What's Been Happening

from here.

I read blogs just about every single day, but I fail to write anything on my own. 

So, for your reading pleasure (whoever is actually reading this), here's a little collection of random musings.

*Do you know when you had your last tetanus shot?  You should.  Last week at work I got a few nails jabbed into my shoulder.  I assumed that my tetanus shot was up to date.  I was wrong.  Very wrong.  I was due a tetanus shot in 1992.  That was a long time ago!  So I got one this morning.  Think it's no big deal until you get cut?  I suggest you Google tetanus.  Seriously.  I mean, do you even know what it is?

*You know how bad I despise cleaning my bath tub, right?  If you don't, then you have never actually read my blog, obviously.  Well.....my mind was completely blown last week when I decided to spray my tub down with my lovely smelling Method multi-purpose cleaner.  I walked away for a few minutes, came back and the gunk just wiped right off of my tub.  Amazing!  Truly amazing!

*One should never assume that customers know anything at all about the business that you are in.  Ever.  We are doing an extensive remodel on a home, which has turned into almost a rebuild, instead.  Just because a customer has a fancy plan drawn up by a supposed "engineer" does not mean that said plan will work or that the customer will understand why you are pretty much tearing his entire house down in order to achieve the house that he expects to get.  Communication, folks.  It's priceless. 

*Hummus has never been on my list of favorite things to eat.  That is, until I tried a local brand that made all other hummus taste like dog food (or what I imagine dog food tastes like).  Roots hummus is so good that I can finish a whole container of it in a few days, all by my little self.  The Extra Spicy Chipotle is my favorite flavor, but Spinach is dang good, too.  

That's all for now, folks.  I'll see you on the flip side. 

Wardrobe Detox

Are you ready to clean out your closet?  And anywhere else that you happen to be hiding clothes, shoes, and accessories?  Well.  Put on your best fitting bra and undies.  It's time to play dress-up.  {the guys can feel free to skip the bra.}  I'll try to keep this one short and sweet. {yeah, right!}

from here.

The first rule when it comes to cleaning out your closets is, you must be in the mood to get rid of stuff.  If you are feeling all sappy and clingy you will not succeed in cleaning out anything.  But if you're ready to cleanse yourself of unwanted clothing and accessories, then, by all means, please proceed.

I say to put on your best bra and undies for a reason.  I know it isn't the most fun in the world, trying on clothes that you already own, but it is a necessary evil.  If you haven't worn it in the last month, you have to try it on.  No ifs ands or buts about it.  And be really honest with yourself.  Just because you love a certain item, doesn't mean that you will wear it.  Keep these things in mind:

*Be brutally honest.  If anything is ill fitting or unflattering, toss it. That sweater with the weird twisty sleeve?  You know what I mean.
*No false hope, people.  A pair of jeans that you have been hoping to fit back into for five years?  Get rid of them.  You are dressing the body you have right now!  
*The old "one year" rule applies to the majority of your wardrobe.  If you haven't worn it in the past year, you aren't going to.
*There are, of course, a few exceptions.  A classy evening dress or tux, for instance.  But, it's even more important that you try those items on, being that you don't wear them on a regular basis.
*Totally fell for last season's fad and hate it now?  Don't feel bad about it.  Just move it out and move on with your life. 

from here.

Don't stop at the clothes hanging in your closet.  I'm guessing you have more of them in your dresser drawers and maybe even in storage boxes.  A true wardrobe detox includes flushing all systems, including lingerie, accessories, outerwear, and shoes.  Once again, I'm telling you.....try everything on!  Every pair of knickers.  Every slip.  Every belt.  Every tie.  Every scarf.  Every piece of jewelry.  Every pair of socks.  And every. single. pair. of. shoes.  And if you try it all on at once, please send me a picture.

