Category: Monthly Musings

Hello! How is your week going? We are hanging in there. After two nights of baseball games, we had nothing on the calendar last night, and it was so wonderful. Besides activities, the kids are starting their end of the year testing, so we’ve had that on the calendar as well.

Today’s post may not be my most exciting post ever, but I always love linking up with Patty and Holly when I can for their Monthly Musings link up.

This month’s topic is Spring Cleaning.

Well, I should have had Travis write this post! He is a cleaner, and I’m a tidier. We balance each other out, but he’s certainly more well-versed in the cleaning department. I mean, I’ve had to ask him where we keep the vacuum one too many times. #findyouamanwholikestoclean

1. Are you doing a spring cleaning this year?

Yes, and it’s what I typically do each year. For me, the closets and the kids’ rooms are the first ones I tackle. We tend to purge and reorganize their rooms in November, before the holidays, and then again in March/April. Those are the perfect times to see what fits them, what toys/books they don’t want to keep, and toss any random items like art supplies and dried up markers!

We Travis tends to clean out, tidy up, and re-organize the garage in the spring or early summer.

2. Favorite cleaning products?

For daily use, I love Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning supplies. A friend gave us this brand in a cute basket as a house warming gift over six yeas ago, and I’ve never looked back!

{Side note: my soap holder by my sink is one of my favorite quick projects. When we moved in house, I was unpacking and realized we had a cake stand that I never used (wedding gift from 2005). So, I spray painted it, and it sits to the left of our sink to hold our dish soap, spray, and hand soap}

3. What is your must clean for every spring?

I’d swap the word “clean” for the word “purge.” I purge the hall closets and kids rooms in the spring. Travis would say his “must clean” is to power wash the back patio!

4. Any garage/shed cleaning tips?

Marry Travis White?! 😂 We don’t have a shed, but he stays on top of the garage organization.

5. Pack rat or Marie Kondo devotee?

I think I’m somewhere in between…

I’m pretty sentimental and keep items of clothing with the kids’ names or monogram on them. I figure one day I will have blanket made for them. I have also kept a lot of their school t-shirts and some sports uniforms.

I keep school work and artwork in these storage containers from Michaels. Both kids have one for kindergarten-2nd grade work and another one for 3rd-5th grade school work.

I also have these colorful boxes with school papers, report cards, calendars and other information we need.

Most of the time when I think of cleaning, it just means purging and organizing! I always feel so much better after I do so.

6. Best cleaning hack?

…have kids so they do the cleaning? 😆 or…don’t have kids so there are no messes to clean up! 😉

I really don’t have any “cleaning hacks,” but I’d love to learn some, so feel free to share !

My latest “hack” for Hayden’s white baseball pants is to use Fels-Naptha on grass stains and dirty pants! I’m pretty sure it’s been around for years, but last fall was the first time I’d heard of it thanks to a fellow baseball mom.

Not a hack, but I just feel so much better if I pick up the house every night. It’s nice to start the day with a clean slate (literally and figuratively 😉) each morning.

Or you could do this…

Another idea is to really deep clean a different part of the house each day or complete a daily chore. For example, clean the bathrooms on Mondays and do laundry on Saturdays.

7. Do you have help with house cleaning?

We do!

Me before our house cleaner comes:

The best gift we’ve given ourselves is having someone clean the house every other week. It’s so nice to come home to a spotless house!! A house cleaner is a treat for me. Trav’s “treat” is a few years ago we hired someone to start mowing the lawn. Truth be told, Travis loves yard work, and loves to mow the grass. We just don’t have the time in the spring and the summer to stay on top of our sizable yard! We could figure it out if needed, but it’s nice to let that task go…to someone with a zero turn mower that can cut the grass in twenty minutes rather than three hours.

Little does Hayden know, but in a couple of years, mowing the lawn can be his chore!

8. Favorite cleaning appliance?

Our dry Swifter sweeper is perfect for our hardwood floors and dog hair! Also, I’m loving the efficiency of our new washer that we got about six months ago!

9. Run the dishwasher ever night or just when full?

We run the dishwasher about three times a week when it’s full. Then, the kids help unload it and put away what they can reach and then one of us puts things away that are up high.

10. Favorite way to donate or purge unneeded items?

We tend to donate clothes and household items to the Salvation Army. I’ve sold some things on Facebook Marketplace, and I also offer good, hardly worn clothes to neighbors before donating or selling.

Recently, Travis and a neighbor split the cost of a dumpster and Travis took the opportunity to clear out a few items in the attic, organized the unfinished part of our basement, and purge items in the garage.

So that’s a little bit of a peek on Spring Cleaning in our house. Do you enjoy spring cleaning? What are some of your favorite cleaning products?

May’s topic is Summer Preview. I’m happy to report that with our last day of school scheduled for May 18, I will be living the summer life while writing that post!

Thanks so much for reading. Make sure to check out other ladies’ posts too! I will see you back here tomorrow for this week’s Friday Favorites.