My Top 10 Natural & Non Toxic Cleaning Supplies

This year when deciding to go cruelty free I had to take a good hard look at what that exactly meant.  My first intention was to just go cruelty free with my make up collection...it would be easy and it would be a good thing.  But like a lot of different things in life, this decision turned into something deeper.  This cruelty free journey pushed me to re-examine a lot of things in my life and my cleaning routine was one of these areas.

In my search to be authentic this year, I came to realize that there were a lot of things in my cleaning routine that were unhealthy (products, cleaners, etc) and not cruelty free.  A big realization for me was that just because it's not make up doesn't mean it's cruelty free.  Arm & Hammer, for example, tests on animals.  So if I'm making safe, home cleaners to use...shouldn't that align more wholly with my values?  Using a non-cruelty free brand of baking soda doesn't align with my goals.

So, I decided to make more conscious choices - less waste, cruelty free where I could, and more mindfulness in my cleaning routine.  Here are my top 10 favorite natural & non-toxic cleaning supplies.

Microfiber Towels

One of the first, biggest choices I made was to reduce my paper towel and disinfectant wipe reliance.  (That was a big sentence right there!)  I purchased these microfiber towels on Amazon after a recommendation from A Beautiful Mess.  While we still buy paper towels, I've consciously made a decision not to go for these guys first.  When I wash my hands I reach for the dish towels.  When I clean the counters, the mirrors, the toilets, etc I reach for the spray cleaner and the microfiber towels.  My dependence on single use wipes is dwindling!  I've realized there't not much more a paper towel can offer me than a microfiber towel can.  Since this pack comes with different colors I've assigned a certain color to a certain room - kitchen is yellow, upstairs bathroom/laundry room is green, downstairs is blue, downstairs bathroom is orange.  That way it's easier to know which cloth goes where and I'm never short!

DoTERRA Laundry Detergent

I like this for multiple reasons - it's not made from petrochemicals, the overall scent isn't overpowering, and when I forget the laundry in the washer it doesn't get stinky.  Ever since discovering essential oils, I've been on a battle with fragrance.  This laundry detergent, while scented in the bottle doesn't lay too much scent onto the clothes.  While I'm fine with this, Zach really isn't.  If it's not scented, it's not clean I guess!  That's why I picked up the dryer balls (mentioned below in this list).  I have noticed that with Zach's work clothes, stink can linger a bit so I am on the hunt for a stronger, natural detergent to supplement.

The detergent is ultra concentrated and it can go up to 64 washes.  It also works great in high efficiency washers.  With a wholesale membership this bottle will make each load about .43 cents.

Wool Dryer Balls

I never used dryer sheets prior to getting my dryer balls so I didn't have much to change except remember to throw something in the dryer.  My big goal here was two fold - enhance the scent of the laundry when it comes out of the dryer and reduce static.  I have been lazy on the dryer sheets since forever because I don't think that they are necessary and I'd rather not spend the money on them.  Laundry detergent did just fine with the scent and I don't care about the static.  But, Zach doesn't like that his laundry smells like....... nothing. So I want to make it smell fresher when it comes out of the dryer. 

DoTERA Cleaner Concentrate

This is another doterra product that packs a punch.  I use this to clean nearly every surface.  You only need a few tablespoons in a spray bottle and you have an all purpose cleaner for every room in your house.  You can even use this to mop with this solution or do dishes with the cleaner.  I don't buy any spray cleaners any more, this covers everything.  I use it in every room of the house!  You may remember this post about creating a cleaning caddy for various rooms in my house .... I've replaced those harsh cleaners with a spray bottle of this concentrate and microfiber cloths!

Vinegar + Water (and Lemon Essential Oil)

The absolute best window & mirror cleaner is vinegar and water.  A lot of these recipes will tell you to use distilled water but I find plain old tap water works fine and we have hard, well water.  If you add in a bit of lemon essential oil - a de-greaser - it works great to cut any residue on the surface of the glass.  I have a spray bottle of this in each of my cleaning kits as well.  I can't tell you how impressed I was the first time used this concoction...I never thought of going back.  

Castile Soap

This is going to replace any and all soapy stuff I need in my house.  For cleaning I have in a scrub brush in my shower to clean the shower and I've got it on my sink for dishes.  We're still using up some regular dish soap and I think it's going to take some convincing for Zach to realize that the soap in the hand soap thing is also the soap to use to wash the dishes.  

I plan to use castile soap for body wash & my shampoo in the coming months.  I just need to discover something for conditioner.  But seriously if you need soapy lather this stuff is the bomb!

Baking Soda + Citric Acid

So baking soda makes a great scrubbing agent (so does salt!) and when you add citric acid to it and throw it in some water you get a great fizz.  I'm not sure if there is science behind the fizz actually lifting anything but I totally think it does.  I use baking soda & citric acid in my toilet cleaner so I think the citric acid actually does something!

Here's where I want to share another idea - just because you're making it yourself, doesn't mean it's cruelty free.  I've been using other brands of baking soda in previous DIY's but cruelty free is something I'm attempting to think about in many areas of my life including my cleaning supplies.  With that being said, Bob's Red Mill Baking Soda is the baking soda that I've found to be cruelty free.  I haven't come up on much research or information about citric acid brands, however.  But when I know better I will do better.

Essential Oils

I have a whole cleaning video on my YouTube channel as well as another post with the top essential oils for cleaning.  These guys are versatile because I use them in my glass cleaner, in my laundry, as a fabric refresher, and to plain ol' diffuse.  These guys are just the greatest for a lot of things around the home.

Pure Haven Dish Washer Detergent

My cousin is a Pure Haven rep and when I can't find something from doTERRA that I love I generally go over to Pure Haven to purchase.  Of the DIY dishwasher tab recipes I've found, none of them have really worked.  Since I'm not in the habit of reinventing the wheel I went with something I know will work.  I've repurchased this once already and plan to continue to do so.

Glass Spray Bottles

In my Cleaning with Essential Oils video I mention that you can use either PET plastic or dark amber/blue glass bottles to store your DIY cleaning supplies.  I love using these amber bottles from Amazon to store all my cleaning solutions.  The mist can be fine - for like cleaning glass - or more targeted for cleaning your counters or other surfaces.  They feel well made and the weight of the glass bottle isn't too heaving.  The sprayer doesn't seem to clog as long as you close it after your done with it.

