If there is one thing I am not good at, it’s deep cleaning on a daily or weekly basis.  I tend to do it on a random Saturday or when company is coming over.  To help me with that Day of Cleaning when I MUST get every inch of my house cleaned, I create a cleaning schedule.  I plan it around kid’s lunches, picking up kids from school, my lunch and naps.  This is what my schedule looked like today:

by 10am–plant flowers, fold laundry
by 11am–Clean master bedroom and kitchen
by NOON–vacuum master bedroom, dust living room surfaces, wash windows and mirrors
by 1pm–Clean bathroom, clean living room (while kids eat)
by 2pm–Vacuum living room, mop kitchen floor, wipe down kitchen table and chairs (after lunch)
by 3pm–clean kids bedrooms, clean and mop foyer and laundry room
by 4pm–use weed whacker outside and sweep porch. (during naps.)
by 5pm–shower and relax

It works wonders.  I find myself finishing much earlier then my schedule, I tend to clean more thoroughly and I mark off my to-do list after each hour mark, which gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

Definitely works for me.  For more tips, go here!

Listen, I have weak nails, but I love for them to look nice and although I’d love to have a manicure everyday of my life, that is just not going to happen.

So, I’ve discovered two lovely things, both by Sally Hansen.

First, The Advanced Hard as Nails with Nylon and Retinol.  This stuff is awesome because it dries SO fast and it doesn’t peel.  I am a huge fan.  I’ve used all sorts of hardeners in the past and this one is by far the best.

The second Sally Hansen item is an actual color, called Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear.  I do like my nails with color, but when I paint them myself, it would be believable if I told people that I painted my finger nails with my toes or even my mouth…with my eyes closed, cause it ain’t pretty.  But this stuff, I don’t know if it’s the brush or the actual polish, but it does such a great job and with the clear polish I mentioned above, my nails last a long time looking pretty, without having to pay for a manicure!  (P.S.  I like the color Ice Coffee.)

Totally works for me!  For more Works for Me Wednesdays, go here!

For more Wordless Wednesdays,
go here or visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

Stop buying the expensive kid’s foaming soap refills.  (and please stop buying more bottles of soap when you run out, it’s all about re-using!)  Instead, just buy regular, good old-fashioned, off brand, anti-bacterial hand soap, add the soap to the "Kan-doo" style soap dispensers, fill about a quarter of the way up and then fill with water.  Push the pump and out comes the foaming soap!

It’s not the soap that creates the foam, it’s the type of pump you have, an easy way to save money!!

WORKS FOR ME!

For me WFMW, go here!

When it’s time for clean up at our home, we have CLEANING PARTIES!

When it’s just about time for a CLEANING PARTY!, we (husband and I) announce to the children (ages 3 & 4) that in FIVE MINUTES it is time to clean!  And we say it all excited like, in no way do we make it sound like a bad thing.  When the time comes for the CLEANING PARTY! to begin, the TV gets turned off, activities are put away and sometimes, we even put on some fun music.  We then set the timer for anywhere from 5-10 minutes and we clean like mad fools.  Most of the time, the kids need direction, but it’s a great way to include them in the household chores.

Once the timer goes off, we celebrate with clapping and dancing and cheering!  IT’S SO MUCH FUN! (at least I think it’s a hoot.) And we call it a CLEANING PARTY! and it totally works for us!

For more ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.