Bunny herd

Every so often I get the urge to move around my furniture. Being in a small house, there isn't a whole lot of room for moving, but sometimes just changing a few things scratches the rearranging itch for me. Yesterday I decided the couch was going to go on an angle instead of flat against the wall, no big deal, right?

WRONG!!

Upon moving said couch, I was greeted by an angry herd of dust bunnies! Let me tell you, they were none too happy about being rounded up either, they fought me every inch of the way. I think they were even trying to bite my ankles.

Have you ever tried to round up a herd of dust bunnies? It's no easy task. They skitter around this way and that. Oh sure, they look all innocent and quiet, I assure you, they are most definitely not. Just when you think you have them right where you want them, they take off in all different directions.

I am proud to say, I finally won the battle with these little critters. They are safe and sound in their new home (Sshhhhh...they don't know it's a garbage can, I told them in was a high rise apartment). The couch is at an angle and my need to rearrange has been taken care of (for today).

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Closet cleaning time

Fall is upon us and it's time to change our closets and dressers from warm weather clothing to cool weather clothing. Here are some tips on doing just that:


1
Take everything out of your closet. Even your shoes. You can start with the hanging items and move to the folded clothes and drawers. Or start with folded clothes and drawers, whichever is more of a mess. But take everything out.

2
Dust all the shelves, hanging rods and shoe storage areas. You want your closet to sparkle and avoid having dusty marks on your spring clothes, so clean it out before putting anything back in.

3
Clean the inside of the drawers with a damp, soft cloth. This will remove all the lingering little pieces of fluff, dirt, drawer-sachet-explosion and mess.

4
Vacuum the floor and wipe down the baseboards.

5
Wipe down the closet door.

6
Put your spring and summer clothes into storage. Make sure they're neatly folded with tissue placed in easily wrinkled clothes. Use sachets to keep them smelling fresh and mothballs to deter varmints.

7
Pull out your fall and winter clothes. Evaluate each item. If it's stained, set it aside to be cleaned (either at the cleaners or your hamper). If it needs repair, put it into a repairs area. If it's too small, give it away. If it needs ironing, set it in the ironing pile. The goal is to walk into a closet that is full of clothes that you can get dressed into comfortably and quickly.

8
Place your clothes back in the closet and dresser. As you hang them, turn hangers around backwards. As you wear an item, place the hanger the right way. When it comes time to do your spring closet cleaning, you will be able to see which items you are not using and able to remove. Make sure to organize like items together as you put them away.

If your no longer wanted clothes are in good shape, consider donating them to your local thrift store.

Now, stand back and admire your work!

How to fold a shirt

I thought I would give you, dear readers, something to do when you are sitting around being bored. Go ahead, give it a try. I bet you watch this video more than one time.

Tidy Tuesday

Tidy Tuesday is not so much a tidy this week for me as it is all out war on my home! This last week and weekend were just crazy busy and it seems to be falling down around my ears!

There should be a special place in heaven for Papa Bear as I'm sure he has been biting his tongue over it all.

Today finds me going through each room and doing a pick up, then clean up, then spruce up.

I have a nice venison ham in the crockpot for supper along with apples from our tree in the sink waiting to be washed so that they can be made into a pie. My, won't Papa Bear be happily suprised when he comes home tonight!

Tidy Tuesday

Cleaning the washing machine

The following is an article I found and thought it would fit in nicely with the Tidy Tuesday theme.

First, run a cycle of hot water along with two cups of vinegar or lemon juice to loosen up soap and grime. Remove the fabric softener receptacle and soak it in hot water and detergent. Clean the bleach dispenser with a spray cleaner and paper towels and Q-tips. Don't forget to clean the top rim of the wash bucket as it is up and under where it can't usually be seen easily and becomes dirty. Run the washer empty on a hot cycle one more time.

While this is going on you check all your hoses for leaks. Over time, the water hoses that came with your washing machine may leak or burst. It's a good preventive maintenance practice to check these hoses from time to time for any sign of wear or weakness. Most manufacturers recommend replacing the hoses every 5 years. Make sure your hoses are not a disaster waiting to occur!

Once you've soaked the fabric softener receptacle, replace it and polish up the outside of your washing machine with vinegar and a cloth towel. Your washing machine now looks better and will run better as well!

Tidy Tuesday

This weeks Tidy task is for pet owners. Time to wash all the pet bedding. Clean their laying area good. Weed through the toys and get rid of any that might soon be dangerous (bells or squeekers about falling out). Make sure your suppy of pet grooming supplies are full. If they wear pet clothes, make sure to have them clean and ready to go and that your pet still fits into them.

For your pet, do they need their nails trimmed? Bath? Haircut?


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Tidy Tuesday

This weeks Tidy Tuesday is the bed. Not the whole bedroom, just the bed area. It's fall and time to make some changes.

Completely strip bedding and wash ALL of it. This would be a good time to get out your winter bedding ready to go.

Pull bed out and sweep under...yep, time to say goodbye to all those dust bunnie herds that have been living under there. What else is under there? A lost sock, some change, the cat you thought ran off 2 months ago? If you're like me, you use this area for storage. I have under-bed totes that I keep my out of season shoes in. Time to go through those and get rid of any that I don't think I will be wearing.

If your bed goes against a wall, this is a great opportunity to wash down that wall.

Do you have a headboard with shelves...declutter and clean.

Do you have a standing headboard...dust and polish if needed.

Bring in some muscle with you and flip your mattress. Remember to flip both front to back and head to foot.

Once the bed is moved back into place, now you can make it with your winter bedding.

This is one of those jobs that really shouldn't be worked on over the week...you kind of need your bed each night. Plan this tidy for a time when you have a few hours to devote to it.