Transitioning into a non-toxic, more green cleaning routine doesn't have to be intimidating.  In this post I shared tips about transitioning to cruelty free and you can use the same guidelines when making over your cleaning routine.  It is all a learning process.....I'm still figuring things out as I go.

But the biggest thing is to partner with someone & with a company that you know, love, and trust.  For me DoTERRA and my own Wellness Advocate helped me learn a lot of stuff about natural, non-toxic, and green cleaning...and that is what I'd love to do for you.  I want to be your personal Wellness Advocate.

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If you're looking to get started using essential oils everyday in your own home, there is a perfect starter kit available for you.  When you purchase a starter kit & become a wholesale member you'll have access to me + a whole community dedicated education!  Shoot me an email if you're ready to learn more, or click here to browse the kit options!  Once you've chosen a kit, add it to your cart and proceed to check out.  Click the Become a Wholesale Member in the upper right to join me on your essential oil journey!

How have you made over your cleaning routine?  What supplies do you recommend?

xoxo, Moe

Trend Tuesday // Dollar Tree Home Essentials

Saving money is an important thing to me.  I like to spend money but I like to spend it wisely!  The Dollar Tree has become essential store for me & my budget.  Finding affordable solutions for various areas of the home is sometimes hard to do.  I know the Dollar Tree hasn't always been my first choice for anything but recently I've found affordable and attractive decor & storage solutions as well as quality everyday essentials.  Not to mention you find something new nearly every time you walk in!  Here are my home essentials from the Dollar Tree.

(this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.)

Kitchen Utensils

I break a lot of things in the kitchen.  I can't tell you how many times I've broken a glass just by looking at it.  So I buy a lot of my kitchen essentials from the Dollar Tree.  The main thing I purchase from the Dollar Tree are wooden spoons and various other serving style utensils.  Wooden spoons aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher (this is why I try not to have wooden handled knives as well).  I was everything in the dishwasher.  If it isn't dishwasher safe, I don't buy it.  So I purchase a lot of my serving utensils from the Dollar Tree because I'm only out a few bucks when they eventually crap out on me, I break the, or they just don't make it through the dishwasher one last time.  The Dollar Tree has a great array of kitchen utensils to choose from (some even name brand like Betty Crocker!)

Organizing Essentials

In this post about creating various cleaning caddies with Dollar Tree products, I used some super cute plastic bins.  I also mention how those caddies help me with the 3 Waves Cleaning Method here.I love the Dollar Tree for the various storage solutions they offer.  If you want the best selection of storage containers in store, I've found the best time to go is at the beginning of the year.   If you're looking for a specific color I'd suggest looking during a holiday that color would be more common.  For example - pastel durring Spring/Easter, brown during Fall/Thanksgiving, purple during Halloween, red during Christmas, etc. They do offer an array of colors in general but shopping for storage solutions seasonally will give you the best chance to match any existing colors you my already have going on in the space you need storage for.

Seasonal Decor

Fall is nearly here and Halloween will be around the corner.  Dollar Tree is my favorite place to go for some essential crafting supplies.  While sometimes the supplies may not be as full - like a bundle of flowers, for example - I love picking up smaller filler pieces and wreath bases.  These more affordable starting points and accents are great to add more to a project you may have started from the craft store.  I love to purchase things like wreaths to use as a base to make a fuller wreathe because I'm paying $1 for a base rather than upwards of $3-$5 to start my project.  Their Fall selection of decor is warm & inviting while the Halloween offerings are creatively frightening.  If you haven't checked out the Dollar Tree blog for creative inspiration you should check that out as well.  They've got quite a few fund projects to try using their seasonal products!

The bulk buying option also means you'll always have what you need on hand.  While that may not be the best for kitchen utensils, it is great for gifts & decor as you get more bang for your buck!

Do you frequent the Dollar Tree?  What are your money saving must haves?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // 5 Monthly Habits I'd Like to Start

I've fallen off the cleaning routine train in the past week and this week I'm determined to get back on it!  Because I've had cleaning on the brain I've been thinking about things that I really need to get going on every month.  This is all house/personal related stuff in regards to inside the home.  Here is a true fact - I am no good with outside home maintenance.  I'm just not.  I don't know where to begin, I don't know what to do, I don't want to do it.  So mainly the grass is just mowed and maybe the flower beds are weeded (but honestly probably not).  But all of that is for another post....hopefully.

There are a few things I know I need to do more than the blue moon that I do them.  The first step to that is making a list and acknowledging that these things need to be done, right?  Here they are:

Clean out the fridge

I hate the fridge being full of old stuff.  I am also a horrible leftover eater - meaning sometimes I don't eat all the leftovers.  I just can not eat the same thing 4 days in a row.  I can't.  Plus, being by myself means if I cook a full meal, there are leftovers.  I've started trying to cook things that I will eat all week....so far that has sort of worked out.  Anyway,  I'd like to clean out the fridge, wipe it down, throw things away, once a month.

Clean out my purse

As I'm sitting here, I know that my purse is a wreck.  I did have this purse organizer I used for a little while in my old purse so I'm thinking I may need to bust that guy out again.  Mostly I use little bags (like ipsy bags) to organize all the mess in my purse.  Right now one of those bags has fallen completely open and there are receipts in the bottom, maybe I'll find some treasure in the bottom.  Who knows.

Clean the washer

Our front loading washer tends to hold water in all it's little crevasses so I need to clean it out so it doesn't stink up the clothes.  I need to do a little bit of research on this too.  I did clean our old top loading washer when we moved in and that was pretty interesting.......

Monthly declutter

I'd really like to go through the house monthly and get rid of somethings.  I'm thinking of starting a bin in the utility room or something where I can just throw things I want to get rid of.  Currently I have a few bags of clothes and boxes of things that I need to take to the thrift store (they should really have an exchange thing going on - I'd be all over that....but then I'd have more crap!).  I've been waiting for it not to be so cold to really get rid of it.  I do want to start thinking about things to get rid of each month.

Cleaning the forgotten places

Ugh......have you ever looked up an was like WTF is that? when you see your fan?  Our kitchen fan is the grossest because of all the grease and what not that settles up there.  Our stairs also gather a lot of hair from the dog.  I should probably vacuum those when I clean the downstairs but I often forget because you don't see them until you turn the corner.  So I'll put everything away, turn the corner and then bam! pet hair stairs.  I also need to do a quick zip around the washer and free standing bureau in our laundry room.  That gathers dust bunnies like no ones business!

