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Spring Cleaning Simplified: Focusing on Quick Wins

When it comes to spring cleaning, I do not have a week or even a whole day to dedicate to scrubbing every nook and cranny of my house.  With 5 small children underfoot, there's only so much I can do.  There are diapers to be changed, boo-boos to be kissed, and mouths to feed (5,897 times a day.)

As a busy mom, I try to focus my spring cleaning efforts on what I call “quick wins”.

What is a spring cleaning quick win?

I look for things that I can do in about 5 minutes or less that will make the biggest difference in how clean that area is.  That's it!

 

When Babbleboxx asked if they could send me a box of spring cleaning items to try, I readily agreed, knowing that I'd be able to use these tools for my 5 minute “quick win” sessions!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Single Edition Media.

Spring cleaning products

 

Laundry Room Cabinet

You know how the little drips from laundry detergents and stain removers make the shelves where they sit get all gunky and slimy?  Cleaning this area can be a quick win for you!

Have you ever used shelf liner anywhere in your house?  Well, there's a new kid in town that takes things to a new level when it comes to shelf liners.

My laundry room shelves were experiencing gunk overload, so I knew I needed to do a quick win on them.  Babbleboxx had sent me a roll of Duck Smooth Top Easy Liner with Clorox, so I used that to line the shelves of my laundry room cabinet.

Duck Smooth top antimicrobial shelf liner

Apparently, shelf liner is no longer plain old shelf liner.  Duck Easy Liner now has a Clorox antimicrobial coating embedded into it to help prevent mold and mildew growth.

It was so quick and easy to cut the liner down to size and put it on the shelf, but it made a noticeable difference in how clean the shelf looked.  (The “quick wins” are my absolute favorite when it comes to spring cleaning!)

I really liked the smooth top.  Those sticky-feeling shelf liners have their place for other things, but when you need to slide laundry products in and out all day long, they can get annoying.  The smooth top makes it so nice.  Plus, the smooth top makes it easy to wipe down if something gets spilled on it.  (The underside is still sticky so that it stays on the shelf without sliding around.)  It's water-resistant too, which is a good thing, since I'm using it in the laundry room.  And finally, if I ever needed too, I could toss it into the wash (yes – it's machine washable!)

All these factors made it the perfect choice for this job.

Duck Smooth Top Antimicrobial shelf liner

Do you have a spring cleaning job where Duck Smooth Top Easy Liner would be helpful?

You can purchase it in either white or taupe, and it comes in both 12” x 10’ and 20” x 6’ sizes.

Download a coupon right here!

 

Water Stained Wood

You wouldn't think removing water stains from wood would be a quick win.  I wouldn't anyway.

My husband's night stand had gotten some pretty ugly water stains.  It was one of those things where I was going to research “how to get water stains out of wood” — someday.  I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

But since Babbleboxx had included a bottle of TriNova Wood Cleaner and Conditioner in the spring cleaning kit they sent me, I thought, “Why not?  It can't hurt to try.”

TriNova Wood Cleaner

Wow!  I honestly did not think it would get the stains out!  I thought it would clean any surface residue and shine it up a bit, but I was shocked that it took the water stains right out!

 

If you have a lot of wood surfaces in your house, you can use TriNova Wood Cleaner and Conditioner for any of them, such as furniture, cabinets, or hardwood floors.

I really loved this product so much more than I expected to.  It doesn't leave any kind of residue; it just made the wood feel so smooth.  (And of course it took out those stains!)  I will DEFINITELY be using this often to keep my wood surfaces shiny and clean.

You can pick up TriNova Wood Cleaner from Amazon right here.  Through April 30, 2017, you can use the coupon code Babble20 to get an extra 20% off.

 

Dirty Fabric

Another area that I wouldn't necessarily have thought would be a quick win certainly ended up that way with the right tools for the job.

I was walking through the kitchen and I noticed how horribly dirty the fabric on our island stools had become.  (Note to self: when there are kids in the house, only purchase hard surfaces for anything that goes in the kitchen.)

(Wow – that's embarrassing!)

