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?

Project 4: Organizing Under the Bathroom Sink

Things are finally cleaned up around here and I'm back to working on projects around the house.

After returning with more than I left with, personal product wise, the cabinets under my bathroom sink were about to explode. Plus add in the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale...that just adds more to what I already have too much of.

 

I bought the metal buckets, plastic pails, striped boxes, and mini metal pails from the Target dollar section (seen above and below).

I decided it was time to get rid of the makeup bag and put my rarely used cosmetics in a more accessible area/containers.

I consolidated as much as I could and threw out all of the expired and I'll-never-use-it stuff.

A new home for my cosmetics.

And I went from a big candle jar to a small pail to hold my earrings.

An Earth Day Blog Hop with Shaklee + Giveaways! [CLOSED!]

This Earth Day Blog Hop is sponsored by A Home Made by Kiki and Shaklee!

Oh Shaklee, where have you been all of my life? I recently fell in love with Shaklee when Kristina at A Home Made by Kiki sent me a sample of Shaklee's Basic H2. It was a tiny little capsule and I was wondering what in the world I could sample with something that small. Well, that tiny sample was enough to make one 16 oz. bottle of all purpose cleaner AND one 16 oz. bottle of window cleaner. Basic H2 is super concentrated, so it's magic can be contained in a tiny capsule. I cleaned my kitchen first and I was instantly hooked! The products work like a dream and don't have that strong cleaning smell. I couldn't believe it.

I decided to purchase the Get Clean Green Bundle (shown below) which includes 3 spray bottles (windows, all purpose, degreaser), a 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2 concentrate, and a microfiber cloth. I've been going crazy cleaning since I got them in the mail last Monday.

The following pictures are before and after photos from when I tackled a *major job* in my bathroom. This is so gross, and I'm so embarrassed to be showing this, but it's worth it to show you how well Shaklee Basic H2 worked for me.

I live in an apartment. An old, cheap rent apartment. I wish I could live in a nicer, cleaner place, but that's not in the cards right now. So I'll clean it as best as I can myself. =]

So we moved in last June and this is what I've been staring at for the last 11 months. I used to be in love with Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and swear by them. I no longer feel that way. I tried for an hour with a Magic Eraser to remove the crap from the ceiling, but it didn't work. I gave up and figured it was a lost cause. But then Shaklee Basic H2 made it's way into my life and complete changed the cleaning game! (I used the degreaser for this job by the way.) Now I couldn't remove ALL of the crap, some of it is stained unfortunately, but look at the difference...and it didn't even take a lot of elbow grease to make it disappear. Have a look... (and I apologize in advance, apparently I'm not the best "before and after" picture taker, I didn't come close!)

Are you still with me or are you gone because of how nasty it all was?

If you were lucky enough to make it through, congratulations! You're on to the next round...Shaklee specials and memberships and the Earth Day Blog Hop Giveaway! Woooo!

If you become a Shaklee member, you receive a 15% discount on their products. I am a member and love it! The coolest thing going on right now is you can become a member for FREE when you make a $30 purchase. The membership is a $20 value (I think...I can't remember.) For more information on the membership and *new member specials*, email Kristina at healthy-solutions@hotmail.com. She has specials that are too good to advertise online...it's true!

And now...for the main event...an Earth Day giveaway! There will be 5 winners on my blog. Each winner will receive one sample of Basic H2, which is enough to make one 16 oz. bottle of window cleaner and one 16 oz. bottle of all purpose cleaner. When you join in on the blog hop, you will be entered to win $30 which is paid via PayPal. Please read all of the details carefully below so you enter correctly!  


This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. All giveaways end on April 30 at 12:00 AM (ET).


For the chance to win $30 via PayPal:

1. You have to start the Earth Day Blog Hop at A Home Made by Kiki and collect letters at each blog to spell out a phrase and email the phrase to Kristina. The letters will spell the phrase in order. You just need to start at A Home Made by Kiki, collect the first letter, and click on the link to go to the next blog. At that blog, you'll collect the letter, and continue to the next blog...and so on... 
2. Once you finish the blog hop, you can email the phrase to Kristina at healthy-solutions@hotmail.com.
3. Please do not comment to win the $30 via PayPal. Comments will only count for the samples and irrelevant comments will be deleted.

For the chance to win one of the five Basic H2 samples:
Leave a comment for each entry that you are completing. You make comment for each entry once. Please leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win! Winners will be chosen by random.org.

1. The mandatory entry for this giveaway is to become a follower of A Home Made by Kiki via Google Friend Connect. (This is the blog who is sponsoring the giveaway.)
2. Additional entry (optional): Tell me...what would you clean first with Basic H2?
3. Additional entry (optional): Become a follow of The Nest Effect via Google Friend Connect.
4. Additional entry (optional): Like The Nest Effect on Facebook.
5. Additional entry (optional): Follow The Nest Effect on Twitter.
6. Additional entry (optional): Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email.

Good luck to you all!

If you're on the Earth Day Blog Hop, the letter you can collect here is:

e

Thanks for stopping by! Continue the hop at The Mommy Diaries!

The Nest Effect Review & Giveaway Disclosure: All opinions are 100% my own. I was provided with a free sample to write my review by Kristina at A Home Made by Kiki. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.