Okay, so it’s not technically spring yet, but it’s inching up on us. Is it rainy where you are? I happen to have a long, gravel driveway and two dogs so mud happens here. A lot. 

If you are hoping to avoid mud in your house this spring (I know I am!). You are one of millions, my friends! Avoid mud in the house with these tips and keep yourself from stressing too much over it this coming spring!

Muddy Spring? Avoid Mud in the House with These Tips

Use Rugs and Mats

Rugs, rugs, rugs!! Put rugs on the inside of your dogs and door mats on the outside. Make sure anyone who walks through the doors wipes their feet outside and then again when they come inside. This step alone will help tremendously. 

Keep Towels By the Door for the Pups

If you have dogs, you know how much mud they can trek in. Start keeping a towel or towels by the doro to wipe off their feet when they come in from outside. This step alone has saved my sanity because my dogs track in a lot of mud!!  

Replace Your Grass This Spring

This one will not help you right away but replanting and filling in grass this spring will do you wonders with the mud next year (and as the year goes on, of course). The more grass you have, the less mud you’ll have. 

Order Gravel

If you have a gravel driveway, bringing in a new load of gravel will be a wonderful help in dealing with any and all mud. Plus, it will make your driveway and yard in general look so much better! We order a load of gravel every few years and I always love it when we do!

Are you sensing a theme here yet?  I am really into getting my house in order before summer begins and like all of you, I am super busy so I am trying to get it done in as little time as possible.  

What is your process for cleaning your living room?  Do you feel like you are spending too much time on it?  We can do better my friends! It doesn’t even matter how big or small your living room is, you can get it clean in less than 10 minutes.  How can that be done, you ask? Well here is a list of several tips I have created to teach you how to clean your living room in 10 minutes or less.  If you have any tips to add in, let us hear about them!

• Pick up all blankets/throws, etc. and fluff your throw pillows.  I don’t know how things are in your house, but my kids always have blankets on the sofa with them.  (Even when it is warm outside). If your house is the same, then start here! Get those blankies folded up and put away in the closet or on their beds, etc.  Now it is time to fluff up those pillows that are supposed to be on your sofas.
• Do a quick scan for dishes, papers, trash, etc.  Again, I have children and yes I let them eat in the living room, maybe I shouldn’t, but it is what it is.  Because of this, I will often find a hidden granola bar wrapper or cup left sitting on the coffee table.
• Put away any toys that have been left out.  My toddler plays with his toys all day every day with no regard for what room he is in, so we have multiple toy boxes in the house, one of which is in the living room.  I do a quick sweep for toys and get them stored in the toybox.
• Dust.  Take a microfiber cloth and dust your tables and entertainment center, tv, etc.
• Vacuum.  Now it’s time to run the vacuum really quick.  

I always end the cleaning session by spraying Febreze or turning on my wax pot.  I always feel like my house is cleaning when it smells good. How about you?

Are you tired of spending forever cleaning your house? Well, no more! With these tips, you can get your kitchen clean in 15 minutes or less. That’s right, I said 15 minutes. No more skimping on your chores, my friends! At this rate, you can clean your entire home in less than an hour! This is great if you are expecting company on short notice, or if you are just too busy to focus a lot of time on your housework.

Are you ready to get your place cleaned up in a hurry? Here are some step by step tips on how to clean your kitchen in 15 minutes or less:

• First and foremost, start with an empty dishwasher. If yours is full, empty it out now.
• Load up all of your dirty dishes into the dishwasher next and start the washing cycle.
• Clear off your counters. Put any food away, get rid of paper clutter such as mail or kids schoolwork, and put small appliances (toaster, blender, etc) away into cabinets.
• Assuming you are done with it for the day, empty out your coffee pot and rinse it out. Don’t forget the used grounds!
• Wipe Down countertops. Do this step twice. The first time to get any loose crumbs, or other objects off of the counter. The second time is to get it good and clean.
• Sweep the floors (we do this toward the end to be sure and catch any dust or crumbs that have fallen down from the counters.)
• Follow up on sweeping by spot mopping. I do this by grabbing a couple of cleaning wipes and wiping down any spots I see. I prefer to mop just once a week so this keeps things shipshape in the meantime.

