Guest Post... Simplified Bee

(image via Martha Stewart)

Keeping a house clean is a year around task, however many bigger cleaning projects are saved for when the seasons change. Washing windows, cleaning upholstered furnishings and washing outdoor furniture might be some of the chores on your spring cleaning checklist. One project I like to tackle in the spring is getting my closet organized. If it’s on yours too, here are a few tips to help you get started:

(image via House & Home)

Store. As you transition your wardrobe closet from cold-weather clothing to warm-weather clothing, make sure that you store sweaters, coats and pants away in zipped bags that protect your garments from moths and other pests. And before you store, make sure your garment is cleaned. The Container Store has some great storage options.

(image via Making It Lovely)

Give. Donate clothing that you do not wear to a local charity. Don't know one in your area? Excess Access will match you with a charity organization in your zip code. They link each donation with the wish-lists of your nearby charities that can provide pick-ups or will accept drop-offs. And donors get tax-deductible receipts.

(image via Martha Stewart)

Organize. If you have a large or walk-in closet it's best to organize it into zones by season or garment type (i.e. work, casual, formal). Next arrange the clothing into sections for each category (i.e. blouses, dresses, pants, etc.). Then arrange the clothes in each section by color from left to right (i.e. black, blue, brown, red, orange, yellow, ivory and white). This makes it much easier to find outfits and is more pleasing to the eye. Wouldn't you agree?

Function & Style.To help keep shirts, shoes and sweaters arranged neatly I recommend stackable boxes with clear fronts like these stylish linen drop-front boxes. The clear drop-front allows you see what's inside and to access items without having to unstack them.

(image via House Beautiful)

Plan. Having trouble deciding what to wear? Closet Lite, a high-tech clothing organization/planning app for your iPhone, allows you to organize your clothing, create outfits, plan them for certain days and view them. This app can even create packing lists for any upcoming trips. Love this!

Happy spring & happy organizing!

- Cristin from Simplified Bee®

Guest Post... Eating My Candy

Hi, I'm Jen
I'm a craft-a-holic mother of 6.

I'm so excited to be guest posting here at Sissyprint!

I'm going to share how I manage to keep my family of 8 under some semblance of order.

With 6 kids (and a husband going to school, working full-time and teaching at the community college part time) we have a LOT of papers coming in and out of this house.

There are three things I do to keep them all organized and in order.

(known to my kids as the "clipboard wall")

I have two long rectangle magnet boards to keep generic family stuff.

Ex. library book due dates, chore chart details, etc.

I also have a clipboard for every member of the family.

This is where I keep school project papers, Cub/Boy Scout project papers, Dr's instructions, receipts, etc.

Anything that goes in that "inbetween filing stage"

By that I mean, papers that I don't want stored in the filing cabinet but also that don't need to be seen during the current week.

When my kids remember to use the clipboard system it works great!

In here I keep a file for each member of the family

and one for current mail.

This is where the weekly homework/spelling words/works in progress goes.

The kids always have a place to keep their homework and it  rarely ever

never gets lost. (It's just getting them out of their backpacks that they have a hard time with.)

The current mail file holds, just that, current mail.

Mail/bills that I will need to look through during the week.

Everything else gets thrown away immediately.

I also do a lot of couponing

so I have a file for the coupons I get in the mail that I know I'll need to use that week.

The binder stays in the Kitchen System basket.

It's divided into several sections.

*Passwords - For the kids' gaming websites, shopping website passwords, etc.

So if the kids (or let's be honest, me) can't remember a password they'll know where to look.

*School info - Teacher e-mail/website addresses, sport schedules, etc.

*Health - Current immunization records, physicals for sports/scouts, etc.

*Home - I keep a list of projects/repairs that need completed around the house.  I also keep paint chips from rooms we've painted, tile colors, etc.

*Bills - This is where I keep records of what bills I've paid and when I've paid them.

Those are my three main things.

If I can keep up on those three areas of organization then I feel like I'm doing

an okay job running this household of littles.

Hopefully my system will help you too.

You can find me at EatingMyCandy.blogspot.com

Thanks for having me Sissyprint!!