These are 5 things I need to mark off in my planner - I'm thinking in my home/routine section - so I can track their completion.  Here's hoping I get back on my cleaning routine.  My life would be so much easier!

What are some monthly tasks you complete?  How do you fit it all in?????? 

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // Incorporating the 3 Waves Cleaning Method

Oh goodness, another cleaning related post.  Whoooo Hoooo!  I've recently found something referred to as the Three Waves Cleaning method in this blog post on Clean My Space.  That blog post really spoke to me, mainly because of the 'get in the right head space' rule listed.  That is the only way I'm able to clean - to have a plan and be in the right mindset.  The more I make myself do it, the more likely I am to be able to convince myself to do it!

Anyway, recently I've incorporated this 3 Waves method to get myself prepped for cleaning.  I will lay on the couch all evening if I let myself, so this really prepares me mentally for getting stuff done. It's like a warm up routine for me that guides me into the rest of the routine.  Plus, if I'm in a hurry I can stop after each step and feel that I have gotten something accomplished.

Here is how I define the Three Waves for my cleaning routine - I clean a room/section of my home a night for 30 minutes (read about how I created my perfect cleaning list here) :

Wave One - Garbage & Gather

In this wave I grab a new garbage bag for random garbage/trash, a new garbage bag for the trash can in that area, and a basket I got from the Dollar Tree for random items that need to be moved to other rooms where they belong.  This wave means I just start throwing away things that have cluttered up over the week in the certain room/area I'm working in.  I'll be going through this using our down stairs area of the house which I've lumped into one 'room' to clean on Monday nights  (see our first floor layout here & here).  I start in the living room area and work into the office and then into the spare room by picking up any trash - receipts, junk mail, a left over fast food cup, etc - as I go a long.  This is what the first trash bag is for.  I also put a basket in a central area to catch things that don't belong so I can move them into their homes later.  This first bag will also be used to catch the dirt when I empty the vacuum.  I pull the trash bag from the trash can in the office and set it by the door and place the second trash bag in it so it's fresh.

Since this first wave is little, mini tidy session, if I'm in a hurry I can just complete this step and feel accomplished because things are tidy.  This type of situation changes for each room too - in the bathroom or kitchen, for example, this first wave would also include changing the towels.

Wave Two - Swish & Swipe

I get my cleaning tools ready. Pro tip: keep the tools you need in each room/area - I have two vacuums (because my boyfriend came with one lol).  One stays downstairs and one stays upstairs.  I keep a Swiffer Duster in the closet with the vacuum and then some Clorox wipes under the sink in the downstairs bathroom.  This means I have all the tools I need in one place.  I don't have to keep running around, back and forth, to find the tools I need to get the job done.  In each bathroom is Windex and paper towels so I don't have to run upstairs to clean the downstairs bathroom.  It is all at my finger tips.

This second wave is dusting and wiping.  I get my Swiffer Duster and start with the tops of our bookshelves and work my way down, and around, the downstairs.  I also take a Clorox wipe to wipe down door handles, the coffee table, the top of my craft table, remotes, etc.  This is a quick swish and swipe session that is made easier because everything is moved off of the surfaces it shouldn't be on.  The Swiffer duster makes everything so much easier!  I even have one of the long ones to dust our fans (which I have to admit most of the time doesn't get done!)

I can also finish after this step because the room looks even more put together than after the first step.

Wave Three - Suck it Up & Take it Out

This is the final phase - vacuuming & taking the trash out.  Vacuuming is one of my favorite chores and I really have zero idea why.  I do two passes with the vacuum in our living room (dog =  shedding), one pass in the guest room, and the use my Swiffer Sweeper on the laminate wood flooring and tile in our entry way and office area.  That thing can suck up some pet hair, let me tell you.

I empty the vacuum bin into one of the trash bags and take each trash bag out to the garbage bin.  I also do a quick put away of any of the items that end up in the basket used to corral odd items that don't belong.

This is the final step!  Our downstairs area often takes either the whole 30 minute time or more because it is such a big area.  I star with this one on Monday evenings because it is the most lived in area and gets the most cluttered/dirty - especially after the weekend.  It is nice to know that I can move through the rest of the week with a clean space to relax and come home to after a hard days work.

These three waves really helped me to break down my chore into something more manageable.  It made the whole thing seem easily accomplished rather than staring at a room wondering where the heck to start.  It helps me come at the room with a plan.  Each wave slowly builds up and I know it's really not that much just to tidy up a bit with the first wave, and that generally warms me up in to the second wave, and then because I'm 2/3 of the way done might as well finish out the third wave.

I hope this helped you out a little in developing a small cleaning routine or at least figuring out how to tackle a room.  If you want to read about how I tackle a really, really messy room, read this post.  You can also find all my cleaning related posts here.

How do you clean?  Do you break it into small steps?  Any other tips?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // How To Clean A Room

First off, I can't believe I'm going to show you these pictures.  Secondly, I can't believe I'm going to tell you how to clean a room (my mother is probably rolling her eyes!).  I'm no expert...I'm just a girl obsessed with an organized home.  I have several cleaning related posts on the blog and I actually feel pretty confident about my method.  I want to share with you the mind set I have when I go into cleaning a room, or just when I go into cleaning in general.

My regular cleaning routine involves cleaning one room, for 30 minutes, each day.  We do have a few rooms in the house that have been neglected since our renovation - they are in some sort of disarray and state of unfinished-ness (is that a word?) - and the spare room downstairs was one of these rooms.  I finally tackled it and I want to share with you how I did it.

It is only about this room

When I tackle a daily room clean in general, I only focus on that room or that task.  With this bigger task - cleaning out an entire room - this mind set helps as well.  Yes, you may be pulling stuff out of this room that goes in another room, especially if you're cleaning out room that is a 'catch all'.  So take the thing, put it in the room it belongs, but you don't have to put it away - just leave it there.  Hopefully that room will be in your rotation and you can handle that room on it's designated day.  I know that if I start putting away something in another room I get distracted and start cleaning that room.  Sometimes with bigger tasks you may make a small mess in the other room that the things belong in...but you can tackle that on the day it needs to be tackled.

