Keeping a Move-In Ready House Clean With Swiffer Giveaway!! (Sponsored post)

That’s me in the middle.

If you know who that is, you’re excited!

But you might also think something looks a little funny. Here’s the real picture:

Within moments of posting that photo, a friend edited it.

I met Jonathan Scott (and only Jonathan) at a Swiffer (and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser) event recently. (Remember, I’m a Swiffer ambassador this year.) He’s a spokesperson singing the praises of using Swiffer products to make it easier to keep things clean after a move. Here he is sharing his cleaning tips on video.

Y’all, he was so nice. Very funny, very excited to talk to anybody and everybody, and just generally fun.

Some of my favorite tips Jonathan (my friend Jonathan … ) shared that are perfect for those selling a house or moving into one (or anyone else, really):

If your hardware (drawer and cabinet pulls and handles) is in bad shape, clean it with a Magic Eraser. He says that many times, these pieces are just grimy and a good cleaning makes a huge difference.

Pay attention to the areas around doorknobs and lightswitches. They get nasty. Use a Magic Eraser to clean them off easily.

Use a Magic Eraser to easily remove stickers and their residue from the bottoms of coffee cups, etc.

OK. Now that I’ve written the tips I remember, I realize they’re all about Magic Erasers instead of Swiffer. But we all know how much easier cleaning is with Swiffer, right? If you’re not sure, see the other posts I’ve written as a Swiffer ambassador here and here.

And y’all, because I know how excited you get, I get to do ANOTHER Swiffer giveaway!!! Same old rules, but I’ll state them again.

You must comment on this post to be entered. (If you’re reading via email, click on the title of the post to get to the blog and leave a comment.) U.S. residents only. (Sorry!) One commenter will win. One comment per person. Prizes are provided by Swiffer, not me. I’ll use random.org to pick a comment number randomly. If (and this is the most important part) you are the winner, you MUST reply to my email within 48 hours of the time when I sent it. So pretty please, use an email address you check regularly. See all my giveaway policies here.

Here’s what’s included:

Swiffer Sweeper Small Box Starter Kit

Wet refills

Dry refills

Swiffer Duster

Duster refills

About a $50 value.

Yay! And happy commenting!!!

–Nony

The post Keeping a Move-In Ready House Clean With Swiffer Giveaway!! (Sponsored post) appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

Straightening Up the Dining Room Table (Because Better is Good)

There’s a difference between a ridiculously cluttered table and a table with stuff on it.

Even a table with too much stuff on it.

Oh. You don’t think there is? Well, it’s my blog and I say so. There is.

Oh the dining room table. The bane of my Slob Existence. The glorious flat surface just inside my front door that doesn’t HAVE to be used on an average Wednesday so it’s always available for absentminded (and sometimes present-minded) piling.

But even though this uniquely re-clutterable spot shouldn’t qualify as a real decluttering project since it’s everyday procrasticlutter, I tackle it using my same old decluttering strategies. When I can tackle it that way, I’m ever so much more willing to tackle it at all.

And tackling is the only way.

Step One:

Trash. Trash is the easiest of the easy stuff.

Once the trash was gone, I took the OBVIOUS stuff (which is ever so easy once I see it as individual items instead of a mass of overwhelming STUFF) where it goes. No decisions necessary. Just a bunch of duhs. A bunch of well-yeah-I-know-where-that-goes kind of stuff.

Then, the piles were smaller, but I wasn’t quite in the mood for a solve-it-all kind of thing, so I settled.

I settled for better. My goal was to be able to let someone in the front door and have them think, “Oh, I just love how Dana didn’t feel the need to clean before I came over. We must be close. Like, almost BFFs. I sure like Dana.”

So I consolidated and straightened. A little.

It’s better, y’all. Better is good.

Note: If you came over and it looked like that, we’re BFFs. Really. This post wasn’t talking about you.

