Tuesday Tip: Keeping it Clean with Vinegar!

Happy Tuesday!!  

I should note that there will be times I will back-track or jump forward between our moving process and day-to-day life and projects in the present.  Dishes are a multiple-times-a-day sort of chore around here.  We have a toddler who LOVES to eat!  My friends, that toddler is MESSY!  The dog loves it when she sees the toddler get strapped into her high chair--she runs over and sits with great attention to any crumbs the toddler drops or hands her way.

At some point I will do a larger post on the many uses of vinegar.  The stuff is amazing!  I have come to appreciate it greatly in our day to day cleaning routines, and while I don't think it smells that great initially, the smell dissipates quickly and it serves as a great deodorizer!  Seriously, the stuff is Amazing!

So our most frequent everyday uses of vinegar come into play in doing dishes, laundry, and deodorizing.

An Empty Sink

Doing Dishes

Typically, I do dishes three times a day.  Once in the morning after breakfast and the toddler's morning bottle, after lunch, and again in the evening.  I find doing dishes to be a relaxing task and I generally enjoy it with the exception of washing dishes after a large party.  When there's not enough room between filling the sink and the dishwasher that's just too many dishes and I find it overwhelming!  The Mister & I are a pretty great team when it comes to household things though, so we tackle those together.  

I change our kitchen linens daily.  This is likely a pet-peeve for the Mister but it's a routine that I have taken to and appreciate largely because I feel like each day I have a fresh, clean start.  We try to always leave a clean sink before going to bed--it doesn't always happen but when it does it makes my day SO much better!  We keep one towel for hands and counters, and one towel for dishes, as well as a washcloth.  

Our Dish Towels:  Not quite ROYGBIV, but close!

Dish towels are a rainbow starting with Red on Monday and ending with Blue on Sunday.  I wash kitchen linens once a week together with the Toddler's bibs.  

Since moving to the new house, I noticed our washcloths were getting a musty smell after just a couple of hours.  I had never had this happen before and it seriously grossed me out.  Initially, I was changing wash cloths multiple times a day because I couldn't stand the thought of washing dishes with a nasty smelling washcloth.  I'm fairly certain it's just the composition of our water here that causes it.  Knowing that it wasn't likely to end on it's own, and that anything I did with the laundry routine wasn't helpful...  we needed to find a solution, and I think we have!  I keep a small bottle of dish soap and a small spray bottle of vinegar next to our sink at all times.  After washing dishes I drape my washcloth over the middle of the sink and I spray it with a few squirts of vinegar.  I do this every time I wash dishes.  At the end of the day, I hang anything that is wet over an indoor drying rack to dry before placing it in the kitchen linens laundry basket.  

The vinegar has completely resolved the musty-smelling washcloth problem!!!

In the sink area, I also spray both sides of our sink with the vinegar spray bottle after doing dishes.  I run lemon, vinegar, and water ice cubes through the garbage disposal once a week or more often if needed to keep it fresh and clean as well.

Doing the Laundry

There are two main ways we use vinegar in our laundry routine.  We have a top load HE washing machine and a front load dryer.  HE washing machines have been known to develop a bit of a musty smell, especially if left closed between washing cycles.  While our washing machine is very new (purchased in spring 2013), I do a couple of things to avoid the musty smell and generally maintain the cleanliness of our washing machine.  Our owner's manual calls for a monthly tub clean cycle to deep clean the washer, so we put that on the calendar (typically as something for our Once a Month Family Deep Cleaning Day).  I keep a spray bottle of vinegar next to our washing machine just like I do the sink.  After each load in the washer is complete and moved to the dryer, I lightly spray the tub of our washer with vinegar, including inside the top door.  I wipe down the top door with a clean, dry cloth but I keep the lid open and let the washing machine air dry.  The next time I'm in the laundry room I close the lid to the washer.  It actually drives me nuts to leave the lid open on the washer.  I think I'd hate it if I had to leave it open ALL the time just because it's an HE.  

Getting Rid of Stinkies!

I don't care who you are or how detailed a cleaner you are--we ALL have to deal with stinky stuff!  Garbage is stinky!  Sweat is stinky!  Baby diapers and Doggy Doo--they are STIIIIIIIINKY!

