Tips for the Tidy Home {Revisited}

Sarah of Thrifty Decor Chick

is having a party!

And not just ANY party....but

MY kind of PARTAY!

A CLEANING PARTY!

{I thought this was the perfect time to revisit an older post of mine}

It's no secret......I like a Tidy Home!

Hence the name, TidyMom.

Ever wonder HOW I got that title?

My oldest daughter assigned me that title years ago when we first got online. Does that girl know her mom or what? LOL

I'm not neurotic or one of THOSE moms. I don't really LIKE to clean, I just LOVE the end result. I like to look around the house and see clean. I don't like the stress of seeing a mess.

Trust me, I have piles of junk like everyone else, some are just hidden in closest (remember this post).

How do I keep my house looking tidy?

I'm going to share a few of my tips (what works for me)

Don't let it sit for later (Clean ASAP) - a mess is much easier to clean up when it happens. Once food or dirt is allowed to dry or soak in, it's going to take a lot more time and elbow grease to clean it later.

Don't Put it off - this is probably my BIGGEST household tip! Clean as you go. You'll be amazed that many things only take a few minutes to do if you clean as you go, rather than hours of cleaning if you put it all off to do at once. If you stay on top of these things daily your house will look nice and you will be more organized and relaxed. Some of the things I do daily are:

• make my bed
• wipe down the bathroom after I have gotten ready - I keep Clorox wipes and a cloth diaper under the bathroom sink - and I give the bathroom a quick wipe down daily.
  
• clear the dinner table AND do dishes as soon as we finish eating.
• load the dishwasher any time there's a dirty dish - it really only take a few seconds, instead of having a sink or counter piled with dirty dishes.
• wipe off the counters and table.
• sort mail, throw out junk.
• do at least one load of laundry
• fold and put away laundry as it comes out of the dryer
  

By doing these things daily you can reduce stress and have a visually cleaner home.

Set a Timer for Quick Clean Ups- Many days I will give myself 15 minutes and run thru a few rooms and just pick up stray times, fluff and straighten the room. You'll be surprised how often this will motivate you to keep going. Get the kids to help - make it a game!

Dust While on the Phone - often if I'm on the phone with my mom or daughter, instead of sitting on the couch, I will get up and dust a room while we chat! Multi tasking is my friend

Don't walk to another room empty handed - there's almost ALWAYS something in a room that belongs some where else - don't pass it up, grab it on your way - even if you just open a door and toss it in!

Clean up as you cook - I have a small kitchen, so I really get stressed if I have no room to cook or bake. Like wise, if you're waiting on dinner in the oven, clean up the mess while it cooks.

I LOVE to come home to a Clean House- I try and pad my "to go time" by 15-30 minutes and do a quick run thru before I leave, put dirty dishes in the dish washer, wipe off counters, pick up stray items, even vacuum if I have time. I especially did this when I worked, that way I could walk in to a clean house and start dinner with out the stress of a messy house to pick up as well.

These are just some tips that keep me sane, more relaxed and a happy mom.

Do you have any quick cleaning tips?

Join me on over at Thrifty Decor Chick to share your favorite cleaning tips, products, etc

****************
Don't forget........Today is also the start of

Terea's Pink Week Giveaway!

Stop over there for a WEEK full of Giveaways!

The Ultimate Cloth...Works for ME!

I'm always on the look out for things that make my cleaning easier and safer for my family, and the planet! That's why I was excited when Ryan contacted me asking if I would be interested in reviewing a new product that he thought I would love, the Ultimate Cloth.

After reading a little about this innovative cloth, I was intrigued by the idea that I did not need to use any chemicals! The Ultimate Cloth cleans any hard surface – glass, wood, granite, stainless steel and many more – with just water!

I have to say.....I really loved the Ultimate Cloth!! I have some hard to clean mirrors that I can never get clean with out streaks. The Ultimate Cloth not only allowed me to easily clean my mirrors, but left them beautiful and streak free!.......so then I was on a roll, I had to see what all this cloth could do! I cleaned the lap top monitor - AMAZING! I can NEVER get that to look brand new, but it did now! as well as my desktop flat panel, the ipod touch, my stainless steel toaster, my sink and faucet.........all beautiful and streak free.

