The following post is from Becky of Clean Mama:

source: clean mama

These are the 5 things that I absolutely must have in my cleaning bucket to effectively move through my cleaning routine.

Microfiber Cloths

If you haven’t jumped on the microfiber bandwagon, you are missing out. They’re reusable and washable (hundreds and hundreds of times), they can be used dry as a dusting cloth and with your favorite cleaner for bathrooms, stainless steel, kitchen cleaning, and washing floors. Hands down, microfiber cloths are my favorite cleaning tool. I love that they don’t leave lint and last forever. I did a post on the many types of microfiber cloths, go here if you’d like to see more on what the big deal is all about.

Magic Eraser

Have a hard to clean spot? Grab your magic eraser first. A couple of my favorite areas to clean with a magic eraser? Fiberglass bathtub scum, glass shower doors, white (painted) baseboards and doors, window tracks, fireplace (soot), siding, stove top…. I can get just about anything out with a magic eraser and a little water. Test the surface first and do not use on skin.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Find your favorite all-purpose cleaner and stash it in your cleaning bucket. All-purpose is just that – it works on just about everything. You can make your own or use a concentrate that can be mixed up with water. Make sure your all-purpose cleaner is non-toxic and you can use it on just about anything from your refrigerator and freezer, countertops, bathrooms, toys, and floors.

Scrub Brush

This is great for grout, faucets and other hard to reach spaces. Don’t want to spend the money on a scrub brush? Use an old toothbrush. Run it through the dishwasher or pour a little hydrogen peroxide on it to clean it.

Duster

A good duster is a must in my cleaning bucket. My favorite type of duster is one with a removable and extendable handle. I can reach all the hard to reach areas and remove the extendable handle to dust bookcases and easy to reach areas.

What would you add? What’s a must in your cleaning bucket?

	Becky is a self-proclaimed clean freak and list maker. She is a work-at-home mom to three little ones, and in her spare time she enjoys sharing her cleaning and organizing tricks and tips on her blog, Clean Mama and through her Etsy Shop, Clean Mama Printables.

5 Things You Need to Put in Your Cleaning Bucket is a post from Life Your Way

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The following post is from Rachel of The Minimalist Mom:

source: Rachel Jonat

The phrase “Use It Or Lose It” came to mind recently as I organized our cloth diapering supplies.

They had been boxed up for close to two years and after one wash the elastics in the legs and back fell apart.

Admittedly, I was surprised.

I had naively thought that those sweet pocket diapers were eagerly waiting for our second child as much as I was and would be in as good a condition as when I packed them away.

The truth: the elastics had been aging even without use. Even the PUL outer of one of the diapers had felt the effects of time and the waterproof layer was separating from the fabric.

Time, gravity and the environment will age your things even if you’re not using them.

Those clothes you boxed up for a former or future lifestyle, they’re wearing out even if no one is wearing them.

All those someday items, the ones in your garage, attic, and in your most visited drawers and closets, they are all aging.

And if and when someday turns into today, they may not be of use to you or anyone else. Damp, mice and moths are slowly eating away at so many boxes of household goods stored for that day when they finally might be of use. Often that day never comes or arrives well beyond the expiry date of the contents.

It can be better to loan out, sell or give something away while it still has life to it, than hold onto it for years and years without using it.

It not only feels good to clear a bit of clutter, it feels great to know your things are being used and appreciated.

Here’s the other saying I now think of when I consider putting things away for “someday”: A Bird In Hand is Worth Two in the Bush.

I’d rather help a friend or have some money in my Paypal account or know that a charity was finding a home for my stuff, than box a lot of it up with the hope that we will someday use it again.

Lucky for me my cloth diapers are back in working order after I exchanged the old elastics for new, but I know not all of my things can be refreshed or repaired after a few years in storage.

With that in mind, I am again just keeping a small amount of baby items and clothes for when/if we have another child. I’ve also given myself a deadline for using them. If we haven’t had another baby by then, or aren’t close to it, they will be out the door.

I am sure it will be an emotional day when I part with our infant gear for good, but it will hopefully also be a happy day: I’ll be helping another family welcome a new baby.

How do you decide what to give away and what to store away for someday?

	Rachel Jonat is a former world medalist rower turned marketing professional turned SAHM/writer. At The Minimalist Mom, Rachel writes about living a rich life with less stuff. Currently living on a windswept island in the middle of the Irish Sea, Rachel owns two pairs of jeans, lives without a car and is attempting to become a tea drinker.

