IHeart Organizing

May Mini-Challenge: Homemade Cleaners

2013-05-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

We have slowly been transitioning our cleaners over from store bought to homemade, and many of you darling friends have been asking for an update!

So, given the monthly challenge of getting our home to sparkle for spring, I decided to try a couple more homemade cleaners and whip up some nifty labels too. Some of these cleaners we have been using for awhile now, and others are newer to us but seem to be promising after a use or two.

I purchased the book the Naturally Clean Home awhile back, and also scoured Pinterest and the www for other green homemade cleaner recipes, so that I could use many of the items I had on hand and keep it as basic as possible.

I love the recipes in the book because they are easy to follow and most cleaning tasks have a variety homemade options to select from. I am most excited to use it for tasks like cleaning the oven and treating carpet stains, as I find those are the green products I struggle finding in stores and also tend to be the most toxic.

However, the book really emphasizes on oils and a few products that I didn't have on hand, so a little Googling and Pinterest hunting and I found some other simple solutions for homemade cleaners as well.

What I love is that when I make my own cleaners, I know the ingredients, and many of them only took two to four total. So, I started with a few basic items to make a boatload of cleaning products.

Here are the items I found to be the most useful:

Washing Soda
Borax
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Dish Soap
Essential Oils
Lemon/Lemon Juice
Pure Castile Soap
Fels-Naptha Bar Soap
Measuring cups/spoons

Because I know it will get mentioned, I did select to use Borax. Some believe it to be toxic, but it is also known as being a very effective all natural cleaner and is referenced in majority of green cleaning recipes. I selected to use it within my laundry detergent, as we have hard water and it battles the hard water within the wash. There are all sorts of sites that get into the debates of the safeness of Borax, I specifically enjoyed this read on the subject.

Also, vinegar. Stinky stinky stinky. The smell does go away fairly quickly, however, the initial shock of it can be strong. The answer? These lovely helpers!

I found that a few drops of essential oils within the cleaners and the vinegar smell was no more. In fact, the cleaner smells quite nice, I am a fan.

Over the course of the years, I would hoard my cleaning bottles. I knew they would come in useful someday in making my own cleaners. Using the items above, I made all of these cleaners below...

Shown above:

Laundry Detergent - 1 cup soap flakes {I used Fels-Naptha}, 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup borax {I use two tablespoons per load and have found it to be better to place right within the washer vs. the dispenser}

Fabric Softener - 2 cups of vinegar, 10 drops of Lavender oil

Scouring Scrub - 1 cup baking soda, 2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 cup borax, 1/4 cup grated citrus peel

Just Water - I use this to activate some of the cleaners, and to clean our glass

All Purpose Cleaner - 1/2 tsp dish soap, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tbsp white vinegar, 2 cups water, 3 drops essential oil

Goo Gone - 1/3 cup coconut oil {melted} and 1/3 cup baking soda {thanks Ashley!}

Toilet Cleaner - 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 10 drops essential oil {I mixed the vinegar and oil ahead of time, just sprinkle baking soda into the toilet bowl, add the vinegar/oil and scrub with toilet brush}

Wood Cleaner - 1/2 lemon juice, 1 tsp castile soap, 4 drops essential oil

Just Vinegar - I keep this on hand for making the cleaners and other random cleaning tasks

Floor Cleaner - 1/4 cup dish soap, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 10 drops essential oil {add to bucket of hot water}

Many of the items I made double or triple batches, based on my bottle size. You can download a PDF of the recipes here.

{download homemade cleaner recipes FREE here}

I keep a copy in our household binder to help me out when it comes time to whip up another batch.

I also made the labels because I am a bit of a label snob. I printed them on clear Avery 22825 round labels and stuck them right to the bottles and jars.

And I am sharing those with you too!

{download homemade cleaner labels FREE here - please note that the preview of the labels is jumbled, however, once you click download they are correctly aligned. I apologize for the glitchy technical confusion}

I think it is the little things, and pretty labels make cleaning just that much better.

As far as using the products, I have a few extra tools that make things easier.

The grout brush is used on the grout lines in our lower level bathroom and makes scrubbing the grout so much easier. Sometimes I use the pink microfiber hand mitten duster for quick dust jobs {the kids think it is fun too!}, and when I am really wanting the wood furniture to shine, I stick to microfiber and pair it with the wood cleaner. You can't go wrong with microfiber cloths, they are soft and really grab dust. The part I love most is that when paired with water, they are cleaning machines {I use microfiber paired with water to wipe down our cabinets, doors, trim, walls, etc...}. No chemicals and super easy.