But I knew the REAL test would be my windows!! They were smudged with nose prints, both canine and human, not to mention other smudges of unknown origins. I grabbed my Ultimate Cloth, wet it and squeezed it out real well then went to work on my windows. At first I noticed water marks, so I looked at the directions that came with my cloth and it states: Use the cloth damp. Simply wet it with water & WRING IT OUT WELL. If you're getting moisture that stays on your surfaces, you have too much moisture in your cloth. So I left my cloth sit to dry out just a bit. When I returned to my window cleaning experiment, with a drier damp cloth, my windows turned out amazingly beautiful and clear!No smudges, no water streaks, not foggy, simply CLEAR!

Not only does the Ultimate Cloth allow you to clean with out harsh chemicals, but it's reusable! YOU CAN WASH IT & BLEACH IT... Just don't use any fabric softener. The microfibers do the work, but fabric softeners coat the surface of the cloth keeping them from being able to pull the dirt from your surfaces into the cloth. Besides, you don't want anything on the cloth that will transfer back to your surfaces. NOTE: We guarantee a clean cloth will never streak, spot or scratch your surface. If you are getting streaks or spots, it's ready to be rinsed out with water or washed with soap or detergent depending on what you pulled into it. Be sure to rinse or wash any dirt or grit out of the cloth prior to using on a delicate surface.

Would you like to receive a FREE Ultimate Cloth of your very own?

All you need to do is follow Ultimate Cloth America on Twitter or become a fan on facebook:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ultimate_Cloth
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Cloth-America/209222110335?v=wall&ref=ts

They will reveal how to get the free Ultimate Cloths via Twitter and facebook next week!

The Ultimate Cloth made my cleaning

Ultimate EASY and GREEN!!

That works for ME!

I would definitely recommend them to anyone!

MiraFiber® Ultimate Cloths®
• Available in two sizes
• ARE TOTALLY GREEN / ECO-FRIENDLY. Good for your environment inside & out... no chemicals & saves the trees when you don't have to use all the paper towels! Use them over & over. Great for those individuals with chemical sensitivities.
• Leave no chemical streaks or water spots when used correctly. See 'care' instructions.
• Are great at replacing wet mop refills.

ultimateclothamerica.com

Ultimate Cloth supplied me with 1 cloth for testing and review purposes. I was in no other way compensated for this post and opinions are those of my own.

TidyMom on the RADIO!

YIKES!

Yes, you read that right!

I'm completely excited and nervous!

Tomorrow morning, Thursday Oct 29, 2009 at 10:45 am CT

I will be doing a LIVE radio/podcast interview

as a guest on Debbie Allan's morning radio show On the HomeStretch.

Tune in to hear me share some tips on how to keep a Tidy Home, and what my passions are!

You can listen online at http://OnTheHomeStretch.com (during the interview) or you can call in LIVE at 877-474-3302

Don't worry, if you miss it, I will post a link to the podcast so you can listen anytime.

So feel free to pour yourself a cup of coffee and listen in our our conversation about keeping your home Tidy!

Don't forget to enter my latest giveaway if you need Housework Help!! I have FOUR of Don Aslett, America's #1 Cleaning Expert's books to giveaway to my readers!!

Click here to win one of FOUR Housework Books!

Don Aslett Housework Books & GIVEAWAY!

After my post Tips for a Tidy Home , I had a lot of people contact me letting me know they've been applying some of those tips to their home with great success!!

It is not as difficult as it may seem to keep a home that is well organized, tidy and clean. Just remember.... it will not happen overnight . Unfortunately there is no way to avoid housework. But you can keep your house clean and tidy if you just get organized.

Don Aslett, America's #1 Cleaning Expert and founder of one of the country's largest cleaning firms, Varsity Contractors, is one of my new sponsors.

Aslett has written over 40 books and sold millions on cleaning topics, including
Clutter's Last stand - “the book that convinces you to declutter.” With a nonstop sense of humor and hundreds of hilarious illustrations, it lays out the case for dejunking, dramatically demonstrating how clutter invades and affects every area of our homes and lives.

and Do I Dust or Vacuum First? -Don uses an entertaining Q&A format to provide quick and easy answers to the most frequently asked questions about housecleaning. With Don's practical, inexpensive solutions, you'll maximize your energy and minimize your efforts—and get any job anywhere done in half the time. You'll also learn strategies to prevent housework and earn more free time for yourself. So, Do I dust or vacuum first? I guess you'll have to read the book to find out!

