pets

Hello again, savvy savers! So for the Day 11 challenge, I want to discuss kitchen counter tops. 

For me, the kitchen is the heartbeat of our home, but too often our kitchen counters are cluttered, disorganized, and undervalued! This lack of prime household real estate, in my opinion, could be much better utilizes the day-to-day activities of a home. So, today I challenge you to incompletely clean off your counter-tops. This should be no longer than a 1-hour project for today’s #31DayLWSZ challenge! 

A points I would like to add as a caveat to this challenge:

• You may be thinking, is that really more convenient? Yes, is it. While leaving tools, crocks, and small appliances on the counters seems easier, this allows for your tools and appliances to be subjected to spatters of food, grime, bacteria, staph, and other contaminants. We place dishes in cabinets to prevent this same scenario, why not for your small appliances? 

Also consider the following:

• Will it take more than two seconds to pull out a toaster? How long does it take to plug-in?
• How often is the appliance used?
• Do you have to clean the item more than you would stored in an above cupboard?
• What is the cost of purchasing, cleaning, and laundering appliance cozzies?

Consider the cost of a messy counter:

• Is the cost of leaving a small appliance plugged-in, and potentially sitting as a fire hazard or phantom power source truly worth it?
• An appliance regularly used for 1-3 minutes daily, remains plugged-in constantly, and so small appliances are a power phantom source; this can cost as much as $1.00-$2.00/month, per item! 
• Also worth noting, the appliance most likely to cause house fires, according to the National Home Owners Association, toasters! 
• You may also be thinking, will my cabinets be able to hold these items? Yes, I believe so. Divide cabinets by need, cook and food prep, dishes, and the like, and if items will not fit, and they have not been used within six months, consider donating or selling these items! 
• Larger appliances, such as stand mixers, can also usually be stored in larger, vertical below counter cabinets, as well. 
• Mid-size appliances such as  bread machine, blender, immersion blender, and rice cooker can easily fit into most cabinets. 

So how should you go about this? Follow these steps:

1. Declutter your cabinets: Clear out your cupboards of anything that you don’t use on a regular basis. Make room in your dining room, basement, or stockpile area for seasonal items, such as punch bowls and holiday dishes. Purge, recycle, sell, or donate items that have not been used in a year. 
2. Zone your cabinets: I have a zone for coffee, baking, and pets; keep like items together. Creating zones in your kitchen helps to keep your cabinets organized, helps you to know where to store things, and helps you work more efficiently in the day-to-day running of your home. 
3. Create Nook Spaces For All Other Items: Anything random, left over, and not able to be placed into cabinets, think of creative, upcycled ways to display and store these items. 
4. Keep Counters Cleared: Nightly, as part of your bedtime home routine, simply take the items misplaced on your counters, and go put them away. 

The process of minimizing your kitchen, clearing off your counters, and creating new home work stations is not an overnight process. It takes work. You will probably be able to clear off your counters in an hour, give or take the existing items you have on hand, but the real time will come into maintaining this standard– unless you work at keeping order in your kitchen, you will never have order in your kitchen. 

This project will pay out great dividends in the long run, I promise! Know I’m pulling for you today!

Be sure to check back in tonight for my daily recap!

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, work-minded, and in the mood for cleaning and organization this week! As so many of us are currently in the throws of Back-to-School shopping and preparations, I wanted to share with you one of my current cleaning goals, and that is to create morning and evening Cleaning Zone Chore Lists. 

For me, a cleaning schedule is basically just a daily, weekly, or monthly plan for how you will clean your house.  It can be as simple as one main task per day or as complex as a spreadsheet that accounts for every single housekeeping task that needs to be done over the course of a year.  It really is up to you, and what will work best for your family, not this week, but every week going forward; especially with fewer people at home this time of year!

If the idea of creating any sort of cleaning schedule sounds overwhelming, no worries—I promise it is not as bad as it sounds.  In fact, as you will see below, you can do it in three easy steps! The point of a schedule is to relieve guilt and to create a routine that gives you less stress; a schedule for cleaning will be a lot less overwhelming in the long run.

