40 Day Summer Challenge: Cleaning the Oven

Last Monday I posted about my 40 Day Summer Cleaning & Organizing Challenge. I've already crossed off 7 items. Today I'm blogging about how I clean my oven without using harsh chemicals. This was the first thing I crossed off the list. I hadn't cleaned my oven since I moved into my apartment last July. It was starting to smell awful when I'd turn it on...like something was burning. Not good.

I used to hate cleaning my oven. The nasty chemicals that you'd have to spray after preheating the oven and blah blah blah...so gross. Then I discovered Shaklee Scour Off. All you have to do is wet a sponge or cloth and wipe the putty all over the areas that need to be cleaned. Let it sit for 10 minutes and wipe off. If you use a scour pad, the tougher gunk comes off with easily with a little bit of scrubbing. Check out my before and after photos below.

January 2013 Challenge {Home Management: Week 2}

Organization is my strong point - cleaning is not. If I don't have a schedule to follow, it doesn't happen.

Why have multiple cleaning schedules? For me it's simply to ensure things get cleaned on a regular basis. Here is how I break down my cleaning schedule.

Daily
My daily cleaning routine pretty much only includes cleaning up dinner and making sure the sink is empty at the end of each night. There isn't anything worse than waking up in the morning and trying to get breakfast and my lunch for work made and having to deal with dishes in the sink. It's such a time waster for me in the morning.

Other daily tasks that you may want to add to your list include: laundry, wipe down kitchen and/or bathroom, sweep floors, etc.

Weekly
I mentioned last week that I am now using a weekly plan that I add cleaning tasks to for each day so I'm getting a little done each day. It makes it much more manageable for me. I include tasks like clean microwave, tidy up desk, clean stove top, etc.

Monthly
I have a monthly cleaning checklist in my home & life binder. I include tasks like wash blankets, vacuum furniture, clean inside of the freezer and refrigerator, etc. I mark off each task for each month, once completed. I'll be adding these tasks to my weekly plan to ensure they are completed.

This is what my monthly checklist looks like.

 

Seasonally
Just like the monthly cleaning checklist, I have one for seasonal cleaning tasks. I include tasks like clean out medicine drawer, clean windows and blinds, flip mattress, vacuum behind furniture, etc.

This is what my seasonal checklist looks like.

The forms featured in this post are available {in a different font, but same colors} in the cleaning & organizing set in my Etsy store. I recently dropped the price down to $7.


Your challenge today is to create a cleaning schedule. Choose the different time categories that work for you and start scheduling.

Cleaning Purses & Accessories

Today I took the time to clean out all of my purses and accessories and throw them in the wash. I didn't realize how many I have. So ridiculous.

The great thing about having purses and accessories made from cotton with removable bases (such as those from Vera Bradley & Thirty-One), is you can wash them - in the washing machine. It's SO nice. I've ruined so many purses in the past from getting stuff on them and not being able to clean them in an easy way.

So once a year I gather all of my purses and accessories and throw them in the wash. I do not dry them in the dryer. I set everything out and let it air dry. Think of all of the nasty bottom-of-the-purse germs I wash away.

How do you clean your purses & accessories? I'd love to know how to clean those that can't go in the wash.

Cleaning Dingy White Shirts: The Results

On my summer to-do list, one of the first things I wanted to do was clean my dingy white t-shirts and tanks. I wear white camis under almost everything, so of course they're going to eventually get gross. Since they're worn under clothes, I don't really feel it's necessary to purchase brand new ones just because the old are dingy. I found a solution on a blog called One Good Thing by Jillee.

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

The solution is 2 parts hydrogen peroxide, 1 part Dawn dish soap (just the regular kind), and some baking soda. I also used a small scrub brush to scrub them really well. I did the cleaning in the bathtub since I don't have a laundry room. I scrubbed each dingy section for 1-2 minutes with the brush, then let the shirts sit for an hour before washing them in a regular wash cycle.

My before and after pictures aren't very telling. The lighting in my apartment isn't the best, but they were really truly dingy - like the picture above from the other blog. Once I started scrubbing I even noticed that some of the camis had blue on the bottom from where they had been tucked into my new jeans.