I know a lot of people spray vinegar in the air as a deodorizer by itself.  I haven't really had reason to do this.  But, I DO use vinegar in deep cleaning our garbage bins.  We have a roll-out garbage and recycling area which is fantastic for many reasons, but we've noticed that the bins we inherited from the previous owner develop the stinkies VERY quickly!  Even before our move here, I have maintained a routine of deep cleaning all of our garbage bins once a month, or more often if they get gross or particularly stinky.  Trying to deal with the stinkies of the new garbage bins, I have done this same routine but the improvement only lasts a week or so.  Today, I deep cleaned the garbage bins with my typical soap and water, but also with a pre-treat of spraying pure white vinegar on the entire interior of the garbage bins and setting them in the sun to dry.  Then I thoroughly washed them with original Dawn dish soap (another item that has a wealth of uses!!) and rinsed with hot water.  Lastly, I sprayed the interior again with white vinegar.  I have been placing an Arm & Hammer deodorizer in the bins as well as a small paper towel with lavendar oil on it between washings to help fend off the stink!  I think I'm going to try this Arm & Hammer deodorizer instead, however.  Here's hoping the vinegar comes through for me on this as it has everything else!

Do you use vinegar in household cleaning or care?  What are your favorite uses for vinegar?

Until next time,

Nic

Seven Days to SOLD

The decision to put our townhome on the market was not an easy one.  We have developed a close knit group of friends and a wonderful system of support in the neighborhood we lived in.  We were close to public transportation, which we used regularly.  And we were walking distance from shopping, medical services, the library, even restaurants!  We knew that leaving our townhome and moving to a single family home would mean letting go of most, if not all, of those amenities.  Our townhome offered plenty of space, and it was beautiful.  The Mister had it built and made all of the choices regarding materials and style when he was a single guy, so while he never said it was a particularly emotional decision to move on from that house--I don't doubt that it was.  It was his first home.  It was "our" first home.  We brought home our youngest daughter to that home.  And we figured out how to live together, cook together, and work together in that home.  But, that home had it's drawbacks and we were getting to the point where the drawbacks were beginning to outweigh the things we loved.  We had a great deal of noise, often late into the night.  We were frequently frustrated with snow removal services, and when you live in Minnesota, high quality snow removal services are up there with the right kind of coat, boots, and snow tires!  And we wanted a yard....  our kiddos are 8 and 1 now and I think we wanted the yard as much for us as for them--to enjoy the outdoors together and to make family memories without going to the park.

The decision to put our house on the market was really more a series of discussions and a process of back and forth, maybe-we-will and maybe-we-won't.  Our poor family and friends...  talking to us was probably like watching old reruns of "Days of Our Lives".  One day we were SO SURE we were putting the house on the market and then twelve hours later one of us would freak out.  And then we were so sure we were staying, we'd call a vendor for quotes for hardwood floors or some other home improvement and then the other one of us would make the most tantalizing argument for selling and there we were again--SO SURE we were going to put the house on the market!  One day the cycle stopped with the Mister saying he really thought it was the right time and we should go ahead and go for it.  And, instead of freaking out or playing devil's advocate, I agreed, only saying that if this is what we were going to do, by golly, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO.  There was no turning back and we needed to give it our all.

So we did.

And we had a offer at full asking price within a week.

WITHIN A WEEK!  (Ohmygoshwhatarewegoingtodonow?!?!)

But, I'm jumping ahead.  I'd like to share with you what we did to prepare our house for the market, what I think worked, and what I probably wouldn't put as much effort into with hindsight being 20/20.

∙  We went all "Clean Sweep" on the place!  We purged, threw, donated, and packed everything we could.  We wanted the house to look like it was being featured in a magazine--at least that's what we told the 8 year old about why she was temporarily losing some of her toys.

∙  We rented a public storage locker and moved all of the "unnecessary" things there.  Ultimately, when it came time for the move, we hired a moving company and we paid them a set fee to grab the things from public storage also.  This was one of the BEST decisions we made in prepping the house for sale.

∙  We repaired any dings or holes in walls and made sure that mechanically the entire house was in top shape, and we gave a fresh coat of neutral paint to a few rooms.  Most of the house was previously white.  The spaces we painted were done in an off-white/ivory and really suited the spaces well.

∙  We removed ALL personal/family elements:  school papers and coloring pages from the fridge, family photos from the entry hallway, and our daughters' shadow boxes off of the walls.  We replaced the family photos with black and white photos the Mister had taken on a trip to Paris, making for a perfect, neutral, yet stylish set of artwork.