So, do here’s how to it:

Step 1:  Create a Master Chore List:

Before you can decide when to clean you must first know what to clean, and how often.  Create a cleaning schedule that works for your life and your schedule, you need to assess your own home and cleaning needs. 

You can start with the following master list and then customize it to fit your own home’s needs, my suggestion is:

Step 2:  Pick the Best Plan for YOU:

The next thing you need to do is figure out what sort of cleaning plan will work best for your life and your schedule. 

• Are you the kind of person who wants to do a little every day?
• Would you rather tackle it all at once so that you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week?
•  Do you work full time or are you home during the day? 
• Do you have young children at home whose chores can be incorporated into this system?

There is no one “right way” to keep house, and so no universal cleaning schedule that will fit every household’s needs. Just sit down, take an hour, and create a system that will work best for you!

Also, I’m going to share with you my true cleaning secret, you will want to consider creating a master lists, and then smaller, daily and weekly lists, too! 

If you are like me and have a hard time functioning when your house is messy, this may be the best option for you.  I have personally found that my home runs best with a daily morning and evening zoned routine, in addition to my master list.

Each morning, Monday-Friday, before work I complete my Zone 1 Cleaning Project:

1. Make all beds in the home.
2. Empty the dishwasher.
3. Start one load of laundry.
4. Wipe down my kitchen counter tops. 
5. Wipe out my bathroom sinks and vanity tops, and clean off mirror.
6. Sweep my entryway and front porch. 
7. Start a crockpot meal, marinate foods, etc.
8. Feed my fuzzies.
9. Put load of laundry in dryer.
10. Spray and squeegee out shower stall, after morning shower. 
11. Check out your to-do list, for the day.

I will typically spend about 35-45 minutes cleaning morning, between the daily tasks, and doing 1 or 2 weekly tasks each day; these morning tasks helps to keep deep cleaning projects at a minimum in my home. This also allows me plenty of time for walking my fuzzies, take a shower, have breakfast, take my medicine/vitamins, read from my daily devotional, all before heading into the office. 

Each evening, Monday-Friday, before bed I complete my Zone 2 Cleaning Project:

1. Pack lunches and snacks.
2. Set your home up for the next day; set the coffee maker,  re-stock paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, napkin holder, wipes) in home, check briefcases and back backs for anything you might need the next day, pack gym bags, pre-harness pets for morning walks before being crated, and lay out morning outfits.
3. Clean your kitchen: Be sure to wipe down counters, load and run your dishwasher, sweep floor, lay out a clean dish towel, scrub the kitchen sink (if needed), and remove trash. 
4. Pre-treat any laundry, as needed.
5. Plan your morning meal: Plan your breakfast, and lay out utensils/settings, if needed. You can also set-up clean, sanitized pet food/water dishes, placed in the fridge for the morning meals, too. Also, lay out your medications/vitamins. 
6. Five minute pick-up: using a basket, take 5 minutes before bed, walk around your home, lightly straighten the house, and anything that is in the wrong room can be placed in your basket, to be sorted as you go from room to room, so items can be put back in their proper places! 
7. Check for piles: Sort any bills, mail, and paper piles to their proper places, daily.
8. Create a to-do list for the next day. 

I will typically spend about 35-45 minutes preparing my home each evening; I typically take my nightly melatonin and can complete all Zone 2 tasks, prep my face for the night, read a few chapters of my current book selection, in the time it takes for me to become sleepy! This also allows me plenty of time to both relax each night, and to efficiently start my next day.

So, today I am challenging you all to accomplish three tasks:

1. Create a mater household cleaning list.
2. Establish an morning cleaning ritual (Zone 1).
3. To establish an evening cleaning ritual (Zone 2).
4. Consistently use your newly created Zone Cleaning Methods for one month!

Now, while this list seems extensive, depending on the size of your home, should only take a one hour daily, and in the long run should greatly help you not only today but in the future. This week is not only about creating long-lasting cleaning solutions in your home, but establishing routines that will help you not only keep your home cleaner and safer, but to shave the time it takes you to do so, in half! 

Here’s to you,