Make a plan/Visual inventory

I always have a game plan when it comes to cleaning/organizing and that is probably why it took me so long to get this done. But I knew where I wanted things to go and I knew what was going to live in that room. Having a plan helps me to see the end result and focus on the task at hand.  With no plan I get intimidated and confused. 

Part of making my plan is to be sure that I have taken a visual inventory not only of the clutter in the space but of what the space can accommodate.  Once I have the visual inventory I can start to plan out what needs to be done.  This might take a bit to get in the right mindset to clean, but it does help!

Everything has a place

This is the biggest thing I've learned ever - everything should have a place.  That also goes along with making a plan because if something doesn't have a planned place to be......it really should be tossed.  Focus on putting things in their places, even if it is removing it from the room. And if you need to remove it from the room make sure it has a place to go and put it there.  For example there where boxes of extra makeup stuff for me - brushes, packaging, makeup bags, etc - I know I have room for them upstairs in my designated makeup area.  If you don't have a place for it consider getting rid of it....you probably don't need it.

 Just get started & just keep going

The biggest issue is starting to clean.  I can find about a zillion reasons not to start, but I always find that once I get started, I'm really glad that I did.  There are some tasks that seem really, really daunting.  Like when we cleaned out the garage and the shed one weekend, I really wanted to give up  the second day.  I pushed myself through as much as I could but eventually I was loosing the mind set I had when I started.  But, for the spare room, I just kept at it.  I kept my focus.  And I got the whole room done in about 3 or 4 hours.  Thats what I mean about focusing only on the room at hand.  If you start moving off into another room where something has to be moved to...you won't finish your project, you'll start a new one.  Also, having a plan can play into the time it takes to complete a room.  The less of a plan you have the more stressed you'll be about it.  You'll feel intimidated and overwhelmed.  

A clean house is not something that is ever achieved, its a process.  I would say that the end goal should be a tidy house.  If you live in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine more props to you, but I'm pretty sure that everyone has a little clutter somewhere.

Now that I have the room clean, I do have bits and bobs that made it into other rooms that need to be put away.  But these things will be handled in my daily cleaning routine.  (I talk more about my cleaning routine here.)  And the end goal is to keep everything in it's place.  If you can't keep it in it's place, at least keep it in its room...if that make sense.  The whole goal is to quit saying 'I'm just going to throw this in here' because that turns into a nightmare.  Handle as much as you can when it happens rather than dealing with it afterwards.

Now, but no means is the gospel and by no means is this science.  But I've always been horrible at being tidy so discovering what works for me is a huge deal and I wanted to share with you how I think and how I work to keep things tidy.  I found this article that may help you with a big cleaning task as well.

What is your cleaning routine?  How do you tackle big rooms or catch all spaces?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // The Importance of the (Cleaning) Routine

So, you'd think with my obsession over cleaning schedules/routines/etc I'd have an immaculate home right?  WRONG!  I'm obsessed with cleaning schedules and routines because I suck at keeping a clean and tidy house.  It is the one thing I struggle with that really bothers me.  Not good at cooking?  No problem.  But not being able to keep things tidy is really annoying to me.  It has never been a priority - the thing I'm doing now to make the mess is the priority.  Then before I know it there are little pieces of crap laying around and I don't understand why.

So this post is just another post on what I'm doing to keep my house tidy - yet as I write this the house is a wreck!  Zach just left for another work trip, so rather than worry about the dust we wanted to spend time together.  So don't come over today......you might not like what you see.

I created a routine

I can't remember when I came up with this routine, but it's been a while - 30 min of cleaning/tidying a day in a different zone.  I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time this has been done either.  I have a blog post here about the 4 questions I asked myself in order to make my perfect cleaning list and those questions have pretty much framed my routine. (I plan on having a video on routines in my planner up in the next few weeks as well!)   I decided to clean only Monday - Thursday, 30 min a night, in one of four zones.  I have a post that goes more in depth here.  

I made the routine a priority

How can you do something regularly if you don't find it important?  I decided to track my cleaning schedule using a habit tracker.  I made it a priority to clean each day.  It was a personal goal for myself to stick to my cleaning schedule.  Keeping the routine a priority slowly meant that I was getting a better grasp on what I could do in that time.  I'd set a time and the first few days of cleaning (like I know these next few days will be) the whole 30 min was spent tidying/cleaning.  Priorities are to vacuum and to pick up the clutter.  We have a dog so the hair is what gets on my nerves though I've gotten used to it and know there is no way it's going to go away any time soon!  Eventually it would take me 15 min to clean and declutter and the rest of that time could be spent on a deep cleaning task - like the baseboards in the bathroom, or moving things around to dust/vacuum more thoroughly.  I loved that part!  Keeping up with the routine meant the chore got easier.

The routine made it less daunting

Cleaning one thing a day means I'm only focusing on that one task.  I don't stand in a room and am completely overwhelmed making me want to stop before I've even started.  In previous posts I've mentioned that I choose three things to focus on each of the days and make those the priority of the day.  As long as those are done I can feel satisfied.  By being super specific the task is narrowed and I can feel more confident in my ability to complete it.  Even if it's been a busy week like the passed one focusing on three things means something is getting done to make the next time I'm in that zone easier.

A less daunting tasks is a task that gets done

Because I'm able to break my cleaning list into the most basic parts, I feel I can get more done.  Like I mentioned above - eventually, from week to week and day to day, there's very little that needs to be handled and that leaves time to focus on things like deep cleaning.  30 minutes of something I feel like I have a handle on is totally different from standing in a room freaking out!

The biggest thing for me was making cleaning the priority.  It's not going to get done if I don't do it.  I would say I'm still a messy person but I try to be more aware of it and actually do something about it.  When I'm making a mess I make an effort to clean up afterwards.  If part of the thing you're doing is making a mess, part of finishing that thing is cleaning up.

If you haven't checked out the etsy shop recently, each printable kit has 6 habit trackers and there's even a full page of habit trackers!

How do you tackle your cleaning or any task that you hate doing?  Are there any tips you have?

Wednesday Decor // How I Tackle Cleaning

I shouldn't be the one writing this post...honestly.  But I am...because I want to share with you how I tackle cleaning my house.  First off I'd suggest you not be creative in the least bit.  If you are creative you'll end up with a messy house because either you're too busy being creative to clean or your creativity is the mess.  I have both problems.