I recently found a Scotch Brite glass combo pack of cloths at Target {can't seem to find them online}, and the pack consisted of a microfiber rag and a polishing rag. You may have noticed that I didn't make a glass cleaner, and that is because I don't need one with these rags. Simply spray water on the glass, wipe down with the microfiber cloth first, and follow behind it with the polishing rag. My glass and windows have never looked better or cleaner, I was addicted the first time I used them {and I swear I am not being paid or swayed, just found a product that works wonders!}.

Here is my cleaning caddy all filled up with the homemade cleaning goodies:

The caddy was initially a utensil caddy from Target {here is a similar one they have this year}, and I added a decal to the side to jazz it up a bit. I sort of heart it. The caddy works great for going from room to room and also tucks nicely below the sink.

So why make your own cleaners? The cost of the items to make homemade cleaners is quite low and even after they are combined, you can make such large batches of cleaners that will last far longer than the less concentrated store bought options. They smell great and now that I have the bottles, it's as simple as taking a couple of minutes to mix up a new batch when I run low. I also love that I know what I am cleaning with, and that the microfiber has allowed me to use just water when no disinfecting is necessary. The biggest win seems to be with the laundry detergent, as I was spending around $16 per bottle in the past. And although I was skeptical, they work! The wood cleaner smells amazing and leaves wood looking great and also repels dust! The glass has never shined brighter and our clothes and nice and clean. Overall, we have been very happy with the transition.

How about you? Any homemade cleaner fanatics? Care to share your favorite recipe?

UHeart Organizing: Magazine Management

2013-05-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

I don't typically condone hoarding, but I will admit, I hoard magazines. I am obsessed with glossy reads and I have so many intentions of organizing them, creating inspiration books, reading them again and again.... and then I never do. Shame on me.

But organizing magazines is definitely on my list of to do's, and I am feeling even more inspired than ever to tackle that long awaited task, thanks to Ashli's tip that she is here to share today.

Hi, it's me, Ashli from Mini Manor blog again. I am so excited to be sharing today's post with you. It's a simple solution to a common problem, what to do with magazines you want to hang on to.

I don't keep every magazine that finds it's way into my house, but every now and then there's an issue that I can't seen to get rid of. I was getting a bit tired of a stack of magazines on the coffee table . . . especially when it's summer and there's a Christmas decor magazine on the top of the stack.

I found a wood organizer from Homegoods, I believe it was meant for file storage but it fits magazines perfectly.

I organized them by season. I group all of the spring issues together, all the fall, winter and summer seasons together, so when each season rolls around I just grab the issues in that season to find seasonal recipes, or decorating tips.

I printed out some labels, and operation magazine organization is complete!

I love simple organizing solutions that work. I hope you do as well. Storing magazines by season instead of a big stack makes it easier to find what you need when you need it. I store our magazines and all of our books in our library/office . . .

But if we had a dedicated family room I think this would look nice, and make sense there too.

"I’m Ashli from Mini Manor Blog. I live in Big Beautiful British Columbia with my Husband Lee and our 5 lb yorkie Max. I have an organizers heart, I am a bin-aholic, and I’ve never met a wicker basket I didn’t love. During the summer I can be found lounging in the garden or at the gym . . . one of those was a lie. And in the last 5 years I’ve made more then 2000 cupcakes. I want to bake, eat and organize. Hand me some eggs, flour and an unorganized kitchen, that’s my idea of a great weekend, okay go ahead throw Ryan Gosling in there too."

Reader Space: Giddy for the Garage!

2013-05-15T14:03:00.000-05:00

Now that spring has sprung, our garage needs love and attention. I avoid it all winter long since I find it far too cold to clean, but oddly find joy in sprucing it up when it gets warm outside.

So Kathryn's newly organized garage couldn't have come at a better time. Talk about the inspirational push one needs to take back their garage!

Kathryn said something that really hit home to me.... "People make a huge investment in the vehicles they drive, yet park them outside to store inexpensive 'things' inside of the garage." So true right? Why do we do that? Time to take back our parking spots and protect those investments!

I had to know more details about this incredibly organized space. Oh, and did I mention, Kathryn is a mom of five? Kudos to her for giving her family a great place to store all of the goodies for work and lots and lots of play!

What is the main function of the space?

"First and foremost, we like to park our two vehicles in the garage! It seems silly to park a $30,000+ investment outside and store significantly less than that in the garage. The garage space is hardworking, as it stores our tools, cleaning equipment, craft supplies, sporting equipment and ladders/chairs. Besides the kitchen, it's the most-used space in our home since every project begins in the garage!"

