How to Cure Clutter and Get/Keep Your Whole House Clean

Here is my solution to clutter and keeping/getting the whole house clean - HAVE COMPANY....OFTEN! Whenever we are having guests or visitors, I seem to be able to keep my house clean and tidy. It is magic how it works! All the piles of stuff get sorted and put away (or thrown away) and everyone does their part to clean up the house. Now if I could only have company more often....:-)

Go over to Biblical Womanhood and see more ideas about getting rid of piles.

Taming the Chaos!

Have you ever watched the show "Clean House"? Well, Neesy didn't come to my house, but my son helped me as my "to-to guy" and we were able to tame the chaos in one corner of my house that has been a problem for awhile. This is really a corner of my kitchen. I don't have hardly any cabinets, so I use bookshelves to hold dishes, craft stuff, books, etc. Here is the before:


And now for the much neater and cleaner after:
There is still alot of stuff, but it is organized. And I plan to make curtains to cover these shelves and hide the clutter in the next week or so. Hoping for a good find at Goodwill!

Thanks to Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood for the inspiration in "Making Your Home a Haven Monday".

Make Your Own SAFE & CHEAP Cleaning Products!

These are my most requested recipes - homemade cleaning products. I used to make and use these when we lived in Myrtle Beach, SC, but I got away from it when we moved to Mexico. Then last summer I realized how silly it was to be struggling financially and buying all those expensive cleaning products when I like the homemade ones better. So I went out at bought three things: Borax, baking soda and white vinegar. Yep, that's it! Three ingredients for most all of these recipes. Tomorrow I will tell you about making laundry detergent, and that requires two other ingredients: Washing Soda and Fels Naptha Soap.

Here are the recipes:

Window/Glass Cleaner
1/2 white vinegar
1/2 water
Mix equal parts to fill your spray container.

All Purpose Cleaner (like 409)
1 quart warm or hot water
1 tsp. Borax
squeeze of lemon juice or splash of vinegar
Mix together and pour into spray container.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Sprinkle baking soda around the toilet bowl, wait for a few minutes, scrub with toilet bowl brush and flush.

Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup salt
Mix together and store in a container (I like to use old Gatorade or powdered drink mix containers). Use 1 Tablespoon per wash load. For spot-free dishes, put white vinegar in rinse compartment. Also, if you have a problem with getting a film on your dishes, put a couple of drops of liquid dish detergent (like Dawn) in with the dishwasher detergent.

Enjoy a clean and healthy home!