10 Habits of Lazy Women Who Always Have Clean Homes

We all have that one friend in our lives. They make cleaning their home look so attainable yet they are so lazy! It might feel like these women never leave the couch from their Netflix show, yet their homes are spotless! You don’t have to be a professional cleaner to have a clean home, in fact, here are habits of lazy women who always have clean homes that you can do yourself! 

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How to Clean without Chemicals

How to Clean without Chemicals

When the spring flowers start popping through the dirt and the days get just a little bit longer, I start getting excited for spring. I throw open my windows and start airing the house out and I also get the itch to start cleaning off the cobwebs and wiping away the dust that's settled during the winter. For years I thought that if my house didn't smell like bleach after a thorough cleaning, then it wasn't really clean, but I slowly started using chemical-free products and found that I could get my cleaning done without any harsh pollutants. I'm showing you how you can clean your home without harsh chemicals with products you probably already have in your home.

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10 Things Professionals Do Every Time They Clean a Home

If you’ve ever had your home professionally cleaned before, then you know the fantastic feeling you get from a genuinely spotless home. Professional cleaners do a better job of making our homes sparkle, and despite all my scrubbing and time spent cleaning, this is a reality I’m having a tough time facing. However, if you want to make your home sparkle like a cleaning crew just came through, you don’t need need to hire the professionals! Here are ten things that professionals do every time they clean a home.

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8 Popular Cleaning Hacks that Don’t Really Work

We all want to make cleaning a little less painful. That’s why we’re always looking for short cuts and simple tips to make the task a little easier. And while there are a variety of amazing cleaning hacks that actually do the job they’re supposed to do, there are also tons of hacks that don’t work at all. That’s why I’m here to help separate the facts from fiction! Here are eight popular cleaning hacks that don’t actually work.

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How to Refresh Your Home After the Holidays

The holidays were filled with warm family gatherings, lots of slow mornings in front of the fireplace and the Christmas tree and baking. Oh, so much baking. But it wasn't long after the last present was opened that I was ready to refresh my home after the holidays. I love the glitter and the twinkle that the Christmas decorations bring, but I also love the calm and simplicity that happens with clean open spaces when the decor is packed up. Once I put away the holiday decorations things feel a little bare for a few days. This year I embraced it and I loved the time I took to reset my home after the holidays. Here are a few things that I did and ways that you can simply refresh your home after the holidays.

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Clean Your Gas Range and Oven Without Chemicals

I don't know of many people that decide to just clean their oven on a regular basis. Heck, to be honest, I haven't cleaned mine since we moved in 8 years ago. I actually bought a huge bottle of this toxic oven cleaner, sprayed it inside and let it sit overnight before I could get in there to do any cleaning. {to be honest, the oven cleaner is better suited as a furniture stripper!} That's probably why I haven't cleaned the range since then. No one has time for a multiple day cleaning project. No one.

But alas, I was pulling my Costco sized lasagna out of the oven and that thing went rogue on me and I spilled the whole thing all over the oven door and inside the racks. I wasn't done cooking the lasagna yet so that stuff got baked on. Awesome. Nothing like a huge spill to encourage you to clean your oven, so the next day I went to work. To be honest, I wasn't sure I could clean my gas range with just steam but dang it if I wasn't impressed. Not a single chemical was used and in under an hour, top to bottom, every nook and cranny was clean. Don't take my word on it, come find out how you can clean your gas range and oven without any chemicals.

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Clean Your Fridge Fast!

I've got a few chores I despise. Cleaning my fridge is probably at the top of that list. I think besides our washing machine, our fridge is the hardest working appliance at our house. Unlike the washing machine though, the fridge is something every family member uses pretty frequently {I need to work on the kids and the laundry situation!}, so it takes a beating.  I think the reason I don't clean our refrigerator very often is because it just takes so long. Or so I thought! I had 15 minutes one day and my HomeRight SteamMachine plugged in and ready, so I thought I'd tackle the fridge to see how clean I really could get it in just a few minutes. It was kind of shocking! The SteamMachine did the hard work and I came behind to wipe up the messes. I'm pretty sure I won't be waiting as long between cleanings anymore because now I know how I can clean my fridge fast. Come see 6 tips on how you can clean your fridge fast!

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Polish and Preserve Your Decorative Pumpkins

I call it a healthy sign of adulthood when you have a favorite designer brand of pumpkin. My teenagers would call it "basic". We don't agree on a lot of things. I'm lucky enough to live close to a local farm that sells some amazing decorative pumpkins at a great price. Over the years I've learned a trick or two on how to polish and preserve them so I can get the most out of my pumpkins for the whole season. And by whole season, I mean from September until late November. I love how I'm able to take the muted colors of the various gourds and make them shine all season long. And now I'm sharing my secrets on how to polish and preserve your decorative pumpkins all season long.