I was trying to figure out what I could use to clean it, and I thought, “Well, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner is supposed to be all-purpose.  I wouldn't normally think to use it on fabric, but let's just see what happens.  At this point, I certainly can't make that stool any worse.”

Look!

It's all-purpose all right.

I've used the bottle of Simple Green for tons of little quick-win jobs since then – mopping the floor, wiping down baseboards, anything that looks dirty really.  I LOVE having all-purpose cleaner around!  (And I love that Simple Green is non-toxic too.)

Simple Green is a concentrated cleaner, meaning that you should dilute it for most jobs because it's just way too powerful for what you need.  Diluting it means that one bottle goes a LONG way, making it very cost-effective.

 But when you have a really tough job, you can use it straight, and it will do your cleaning for you without the need for much elbow grease from you.

I also received a bottle of Simple Green Stone Cleaner and Polish, which I didn't try because I don't have surfaces in my house that called for it.  I'm sure it does just as good of a job as the all-purpose cleaner, though.

You can find more information about both products on the Simple Green website, along with LOTS of ideas for how to use them.  You can also grab a coupon for $1.75 off (that's a good coupon!) right here.

Dirty Dishes

I know what you're thinking.  “Why are you including dirty dishes in a list of spring cleaning quick wins?”

So, here's my philosophy.  Every day is spring cleaning day – not just a day or a week sometime in the spring.  Anything that needs to be cleaned, big or small, well…it needs to be cleaned.

And you know what I really like to neglect?  It's when there's a pot in which I overcooked the food and now it is going to be really hard to wash.  So then I let it sit there “to soak”, but when I come back it's not any easier to wash.

I have two choices at this point.  1. I can dig in and just get the job done or 2. I can continue to let it sit there soaking.

The job needs to get done!  But scrubbing a pot with burned-on food is not an easy task, and it's not going to be a quick win!

Until…I tried out the Scrub Daddy.Scrub Daddy

 

Let me be honest.  I kind of groaned when I saw the Scrub Daddy in the box because I was thinking about how much I hate doing dishes.  It didn't look like a fun or unique “spring cleaning” task, but it just meant I'd be doing boring old dishes.

But when I made myself try it out, I was like, “Ohhh.  I like this thing.”

The Scrub Daddy turned getting that crusty pot off my counter into a spring cleaning quick win!

No joke – this guy doesn't scratch my non-stick pots!!  I can bust through that crud in a flash without babying my pots!

 

Here's how it works: When it's cold it's stiff and hard so you can do tough scrubbing jobs.  When it's warm, it gets soft so you can just use it for regular old dish washing.

And here's what else I like – the Scrub Daddy doesn't get all slimy and nasty like regular sponges that you leave sitting in your sink too long.  It rinses right off and dries out nicely.  You can pop it into the dishwasher if it does need a deeper cleaning.

I received Scrub Daddy's counterpart, Scrub Mommy, too, which has the scrubby part on one side and a more spongy part on the other side.

You can check out the Scrub Daddy (and the Scrub Mommy) right here.

 

More Spring Cleaning Quick Win Ideas:

If you're wanting to try to accomplish a few quick wins throughout the day, here are more things you can do:

  • Clean out the silverware drawer
  • Wash a window or two
  • Organize a book shelf
  • Wipe down light switches and door knobs
  • Pour baking soda and vinegar down your drains to clean them
  • Take outdated papers off the refrigerator
  • Clean off one refrigerator or pantry shelf
  • Wipe down the backs of kitchen chairs (they get nasty if you have kids!)
  • Dust the tops of windowills and door frames
  • Clean out your junk drawer

 

 

Happy cleaning!

How to Find Time for Deep Cleaning When The Basics Are Never Finished

deep cleaning when the basics are never done

 

Maybe I'm weird (don't feel a need to voice your opinion on that), but I have a hard time getting to the deeper cleaning in my house.

As I've read books about cleaning, I've figured out that it's most likely because I'm a perfectionist.

WHY PERFECTIONISTS ARE MESSIER PEOPLE

The reason perfectionists are often messier is because we (okay, I'm owning up to it) don't like to do a job unless we have time to do it perfectly.

