Cleaning

Disclosure: I am being compensated for sharing this information. Opinions remain my own. 

We live in an older home, and as a result, we’ve been no stranger to plumbing problems!  When we first moved into our home, we attempted to cut off many problems at the pass by purchasing sewer-friendly toilet paper and by making sure no one in the family placed anything in the toilet that didn’t need to be there to maintain our city sewer system.  

Unfortunately, we still experienced a lot of problems with clogs in our sinks, slow to drain bathtubs, as well as leaky pipes.  While my husband has been able to fix many of our minor plumbing issues himself, there were several times last year when we had to call out the guys at Roto-Rooter.  They did a great job of replacing several lines of corroded copper piping, which has prevented us from having excessive clogging issues since. But like other homeowners, we still experience the occasional clogs, and for that, we rely on Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover®.

We all know Roto-Rooter has been a trusted name in plumbing for 80 years.  Now they have a line of sewer and septic products for home and professional use with more active ingredients than other leading brands.  The Roto-Rooter line of products includes their Gel Clog Remover, Hair Clog Remover, and Septic Treatment.

The Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover contains 25% more active ingredients than the national leading brand and it works by powering through standing water to remove stubborn hair clogs and soap scum from bathroom sinks, tub, and shower drains on all types of pipes 50% faster than other brands. 

It’s also very simple to use.  First, with the cap secured, you should shake the bottle.  Then you add about 16 oz. of the product directly into your drain and let stand for ten minutes, or longer for bad clogs.  Then flush with hot running water for an additional minute and that’s it! I used the product just the other day in our bathroom sink, and I was very pleased with the results!

Also worth noting, Roto-Rooter products are available at a number of retailers, including Walmart, Lowes, Kroger, Tractor Supply, Dollar General, Shoprite, Meijer, and more! Making it convenient to pick-up on your next trip to the market or local retail chain. 

Clear a Clogged Drains at Home with Roto-Rooter Products:

When your drain is clogged, you have a few options you can use to clear a clogged drain.

Option one: The kitchen plunger. You will plunge, plunge, and plunge some more until you have finally unclogged the drain. This method is labor intensive depending on the nature and stubbornness of the clog. 

Option two: Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover. Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover is the for easiest and fastest way to unclog your drain. The Gel formula is stronger than other brands as its thick consistency easily powers through standing water to remove even the most stubborn of clogs. To use, simply pour the clog remover directly into the drain and wait at least 5 minutes to see if the clog has drained; it may take up to overnight to unclog the drain.

The Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover is my family’s go-to method for clearing drains at home and to clear a clogged drain and is the only clog remover we purchase because we know that it works fast. We trust that Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover to get the job done. Roto-Rooter guarantees that their products work, or it’s free. I like a company that stands behind their product. If you have a clog that Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover couldn’t power through, then go to their website to learn how to get a refund. 

Now, friends,  I encourage you to learn about Roto-Rooter and their complete line of products check out my post here, or you can go to their website for plumbing issues that arise in your own home this season. Also, I have to ask, what do you use to clear a clogged drain? Have you used Roto-Rooter products? Tell me your experience with Roto-Rooter in the Comments!

Heres’ to doing it yourself,

So friends, now I have to ask, do you use a litter box collection system at home or are you a current Litter Genie® owner already? I’d love to hear about it below!

Here’s to cleaner homes,

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love nothing more than digging deep and giving my home a good spring clean. While I understand that not everyone is as crazy about spring cleaning and organization as I am, and while I don’t secretly understand what there is you could possibly not love about this annual spit shine ritual, I wanted to share some apps (for both ios and Android) that will not only make spring cleaning easier, but fun (yes, fun!) for everyone in your home, for both the skeptics and cleaning aficionados alike. Here are my 7 favorite Spring Cleaning apps for you to try at home:

Cleaning Checklist ($0.99 on iTunes)

Cleaning Checklist helps you organize and manage household cleaning tasks and activities. Pick any room in your home, select the tasks you want to complete, and then just check-off when tasks are completed. One thing I love about this app is that it shows you what percentage of the room is clean — so you can quickly see which rooms may still need some attention and which rooms need major detailing. You can also set personal task reminders such as “Cleaning Supplies” or “Needs Dry Cleaning” that will remind you what to pick up at the store or drop off for cleaning.

