The pacific northwest is a wonderland when the seasons change. Vibrant colors, hospitality, and outdoor enthusiasm. That also comes with some necessary preparation as we ease toward winter. We have gathered some tips to help feed ideas for you and your family to spend less time worrying about the tasks, and more time on the joy. 

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! So much is in the newspaper these days capturing our attention, but what can we do with all the reading material when we are done with it? Stack it in its own designated place in the mudroom, or by the front and back door. With the variations of wet weather rolling in here in the Pacific Northwest we are bound to come trampling in with wet coats and shoes to boot! No worries! Grab a few pieces of newspaper, crumble them up and shove them into your wet shoes or boots to help them to dry.

Speaking of entry way activities, why not add mess reduction to the list?! Adding these things will naturally encourage guests and residents to do some cleaning before they enter the home just by observation and habit……

1. Shoe brush
2. Rough welcome mat
3. Indoor entry way mat
4. Shoe rack
5. Coat Rack
6. Umbrella basket

When there’s a place for things, the things are more likely to go someplace other than the floor (although, most of us parents know this isn’t always the case but it helps!). Getting organized not only offers peace of mind from declutter, it offers more space for what we want to be doing. To have space for winter recreation, it is so so so helpful to hang up, box up, and stow away anything spring, summer, and fall. In our house we call this the grand fall purge! A good week is spent dissolving our relationship with summer fun and accepting that the sunshine will be clouded for a bit, but once we make clearance, pull out and hang up that snow suit we cant wait to get in. Plus, getting organized feels amazing!

With the fall purge leaves a ton of remanence from the dog days, the clean up, and the traction kicks up all the dust. We move furniture around, clean up and under all cabinets, freshen up throws, cushions, pillows, bedding, the whole nine! Before we move into winter all the way we need to clear the air too! Purifiers are great, but they will work far more efficiently if we clear the room of particulates first. These next few tips will help to filter your home just in time for the beautiful lights, and feasts. Nothing says nostalgia like a fresh feeling coupled with cocoa and rain on the window pane.

FIrst!

Clean those dryer hoses, vents, and baseboards. Dust build up in and around these spaces can be the cause of pesky musky odors, a decrease in heat efficiency and believe it or not, a hazard. Having a clean and clear passage for particulates offers an outlet for moist air reducing the chance for mold growth during the wetter season.

Second!

Chimney and fireplace sweeping. We cannot express enough just how awful it is to have a fire going and the room fill up with nasty soot smell and muck. Plus, what is a fire place without its Holiday Debut? Lets get those chimneys swept, and stoke that fire!

Third!

Outdoor lighting. As the excitement grows for uncle Larry to put seven thousand lights on the roof, lets add some more aesthetics by removing all light fixture covers and giving them a good scrub down. Cobwebs moved in and paid rent for Halloween but it is time to go. Not only will they look better, they will light up the dim corners around the house more efficiently as the darker months roll in.

By this time the leaves have done their falling, and the nonsense of telling yourself to clean up while they fall has passed. Its time to get out there and do it. Clogged gutters cause a cesspool of other messy problems if not taken care of and the last thing you want to deal with is a bunch of wads of frozen leaves and mulch when rain comes. Its the perfect invitation for unwanted pests, flooding, mold, interior water damage, which decreases aesthetics and increases your expenses when you could use that money for better things like chestnuts, slippers, and mistletoe.

You’ve done a lot of work, so take those slippers, get into the best jammies you’ve got and call it a night by that freshly swept fire and upgrade that cocoa to a mulled wine and soak it all in.

With 2020 shaping up to be a total mess we could all use some tips and tricks to make life not just a little but A LOT easier. It’s a bit similar to that feeling you get when you have mopped the floors at the end of cleaning the entire house, and then the muddy kids and dog run through. Then after fixing that up, someone spilled chocolate milk on the couch. Endless opportunities for life hack 101 right? We have teamed up to find some of the best Cleaning hacks you’ll want to adopt from here to forever. 

