What to do when you’re overwhelmed by your messy house
At this moment, my house is not in tip top shape. In fact it feels quite chaotic to me. In some sense, I’ve come to terms with the state of my home because of the season I’m in with young kids at home. However, there are days when I find my home quite overwhelming and something needs to be done before my sanity is jeopardized. 🙂 A clean and tidy space makes for a happier mom.
So today I give you four QUICK things that you can do when you’re overwhelmed by your messy house:
Make the beds
Fluff the pillows, throw the covers back on. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but having the beds made makes me breathe easier. Even when there are piles of laundry on the floor! The bed is the biggest visual surface in a bedroom, so having the bed made creates calm for your eyes.
Clear off the outside of the fridge
Art work, shopping lists and magnets galore. I love displaying my daughters’ art work from school and the fridge is just so convenient for having my grocery list. But once in a while, a good wipe down is necessary and I don’t bother to put anything back up for a while afterwards.
Sweep the floors
One word. Crumbs. Everywhere! Nothing irritates me quite as much as stepping on some crumbs and having them stick to my bare feet. Ewww! Because of this, I try to sweep the floor every day and vacuum at least once a week. I’m amazed at how much better I feel after the floors have been swept.
Clear the kitchen counters
This is a constant battle of mine. Our kitchen doesn’t have a lot of counter space so anything extra on it makes it more difficult to do every day tasks. Needless to say, our kitchen counters are a drop zone for school papers, mail and dirty dishes. While it’s a never ending battle, I try to clear off as much “extras” as I can on a daily basis. Getting the dishes done (with my favourite dish soap) is also key!
Another thing that really helps me when I’m overwhelmed or paralyzed by my messy house? I create a plan to stay focused! Check out this fun HOME CLEANING PLANNER – with room by room checklists, daily + weekly task lists, and seasonal cleaning checklists to make sure it all gets DONE in a systematic way!
What sort of things do you like to do when you’re overwhelmed by your messy house?
Stain Removal Guide: 7 Common Stains and How to Remove Them
The threat of stains is everywhere. Every time we eat, go outdoors, do a DIY project, or even do office work we encounter things that can ruin our clothing in a flash.
Because money can be tight and no one wants to have to toss away clothing, it’s important to know how to approach these stains and effectively treat them.
Take a look below at 7 common stains and how to remove them so you’ll be ready to tackle stains in the future and make sure they don’t get the chance to set in!
Use this stain removal guide to learn how to treat common stains:
1. Grass.
Pretreat the stain using an oxygenated cleaner. (I love Baby OxiClean. It seems to work better than the regular OxiClean!) It will help cut through the grass stain immediately. You’ll then want to use a color safe bleach to wash the stain away, using the hottest water setting in the process. For grass stains, you may need to treat the stain twice to fully remove it.
2. Blood.
One of the best ways to treat blood stains is to pre-treat it with cold water. Soak the garment in cold water to help release the stain. You can then treat with a color safe bleach to help remove what remains of the stain.
3. Grease.
A tried and true way to treat grease stains is the use a grease fighting soap such as Dawn as a pre-treatment. Fill the sink with warm water and grease fighting dish soap and allow for the garment to soak. When you launder, use hot water and an oxygenating cleaner.
4. Chocolate.
Did you get melted chocolate on your clothing? No problem. For chocolate stains you will use a hot/cold method. First you can harden the chocolate with ice, then scrape off what you can. Soak the garment in cold water, but wash the item in hot water using an oxygenated cleanser.
5. Wine.
Immediately blot the stain with a soft cloth soaked in club soda. You want to then soak the garment in cold water. Pretreat the stain with an oxygenated cleaner and then use a color safe bleach when you launder the item. Bleach based stain sticks can help treat the item a second time if the stain persists.
6. Ink.
Have you ever heard that hair spray can help release ink from your clothing? It’s true! Take basic hair spray and spray it onto the ink stain. It will help release the ink. Blot the ink with a paper towel and launder as usual. If you don’t have hair spray, you can use rubbing alcohol.
7. Gum.
When gum becomes stuck to clothing it can become a gooey and sticky mess quickly. The best way to remove gum from clothing is to hold an ice cube to it. The ice will harden the gum, making it easier to pull away from the clothing. Hold an ice cube for a few minutes to the gum, peel it off, and wash as usual.
The next time you encounter a stain, you’ll be prepared when you use this stain removal guide! Keep these tips in mind for removing common stains so when a stain hits, you don’t need to worry about throwing that clothing item into the trash.
Do you have any secrets to share for this stain removal guide? Let us know in the comments below!
I’m a weirdo, but I actually enjoy cleaning. It’s a nice way to “take a break” from working or loud kids. Now, this doesn’t mean I have a perfectly clean house. Not at all. I did mention I have kids… Regardless, a clean home makes me feel happier when our family can make it happen.
Perhaps you’re like me. You enjoy a clean house, but maybe you struggle with knowing how to get it done. Luckily, there’s an easy way to keep your home neat and tidy without cleaning all day long.
I had fun creating a Printable House Cleaning Checklist that I thought you might enjoy! The printable house cleaning checklist includes daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly cleaning suggestions to help you take the guess work out of keeping your home clean.
Looking for even more help especially as life gets busy? Check out this gorgeous HOME CLEANING PLANNER – with room by room checklists, daily + weekly task lists, and seasonal cleaning checklists to make sure it all gets DONE!
Can you believe we’re one week away from Christmas day? Wow! Time sure flies when you’re having fun! (or being busy?) Since we’re one week away from Christmas, this also means we’ve reached the last week of the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series! I sure hope you enjoyed it. I also hope it helped you to have a more simple and manageable holiday season!
Christmas usually involves company and no one likes to show their guests a good time in a messy home. So, today, I’ve got a free printable Get Your House Holiday Ready Checklist! It includes suggestions of cleaning tasks to do each day leading up to Christmas day. There’s even plenty of room for you to add your own tasks. I kept it fairly simple, because really, who has time for crazy cleaning this time of year?
Remember, these are suggestions only! Click on the image below or hereto print your holiday cleaning list.
What tasks are on your holiday cleaning list? Are you ready for Christmas?
Here are the rest of the posts in the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series:
Have you got Spring Cleaning on your mind? Sign up for my 15 Days to a Spring Clean Home Challenge!
You’ll receive an email once a day for 15 days with tasks and tips included! Get your home sparkling clean and smelling fresh in just 15 days! There’s no sense in stressing out to get everything done in a matter of days when you can complete a simple task each day over a 15 day period.