BrightNest (Free on ios and Android)
 
For those that look around at their homes and don’t even know how to get started, BrightNest is for you! Brightnest is the best app for learning how to take care of your home. The app is full of useful tips for cleaning specific parts of your home, from telling you what to use to remove toilet stains what essential oils will keep your garbage disposal from smelling to high heaven.

Spark Joy: The Official Kon’Mari App (Free on iTunes)

If you are a fan of the Kon’Mari method, this one’s for you! With the Spark Joy app gives allows users the opportunity to gain daily Kon’Mari tips, to organize your Kon’Mari projects by category, and to connect with other Kon’Mari users worldwide. The best part of this app? You can upload and share your Kon’Mari progress with others too! It’s like Pinterest for decluttering and Spring Cleaning! 

Chore Bank ($1.99 on iTunes)

Want the kids to help with your spring cleaning chores? Yeah, here too! Chore Bank is essential for homes with kiddos as it allows you to set up a chore list, assign a monetary value or activity reward to each chore, to allow parents to know when a chore has been completed, and make virtual deposits into your child’s account that kids can later cash in on post-cleaning. You can even download a chore calendar and text reminders to your kids! 

FlyHelper (Free on Android)

This app is for everyone who loves the FlyLady cleaning method or wants to give it a whirl! As an app, FlyHelper not only helps you keep your home clean and keep your life up to date with awesome free in-app organizing charts, but also gives you access to great reminders from the FlyLady herself such as pointers on self-care and time efficiency. You can even track cleaning and life events, both by daily and weekly points, and you can also control how you clean your home by creating “zones” you should work on each day.

Spring Cleaning Checklist (Free on Android)

Just a bit of a warning- this app could make you fall in love with spring cleaning! In addition to helping you create checklists for every room of your house, Spring Cleaning Checklist gives you tips for organizing family spring cleaning days, includes videos on simple cleaning methods and music playlists to help you along.  You will want to use this beyond the spring cleaning season.

Motivated Moms Lite (Free on ios and Android)

Not a fan of major Spring Cleaning sessions? No problem! The Motivated Moms app allows users to perform specified tasks each day, with seasonal tasks thrown in throughout the year, to make maintaining your home and under one hour per day process. Users also have the ability to add unlimited custom tasks, check off chores as they are done, assign tasks can be assigned to people and rooms and sorted accordingly, and you can even print task lists through cloud printing right from the app! The app also features an option add-on for Bible reading as well. 

So, everyone, those are my 7 favorite apps for Spring Cleaning at home. Now I have to ask,  what apps or websites do you use at home to help you with your spring cleaning tasks? I’d love to hear about them below! 

Here’s to Spring Cleaning,

Despite running a minimalist home my pantry always seems to be in need of rearranging, sorting, and cleaning. 

While my stockpile saves my family thousands of dollars annually and allows me to give generously to my local food pantry, I must admit it is one of the most neglected areas in my home. Which is why I gave my stockpile a much needed Fall Cleaning yesterday afternoon. 

So if your home pantry is in need of a sprucing up before the start of the holiday season or as part of this month’s No-Spend Challenge, here are a few tips to get you started.

1) Rotate your stockpile. “Rotating your stockpile” means rotating your stockpile per season. You will need to place goods in order of expiration date, my seasonal usage, as well as keeping climate into consideration; you may need to start storing it in one location for summer and another location for winter, in terms of baking tools, cans, chemicals, etc.

2) Long Term Storage: If you plan to store any item for longer than a week or two, you need to know its long-term storage requirements. Some items will only last months or longer if stored in a cool, dry place. Some items must be stored in a refrigerated or frozen environment in order to last longer. Make lists, and create sub-areas in your stockpile; examples are canned goods, cosmetics, paper products, etc.