Now, once your bed area is completed, stand back and admire your work. Happy sleeping!

Tidy Tuesday

Today's decluttering is going to be on our purse. Or if you are like me, you have several purses going at one time...please tell me I'm not the only one who does that!

I have a fond memory from my childhood days of watching my mom clean out her purse. She would dump the entire contents out on the table and it was almost like Christmas for us kids as we got to help sort through it all. Change (LOTS of change), mints, gum, wrappers, receipts, tissues, pens (LOTS of pens), wallet, lipstick...the list goes on and on. I remember also how much lighter her purse was after one of these cleanings.

So today, empty that purse out on the table. Get the kids involved by letting them work on matching items...even if it's just seperating out the change. Get rid of anythng you don't need to carry....how many pens do you need, how many tubes of lipstick, is $72 in change really needed?

When this is all done, put it on your shoulder and listen carefully as your shoulder lets out a sigh of happiness!

Tidy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, dear friends. How did the cleaning schedule go for you last week? I hope you were able to come up with a rough draft to work off of. Don't expect to have it cut in stone right off the bat, it takes time to work up a schedule that really fits. I'm interested in hearing how it is working out for you.

This week is the fridge. Yep...That place where science projects seem to happen all on their own.

What you will need:
garbage can
cleaner (I like my bleach water spray bottle)
cleaning rag, drying towel

Take everything out and decide if it's a keeper or a tosser. If it's not going to be used up, then cut your losses and toss it. After the fridge is empty, pull out the drawers and shelves and wash well. While those are drying you can clean all the gunk that has spilled and has been hiding under the drawers. Wipe the sides and top well. Don't forget to do the door storage area too.

After returning the shelves and drawers, return items. This is a great time to do a bit of organizing. I keep mine in sections:
milk, water and other drinks on top shelf.
Pickles, mayo, butter, cream cheese...the staples, on the left middle shelf.
Leftovers go on right middle shelf.
Eggs and yogurt on left bottom shelf.
One drawer has lunch meat and cheese.
One drawer has fruits.
One drawer has veggies.
Condiments and jelly go in the door.

Now, this is where I have to say, "Hi, my name is Mama Bear and I'm addicted to my label maker". I have gone so far as to label my shelves. Yes, I know it seems a bit odd, but even though *I* know where everything goes, the rest of my family seems to not remember. The leftover shelf is an important one as it cuts down the above mentioned science projects. Also, having a place for each thing cuts down on the 3 open jars of pickles and 2 bottles of ketchup that always seem to happen.

Tidy Tuesday--Schedule

Something different for today instead of just working on a specific area. This week we are going to work on a cleaning schedule. It's all too easy to get side-tracked and before you know it, half the day is gone and the bed isn't even made! A cleaning schedule not only helps to get the daily maintenance done, but to keep the home in semi-order so that it may not get out of control...leaving us feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start.

My schedule is broken down into three categories: daily, weekly and monthly.

Daily
make bed
cat litter
clean bathroom
gather and sort laundry
walk through and pick up each room
kitchen
vacuum
sweep
mop
weekday chore

Weekly
Monday: laundry, icebox, water plants
Tuesday: laundryroom, iron
Wednesday: bedding, bedroom, pantry
Thursday: laundry, dust, wipe down upholstery
Friday: office, iron
Saturday: Family projects

Monthly
check/change furnace filter
pull out icebox and stove
pull out washer and dryer
pull out bed

Do I follow this every day? Uummm...noooooo. But it does give me a guide that helps me. My goal IS to get to this every single day!

Tidy Tuesday

Can you guess from the picture what this weeks challenge is? That's right, this week we are going to hit the bathroom with gusto! I'm not talking about a little wipe down here, I'm talking about nooks and crannies.

Don't be overwhelmed, take it a little at a time. Break it down so that you do a little each day. Listed below are some areas that should be taken care of:

Declutter counter Get rid of of all the do-dads and what-nots that don't belong there and put them away, give them away or throw them away. After the counter is empty, give it a good cleaning..remember to get in the corners and the back splash.

Toilet Use a toilet bowl cleaner ( I like Lyson Cling Gel) and let sit while you are doing something else. After letting cleaner sit, use a cleaning brush or cleaning rag and wipe down entire toilet with cleaner. Remember to get the back of the bowl and the water line.

Medicine cabinet Throw out unused prescriptions and outdated over the counter medications. Wipe down all shelves. Return items in an organized manner. Clean mirror.

Drawers and cabinets Remove all items one drawer/cabinet at a time. Do the throw away/give away of any items that you don't use or haven't used in a while. Don't hold on to it thinking that you will get around to it at some point. Get little boxes or totes to keep like items in. Put all hair spray, gel, mousse, defrizzer..etc. it one box. All make up in one box...you get the idea. Cords to hairdryer/straightener/curling iron can be folded back and forth and place a toilet paper roll over to keep in place. Run toothbrushes through dishwasher. Hair brushes and combs can go through dishwasher or soaked in sink with hot water and dishsoap.

Sink Remove all items. Refill soap dispenser if needed. Spray sink and faucet with tub and tile cleaner. Wipe well and rinse. Shine sink with window cleaner. Replace wiped down items ONLY if they need to be sitting out.

Bathtub Basically same as sink. Keep only items in tub/shower that you need/use. Do you NEED to have 3 kinds of soaps and 2 kinds of shampoos? How can you declutter this area? Wash or replace shower curtain. Wash or replace bathmat.

Rest of room Wash curtains. Dust all corners, even the high ones. Clean vent. Wash all walls. Sweep and mop floor. Pay special attention around the toilet area. Sometimes a good mopping on the hands and knees is best.

Now, stand back and look at your clean and organized bathroom. Be proud of the work you have done.