30 Day House Cleaning Challenge Day 8

Today's Challenge . . . Floors

Today wasn't the best or worst. What I wanted to get done and what I did get done were two very different things. I wanted to get both the vacuuming and mopping done. The kitchen looks pretty bad since I have little ones who seems to spill a lot. We had a pretty busy afternoon so I never got to the moping. 

I'm ok with it though because we went to the library, picked out some seeds for my daughter to plant, spent some time at Goodwill (found a couple good deals), and bought a few groceries at Aldies. We got back in time for supper, had an ice cream cone as a treat, and played their new game Grandma gave them for Easter. We really had a great day, so who cares if I didn't get all the cleaning I wanted to done. 

We did start our morning out vacuuming all our carpet. For this chore I did have some help. 

 

My very helpful 4 year old picking up the toys, while her sisters watch.

These two thought it would be more fun to get out their play food and dishes, then help clean up.(At least they aren't fighting)

 

 I try to stay on top of my 4 year old and the messes she and her sisters make in the playroom by having her pick up in the morning just before lunch and again before bed. Because of that, there was not too many toys to pick up. Plus the toys they usually play with were in the girls' bedroom.(That's tomorrow's chore)

About 10 minutes of cleaning up toys and we were ready to vacuum.

We usually have a few helpers for vacuuming. 

It didn't take too long to finish. I love that the girls are willing to help, even if it means more work for me sometimes. My 4 year old is getting better and better with her chores. Which is starting to mean less work for me. 

All clean

I finished up the steps, living room, hallway, and upstairs bedrooms myself. The one thing about having a larger house is that there is always more floors to clean. I sometimes miss my little house because of that. 

So how did you do? If you are wondering what this challenge is about check out moneysavingmom.com and join us.

 

Adventures in Budgeting: Month 5

Well March taught me a lot. It isn't about how much you are spending in each category as long as the money going out equals the money coming in. Not every month will be the same. We had to adjust our gas budget and our utilities budget. It just meant we had less extra at the end of the month to put towards debt. We still had enough left over to make an additional payment and then some to our smallest debt. 

With our tax return we were also able to pay off a very small debt. Two down 4 to go! It feels so good to see those gone from our lives. I am feeling the momentum and ready to get the debt out of our lives forever!

My husband came to me a few weeks ago and decided he wanted to build a shed with a play house on top. We have spent time talking about how much it will cost and how much we are holding back from our tax return to build it. Since we aren't holding enough to pay for it out right, we are going to budget a little every month for a few months to finish it. It feels so good to discuss our money together. In the past he would have just started to buy what he needed and then we would fight over the money when we looked at the statements. We are on the same page and he now knows what I know too.

Budgeting isn't about not having any fun or getting anything extra. It is about looking at what you have and putting it to work. What do you need or what do you want to save for. We have a few things we are saving for in addition to paying down our debt fast. My husband has a brother who lives 27 hours away by car. We would like to go visit every year. In order to do so we have to save for it. My husband will need a new truck soon, we are putting money away for that. Once it dies we will buy a different one with cash. Saving for something is a goal and goals are what keeps you motivated. What are you motivated about?

30 Day House Cleaning Challenge: Day 4

Today's Task . . . Play Room

Today was a little different for me. It was a nice warm day for us in Minnesota, and my husband returns to work next week, so we headed out to the zoo. Since we were gone for at least half the day, I didn't have time to really clean what I would have liked to. If we had stayed home, I would have cleaned my sewing room and laundry room instead. 

Well I didn't want to miss cleaning something, so I got reinforcements and we cleaned the kids play room. It was nice doing it as a family. Since it is their toys and their room they should be helping. My 4 year old helped clean up toys. (The battery on my camera was dead so I couldn't take pictures of everyone cleaning till the end.)

After toys were picked up, my girls helped vacuum the carpet and mop the tile under their table. I got the carpet cleaner ready and cleared the carpet. My husband was such a trooper and helped so much. He did more cleaning in the play room then I did. The last thing we did is clean the carpets with my Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge. The carpets smell great, the carpet is dry within a few hours and I love the feeling of clean carpets. 

My goal is to clean the carpet in that room once a month. They end up very dirty with the girls playing, eating, and having accidents in there. We vacuum everything once a week but do many mess cleanups in between. It is the hardest room to keep clean and the one that takes a lot of energy from me. 

If you are looking for a carpet cleaner I really love my Hoover. We use the deodorizer cleaning solution with it and it makes the carpets smell so much better.

30 Day House Cleaning Challenge Day3: Bedroom

Today's task . . . My bedroom

Before:

Well my bedroom definitely needed work. It is the one room that hasn't been painted or had any decorating on the wall at all. It has become a catch all for things we want to hide when people come over and things just keep getting piled higher and higher. 

I only cleaned my room today because the other two rooms aren't as bad. It took me all morning to get everything done. I wish I had time to organize the closet and go through some of our clothes. I also didn't have a chance to vacuum since my littlest was sleeping after I got everything straightened up. 