Use It or Lose It: The Case for Giving, Donating or Selling Instead of Storing is a post from Life Your Way

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The following post is from Andrea of AndreaDekker.com:

source: Andrea Dekker

Do you have a “dream house”?

Maybe it’s a dream house you know you’ll never actually buy, but you still love thinking about — or maybe it’s a dream house you’re actively saving to buy or build.

Either way, I can TOTALLY relate!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to buy an old farmhouse, gut it, and renovate every square inch. It didn’t need to be a huge mansion or a cost a fortune. In fact, Dave and I actively sought out foreclosed homes, hoping to find an amazing deal on a diamond-in-the-rough with tons of potential.

I scoured Craigslist and local home-listing sites on a daily basis, and we walked through countless homes for sale. Some had potential, but none of them ever came close to satisfying all the must-have requirements we deemed necessary in order to make the purchase.

But then we found it — our diamond in the rough — our dream house!

It’s a 120+ year old farmhouse with a big front porch, and it satisfied every single one of our must-have requirements. Plus, it was in our budget and in a fabulous location.

source: Andrea Dekker

Win, win, win!  

It’s been a little over 2 years since we moved in, and we’re almost finished renovating the entire main floor. Our next project is the landscaping, which we plan to tackle this summer, then we’ll renovate the upstairs, then the basement, then…

I think you get the idea… lots of work!

We love our home and although the renovating process can be tiresome at times, we wouldn’t trade our old farmhouse for anything. However, after living in a “non-dream house” for almost 5 years before purchasing our farmhouse, I can confidently say that there are many benefits to NOT owning your dream house.

If you’re still waiting, and dreaming, and saving, and searching for your some-day dream house, keep these thoughts in mind:

1. A non-dream house is often more cost effective.

We got a fabulous deal on our farmhouse, so we could afford to make a substantial down-payment and still have enough for renovations. However we never could have afforded to buy our dream house when we were first married (fresh out of college.) Our first home was much smaller and much less expensive. It had more reasonable insurance premiums and tiny utility bills compare to our old, uninsulated farmhouse.

Owning our non-dream house for a few years gave us a chance to ease into the financial aspects of home ownership and save a lot of money in the process.

Also, there’s a good chance you won’t have as many renovation expenses in a non-dream house. I know that when we lived in our first home, we only did a few minor, relatively inexpensive projects to spruce things up — because we knew we wouldn’t be there long-term. However, now that we’re in the house we plan to stay in for a long time, we’ve put a significant amount of money into renovating and updating it (that was our intention when we negotiated a lower selling price).

2. A non-dream house is a great place to start.

Neither Dave or I had ever owned a house before, so buying a smaller home was the perfect place to start. We had plenty of room for just the two of us, but we could also easily manage to care for our home without an extensive amount of extra effort.

Our non-dream house was less upkeep than our current home (both inside and outside) less to clean, and less to maintain!

I never thought owning a home would be a lot of work, but there was SO much I needed to learn. I’m glad we had the chance to start with a smaller, more manageable home while we “learned the ropes” of home ownership.

3. A non-dream house gives you time to figure out what you want and what you DON’T want.

Even though I knew I wanted an old farmhouse, that’s about all I knew. I definitely did not have all the details worked out, nor did I realize how much some of those details would cost. So, while we were still living in our non-dream house, I spent quite a bit of time compiling all sorts of ideas,  learning about different materials, clipping magazine photos, and researching potential costs.

Also, after living in our non-dream house for a few years, I realized that although I thought I always wanted a formal dining room, 20+ acres of land, and lots of red; I actually preferred a casual eat-in kitchen, much less land, and neutral colors throughout.

I realized that I didn’t want shallow kitchen drawers, I didn’t want a closed-off floor plan, and I didn’t want a basement laundry room. I wanted lots of electrical outlets, a designated home office area that was connected to the living space of our home, and I wanted our home to be set back off the road.

Our first house helped me to realize so many big and small things that I really liked — and even more things that really bugged me! I would never have realized many of them things without first living in a non-dream house, and by learning on our first house, I was able to implement all these “likes” and  remove all the “dislikes” as we renovated our farmhouse.

4. A non-dream house allows time for other things.

We purchased our farmhouse with the intent of gutting and renovating it — so while I realize our situation might be a bit different than others, I know plenty of people who build or buy their dream house and spend a ton of time and energy focusing on the building, decorating, and furnishing process.