Right now if any of my readers order any of Don's books and you mention that you are a TidyMom reader, you will receive a FREE Microfiber Dust Cloth with your purchase!! Just click the button below or over on my sidebar.

Oh yeah..........I mentioned a GIVEAWAY didn't I?!

Aslett Books has generously offered to send 4 TidyMom readers one of Don's books.

We will be giving away one copy of each of the following books

(click the title to read more about each book)

Make Your House do the Housework

No Time To Clean

How to Handle 1,000 Things at Once

For Packrats Only

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
How to Enter:
(Remember leave a new comment for each entry. Each comment is an entry, so if you do several things, but only leave one comment, you would only be entered once instead of several times- you can enter up to 6 times, so you would leave 6 comments)

REQUIRED:

1.Leave a comment on this post letting me know what is your favorite (or what you think would be your favorite) Don Aslett book. (be sure to leave your email address if you don't have a blog)

Extra Entries: -( leave a separate comment letting me know )

2. Blog about the giveaway.

3. Follow Me on Twitter @TidyMom

4. Tweet about it. Don Aslett Housework Books Giveaway! @TidyMom to enter visit http://tidymomof2.blogspot.com

5. Add my button to your blog. (on the right)

6. Follow my blog, or Subscribe

Contest Ends on November 6, 2009 at 11:59pm (CT).

Tips for a Tidy Home

It's no secret......I like a Tidy Home!

Hence the name, TidyMom.

Ever wonder HOW I got that title?

My oldest daughter assigned me that title years ago when we first got online. Does that girl know her mom or what? LOL

I'm not neurotic or one of THOSE moms. I don't really LIKE to clean, I just LOVE the end result. I like to look around the house and see clean. I don't like the stress of seeing a mess.

Trust me, I have piles of junk like everyone else, some are just hidden in closest (remember this post).

How do I keep my house looking tidy?

I'm going to share a few of my tips (what works for me)

Don't let it sit for later (Clean ASAP) - a mess is much easier to clean up when it happens. Once food or dirt is allowed to dry or soak in, it's going to take a lot more time and elbow grease to clean it later.

Don't Put it off - this is probably my BIGGEST household tip! Clean as you go. You'll be amazed that many things only take a few minutes to do if you clean as you go, rather than hours of cleaning if you put it all off to do at once. If you stay on top of these things daily your house will look nice and you will be more organized and relaxed. Some of the things I do daily are:

• make my bed
• wipe down the bathroom after I have gotten ready - I keep Clorox wipes and a cloth diaper under the bathroom sink - and I give the bathroom a quick wipe down daily.
  
• clear the dinner table AND do dishes as soon as we finish eating.
• load the dishwasher any time there's a dirty dish - it really only take a few seconds, instead of having a sink or counter piled with dirty dishes.
• wipe off the counters and table.
• sort mail, throw out junk.
• do at least one load of laundry
• fold and put away laundry as it comes out of the dryer
  

By doing these things daily you can reduce stress and have a visually cleaner home.

Set a Timer for Quick Clean Ups- Many days I will give myself 15 minutes and run thru a few rooms and just pick up stray times, fluff and straighten the room. You'll be surprised how often this will motivate you to keep going. Get the kids to help - make it a game!

Dust While on the Phone - often if I'm on the phone with my mom or daughter, instead of sitting on the couch, I will get up and dust a room while we chat! Multi tasking is my friend

Don't walk to another room empty handed - there's almost ALWAYS something in a room that belongs some where else - don't pass it up, grab it on your way - even if you just open a door and toss it in!

Clean up as you cook - I have a small kitchen, so I really get stressed if I have no room to cook or bake. Like wise, if you're waiting on dinner in the oven, clean up the mess while it cooks.

I LOVE to come home to a Clean House- I try and pad my "to go time" by 15-30 minutes and do a quick run thru before I leave, put dirty dishes in the dish washer, wipe off counters, pick up stray items, even vacuum if I have time. I especially did this when I worked, that way I could walk in to a clean house and start dinner with out the stress of a messy house to pick up as well.

These are just some tips that keep me sane, more relaxed and a happy mom.

Do you have any quick cleaning tips?

I'm Hooked on a Tidy Home.
See what other's are hooked on at
Hooked on Fridays

I've also linked this post at Remodeling this Life