∙  We cleaned EVERYTHING.  We did not hire a cleaning service or someone to come in, although that sure would have been nice!  Think of Spring Cleaning on Steroids...  That's what we did...  obviously, there were no steroids involved BUT I'm telling you, we put the Merry Maids to shame!  From behind the fridge and stove to cleaning the grout lines to oiling all of the wood.  We did it all.  And we maintained it by generally keeping things picked up, but also by doing a brief run-through of teh house each evening, especially if we had a showing scheduled the next day, so that the finishing touches wouldn't be such a rush on the way out the door.

∙  We made good use of our selling season.  We put our house on the market in the spring, so our proximity to the library, shopping, and friends enabled us to be out of the house as needed for showings.  I only managed to leave part of Baby Girl's bottle at home once in the process but THAT, folks, did not go over well.  (In my defense, her bottles have both a ring and a seal and I had NO clue what a disaster it would be without the seal--ooops!  Lesson learned!)

∙  We ate at restaurants almost every night of the week that our house was on the market.  You'd think that would be great, right?  Hah!  It was great for a couple of days, after which you have two cranky parents kids who just want to be at home and who don't really understand the upheaval going on in their lives or it temporary nature.

I truly believe that ALL of these things together helped us to sell our house quickly.  And, I think it was just the "right" time.  The market was good, ours was the only traditional sale in the neighborhood, and we worked our butts off to prep the house to appeal to a potential buyer.  The ONLY thing I think I would change is that I would be a little less concerned with the everyday, full-on, clean-up.  I felt like we had to keep the place spotless so we pretty much did.  But, I don't think we needed to do AS much cleaning before every showing as we did.  I also think we would have been a little bit more selective with showing times.  We said yes to every request for a showing.  Having an infant and a child, it would have been wise for us to keep their bedtimes sacred and to have had a bit more structured plan for how we would handle all of the "we're kicked out of our house for a showing" eating out at restaurants that we did.

If you're trying to decide whether to put your house on the market--good luck.  Truly, it's a huge decision and there are SO many factors to consider.  I'm thankful that we both came to the same decision at the same time with no regrets.  We would not have moved forward if one or the other of us was not on the same page.

If you're in the selling process--good luck!  Remember--this too shall pass.  Someone will walk through the house you called home and they WILL see themselves there.  It just takes the right person at the right time--be patient.  And try to keep living your life through the showing and selling process.  Remember that you and your family NEED your time, space, and normalcy.  Make sure that you allow yourselves that.

Next up--going, going, GONE to the bidder one week in!
Until then,
--Nic

A (new) Place to Call Home

Welcome!  Whether you've happened upon my site through Facebook, Pinterest, or at the recommendation of another home, organization, DIY, and/or cleaning fanatic--I hope you enjoy what I share here!  As you can no doubt tell, this is my first post, and the site will likely change a fair amount over time.  I welcome your feedback and comments, especially if you have tips, suggestions, or ideas to share on a given topic!

I'm writing to share the things I enjoy!  I'm an at-home parent to two sweet girls and over the years I have developed a love for organizing, cleaning, and finding ways for those things to be a source of joy in my life.  I love to incorporate art, color, and nature in our home while embracing the benefits of my label maker!  (It wouldn't be "me" if I didn't mention the label maker, for which I get much grief from good friends, and which was, in all honesty, a favorite gift from the Mister).

Our family recently moved from a three-level, 2,500sf townhome to a single family home of approximately 3,000sf with a yard.  Our townhome sold in ONE WEEK and we purchased our new home when it had only been on the market for one week as well!  Our process was nearly flawless--something we can only be immensely grateful for!  In the next few days I will share our selling, buying, and moving experience and what I learned from it.  My hope is that this home will be ours for the foreseeable future; that this will be our "forever home".  Many of the things about this house fit us perfectly, but there is still much to do including creating and organizing spaces in our home that allow us to live the way we like to live--we are a busy family and we love to spend time together playing games, watching movies, and entertaining friends.  We are looking forward to creating a space in which we can fully enjoy and embrace our backyard for outdoor living and small-scale gardening.  

I hope you will enjoy what I have to share here!  Please feel free to join my Facebook page, link up any future tutorials or posts on Pinterest, and share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas with me here!  

THANKS for joining me and my family in this house that's Becoming Home!

-Nic