Organizing your Car is Easy

Something happened when I became a mom, I became more organized. I used to be someone who liked what I call organized chaos. I knew where things were, they just didn't have a set home. Now I am organized and I am able to keep things organized. I still lose things sometimes but that's because someone either moved it or I put it up somewhere to keep it safe.

I used to also not really care if someone's car is clean and organized. It didn't really bother me too much. As long as it wasn't totally trashed, it was fine. Now that I am a mom I prefer for the car to be organized. It's hard to find things you may need. If we are out with friends, I am very picky when Noah is in the car. I don't expect the car to be sparkling clean but I would prefer him not to step on trash to get in the car. I totally understand that not everyone is organized. I think it's a skill you obtain, if you don't have it already, when you become a parent. It becomes a necessity because your child has a lot of stuff. You also have to be able to tell your child where something is in the car while you are driving. It's really easy to organize your car. It doesn't have to be a huge project or complicated process. It's nice to know where everything is.  If you had ever lost something in the car and spent an hour looking for something you can appreciate this. I think organizing has received a bad rep. It doesn't take a bunch of money or time to get your car in order. The hardest part is honestly putting things back where they belong. If you forget to put it back you risk losing it in the car or worse knocking it out when you get out. You can lose something really important or valuable.

Be sure to read my post about tips to organize your car and start 2015 organized.

Ring in the New Year with Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle

It is no secret I don’t like to clean. I posted on Facebook a couple weeks ago, if money were no object what kind of staff would you have? You can bet housekeeper was in there. I also wanted someone to do my dishes and someone else to wash my hair. I think it feels really good when someone else washes my hair. Unfortunately, money is something I don’t have a ton of, so I have to clean my own house, do my own dishes and wash my own hair.  Thankfully, there are products like Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle that help make the job easier. The new Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle multi-purpose, multi-surface cleaner has 2.5* times more power in every drop, delivering superior cleaning performance in a compact bottle.  Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle’s concentrated gel formula serves all of your cleaning needs, on and off the floor. It penetrates dirt easier, fights grease tougher, and lifts stains faster, while the specially designed cap ensures no drop goes to waste.

How it works:

Apply Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle directly for quick and easy removal of tough stains from hard surfaces such as:

• Tables

• Countertops

• Sinks

• Stoves

• Floors

Dilute Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle in water for more general floor and surface cleaning, with no need for rinsing. The unique auto-stop cap delivers the right amount, every time.

Mr. Clean launched this new product on January 1^st, in Times Square. Everyone knows about the huge New Year’s Eve party at Times Square, but who has to clean it up? I bet it is a huge mess Julie Edelman aka the The Accidental Housewife was on hand to provide tips and tricks, cleaning alongside our Mr. Clean Team to get it done. It looks like it was a fun time. With the new Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle as the star of the event,  the Mr. Clean Team will really light up Times Square with their theatrics, making the steps of Duffy Square cleaner than they’ve ever been.

 Julie Edelman aka The Accidental Housewife has some great tips for 2014.

 The Top Ten: Tips to Save Time, Money and Your Sanity in 2014

1. TACKLE HIGH TRAFFIC ZONES FIRST: Divide your home into MUST DO and CAN DO LATER zones. The must do’s are bathrooms, kitchen and bedrooms which are bacteria, allergy (dust mites) and germ magnets AND should be cleaned regularly. Can do later zones are areas such as family rooms, guest bedrooms, and hallways.

2. MAINTAIN YOUR SANITY, START SMALL: As Oscar Wilde said “Man (and woman!) was made for something better then disturbing dirt.” So put cleaning your home in perspective and don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed. Start with the smallest room in your home, and work your way to the largest room in order to streamline your cleaning process.

3. SPREAD OUT CHORES THAT BORE: Once you’ve tidied up, make a weekly TAH–DO LIST J (as in The Accidental Housewife!) to keep rooms clean enough. If you follow up on little cleaning projects each week, you’ll be able to maintain a healthy and squeaky clean home, and manicures, all year long.

4. BLEND CHORES THAT BORE INTO EVERYDAY ACIVITIES: Housework can be boring, so staying focused while doing it can be a chore. ‘Blend’ i.e. ‘work’ tasks into everyday activities and routines. Next time you’re chatting on the phone with your BF or mom, chat while cleaning countertops, door handles and sinks.

5. SAVE YOUR NRG: Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle can handle anything, especially if it can clean up Times Square after New Year’s Eve! Save your elbow grease and simply squirt a drop of the powerful new formula onto countertops, appliances and more to clean up after your own New Year’s Eve party.

6. STREAMLINE YOUR CLEANING TOOLS WITH MULTI-TASKERS: There’s no need to have countless cleaning products clogging cabinets. Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle can be used directly on tough dirt or used as a dilute to handle big or small messes on hard surfaces such as tables, countertops, sinks, stoves and even floors.

7. TAKE THE GUESS WORK OUT OF ‘HOW MUCH’: Thanks to its innovative one-dose cap, Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle delivers the perfect amount of cleaning gel with every squeeze – that can be applied directly to surfaces or diluted in water as a cleaning solution. Similar to tasks like dishwashing and laundry, buy single, pre-measured packets. This will certainly help you prevent wasting product and in the end, also save you money!

8. DANCE WITH DUST BUNNIES: No one said that you have to make cleaning a chore, so put on those headphones or crank up the music and dance with your vacuum as you suck up those dust bunnies or wash your floor! It will also turn your cleaning routines into a workout, so you’ll be multi-tasking once again—cleaning and toning your bod!

9. ENLIST PINT-SIZED HELPERS: If you have young kids, they are perfect for helping with kid-friendly home-keeping chores like vacuuming and laundry. If you don’t have any children, I’m sure friends and family who do will be happy to lend out theirs so they can enjoy an hour or two of free time!

10. GIVE YOURSELF AN i.O.ME! Don’t wait for your birthday or Mother’s Day. Give yourself a ‘me day’ or at least a few ‘me’ hours. You’ll be amazed how it will give you a new perspective on that next load of laundry waiting for you!

I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Clean New Year!

This post is partnered by Mr. Clean, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cooking with Noah and Cracking Eggs

I have been teaching Noah how to cook, and he is fascinated with cracking eggs.  I made Angel Food cake the other day and I had to use 12 egg whites.  I am a pro at separating the egg whites, but I have to concentrate, and with a very helpful five year old saying I want to help and sneaking over and grabbing the eggs out of the carton it is a little nerve racking. Thankfully I only had to crack 14 eggs because I managed to lose two of them.  Noah is pretty good about listening and didn’t help me crack any eggs. I remember the first time; I had him crack an egg. I had him sit at the table and he smashed the egg and it ended up all over his face, clothes, the table and the floor. It was a mess for me to clean up after I put him in the tub and scrubbed him clean.  My mom always teases me about how when I cook something always goes wrong. It is never anything major and the food is always delicious, I guess I get distracted a lot. I too have gone to crack an egg only to not pay attention and drop the egg on the floor.  It is a complete mess.  I am then required to mop the floor, which is probably one of my most not favorite house cleaning jobs.  

I often wonder how clean my floor really is getting. I know that the dirt or substance is removed but what about all the germs? Am I getting them up too? Raw eggs contain risk of salmonella, I can be a messy cook, and sometimes I drop things like raw meat on the floor. I pick it up and mop but am I really getting all the bacteria?  I think I need to find a new steam cleaning mop just to make sure that I am not making my family at risk to get sick. I would love to get a Ladybug Steam Cleaner, for my floors so I feel better about my kitchen messes and not spending all that extra time scrubbing the floor and worrying about germs.