whistle while you work....or not

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life Cleaning edition today.  So check out all of the great tips that the ladies are posting today!  Disclaimer: I am sure this may all have to change once we have children! :)

The first tip I can give is to try and make it not seem like WORK. Turn on the music! David Crowder Band is my first choice when I am cleaning. I am accomplishing two things in one--praising the Lord and cleaning my home. It also helps you to think of how blessed you are to actually have that home to clean! I do have several great tips that I have picked up from different people/places. My mother-in-law is the Queen of Clean! haha! She can get any stain out--no matter what it is!! :)

I don't enjoy doing dishes or putting away the laundry--as Mr. Lane could testify. haha! Thankfully I do have a dishwasher for the days when I have too many dishes to tackle. The laundry is another story though! I enjoy washing and drying--it is the folding and putting away that gets me. I am thankful that Mr. Lane often pitches in and helps with this area!

 I usually deep clean our house on Thursday night after dinner. I often do the majority of our laundry some other day during the week. This frees up the washer and dryer for our bedding, towels, rugs, etc. I try to keep things picked up through the week so it is not too bad when Thursday rolls around. That doesn't always happen! I chose Thursday when we first got married so that our house is clean for the weekends in case we have friends stop by. It also keeps me from spending my Saturday's cleaning. 

I try to always keep the living room and guest bathroom in great shape because the living room is the first room you see when you walk into our house and the guest bath speaks for itself. :)

My Thursday routine usually involves the following:

• 
  
  remove the bedding from our bed and throw it in the washer
• 
  
  give the kitchen a good, deep cleaning--wipe down counter tops, scrub sink, sweep & mop, etc.
• 
  
  clear the dining room table of any mail, papers, etc. that have accumulated(usually those piles are my own) :)
• 
  
  dust the living room--dust and mop the floors
• 
  
  deep clean our master bathroom--scrub sinks, shower, tub, toilet, floors, and wash the rugs
• 
  
  dust and vacuum the master bedroom and guest room

By the time I finish all of this up my bedding is nice and ready to be put back on the bed. I usually only takes me 2-3 hours to get everything cleaned up.

Some tips that I have found work great:

• use old socks on your hands to dust your chair rail and other moldings
• use the hose attachment on your vacuum to clean baseboards
• buy multipurpose items
• keep cleaning products stored in bathrooms, kitchens, etc. for easy access and quick clean ups

I have several tried and true products that I love to use.

Swiffer cloths pick up any hair on any type of hard surface flooring (love these!)

 

I love to use Scrub N' Bubbles in my bathrooms. I usually spray the sinks, tub, shower, and toilet down and go about doing some other small task for a few minutes and come back and wipe and rinse everything. Easy!

I use these in so many locations of our house! Walls, kitchen, bathroom, etc. They work wonders!