I've struggled forever with being neat and tidy.  Ask my mom.  Well, don't really....she probably doesn't want to relive that.  Ask my room mates, ask my sister, ask any one - I was and still am a messy person.  I do blame it on being creative...I really do.  Once Zach and I moved in together, though, I realized that having a place for everything really made the difference.  I'm pretty sure I've talked about this here on the blog before but being stuffed into one room growing up, one room in college, one room in a house after graduation, was the problem.  I was trying to do too much stuff with one room.  Now I'm happy that we have so much room in the house - not only can we fill it all with crap but we can fill it with the crap that goes in it's own space!  Imagine that.

I will continue to say that if you were to come over to my house today, right now, I'd probably say give me 20 minutes and then when you arrived you wouldn't be allowed in certain rooms because I threw all the shit in there...but for the most part the house stays nice and tidy (until I have something to make).

Here's how I've adapted myself to cleaning (see what I did there?)

Divide and Conquer 

Rather than run around like a crazy person and stress out each weekend when I tried to clean I decided that I really needed to break the house up into chunks.  I'm sure I saw this tip somewhere, but honestly I couldn't tell you where.  So I broke my house into - living room & office, kitchen & dining room, bathrooms, and bedrooms.  Each section gets it's own day.

Previously, I would just spend time each day cleaning that section.  That got way, way, way overwhelming especially when I had things that needed to get done like blog posts, life stuff, etc.  I decided I needed to divide even more.

Each day of the week - Monday through Thursday - I clean one of these sections.  But each day that the chore falls on I pick three things I need to clean.  So for example, Monday is living room & office day.  I will choose three things to do - vacuum/sweep, coffee table, and dust. Then the next week I will choose three more things - vacuum/sweep, bookshelf, desk.  I try to vacuum and sweep each time I do a room because it's just good to do that you know.  Plus we have a dog and though she doesn't shed as much as our previous dog did, she still sheds a bit.

Set a timer

After I'd assigned sections to each day I'd just clean until I thought I was done....but then I'd get discouraged and end up not cleaning the other rooms for the rest of the week because I wanted to do something else.  Originally I'd set the time for an hour.  I found that for me, that was too long.  I'd get frustrated that I wasn't able to execute all the things I had on my mind because I spent an hour cleaning.  Then I was tired.  Then I still had to make dinner or something.  It's annoying being an adult.

So now I lower it down to 30 min a day.  Obviously this isn't a deep clean (I still need to come up with a seasonal cleaning list) but it keeps everything nice and tidy.  If I do feel like something needs a deeper clean that will be my focus of the 30 min, if I can spare it.  The stove is one of these things.  Sometimes it just gets to where a wipe down isn't enough.  Or the kitchen floors, the bathtub, the toilet, etc.  Something that definitely needs more attention will get it.

But a timer ensures that I'm doing the chore and am not burned out on chores for the rest of the week.  Also, it's like a little game and as stupid as I thought that reason was...it seriously does help.

Create a place for everything

This is still something I need to really focus on but for the most part there are general places for things in the house.  And, if I'm cleaning an area and run into something that doesn't go there I do my best to put it back and not just set it in the area it belongs.  So like if I've got a crap ton of craft stuff on the coffee table I should sort it quickly and put it away - not just dump it all in a pile on my desk.  Right?

For me, this is where smaller, specific storage comes in.  I know that all of this thing goes in this thing so that makes it easier to put away and less tempting to just dump it all on my desk.  This also helps when you get to the next area and you are cleaning or tidying it up.  If you've put the crap away then you don't need to put it away or move it around a second time.  Saves you a bit when you're moving around your cleaning areas day to day.

Like I said, I'm not organizing guru I just know what's been helping me out to keep the house tidy.  I've posted on this topic before and I think I've since grown but I keep incorporating the same strategies.  In this post I share how to come up with the perfect cleaning list and in this post I share how I refocused my list into small, one-liner chores during our renovation.

However you do it, you've got to do something that works for you.  This is a constant struggle for me but something I do like adapting.  I've found myself complaining less about the state of the house but understanding myself and breaking things down into smaller parts.

How do you tackle cleaning?  Have you evolved your cleaning strategies?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // Upstairs Remodel Update

About 3-4 ish months ago we tore up the carpet in our upstairs bedroom and the old living room of the house in hopes of turning our home into a 3 bedroom house.  First off...how amazing will it be to have 3 bedrooms?  We don't need three bedrooms, but boy there will be so much room for activities!  

The upstairs sans carpet before all the walls:

I'm standing with the dining room behind me looking down our long empty space.  The bifold doors on the right are the laundry doors (it's just a closet type deal) past that is our old bedroom.

While Zach was off at the end of last year, he had our contractors come in and help him tear out a wall, replace some vents, and map off where the new door to our old bedroom would be.  We had to move our bedroom door in order to fit a hallway in front of it.  When you come up our stairs to the second floor the kitchen is in front of you  Right now, we're leaving that alone but when you turn to the left there is our dinning area.  We are expanding that to be bigger and putting a wall up to frame the closet of the 3rd bedroom.  Along the wall where the bathroom and laundry room is will be a wide hallway.

In the image above, to the left is the beginning of the laundry table deal.  It is across from the laundry room and we really needed more storage for cleaning supplies etc.  We'll move that into cabinets above the counter (which could be used as a mini command station!) and put a stacking washer and dryer in the laundry room to free up space for a linen closet type deal.  The right image is the walling off of the closet to our new room and our room.  The laundry counter thing sticks off the outside of the side wall of the closet.  Where the ladder is in the images above is the inside of the closet and on the other side of the door is our room.  These two images were taken from the same angle and the ladder only moved a couple of feet towards the outer wall.

Standing a few feet back from where I was standing in the first image you can see the dry wall is covering the wall that is the back of our closet.  It is also the back wall (or front wall?) to our dinning room.  The hallway me made was huge - to make sure we can fit the furniture around the sharp corners and to give room for someone to walk by with the laundry doors open.  Right behind that wall is our closet and the laundry counter thing is behind it as well.  If you go down the hall and turn left at the end you'll enter our bedroom.  If you go down the hall and turn right you'll end up in our old bedroom.