Do you have any superstar tips for keeping it organized?

"Involve your kids! We have five children and even if I was Wonder Woman, there's no way I could clean up after them all the time. About one-third of what's stored in the garage is theirs and we're teaching them how to be good stewards of those things. If a ball gets ruined because it was left out in the rain, they quickly learn to put it up the next time! Periodically, do a quick clean-out of unused, broken or unnecessary items. We usually do ours in the spring and fall before and after Texas hits triple digits! It reminds us of what needs to be used, recycled or thrown out. Austin has a great paint recycling program that we utilized when we recycled more than 20 gallons of old paint cans. Be honest with yourself. Why are you really keeping something? The space had become a dumping ground for every random thing we owned. Think up; think vertical. In every instance, we employed both and we now have our garage floor back."

What items did you find were essential in organizing the space, and why?

"Pegboard, plastic bins and hooks of all shapes and sizes. We creatively used pegboard and hooks for shoe storage and bicycle helmets. I love it because it's inexpensive and versatile. The hooks are used throughout the garage - on the wall for ladders/chairs and as part of a hanging system for gym bags and hats. Of course, the clear plastic bins keep dust out, but allow us to see what's inside."

What did you do to go the extra mile and "Make it Pretty"?

"In an effort to honor my husband's request and not make it a "sissy garage," I used fun labels in key spaces and painted the cabinets. I used label templates from BHG and they got the stamp of approval from my better half. By laminating them and affixing to boxes with velcro, it gives us the ability to switch them out when our needs change (hat tip to Jen for that idea!). The paint labeling project was fun, too. I used Jen's paint organization idea, making labels for the touch-up jars and for our bigger paint cans we kept on hand, using simple round labels from the office store. While it's a space that's primarily used by the man of the house, I wanted it to be a space in which we were all a part of creating."

What items did you DIY to stay on a budget?

"The cabinets, countertop and shelving weren't cheap, but we made them affordable by leveling, installing and painting it all ourselves. We found the countertop on clearance and we purchased the shelving on sale. Every little bit helps. I made all the labels, we got creative with plastic bins we shopped from our house and used pegboard in place of expensive bins. I even made a "honey-do" bucket that contains the supplies needed and a laminated checklist of all the projects on the list. It was an added bonus to get the refrigerator from a former neighbor who was moving and couldn't take it with him!"

How has this project impacted your life for the better?

"Every time I drive into the garage, I smile. That has to be worth it right there! The kids were a big part of cleaning out the space, helping us sort through things and they've taken real ownership in keeping it that way. It's made projects go so much smoother because we know where things are stored."

So so great right? I am a believer that the garage is an extension of the home, yet often times it is one of the most neglected. I am guilty of that myself, but seeing this space being used and loved by Kathryn's family, really gives me the push to take back our outdoor space.

There is so much to heart about this garage, here are a few of my favs:

Kudos to Kathryn for getting her kids involved in the process. I am a believer that kids take more pride in maintaining systems when they understand the organizing process.
I appreciate her ability to be ruthless and only keep what they use and need, purging is a great feeling!
Love the pegboard system. It's inexpensive, and really utilizes wall space. It keeps everything on display so things are quick to find, and simple to return.
I have never thought to hang shoes on pegboard, but I have to say, it's quite genius! Peg board shoe rack!
The walls are lined with different organization tools and systems based on the supplies being stored. Brooms, ladders and fishing poles all have a home up off of the ground.
Hanging bikes from the ceiling is another great space saving tip. We do this too, and it's been working wonders for years.
I adore that they installed cabinets and counters to give themselves a solid place to build, craft and project. They took it a step further by painting the cabinets white, which really brightens up the garage. They also added a sink and now they have a place for cleaning paint brushes and other dirty kid messes, saving their kitchen sink for dishes.
Labels make everything better right? They are so pretty, even in a garage! Love them. And bonus points for laminating them, the garage is a dusty dirty place, laminating her labels will ensure they will be around for years to come.
What's not to love about that paint storage? Gets me every. single. time.

Now it's your turn. What are you loving about this super fantastic space? Anyone else taking their garage back after a long winter?

You can find more details and photos about Kathryn's entire garage project on her blog here.

ATTENTION!! Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition? Have an awesome organizing story to share? I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life. Please submit your story and photos here and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!! Photos should be high resolution and unedited. Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better! Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice! Only love goes on at this blog!