Common Sense Living

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Woo-Ya! Finally a beautiful weekend.

I’m so excited, aren’t you?

What will you do?

Throw open the windows, throw on some good music and finish your spring cleaning?

Do some yard work?

Work in your gardens?

It’s been so cold I didn’t even think aobut ordering my tomato plants. It’s the perfect timing in my area. I’ll be able to get thiem in the ground around Mother’s Day if I make sure to get htem ordered this weekend.

I’ll be heading over to Henry Fields and ordering Beef Steak tomatoes (67966), and Early Girls (14115), and some brocolli seeds (66170) - , and lettuce – the Simpson Elite (11980) because it holds up the best and tastes yummy. Then I’ll be able to head out the door and pick my salad fresh! So Good. I can’t wait!

 I might wash a couple windows, or clean up the beach – whatever hits me. What about you?

Make it a point to enjoy these first great days!

If you haven’t finished your spring cleaning – here are the articles to help you -

Spring Cleaning – Phase 1

Spring Cleaning – Phase 2

If you want to have some fun planning your gardens – here are links to popular garding/catalog sites – (if you order through these links, I make a few cents)

Gurney’s

Henry Field’s

Michigan Bulb

SpringHill

I’m so excited. Can’t wait to get outside!

Have a great weekend!

Image by Mistress B via Flickr

Finally, the weather is starting to break, and we can start the phase 2 spring cleaning.

Cleaning the carpets

Brush animals

Vacuum and clean upholstery

Windows and screens

Deep clean floors

Cleaning all winter bedding

Vacuum mattresses

Clean the oven

Start sorting and cleaning spring and summer clothes. Donate or throw away the stuff you know you need to. Why have it taking up room if you’re never going to use it again? Be honest!

Now don’t think you have to do all of this in one weekend. If it’s really muddy, you don’t want to clean the carpets just yet – what’s the point? Pick a task that makes sense to do now and knock it out.

I haven’t done all of my windows yet because I know it’s still going to be cold. I’ve only done the insides, and the screens on the windows I’ve had opened.

The point is to knock out a little at a time so you’re not killing yourself - and so you’re free to go out and play when it finally does get warm.

Did you finish the phase 1 cleaning? Here’s the phase 1 spring cleaning run-down >>>

If you need more help >>>

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Well, Cecelia knows that I’ve been working hard to get the house ‘guest’ clean. (Actually it was a good reason to get my butt in gear and get most of hte spring cleaning done.) She felt that I might need a little help and sent me this tip -

How to Wash a Toilet

Raise both lids and add 1/8 cup pet shampoo to the water in the toilet bowl.

Pick up cat and sooth him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close the lid. You may need to stand on the lid.

The cat will self agitate and make ample suds.

Flush toilet 3 or 4 times. This provides power wash and rinse.

Have someone open the front door of your house. Be sure there are no people between the front door and the bathroom.

Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and open the lid.

The cat will rocket out of the front door where he will dry himself off.

Both the cat and the toilet will be sparkling clean.

Yours sincerely,

The Dog

Here’s how to get the rest of the house sparkling clean without killing yourself >>>

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 It’s one of the biggest curses. Moving Day. Just the thought is enough to make you break out in a sweat and fills you with a horrific sense of dread.

Don’t you wish we could just be like Merlin in The Sword and the Sorcerer and just wave everything into one suitcase? That would be great, wouldn’t it?

You just knew that Carole has a plan to make it easier, didn’t you?

Here are some tips to make your moving day less painful, both mentally and physically.

Lighten the load. Dispose of as much as possible before you start to pack. Donate to charity, have a yard sale or throw out.

Use the same size boxes. They will be easier to stack both while you are packing, and in the truck. No more spending time trying to figure out how to get all those different sized boxes stacked so they won’t fall over.

Use smaller boxes. Then you won’t have big heavy boxes that will wear you out fast. You, and your moving team will be able to keep going without struggling.

Use a good quality tape and tape gun. The couple extra bucks will save you tons of frustration.

A couple of wardrobe boxes are always a good idea. They keep your clothes clean and ready to hang. Plus, you can throw boots, shoes, and purses in the bottom.