The people with really clean houses are the people who are okay with “good enough”.  They don't have time to scrub the bathroom top to bottom everyday, so they're okay with wiping out the sink really quickly.

Perfectionists, on the other hand, look around the bathroom and say, “Ugh!  It's so dirty in here!  I have got to get in here and scrub it!”  And then we walk out, waiting to clean anything until we have half an hour free to polish every nook and cranny.

So when it comes to deep cleaning, I have a very hard time ever getting to things like dusting cobwebs, washing windows, or cleaning the oven (actually, let's not even talk about the oven.  I don't have any idea when the last time I cleaned the oven was.)

I can't stand to clean the oven when the rest of the kitchen is dirty.  But because lots of people live here, and most of us are home all day every day, there are always random dishes to be done.  There are always crumbs on the floor that I just swept.  So I can't ever do something extra because the regular stuff is never done.

I'm crazy either way.  If the regular stuff is not done, I feel crazy.  If the bigger stuff sits there and sits there and sits there, taunting me, I feel crazy too.

 

WHAT MOWING THE LAWN TAUGHT ME ABOUT MYSELF

I love to mow the lawn because it's one thing I can do that actually feels finished when I'm done.  When I walk outside, I can actually see that, “Hey!  I did something!” I get to enjoy the results of my efforts for at least a week!

So, knowing my propensity toward perfectionism, and knowing just how badly I need that visual sense of accomplishment, I knew I needed more of those type of experiences.  I needed to be able to do a job and visually see that it was done, even if it became undone the very second I finished.

One of my Facebook friends recently linked to the Motivated Moms planner, and I took a peek at it.  I immediately thought, “Gasp!  That's exactly what I need!”

It tells me exactly what to do, every single day of the year, and I get to check the box off and tell myself, “This job is done!  Good job!”

Here's what one week looks like:

motivated moms planner

(Note: yes, that picture shows 2017, and no, this planner is not outdated. The company is still going strong and has both printable planners for the current year as well as an app – whatever works best for you!)

On the left side, I have all the daily basics.  (You know, those things that are never done?  Thanks to those handy little check boxes, if I've done them once, they are considered done, and I have visual proof that they're done. )

On the right side, there are a few of the deeper cleaning chores listed for each day.  It's enough to get the entire house cleaned from top to bottom every week, and once again, I can see that it's done.  So even if my eyes can't enjoy the sight of the actually clean house for very long, I can still enjoy the visual sense of accomplishment by having a record of all the work I've done.

Check out the Motivated Moms printables and app right here.
(affiliate link)

You could technically make something like this yourself for free too, if money is tight.  I did when I was first married.  I walked through every room in my house and made a list of every single chore that would ever need to be done and how often it needed to be done.  Then I took a calendar and wrote down each chore on every single day of the year.  If something needed to be done quarterly, I put it on the calendar once every three months, and so forth.

It took a long time, y'all!  But it can be done, if that's what you're determined to do.

Over time, as kids came along, things got topsy turvy and that calendar got lost in the shuffle.

But I'm excited to try this system again and see if I can finally get to some of those other jobs that have been bothering me for too long!

 

 

5 Ways to Make Spring Cleaning Fun

Do you dread the thought of getting started on your spring cleaning?

It doesn't have to be  drudgery!

Here are some ways you can actually make spring cleaning fun!

5 Ways to Make Spring Cleaning Fun

 

{Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Kimberly-Clark and the Motherhood.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own.}

1. Talk to a friend.

When you're ready to dig in to your cleaning, call up a friend for a chat.  The time will fly by as you enjoy catching up with a friend, and you won't even realize you're working!

How nice to look around at the end of a conversation and see everything that you got done!

 

2. Listen to music.

It is so much more enjoyable to clean when you're listening to some upbeat music!  Somehow it motivates you to keep moving!

If you get tired of music, a good podcast or radio show keeps things interesting too.

 

3.  Invest in good supplies.

Nothing makes cleaning more miserable than trying to work with the wrong supplies!

I made a stop by Walmart before I started on my cleaning to make sure I had all the things I needed.