And a tip if you're going to try it - wear rubber gloves! My fingers are white. haha.

Worth it? Yes! The camis were a lot harder to clean because of the built in shelf bra layer and the tiny straps. The shirts aren't brand new white, but they're clean now rather than dingy in one area. I cleaned 15 shirts with this method and each one looks great.

Have 10 Minutes? Disinfect with Bleach

Maybe everyone else thinks of this more often than I do, but I rarely think to do this.

Today take 10 minutes to fill up the sink or a wash tub with hot water and a splash of bleach to disinfect.

Things to disinfect:

• sponges
• scrub pads and brushes
• plastic cutting boards
• bath toys
• plastic reusable straws
• hard to clean cooking untensils

Toss the items in the sink/tub and let them soak for 5-10 minutes.

(This renews stinky sponges!)

Have 10 Minutes? Clean Your Coffeemaker

Last weekend I deep cleaned my coffeemaker...for the first time. So gross.

Here are the steps I took to deep clean my coffeemaker. Now, keep in mind that the total, overall length of time to do this will be 10 minutes, but it will only take about 10 minutes of your time to actually set it up for the cleaning.

#1 - Empty/clean out the filter basket and coffeepot.
#2 - Fill your coffeepot with 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts water and pour it into the coffeemaker. Put a new paper filter into the filter basket to catch all of the loosened junk.
#3 - Brew the water and let the coffeemaker run through the full brewing cycle.
#4 - When the cycle finishes, unplug the coffeemaker and let it sit to cool down (about 15 minutes).
#5 - Dump out the water/vinegar mixture from the coffeepot. Throw away the paper filter.
#6 - If the inside of your coffeemaker has brown coffee stains all over, now would be a good time to clean these (if you want). The water vapor inside the machine has vinegar in it, making it a good cleaning solution for the stains. I used a Q-tip to clean the hard to reach places, dipping the Q-tip in the hot water/vinegar mixture that was in the coffeepot.
#7 - Repeat the cycle with water only two more times to clean out any vinegar that was left behind. You may continue to see more crud come out into your filter, so you can put in a new one if you want. I don't use paper filters, so I only have the 3 that came with the machine. I didn't want to waste it, so I just cleaned out the filter basket after the two water-only cycles.
#8 - Run your coffeepot and filter basket(s) through the dishwasher.

Okay...so it may take you longer than 10 minutes...but it's worth it. =]

Have 10 Minutes? Clean Your Refrigerator

Isn't it amazing how a refrigerator can collect so much nasty hair, dust, and other grossness, considering it's "closed off" from everything? I'll admit...I'm a clean freak. Not as much as I used to be, but, for example, I always make sure that food products don't get nasty around their lids/openings. If they do, I promptly clean whatever it is up. I don't like stickiness or grime.

But anyways...my refrigerator was looking a bit grungy. Spilled food hidden under containers, hair/dust under the crisper drawers, stickiness all around. It was time to take 10 minutes to wipe everything down and throw out the old food (which surprisingly there wasn't much of this time around).

Now, before you say/think, "that doesn't look that bad", I'm not going to take pictures of all of the grossness going on in there. Those aren't pictures I want on my blog. The one before picture below is not the worst of it, it was the least-gross example I could show.

So I literally just took 10 minutes to clear off the shelves on the door and wipe them down. I didn't see any gunk on the wire racks, so I didn't clean them. I wiped down the bottom shelf and took out the drawers to clean underneath. I also wiped the rubber seal (around the door frame) to clean out the crumbs that had collected in the fold. Super quick and easy.

Since it can be easily forgotten about, take 10 minutes to go and clean your fridge today. =]

Clean & Organize: Under the Bathroom Sink

On Sunday I did a clean and organize overhaul under my bathroom sink. When I was a coupon queen I would stock up on everything, even if I didn't need it. Bad idea. Uh, hello! These things can EXPIRE...and many have. My bad.

Here are some before pictures.

Now, being a coupon queen, sometimes you like to request every sample you can find online as well. Even if you know you'll never use it. I guess it's the thrill (like subscribing to every magazine I can find for free)? It was time to clear out the travel size drawer. It's not like we ever travel anyways...and no one comes to visit that often that would need these things.