I’m normally a pretty decisive person, but I can’t even begin to list off all the times when I debated, wondered, and worried about making the “right” choice for a certain design, idea, color, piece of furniture, etc. The renovation process is fun — but it’s also overwhelming and sometimes it feels like I’m constantly thinking about “what needs to be done next”.

When we lived in our non-dream house, we still did some updating, but we didn’t agonize over every decision because we knew the next homeowners might want to change it anyway. We did what we wanted to, we didn’t over-think things, and we had lots more time for other activities.

5. A non-dream house offers opportunities to learn and try new things.

We’ve most definitely learned a lot over the last 2+ years renovating our farmhouse, but back in our non-dream house, we learned even more. We were always experimenting and trying new things.

How would this paint color look?
Could I make my own curtains?
What would happen if we ripped up this carpet and did our own DIY floor?
Would that plant live if I dug it up and split it?
Could this shrub survive in all sun or did it need part shade?

My list could go on and on. The point is, we were always learning new things and experimenting with DIY projects — many of which failed! However it didn’t matter because if it didn’t work, we usually weren’t out much money, and we’d just tried something else until we figured it out.

We knew we weren’t going to live in that house forever, so we just had fun and never turned down a good learning opportunity.

Now that we have a more long-term home renovation plan, busier careers, and a fussy toddler, we don’t necessarily have the time or desire to learn and experiment. We just do what we know works, we do it right, and we do it once. Done. Cross it off our list and move onto the next thing!

Without our non-dream house, we would still be stuck in that “learning” phase and unable to quickly implement the ideas and techniques that would give us the results we want.

Obviously, we love our home and we’re (mostly) enjoying the long process of transforming this farmhouse into OUR dream house (read more about our farmhouse here).

However, I’ll always fondly remember our non-dream house, and how it helped prepare us for the process of searching, buying, and renovating our dream house.

What at about you? What is your favorite thing about your current home? (even if it’s not your dream house)

	Andrea Dekker is an avid list maker, pro diaper changer, farmhouse lover, and simple living enthusiast. Her goal is to simplify real life for real families with real budgets, real schedules, and real homes. Follow along at AndreaDekker.com.

6 Advantages of NOT Owning Your Dream House is a post from Life Your Way

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This month we’re spring cleaning the easy way with our Spring Cleaning Made Easy series! The goal is to get the whole house clean — one mini task at a time — without having to set aside a whole week, or even a whole day, to clean.

The hardest part about coordinating this series for me was knowing that spring cleaning really isn’t a one-size-fits-all kinda thing. Some homes have bonus rooms, game rooms or rec rooms while others have formal dining and living rooms or multiple guest rooms. My goal was to cover the basics through the series while leaving a few days at the end for any of those tasks we didn’t cover.

source: eyeliam

Whether you have an extra room (or three!) to tackle, a special collection of Longaberger baskets or a shed that’s overflowing, the next three days are for you. Choose one room or task at a time and follow the same basic plan we’ve used in the other rooms:

First, declutter and organize any collections or clutter, including that which is hidden in drawers or closets.

Then, start at the top and clean your way down:

• Grab a duster or vacuum cleaner and clean off the fan blades.

• Using your duster or vacuum, clean the corners between your walls and ceilings.

• Dust window frames and clean blinds. Hang your curtains outside or tumble them in the dryer to get rid of any dust in them.

• Next, wash the windows and any mirrors.

• Dust any shelves and knick knacks as well as picture frames.

• Clean under the couch cushions.

• Pull the couch out from the wall and clean under/behind the couches.

• Clean the baseboards and behind other any furniture.

• Finally, vacuum and steam clean or sweep and mop.

For outdoor projects, your focus will probably be more on the decluttering and organizing than cleaning (although I promise not to judge you if you steam clean your garage floors!). Now would be a good time to clean out the garage or shed, pull weeds in the garden, organize the outdoor toys or powerwash the deck!

Be sure to print the Spring Cleaning Made Easy checklist to keep on hand for your next spring cleaning month. Click here to download or print your copy!

What tasks will you choose to finish off the series?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Day 29-31: Choose Your Own Task {Spring Cleaning Made Easy} is a post from Life Your Way

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Even if you’re not interested in this week’s bundle, be sure to sign up for the BundleoftheWeek.com weekly newsletter so you can be the first to know about the latest bundle:

5 Simple Living eBooks for Just $7.40 This Week Only! {BundleoftheWeek.com} is a post from Life Your Way

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