Favorite Cleaning Hacks - Laundry Basket Pick-Up

I've been asked many times "Why don't you have any stuff lying around your house?  Where is all the clutter?"  Well, it's no secret.  The house looks cleaner when spaces are clear of stuff so I make sure there is a place for everything!

So, how can you put everything away quickly? Use a laundry basket and a timer.  Grab the basket, set the timer for 5 minutes, then go pick up everything that is cluttering up surfaces and put it in the basket.

When the 5 minutes are up, set the timer again and put all the stuff in the basket away for another 5 minutes.  Don't get distracted by other projects that might catch your attention along the way!  Your goal is to de-clutter and put stuff away for a total of 10 minutes.

If you can't find places for a lot of the stuff in the basket, then you have another task - find places to organize everything and throw away junk.  But don't be discouraged, you're on your way to a clutter-free home if you keep at it!

Let me know your favorite Cleaning Hack!

Favorite Cleaning Hacks - My Dishwasher

My most favorite appliance is my dishwasher.  I was 28 years old before I owned one and I've been using it for everything imaginable ever since.  But did you know your dishwasher can help clean all kinds of household items that are NOT in the kitchen??

Instead of spending time scrubbing small plastic trash cans, storage bins, baskets, even my plastic dustpan and brush...I put them in the dishwasher!

The dishwasher gets all the grease and build-up off of hairbrushes and combs (after you pull out all the hair, of course!).

I ran my ceramic barbecue grill plates through the dishwasher to remove a lot of the grimy greasy layers.  It didn't remove everything, but it softened the grit so that I could easily scrub them clean.




I put my lint catcher from the dryer in the dishwasher once a year to make sure that the waxy build-up isn't preventing air flow through the mesh.


Any small ceramics, pottery items, toothbrush holders and small vases you have for decoration or holding small items in your bathrooms or bedrooms come sparkling clean out of the dishwasher.

**Make sure you DON'T USE THE HEATED DRY OPTION because the hot coils in the bottom of the dishwasher will melt plastic.  

Let me know your favorite cleaning hack:)

Summer Blooms July 2016

Here's what I'm enjoying now in my garden!  It's been very hot and there hasn't been much rain, so these plants deserve our respect:)

Blanket Flowers

Coreopsis

Daisies

Astilbes

Potentilla

One Lone Clematis Bloom!

Obedient Plant

Look at our Basil!!!

Beach Inspirations

I just spent a few days at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  
I'm always inspired when I'm in awe of God's creation.
Here are a few photos that turned out better than I expected.

Late Spring Blooms 2016

Japanese Painted Fern

Bachelor Buttons

Clematis

Sweet William

Jacob's Ladder

Coral Bells

Sage

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Delphiniums

Clematis

Not a bad spring turnout!  

My House Is A Mess!

What do you do when you feel like your house is a mess and you don't know where to start??  Don't panic.

I read somewhere that the best way to eat an elephant is "one bite at a time!"  Instead of being overwhelmed with everything that you think needs to be done, just focus on ONE small task at a time!

My focus this week was my windowsills.  After a long winter, I was thrilled to open my windows to get some fresh air in the house.  This is what greeted me!

Even though there is a long list of chores I need to do around the house, I focused on ONE thing.  I got a rag and some cleaner and wiped my windowsills.  It only took 5 minutes.  I can clean windows and mini-blinds and ...another day ...one "elephant bite at a time."

How do you handle big tasks?  Any words of advice?  I'd love to hear them!

Spring Flowers 2016

I'm enjoying this spring very much.  Maybe it's because the weather "feels" like spring, chilly mornings, warming up in the afternoons, sleeping with the windows open...

Here's what's blooming in my yard!

Sweet Woodruff

Dogwood

Siberian Weeping Pea

Lily of the Valley

Lilacs

Not sure??

Chives