As pollen season comes to an end, it is the perfect time to clean those dirty windows. Thanks to a small child and a dog, I need to do this to my sliding glass door at least once a week.

Wash the windows

Fill a bucket full of warm water and add a few drops of liquid hand-dishwashing detergent.

Dip your rag into the water and wash the window using a circular motion.

The secret…revealed

Use newspaper to dry the window.

Yes, there is a great use for that newspaper in your recycling bin! Dry the windows in a circular motion. You will be left with a streak-free shine.

Tackle one or two rooms per day to make this task less daunting. Get your kids involved! They can do the lower portions of the windows.

Don’t forget the curtains/blinds

Are you noticing all the dust on your curtains and blinds? While you are cleaning windows, take downs the curtains/blinds and wash them. Hang the curtains back up as soon as they are dry to avoid wrinkles.

Make it fun

Who says cleaning windows can’t be fun? Put on some good music and sing while you clean.

Warning: Someone may run into the sliding glass door because it is so clean!

Sometimes you have to laugh so you don’t cry.

With my mouth hanging open in both shock and terror, I took it all in as I scanned the room. Every drawer, bookshelf, and container had been emptied into the middle of the floor. Her attention to detail was impressive, and nothing had been left untouched.

There, teetering atop the mountain she had so proudly built, was my two-year-old grinning from ear to ear at her accomplishment.

It is one of those moments as a parent that you simply must freeze with a photo so you don’t forget, or in case you need a favor when they are a teenager, you can whip out the picture as proof that they owe you one.

Four hours later the room was back to its original state, and only then could I see the humor in it.

Now do you feel better about what you are facing in your child’s room?

Kids are disorganized by nature.

Their rooms become a mess overnight leaving Moms throwing their hands up in the air in surrender to the floor covered with “stuff”. Despite what we Moms think, kids really don’t want to live in a messy room.

Ask yourself, “Why is the room messy?”

Does he/she have too much stuff? If there is more “stuff” than can reasonably fit in a room, it can be overwhelming or even impossible for a child to keep the room neat. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the contents and “spring-clean” the room.

Clearing out the unused and outgrown

Start with the closet and work your way around the room. Closely examine the contents and determine what needs to stay and what can go. Have they outgrown this? Are they ever going to use this? Have your child participate since you may need their advice on items.

Make a pile of clothes, toys, and books that you need to:

• pass down to a younger child or neighbor
• toss (broken or missing pieces)
• donate to a charity or sell at a consignment store

Once you are done, you will find you have ample space available to organize what is left.

Everything needs a “place”

The key to keeping the room organized is everything having a “place”.

Have you noticed how the toys, puzzles, etc. at a preschool are arranged? How does it stay neat with 20 kids playing every day? The answer…everything has a place. When “clean up” time comes, even the smallest of toddlers knows where everything goes and can participate in tidying a room.

Now apply that philosophy to your child’s room. Assign a place for clothes, games, toys. Use baskets and plastic containers to store groups of small items. Use labels to mark the contents so your child will know where to put his toys when he is done. If your child didn’t participate in the organizing, give him a tour of the new room so he is familiar with the arrangement.

I recently organized my teenager’s room. Things he had outgrown long ago were taking up precious storage space. I was able to remove 4 lawn/leaf bags full of items from his room. His little sisters thought it was Christmas when they received a few lost treasures such as Lite-Bright. With more space now available in the closet, I was able to get items such as musical instruments off the floor and onto a shelf in the closet.

Identify the trouble spot and solve the problem

What is causing the most clutter?

My child’s collection of game systems, games, and accessories was the cause of a constant mess on the floor. Every time the cabinet door was opened to look for a cord or controller, out spilled the contents in a tangled ball of cords and accessories, and he wasn’t able to find what he needed. I realized this was the main source of the clutter in his room, and it needed to be fixed.

Solution:

Since three drawers in his dresser were now available from the cleanup, I took his game system controllers, cords, accessories, etc and created a drawer for each type of game system. This freed up space in the entertainment center to actually place the games neatly so you could see them all. Now when he needs a cord to a specific item, he knows exactly where it is without digging through a mess. Problem solved. Since reorganizing the room, he has kept it immaculate, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

As you make more space available, you are able to organize the room so it functions well. When toys are off the floor and in closets or drawers, the room immediately evolves into an inviting, relaxing atmosphere free of the chaos of clutter.