There was a long list of things that needed to be done. Here is all I did today:

• put away clean clothes
• changed sheets and put our spring quilt on the bed
• cleaned off wash table and sorted through the mess, threw things out and put the rest where it belongs
• Cleaned off the cedar chest and put everything where it belongs
• Dusted the cedar chest and wash table
• Picked up the girls' books and toys and put them away (downstairs with the rest of their stuff)
• Picked up all the other odds and ends on the floor

Here is the after:

I had a very happy husband when he walked into the bedroom. Hopefully I can keep it this clean so we can paint very soon. Now that it is cleaned up, I am more eager then ever to get rid of my white walls and decorate my room.

How did your room(s) go? I'd love to hear from you. Don't forget to LIKE my Facebook page.

Saving money by cleaning with vinegar

 In my quest to find affordable, non-toxic cleaners for my house I came across many people starting to clean with vinegar. For 4 years now I have been doing almost 100% of my household cleaning with only vinegar and baking soda. 

It is so incredibly cheap and very efficient. My allergies have been much better. Commercial  products add a lot of extras that I am very sensitive to and the vinegar and baking soda do not bother me at all.

Around the house I have spray bottles in both bathrooms and the kitchen for all surfaces. It is made up of about 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water. I soak my vinegar in orange peels for about two weeks and it gives it a slight orange smell. When I don't have orange peels or any other citrus fruit available, I add a few drops of essential oils. This helps with the strong odor from the vinegar. The good thing is once the vinegar is dry you can't smell it any longer.

In the bathroom I not only use it on the counters but also the the toilet. I spray down and wipe the seat and rim and throw in about a cup of vinegar in the bowl with about a half cup of baking soda. I let that sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing it. The bath toys all get sprayed or soaked in vinegar and I will spray the shower down with my vinegar spray between deep cleanings.

Vinegar is so versatile that I also use it in the laundry room. As I said I have very sensitive skin as does my 4 year old. There are so many detergents and fabric softeners that irritate my skin. I now make my own laundry detergent and instead of using fabric softener, I put vinegar in the rinse cycle instead. Once it is dry there is no smell except a clean smell. When I need to clean my wash machine, which should be once a month, I pour a little in then to help disinfect my wash machine.

Vinegar is versatile. I don't have bottles of different cleaners laying around. When my little ones get a hold of the bottles because they want to help too, I never worry about them getting it in their eyes, on their hands or putting the spray bottle in their mouth (although it is really gross). I feel safe cleaning for my family. 

Vinegar soaking in orange peels. Reusing some old jars to do so.

30 Day House Cleaning Challenge: Day 2

Today's Task: Bathrooms

Before:

The bathrooms weren't in horrible shape but did need a through clean through. It took me a little over an hour to clean both bathrooms. Here's what I did:

•  Picked up and but away anything that doesn't belong
• Cleaned out when of my drawers buy throwing things away and rearranging
• Wiped down mirrors 
• Wiped down counters and sinks using diluted Bakers & Chefs Vinegar
• Threw baking soda and vinegar in the toilet bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes 
• Scrubbed the tub using Mr. Clean Magic Eraser(amazing how it gets off the soap scum so easily)
•  Wiped down the toilet
• Scrubbed the toilet bowl
• Swept and mopped the floor
• Emptied the garbage
• Washed the rugs from my bathroom
• Put out all clean towels

To read my posts on cleaning with vinegar and baking soda click below: 

Saving Money by Cleaning with Vinegar

Saving Money by Cleaning with Baking Soda

After:

How was your day two? Join our challenge through moneysavingmom.com.

30 Day House Cleaning Challenge: Day 1

Today's Task: Surface clean living room and kitchen

Before:

I have been trying hard to keep my kitchen clean. It seems that I can go to bed with it pretty clean and wake up with dishes piled up every where. It seems to multiply so fast. 

With a busy weekend, the mess seemed to explode everywhere. The living room only took a few minutes but with constant interruptions from my girls, the kitchen took me all day to do. 

We had some errands to run and our weekly library trip, so I didn't have as much time at home as usual. I wanted to get all the lower cabinets wiped down, table and chair legs, and chair backs but only got about half way done.

Last night I decided to make pizza and freeze a few. It was of course a huge mess and took an hour and a half. So after spending the morning cleaning the kitchen, I had to clean it a second time. My oldest wiped down the table for me while I washed dishes. That was a big help for me. Then I had to wipe down all the counters, again, and do a quick sweep of the floor.

I now have 3 pizzas in the freezer for a later time and a very clean kitchen, so I don't feel too bad about having to clean it twice.

After:

I use vinegar and baking soda to clean. Click below to read my posts.
Saving Money by Cleaning with Vinegar

Saving Money by Cleaning with Baking Soda

How did your cleaning go today?

Join the challenge at moneysavingmom.com