One of the things I made sure to have was a good supply of paper towels and toilet paper.  I love being able to grab a paper towel for quick jobs.  Viva Vantage paper towels have a scrubby texture, so they are great for scrubbing everything from stovetops to patio furniture.  And Viva towels have a softer texture while still maintaining strength, so they are great for setting the kids to work on washing baseboards or for wiping out the silverware drawer.

viva and scott

And once I get the bathroom cabinet cleaned out, I want to make sure we're all set on toilet paper.  We seem to go through it like crazy, so keeping a nice stockpile is part of keeping my home out of chaos!  Scott  1000 and Cottonelle Clean Care or Ultra Care are all great options to keep on hand.

My local Walmart had plenty of everything that I needed, but you can also shop for all your spring cleaning stock-up needs online.

 

4. Make a game of it.

If your kids are cleaning with you, give everyone a baseboard to clean and tell them you're going to see who did the best job.

Or tell them you're going to have a race to see who can get their window washed the fastest.

If you're cleaning alone, pick a job and set the timer and try to beat it.

spring cleaning baseboards | making spring cleaning fun

5. Learn tips and tricks to make cleaning easier.

Thinking you'll have to spend 3 hours scrubbing your oven?  Misery!  Finding out there's a simple way to clean it in minutes?  Amazing!

Pinterest is awesome for so many reasons – it's a nice way to relax as you browse through recipes and craft ideas, bu it's a fantastic resource for learning so many useful things too!

I've been collecting some helpful spring cleaning tips on a Pinterest board, and I know that many of them will save a lot of time and trouble!

You can follow the board right here:

 

Follow Imperfect Homemaker's board Spring Cleaning on Pinterest.

 

 

What other ways can you add that make spring cleaning fun?

 

A Sobering Letter to the Wife With the Filthy House

“Is a filthy house grounds for divorce?”  

Someone's husband found one of my blog posts by googling that phrase.  Isn't that sad?

He ended up leaving a comment and further expressing his frustrations. He noted that normally you think of the wife as the one who is always cleaning up behind her family, but in his case he was always cleaning up behind his wife.

He hated the fact that he had even done such a search, but he was just beyond frustrated with the horribly messy home he had to come home to every day.

He said his wife would move heaven and earth to get the house clean before guests showed up, but every other day it was a pig sty.  He also made sure to note that he does a lot of cleaning around the house to help her, but she never seemed to do her part to keep it that way.  She was embarrassed if someone else saw her house all dirty, but she didn't care if her husband saw it that way.  He admitted that perhaps a messy house bothered him too much – that maybe he was being a little OCD, but he really was just wishing that his wife would put a little more effort into keeping things clean and tidy.

Now, I have no idea who this man is or what their marriage is like.  I don't know how good of a job he is doing at communicating his needs to his wife.  He does have a responsibility to be honest with her and tell her in a kind and gentle way how much the state of the house bothers him and affects his mood when he comes home after a long day at work.  I'm not negating that he has a responsibility to help resolve the conflict.

(And if you're Mr. Clean married to Mrs. Messy, stay tuned because my husband and I are working together to share some ideas for your situation.  Perhaps she's trying harder than you realize or she may even be suffering from depression and not even know it – depression sometimes shows up as apathy. Whatever the case, we are working on resources to help you work through this together.)

But this particular article isn't for the husbands; it's for the wives.

So if you are that wife whose husband might feel so depressed inside your messy home that he is googling about whether to divorce you over it, it's time to wake up.

It's time to pull yourself out of your funk and do something about this problem.

A Sobering Letter to the Wife With the Filthy House | Christian Homemaking

I know some of the things you are thinking right now.  I know because I am a wife who really struggles with keeping the house clean.  Here are some of the things that are going through your head, and I will acknowledge that some of them may be perfectly legitimate.

“I have a chronic illness which makes it hard to do any physical work.”

“The kids don't help me at all.  They make messes faster than I can clean them up.”

“I never learned how to keep a house clean.”

“He only thinks I don't do any work.  I work hard all day, but at the end of the day it looks like I haven't done a thing.”

 

As I said before, I completely believe you that some of these statements are true.  But I also know that sometimes laziness is very sneaky.  Can't is a very relative word, and sometimes when you determine in your heart that you can, you will make a way. (Remember the guests?  You can make a way on the non-guest days too.)