XOXO,

Jen

Guest Post... With Today's Creative Blog

Hey All, the Sissie's asked me to send them my spring cleaning list.  I do have to admit that writing Today's Creative Blog has taken more and more of my time in the past year that I'm actually thinking about hiring a cleaning lady.  Oh that would be so nice.

Like you, spring time means sprucing up me home!  Time to dust the cob webs away and get those windows clean.  (I don't clean my own windows) There are 3 items I do either 2 times a year or quarterly.  I use "green" supplies whenever I can and I love it when I can make my own cleaners.

Cleaning chemical free in the kitchen isn't too hard.  I do admit however, I still love my bleach. But using Vinegar and baking soda is not only cheap, it's easy on the environment.  I have found a more extensive way to clean my dishwasher this spring.

Cheryl at TidyMom.net has a really good tutorial on cleaning your dishwasher.



Boy does she have it down.

Since we own a dog and we live in the rainy NW, we clean our carpets probably more than most people.......although you'd never know it if you saw them today.  I must say the muddy paws have taken their tole this winter.  What I find helpful is using OxyClean in my carpet shampooer.  It's less toxic than many of the carpet cleaning products.

Seriously.........who cleans these on a regular basis?  I have white baseboards as well as white cupboards.  This means that the Magic Eraser is my best friend.  Using this miracle sponge really saves time and elbow grease.  A simple swipe "erases" any dirt.....so easy that I always think that I should add this task to my monthly routines.

 
Kim Demmon
Today's Creative Blog

Featuring a new a Creative Blog daily.

Maintaining the Tidy... guest post Vintage Lemon

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a perfect housekeeper. Between working, raising a baby, and cleaning up after a husband I often let the house go in order to stay saine. And other days I feel like I spend my entire day cleaning up after the little mr, and making up for those days when I let my house go, that sometimes I despise cleaning.

But lately I've noticed I can't function very well with a messy house. Everything seems much more chaotic, especially me. I'm extra frazzled, little things that normally don't mean much bother me, and I cannot think clearly.

On Pinterest a few months ago I happened to stumble upon some "organize your cleaning" tips, from daily chore charts, to weekly cleaning schedules.  I came up with a list of spaces that need to be cleaned daily, and another list of spaces that don't need to be tackled as often. 

I used that list to create a 2 week cleaning schedule, with some chores on the list daily, some chores weekly, and other chores every other week depending on what we needed. It equaled out to be about 20-30 minutes cleaning a day. For me, its much easier to keep a clean house clean, then to tackle a messy house and hope I don't lose interest half way through.

Sometimes I feel like certain areas of our house become "dumping gounds" and if I don't tackle them often, we loose important things like our keys, my left shoes, and sometimes our puppy. 

A few things that I determined needed cleaning every day at our house include:

making beds (simple. MAKE THE BEDS. Every MORNING. no excuse)

cleaning all surfaces (wipe counters, put away mail, etc)

clean the kitchen (do dishes, put away everything that has been left out)

Other area needed cleaning every few days such as:

vacuum the floors (hallways, major rooms we spend time in)

laundry (fold laundry and put away right as it comes out of the dryer)

Once a week cleaning needed to be done on areas such as:

bathrooms (clean sink, toilet, shower, counter, floors)

take out all trashes (ALL trashes)

mop all tile (including bathrooms)

de-clutter 1 area (a closet, the pantry, any area that needs a little extra attention)

Some areas only need to be tackled every other week:

garage (keep it organized and clutter free)

back and front yards 

master bedroom (de junk night stands, make sure everything goes back in it's place, clean blinds and baseboards, etc)

baby's bedroom (vacuum blinds, organize toys/books, clothes, etc)

front room (vacuum blinds, floor, clean baseboards, couches, fans, etc)

kitchen (clean appliances; outside and inside, tidy up shelves, pantry, etc)

I have been using this cleaning schedule for a few months now, and let me tell you, it totally works.

My life, and house is much more organized, clean, and happy.

I love only cleaning for a short amount of time, tidying up a clean house vs tackling a disaster.

It's so much easier, and a huge time saver.

Here is a blank cleaning schedule printable that you can customize to your cleaning needs:

Get it here

Happy Spring Cleaning {sissyprint} readers!

