Day 1 - 31 Days to a Clean House + FREE Printable

 

 

It's here -  31 Days to a Clean House!  I hope you're excited and ready to clean your whole house this month - I've been working hard to find just the right mix of cleaning tasks to clean an entire house in only 10-15 minutes a day.  Of course, you can work longer or shorter than that, but with a little determination and gumption, we can totally do it.  And think about the clean start your holiday season will be off to - it'll be great!  And please don't fret if you miss a day or two or come to the party a little late - I have some built in make-up time.  Or you can just move to the day that we are on and catch up when you can. 

 

Not into cleaning every day?  No worries!  I have giveaways, free printables and other fun posts planned this month too!

 

I made a printable for us to track our progress,  you could just take it and run, but I think you'll like the daily motivation and tips and tricks that this series will provide.  So come back every day for the assignment and check off your progress as we go.  You can go here to grab the free printable.

So are you ready to get started? 
 

Today's task is to dust edges and corners. 

Use a long-handled duster or this trick: 

 

Source: realsimple.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

Start on your second floor (if you have one), dust all the edges and corners of your home.  Work quickly, trying to keep your time under 15 minutes - I like to set a timer to keep me from veering off into other cleaning tasks.

That's it!  Pretty simple and if you keep moving and dusting, you should be able to make quick work of the dusting.  Make sure you are shaking your duster out periodically to eliminate dusty streaks as you work.

 

If you want to keep up on other daily cleaning tasks using my simple routine you can check out my free October cleaning schedule - to learn more about my cleaning routine and how I make cleaning a little bit every day an easy and manageable thing that we do.  I have more free printables here too!

Are you excited to get your house clean this month?  I'm so happy that you are here today and ready to jump in!  Don't forget to subscribe over to your right in the white box, follow me on Facebook for daily reminders and on Pinterest for all things clean and organized!

 

You can go here to see a list of all the 31 Days to a Clean House posts in this series!

 

And a BIG shout-out to The Nester for the idea of 31 Days in October - I'm so excited to see what everyone is posting about this year!

  New here?  Check out my Etsy Shop - Clean Mama Printables for creative, printable ways to simplify your everyday life!

 

Clean + Organized 2012 - Free October Cleaning Schedule

Ready to reset the ol' cleaning calendar? How about a little cleaning routine for October?  If you're new here, I clean a little bit every day and I share my schedule and tips here on this blog. If you'd like to try my routine this month, you can go here to grab it. 

Monday (October 1st) is the big kick off for 31 Days to a Clean House - if you are 'in', you can do this October cleaning schedule right along with the 31 Days challenge.  I have it planned out so our days will correlate with the daily cleaning routine, with the intention being to not create more work.  Work smarter, not harder, right?  It's going to be a month of little things we can do every day to get your house clean and figure out how to keep it that way.  I don't know about you, but when the house is tidy, it feels like home and it's just more relaxing to be in. 

Follow me on Facebook and get my daily picture reminders in your feed!

It's Fall Y'all - Fall Mantel

 

I'm always up for a little fall mantel-scaping - so when I saw the party at Centsational Girl, I snapped a couple pictures.  I try to keep my mantel simple, so I use cream and brown all year round so I can just pop a couple seasonal decorations in when I want to.   

I love stoneware and have an affinity for antique Red Wing - notice the large crocks, bean pot on the mantel, and the small cream vase on the left.

 



Large candlesticks are always a classic mantel piece - I added the fake cat tails, pumpkin candles, and faux leaves under a couple pieces to 'fall' it up.

See a theme here?  More cream and brown - it's a great base to build on, especially for accessory pieces.  I like an asymmetrical mantel, so I try to keep heights similar but I use a lot of different pieces to keep it fun and not too serious (enter turtle 'frog'). 

 

So....are you joining in on the Autumn Party?

Organized Cleaning Routine

 

Getting into a cleaning routine takes thought, time, and most importantly, organization.  I try to make it easy by splitting up the things that 'should' be done during the week in our home.  You can come here before the 1st of every month for a free printable with these tasks in calendar form (look for October's early next week).  Every day I add a cute little image to my Facebook page as a little daily reminder if you are following along.  I know that when I keep up on a couple little things every day everything runs a little more smoothly - and I don't have to spend a whole day cleaning up the mess of the week.  

 

As we gear up for 31 Days to A Clean House, I thought it might be fun to end the week off with a cute printable of my cleaning routine - if you've been following along, you'll love it.  If you haven't, try it and see how it works for your schedule and life.  You can go here to learn a little bit about my cleaning routine and why it works.

 

 

It's cute and can be placed in a 5x7 frame, laminated, put on your refrigerator or bulletin board....whatever it takes to remind you to clean a little bit every day.

You can go here to grab your Daily and Weekly Routine graphic - pin it, link it, spread the cleaning word!