Now that you know what you are keeping and what you are flushing from your wardrobe, it's time to do a little maintenance.  It's always nice to start fresh, and what better time than now to catch up on all the little chores that you tend to put off til the last minute?
*Anything that you would want dry-cleaned before wearing, do it now.
*Alterations that you keep forgetting about; go ahead and get it done.  Hem those pants.  Fix the unraveling hem on that dress. 
*Clean your jewelry.  Chances are, some of it could really use a good polishing.
*Shoes, too.  Spiffy those babies up now and you won't have to worry about it when you want to wear them. 

This is also the perfect time to replace the things that need replacing. { Like you needed an excuse to shop, right? } Seriously, though.  Take out your notepad and write down the things that you need to look for.  If you are throwing out eight pairs of worn out socks, you probably need to buy a few more to take their place.  Same with undies. 
There should also be nothing in your wardrobe at this point that doesn't have something to go with it.  What good is that pretty blouse if you don't have anything that you would pair it with?  These are things that you need to add to that list.  Give yourself a time limit to make the replacements and find the other items that you need.  Otherwise, you are just going to be dealing with the same thing next year when you do this again.  ;) 

from here.

Now it's time to put it all back together. 
Don't just go at it haphazardly.  Really put some thought into how you want your wardrobe to look.  Do you need to buy new hangers?  Paper liners for your dresser drawers?  Organizational items like baskets, dividers and hooks?  There is a plethora of amazing inspiration out there!  And, in most cases, you don't have to spend a fortune to make your closet look beautiful.  Get innovative.  I use tiny little metal hooks that you can find in the home repair section of just about any grocery store,  to hang jewelry on.  And I have an old bookcase that has been cut in half horizontally, to get more vertical space for my shoes.  {if anyone is interested, I'll share pics.  just ask.}  But the most important thing about how you store your clothing and accessories is that it serves your needs properly. 

Sit for just a minute and think about how you put together an outfit.  Seriously.  Do you choose a certain item first and then build off of that?  Do you go straight for whatever color is tickling your fancy that day?  Do you build your look around accessories or shoes?  Do you work around certain styles? 

How you build your outfits should dictate how you house your wardrobe.  For instance: I tend to choose the pants I want to wear before I choose anything else.  Therefore, my jeans and slacks are front and center in my closet.  Shirts and jackets go to the left of my pants.  Dresses go to the right.  Work clothes are folded on the shelf.  (remember.  I don't wear suits to work.  I wear worn out jeans and tees.)  Earrings are the most worn jewelry items in my collection.  So the hook earrings are displayed on a votive cup on my dresser, studs in a shallow dish on my bathroom counter.  Get where I'm going with this?  If you are a color fanatic, organize your clothing by color family.  If you are different character every day, organize by style.  Working girl, sporty spice, trippie hippie, glamazon.  Get it?  Got it.  Good.

Now.  Last but not least.  Let me say this.
I know that many of us have emotional connections to our clothes.  There are memories tied up in those threads.  And lots of us have clothing that has been passed down from family members that we treasure deeply.  Don't feel like you have to part with every piece of clothing that you don't wear.  But give your treasured items their own special treatment.   If you don't store them away in a safe place, consider displaying them in your home.  My mom and her siblings had a shadow box made for my grandmother that has their baby clothes displayed along with some other trinkets.  It is absolutely beautiful.  The same grandmother has several quilts that are cut from family member's clothes.  {and she can tell you exactly what each piece came from.} Who says that your favorite clothing or jewelry can't serve as art? 

I know I get quite lengthy on these cleaning posts.  And if you actually make it to the end of one, I will be thrilled.  But I hope that maybe you found something useful in all of my rambling.  And if you have any tips of your own, please share them in the comments.  I always like to hear how others clean and organize their homes.  As always, thanks so much for stopping by.  And thanks even more if you take the time to comment. 
Hugs and Sunshine and clean closets for everyone!

~Jo~

Spring Cleaning 101 ~ Step 2

 Hello, again, boys and girls.  I hope you're still in Spring Cleaning mode.  Last week I talked about getting rid of all your unwanted and unneeded "stuff" that is cluttering up your life.  This week I'm going to talk about "deep cleaning" your home. 

from here.