Now...part of this overhaul involved me taking everything out from under the sink and wiping down the walls, cabinet doors, and base - I just don't have pictures. So make sure you do that. It's amazing how nasty it can all get.

Ah, here's one of my coupon extreme purchases...or, uh, freebie scores (??)...toothpaste and toothbrushes. I won't even clip the toothpaste coupons right now because we have way too much. We have so much "oral care" that it deserved it's own storage bucket.

The mani-pedi bucket. What a joke...for me at least. I don't have nails - I have the nasty habit of biting them. It's so bad, and it has been my whole life. I guess this bucket is so I can pretend I have nails that I take care of? Who knows. I do, however, get pedicures in the summer. BUT...I go and have them done. I don't do it myself. So really, what am I doing with all of this stuff? Sadly enough...it went right back in the cabinet. Although...nail polish is great for marking keys and the lids of contact cases (to tell left from right). So maybe that's why I have it? =]

In all seriousness though, I did throw out a ton of stuff that was just gross, so I'd say this overhaul was a success. I feel better about it all.

And here are some pictures of my storage bins, all nicely organized by product.

This bin, which looks messy but is actually organized, has cosmetic bags in it. The bags hold contacts, razors, hair accessories, and travel sized containers (toothbrush holder, empty squeeze bottles, etc.).

The rest of this post is all on a side note to bathroom organization.

I received this lovely toilet paper roll holder in the mail for free via Facebook and Cottonelle (I think?). Well, I don't need something to store my toilet paper in since we have an over the toilet cabinet to do that for us, so I use it to hold tampons. Genius, eh? (It's seriously perfect!)

I keep a pair of kid scissors hanging on the inside door of the under sink cabinet door for whatever. Best idea ever. But then I decided on Sunday to hang my hand mirror on the door, too. At first, it was a bad idea. It was clanging against the door with every open and shut. So then my brilliant mind thought of something...

appliance felt pads! So I've had this mirror since I turned 16...almost 9 years ago. If it ain't broke, don't fix replace it, right? Yeah, so I'm keeping it and I don't really care if these lovely felt pads are on the back. The whole point of moving it to the door is so it doesn't get all dusty on the counter, where it used to live. Now it no longer clangs on the door. So if you don't mind the awkward look, try it out. =]

You'll have to forgive me for the randomness within this post. It's been such a long day as I'm writing this (Monday night)...and all I care about at this moment is showing you my lovely ideas and then hitting the hay. =]

Have an amazing Tuesday!

Have 5 Minutes? Deep Clean Your Sink Faucet

It is truly amazing, the difference that you can make by thoroughly cleaning a sink faucet. Water can easily collect under the faucet handles/knobs and if the water is at all "dirty" then it can make the faucet look gross. Faucets can easily be wiped down each day to keep up appearances, but if you take the faucet knob off and clean underneath, you can make a world of difference.

I use an old toothbrush to clean around the edges of the faucet first with some Shaklee All-Purpose Cleaner. This gets all of the nasty grime and any hair that collects around the faucet.

Next, I take off the knobs with a screwdriver and clean around underneath and inside the knob. It seriously makes the knob all sparkly and clean, making my faucet look like it's maybe 5 years old instead of 15.

Now, with that said...you should see this bathroom sink/counter combo from the 80's...or 70's...who knows. It's so lovely. A marbley looking tan color with GOLD glitter sprinkled here and there. #1 I can't stand glitter. #2 it's probably the thing that bugs me most about my apartment because it's just so hideous. And do you see the lovely caulk job along the backside of the counter...it's SO bad. Haha. I might peel it off this summer and redo it myself. It's just so terrible.

And finally, for the grand finale...rub the faucet with wax paper to keep it shiny a little bit longer than usual. It will resist water spots!

The bathroom is my least favorite place to clean, what about you? Do you have any tips to share for making bathroom cleaning less of a chore?

Have 10 Minutes? Clean Your Ceiling Fan

Over the weekend I received an email from reader Jenny, asking if I had any tips for cleaning a ceiling fan. I don't have a ceiling fan, so I had to research this topic.

