Homemade Cleaning Solutions

I have been doing all this organizing in my home and I have been going through cleaner like crazy. That got me thinking I should share with you my favorite homemade mirror and granite cleaners.

I used to be so irritated when I used commercial mirror cleaners and my mirrors would have streaks or a haze over them. I tried so many different cleaners. I then googled cleaners and found the typical homemade cleaners that were made of vinegar or vinegar and water, or vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water. Still none impressed me.

I turned to Pinterest and found Crunchy Betty's blog where she tested several homemade cleaners to find the best. You can read her post here. She determined the vinegar, water, and cornstarch mixture was the best. So I tried it.....OMG it took away all the haze and the haze never returned, I never have streaks, I LOVE it!!! Since we have moved into our new home it is the only cleaner I use for mirrors, glass, even my windows. It has to be the cornstarch that is the magic trick, it's the secret ingredient. 

Magic Glass Cleaner:

1/4 c. white vinegar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 c. warm water

1 spray bottle

I also have a granite cleaner that I use. This house is the first house that I have had granite in and I love it. It is in my kitchen and all my bathrooms so I was going to need a lot of cleaner! I was warned early on that you need to seal the granite and that you need to find a cleaner safe for the stone. Well the granite cleaners in the store were a bit pricy so once again I turned to Pinterest and found a homemade cleaner. I love it and it works great.

Granite Cleaner

1/2 c. rubbing alcohol

2 c. water

8 drops dawn dish soap

1-2 drops scented oil of your choice
(I use warm sugar cookies, yummy!)

1 spray bottle

I use both cleaners almost daily so I double the recipe and keep a bottle on each level. Quick tip - the cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the bottle so you will need to stir it up by giving the spray bottle a quick shake. I hope you enjoy both cleaners! Happy cleaning! 

Organizing my Closet

When we built this house we did a lot of custom changes to it after really thinking about how we would use the space in this house. We decided that we had no need for a living room, and we would rather it be turned into my husbands office. Our floor plan had a living room, and next to it a small study, and next to that the family room, all on one side of the house. So if we turned the living room into and office what do we do with the study? Playroom? No we were having the basement finished and wanted all the toys down there? My office? No too small to fit all my scrapbook stuff, school stuff, wrapping stuff and more. So we asked if we could delete it, maybe extend the family room and the office out a bit.......then it came to me, I need an office supply/cleaning supply/Costco closet!!! We had the builder split the study in half. Half of the study became the walk in closet off of the office and the other half an extension of our family room.

Now some might wonder.....who needs a closet like this?? That someone is me. See I think I have an addiction to office supplies. I can't help but hit the office supply aisles in the stores looking for the newest, greatest, I have to have supply. I have a whole bin of binders - because you never know when you are going to need a binder to organize something!

My husband and I are Costco fans. Now we claim that we are not impulse buyers like Costco would like you to be but 50% of the time we are. I buy several bulk items there such as toilet paper, paper towels, Lysol wipes, sponges, and more. The items are big so where do you store them.....in my Costco closet! In our old house we store these items where ever we could find room. In this house I just walk into the closet and get what I need.

I also noticed in the floor plan that besides our coat closet and pantry there was no other closet on our first floor. Our laundry is on our second floor but I really did not want to store all my cleaning supplies up there as the first floor is constantly getting cleaned because it is the main floor we live in. Ah ha.....another need for my closet. So here it is! Ooooh.....ahhhh.....nothing special I know. It's a work in progress.

Up on the shelf is our Costco bulky items (toilet paper, paper towels, napkins). On the other shelf is more Costco items and office supplies. One bin holds all my paper another holds page protectors, and labels. I then have my file folders and hanging folders.

My small shelving unit holds my cleaning supplies. The bottom shelf is supplies I use every so often or replacements. The basket on the next shelf holds my Bath and Body soaps to be able to grab quick to replace at all sinks (we go through a lot of soap here!). The other basket holds my extra sponges.