When it comes to any major cleaning job, I seem to work best when there is a certain order to getting things done.  In most every case, once I do my initial "clean out", the next step for me is "deep cleaning".  What exactly am I talking about?  Well, I'm talking about all those things that you don't do in your every day cleaning routine.  Those things that you dread and try to forget about.  But once it's done, you feel so much better about things!  So, roll up your sleeves.  It's time to get your hands dirty. 

from here.

There are a few different ways to go about this.  First choice: you can do one room at a time, completely finishing one before moving to the next.  Or Second choice: you can do one task at a time, completely finishing that particular task for the entire house before moving on to the next one.  I personally prefer to work a room at a time to avoid getting side-tracked (which easily happens to me.).

Now.  Once you have chosen your plan of attack, we can start from the top.  Literally.  The top is the place to start.

* Begin with ceilings.  Vacuum or sweep down any cobwebs.  If you have washable ceilings, such as wood, use a mop to clean them thoroughly.  Now, light fixtures and fans.  Come on, you know how much yuck accumulates on your fan blades. While you're here, replace any burned out light bulbs.  And you may as well check your smoke alarms, too. 

*Down a few inches to door trims and window sashes.  This is a task that I try to do several times throughout the year.  Whenever I am toting around a cleaning rag, I simply wipe the tops of my door and window trims off.  All those tiny surfaces gather dust.  Don't neglect them just because you can't see them.  For those of you who aren't bothered by using chemicals, a diluted Clorox solution works wonders on white doors and trims (just remember to wear gloves).  If not, grab up some Magic Erasers.  They really are magic.  Another tiny surface that makes a big impression is your switch plates and plug-in covers.  There is nothing pretty about grimy switches. 

*As for washing the windows....now is the perfect time to do it.  But windows are a major job.  If you are working a room at a time, go ahead and do the windows as you go.  If not, you may want to reserve a separate day to do your windows, depending on how many you have.  This is a great place to recycle newspapers, as they are pretty great for cleaning glass.  Just wad them up and use like you would a paper towel.  Another thing to keep in mind: are there any other chores that are going to dirty up your windows that you need to get done first?  I always wait until after my pest control guy comes to do my spring spraying.  Also, if you plan on pressure washing the outside of your house, hold off on the windows until afterwards. 

*Now for bigger surface cleaning.  Tops of cabinets.  Top of the fridge.  Shelves.  Storage boxes.  Etc. Etc. Don't make me tell you again.  Don't shortcut!  Take everything off of the surface.  This is also where I get down to the nitty-gritty.  Wipe down all those trinkets and things that also catch dust and grime.  Especially in the kitchen (but there will be a special post just for the kitchen.).  Perfume bottles.  Toiletries in the bathroom.  Appliances.  Tops of books.  And all other furniture.  Always start from the top and work your way down.

*Baseboards.  Let me just say that dirty baseboards can ruin the look of an otherwise pristine house.  Not washing your baseboards is sort of like washing your car and neglecting to wash your wheels.  It just looks bad.  This is another place where Magic Erasers work like a charm.  Once you scrub those babies clean, a little upkeep can go a long way.  In the rooms that I mop (kitchen, bathrooms, laundry) I always catch the tops of my baseboards with my mop.  It only adds seconds onto my regular mopping job, but makes a big difference.  In other rooms, I simply use the brush attachment on my vacuum to do regular touch-ups. 

*Don't forget your walls.  Bumps and scratches and dirty fingerprints.  Address the issue now.  Clean any spots that can be cleaned and touch up any spots that are missing paint or stain. 


From this point, I would like to do a room by room breakdown.  Stay tuned for kitchen, bathroom, closet, work space and other more specified cleaning posts.  (Can you tell that I'm rather enjoying this?)  But before I go, I want to give you a few notes on cleaners and such.