Behind that leaning drywall is the laundry counter thing.  Our new bedroom is on the left and then our old bedroom is on the right.  The third bedroom will be slightly bigger and we'll move in here once it's all said and done.  There will be a small walk in closet as well.  All in all we're finally getting some work done on the place.  Man do I hate the work part!  Can't wait to share it with you!

xoxo, Moe

How I Refocused my Cleaning List + Freebie

A while ago I published this post on how to make your perfect cleaning list after I felt I'd found the perfect way to clean my house.  I pretty much broke it down by section per day of the week.  Monday was the living room and office area, tuesday was the bathrooms upstairs & downstairs, Wednesday was kitchen and dining area, and Thursday was the bedrooms upstairs and downstairs.  Friday wasn't anything and the weekend was for laundry.  I also tried to tidy the bathrooms, tidy the kitchen (dishes, counters etc) and put away one item when I left a room.  However, we've recently started the remodel upstairs and with everything all jumbled up I feel like instead of cleaning I am just putting shit from one room into another room.

Because there are things not residing in their homes and everything is all jumbled up, I was just getting stressed out so I was not cleaning the house.  Honestly - my friends and my family will think I'm insane for saying this because I'm such a messy person - I was enjoying keeping the house clean.  I think I've said this before but I will say it again the thing that has made me less messy is having a place for everything.  And that has become even more evident by squishing a lot of shit into a small space during our remodel.  When everything has a place, thats where it goes (duh) but when I had a just a room with room mates or just a dorm in college, I was trying to stuff tooooooooo much into a small space.  So, enough blabbering - here is the way I refocused my cleaning schedule.

I made a list

In my filofax I just made a list of the things that needed to be done.  When I was doing the previous schedule - which I think I'll go back to after the remodel - it was pretty generic.  I knew that on Monday I would dust, tidy, vacuum the living room and the dust and swiffer the office floor.  But because things ended up being piled in places the didn't belong I got in the mind set of it's just going to be cluttered any way so I didn't do anything about it.  And then shit got even more cluttered.

On this list was a literal breakdown of everything so I could cross it off.  Not just do laundry but also fold laundry because it would just sit in the baskets fresh out of the dryer.  The biggest thing for me with lists is crossing things off.  If I break down things to the extreme I can then see exactly what is important and then I can group things and get them done.  It's helped me so far, I think.  Things aren't perfect but I'm getting something done.  Something is better than nothing.

I wanted to share with you a new insert that I'm using in my filofax to help me out with this.  I made a week on one page insert with a list column as well.  I like week on one page inserts because I don't have too, too much I need to write out so the sizing is perfect for me.  I also found that in my weekly spreads I will have multiple list pad inserts, sticky notes, etc and I really wanted to tame the bulk in my planner.  I realized that I was wasting a lot of the page by using weekly inserts with a full width box for each day.  

So go ahead and click here if you want to download this freebie!  It prints 8.5 x 5.5 inches so trim your pages before you run them through your printer.  Remember this freebie is free for personal use but go ahead and share this blog post with your friends!

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // Five Tips for an Organized Home

Now, I'm not expert.  Nor am I the most organized person in the world, but we can all strive for greatness right?  Recently I've been trying to get and stay organized.  I've decided it's time to take control of my surroundings and keep myself accountable.  That doesn't mean there aren't a few junk drawers (or even some junk cabinets) but I will tell you that these five tips have kept me sane when it comes to cleaning & organizing:

Everything in it's place - 

This was the biggest realization for me...and while you may think this is a duh statement imagine this:  You've only been living a life of dorm rooms and communal apartments where your bedroom acts as a studio, lounge, sleeping quarters, study room, escape, movie theatre, craft storage, closet, etc.  With one room housing so much and doing so much I found that there wasn't really a place for everything I owned.  Now that Zach & I have a place that is distinctly ours - we share the remote so it can have a place in the coffee table with also share in the living room we also share - it's easier to have a place for everything because I'm not encroaching on anyone else's space.  So the point of this is to clear out the places serving double duty & only keep the thing that belongs there, there.  Create a clear space for something and that is where it lives.  For example when the remote is taken out of the coffee table drawer there is a space where it is missing from.  If you can clearly see that space, good job...it now has a home.

Clean one thing a day -
I used to do all my cleaning on the weekend because when I got home from work I was too exhausted to do anything else.  But then I realized I wasn't getting anything done on the weekends because I was cleaning all day.  Also, if we went a way for a weekend there would be two weeks worth to clean.  And I wasn't enjoying my time home because the house was a mess.  I resolved to clean one thing a day after work during the week.  I broke the house down into 4 zones - the downstairs, the bathrooms, the kitchen/dinning area, & the bedrooms.  I clean one of these areas each night of the week in a solid rotation and usually spend 30min to 1 hour cleaning (usually it's the 30 min).  If something needs a deeper clean it's reserved for a larger house goal that I add to my 4 simple goals or if I'm feeling particularly cleany I'll just spend a little more time on it.  Now I'm more productive on the weekends and can enjoy a cleaner house during the week.

Make a list -
I have the chore list I mentioned above but I also have a greater house goals list that I add to every time I think of something.  This list lives in my planner and while there are important things on there I don't hold myself to some lofty goal of crossing them all off.  I add to this list so I can pull from it for my two house goals in my 4 simple monthly goals.  It's also there so I can keep a running list of what really needs to be done so I can plan or arrange when needed.  Mental lists never work for me so this big list is there for me to pick from and I don't expect lines through every one of the items.

Don't focus on what you haven't done -
Try not to think about the huge mess you have to tackle in the fridge while your working on tidying the living room.  For me, those things aren't even on the same day so there's no need to even think about it!  The biggest stress reliever for me is focusing on the chore at hand.  I don't make the big lists so I can think about all the stuff that needs to get done, I make the lists so the chores sit there & not in my head.  For me the most important things to get cleaned in the living room and the bedroom and I only think about their mess when I'm in that zone on that day.  If I'm dreading what I have to do I won't do anything.  So just don't focus on how big the house or chores are as a whole only focus on the small chore at hand.