Next shelf is all my dusting supplies, Clorox wipes and surgical gloves. That's right surgical gloves - I hate to touch meat, chicken or anything raw so I wear gloves. Top self holds my cleaning bin that I carry around with me.

On the floor next to it are more office supplies (I told you I have an addiction). One bin to hold all writing materials, one to hold all envelopes, one for miscellaneous office supplies, like paper clips, binder clips and more. The bottom file holder hold all my dividers and extra hanging file folders. 

The two green bins.....well one contains all my binders that I have as I mention earlier. The next holds all our paper supplies for  parties - plates, plastic silverware, table clothes, paper cups, disposable coffee cups and more.

And that's my office supply/cleaning supply/Costco supply closet! I am really glad I created this space and can't wait to add some more shelving units to it to grow my addiction to office supplies!!!

Happy Organizing!

Organizing My Kitchen

This week I focus on the kitchen - the heart of a home. Welcome to my kitchen!

As many of you know my family and I moved into our new home at the end of October 2012 so I have a lot of organizing to do. When you move into a new home it takes awhile to figure out where you want your stuff. I stood in my kitchen and really thought where I wanted items, what items did I use a lot, and what cabinet should hold what items.

So I broke my kitchen down in sections starting with the dishwasher side first. I thought about emptying the dishes, some times the dishes drip. Did I really want to carry dishes across the wood floor to the other side of the kitchen? No, so all around my dishwasher are my main, everyday dishes - plates, cups, bowls, serving bowls, silverware, and kids dishes. I kept the kids dishes low so they can access them. Oh and every kitchen needs a junk drawer so I have one of those too for my odds and ends items.

 I have so much space in this kitchen that while taking down the Christmas decoration last week I decided to keep all my Christmas dishes and serving piece in the upper cabinet over my double ovens. I also keep other baking items that I do not use often. The bottom drawer holds my cutting boards and cookie/pizza pans.

The other half of my kitchen contains my cooktop so I knew I wanted my pots and pans close to this area. I also made the two drawers my tools/utensil drawers and they hold my spoons, spatulas, whisk, garlic press, and more. My key in these drawers is bins - everything has a place and they don't slide around and get all mixed up. I keep my larger small appliances under the cooktop and my tupperware has a cabinet all to itself. The last drawer contains all my bags and wraps. 

My coffee maker sits on this counter so I made one side of a cabinet my coffee cabinet. My corner cabinet holds all my entertaining pieces - you know, the nice dishes you set up when your having company over to hold your cute appetizers you made!  Over the fridge the cabinet holds my small appliances, like my bread maker (yes I still have one!) and my larger serving pieces. 

 The other side of my coffee cabinet hold all my pyrex dishes. Over the microwave is my summer dishes that we use outside. My last cabinet holds all my kitchen linens, measuring tools, and my drink ware for alcohol.  

 The hardest part for me was decorating. My old house did not allow me to place items on top of the cabinets. I love/hate this feature now. I love it because I get to put cute decorations up there, and I hate it because it is a new area that I have to add to my clean list! My other problem was - what do I put up there. My theme in my kitchen is wine so I went out on a search for just a few more wine items. I used my new purchases and some items I currently had on hand to decorate.

There are still a few organization steps I would like to take in my kitchen, but organizing my kitchen to be usable and having items that I use the most at my fingertips was my goal.  

Happy Organizing!

Organizing My Scrap Room - The Details

I am so enjoying my space now that it is all organized. I almost don't want to leave it but I would miss my family! The space was overwhelming when I started. I took all the box out and put them in the hallway so I had a blank slate with just my favorite pieces from Ikea. I knew it was going to be awhile for paint in this room so I wanted to bring some color to it. I picked up all the pink bins and baskets at various stores and now just need to figure out what was going to go in them. I sat in my chair and spun around trying to imagine what I would need at my finger tips when I am scrapbooking, and what I don't use that often. I started with my big Expedit first. 

Using baskets, bins, and 3 drawer storage bins I organized all my favorite scrapbooking items, such as my stamps, punches, embellishments, stitching tools, inks, embossing supplies and more. To my left is my extra deep bookcase which I love! I almost wish I had space for another one.

