3 Easy Ways To Organize Your "Everyday Big Bag" ~ Day 17 ~

Hey I'm so glad you're back!

I have something much smaller for us to organize today!

Let's organize our purses!

So I don't know what size of purse you have.  But I feel that this concept is one that can be done with just about any purse.

Let's Get Started!

It can be so frustrating at times when I'm getting ready to walk out the door.  I grab my keys out of my purse only to remember I forgot to change all my stuff into a small purse that goes better with my outfit than my regular purse.  But I don't have time now! I'll just have to take in my clunky purse anyway!

8 Ways To Find Sanity Among Your Chaos ~ Day 16 ~

Good Morning!  Did you get you lists made?  I hope so!

Did you get your index cards done?  Good!

So you're ready to get started with saving time & money in your busy day! 

In other words becoming a good steward of what God has given you!

Well today I want to give you some shortcuts or ideas to help you accomplish that!  And, also help you find areas that are robbing you of your time & money!

How Can I Get More Hours In My Day ~ Day 15 ~

Good Morning!!!  

It's a new beginning to a brand new week!!!

Now you and I both know that God has given each of us the very same hours in our day.  
What you choose to do with them is up to you!

We have gotten our home cleaned and organized now....and.... it's time to learn how to keep it that way!

Do you clean daily? Or do you clean once a week?

Reality is that if you clean daily you don't have to knock your brains out on Saturday or whatever day you have decided to clean your home.  The same goes for your laundry. Do you do a little each day?  Or do you wait and do it all at once?

Let me show you a way that really works and will truly make you feel like you have more time than you've had in the past.

Speed Cleaning Your Master Bedroom ~ Day 14 ~ Really All The Other Rooms In Your Home

Hey! It's great to be back. Good to see you too!
Today we will be looking at how to clean the other rooms in your home.
I want to focus on the Master Bedroom since you probably just finished the bathroom in the Master Suite.

As I was thinking about this I realized even your Dining Room, Living Room, Home Office and Family Rooms will be clean pretty much in the same manner.
The cleaning plan I'm going to give you today, we will assume that your Dining Room has a solid floor, the Living Room & Bedrooms, etc. have carpet.

How To Speed Clean Your Bathrooms ~Day 13 ~ Clean & Organize Your Life & Home

Well did you get your kitchen done yesterday?  I know it was the fastest you've every cleaned it before!
Today we will use the same techniques in the Bathroom as we did in the Kitchen.  However all rules were made to be broken at times and this is one. We will be making 2 trips around the bathroom since it is a WET and DRY Area!

The Bathroom
Cleaning items you will need in your Carry-All Caddy

1. "The Works" Shower Cleaner
2. 2 qt. Plastic Pitcher
3. Blue Scrub Sponge
4. Spray Bottle w/ Bleach Solution (diluted 1 part bleach to 4 parts water)
5. 409 Cleaner
6. Window Cleaner
7. Toilet Brush
8. Tile Brush
9. 4 Cleaning Cloths
10. Duster

How To Speed Clean Your Kitchen ~ Day 12 ~ Clean & Organize Your Life & Home

Hey there!
So we've got our supplies ready!

And we know our 10 steps!
I had planned to show you a real cleaning apron until I got it and really LOOKED at it!!!!
My Cleaning Apron is so gross!!!!  I'm so embarrassed for you to see it.  So I went looking for one online.
I visited a friend Karen @ karenehman.com  and she had an adorable apron made by Sheri who has an Etsy shop with some really cute items. Give her store a look see.  This is one of her cleaning aprons. Isn't it adorable?  I only have one thing that needs to be changed and that is there are no little pockets to hold the toothbrush or scrapers.  Other than that it is ready to help me clean the Kitchen.

{Busy as a Bee}

{Diva Gloves by Apron Queen}

~10 Step Speed Cleaning ~ Day 11 Cleaning & Organizing Your Home and Your Life

10 Step Speed Cleaning

Okay! We should be just about through cleaning out and organizing our homes. The piles have been gone through and all put away, thrown away or given away.  But if you're not there yet, that's okay.  Just stay with it until it's done.  Because the weight that will be lifted from you is going to be soooo worth the effort you are putting into your home right now! 

As I promised you on Friday, we are going to start tackling the daily or weekly cleaning tasks. Using the tips I'm going to be giving you will help you cut your cleaning time way down!! 

I'm not going to overwhelm you today with how to clean your whole home.
What I'm going to tell you today is the correct supplies you will need to get the jobs done right and with as little effort as possible.
If you use the right products they will do most of the work for you!  Now isn't that what we want our money going too?

When I started cleaning homes many years ago I came across the book SPEED CLEANING written by Jeff Campbell  that was worth its weight in gold.
I do most of the things suggested and have tweaked a few that work better for me since I work alone.