 

 

If you are more of a checklist person and less of a graphic reminder person, you should check out the Cleaning Kits (brights and aqua + lime) in my shop - they are sure to jumpstart your cleaning routine!

 

    

Top Organizing Bloggers - Pinterest Party Day

Today is a Pinterest Party day!  I'm joining up with six other organizing bloggers to bring you an organizing pinboard that you definitely want to follow!  Get ready to start pinning - all you need to do is go to this pinboard, follow all the organized bloggers (up at the top, you'll see our pictures and select to follow us), and prepare to be inspired! 

 

 

 

I'd also like to invite you to visit each of the bloggers at their cozy little spot in cyber space for more inspiration. 

 

Anna - Ask Anna

Becky - Clean Mama

Becky - Organizing Made Fun

Ginny - Organizing Homelife

Laura - I'm an Organizing Junkie

Leanne - Organize and Decorate Everything
Leslie - Goodbye House, Hello Home

Toni - A Bowl Full of Lemons

 

Something to....

make {ahead}

Source: stylemepretty.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

 

 decorate

Source: blogs.babble.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

 

decorate {with kids} - scavenger hunt?

Source: dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

 eat {try a new recipe}

Source: picky-palate.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

think about

Source: sissyprint.blogspot.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

bake

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

 

clean

Source: southernliving.com via Clean Mama on Pinterest

 

If you liked these pins, you'll love tomorrow's post!

Fall Homey Goodness Subway Art

Need a little subway art to jumpstart your fall?  This is sure to do the trick - save it as your desktop pattern, pin it to your bulletin board, toss it in a little frame for your kitchen counter.....

go here to grab your copy (but read below first)

when you see it on googledocs, it will look funny - just print or save - it prints and saves as shown in the above picture (sometimes fonts translate funny in googledocs, but the pdf will prevail and be okay!)  You can also click on the picture and 'save as' on your computer and print it that way.
Need a little more inspiration?  I have some fun fall ideas on my fall Pinterest board!

Seasonal Organizing Disorder

I'm over at Life...Your Way talking about how to do a little organizing when you feel like a complete overhaul is in order.  I've named this 'Seasonal Organizing Disorder' - do you have it too?  You can go here to see how I break down my tasks into more manageable mini-projects.

 

In shop news and with the theme of seasonal organizing disorder (ha!), I have two versions of my Starter Kit - you can now get it in Clean Mama 'Aqua + Lime', and I have it in 'brights' for those of you that either like a change or a brighter take on your printables.  I also changed the dockets and calendars and made them into a complete and new kit - this kit is in both of the Starter Kits and can be purchased separately. 

 

Aqua + Lime Starter Kit

 

Brights Starter Kit

 

The Dockets + Calendars Kit

 

New in the Shop: BRIGHTS

I've been adding some BRIGHTS to my shop!  And just in case you aren't a Paypal person, I now accept credit cards via Etsy if you're interested. 

 

Cleaning Kit

 

Menu Planning Kit

Budget Kit

 

Christmas Planning Kit

 

 

Cleaning Find - Seventh Generation Wood Cleaner

I bought and tried Seventh Generation's new Wood Cleaner  (I found it at Target, but it isn't on Target online yet to link you to) this weekend. 

 

The packaging was attractive and this tag around the neck of the product got me to give it a whirl.  It says it cleans and conditions naturally (and it does!).

 

So will I be returning it? 

NO - it works great, smells fabulous (lemon chamomile), and is a wonderful natural, non-toxic alternative to the traditional wood polish that you might be using or used to. 

 

Where did I try it out?

Kitchen cabinets, kitchen table and chairs, dining room table and chairs, kids' art table, stairs, tv stand, antique tables, wood high chair, mirrors.....

 

Did it work well on everything? 

Definitely.

 

How did I apply it? 

I sprayed it directly on the kitchen table, bench, chairs, and high chairs and I sprayed it on a microfiber cloth (shown in the first picture) and wiped the other furniture and cabinets.

 

I've added this to my cleaning faves page!

 

(Seventh Generation has no idea who I am - I bought this product, tried it, liked it and am sharing my find with you!)



 

Is It Fall Yet?

I bought mums to put in my urns for the front of the house - so it's un-officially fall!  Don't you just love this season?  Here are a couple fall-ish finds I've spotted around the web - you can see them all on my fall Pinterest board.

 

Pull up a chair!

source

 

Doesn't this mix look great?  It would be so fun in a fall party goodie bag.

source

 

Crockpot Apple Butter - who knew?

source

 

Don't these just scream bonfire?  Or maybe not, but they are cute!

source

 

Doing anything to get ready for the season?

And just in case you're thinking ahead to Christmas - it is just a little over 100 days away - The Christmas Planning Kit is brand new and 50% off through next Thursday (9/13/12).