For this one, you won’t believe how simple it is. Did we really need to go through a hundred pieces of lint roller tape to figure this out? This hack suggests all that we really needed to pick up that caked on pet hair was a plain old rubber dishwashing glove with nubs. Yep! That’s it! Just put the glove on and start wiping it all away. So easy!

Rubber Gloves

Speaking of built up crud that we need a miracle to break through (just like 2020), this one will have you researching more ways your dishwasher is your best friend than sanitizing your dishes. Layers and layers of filmy dust live on the exhaust vents in our homes. It’s a dreaded chore, and one that doesn’t come without a bit of elbow grease and more time than we often have. Save it, and your elbow by just placing them in the dishwasher on the rinse cycle on your way out. 

Dishwasher Safe Fan Vents 

Sometimes we just need to let someone else do all the work! Much of 2020 has shown us that we are better off just doing things ourselves. We assume this includes artistic creativity in kids since school is out of order and what else to draw on but the walls? If this is you, we suggest letting Windex do the work. That’s right! Windex cleans waxy crayon off the walls with ease. 

Crayon Eradicator

www.whatsupfagans.com

Popular bloggers from Whats Up Fagans sought out the best tips for removing crayons to find the easiest, least smelly, toxic option. We are happy to report that there are many ways to ditch the toxic hard chemicals and still achieve the same result. This fall as you do your seasonal deep clean while you nest for approaching winter, ditch the bleachy powders and try this solution to lift away that grimy sink: Drop some baking soda on the grime just as you would other powders, dap a sponge with hydrogen peroxide and scrub away! So satisfying! 

Baking Soda Vs Grime

Now we move into the space between, the one where we clean the cat hair and built up lint with a squeegee and the windows with a lint roller. Confused? So were we until we saw how impeccable these two next hacks did some quick justice. 

Window Screen Cleaner

https://www.handymanmagazine.co

Here you can see how effortless it is to clean the tiny spaces with a lint roller and then the common spaces with the squeegee. Spritz a bit of water from a spray bottle onto your couch or whatever furniture you want to rid of animal debri and watch it lift away as you gather it much like the rubber glove method! 

Animal Hair Removal

We have talked alot about saving time but who wants to save money too? With the uncertainty we are all facing, I think we can all agree that bulk is better! Instead of buying a ton of single use plastic cleaning solutions, buy a glass spray bottle, and fill it with a bulk concentrate with water OR get your hands on some essential oils such as thieves. A simple combination of witch hazel and a few drops of thieves oil, eucalyptus or tea tree oil not only helps to keep things clean, it lasts a long time which saves money AND offers an added contribution to relaxing the senses. 

Natural Cleaner

www.designsponge.com

If you thought the power of essential oils stopped there, try tea tree oil on for size. Mold is something that showed itself to us a little more than usual this year and since we have all been spending a little more time at home, we could use a little extra armour going to battle with it. Make a simple solution with 1tsp of tea tree oil and 1 cup of hot water mixed into a glass spray bottle. Spray the area and watch it eat away. Wipe and keep moving. 

Mold Cleaner 

www.thewhoot.com

Tea tree oil isn’t the only way, but certainly smells the best out of these options: 

Tea Tree Oil

White Distilled Vinegar

Soapy Water

Distilled Ethanol

Grapefruit Extract

Chlorine Bleach

Alcohol Spray (vodka)

Hydrogen Peroxide

Dehumidifier

And when it comes to smell, pungent has its negatives but do you know how versatile Distilled Vinegar is? About as magical as Dawn Dish Soap! One hack we really liked, and one that most house cleaners are going to miss, is the one where vinegar helps get rid of the grime buildup inside of our diffusers. We are always thinking about cleaning the air but what is inside of the cleaner? Much like our exhaust vents we mentioned earlier, there is a constant cycle of air in air out which means particles in, particles out.