3) Take Note of Patterns: Start a list of your product usage, this will allow you to see what you need, will use in a years time, and what should be donated accordingly. Unused goods are cash wasted.

4) Last Forever Items: Nothing lasts forever. Even goods such as bottled water, start to have an altered taste after a decade, so keep this in mind.

5) Canned and Preserved Goods: Keep inventory and note the dates of home-preserved items; a rule of thumbs is to only keep items no longer than two years. 

6) Pests: Pests love your stockpile, almost as much as you do! Be sure to check goods monthly, especially in Summer, and any goods that look altered, chuck immediately! 

7) Dehumidifier: Humidity can alter and mold many goods, so consider running a dehumidifier twice weekly to lessen your chances of losing food to mold spoilage and canning ruptures.

Now I hope these tips will help you in cleaning out your own pantry at home. Remember, the best way to save on your food budget at the store is to first have a proper, written inventory of what you already have on hand at home.

Here’s to saving,

Recently a neighbors clothes dryer died and in passing, she casually mentioned to me, “I don’t know how you do this every day!” And by this, she meant air drying all our laundry outdoors on our patio lines. My simple to answer: Gladly. 

You see, our family purposely and intentionally does not own a dryer. This is despite living in one of the most humid states in the union, Mississippi. A state where we go from wet, gloomy early Spring days, to humid, hazy days of Summer, straight into hurricane season each Fall. Even with this in mind, I still feel that air drying our clothing is completely manageable, and I dare say I personally find it liberating to be dryer-free. 

Mind you, this was not always the case. When we moved into our house five years ago, we celebrated our move by purchasing a brand new washer and dryer set.  An expensive set with all the bells and whistles. This set was both a source of pride for my husband and myself as we were able to purchase the set debt-free with cash. We loved our washer and dryer. This was of course until a year ago, when in the course of a later Spring thunderstorm, our washer and dryer set was rendered useless due to a rogue electric current a mere six days after our set’s extended warranty expired. A week later, and after two repairmen informed us that our set would cost more to repair than replace, my husband and I were devastated and without a washer or a dryer. 

The bright side to this defeatist moment? It was at that time I started my journey into minimalism, so when it came time to price out a new set it dawned on me to think small, smaller, and smallest when it came to buying major household appliances.

After much research, my husband and I settled on a small compact Haier washer, a washer that can be tucked away into a cabinet, closet, or cupboard. A washer whose gray water could be harvested to water our flower beds, and was also energy saving, which would help us decrease our overall carbon footprint and lower our energy consumption bills, and could be housed indoors in our small galley kitchen. 

This did leave us with one issue. What about a dryer? While our washer did have a compact dryer available from Haier, it was not a matching unit and cost one and would cost one and a half times the cost of our washer. So we simply opted to not buy the dryer. We socked the money into our savings account we had previously budgeted for a dryer and decided to put up an outdoor drying line instead. Our idea? Should we ever change our minds we could always buy the dryer down the road. And a year later that day has yet to come.

Let’s also consider one of the other great reasons we opted to not purchase a new dryer, pure economics. Let’s run the numbers a bit to find out. According to the National Energy Commission, the average dryer uses 3.3-kilowatt hours of energy and estimates an average of 11 cents per kilowatt hour. And as an average load of clothes takes about 45 minutes in the dryer to complete, this makes each load of laundry $0.36 per load, per day to dry. A cost of $131.40 per year, assuming you only dry one load of laundry per day This figure does not include both peak and non-peak hours that dryers remain plugged in while not in use. 

Not having a dryer saved us more than $262.80 the first year alone, which completely reimbursed our family the cost of our washing machine. This was a zero waste victory if I do say so myself. 

Not owning a dryer also helped me to sharpen my homemaking skills as well. For the first few seasons of now owning a dryer, I learned new methods for keeping my laundry piles tamed. For example, in knowing that it takes two days to dry heavier fabrics such as denim to fully dry, should a family member need that item of clothing, I would simply need to allow enough time for drying that item. As my husband needs denim pants each week for Dress-Down Friday’s, I wash his denim on Tuesday’s to ensure they are always ready to be prepped for Friday mornings on Thursday nights. 