The bottom holds my papers. I am patiently waiting for Michaels to put their Recollections on sale so I can grab another paper cube. The large storage holds all my albums. I am not a scrapper who works on only one album until it is done. I like to jump from book to book based on what is inspiring me. I have one empty bin so I guess I have to get scrapping another album. 

The top hold two scrapbooks that my Mom made for me, and I love to look at them over and over so I keep them accessible. It also holds my sticker binders and Cricut cartridges. Tucked in the corner I have two storage carts with more scrapbook supplies.....yes I know, I have a lot of stuff! 

Finally across from my desk I have the smaller Expedit that holds all my photos; loose and in albums. I also have a caddy to hold my remote controls and items that float around my room such as lotion and hair ties! I also have my Cricut machine that I cannot live without and my TV, and Ipod player. 

I LOVE my space!! It is my happy place and I love how I organized it. I plan on spending many hours in here scrapbooking, blogging, studying, planning, and just relaxing in a space that is all my own! 

Happy Organizing! 

Organizing my Scrap Room

If you read my earlier post on my one word you know it is to ORGANIZE! My question to myself is where do I start?? My answer was my scrap room. One reason motivated me to start in my scrap room, I knew I needed a quiet space away from my family to plan my week, menus, school assignments, weekly task, scrapbook and more.

At our old house I had a small corner of a dark, cold basement. When my husband and I began looking at houses I knew a room/space all to myself was a must. So this is how it started.....

Before we moved I took my husband to Ikea to show him what I wanted in my room. He kept telling me that there was no way I was going to fit all the furniture and all my "stuff" in that room. I guess he didn't know who he was talking to! We moved in, put my furniture together, and then piled the boxes in. You couldn't even walk in the room! I wish I would have taken a before picture. This room was last on the list to unpack as I needed to unpack the rest of the house and get us settled. So the door stayed closed until now. I spent two days unpacking, and organizing it. And here is how it ended up......

Everything has a home and it has become my happy place. I knew this room would be important for me to organize first. Now I can start the New Year in an organized space to continue working on my one word for 2013; ORGANIZE! 

Come back tomorrow and I will tell you how I organized this space. 

Happy Organizing!

Happy New Year!! Do you have your one word?

 

Yep.....that my one word for the year! 2012's word was change and I did that in a big way by changing my address. My husband and I moved into our new home at the end of October and as you all know after you move you have to organize everything! I also picked organize as my 2013 word because I function better when I have a plan and my day is organized. 

There will be two areas my one word will focus on; organizing my home and organizing my life. I am not sure which one will be easier! If any of you are like me I have a tornado of ideas going on in my head of how I will accomplish organizing my home and organizing my life. My strategy is to take it one day at a time and start small so that I do not become overwhelmed and give up on my plans.

Last year I printed out several copies of my one word, and laminated them. I placed them in areas of my house that I frequented such as my vanity, my kitchen, my planner, and my car. I am a visual learner and having that visual of my one word reminded me daily what my one word meant to me. It help to keep me focus on my goals. I also created a One Word 2012 board on Pinterest to place quotes or pictures that included or represented my one word. I plan on doing my print outs and I have already started my board with my one word for 2013. I challenge you to pick one word that represents what you want 2013 to be for you and make it happen. I would love to hear what your one word is. Please feel free to leave me a comment with the link to your blog or link to your one word Pinterest board! Happy New Year!

Present tags out of Christmas cards

Christmas cards! I love to give and get Christmas cards. The holiday season is always so busy and trying to see all of my family and friends can be difficult. I want them to know that our family is wishing them a wonderful holiday and a happy new year even if we were not able to get together and celebrate. 

Christmas comes and goes and your left with a stack of cards from family and friends. What do you do with yours? Well I used to save each and every one in a box! I always enjoyed looking back at them the next Christmas but thought to myself "do I really need to save these?" I am always trying to re-purpose things and as I was flipping through past cards I thought some of them would make cute tags. So for a few years now that is what I have been doing with my Christmas cards. 

