deal with me.  I know for the most part he doesn't even know the extent of how my heart is feeling right now because I try really hard to shelter him from that as much as I can, but it's hard not to notice when I start cleaning stuff out.  :)  Poor guy.  I have to say though, I could not have a better man standing by my side through all this.  He never complains and just lets me have my "crazy" moments and never says a word.  He might question me to make sure I really want to get rid of something, but once I say yes he never mentions it again.  I dare you to find many guys that would be that good about this stuff and trust me, I even notice how crazy I seem at times so I'm sure I'm off the charts to him or anyone else.
I do hate that I'm not sleeping well, because I know that does affect his sleeping as well, but again, he never complains.  I don't know what I ever did to deserve him, but I'm sure glad I did it.
My family is really good about just overlooking my craziness too.  I think they are pretty use to me by now and granted they don't see my real craziness when I'm at home and in one of my "therapy" modes, but they just let me go and do what I think I need to do and then laugh about it later.  :)  I'm good with that as long as they don't get in my way.
Poor Tia probably doesn't know what to think, but luckily for her most of these moments have hit when she has been on a visit to Vernon to see her mom and the kids.  Hopefully I don't scare her to death one day.
I'm telling you, my bestie seems to get the brunt of a lot of my craziness and she just patiently listens and lets me cry or whatever I need to do and then she encourages me and always lifts me up.  I'm pretty lucky to have her in my life.  I don't know that I add much to hers right now, but she certainly adds to mine. 
I guess I need to just figure out a way to get through May and maybe things will settle down.  I Just have to keep focused and hold on to what I can that might be the closest thing to normal I can get and hang on until this ride is over or at least takes a little break for a bit. 
Any prayers will be appreciated as that seems to be the only thing anyone can really do anyway.  That is of course unless someone out there has found a way to resurrect Chadman.  Now that I would take in a second.  Oh lighten up, we have to have a little humor through all this sad craziness or I really will go insane.  :)

How do you not love that smile

Momma sure does miss you baby boy

Easter 2012

Well, this will be our 2nd Easter without Chadman.  I've been a bit blue this week, but honestly it's not like I've just been bawling every day or anything like that.  I've just felt a little blue.  I really don't feel like going anywhere this weekend.  I just want to be at home and have a quiet weekend with Tebo and just relax and spend some time reflecting. 
Every Easter I can't help but remember Chad's first Easter.  It was probably one of the funniest ones we had.  See, in my "Croft" family we would always have a huge family dinner at grandmother's house and after dinner my cousin, Cindy, and I would count all the Easter eggs and then organize the big hunt.  We had a hunt in the front yard to a certain point and that would be for all the little ones and then the older kids would hunt further out in the yard and the backyard.  I was exceptionally excited for this year's hunt, because this would be Chad's first time and I couldn't wait to see his cute little self out there looking for eggs.  Well, let me tell you, he totally missed the entire egg hunt.  I went to check on him and there in grandmother and granddaddy's bedroom floor laid Chad and BoBo (daddy).  LOL!  Yes, he slept right through the big one and had to hunt eggs all by himself that first year.  Of course he could have cared less, but I had to laugh.  There truly isn't an Easter that goes by that I don't think back on that one.  I truly believe that was the beginning of Chad and BoBo's bonding.  Ha! 
Happy Easter everyone and regardless where you are, remember the reason we celebrate Easter and always remember our troops that are deployed during this holiday.  While you are in the comfort of your own homes and yards, our fine military men and women are risking their lives, most likely eating MREs, and missing their families. 

Chad's 1st Easter with BoBo

Look at those curls

I found one!

Easter morning with Jessica

What a big boy

My opinion on the matter of a Marine's dismissal

So, military board wants to dismiss a Sgt in the Marine Corps, because he isn't a fan of the president of the United States.  Really?  Trust me, I certainly do not believe there is room for insubordination in any job and certainly not in the USMC, but him not liking the president or disagreeing with some of his decisions, should not be grounds for dismissal and stripping him of all his benefits.  Do I believe the Marine Corps and other military branches have a responsibility not to do anything that would jeopardize their fellow troops? Aabsolutely!  However, what this young man did with his own personal Face Book (in my opinion) did not put any of our troops in danger.  He was simply voicing his opinion and most likely some frustration with his current situation and I'm sure with the current state of our country.  Can you imagine how you would feel if you were receiving orders and direction indirectly from the commander in chief (who never served in the military I might add) and you can't even voice how you feel?  I know for me I've not agreed with most of what President Obama says or does.  I respect his position as our president, but I don't not like him and do not agree with most things he has done or said.  Granted, I don't post anything about him on Face Book, but that's not my style anyway.  The younger generation does everything from being angry with a spouse or friend to grieving online these days, so it's no surprise to me at all that our military men and women might take to online social networks to air their frustrations and/or opinions.  I just do not believe it is a reason to strip this young man from a career that he apparently wanted to make his life's career.  I've seen and heard of many other military folks that have done far worst and they are still active so why is this such a huge deal.  I truly feel bad for Sgt. Gary Stein and pray this works out for the best for him.  He obviously loves his job and is proud to be a Marine.  Why take someone so dedicated to our country and the Corps away from something he loves so much.  He strikes me as the type of Marine that would always go above and beyond to do his job and protect our nation and isn't that what we want out of all our military men and women?  To read more about this young man, check out the link below.  Pray for Sgt. Stein that he is vindicated and allowed to return to the job he loves to do without suffering any demotion or loss of rank.  Thank you for allowing me to exercise my first amendment right to free speech.

http://www.military.com/news/article/board-seeks-marines-dismissal-in-facebook-case.html?ESRC=eb.nl