I also found that I no longer needed to wash towels, hand towels, robes, or bed sheets daily, and could instead opt for weekly washing. By this same token, heavier cool-weather layering pieces such as winter sweaters, blazers, and scarves can be worn three or more times before needing to be washed. And as for quilts, these linens would only need to be laundered seasonally in lieu of each month. With the exception of bath mats and reusable kitchen towels, very little household laundry needed to be washed daily. 

I quickly came to realize that living sans a dryer, and the overall concept of zero waste laundering is more about time management skills and planning, and not on energy dependency. 

So you may be thinking how do I actually dry everything? Well, as previously mentioned we do have an outdoor 3-segment clothes line. To construct our lines, we used a bundled laundry cord purchased from our local hardware store for under $10.00, attached it to a board on one side of our patio and the other side of the patio to a previously unused patio swing bracket, using six large eyelet screw hooks. Bearing in mind that each line measures 24-feet long, and when using the three lines for a laundry session, I can fit nine loads of clothes out to dry. 

Bearing in mind that each line measures 24-feet long, and when using the three lines for a laundry session, I can fit nine loads of clothes out to dry. Each line is very sturdy, and monthly my husband readjusts the lines for me to make sure they stay taught. 

Now in the Wintertime, or during periods of  rainy weather, I dry clothes indoors. We have two drying racks. One rack is a standard, wooden accordion rack and the other a taller umbrella rack. These racks work well, and when opened up fully take up only six square feet of floor space, and when adjusted down store neatly in a closet.

When I need to dry indoors, I place my clothing racks in my dining room or storage room, both rooms with large windows, and the placed clothing is generally dry the same day I wash. For my husband’s work shirts or any item that needs to hang to dry, I put them on hangers and hang them from the arch of our dining room. They also dry the same day as well. 

For our family, one full load will take up one drying rack with the addition of shirts hanging on the arch, so I always make a point of washing one or two small loads of laundry daily to keep laundry piles at a minimum. Hanging clothing this way also helps to all but eliminate the need for ironing these items as well which is a huge bonus!

Another reason I love not having a dryer? Sun bleaching! Since becoming a minimalist with a zero waste household, eliminating toxic chemicals from our home is always a top priority in my book. As a result, I have replaced chlorine bleach, color-safe bleach, and oxygen-based laundry additives with vinegar and baking soda laundry bombs for white loads. I have found that this method works well, but for extra bacteria-killing and brightening power, nothing beats the sun. Just leaving my reusable kitchen towels on the line for a few hours in the sun leaves them not only smelling fresh but looking their best as well! 

And what’s my favorite reason for not owning a dryer? Not owning a dryer gives me intentional periods of peace during my day. For when I’m hanging out my laundry, especially in the crispness of the Fall, I am able to leave the confines of my home office. I’m also to walk outdoors, fell the warmth of the sun on my skin, soak up a few minutes of natural, life-affirming vitamin k, and take time out of my day to just breath in nature. Just those modest ten minutes in nature are renewing to my entire being. 

So I say all that to say this: Not owning a dryer helps us as a family lead a more sustainable, budget-friendly, peace-filled life. We are able to live a fuller live with fewer major appliances, lower our carbon footprint, and have fewer personal streams of consciousness and productivity interrupted by the buzz of an ended dryer cycle. I am one step closer to mastering my minutes. And that brings me nothing but joy! 

So everyone, do you or someone you know hang their laundry out to dry? Please feel free to share any tips for better drying or managing the family laundry with us all as well.

Here’s to more sustainable homes and lives,
 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScrubTheMess #CollectiveBias

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have hours a day to keep your house in spotless condition. But even without the need for a showroom shine, there are rooms that require daily maintenance and upkeep, regardless of how hectic our daily schedule is, such as our home bathrooms. So how can you keep things clean with a minimal effort and time? A sixteen-minute-or-less rule to clean my home bathrooms and it works wonderfully!

