Lifestyle With J

It is officially time for spring cleaning! With all the weddings, graduations, and baby showers on the rise, taking the time to keep up with housework can help us to keep our heads on straight. It is so much easier to enjoy downtime when we take the time to keep up with daily cleaning and organization. Bree Van de Kamp, from the sitcom Desperate Hosewives can serve as inspiration to us all. In season two, Bree is seen completing certain chores on certain day (she had to squeeze in a quick AA meeting or two), and while us modern day girls might need a little more flexibility, taking stock of the chores, large and small that you need to complete on a weekly basis and splitting them up can be so helpful in keeping an organized home and life without giving up hours of time on the weekend to do a large “Sunday reset”.

I find it helpful to take a proactive approach to cleaning, and consider the little tasks that need to be kept up with, rather than leaving them for whenever you get around to it (which can result in overwhelm once everything needs to be done at once). We all have to keep up with general tidying, dishes, laundry, and bathroom and kitchen disinfecting. Additionally,everyone has tiny personal chores that keep things tidy depending on lifestyle. For me, this includes deep cleaning the coffee maker, washing makeup brushes and facial massage tools, ect.. For others, you could have chores related to your pets or hobbies. Rather than saving all these tasks up for a rainy day, simplify your life and plan to complete one to two tasks each week night you are free so you are free to enjoy your weekend rather than needing to clean for hours. If you want to really channel your inner Bree Van de Kamp, you can create a chore chart that pertains to your lifestyle such as: Monday: laundry, Tuesday: floors, Wednesday:bathrooms, ect.. The great thing about keeping up with tasks in this matter is if you have a crazy week its no biggie to catch up next week, if you are keeping up with these tasks frequently you are just staying on top of things and keeping up with damage control so you don’t become overwhelmed.

When going through your weekly schedule, if you are a girl that likes to keep her options open, you can always have in your head that on evenings when you are at home, you can take 20-30 minutes to complete an ongoing chore, such as cleaning out the fridge, vacuuming, or laundry folding. It Can be fun to habit stack by listening to music or a podcast while cleaning, or enjoying a show while folding laundry. You can also challenge yourself to see how many mini tasks you can fit into a 30 minute time frame, such as cleaning your makeup brushes, unloading the dishwasher, wiping down hard surfaces, ect…Taking stock of your daily chores that make your life more enjoyable and convenient when done, and ensuring you fit them into a time frame ensures they will get done without becoming a slave to your household chores.

In addition to planning and executing your tasks, it is necessary to keep your cleaning supplies stocked, and organized. It can be fun to try new products from time to time, but finding what you love and sticking to it helps you to stay stocked up without becoming overwhelmed by random supplies cluttering up your space and wasting money on products you won’t use. Read on for a nice starter kit if you are reprioritizing your cleaning supplies, or looking for a nice ongoing list to keep at your disposal. Below are my top 5 favorite home keeping products I have loved over the past few years to get you started.

1. Shark Vacuum Cleaner: Starting off with the most expensive and permanent item. I just celebrated my year anniversary with this vacuum, and I keep falling more and more in love every day. It is fairly light weight, well priced, and works so well. I love the convenient attachments that can easily be used to clean upholstery, or hard to reach corners. It has been so helpful in keeping my living spaces clean.
2. Meyers Hardworking Homekeeping All purpose spray: I have been using this spray for the past two years, and I love the sublte clean scent it has. This is great to use on kitchen counters, as well as wood desks, ect.. I love how versatile this product is and that it can be used in any room of your home. It is so convienent being able to purchase the spray bottle once, and continue refilling with the concentrate bottle. Simply pour a bit in, and fill with water when you are ready to refill. Such an affordable, safe and eco-friendly option.
3. Dawn Dish Soap: When it comes to dish soap, it has to be dawn. I have never considered using another dishsoap, because the smallest amount of dawn is just so effective. Beyond just dishes, the amount of times dawn has helped me to get out stains over the years has been a lifesaver. From bloodstains, to spilled drinks on light carpet, scrubbing with dawn and water will do the trick! Get Dawn.
4. Scrub Daddy Sponge: I have recently begun to love scrub daddy. I have the pink scrub mommy, and love the aesthetic, obviously, but the grey scrub wand is so much more convenient and efficient in scrubbing pots without risking my nails. I love the srub daddy for how cute and fun he is, as well as how efficient and durable. I frequently toss the sponge into the dishwasher, and it has held up well.
5. Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent: My one concern about this product is that it isn’t natural..I enjoy using natural products in my home for the most part, but have a hard time letting go of my favorite laundry detergent of many years.

I hope this has helped you to embrace your inner domestic goddess and get your home in a beautiful working condition for spring.

XOXO,

J