{source}

Due to copyright restrictions, I cannot republish the content I found on Real Simple's website about cleaning a ceiling fan. I can, however, give you the link to the information. The directions for cleaning a ceiling fan include a pillow case and spray bottle with distilled white vinegar and water. It seems like an excellent idea. I know when I used to clean the ceiling fan at my parent's home, it was disgusting and dust ended up everywhere.

If you have a ceiling fan, take 10 minutes today to clean it. Let me know how this method works!

We have a small tabletop fan that we use every night to drown out the apartment living noises while we sleep. Unfortunately it does not come apart for easy cleaning. If you have any wonderful ideas on how to clean a fan like this, please share!

Have 10 Minutes? Gather Up Jackets and Winter Accessories and Give Them a Wash

I'm good at doing laundry on a regular basis, but I'm not good at washing jackets, gloves, hats, and scarves. I forget. Not having my own washer and dryer to do laundry is a pain, so I try to do as little laundry as possible so that I'm not spending so much money.

For some reason I don't think to wash jackets and accessories. I wear a jacket everyday, but because it's not for extended amounts of time, I just don't think they're dirty and to wash them. (I'm sure if you have young kids, you probably wash your jackets often.) Forgive me if this seems silly.

So today, take 10 minutes to load the washer and let it run, put everything in the dryer, and then hang everything back up. You'll be glad you did!

If you don't need to wash jackets, wash boots instead. I know mine need a good scrub!

My Favorite Things: Top 5 Cleaning Tools

In the spirit of the New Year and getting organized, I also want my home to be clean. Having a dog makes it hard to keep my home clean...especially since he'd cooped up in our apartment all day long. Luckily he doesn't shed a ton. Right now we have two extra dogs staying with us while my brother, his fiance, and her sister are back in Pennsylvania visiting family. I feel like my home is disgusting...so much dog hair. Sunday, when the dogs go home, I'll be deep cleaning my place before I go back to school on Tuesday.

Here are my top 5 favorite cleaning tools (in no particular order):

Microfiber Cloths
I absolutely love microfiber cloths. I use them for everything - dusting, cleaning with all-purpose cleaner, cleaning electronics, dusting and cleaning the windows in my car, and much more. I like using them for dusting because they do a good job of "catching" the dust and not sending it off all over the room (like a feather duster would). They're eco-friendly because you can wash and reuse them. They're not too expensive, and sometimes you can buy them at dollar stores.

Shaklee Basic H2
Basic H2 is super concentrated, so a 16 oz bottle can create 48 gallons of cleaner. You can mix Basic H2 with water to create all-purpose, window, and degreasing spray cleaners. I absolutely love the degreaser. It works so well - especially with microfiber cloths.

Shaklee Scour Off
Have a tough job that needs some tough love? Scour off is amazing. I've used it to clean my oven (which was disgusting, considering I'm sure the apartment owners didn't deep clean if prior to us moving in) and my kitchen sink. It's so easy to use, doesn't kill you when you're using it (I swear, the spray oven cleaners you purchase in stores could be used in a chemical war), and is safe to use in your home. I don't even have to use gloves when cleaning with it. Yet, it's powerful enough to deep clean those tough stains in my home.

Bissell Lift-Off MultiCyclonic Pet Upright Vacuum
Okay, yeah, no kidding...a vacuum. But not just any vacuum. This one is amazing. It does such a good job picking up dog hair - both from the ground and on furniture (with the turbobrush attachment). Plus, it's bagless, which I've learned to prefer. (No more wasted money on bags that are a pain to attach.) I'd say that this would be my #1 favorite cleaning tool if I had to choose one.

White Distilled Vinegar
So many uses. Seriously. I use it once a month to clean and deodorize the drains in my home, clean the coffeemaker, unclog the shower head, clean the dishwasher, clean the washing machine (when I had one), and clean mildew in the bathroom. It's truly an amazing kitchen staple. You can visit 1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar for more ideas on how to use vinegar for cleaning, gardening, laundry, health, automotive, pets, and cooking.