First I read each one over again! I mark off who I received cards from in my Christmas planner, and then I pick out the card that I think will make a cute tag.

I then get out my tools that I will need. My Fiskars paper cutter, and my favorite punches. 

I then trim off the parts of the cards I will not need. 

I then take my punches and punch out the area in circles, scalloped circles, scalloped squares or I just use my corner round punch to round up the corners. And wa-la I now have tags for my presents next year. 

All you need to do now is use a hole punch, string some ribbon through it, and fill out your to and from on the back. Some tips for you to remember; check the back of the area you want to punch as some cards have writing or another picture there and you will not be able to write your to and from, don't forget to look at those photo cards - I trim out the picture for a photo album but use the images for tags, look for images inside the card and on the back of the card too - sometimes they will work for a tag, and finally don't attempt the cards that have a paper lining inside - they are glued in there and don't come apart nicely leaving you with a messy back to your tag.

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas to you and your family! We are having a wonderful Christmas! Santa was very good to our boys and I have a feeling that I will not see my boys for days with all the Lego's they got! Their fingers will be hurting by the time they are done building! We had candy canes for breakfast.....the healthy ones :) So easy to make and the boys loved it. Just cut up strawberries and bananas in slices and arrange in the shape of a candy cane! 

Snow Much Fun

Today the boys and I made snowman pillows, an idea I found on Pinterest. The idea was not linked for me to give credit as it was just a picture. I knew they would love them so I headed out to the stores to get the supplies. I had to guess a little as there was no supply list or instructions. This was a super cheap project! I got the pillows for $5.58 each, a set of two pillow cases for 3.58 the Santa hats for $2.99 each, I had the ribbon, and I had the foam for the eyes, nose, and buttons. So each pillow cost about $10.00. 

I had the kids put the pillow case on their pillow. Then they held the pillow up while I tied the ribbon, and their little finger helped me to double knot it! I also tied up the top of the pillow to make it look more rounded like a snowman. I used the foam sheets that have a sticky side on the back. I cut out the eyes, nose and buttons and the kids peeled the paper off and stuck them on. Lastly I safety pinned the hats on. The kids had fun and so did Mommy too!

One Word

My one word for 2012 was change. Well I guess you can say that was a perfect word for me. The biggest change for me was our address. We moved this year to a beautiful new home. In my previous post about my one word for 2012 I can say I continued to carry a 4.0 GPA, I did make more time for me (as much as I could), I learned to say no (that was big for me as I was always saying yes to everything and everyone). There are so many things that I changed in my life this year but I still have more to change. 

Now as 2013 is just around the corner I am starting to think about my one word for 2013. Reflecting back on what the purpose of the one word challenge is. One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live or what you want to achieve by the end of 2012. I am now asking myself what the word is for the answer to that sentence for 2013. What is your word for 2013??

The Elf on the Shelf

Do you have an elf?? This is our third year with our elf Roddie. The kids love him and become angels when Roddie shows up. Chores get done with out asking, dinners get finished, the talking back stops, it's great! We have found our elf in some fun place in the morning and thanks to Pinterest I think Roddie will have even better spots! Thought I would share with you some of Roddie's places we have found him over the past three years.

Roddie hanging out in my pots and pans.

 

Roddie wanted to help me decorate

 

Roddie need a nice relaxing bubble bath!

We have so much fun with Roddie. It is a holiday tradition for our family. When does your elf show up? Ours shows up right around Thanksgiving or right after. Has your elf forgotten to move? Ours has but we just assumed that was a spot he liked and wanted to stay there one more day. Has your elf ever been touched? What did you say or do? Nathan touched Roddie one year and I knew right away as I found him on the floor and not in his spot. I asked Nathan if he touched him and he started to cry and said yes. So I left Roddie there for 2 days! We then wrote Santa a letter about how sorry Nathan was for touching Roddie and can he please give Roddie his magic back......it worked! The next day Roddie was in a new spot! What are some creative spots your elf has landed in? I would love to hear all your stories and ideas!