Come join me over at The Vintage Lemon!

xo,

marci

{the vintage lemon}

Organization Station

Are you ready for some great printables to make your life easier?
Here are some goodies to help the mother ship stay on course.

Make life easier with this brief week-at-a-glance schedule.
Hang it on your fridge, or pop this 8x10 into a frame and use dry erase markers.
Get yours here.

Stay more on top of your children's schoolwork and upcoming projects with this free printable.
Hang it on the fridge or slip into your Smooth Riding Family Organization Library for easy access.
Get yours here.

Does ownership of items, such as phone chargers, constantly get confused in your home?
Use a 1" circle punch and attach these taggies to power cords (or other items)
in your home to keep everyone's goods separate.
Get yours here.

Love going to the library but always have late fees?  I know I'm certainly guilty of this.
Never again!  Jot down the due date of each book onto these tabs and use as a book mark!
It will serve as a constant reminder each time you go to read.
Get yours here.

Do you have a way of organizing the constant flow of mail?
Designate a container for incoming and outgoing mail to help keep the paper trail to a minimum.
Get yours here.

Stay tuned because all next week we will be hearing from some of our favorite
Sissyprint readers and bloggers!  It's time for Spring cleaning!

Junk Drawer Rescue

I think the majority of us are guilty of having a junk drawer in our home.

My junk drawer is my entire desk.  It's tragic, really.  The picture doesn't even do the mess justice.

I decided it was time to grow up and have a desk that acts more professional.
I dumped everything onto the floor and instantly felt very overwhelmed.

I literally want to climb under a rock for showing you this.

But, once I loaded the tabbie template into my editing software, added titles,
and started designating names to each folder, it helped the process move along much faster.
And although I used my tabbies for folders, these could certainly be used to label totes, pantry items, and so much more.
Make them your own!

Every loose piece of paper and artwork now have a home.

Doesn't it feel good to make little spaces more functional?  I love it.

And, I loved having this noodle salad for dinner tonight.  Yummo!  One of my faves.
Happy organizing!

Get your Tabbies here.

daily planner organization

Are you guys ready for this week of organization?!

Holy cow! You are in for some major treats!

Like today! If you are anything like me, you NEED some extra help when it comes to organizing and remembering the events and responsibilities of your day.

That is why I decided to create a day planner. You can print these pages and make a small book or hang them on your fridge to help you remember exactly what you need to get accomplished.

If you have been a Sissyprint reader for awhile now, you have probably seen the monthly dinner calender and the monthly budget sheets we have created. 

{monthly dinner calendar}

{monthly budget}

I decided to stay with that theme and make these pages accordingly!

The little blue boxes are perfect for writing in the date.

{get page 1 of your day planner here}

{get page 2 of your day planner here}

Enjoy making your day just a little more organized!

freebie friday- feelin' lucky

its almost time for that mischievous little leprechaun to show up!

does your family have any fun traditions at your house for st. patrick's day?

green water in your toilet? green milk in your fridge? 

{right click and save this 8x10 print to your desktop and enjoy it this weekend!}

i will be celebrating st. patrick's day along with my dad's birthday by eating jimmy johns, wearing green, and watching my youngest sister perform at her last high school cheerleading competition.

happy st. patrick's day!!!

Freebie Friday instead of Quotable Monday

Ok. I had to do Freebie Friday today instead of Quotable Monday because I owe you a March calendar. Dang school has kept me from designing too much... so although we are well into March, I decided I'd still make one for ya!

I hope you enjoy this tribal feeling design. I'm diggin' all things tribal these days!

{click here to get your March desk calendar}

if this calendar is not uploading, right click the image and save to desktop 

Fonts used for this printable can be found at kevinandamanda.com

freebie friday - printable spa mask template

Are you looking for basically the cutest way to welcome guests?

Try these easy, easy, easy "spa" masks!

Emily and I made them for a "Girl's Weekend." 

And they were a hit! Of course! Check them out...

Begin with the printable template...

Cut it out and trace it on your favorite fabric and some soft flannel...

 Place right sides together. Sew. Flip inside out. Iron.

 And VOILA! Cutest ever, right?

A sweet little welcoming gift for your guests!

If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it!

HAVE FUN!

[click here for the printable template]