Simplifying Home Management

October 19, 2012 By 1 Comment

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I don’t know about you, but the whole responsibility of managing and maintaining a home (not to mention children) can be daunting and overwhelming at times.  It’s a never-ending, daily job whether you are single, married, a mom, working, or staying at home.  One resource that has helped me this year to simplify this job is The Confident Mom’s Weekly Household Planner.  I know I have mentioned it a couple times before :) , but right now, the 2012 Weekly Household Planner is ONLY $3!!

Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner

For $3 you get the Household Planner for October, November, and December.  That’s just $1 a month!  You’ll be able to get the 2013 Planner really soon, but this is a great time to try it out for the end of the year to see how it works for you.  Take advantage of it!

Over the next week, we are going to be highlighting all of our Sponsors (have you noticed them over there in the sidebar?).  :)  Every one of them is running a sale for Getting Through the Day readers, so don’t miss it!

If you would like to promote your products, services, blog, or organization, check out our Advertising page or send us an email.

Simplifying Cleaning

October 16, 2012 By 5 Comments

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With cleaning products, I like to keep things simple.  I don’t like having several different products for different purposes.  I don’t like storing them, pulling out so many bottles to clean the house, and definitely don’t like spending money on them.  So, my secret weapon is this.

White vinegar

 I use this stuff for so many things.

  1. Cleaning mirrors and glass
  2. Disinfecting surfaces
  3. Wiping down counters in the kitchen and bath
  4. Cleaning the toilet
  5. Mopping
  6. And my latest favorite use…as fabric softener.  Yep, it works like a charm!

The only other cleaning product I buy is Scrub Free for my tubs.  I can and have used baking soda and vinegar, but Scrub Free is just so much faster and easier.  And the best part about using vinegar for so many things is I get 2 gallons of it from Sam’s Club for a little over $3.00!

What do you do to simplify cleaning?

Simplifying Laundry

October 9, 2012 By 1 Comment

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There’s something about the daily demands of life that can sometimes overwhelm me.  You know, the little things that have to be done every day like washing dishes, making lunches, sweeping the floor, clearing the table, and getting kids’ clothes out to wear.  It can start to feel like all these little tasks add up to give me lots of work every day.

This year with Karis starting school and wearing uniforms (which I LOVE), it’s more important to have the right clothes ready for her and to get out the door on time.  There’s no more choosing their clothes in the morning or letting them pick what they want.  Also, I was ironing one of Dee’s work shirts every night, but I admit, ironing is one of least favorite chores (that and dusting!).

So, this year, I’ve started getting all the week’s clothes for the whole family ready on Sunday nights.  All Dee’s shirts picked out and ironed if needed, all Karis’ uniforms cleaned and put together, and all of the other kids’ clothes picked out for the week.  I really wanted to get those closet organizers like this one that Michelle shared about.

But…I had a mental budget check to see if we really had a place to buy them.  And I decided to keep it simple and use what we already have, their dressers.  I have moved most of the kids’ clothes into their laundry room drawers, so their dressers are fairly empty.  So I just put their week’s worth of clothes into a drawer and lay them out the night before.  And this way I’m not worrying and rushing around the night before to get a specific load of laundry done.  It works!

What do you do to simplify laundry?

Simplifying by Purging

October 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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One of the inspirations for Simplifying this month was the need to purge.  Does anyone else find that you have stuff taking up space that you know you will never use?  Those things just get in the way and not only clutter your space, but clutter your mind.  I’m planning to spend at least a day each week this month to simplify my space by getting rid of things we can no longer use.  Today I hit up two hot spots–the medicine cabinet and our food.

Our oldest medicine…

And our oldest edible item…

YUCK!  At least that’s the production date and it expired 18 months later, but that’s still 2007!

Over the last couple of days, an extra microwave has found a home, a 3 year old has been blessed with large bag of unneeded toys, and a bag of food that’s been gifted to us but not enjoyed by us was given to our house helper.