Before wrapping your figures in newspaper, put them in a plastic shopping bag. It will keep them clean. A paper towel will work with smaller items.

Always write the room the box goes into on the outside of the box so your movers or helpers can deposit the boxes without you having to play traffic cop all day.

Write a description of what’s in the box so you can find things easily. If you are using recycled boxes (always a good idea), tape a sheet ofpaper on the outside to make a nice clean readable label.

When packing clothes, sheets, towels and such, put a plastic garbage bag in the box first, then place the items in the plastic bag. This works for pots and pans too. Then you won’t have to rewash them when you unpack. Throw a fabric softener sheet into the bag of clothes and linens before you close it up to keep them smelling nice.

Pack the items you will need the first night in separate boxes and label them so you can get to these things right away without having to go through 20 boxes trying to find things when you’re already exhausted.

Make sure the beds get set up, and other heavy items are in place. Other things can be moved around later.

Old fashioned as it may be – let the guys worry about the furniture. Take the girls and let them help you get the cabinets and drawers washed out and your kitchen set up. Then, once the truck is empty – everyone can easily sit down, relax, and have some pizza and beer and conversation.

If you packed well, the clothes can go right in the drawers. The sheets and towels can go right into the linen closet. Hanging clothes can go right into the closets. Depending on how ambitious you are, the entertainment center can be set up and books put in bookcases.

Take a break – the rest can wait for a little while……Rome wasn’t built in a day.

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Carole can show you how to keep that new home really clean right from the start. Get your copy of Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak and find out how you can easily keep your new castle gleaming. 

How to Clean House Fast … 

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While I was outside enjoying a beautiful spring day, I thought about you. I wondered if you were able to be oudoors enjoying a beautiful day too.

You weren’t stuck indoors cleaning, were you?

Now I tried to get you to get your cleaning done so you could be out playing on these beautiful days.

But lets see what we can do to help you out.

You already have your day to day cleaning under control, right? If not, you are way behind the 8 ball. Trying to clean the whole house once a year is a nightmare. Grab a copy of Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak and get yourself on a schedule. Getting the day to day stuff under control is half the battle.

Spring cleaning is the stuff we don’t always get around to. But if you take 1 task a day, you can still get it done pretty easily. Just pick a task from this list each day, and before you know it – everything will be clean and shiny. Won’t that be great?

OK, here’s the list -

Take items off shelves and tables, clean them, clean the shelves and tables. This inlcudes books, cds, dvds, figures, pictures, plants, whatever. Take a few minutes and do one every night if you’re limited on time.

Clean all pictures on the walls.

If you’re really ambitious, you can wash walls and ceilings, but that will take you a few days of hard work. At a minimum, take your upholstery brush on the vacuum cleaner and vacuum all walls and ceilings. You’d be suprised how much dust sticks there. I try to wash down a couple rooms every year at a minimum.

Vacuum behind and under all furniture. Pull over everything that you can and clean behind it.

Vacuum all upholstery, including under cushions. If you’re ambitious, clean the upholstery. If you’re not that amibitious, us an instant spray cleaner to freshen up the upholstery. Make sure to thoroughly vacuum when it’s dry.

At a minimum, dust all plants, both real and silk.

Clean out cabinets and drawers. Remove items and wipe out the cabinets. Do one every night when you do the dishes.

If you have an open area above your cabinets, clean it.

Clean the underside of the range hood. Hopefully this is part of your regular routine too. If not, make it a point after this.

Wash curtains.

Wash light fixtures.

The cabinet exteriors should be part of your regular routine, right?

That’s really it for phase one. It’s too early yet to do some things. And I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. Just tackle those things for now and you’ll be in good shape! You don’t have to kill yourself. You have a few weeks to get this stuff done. Tackling a little at a time will make it a breeze.

I remember the days when I had a plate rail full of collectors plates around the entire formal dining room, and a chandelier, and sconces. Why did we used to put ourselves through all that? Yeah, it was pretty, but man – it was a lot of work!

And we’re all about making life easier here, aren’t we?

Really make your life easier  – if you don’t already own a copy of Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak - get it!