You see, the truth of the matter is, you can get a great deal of housekeeping done, in short, quick sessions when you don’t have distractions. Which is why It’s the 16-minute rule works so well for our family. So even if you don’t have sixteen consecutive minutes at present, there’s a good chance you will have sixty seconds here and there throughout your workday or evenings to maintain your bathrooms. Here’s how it’s done. 

• Reusable towels or microfiber cloths. I use 1 for mirrors, 1 for each sink, and 1 for each bathroom’s showers.
• Orange infused vinegar spray. This is used for cleaning all chrome and mirrors. 
• Disinfecting cleaner used to clean out sinks. 
• Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubber toilet cleaning system.
• A timer to maintain my progress. 

Here’s how the minutes break down:

Clear off all your surfaces. Put away your straight iron and blowdryer, recycle your magazines and empty cosmetic bottles, put your makeup away, and pick up laundry off the floor and place it in a hamper. 

Surface Cleaning. Wipe down your countertops, toilet seat, and tank, as well as shower doors with a multi-purpose cleaner. Also, spray out your shower or bath stall with white vinegar. 

Primping your bathrooms. To begin, refold your towels and place out clean hand towels. Next, close your glass shower doors, or pull your shower curtain closed. Check to make sure you have a steady supply of toilet paper, cotton balls, and q-tips in your space. 

Clean off all mirrors and chrome fixtures with vinegar spray.

Minutes 5-6: Pull out your bathroom rugs. Take them outdoors and shake them out quickly. Then sweep your bathroom floors and place your rugs back in your space. Also keep in mind, twice a week I spend an extra 2-3 minutes by steam mopping my floors as well to prevent product buildup on my tile floors. 

Begin your last minute by cleaning out in the inside of your toilet bowls. To save time, I use the Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubber and the Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubber Refills to help me quickly clean, sanitize, and sparkle my toilets each day.  I love that using this product means just swishing around a pad quickly, making sure to hit the upper rim on our toilets and then disposing of the pad. Easy peasy! 

Thes scrubbers and refills are awesome because they help me reach messes and grime from under the rim of each bathroom toilet that more simple products might leave behind.

Also, the Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubbers have built-in, power-packed bleach alternative and a flexing head design with pumice scrubbing technology that helps scrubs away rust and hard water stains too! I also love that the unit system takes up little to no footprint in my small, compact bathroom spaces. Nothing is left after cleaning my toilet but shine! 

In case you’re wanting to pick up these awesome  scrubbing pads, they are available at your local Kroger.

And while in-store, be sure to look for a redeemable peelie coupon for the Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubber right on the package. It will say “Try Me Now! Save $2”. The coupon can be redeemed at the register at checkout.

At this point, I take an extra 30-seconds per bathroom to look over my space and assess anything else that might need to be fixed, cleaned, or adjusted. Or for a particularly hectic day, written down on my to-do-list for the next day. Then lights out! Mind you, sometimes I use this minute to see if my cleaning buddy, Boo Radley thinks I’ve overlooked cleaning anything in my bathrooms as well!

Repeat Minutes 1-7.5 on my additional bathroom.

At this point, there is nothing left to do but to put my cleaners back in my bathroom cabinets and throw my dirty cleaning cloths in the washer for next-day laundering. That’s it! 

Overall, I love how easy, simple, and uncomplicated my cleaning system is for both my home bathrooms. I’ve really been able to make this system work for us by implementing it daily. By cleaning up that pesky layer of dust and grime each day, I save myself hours of monthly scrubbing on my tiled bathrooms spaces. This method saves me over eight hours of cleaning per month! 

What do you think? Are you up for a little bathroom speed cleaning? I encourage you all to try your hand at 16-minute-or-less bathroom speed cleaning sessions, and to also pick-up and try out the Scotch-Brite® Disposable Toilet Scrubbers and Refills during your next trip to your local neighborhood Kroger stores.

Here’s to cleaner bathrooms at home,