 

If your heart almost stopped when you read that there is a husband out there somewhere who just wants OUT of the mess, and you know it could easily be your husband, read on.

I want to help.

Let's address some of the reasons/excuses for a messy house one by one:

“I have a chronic illness which makes it hard to do any physical work.”
I get it.  I live with this every day of my life.  I've had to learn that when I'm having a good day, I MUST use my time wisely.  If I procrastinate on a job that needs to be done, there is no guarantee I will be able to do it later.  It is also important that you communicate clearly and openly to your husband about your needs.

My husband has asked me to please let him know when I'm having a hard day so that he can at least mentally prepare himself before he comes home.  It is absolutely deflating to him to be all geared up to do something he needs to get done that evening and walk in the door to find out that he has to fold piles of laundry, wash dishes, and help the children clean up whatever messes they made because I am unable to do it.

Also, if you need to accept outside help (volunteered or hired out), don't be too prideful to accept it.  I've had to do this, and I cried (and cried and cried and cried) when the decision was made to get some help.  I felt like such a failure.  But I knew that ultimately for the sanity of my family, I needed help.

 

“The kids don't help me at all.  They make messes faster than I can clean them up.”
I understand this one too.  Young children don't automatically know how to pick up after themselves.  They have to be taught.  You can't just say “Go clean your room.”  You have to say “Pick up all the dirty clothes.”  “Now put all the race cars in the container.”  And if you don't stay on top of it, things will be a mess all the time.

They need constant supervision.  I try to keep everyone in the same room at all times whenever possible.  It doesn't mean things go perfectly, but I can at least catch my toddler when she's only dumped out half the bag of potato chips instead of the whole thing.  And I can get them swept up before anyone walks all over them and tracks the crumbs throughout the entire house.
Read this article for more help on avoiding children's disasters.

 

“I never learned how to keep a house clean.”
Then, honey, it's time to learn!  The health of your marriage and the happiness of your family is on the line!  There are multitudes of sites online that will teach you housekeeping basics.  If you don't know where to start, I recommend starting with Flylady's Sink Reflections book.  She has a website too, but it can get very overwhelming very quickly.  If you need something more step-by-step, the book will be a game changer for you.

Sink Reflections - Learn How to Take Control of Your Messy House!

 

“He only thinks I don't do any work.  I work hard all day, but at the end of the day it looks like I haven't done a thing.”
Once again, I am going to strongly recommend that you get the Sink Reflections book.

If you want to learn how to work effectively and get things done, it will really help you!

The book is based on a baby-steps philosophy, and I am constantly reminding myself of that when I get discouraged about my progress (or lack thereof.)

I may not have the entire house sparkling, but I can have the one area that I have chosen to focus on done.  And when I look at that area I can see that “I did it!” and it only encourages me to get up and keep trying.

This is also another area where communication with your husband is super important.  He needs to know that though you may not be perfect, you are at least trying.  If he feels that you are not even trying, he is going to feel very unloved.  But when he knows that you are working to learn how to be a better housekeeper and to overcome bad habits, he will be encouraged.

Ask him which area he would most like you to focus on.  Does he like a clean bedroom to relax in at night?  Make your main priority every day to keep it tidied up no matter what.  Do crunchy, crumb-infested floors make him cringe and want to scream?  Make it a habit to sweep the floors every day before he comes home.  The rest of the house may still need some help, but he will notice that the areas which bother him the most are clean.  (Which will encourage you too when you feel like you've been working hard but that all he notices is what you didn't do.)

 

Finally, be honest with yourself.
The things listed above are all circumstantial and don't have much to do with your character.  But you also need to be willing to admit it when your problem is that you are lazy and undisciplined.  It's very possible that you are dealing with a combination of legitimate obstacles and laziness.

Ask God to show you where you are being lazy and don't realize it.

Are you:

  • Browsing Facebook and Pinterest
  • Watching TV
  • Reading a Book
  • Crafting
  • Etc.

all while dirty dishes sit piled in the sink?

I'm not saying you should never take time out of your day to rest.  And the work will honestly never be done.