Another note: Obviously, it didn’t even occur to me to straighten the frames on the wall. Sorry OCD friends, but you get what you get when you venture to my Slob Blog.

–Nony

The post Straightening Up the Dining Room Table (Because Better is Good) appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

How to Remove Hairy, Scary Dust Bunnies from a Broom Without Touching Them

Dust bunnies happen.

Especially with wood floors.

Hairy ones happen, especially in our family of hairy people.

They stick to the end of the broom and won’t come off into the dust pan like I totally think they should.

So, I bend the broom as flat on the floor as possible, and vacuum them off. Yay for no need to touch them.

Or, if I’m wearing shoes (which I pretty much never am at home), I step on the bunnies (the DUST bunnies, people, I’m not a monster) and pull the broom so they come off. That mostly works, but sometimes they reattach to the broom when I then try to sweep them onto the dustpan.

Touching them? Not an option.

Affiliate links to things mentioned in this post:

My vacuum which I totally love. (that link is to a newer version, as I can’t find the exact one, probably because I’ve had it for 14 years)

An angled broom and dust pan.

Dust-related posts:

What Flat Surfaces are Really For

(Lame) Excuse: “But I Don’t Enjoy Washing Candles … “

How to Dust Kitchen Kitsch – Easy Spring Cleaning Tasks

Sweeping-related posts:

No Dustpan? No Excuses!

The Real Reason I Have to Sweep Everyday

–Nony

The post How to Remove Hairy, Scary Dust Bunnies from a Broom Without Touching Them appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

Moving Stress – How Clutter Doesn’t Help

Hubby is moving to a new office after 11 years.

11 years in one place means there’s clutter to deal with. As the wife, I’ve been helping. Strangely, though, he doesn’t seem to value my decluttering expertise the way someone else might.

I’ve mostly been trying to be supportive. Just being there as he goes through things and offering opinions when he asks for them.

The main thing I’ve encouraged him to do? Don’t make assumptions about piles (or entire drawers) full of things you assume are ALL sentimental things.

The most obvious decluttering advantage that moving provides is the opportunity to purge on two sides. Purge as we pack and purge as we unpack.

But it’s just so tempting to assume we know what’s in a pile or a drawer and blindly pack it up. He opened a file drawer and said, “Oh, this is all sentimental stuff from years past. Gifts and cards and things.”

Have I mentioned that he tends to be more sentimental than me?

I told/encouraged him to go ahead and look at things as he put them in the moving box because he might find things that aren’t sentimental. The more he can go ahead and trash those things, the less he’ll have to pack, move, and deal with on the other end as he unpacks.

He was surprised to find that there was quite a bit that he didn’t even remember, or that didn’t bring up any emotion and he could purge easily.

Yay for having less to move.

But y’all, this office-packing experience has me in full-on dread of his eventual retirement. Because there’s a wholotta stuff that looks cool and interesting and quirky in his office but I have no place for in my home. It may not be as breezy of a conversation when we pack up that office.

I’m grateful there’s no need for a stopping place between offices. The stuff can go straight to its new home, even if it can’t be unpacked immediately.

But that brings me to a good place to mention my new partnership with SpareFoot.com. I’m a spokesperson for them, and they’re all about moving right now. This time (end of May, beginning of June) is officially moving season, and it’s the time of year when more Americans move than at any other time.

If you’re moving and have some up-in-the-air-no-place-to-dump-your-stuff time between homes (or offices), check out their tool for finding the best price and coolest features on storage options near you.

SpareFoot conducted a survey specifically about moving and clutter, and (as a chronic clutter discusser) I thought the results were interesting.

And oh my, haven’t we had all of these discussions here on the blog:

Does the thought of moving inspire you to declutter, or does it completely overwhelm you? 

–Nony

The post Moving Stress – How Clutter Doesn’t Help appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

4 Things I Found When I Cleaned My Laundry Room

My Laundry Room has a wonderful feature.

It’s called a door.

A solid one. And it closes.