Do you have things in your house that are taking up space, but you know you won’t use them?  Do they need to be thrown away, passed on to a friend, or given to charity?  Take a step to simplifying today and reclaiming a cluttered space by getting rid of something you know you won’t use.  We’d love to hear if you do!

31 Days to Simplifying Life

September 30, 2012 By 3 Comments

Is there anyone else out there who’s lives and schedules have changed so much, that you are having to simplify what happens day to day?  Stacey and I have both gone through major transitions this year with our oldest girls in school and are trying to figure out what our new normal is.  For both of us, we are trying to simplify our day to day so that we can keep up with the essentials and still feel like we have a little time left for ourselves to do the things we enjoy.

We have decided that we are going to join The Nester and hundreds of other bloggers this month for 31 Days.  We are planning to bring you 31 days of posts on simplifying life.

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Simplifying through…

  • simpler meals
  • simpler schedules
  • simpler cleaning
  • a simpler space
  • and more.

We’d love to hear if you are joining in at The Nester, or just planning to follow along and simplify your life as we make some changes to simplify ours!

Trying to Clean the House as I Go

September 5, 2012 By 1 Comment

As I mentioned yesterday, the coming of this fall has brought lots of transitions for us.  As I revamped my daily master schedule (which I will share more about soon), I took another look at my plan to manage and clean my house.  For the past couple years, I have mostly operated from a combination of FlyLady principles and daily routines (which is also basically still from FlyLady) with occasional deep cleaning.

Well, during all this transition, I have felt overloaded with thinking and planning and I really just wanted someone else to do all that for me when it comes to keeping my house clean (which never really happens all at the same time!).  The Confident Mom has an excellent resource out right now that you can jump in on any time of the year.  This Weekly Household Planner does all of the thinking for you and she gives you a simple checklist for every day that covers pretty much everything you can think of concerning daily and deep cleaning.

Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner

I just fully dove into this plan last month and I like how it flows.  I’m just not at the place where I can have one cleaning day and get everything done in one big hit.  This planner works with my time and my family to get some things done every day.

Well, the good news for you is that the Weekly Household Planner is on sale for just $5 for the rest of this month!!

This is a great time to try it out for the beginning of Fall.  Also, the 2013 planner will be coming out in October, so we can all be set for next year!

Our Attempt to Keep our (Flat Paint) Walls Clean of Grimy Fingerprints

August 16, 2012 By 2 Comments

Earlier this year I decided, after much conversation with Dee and other friends, to move our dining table out of the kitchen and into the living room.  It opened up the space in our kitchen so much and didn’t take away that much living space.  I love it!  However, we moved the piece of furniture that attracts and creates the most mess into the one room in my house that has flat paint on the walls.  And that along with two very messy eaters has created a very grimy wall.  It looked something like this.

Aside from the unhappy and super messy little boy, can you see those walls?  Yep, that’s where the twins like to wipe their hands and bang their forks and spoons.  I have wiped those walls down so many times just to leave the greasy spots and a little less paint every time.  So I decided to paint the walls around the table.  And after consulting with my brother, Chris, the ex-painter, I learned how to paint just the bottom half of the wall and “feather” it in with a roller without having to paint the whole wall up to the 2-story ceiling.  That part worked like a charm.

Then, in an attempt to keep the fresh paint clean, I did two things:

1.  Moved the twins away from the walls, switching the seating arrangement from this:

To this:

2.  Then I applied a few coats of spray starch to the walls.  Supposedly, that will create somewhat of a barrier for stains and make it a little easier to clean.  We’ll see.

So far.  So good.  We’ll see how it holds up over the next few months.

How do you wash dirty walls?

Simple Solution to Cleaning Grout

August 15, 2012 By 6 Comments

Last week I decided to tackle a few projects that have been looming over me.  We have ceramic tile in our kitchen and very light colored grout which I have grown to hate.  This is what it looked like.  I mop the floor several times a week with all the traffic that goes in and out of my kitchen, but the dirt on the grout just keeps building up.