But deep down inside, you know whether what you're doing at the moment is what you ought to be doing.

Make a list of the absolute must-do priorities that you will promise you'll get done before you sit down to relax.  Here are some of the biggest things that make a house look filthy if they're not done and can create great improvement when you do keep them done:

  • Dishes washed and kitchen tidied (my personal problem area!)
  • Floors swept
  • Laundry going
  • Beds made
  • Clutter put away
  • Focus area cleaned (the one that bothers your husband the most)

 

In conclusion, let me balance all this out by saying that this post isn't meant to browbeat you and make you sink into despair about your failures.

It's not about perfection.

(If it were, I would still be in big trouble!  I'm very much a work in progress!)

No, it's not about perfection; it's about providing hope for your family.  It's about eliminating the stress and strain between husband and wife and helping you create a game plan for being the good homemaker that
you're wanting to be.

 

That may mean admitting some hard things and making some difficult changes.

But the end result of bringing peace to your home will be worth it!

 

Need some more help managing your time and getting more done?  Sign up for the free 5 day time management ecourse!

 

An Inexpensive Alternative to Norwex®

Do you use Norwex® and love it? Me too!  I love how well I can get things clean without using chemicals!

To be honest, this post doesn't mean I'll be giving up Norwex.  I'll still be purchasing Norwex products when the budget allows.  Stating that there is an alternative doesn't mean I'm totally breaking up with Norwex.

But let me tell you about an alternative that works just as well and doesn't cost quite as much.

Update November 2018: I am noticing that a lot of people are landing on this post because they are searching for an alternative to Norwex detergent. Although I was originally writing this post about the cleaning cloths, I have added some information about a Norwex detergent alternative at the bottom of this post. I hope it's helpful!

An Inexpensive Alternative to Norwex | Awesome for chemical free cleaning!

 

A while back I saw a blogger who was a former Norwex consultant talking about how she switched and started using eCloth instead.  I was intrigued and did a little looking into it, but I already had all the Norwex products I needed at the moment so I didn't try out the eCloth.

Until today.

Last time I updated my Grove Collaborative subscription I noticed that they were now selling the General Purpose Cloth from eCloth, so I added one to my order.  It was only $7.99 as opposed to the $16.49 price on the Norwex EnviroCloth.

Today my toddler knocked a whole container of yogurt onto the floor as she was trying to get herself a snack.  (I teach my kids to be independent, but I don't intend for them to be quite that independent when they're still toddlers!)

I grabbed my eCloth and was kind of excited about a great opportunity to really test it out. I love how absorbent my EnviroCloth is and I was curious if the eCloth would do that well too.

Here is the mess before I wiped it up (the cloth is covering up half the pile of yogurt.)

Cleaning with eCloth

 

And after one swipe with the eCloth:

cleaning with eCloth

 

After 3 swipes an entire 16 ounce container of yogurt was almost completely wiped up.

Cleaning with eCloth

 

And after 4 swipes, the yogurt was completely gone, the sticky was gone from the floor, and I had plenty of clean space left on the cloth to wipe up the splatters that had landed on the cabinet doors.

Cleaning with eCloth

 

So here's why I will be using the eCloth, but not giving up Norwex either:

Pros:

  1. eCloth is roughly half the price of Norwex
  2. eCloth is just as absorbent as Norwex
  3. eCloth is proven to remove 99% of bacteria from hard surfaces

 

Cons:

As far as I know, the eCloth does not boast the antimicrobial silver woven in that the Norwex cloths do.  The silver does not actually remove more bacteria from the surface, but it does help repel bacteria from the cloth as it dries, meaning you can use it over and over again without washing it and it won't get slimy or mildewed or hold germs.  (Obviously you will still wash it sometimes though!) eCloth says that the bacteria rinses right out of the fibers, so I'll be curious over time how well it compares as far as an unwashed cloth and whether it gets slimy or not.

Update: I have not had ANY problems whatsoever with the eCloth getting slimy.  As long as I rinse it out after I  use it, it is not at all slimy.