~I adore Magic Erasers.  And, as you can probably guess, the cheaper off-brand kind works just as well.  However, they do leave a gritty, milky looking film behind.  So, I always carry a damp rag around with me when using an Eraser to wipe the surface after scrubbing it.  Works just fine.
~If your fiberglass tub is in really bad shape and regular cleaners don't seem to lay a hurtin' on it, try an S.O.S. pad.  I know that sounds crazy, but it works.  Just be easy with it.  Don't go scrubbing like you are trying to remove the black plague. 
~There is a plethora of new natural cleaning products on the market these days.  I like Mrs. Jones Soapbox and Bon Ami products.  But it's hard to beat a good old fashioned vinegar water solution.  If you need some extra oomph, simply add a little bit of baking soda and lemon juice. 
~I like to take blinds down and scrub them with a scrub brush and a multi purpose cleaner.  This works best on a porch or patio with a garden hose handy.  But you can also do it in the tub.  Just let them soak a bit before scrubbing and then shower them off.  The same process works great for window screens, too. 

Happy Cleaning, dolls. 

Spring Cleaning 101 ~ Step 1

Ahhhhhhhhh, spring. The time for renewal. There is something about the warmth in the air and the sunshine illuminating every nook and cranny that just makes you want to CLEAN!!! Now I realize that the internet is full to the brim with organizing tips, magic cleaning tricks and a million and one special concoctions for every single thing that you may need to scrub. So I will skip telling you the same stuff for the hundredth time. What I am going to tell you is how I go about keeping things cleaned and organized and the plan of attack that works for me. Hopefully, you can get a few good ideas out of it, too.

If you were to walk into my house on any normal day, you may say to yourself, "Her house is pretty clean, but it's not like she's a clean freak or anything." And this would be true. I pretty much hate the mundane chores that have to be completed every other day in order to keep the home spic and span. However, if you were to open one of my closets, cabinets or drawers, you would probably say to yourself, "Holy sheesh, this girl is OCD." I am an organizer. Case in point; I ran into my aunt at the grocery store one day and she later told my mom that I even keep my shopping cart perfectly organized. So how do I go about it? Let's start with the issue of "stuff".

*If you are going to do spring cleaning (or fall or winter or whenever), you need to start by cleaning out. Always, always, always start with cleaning out. This means closets, drawers, cabinets, shelves and any other place that you may be storing "stuff". This is your foundation. You know that little adage about "a place for everything and everything in it's place"? Well, if you have too much "stuff", you won't have enough places to put it.

*It's best to go about this one room at a time. Finish one room completely before moving on to another. I know that can be tricky at times, but it truly helps. Want to start small? Go for the bathroom. Take everything out of hiding and set it all in the floor. Under the cabinet, in the drawers, baskets, bins, in the shower....everything. Bedroom? Closets, drawers, under the bed, on the dresser, the suitcase you never unpacked. Get the idea? EVERYTHING out in the open.

*Now to decide what goes and what stays. There are a million ways to do this. Normally, I go by the yearly rule. If I haven't used something in the past twelve months, it gets discarded. This works great for clothes and linens and such, but not so much for bathroom items. When it comes to toiletries, time is of the essence. A pile of samples in your makeup drawer? Lotion that you got tired of? Tweezers that you never use because you bought a new pair? Get rid of it. Bath items expire, people. Use common sense. Don't hold on to something just because you like the packaging or because you really wanted to try that new fad.

Same thing goes for the kitchen. Anything that is out of date, toss it. If it has been at the back of your cabinet for months, but you still don't want to part with it because you were going to make this great new recipe you saw online......give yourself a month. If you still haven't used it after a month, toss it. While we're in the kitchen, food is not the only thing to get rid of. Utensils, pots, pans, cake plates, dishes, table linens. If you don't use it or don't love it, get rid of it. And do I really have to tell you where you can get rid of all your lightly used "stuff"? Goodwill, consignment shops, and plenty of non-profit organizations would be thrilled to have your "still in good shape" items.