I have also tried many, many products along the way and the ones listed here are what I have found to work the best for me and also aren't too expensive.

I'm also going to give you a condensed version of the strategies I use in cleaning. 

So Let's Get Started!!

Cleaning Supplies:

• Carry-All Caddy

~ Day 10 ~ 4 Ways To Become More Orgainzed

I'm usually pretty neat. But before I started this series on Organization, I took a look around and realized there's a big difference between being neat and being organized.

Being neat and tidy means that my space has the potential of becoming messy again!
Organized means "Everything has a place and Everything is in Its place!
I live in a very small home. And becoming organized wasn't easy and it still has its moments!

Trust me I still have so much stuff and finding a place for it all hasn't been an easy task. I have had many garage sales and tossed and given so much stuff away.

{Source}

Why do we hold onto stuff? I'm not really sure I have an answer for that. Do you?

Anyway today I want to tell you 4 things that have helped me become more organized. I know I have shown you before Organized Home, but they have a wealth of papers you can print.

~ Day 9 ~ 6 Ways To Get Your Kids Organized

Organized was the last thing I was as a child. 

{The Land of Nod}

My Daddy said my room had the best carpet in the whole house....Hum wonder why? 

My Mom makes fun of me now about how when I was little.  She would tell me to go clean my room so we could get up in the morning and go to town. 
I would go into my room and start cleaning, or to hear her tell it, I would start shoving things under my bed and into my closet. I would shove so much junk into my closet that it almost wouldn't close. Then the rest of the stuff, I would tidy up into stacks all around the edges of my room.  Does any of this sound familiar? Are your kids organizationally challenged? I sure was. Unfortunately I learned what I saw.  Do your kiddos see you organized? If you and your child are having a hard time getting everything cleaned and keeping it that way then this is for you. 

~ Day 8 ~ 6 Ways Of Organizing That Mountain Of Paper!!

Paper!! Paper!!! Paper!!!!!
Its everywhere!!

The kids bring it home! The hubby brings it home!! And oh my word!!! The mailman even delivers it to your home!!!!  HELP!!!!
If there is one thing I have learned about all that paperwork is.....it doesn't take care of itself.  Nope! It just keeps right on growin'!
Some times ya just gotta take the "bull by the horns" so to speak and get it done before it gets totally out of hand! If it isn't already. And if that's where you are today, I'm going to try and give you some practical ways to get that paper all under control, with the help from Emily Barns, of course!

There are 6 ways to get that mountain of paper a whole lot tamer

~ Day 7 ~ Organizing Your Work Space/Home Management

Everyone needs a work space. If you have bills that you pay every month you need an office or designated space.  There may be a desk and chair. It may be a loose-leaf  notebook & file box. No matter how big or small your work space is....it needs to have some organization to it and quick!

Emily Barnes has a quote I love. " Don't put it down, put it away."  I love her book "Simply Organized". Many of the ideas you will see here are from there.

Ask yourself these 4 questions to help you decide where would be the ideal place for you to setup your work space.

~ Day 6 ~ TA-DA!!!! Cleaning & Organizing The Master Bedroom Finale!!!!

YIPPEE!!! We are on the final leg of getting the Master Bedroom conquered!

By now we should've gone through every nook'n'crannie! Every corner and drawer. Even under the bed.
And now it is time to put it all back together and make it look fabulous!
Today I will show you some ideas on corralling all those drawers holding our undies and accessories

This is so easy to make! Paint a frame any color you like, distress and attach chicken wire to the back and VOILA!

~ Day 5 ~ Organizing The Master Bedroom #3

Good Morning!!
Glad to see you're back!
There should be some light at the end of all that clutter and stuff starting about now!
I'm very proud of the progress you've made so far.
I hope you're proud of yourself and the big steps you've taken so far this week.

You ought be about ready to start putting all your clothes and other items that will fit back into your closet today. I'm going to go ahead and give you some information on getting organization to all your things.

{My Clothes Before}

{Before}

{Before}

                 

                      You have just entered a part of my world that no one but family has ever seen.

This is what it looked like before I was able to put some organization into my small space.

Come in to see more if you dare........

~ Day 4 ~ Organizing The Master Bedroom #2

Hey I'm glad you're back!
It's a new day and you are making super progress on the Master Bedroom in  Day 4 of getting our Life & Home Cleaned & Organized.

Today, I still want you to focus on the Master Bedroom. While you're busy de-cluttering and purging I want you to envision creative ways you can get all your clothes and things in your room organized.

I'm going to show you pictures that I've found, of different ways that you can do to take it to the next level; take it from clean to wow!