Do you have any quick cleaning tips that you typically use?

Can you use a little bit of help getting your kitchen in order?  If you hate spending all of your time cleaning, check out these tips I have listed below to help you clean your kitchen faster.

• Gather your supplies.  Do you keep all of your supplies in the same place?  Gather them now before you begin.  All of the cleaners, rags, sponges, etc.
• Prepare all dishes at once.  Do you have a sinkful of dirty dishes? Take a minute or two to scrape them all into the trash (or garbage disposal) at once.  I have found that following the steps all at once makes the process much quicker.
• Soak any dishes that need it.  Fill up your sink with hot and soapy water and then place any dishes with stuck on food in it to soak.  
• Wipe down the counters, stovetops and the front of your appliances.  While your dishes are soaking, take this time to wipe down the counters.
• Gather non-kitchen items.  If your house is anything like mine, you get lots of stuff in your kitchen that do not belong in the kitchen.  Now is the time to gather all of that together and get it out of the room.  I typically grab a small basket to gather everything together and set it in another room until the kitchen is done.
• Time to do the dishes.  Okay, now that the dishes have soaked for a while, you can load them up in the dishwasher and get the wash cycle started.
• Sweep the floors.  Now is a great time to sweep the floors since you have already wiped down the counters and moved the non-kitchen stuff.
• Mop (if needed).  You really don’t need to mop every day, but if you haven’t done it for a while, or if you have a messy area that needs to be cleaned, now is the time to break out the mop.  I often just wipe down the messy areas with cleaning wipes except for on my mopping days.
• Take out the trash. Either take out the trash or recruit someone to do it for you (I have 3 children and a husband…I haven’t taken out the trash in years!)

All of these steps can be completed very quickly.  The key is to do them in order and not procrastinate.  You can easily have your kitchen cleaned in 15 minutes.

If you are anything like me, you hate cleaning your kitchen.  It’s just not fun.  Am I right?  Over the years though, I have discovered some tips that make keeping my kitchen clean easier.

Clean Regularly

Here’s a tip.  The more often you do it, the less you actually have to do.  If you keep a regular cleaning schedule, you will only spend a few minutes each day as opposed to having a huge project if you do it every couple of days.  

Keep a Schedule

When it comes to jobs such as taking out the trash, be sure to keep the family on a schedule.  Make sure that these jobs are done when they are suppose to be to prevent overflow and keep things tidy.  No one wants to have to squish trash down in the can just because someone skipped taking it out.  Same goes with recycling.

Empty Your Dishwasher

As soon as your dishwasher is done running, empty it out.  That will allow you to be able to put dirty dishes into them as they become used instead of piling them up into the sink.  This also keeps the kids into the habit of rinsing their dishes right away.

Keep Cleaning Wipes on Hand

I have developed a major love for cleaning wipes.  Whenever you have spills or messes during your cooking sessions, grab a wipe and clean it up ASAP.  If you are able to easy clean spills right away, you are far less likely to have major cleaning to do.  I keep a canister of wipes right next to my dish soap.

Have a Designated Cabinet for Appliances

Keeping small kitchen appliances such as toasters, blenders, crockpots, etc. on your counters creates a cluttered, messy effect.  Make sure that you have a cabinet designated for storing these appliances and you will find your counters are much tidier.  My only exception to this is my coffee pot, well because.  It’s coffee!

Keep Mail and Papers out of the Kitchen

Once you bring mail or other papers into the kitchen it becomes way too easy to keep stacking stuff on top of that.  Make it a general family rule that mail gets put into a designated spot so that you are not using your kitchen counter as a catchall.

How do you make keeping your kitchen clean less of a chore?