I enjoyed much needed break over the long weekend with my family down in Destin, FL. We ate too much, got in some great beach time and enjoyed being together. I (mostly) stayed unplugged from virtual world too, except for a couple of Instagram posts.
http://instagram.com/p/3H0fu8FViD/?taken-by=apinchofhealthy
http://instagram.com/p/3H3nZ3FVoL/?taken-by=apinchofhealthy
It was fabulous.
So on to today’s topic! Instead of a recipe, I am sharing a few spring cleaning tips. Cleaning is not usually something I offer up advice on. Truth be told, if I have the choice to clean my house…or make some muffins? I am making the muffins, y’all. 🙂
That being said, I do go through spurts of cleaning and organizing frenzy where I must. clean. ALL the things.
Lately I have been trying to get away from the all-or-nothing approach. Instead, I would like to take small, more consistent steps to keeping our home clean and tidy.
So today I have rounded up a few tools and tips that will hopefully help you (and me!) achieve this.
1. Take advantage of smart technology.
Okay, there is one technology that is frankly blowing my mind right now. Eureka sent me one of their new vacuums to try (available at WalMart). And get this: It has a self-cleaning brush roll. I mean, WHAT?! This is actually a THING?!? I was super curious, so I accepted.
Okay, let me just say that my sweet little family is a hair factory. We shed hair. Like, a lot. With myself and one of our dogs being the worst offenders.
I vacuum often, but that hair just wraps itself around the brush roll of my old vacuum cleaner. I LOATHE cleaning this off.
Gross! It is SO disgusting. So I would just let all that hair stick until the vacuum would stop working properly.
This new Eureka vacuum, though? It has a button that you push to clean the brush roll. It just makes life a little easier. And who wouldn’t love that?!
Eureka #CleaningUntangled Sweeps!
2. Maximize the power of routines.
Routines make use of a schedule, and daily routines pretty much become habit. I am still struggling, but I am getting better at this.
There are several sites with free checklists and printables. I found most of these on Pinterest. You could pick and choose which tasks you want to do, but these give you something to start from.
- Fresh and Organized 31 Day Cleaning Routines
- Frugal Novice free printable cleaning calendar
- Making Home Base Basic Cleaning Schedule
- Cornerstone Confessions deep cleaning checklist
- How Jen Does It (YouTube Channel) – Jen has a whole playlist for cleaning & organizing. Some of her videos are on the long side, but I always seem to watch them anyway. I love her channel.
3. Mother (nature) knows best.
Healthy cleaning has definitely become more of a priority lately, especially as I learn more and more about what goes in those cleaners. I have a few resources to offer you here.
For starters, an easy homemade all purpose cleaner:
- Fill up an empty spray bottle 2/3 with water, 1/3 with white vinegar.
- Add 3 to 5 drops of tea tree oil (got mine at Whole Foods).
This works great as a shower spray or an all purpose cleaner. And the tea tree oil smells a little nicer than just vinegar.
I like to go non-toxic and natural whenever possible. I have actually been using the Shaklee cleaners for about a year now, and I love them. I do not sell them, although I probably should. I generally stay away from direct sales things, but I do love their products.
If you want to make your own cleaners, there are tons of great resource books. I own this book (Amazon affiliate links, FYI), but I rarely use it because it turns out I am too lazy to make much more than the all purpose cleaner recipe listed above.
Well, that wraps up my short list. Thanks to Eureka for sponsoring this post! Be sure to check out more about the Eureka Brushroll Clean™ with SuctionSeal®.
How would this technology benefit your family?
What did you do for Memorial Day weekend?
Do you have any Spring cleaning tips or tools that make your life a little easier?
lauren says
i love a great vacuum!!!!!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Me too Lauren!
Lynn says
The one lesson I have learned…..laundry! Do it daily! For me, if I do that it just makes everything else easier.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
So true Lynn. I do (at least) one load a day, usually.
Staci @ anewstaci.blogspot.com says
I just got my first Eureka vacuum a couple months ago. I got sick and tired after FOUR Bissell vacuums would always lose suction! A friend recommended Eureka Air Speed, and I’m glad I got it! 🙂 I would love one of these, too, though! Ha! It’s probably an upgrade from the cheaper one we got. A cleaning tip I read somewhere once was to set a timer for 30 minutes each day that you can and tackle an area of the house that you have been neglecting. When the time goes off, walk away (the hard part) and pick back up on it the next day. A friend of mine just blogged about this, only she said she was told 15 minutes. 🙂
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
That timer trick is such a great tip, Staci! I need to get back to doing that. I used to do 15 minutes, though.