No longer will you have to brace yourself as you open the door, scared of what you will find.

Related Articles:

Clutter and the Avalanche Effect
7 Ways to Combat Clutter

After spending a couple of days reformatting my computer, I thought it was worth mentioning that computers do require some “spring cleaning” each year. You don’t have to go so far as reformatting, but there are a few things that even a non-technical user can do to keep a computer running well.

Has your computer been running slow lately?

One possible culprit could be that you are filling up your hard drive.  Check to see how much space is available on your “C:” drive. Not much? Maybe it’s time to clear up some.

Do you transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer for storage? 

Pictures and movies can be very large files and can quickly eat up your hard drive space. Burn them onto a disk occasionally to reduce what you are storing on your computer.  Double check that the storage disk burned correctly and your photos are on it before deleting the pictures off your computer. If I have issues with my computer running slowly, hard drive space availability is always what I check first. My photos and digital camera movies are usually to blame.

Review your computer files once or twice a year and identify the files you don’t need anymore. Just in case you need it one day, archive the files by burning them to a disk before deleting them.

Surf the web on a regular basis?

Temporary files and internet clutter can bog down your computer. A washing program such as Window Washer is great to run occasionally (once a week or more) to clean the unnecessary junk files off your computer.

Use anti-virus software to avoid virus issues.

Got any other tips to share?

When is the last time you went through your medicine cabinet and tossed out the expired items?

Review the contents

It’s a good idea to review your stock of medicines about twice a year and toss the ones that have expired or aren’t needed anymore.  I have a shelf in my kitchen cabinet that is the “medicine cabinet” since it doesn’t really fit in one.  If you can fit a lazy susan or two on the cabinet shelf, it makes finding the medicine you need easier.

Make a note of what you tossed that needs to be replaced immediately. 

Items like aspirin should be on hand at all times, so replenish your supply.  Make sure you have age-appropriate versions for every member of your family.

Items for specific ailments like cold medicines can wait until you actually need them to replace them; however, I like to keep a bottle of cough syrup on hand since it tends to be used the most.

Allergy season is already here in some parts of the country.  If you have family members that need allergy medicine on a regular basis, make sure you have some on hand. 

Check to make sure you have a working thermometer. This should be a staple item in the cabinet.

Safe disposal of medicine

For information on how to safely dispose of prescription medicine, check out this site: http://www.ismp.org/consumers/throwAwayMedsSafely.asp

Want a great feeling of accomplishment for the day that won’t take more than five minutes?

How is your junk drawer looking these days?

After getting stabbed in the finger by a stray thumbtack, I spent a few minutes straightening my kitchen junk drawer today.  It wasn’t horrible but warranted a quick cleanup.

I found a few buried treasures under the pencils that didn’t belong in the drawer. My kids tend to throw stuff they consider “junk” in the drawer and hope I don’t notice.

Dump the contents of the drawer on a table or in a box and wipe out the drawer and the containers with a cloth.  Set your containers back in the drawer and place all the items back in a sorted manner.

Drawer organizers are great for holding little things like thumbtacks, paper clips, etc.  If you find a few items that don’t belong in the drawer, take them to their appropriate places.

In five minutes you will have a neat, organized drawer again.

Wow what a difference

I received these before and after pictures from a wonderful lady who will remain anonymous. Look at the difference between the before and after pictures. Impressive! Great job!

You see them every day, so you probably haven’t noticed all the marks on the doors and walls. If you have kids, they have probably put their dirty hands everywhere. I have three kids, and I am certain they are walking around the house dragging their hands on the wall. This month take the time to work on cleaning your walls.

Getting started

Add a couple drops of hand-dishwashing liquid to a bucket and fill with water. Using a damp rag wipe off all the walls, doors, and baseboards in your home. Tackle this as an all day project and get the kids involved, or work on a room per day until the job is done. It is amazing how this can make a difference in how clean your home looks and feels.

If you have stubborn marks, crayon, makeup, etc…try a Magic Eraser on them. You will be amazed at how easily they come off.