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Best Ways to Clean your Refrigerator and Keep it Clean!

There is nothing quite as rewarding as having an organized and clean refrigerator. When a fridge is properly organized it makes it so much easier to navigate. Sometimes though, it just seems easier to ignore the chaos and the gunk. The sticky patch of syrup on the bottom shelf and the little pieces of dried up spinach in the vegetable drawer make you feel as though you might pull your hair out, but you don’t want to spend the time cleaning it. Instead, you just close the door and pretend it’s not there. I know I'm not the only one, so please don't judge my friends.

Occasionally, it is nice to give your whole refrigerator a good scrub down to get all the yucky stuff off. While emptying the entire fridge can seem overwhelming, it is sometimes a necessary evil. The temporary stress you will feel is far more than worth it once you can marvel at your clean fridge. Make that time spent worthwhile and keep your fridge clean longer with these easy tips.

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How to Spring Clean Your Home Without Using Harsh Chemicals

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lysol®. All opinions and text are 100% my own. I wouldn't tell you about something I didn't love. Promise.

The sun came out today. That's kind of a big deal here. You see, in Seattle we hibernate for the good part of winter. The rain and general gloom hang over us and everything is viewed through grey tinged glasses it seems. When the sun comes out, it's like the first sign that we made it through the doom and gloom of winter and will be safe on the other side. It also means that you see every single speck of dust staring back at you and everything looks a little dull. I saw the bright green freshly-mowed grass out the window and everything looked bright and new on the outside, but the inside it was feeling like it needed a good wipe down. I'm going to get you all ready with some good tips and tricks on how to clean your home for spring {without using harsh chemicals}.

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How to Clean a Front-Loading Washing Machine

This post is brought to you by HomeRight. All opinions are 100% my own.

I transitioned from a top-loader to a front-loader about seven years ago and I haven't really looked back.  I don't love that the front-loading washing machine comes with some cleaning and maintenance, but I do love that it's high-efficiency and it uses less water, which is a big thing since our family of five does a LOT of laundry! So why do you have to clean a front-loading washing machine? Because over time residue from your laundry detergent clings to the inside of your washer, especially to the rubber door seals. Those seals grow mold and mildew and that build-up can create an odor that can cause your washing machine to smell and that smell can even transfer to your clothes. And that my friends is why you need to clean your front-loading washing machine. But how? Well, I'm sharing how I quickly and easily clean my front-loading washer with zero chemicals and little to no elbow grease.

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Tips and Tricks to Help You Organize Your Cleaning Supplies

This post is written by me on behalf of HomeRight. All opinions are 100% my own. I wouldn't tell you about something I didn't love.
I have a confession to make. I'm a closet hoarder. If I can close a door or a drawer, I'm happy to let the clutter build. I try to clean and organize but in no time things are a mess again. I read something not too long ago that said if you keep cleaning and organizing the same spaces then that's not your problem. The problem is that you have too much stuff. This was my light bulb moment and I started thinking about the areas I have cleaned and organized and those spaces that I have had major purges in, I've noticed have continued to stay clean; places like my desk and my master closet. So I have started the purge and I started in my cleaning closet. I had cleaning supplies scattered through four different areas of my home and now I have them in one location and I'm sharing with you how I organized my cleaning supplies. I'm letting you in on what worked for me and maybe it will work for you too!

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Top Blog Posts of 2017

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. It's always fun for me to look back and see what my top posts were for the year. Many of the most popular posts were actually posts from previous years. All you readers that haven't been around since 2010 are finding some of that golden content that only my mom read. So while not all of these posts will be from this past year, they are the ones that you all visited the most this past year. I hope you have as much fun looking back as I did putting this together.

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The Best Way to Get Stink Out of Workout Clothes

I like to sweat. I'm always cold, so I like to get warmed up and start sweating. Plus a workout doesn't really feel like a workout unless you break a good sweat don't you think? Problem is, I'm a smelly girl. I sweat and I stink. It's especially bad when it comes to my workout clothes. Unfortunately, I've passed my stink on to my kids. Sorry kids. I just found out that some of the fancy schmancy fitness brands have special stink-free clothes, but my budget doesn't always allow for that. And it especially doesn't allow for that when I buy my kid's clothes. I am a big fan of working with what you have, and what I have is smelly. So what is the best way to get the stink out of your workout clothes? I think I found the answer.