 

Both eCloth and Norwex both sell a variety of other products, but the general purpose cloth will be my most used item, so I will stick with eCloth for that because of the big price difference.  I went back and ordered additional eCloths from Grove Collaborative.  I now have one for each room in the house and one for outside jobs.

If you want to try out an eCloth through Grove Collaborative, you can get some lovely free sign-up gifts when you go through this link!

 

Update November 2018: Norwex Detergent Alternative
I have noticed that a lot of people visiting this post are actually searching for Norwex detergent alternatives. To be honest, I have never used the detergent from Norwex, so I just want you to know that upfront. I am, however, concerned about the purity of the household product I use, and have used natural, non-toxic detergents for a long while. I've tried a number of brands, and the one I like the best for both it's cost and for how happy I am with how it cleans my clothes is BioKleen. It has pure, plant-based ingredients, smells good, and does a good job cleaning my clothes. (Also, for what it's worth, I use it to wash my Norwex cloths and e-Cloths. 🙂 )  As you can tell from the reviews on Amazon, it works well for a whole lot of people!

Some items to note:
1. It IS safe for septic systems
2. It DOES work well with both hot and cold water.
3. It DOES work well to remove stains and odors (You can actually purchase a separate stain and odor remover here that works exceptionally well. One of my favorite household products ever! Basically just think of it like a spray and wash – when you have a bad stain it adds a little extra oomph. It's also very useful for carpet stains, etc.)
4. It's safe for all types of fabric (including your Norwex or eCloths!)
5. It's highly concentrated, meaning you use a very small amount, saving you money.
6. It's non-toxic, using plant-based surfactants and essential oil scents.
7. It comes in both powder or liquid forms, though I personally prefer the liquid.

You can purchase it through Amazon Prime for roughly 17 cents per load. (You get twice as many loads if you have a HE washer, making the cost half as much.)

OR

You can sign up for a Thrive Market membership and purchase it for about 16 cents a load. (Or 8 cents with a HE washer.)

It's a little bit better deal through Thrive Market because you can use a free trial membership. Even if you purchase a yearly membership, I have found that the money I save in a year is substantially more than the cost of a membership. Also, they have a guarantee that if you don't at least save the cost of your membership fee in a year, the will refund you the cost of the membership. Pretty cool, huh?

Order Biokleen from Amazon here.

OR

Get a Thrive Market trial or yearly membership here and search for Biokleen.

 

 

 

Is There Trash In Your Closet?

I started working my way through my friend Elsie's book today.

(This one: )

Your Simple Home Handbook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm always trying to declutter and get rid of stuff we don't need, but now that Christmas is over and the house has been filled with lots of new things that were given to us as gifts, it's time to do a major purge.

 

(You can join me in the Homemaking Challenges group on Facebook if you'd like!)

 

So the first section in the book is the bedroom, and the first thing in there is the closet.

I started in on it, but I only got through my skirts and dresses before I needed to shut things down for the day.

I started by taking everything out and putting it into piles of things I truly love, things that are “okay”, things I definitely want to get rid of, and things I need to mend.

Decluttering the closet

 

Then I put back in all the things that I love.

Decluttering the closet

Since I had plenty of things that I love I went ahead and got rid of all the things that were only “okay”.

Decluttering the Closet

I had a pile of things I had to deal with – things to take to the thrift store, things to give away to others I know could use them, things to mend, things that had stains but that I wanted to try and salvage.

 

But, take a look.  There is a trash bag there.  Some of my clothes went into the trash.

 

I don't consider myself a pack rat.  I try really hard to get rid of stuff right away.  But I still had things hanging in there that I didn't even realize were stained beyond repair because it had been so long since I wore them.

(And some things sat in there and yellowed.  What's with that?)

 

How long has it been since you cleaned out your closet?  I mean since you really gave it a good, ruthless overhaul?

-No saving things because you paid good money for them but you don't really care for them.
-No saving things because you hope to fit into them again someday.
-No saving things because they're sentimental or were one of your favorites but they don't fit anymore or they're stained and ruined.

 

 

Leave me a comment and tell me if there's any trash in your closet!

(And if you'd like a copy of the book I'm working through, you can grab one right here.)

Is There Trash in Your Closet?