Photo credit: ?ukasz Strachanowski

I took the concept of spring cleaning to heart this year, announcing to my family that we were not only going to clean, but also declutter every room of the house, even if it takes us until next spring!  With five people in a small house it doesn’t take long for stuff to accumulate, but we had gotten to the point where there was no room in the house that was always clean.  When I was in middle school and high school, we had a living room in the front of our house that we were literally NOT ALLOWED TO USE, it was for company only. Now that I have three kids, I understand exactly why my Mom declared that room off limits!

We’ve been giving away boxes of  books the kids don’t read anymore, outgrown clothes and toys, anything we don’t absolutely love and want to make room for. We’ve lived in this house for almost seven years and boy have we filled it up! It’s been nice to slowly see spaces emerge.  I think it’s hard to function with clutter everywhere, your eye never has anywhere peaceful to rest, you know?

The biggest task we really need to tackle is having our carpets cleaned, but I can’t hire a rug cleaning nj service until the clutter is off the floors so they can actually clean the carpets! I also want to do some research first and see what kind of chemicals are used. I’ve been learning that some rug cleaning companies are using natural cleaning solutions, which appeals to me as both a Mom and a pet owner. I’d prefer to avoid having my children and pets sitting and lying on carpet that was cleaned with harsh chemicals!  Before you hire a carpet cleaning service, ask if they have Natural/”Green”  Choices available!

So that’s what’s been going on with me, tackling clutter and feeling great about it. The more boxes we drop off at Goodwill, the more junk we toss out, it’s like a huge weight comes off my shoulders. What about you? Have you been doing any spring cleaning? Share in a comment!

The temperatures have been in the high 70s all this week here in mid-Michigan, and the warmer it gets, the more I dread what I know is coming – BUGS.  I hate bugs. I hate flying insects, I hate ants, don’t even get me started on spiders. It gets warm, they crawl out of the ground or wherever it is they’ve been lying in wait all winter, and they come into my house looking for sources of food and water.

It gives me the shudders just to think about it. One year for about a week, we had a steady line of ants coming under the front door and marching along the wall into the kitchen, going behind the fridge, and then marching up onto the kitchen counter. It was SO disgusting. And when I took every single thing off that counter, pulled out the fridge and scrubbed the floor and wall clean, and made sure there wasn’t even the tiniest drop of water, they STILL came in and marched around.

*shudder*

If you are like me and hate the Spring pest invasion, do what we did and call a pest control service.  For a limited time, you can Save $50 on Pest Control Services from Terminix. Get a free, no-obligation quote, and there’s even a 100% satisfaction guarantee if you aren’t satisfied within 30 days of an inspection or treatment service.

Image via Wikipedia

Don’t let flying, crawling, stinging, biting BUGS take over your house! Those ants had better watch out, I’m not letting them in this year

Related articles

• Terminix Launches Natural Pest Control Sprays for Commercial Use (prweb.com)
• Pest Control; Getting Rid Of Bedbugs Underneath The Bed Mattress (mydecorarticles.com)

When we moved into our current house, we went from a traditional tub with a shower that had a shower curtain to a shower enclosure with glass doors. We had never had glass doors like that and had no idea how to keep them clean! Fortunately my sister in law had the same kind of shower and gave us a great suggestion. We went to Target and bought a squeegee with a hook on a suction cup so it hangs on the shower wall. Now, at the end of a shower after turning off the water, we take the squeegee and run it down the shower doors so we don’t get water spots or dried soap scum on the doors. They still look great after 6 years!

The problem, I learned, is that over time, the surface of the glass door itself gets rough and even pitted from exposure to hard water (which we have), soap, and cleaning products. Those pits allow minerals, scale, and soap scum to stick, which makes the glass look dirty.  I still think my  squeegee method is the best, especially for frameless shower doors which have even MORE glass to clean, but there are ways to clean shower glass without harming it.

You want to look for products that say they are safe to use on glass.  For example, “Soft Scrub” brand cleanser specifically says it removes soap scum, hard water stains, and limescale, and that it is safe on glass.  “Kaboom” has a specific line available just for cleaning showers.

If your shower door does have buildup on it, look for a line of scrubbers called “Dobies” made by Scotch Brite, or the Brillo® Estracell® No Scratch Scrub Sponge With Wedge Edge®, found at most supermarkets. Get either one wet with some warm water, and use “elbow grease” to remove any soap scum or hard water stains.

I’ve also learned that you can now buy glass shower doors that are manufactured with a special process that seals the surface of the glass, so the doors don’t get those pits I mentioned. Hard water, soap scum, and limescale won’t stick, and best of all, you can clean them with just a cloth or soft sponge! Contact a local glass company to see if they make those kinds of shower doors.

I’m curious to know how many MomReviews readers have glass shower doors. If you do, have you had any problems with cleaning them? Have you found a product that really works without scratching? Please share by leaving a comment on this post!