A Little Organizing and Spring Cleaning

A Little Organizing and Spring Cleaning

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It Might Not be Spring, but I’m Cleaning

Yep. I’m doing a little organizing and some spring cleaning.

A Little Organizing and Spring CleaningAnd did I mention I’m getting sick?

It’s a sure sign that spring is coming.

You see, I’m allergic to mold.

And even though we have a wind chill index of -8 right now, we’ve had enough warmish weather to start the thaw. Our lake is no longer safe for crazy ice fishers, and the ground is sometimes a little soft. And I have a couple of muddy paw prints on the back door that will not get cleaned in this weather.

All of that means that there is mold in the air outside.

And mold in the air inside, because I’ve been cleaning the bathrooms and under the kitchen sink.

And while I can’t see any mold, my body tells me otherwise.

The Motivation for Cleaning

I would love to tell you some secret formula that would motivate you to clean, but I’m not sure that I can.

What motivates me, other than the need to clean, is a good smell. I love good smelling things!

I buy all of my cleaning products from Grove. They have natural products, great brands, pricing pretty much equal to Target and Walmart (I’ve checked), and because I’m a VIP, I get free shipping. I’ve been a customer for well over a year now. (And no, I’m not getting anything from this. I just like their products and the convenience.)

Cleaning and Organizing

So what began this cleaning frenzy was just dropping a set of nail scissors. We have wire shelving in all of our closets, and it fell through right to the bottom, into my cleaning products.

Now I have caddies and baskets and even a shoe box or two in an attempt to organize my cleaning products. But I had neglected it, and in looking for the nail scissors, I ended up with a big mess.

I’m proud to say that the rest of the closet was just fine. No organization needed there.

But when you have:

  • 3 containers of hand soap refill
  • 4 multi surface cleaners
  • 2 packages of wipes
  • 2 bottles of anti bacterial spray
  • 2 cans of Bon Ami
  • and more

Well, you need to get organized. And you also need to stop telling people how your mom had 17 punch bowl cups one time and no punch bowl.

So I started cleaning and organizing.

Throw out the rubbing alcohol that belonged to mom, who’s been gone now for 14 years.

Put the tools and small items in a little caddy with handles, and then organize everything else into containers. I chose to put all of the same things together, but now that I think about it, maybe one near the front and the extras in the back might have been better.

And the Kitchen Sink

Since the bathroom was so quick and easy, I started on the kitchen. Now that’s going to take a while!

I found another overabundance of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink, too. I offered some (unopened!) to my neighbors, but they already had enough, thank you.

That area under the kitchen sink is so hard to organize, because you have the pipes and drain there.

What I’ve done in the past is to put another one of those little caddies with the handle underneath the drain spout and then line up the rest of the stuff on either side, with sponges, dish soap, and dishwasher tabs in easy reach. That works, but getting to the caddy and getting it out is next to impossible.

You might want to check out my Organization board on Pinterest under my new blog name, The Overwhelmed Homemaker. 

It’s a really new site, so there’s not much there at the moment, but there will be!

Some Tips

I want to share two of my favorite cleaning tips with you, because they’re both so quick and easy, and they make a big difference!

First, here’s how I clean the inside of my microwave:

  • Spray the inside really, really well with either plain water or water with a little vinegar in it.
  • Put a microwavable bowl (anything that holds about 2 cups) full of water in the microwave.
  • Set the microwave for a couple of minutes. You want the water to boil, and the longer, the better.
  • Let everything sit for a while after the timer goes off. A minute or two is fine. You want the steam that has built up to do it’s job.
  • Open the microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and then wipe down the inside with a cloth or paper towels.
  • All the gunk (that’s a technical term) will wipe right off, and your microwave will be sterilized too!

Second, I got this sink cleaning idea from Clean Mama. Hers is a variation on what I used to do, and it’s better!

  • Get a small jar and fill it with baking soda. You can add some essential oil if you like, for the smell. Note: the green shaker top from the parmesan cheese jar will fit most Mason jars, even the little ones. Makes it even easier!
  • Sprinkle the baking soda over the sink and squirt in just a teeny amount of dish soap. (This is what makes the difference. I used to use just the baking soda, and I would always have a white residue on my sink, no matter how much I rinsed.)
  • Use a scrub brush to clean the sink, then rinse well. You can dry it if you want. I never do.
  • This works on any sink surface, and it makes my stainless steel shine! (And if you skip a night or two, it still looks pretty good.)

So what about you?

Do you spring clean, or are you just trying to keep up with plain old cleaning?

Get More

You can get a spring cleaning checklist, more tips on cleaning, and a bunch of recipes for cleaners, all for free in the Resource Library. Plus lots of other good things. Just fill out the form below.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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