Cleaning can be part of organizing

Ok, so most of you know my obsession with organizing and some of you know my obsession with searching you tube for quick tips and tricks for organizing, cleaning and design.  I used to watch a lot of HGTV but since we cancelled cable and time is at a premium 5-10 min you tube clips are actually more effective and efficient at telling me what I need to know.

Today's blog is more about cleaning than organizing (though I must admit I have done clients' dishes before).  I follow several organizing "vlogs" and these following tips have significantly reduced the amount of time I spend cleaning.  YAY! more time to organize!

1. Tip:  Use baking soda and vinegar to whiten your whites.  Bleach is SO last decade.  I found that if you put a half cup of baking soda directly into the washer drum with your whites and a half to a cup of vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser and put the wash on warm/cold soak you can eliminate dingy staining and stinky body smell from sheets, pillows, undershirts and sometimes even socks and underwear   (Some of you know that I can't smell so you are wondering "how does she know!" Since I started using this method I haven't heard a peep from hubby who used to complain his shirts smelled rotten after they came out of the wash.)  After a good soak put the load through a regular wash on warm or cold water only. 
1. Bonus: No more need for HOT water for your sheets. All yuckies are taken out by the vinegar and baking soda. 
2. Bonus:  This is how you would clean your washing machine.  Now the machine is getting cleaned WHILE my laundry is getting clean!!  Gotta love the 2 birds thing.
   
   
2. Tip:  Use microfiber cloths with only water to clean your windows in NO time flat.  I used to toil away at cleaning my windows (inside and out) and it would take so much time just to do one that I saved it for when I did deep cleaning in each individual room.  As a result I never had a full house of clean windows.  Only one room's worth or a couple of windows would be clean at a time.  NO MORE!  I can clean all of the windows (inside and out) in just over 30 min with a bucket of warm water, a little vinegar and a clean microfiber cloth.  I used to use Windex and paper towels and I'm pretty sure at one point I used a whole roll for my living room widows. Gross and wasteful.  That is when I was introduced the microfiber cloth.  I LOVE IT for all kinds of cleaning.  Counters, windows, dusting.  Anyway, without sounding like a microfiber ad. the cloth is easy to rinse and wring out until almost dry, just wipe and repeat.  No more wasteful paper towel or ammonia smell in the house (heh, just vinegar smell)  Doesn't bother me though.  Super fast and effective that I find I do it more often and the job gets easier each time because the windows don't get as grimy.
   
   
3. Tip:  Clean your microwave and sponges with no effort, in 5 min.  So I have to admit I don't clean these items on a regular basis as you can see from the before pic I took.  I just throw away grungy sponges and the microwave is SO easy to ignore with the door closed that I just don't do it.  But I'm always embarrassed if a guest goes to use the microwave.  NOT ANYMORE!  Tonight I cleaned my microwave.  I had heard of microwaving lemon and its juice on high for 5 min and I had heard of disinfecting your sponge in a similar way so I combined the two.  You know, 2 birds like!  And it worked!! Give your microwave a lemon spa treatment. (the hardest part was remembering to pick up a lemon at the grocery store)

This microwave has been splattered like this for over 2 months.  Gross!

                  
1. Cut a lemon in half and juice it into a bowl with a couple cups of water in it. 
2. Throw your sponge in with the water juice mix and the juiced lemon halves.
3. Run your microwave on high for five minutes
4. Be careful everything will be REALLY HOT so use oven mitts to remove the bowl.  After cooling the sponge under running water (I never touch the sponge until it has been thoroughly cooled. Remember water IN the sponge will remain hot so be careful when you squeeze the excess water out)
5. Simply wipe (no elbow grease needed) the grime away.  I did wipe the dish in the sink but no scrubbing was required.



VOILA!  A sparkling microwave (and germ free sponge, not pictured)





I hope these tips help you to get your cleaning done faster so you can have more time to do what you enjoy (whether that is organizing or not).    If you have any blog requests or ideas.  Spread the knowledge and post in the comments below.




Thanks for your interest in my blog.

Julie, Little Yellow Ranch 

Laundry Room Redo - Get it all off the floor!

Ok, I know ANOTHER laundry make over.  Well here it is.  It has taken me many hours of painting, cleaning, clearing, selling, and donating and my unfinished basement laundry room went from storage nightmare (below) to a dedicated laundry/cleaning area.

Of course these pictures don't do the doom and gloom justice but you get the idea. Stuff, Stuff, and more Stuff!  I had to work around pipes, bare rafters and a gross utility sink.  At least I was able to start off with an AWESOME new washer and dryer (funny that you can barely see them in this mess).  

So I got to clearing out.  Big time!  And I found that there is absolute truth to the observation that things in the basement are just delayed decisions.  I probably brought 3 car loads to the dump. Freecycled a ton of items and put, in a neighborhood tag sale, all of the small items I thought were worth something (basically all of the baby items).  All that, a coat of paint and a weekend project laundry sorter brought to life by my handy hubby and VOILA!

The first thing I did was paint.  Using an old can of yellow paint that I no longer have in any rooms upstairs I was able to eliminate the nasty cement/drippy, basement feel to the walls and use up a gallon of paint I no longer needed to store..  Yes the walls are still cement and they are gross but at least it isn't the first thing you notice.The final part of the laundry room, the part that pulled it all together is the build my husband did for my 'sorter'.  

I was using 2 of the 3 sectioned laundry sorters (one of them similar to pictured below and one of them had a hanging rod and upper shelf.  They were visually imposing and I found I never used the upper shelf or hanging rod.  I have a drying rack I use for air drying already.

I drew out a design for my husband to engineer and for less than $90 ($60 for the baskets and less than $30 for the lumber) this is what he built.  I added a metal shelf to the right for extra storage and small sorting bins.  One for my microfiber clothes (a load that needs to be done seperate from all others) and my rags/ old towels.

The labels I designed.  I love the shape and color!

I was also thinking ahead to when the kids (and maybe husband) would be doing the laundry.  

SO... 

... I wrote instructions for what clothing items fit into the category and what setting to dry the load on.  Now anyone who can read can do the laundry!

By the way.  I still have space for my folded up air dryer and my extra sorting bins if needed.  When not needed they take up VERY little space.

What laundry room isn't complete without a folding table?  I just used a small folding table and put shelving above it for dryer items (dryer sheets, tennisballs, and clothespins), overflow cleaning supplies and an iron. Everything fit perfectly.  I was even able to fit all of our luggage under the table for easy grab and go access.

For a final touch I hung a framed poster I had, but didn't fit anywhere else, up from the rafters.  It's the perfect final touch to cover up a large eyesore of cables and ducts.  And, almost like I planned it, it matches the yellow walls.

Again ...

Before

After

If you have any tips or tricks as to how you keep your laundry room in order please comment below or tag me in your blog.  Thanks from The Little Yellow Ranch!