I have cleaned it several times before and even had it color sealed a few years ago.  And everytime it gets like this again.  I wanted to find an inexpensive, homemade solution to clean it that would be as chemical free as possible.  So I looked up different ways to do it and found a recipe for homemade grout cleaner that included salt, baking soda, and white vinegar.  All you do is spread it on the grout, let it soak for 20 minutes and scrub it off.  I used a toothbrush.

I started with a portion of the floor and it took a bit of elbow grease, but it did come clean.  Then I realized I had a baking soda paste all over the floor that’s not that easy to clean up.  After I got it all cleaned off, I looked around at the rest of the kitchen and thought about how long it would take to finish with that whole process.

Then I thought of the last time I cleaned it and used what my mom recommended, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  (Again, thanks Mom!)  Last time (like 2 years ago) I ordered some generic ones from Ebay.  This time I found packs of 2 at the Dollar Tree.  You literally just wet and wipe, very little scrubbing involved and very little mess left behind.  So much faster.

So, it does look much much better now, but all that cleaning revealed how chipped the grout is.  That color seal job didn’t quite hold up like I thought it would.  So I’m not sure what the next step is.  But for now, we went ahead and sealed it again to help keep it clean while we figure it out.

What do you use to keep your grout clean?

The Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner Sale

July 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Great news!  The Confident Mom is running a great sale on a great product.  (Did you hear all those “greats”?)

Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner

 ”I am offering a discount on my Weekly Household Planner for the month of July.  The planner will be only $5 for the month of July using discount code:  XMASJULY “

 

The Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner takes all of the thinking and planning out of managing your home.  All you do is go to the current date in the Planner and get to work.  Susan has thought of everything and has broken down almost every task you can think of that it takes to managing your household into easy, daily checklists.  Check it out!  It’s not too late in the year to turn over a new leaf.

That Works For Me! ebook & Giveaway

April 20, 2012 By 14 Comments


I’m excited to share a fabulous ebook with you today.  I admit I’m not a huge ebook reader because I always think I don’t want to sit in front of my computer screen to read.  When I read a book, I want to get cozy on the couch with real paper.  Well, this one is a different kind of ebook.  If you’re a reader of Getting Through the Day, you’re probably looking for tips to help you in some area of your life – recipe ideas, setting up a budget, following a schedule, parenting little ones, or other ideas.

Well, this ebook, That Works For Me!, is full of exactly that – practical tips to help you in lots of different areas.  It is, from the words of the publishers, “a categorized, organized place for more than 800 practical, “aha!” tips to make your life run smoother.”  They have compiled hundreds of the best tips from hundreds of different bloggers.  It’s organized well and you can easily click around and read tips on cleaning, organizing, time management, baby stuff, cooking, being frugal, and lots more!

 

 

I’m also excited to share that Getting Through the Day is featured twice in this book AND we’re giving away a copy starting today!  Here are the ways to enter and you can have up to seven entries:

  1. (REQUIRED to enter) Subscribe to Getting Through the Day and leave a comment here letting us know you subscribed.
    Enter your email address:
  2. Like Getting Through the Day on Facebook and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
  3. Like That Works For Me! on Facebook and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
  4. Follow Getting Through the Day on Google+ and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
  5. Follow Getting Through the Day on Twitter and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
  6. Follow That Works For Me! on Twitter and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
  7. Tweet or post on Facebook or Google+ about this Giveaway and leave a comment here letting us know you did.
Don’t forget to leave a comment for every entry!  Entries are open until Sunday night and a winner will be announced Monday morning!

If you want to go ahead and get your own copy now, order here and enter the coupon code SAVE1 for $1 off the regular price.

Also, there’s a contest through the month of April to win a $150 house cleaning gift card on That Works For Me! website.  You just have to submit a tip of your own to enter.

Good luck and check back on Monday morning to see who wins!

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