Cleaning Your Diffuser 

Appreciating air quality is not something we do lightly in the Pacific Northwest and neither are plants. Plants are our babies. Particles clog up many resources for clean air, but it’s important to clean them right? It is just as important to keep our plants free from dusty layers too so that they can perform the way they are supposed to as well. Keep  your babies glossy and pure in two simple ways. If it is raining, which it is likely to be 805% of the time here, set your babes outside to get a good nature cleanse and full watering and then wipe them down with a soft towel to shine them up and remove any pests or stuck on dust. Too cold, or dont have the space? Put them in the shower, close the drapes and let them be. Best part is, they won’t be fighting you like the dog! 

Plant Shower

www.ourhouseplants.com

Need to clean out the tub after adding more lives to the daily showers? Call us! 

The Tidy Sister

Thrills and Spills? Seems like these two go hand in hand just like white carpets and red wine! Stress less about the potentials with these tips and tricks for removing red wine from your comfy cozy rugs and get back to entertaining like the stellar host you are!

Coasters or not, there’s always going to be that guest or host that sets a glass down on the floor as they throw their head back with laughter. Before you know it, that head back laughter turns into full on belly laughter and flailing hands or feet. The uncontrollable movement becomes an innocent disaster as the glass topples over and sends wine all over your shaggy white rug. Hopefully the glass you already finished helps you to stay calm and read on.

What to do?! We got you!

Immediate reaction: Probably an open mouth sigh and face palm but lets change that! Grab a clean dry cloth and start to dab up the liquid then, pour some cold water over the spill and continue to blot. DO NOT RUB. 

Whether you prefer a natural approach or a chemical approach there are a few next steps that you can choose from now that you have done your emergency work.

Natural

Option 1.

Salt! If the spill has dried due to all the blotting, pour some more cold water on the spill, then pour the salt covering the entire area. The salt is going to absorb the wine out of the spill over a few hours.  Allow the salt to sit for a few hours or overnight, clean up the excess salt and then vacuum.  The stain should be gone or greatly diminished.  Repeat if necessary.

Option 2. Pour Club Soda on the stain, the carbonation will help lift the stain from the fibers of the carpet.  And use a dry cloth to blot and dry.  Repeat if necessary.

Option 3. Pour white wine on the stain then blot with a thick towel. The white wine will help neutralize the red wine and make it easier to lift out the color, although you do not want to use a Moscato, or sweet white wine as the sugars are going to make a larger mess.  If you can still see the stain use the salt or soda method to continue lifting out the pigment.

Chemical

Option 1. Oxyclean! In a spray bottle, add one part water and two parts Oxyclean, spray on the stained area, then blot clean with a dry towel remembering not to rub.

Option 2. Wine Away! This is a product that you can purchase on Amazon, at your local Walmart or Home Depot and any Wine stores.  The directions are simple, Saturate the stain. Let sit for 1- 5 minutes. Blot the area until stain disappears.

Option 3. Chateau Spill. This is also a product that you can purchase on Amazon, at your local Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and World Market. For best performance, especially on dry stains, pre-dampen the stain with water. Apply Chateau Spill directly to the affected area.

Now that we have covered the natural and chemical approaches, lets explore a mixture of both…..

Option 1. Vinegar and Laundry Detergent! Go ahead and soak the stain with vinegar, then put a thick amount of laundry detergent over the top of vinegar.  Let it sit for three minutes.  Then soak with clean water to rinse away, you will want to use clean dry towels to soak up the suds and liquid.

Option 2. Using one part clear dish soap and two parts of the Hydrogen Peroxide, dab solution on the stain and allow it to sit for a couple of minutes.  Use a clean cloth to dip in clean water to blot up the soapy residue. 

Now that you and your party guests have become stain fighting heroes, you can raise a glass and get back to entertainment!

Sources: 

• The Star
• The Spruce
• The Spruce Eats
• Wiki How