Don't beat yourself up -
So you've made a list but haven't checked anything off and you've divided your house to clean one thing a night but you missed the kitchen last week.  Thats fine, you're human.  Resolve to be better next week.  For me, if I miss the kitchen this week I do it next week.  Now you can't miss the kitchen every week, what would be the point of having this list if you didn't do it, right?  So I just do the chore I missed the next week.  I don't hate myself for it nor do I punish myself for it by doubling up the next day.  Sometimes things come up.  I also don't put house cleaning above family time or social engagements.  If we got to eat on Wednesday with a friend and I can't clean the kitchen, no stress there is always next week.  If Zach has had a particularly rough week and I can't clean the bedroom Thursday because he's sleeping, no stress there is always next week.  To me, keeping organized isn't about stressing yourself out it's about giving you less to be stressed about by giving your a plan of action to keep you sane.  Don't beat yourself up if something doesn't work for you....it took me nearly 27 years to figure out what works for me. :)  And I'm sure if/when we move into a new house I'll have to adapt.

The biggest thing in my organization journey is realizing how much less stress I feel when I can sit down in a clean, organized living room.  If I miss a day the mess stresses me out so the biggest reward is not stressing!  I tend to stay on track because I don't want to look at the mess I didn't clean up!  These are just 5 things I keep in mind when organizing and cleaning my home.

What are your tips for organizing your home?

xoxo, Moe

Wednesday Decor // How to Make a Cleaning List for your Home

Back in June, one of my monthly goals (oh yeah, remember those?) was to clean something every night.  Well let me give you a big ol yeah right because that did not happen.  I always have good intentions with keeping the house clean but it never seems to work out.  It always ends up as a one weekend a month cleaning spree that I hate.  Why can't I just pick shit up after myself?  No idea...did it for a while then I got lazy.  I hate that I'm so lazy.  When I get home from a busy day from work I pretty much do nothing.  I wish I had the energy after work to actually feel productive.

Anyway - another part of finding a cleaning schedule for your home is that the millions you can find on Pinterest aren't really catered to your needs.  At least thats what I've found.  I either have too many rooms, not enough rooms, not enough time, will not do something in the morning, or just plain don't like the way the chart looks.  If you're a list maker & planner like me the biggest step is getting the break down the way you want it.  Here's how I created my cleaning schedule - we'll see if I will stick to it.

When do you want to clean? - That's the first question I asked myself because I really hate waking up on a Saturday knowing that I'll be cleaning for a good chunk of the day.  Most of the time I want to do what I do best - lay on the couch and do nothing!  So I thought about the days I'd actually want to clean - Monday through Friday.  For me, Monday through Friday after work is the best time to think about cleaning because we're often gone on weekends & currently it's summer so we want to do a lot of stuff on Saturday & Sunday.

What do you want to clean? - This seems obvious...the house, right?  Well tackling your big ass house in one unorganized go can cause you to get frazzled.  I decided since I have only 5 days I wanted to clean on to divid the house into five places.  Now, if you have a bigger house (or kids or any other extraneous things that I don't have) this five day thing may not work for you.  But thats the point of these tips - to help you think of the way you can divide up your house/apartment/etc.  So I decided to divide my areas like this - Downstairs, Bathrooms (we have two), Kitchen/Dining area, & Bedrooms.  That leaves me with one day free of cleaning!  Hooray!!

How long do you want to clean? - This is the other thing, how long you want to spend on one area or one part of your divided out list.  I would say I really want to spend only about an hour a night on one area - and I plan on setting a timer!  No, that's not getting into deep cleaning but I am keeping things cleaner & tidier.  I include vacuuming in this hour as well in the places that need to be vacuumed.  Side note, my favorite chore is to vacuum!  And our dog literally sheds another whole dog in less than a day I'm pretty sure.  So this hour means that I'm not cleaning a weeks worth of shit up if I need to deep clean something sometime.  And hey, I can always deep clean on that spare day right?  (Not gonna happen!)

What do you want to do in each area? - This also helps you tackle the space in an organized manner.  Instead of just haphazardly tackling the zone you know what you need to do in each zone.  It's organized & you're not stressing out about all the shit you have to do after work.  I decided to list 5 things under each zone to make sure I get through what needs to be done in the area I'm working on.

If you're a thinking & planner like me, I hope this post helped.  I'm going to share a how-to on making a cleaning list based on these little tips using PicMonkey for your planner, fridge, home binder, etc.  Because PicMonkey has some cool new features!

xoxo, Moe

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Wednesday Decor // 5 Things I Do, That You Should Do Too

About a week or so ago I posted the picture below with the following caption: 'so I've been doing thist thing where I CLEAN SHIT UP AFTER MYSELF.  My weekend routine of cleaning the house involved very little this morning.  Now I don't know what to do with the house clean so early'  I've always been a messy person.  Literally always.  You should have seen my room through my entire life up until now (well sometimes on the off chance, it might still look like a tornado went through - but I try to keep the tornado on the baby side.)  I would always be so jealous of others who could just keep their things in place.  I was never the organized person!

I've noticed that I've become a bit more organized with having an entire house to store my things in.  If you're messy like me - maybe you're in college or just have one room to call your own - it's much easier to stay organized when you have a place for everything.  When I'd just have one place like my dorm room or bedroom to store things, I was trying to do too much with my small space.  It was a place to sleep, a place to work, a place to create, a place to lounge, etc & not to mention the fact that the closets were always sooooo small!  Zach & I are both messy by nature - which is horrible.  But I've noticed with a house & having multiple rooms our things stay in their respective places.  It's amazing.  So I'm here to tell you that if you're messy buy a house - no, if you're messy it's probably because you're using one space in too many ways.  Now, I'm not saying that my house can be on the inside of Southern Living (side note: did you know there's a magazine called Midwest Living?  What? No, Southern Living all the way) because I do like the house to look lived in.  We live here, we love here, we're building a life here, there's going to be a bit of mess.

So what is the point of all this blabbing?  I want to share with you 5 things I do that make cleaning up my shit a lot easier & helps when you don't want to clean up your shit:

Give Everything a Place - Now this might take a while but I've been going through drawers & cabinets in order to give everything a place.  This is helping me clean out stuff we don't use & don't need and putting things where they go.  I mentioned this in my affordable organization video here that if you can see that everything has a place then there's no room for anything else.  The best example of this is our coffee table drawers - you can see where the remotes go, where the matches for the candles go, etc.  Nothing that doesn't need to be in there isn't going to be in there.  Same for our bathroom cabinets - I've found places to put extras, kept the cleaning supplies at the front so they are accessible, organized little bins with pins, face masks, etc.  There is a place for everything so you know what you have, where it is, & where to put it back.  If you have a generic drawer then shit goes in & never comes out.  This is the biggest thing you'll need to dedicate time to doing but it's very worth it.