Photo credit: Stephen Matera

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Homemade Dog Deodorant for your Smelly Pooch

Smelly dog spray, doggie deodorant, call it whatever you want, but I'm calling it our new favorite thing. Our sweet Sophie smells. Part of it is because of her long luxurious locks and the other part is deferred maintenance. If you were reading along last week and saw my random ramblings, you would see that I mentioned how her grooming costs more than a trip for me to the fancy salon. It's not easy to give a bath to an aging overweight dog, so we needed to find something that would help with her smell. I've been trying things for ages, but I finally think I found something that works. Not only that, it's not filled like alcohol the way some of the store-bought sprays are. This is all natural and conditioning, something you both will love. 

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How to Detail Your Car at Home

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of HomeRight. All opinions are 100% my own. 

One of the biggest investments that we make is our car. My last car {a mini van I lovingly called Thelma} was 12 years old when I was forced to replace her after a car accident totaled my car. We enter into some pretty long term relationships with our cars, and we want them to last, so we do our best to take care of them. Even if you don't plan on keeping your car until it sputters and dies, it's still nice to hop into a clean car where you don't stick to the seats. As a mom, I spend a lot of time driving kids around and running errands. My car is my second home. I like a clean house, and I like a clean car. I'm going to show you how you can detail your car at home and keep the inside of your car looking new for many years no matter how much use your car gets.

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How to Clean Your White Converse {or Canvas} Shoes

I recently picked up a pair of white converse shoes at a garage sale for $2. They were filthy dirty but my 14-year-old daughter insisted that I buy them so that we could match since she has a pair of her own. Who can say no to being a "twinsie" with their teen daughter? Not me, that's who. So I picked the shoes up in the hopes that I could revive them from their dingy dirty state that they were into a clean looking white pair the way God intended. Or at least, the way Converse intended them to look.

It's hard to get a really good look at the before and after, but I think they cleaned up really nicely. In fact, I'm pretty darn impressed with myself and wanted to share my tricks with you.  It's nearly impossible to keep white shoes looking white for long, so if you own a pair of white canvas shoes, this cleaning technique may be your new go to.

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The Best Baby Laundry Tips

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the maker of OxiClean™ through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about their Versatile Stain Remover, all opinions are my own.

It's been a few years since I had a little one at home, but my sister-in-law is preparing to welcome her third baby girl in the next few weeks. Those sweet little ones are adorable but they bring with them a whole lot of laundry! Heck, even as they get bigger the laundry never slows down, but there is something sweet and special about washing little onesies and miniature size pants that your hand couldn't fit in that makes laundry sort of fun. 

In the middle of a full on kitchen remodel {and general home upheaval}, I offered to help my sister-in-law wash up some of those hand me down baby clothes for her new baby girl.  I thought that I would put together the best baby laundry tips to help you in case this is the stage of life that you are in.

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DIY Didn't I Think of This Sooner! The Easy Way to Get Rid of Dog Hair in your Car.

There are times in my life when I wonder, why the heck did I not think of this sooner! Please tell me that I'm not the only one! This literally happened to me last week when I was cleaning out my car. Our golden retriever Sophie likes to go with us in the car where ever we go. In fact, if I say let's go for a walk, she usually runs towards the car because she would rather drive anywhere than go on a walk! But, our big hairy animal sheds. A LOT. And her nice blond fur gets left on all of the dark surfaces of my nice new mini-van, so something had to give. Either the dog had to stop driving with us as co-pilot {not going to happen, look at that face}, or I would have to find out a better way to clean that stubborn dog fur out of my car. I think I found the solution and it left me wondering why I didn't think of it sooner!

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How to Clean Your Jetted Tub

Inside: How to clean a jetted jacuzzi tub.

Let me start by saying this is a first world post answering the hard-hitting needs of those of us struggling with how to clean our jetted Jacuzzi tub, which is clearly a first world problem. I feel like there are indeed issues in this world that demand more attention than this, but alas, my home came with a jetted tub and this really is a struggle of mine and perhaps it's a struggle of yours as well.  I really thought I would love having a jetted tub and don't get me wrong it is nice to soak in. But if there is one thing I can say to people who are building trying to decide if they should splurge and get the Jacuzzi, it is don't do it! 

I never in a million years would have thought it would be as difficult as it is to keep the tub clean. After five years in our home, I think I have finally found the best way how to clean your jetted tub. So if you are like me and happen to have a jetted tub in your home, read on. This little homemade cleaning solution just might be the trick you need to help you clean your tub.

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