Everyday Live Happy

Clutter. It really should be a four letter word. It can take a house that really is clean and make it look a mess. Clutter really is a dirty word! When there is clutter laying around it looks like you never clean your house. It makes it look like you're a slob. It does not show you in a good light. So why is it that I always have clutter laying around? Why is it that I can't seem to get rid of it? There are a few answers to those questions. First an actual legitimate answer is that we moved a few months ago and I still have boxes that need to be unpacked. Then I realize that I moved 8 months ago. Can that be right?! In 8 months I should have taken time to finish unpacking. Another answer is that I have a hard time throwing things away. The real answer though is probably that I have more stuff than places to put it. I have a quote that rattles around in my brain quite often - especially if I'm cleaning.   "Do not keep anything that you do not know to be useful or b...

Cleaning the house is not fun. I don't like it. I don't know anyone who does. (I'm sure there are people out there that love to clean. I just don't know any of them.) It's never ending. I think that is what I don't like about it. You just have to keep cleaning the same things over and over again. The chore I hate the worst at my house is laundry. I don't mind washing clothes usually, but I hate putting them away. I don't know why. It isn't hard. I even sort the clean laundry into baskets for each of the kids to put away on their own. I know that there are lots of people who let their kids wash their own clothes. I don't like to wash lots of small loads, so we will continue to do loads together. The kids will wash loads of everyone's clothes as a chore sometimes. They know how to wash clothes, so they won't be lost when they are on their own someday. We do lots of laundry, but it never occurred to me that my washing machine might be di...

Laundry. It is not my favorite thing to do. It is never ending. With my family of 5 we sure always have a lot of it. I know in some families that the kids do their own laundry. At my house I hate having only small loads of each person being done. So we wash our clothes together, but I will have them wash lots of the large loads too. If they have something in particular that they need cleaned then they throw in all the rest of the clothes that color too. It works well for us. The thing about washing lots of loads of laundry is how much laundry detergent gets used. I told you that on my "chore" list is do a load of laundry from start to finish everyday. The cost of detergent really starts to add up. For a while it seemed like I was spending a fortune on laundry soap. Pinterest had given me some good cleaning recipes so I decided to look for a laundry soap recipe that sounded easy and worked well. There are so many different recipes for the soap. Which one to pick? I didn'...

I don't know anyone who loves cleaning their house. It is not fun. But I do love living in a clean house. Living in a dirty house is gross and embarrassing. Don't like cleaning and don't like living in a mess do not go together. You are going to have to do something that you don't want to do. Personally, I'd rather clean and then be done with it. Don't like doing it but I really like the end result. So I clean. But I am not the only one that lives in my house so I don't think that cleaning should just be my responsibility. (Imagine that!) Despite what my children sometimes think, I am not their personal maid. During the school year I ask them to do specific chores a couple of times a week, depending on the amount of homework they have. Usually I have them empty of fill the dishwasher or put laundry away. Simple, quick chores. (Even my husband who works all day helps clean the house. He's awesome at vacuuming, sweeping and taking out the trash.) However...

So there are so many different kinds of cleaners on the market.  Cleaners for glass, toilets, soap scum, hard water spots, and sooooo many more.  I have bought lots of cleaners promising that they can do  miracles.  Soap scum is somethings that I really hate and have bought lots of cleaners that said that they could easily wipe it away.  I was always disappointed.  The soap scum would still be there and getting worse.  One day on Pinterest I saw a homemade soap scum recipe.  It was simple so I decided to try it.  It was AMAZING!!!!  It really did clean off the soap scum.  I will never use another cleaner again.   This miracle cleaner is equal parts HOT vinegar and BLUE Dawn dishsoap.  I put it in a spray bottle and use what I need.  It stays good and works just as well next time you need it.  Then when it's gone I just make more.  Like I did for today for the tub.  I usually use a piece o...