Put Extra Bags at the Bottom of your Trash Can - Does your bathroom trash can over flow because you don't wan to take it out?  Yeah, I know, it never does.  But if you have a friend that this happens to tell them to put extra bags in the bottom of the trash can so you can change bags in one swoop.  I love this because I don't have to be running all around the house finding trash bags - I can stay in one room, lift the bag tie it up, pull up another bag, loop it over the top, & leave.  This is something I recommend for smaller trash cans like in the bathroom or under a desk.  If you have a bigger, kitchen trash can you can try this but I don't really want to reach down in a gross trash can to pick up another trash bag (that might be gross, maybe).  Our kitchen bags are right there under the sink.

Pick up One Thing When you Leave the Room  - This is a lot easier than it sounds.  I always thought that picking up one thing means I'll start cleaning at 6pm and then have to clean everything when I just want to be watching YouTube videos.  But it's actually not that serious.  I try to pick up something that will be going to the room I'm going to.  Like take a glass to the kitchen when I'm going to get a snack or putting the nail polish back in the bathroom when I go to pee, etc.  Another way to think of it is bringing things to it's pair.  Like right now I see my pencil case and it needs to go meet my planner in my purse.  So when I get up from here that might be the thing I grab.  I try to just do one or two things and be done.  That way I'm not feeling like I have to clean.  Starting out with a clean place though can help with this little tip.  So go through & clean and do the first tip up there - this makes it less daunting.

Load the Dishwasher - I hate loading the dishwasher.  It's not that hard & I'm not even doing the dish washing!  But man it's my least favorite chore.  I'd clean a toilet over load the dishwasher and I don't really like cleaning toilets.  (My favorite chore is vacuuming, actually.)  But a clean sink makes me happy so sacrificing the few minutes it takes to load & unload the dishwasher instantly makes the kitchen look cleaner.  It also rounds up all the dishes from night stands, coffee tables, etc.

Keep Yourself (& others) Accountable - It's easy for me living with one other person to keep accountable for cleanliness.  It's not like I'm forcing a child to please put his plate in the sink (literally that was me when I was little, sorry mom).  Raising expectations between you and your family members helps a lot.  I've always been good with room mate cleaning chart sorts of deals because if it's important to one person that the things are done then it's important to me because we share the same space.  Continually put things away as an example & remind (not in a nagging way, because you're not trying to be annoying) others to do the same.  Asking is the first step.

Those are my tips on keeping things clean & organized especially if you're a messy person like me!  My number one thing is just putting things away!  I still have a lot to go through in the house to get organized but we're on the way.  You ever feel like you've had something in the back of your mind you've wanted to do but just haven't been ready for it?  That's how I feel about this organizing/cleaning thing I'm on - I've always wanted it but never really succeeded at it!

How do you keep your home organized & put away?  Let me know your tips!

xoxo, Moe

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Wednesday Decor // Home Organization Plan for 2014

What is up 2014?  I'm taking total control of you lately!  I know it's only the 2nd month of the year - which means I'm sure to burn out on my new year momentum soon.  So far I think I've been owning 2014 with my Three Great Things project as well as setting my Four Simple Goals each month (and sort of sticking to them!).  But I want to focus on a greater theme this year which is Organization.  Since focus is my word for this year I want to take time to actually make a plan of attack instead of just say 'I want to do this _________'.  Planning will help me focus on what needs to be done in order to complete the task!  There are several home related organization things I want to tackle this year & here they are:

Clean out the closets

This goes for the bedroom & the guest closets.  They have both become catch alls for everything under the sun.  Clothes need to get donated & things just need to get moved around.  I need something to organize my shoes (oh god, my shoes!) & just plain need to get rid of clothes.  This was part of the February goals - but I think it's getting pushed back unless it stops snowing.  I also want to add mirrored doors to the bedroom closet to make it look bigger!

Kitchen Organization - Under the Sink

Um, under the sink is a plastic bag graveyard & also some dish soap, etc.  Pretty much it's not a fun place to look & I know I'm not using it very well.  I am pretty sure I don't know half of whats under there.  Yikes!  What needs to live under there are sponges & cleaning supplies, and maybe some plastic bags.  We have a lot of shelves under there but nothing is being utilized properly.

Kitchen Organization - Cabinets

One thing I looooove about this house is the amount of cabinet space we have.  It's unreal.  I also love that because of all these cabinets we have so much counter space!  There are quite a few cabinets that just have random junk in them.  I need to make better use of the space we have.  We also have a little cart that is becoming a catch all - I don't know how many times a week I clean junk off of the top of it!  I also want to designate some of this cabinet space for Zach to organize some of his paperwork & our paperwork for the house.  

The Garage

Oh, god the garage.  So this was supposed to be a January goal but it was way too cold to pull out all the junk & organize it.  This is going to be something for the spring.  Oh god, we need to get the garage under control.  Seriously, I don't even like to look in there!  We need to create space for both of us to work - it's already designated, just covered in random things.

Under the Bathroom Sink

Both the upstairs bathroom & the guest bathroom sink storage need to be organized like woah.  Again, I just shove any bathroom related items in the cabinets & shut the door.  Out of sight out of mind - until I need more shampoo.  I've seen at Dollar Store & Big Lots little stackable bins - the remind me of kindergarten classrooms but they look so helpful!

I've gotten a lot organized so far though.  The living room has a pretty good organization thing going on:  baskets under the shelves for board games, candles, game systems, and wires, the coffee table drawers just got organized, there's a basket under the coffee table for a blanket, heating pad, & laptop storage, and a coat rack & storage box by the side door.  Our bedroom is also pretty much organized, though there's always room for improvement in there & I always organize my make up at the end of the week.  The office area is pretty organized, too.

My plan is to incorporate these into my Four Simple Goals for each month & tackle one a weekend since a lot of it is going to be purchasing organization stuff for our house.  I'm also keeping this list pretty low (& full of the big things that need to get done) because completing a lot of things is not something I'm great at.  So with a smaller list I'm pretty sure I'll get through all of it!

What is one of your greater goals this year?  Have you been tackling it like you own 2014?

xoxo, Moe

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