*Now that you have successfully purged your storage spaces, it's time to put them back together. Feel free to get all fancy with your baskets and boxes and labels and such. But keep in mind that all of that is not really necessary to be organized. All you really need is a system that works for you. Most used items should be the easiest to get to. Front and center. For instance, the makeup that I use every single day is at the front of my makeup drawer. Lesser used colors and products go to the back. My jeans are in the center of my closet, at eye level. Lesser used jackets and dresses are at the ends of the racks and seasonal items are in boxes on the shelf. Cleaners that I use every day are in the front of my cleaning cabinet. Sheets and blankets that are in regular rotation are in the top drawers of my linen dresser. You get the idea.

Since cleaning out is the foundation of any cleaning and organization job, and the first order of business on the spring cleaning list, I am going to give you a few extra quick tips that I find to work really well for me.

*While bringing everything out in the open seems like a bigger mess than it's worth, don't dismiss this step. It is much easier to re-organize things when you have all of your storage options empty and all of your "stuff" laying out in front of you.

*Never, ever, ever compromise a certain dreaded area. If you promise yourself that you will get to cleaning the bill drawer out later, later will probably never come. Schedule it and make it happen. No excuses.

*Sometimes it is easier to part with something you own if you know exactly where it's going to end up. Many items that I choose to get rid of get handed down to family and friends. Never push an item on someone. But if you have something that you think someone you know would like to have, simply ask them. No hard feelings. Just make it a simple offer. "I am doing some cleaning and was going to get rid of that lamp that you have always liked. I thought I would ask if you wanted it before taking it to the consignment shop."

*DO NOT, under any circumstances, go back through your "get rid of" pile!!! That second look may reel you back in. Once the decision is made, stick with it.

*Sentimental items should be kept in a special place. If it is something that you want to see every day, display it. Give it a stage. Otherwise, give it a special home. I have a box full of letters, notes, cards and drawings from loved ones that I keep. When I have a card that I want to keep, I know where it goes. It doesn't just float around the house until it gets lost.

And last, but definitely not least....
*Don't start cleaning if you are not in the mood. This is important. Cleaning out takes zeal. It takes desire and determination. If you are not in the mood for it, you will not do a sufficient job. You will hold on to everything and shortcut the big tasks. So don't play unless your head is in the game.


I hope you got a little bit of inspiration or useful advice from this post. This is a subject that I get really excited about. I know that's crazy. But it's true. And this is just Step 1!! I have even more advice to come. So stick with me and we will get things cleaned up!



*photos from here via here and here.

I'm a Slacker

Here it is, Wednesday already, and I haven't posted a single thing this week. I have been a little distracted lately, though, so I'm using that as my excuse.

We will be driving to Atlanta this weekend to watch the Supercross race. As I have mentioned before, traveling makes me nervous. It always does. I just can't help it. And this time around, I have a puppy that I have to leave behind. And that is really ripping my nerves up. Gus will be staying with family while we are gone. He will be in the very best of hands, no doubt about it. But it still just kills me to have to leave him.

Apart from the trip, there is a major cleaning revival going on up in this house. Gus Butt happens to be shedding his winter coat. Holy hell, people! Why did no one warn me about this?! I had no idea what kind of fur explosion we would be dealing with here! I have borrowed my mom's vacuum cleaner because my little sucker just wouldn't do the job. The Hub and I sit on the (sheet protected) couch at night and "pluck" the dead hairs out of our pup by fist-fulls. There are puppy hair tumbleweeds floating around the house. It is making me CRAZY!!!! I refuse to let anyone in my house. It's a disgrace. We have become those people who walk around covered in dog hair and acting totally oblivious. Except, I am not totally oblivious. I am beyond aware of the issue and I CAN'T WAIT for it to be over.

Now that I've got that off my chest.....

I have plenty more cleaning to do. Hopefully I will see you again before I leave for the weekend. Until then, dog hair covered hugs and sunshine to you all.