I use this feature all the time. Doorbell ringing soon? Throw it in the Laundry Room. Not sure where that goes? Throw it in the Laundry Room.

Know I’ll use that someday but just don’t have time to deal with it right now??? Throw that sucker in the LAUNDRY ROOM, baby!!

Here are a few things I found in the most recent excavation:

A carbon monoxide detector. I grabbed this at Costco when they were on sale. I intended to get a new smoke detector, but when I saw these, the thing that happens to me a lot happened. A headline went through my brain.

“Mom is too cheap to buy a carbon monoxide detector even when they were on SALE just weeks before entire family (and their dog) die of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Carbon monoxide poisoning is serious. I spent the money and felt better about myself. I hadn’t given in to my tendency to not buy things we really really need because I’m ridiculously frugal/cheap.

I did, however, give in to my tendency to throw things in the laundry room instead of taking the time to rip open a difficult-to-rip-open package.

Money.

Yay for laundry money. Double yay for five whole dollars of laundry money.

An outgrown, hole-ey gymnastics leotard.

We paid a LOT of money for that thing, y’all. When you have to get a certain one, you CAN’T be frugal. I’m pretty sure the expense was the reason I made my daughter keep wearing it after she randomly snipped a hole in the front while cutting something.

And I’m pretty sure the expense was the reason I didn’t throw it away once it was outgrown and no longer needed (since we’d stopped gymnastics).

And I didn’t stick it in the Donate Box because it had a hole in it.

It’s a vicious cycle.

So I threw it away.

And last, but not least (definitely not least), my long-lost iPad.

I’m guessing I was listening to podcasts (<– linking to my own even though I don’t just listen to my own!) while folding laundry straight out of the dryer and it slid down and under and such. Thankfully, it was unharmed.

(Unharmed when I found it. It was soon dropped and very much harmed after that photo was taken.)

What have you unearthed lately?

–Nony

The post 4 Things I Found When I Cleaned My Laundry Room appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

098 What to Do Before You Get Started Podcast

Mentioned in this podcast:

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See all my podcasts here (and get link to itunes)

How to Clean a Messy House Podcast Part One

How to Clean a Messy House Podcast Part Two

Decluttering Momentum Podcast

Containers and Limits and How they’ll Change Your Life Podcast

–Nony

The post 098 What to Do Before You Get Started Podcast appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com

Added Chance to Grab the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle

Affiliate links coming right up. 

I feel awkward writing this post, because it feels like I JUST pushed this very thing much harder than I feel comfortable pushing something, and it was supposed to be over almost a month ago.

Technically, it was over.

You may remember in early May when I shared (and shared and shared) about the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle being ONLY available for a short time. It’s a ton of homemaking resources bundled together for less than $30. 

Here’s the thing. I have participated once before when they ran a “flash sale” for just two days about six months after the big push/real sale. It’s never guaranteed, though, that they’ll do this. This time, however, they’re hosting a flash sale for those who missed out, and it’s now. Less than a month after the last sale ended.

Which is why I feel a little weird about having declared that THAT was your last chance. I’m pretty sure this is actually your last chance.

If you missed it last time and were mad at yourself, don’t miss it this time.

Go here to see the products that are included. Here’s my best advice for deciding if it’s right for you: Grab a calculator or paper and pencil and browse through the 90something products included in the bundle. As you find a recipe book or organizing printable packet or digital course that interests you, jot down the value of that product. Add up the values of the items you’d love to have and see if it adds up to more than the 29.97 pricetag.

You can also read the posts I wrote for the “real” sale which go into detail about some of the products included:

Homemaking Resources Galore!

High Value Items that May Make the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle worth the Money for You

Combining Housework and Exercise

What I Can Give You (And What I Totally Can’t)

–Nony

The post Added Chance to Grab the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle appeared first on A Slob Comes Clean.

If you would like to find out more about how to keep your house tidy visit www.cleancarpetguru.com