You may be in the same "boat" as I am and you just can't go out and buy all the cute little boxes and bags and crates to put all your loose things in. Or maybe you can. It doesn't matter because there are ways, with a little creativity and time you can make just plain boxes and containers look like you spent a bunch of $$ but maybe you didn't spend a few ¢'s. 

So sit back for just a few minutes. Grab another cup of coffee and enjoy looking at the different ideas I've found to contain all our stuff in our closet areas. Some you may like and others you may thing REALLY! 
God made each of us different so 1 thing isn't for all! 
Have a wonderful day and keep up the great work!

~ Day 3 ~ Organizing the Master Bedroom

Hi and welcome back!
Its Day 3 of getting our Life & Home Cleaned & Organized.
For the NEXT 4 days our focus is going to be on the Master Bedroom.
Just like we did in Organizing Kids Rooms we will divide the Master Bedroom into 4 Quarters.
Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the same method (TOSS, DONATE & KEEP) can be and will be used all throughout your entire home.
And instead of going over the same information again, just remember to click on Cleaning Supply List & Cleaning Techniques to refresh your memory.

There is going to be a little difference in the Cleaning Technique for your Master Bedroom though.
You will notice when you look back at the way we cleaned and organized the kiddos rooms, we didn't give them time to linger too long . That is because with kids you've got to get the job done in a short amount of time due to their lack of focusing too long on any one thing. Their little minds are going 500 mph.

Now please don't get discourage because you are having to mess up just to purge & deep clean.
The reward at the end of 4 days will be worth a little mess and disorder for now. 
Trust me!

Let's get busy! Shall we?!

Purging & Cleaning is our main focus for the next 4 days

Day 2 ~ Organizing The Kitchen & Pantry

Okay! It's Day 2 of getting our Life & Home Cleaned &Organized.
I hope you weren't too overwhelmed by yesterday's post.  I know I crammed a whole bunch in there.  But let's face there's a whole lot of stuff going on in a kid's room. The cleaning techniques I shared with you during our visit yesterday will carry over into all the rooms of your house.  So keeping that in mind, let's get started with our Kitchen. The Hub of the home. Guess how many hours we spend in our Kitchen? You ready?  Around 1,092 hours a year! That is one of the reasons this room is usually at the top of every ladies to do list .

Let's get started!!!!
These are some things you might want to get to help you organize your kitchen. If you're on a tight budget finish reading this post to see what things* you can tweak using things you may already have on hand. Hey I'm all about using what ya have!

• The cleaning supply list from yesterday's post 
• *Some jars or other tightly sealing containers. 
• *Cardboard Shoe Boxes that you can cover with contact paper or wallpaper, etc. These will be used for storage organization in your pantry
• Clear Tape
• *Shelf Liner
• *A lazy-susan turntables ( I think Rubbermaid makes one)  might also come in handy
• *Plastic Bin labeled: "EXTRAS" This is where you will put things you can't part with but don't use on a daily basis. If you have plenty of room in your cabinets for all these items without being too cramped then you may not need this bin. 
• Cardboard box labeled: "GARAGE SALE/DONATE" for things you no longer want 
• Trash Bags labeled "TOSS" for things that are broken, expired, spoiled or worn out
• Labels or if you have a Label Maker now is a good time to put it to use. Labeling things help not only you but your whole family and others who might come in and help out
• Felt tip marker for writing on labels 
• *Kitchen Timer if you have one on your microwave or stove just use that 

{Source}

Organizing Kid's Rooms ~ Day 1 ~

{Source}

Okay! Ready? Set? Go!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right! Today is Day 1 of our 22 Days To a Cleaner & Organized Life.
So let's get crackin'! I said....Well okay. We need to have a plan. Don't we?  We don't just jump in head first; I guess. Even though it might feel like that at times.
Today we are going to learn some basics and like the old saying; Rome wasn't built in a day! And it took God six days to complete His tasks. So we will just take baby steps.

First get these items ready because you will need all of them during our 22 days together:

1. trash bags (I would have the lawn size, cause let's hope there's a lot to throw away & donate)
2. duster (I use Swiffer Dusters, not the flat sheets )
3. dust cloth (I use microfiber and flannel type cloths)
4. furniture spray (Pledge Dust & Allergens is great)
5. dust mop for solid floors
6. broom & dust pan
7. vacuum
8. bucket (you'll need water in it later)
9. rags ( handi-wipes or old washcloths work well)
10. all-purpose cleaner (Mr. Clean, 409, Fabuloso all work well)
11. rubber gloves (you never know what you might find) 
12. windex
13. paper towels 
14. 1 LARGE bin for each child's room for now

I'm sure there will be other items along the way that your going to need but for now that should do it!
So if you're ready to get started!!!!

A Hiatus of Sorts~Switching Gears~

Good Morning Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful week! I know I sure have! 
And Guess What?  Its Friday!!!!!!

