Cleaning Tips

1. Make a list - have a plan...or even schedule tasks on your calendar if you need to.
   
2. Prioritize...what needs to be cleaned most or first.  Are you having company, house-guests or throwing a get-together?
3. Having a regular weekly routine can help.  (i.e. Tuesday is garbage day, so Monday all the garbages, recycle is taken out/ Wednesday is washing bedding/ etc.)
   
4. Start a load of laundry each morning.  If you keep up on it during the week, it's not so much work on the weekend.
5. Put items near top/bottom of stairs if they need to go back up (or down), so you can take them the next time.  Keep a cute basket handy if this seems to happen a lot.
   
6. Bedrooms look cleaner when you make your bed.  Get into the habit of making your bed when you get up.  It really helps!
7. Clean your kitchen as you cook...or at least each evening.  A clean kitchen is so much nicer to work in.  Plus, if work-space is an issue, cut down on clutter.

Natural Cleaners

1. Must have ingredients: baking soda, vinegar, water, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and Dawn (or similar liquid soap).  Secondary needs: olive oil, lavender essential oil, lemon essential oil, orange essential oil  & tea tree essential oil.
2. Recipes for cleaning with dōTERRA Essential Oils
3. Recharge your towels with vinegar & baking soda
   
4. Simple, natural cleaner recipes
   
5. Cleaning with microfiber cloths can cut down on your use of paper towels, cleaning wipes, and there's even a microfiber alternative to Swiffer pads.
6. Try making your own carpet deodorizer with baking soda.  You can even scent it with your favorite essential oil.  Sprinkle it on, wait, vacuum it up.
7. Using the right cleaner and tools for the job can help it get done quicker and easier.  Using the wrong things can take longer and could even cause damage to your home/belongings. 

Organizing Tips

1. As a general rule: If you use it a lot, keep it out...if not find a place to store it.  However, don't make things too hard to get to or you won't want to use them.  
2. As you pick up around the house, put items in boxes or bins labeled: put away, throw away, give away (or keep, junk, donate).  
3. Sort all mail, school papers, etc. as it comes into the house so you don't end up with a huge pile you have to go back through later.
4. Keep a family calendar so that everyone's activities are listed together in one place.  Helps to cut down on over-scheduling too much for one day.
5. Keep a running shopping list.  When you run out of something or are almost out write it on the list.  That way things are less likely to be forgotten.  
6. Try Cozi...their online and mobile app is super handy!  Create shopping lists, to-do lists, calendar, meal planning, etc.  Even the FREE version is great!  
7. egg carton organizers

Gardening & Outdoors

egg carton seed starters
egg-carton fire-starters

Re-purposing Ideas

1. scoops
   
2. funnels
   
3. terrariums
   
4. shaker container (punch, drill, or use an x-acto knife to cut holes in lid or container depending on type of container/lid & use)  (i.e. carpet deodorizer shaker)
   

Home Improvement Ideas

1. When you paint a room, make sure to keep any left-over paint to do touch-ups later.  If possible, write which room the paint goes in.  Also, write paint colors/types on paint stir sticks to keep for color-matching paints later.
   
2. Take paint swatch colors to the store to help coordinate items like new linens, throws, pillows, rugs, furniture, misc. decor, or prints to hang.  Mix, match, and bring colors you love into your space!
   
3. Shower curtains, sheets, and other beautiful fabrics can be used in place of regular store-bought curtain panels.  They can be less expensive and altered to suit your needs.  Be creative & have fun decorating your home.  Curtain rod clips are handy for hanging items without a "rod pocket" or tabs.

A New Craft Area & Re-Organizing...

My oldest daughter wanted her own bedroom, so I gave up my "craft room" a while back in order to make that happen.  Since then, my craft stuff has sort of been displaced.  My husband tried to help me set up an area of the garage for it and even bought some extra shelving to help with storage space in there.  Everything looked organized, but just wasn't very practical.  It's darker, cooler, and dustier in there.  Even with a table & chair set-up in there for me to use, it wasn't ever appealing to do any "work" in there.  Some of the boxes were hard to remove from the shelves, some items were a little too high to reach, or heavy to lift.  So, every time I wanted to work on anything, that meant hauling my supplies in & out of the house.  Of course, I realize this isn't that terrible...at least I have space to keep my things.

My husband and I have talked about putting my craft things somewhere else in the house.  But, where? We considered the somewhat under-used dining room and just moving our dining table next to our family room.  We talked about making that section of our family room a craft space, but that just didn't seem large enough for all my stuff, either.  He then suggested our front living room.  I was apprehensive at first, but after some discussion I started really considering using that room.  The main draw-back for me is that it is the first room after you enter my home.  Plus, you can see into it from my front porch.  I usually use this room when I have guests over or my husband & I have coffee together on the weekends, but overall, it doesn't really get used that much.  So, we decided to go for it.

We had to make space on our bookshelves in our bedroom to clear out the bookcases in here.  We found a new home for our board games and who'd have thought to put the cookbooks in the kitchen?!?  Of course, all of that took a little re-arranging, too.  So, cookbooks moved to the kitchen and our medicines moved to the bathroom (since our kids are no longer little & won't get into them).  The extra towels moved to the laundry area to make the extra room in the bathroom.  The family room couch & chair went into the garage, while what was the front living room's couch & love seat moved into the family room.  Are you dizzy yet?  It felt like musical chairs of a sort.  We made a trip to IKEA for some work tables & a new chair.  Then, it was time to haul in my craft cubes and all my supplies and get everything organized again.  It's taken just over a week from the start to getting it mostly squared away.   

Now...

Before...plus a few pics of my kids.