Now! Don't fall apart on me but.....I 'm going to put "Weekly Menu" on a hiatus or sabbatical of sorts. 

I will still be posting recipes that I think you will enjoy. With all the meal ideas I've already given you I believe you can handle it on your own for a few weeks.

Because its Summer Time! and many of us aren't on such a strict schedule, with vacations, kids visiting grandparents and just not wanting to cook as much....I thought maybe it was time to change our focus a little bit.  Sooooo!  I'm going to switch gears on you.

What I would like for us to start focusing on is organizing the home and ourselves too and maybe some redecorating and renovating along the way.

Cleaning Techniques

Cleaning TechniquesYou Can Use AllOver The Home

• Place 2 trash bags and 1 large bin into the center of the room.   
• We will only be working on 1 quarter of the room at a time, these bags need to be easy to get to from each section. Take the bag out of the room as it gets full and replace it with a new bag. This will help cut down on extra clutter and also it gives a feeling of accomplishment! 
• Label each bag and the bin as follows 
• Bag #1 is for TOSS, Bag #2 is for DONATE or GARAGE SALE, Large Bin is for KEEP (you will deal with this bin after all the room is cleaned).
• Pick which quarter you want to work on first. 
• Once that's decided, dig in!  
• Pick up an item only 1 time! Decide where it goes and toss it in! 
• If there's furniture in that quarter of the room, like an entertainment center, game system, desk, etc. be sure to clean it out as well. And the same goes for the closet too! 
• Use the same tossing system. 
• Now of course if it has folded clothes in it leave them alone. And if there are clothes still hanging in the closet and not all over the floor, leave them hanging. We will go through those 2 areas after everything is cleaned up. 
• But if there is stuff in with the clothes that shouldn't be........GET IT OUT!!!  
• Keep doing this until that quarter is cleaned. 
•  It is time to tackle those drawers and the closet too that we talked about a little earlier !! Do the very same thing as you did with the room. Toss, Donate, Garage Sale or Keep. If keeping it put it away NOW or  if it is not staying then TOSS IT OUT NOW!!!


• Take the bags in the middle of the floor out to the garage or wherever you want to store them until they can be taken to the appropriate place. 
•  Keep the bin close by because you're going to be going through it soon.
•  Now there is still work to be done. Kiddos may or may not be able to do some of this. Please use your best judgement. But please let them do as much as possible.


• If there is a ceiling fan now would be the time to dust it. And Venetian blinds too! 
• You can, but I don't believe it is necessary to keep focusing on the room divided into quarters. 
• Take and pull each piece of furniture one at a time, away from the wall. Don't give your child or yourself a hernia. If it is just too heavy to shove, scoot or drag then NEVER MIND! But for the furniture that can be moved do so. 
• Take the broom and sweep at the base of the baseboards. Get all that nasty dust out from between the carpet and baseboard.    
• Put some all-purpose cleaner & water into the bucket and with a rag start to wash off any finger prints or marks on the wall and baseboards.
• Also if there is a lot of dust on the furniture I would recommend you damping a rag with the all-purpose cleaner & water and wiping it off. 
• This will catch most of the dust and cut down of the dust flowing elsewhere too. Now don't do this every time you clean. That wouldn't be good for the wood furniture.
• Vacuum real good and then scoot the furniture back into place, unless you want to rearrange the furniture. This would be a great time to do that! 
• Continue doing this until you have cleaned behind and underneath each piece of furniture.
Now smell.....Doesn't it smell clean! And it is clean!

 You remember that LARGE BIN? Well now we get to go through it! 


• take each and every item and sort them by likeness. Lego, trucks, dolls, kitchen toys, etc. and make piles
• once everything is sorted out you need to decide where they are going to go and how they will be stored. 

These techniques can be use all over the house. These were taken from a post about Organizing Kids Rooms

Blessings ♥

Betsy

Cleaning Supplies List

Cleaning Supplies

1. trash bags (I would have the lawn size, cause let's hope there's a lot to throw away & donate)
2. duster (I use Swiffer Dusters, not the flat sheets )
3. dust cloth (I use microfiber and flannel type cloths)
4. furniture spray (Pledge Dust & Allergens is great)
5. dust mop for solid floors
6. broom & dust pan
7. vacuum
8. bucket (you'll need water in it later)
9. rags ( handi-wipes or old washcloths work well)
10. all-purpose cleaner (Mr. Clean, 409, Fabuloso all work well)
11. rubber gloves (you never know what you might find) 
12. windex
13. paper towels 
14. 1 LARGE bin for each child's room for now

I'm sure there will be other items along the way that you're going to need but for now that should do it!

This was taken from a post Organizing Kids Rooms

Blessings ♥

Betsy