Cleaning Groups make it easier

Hey all!

Yesterday I mentioned how when I pick up around the house, I do everything in groups. And I said I would further explain that. So here we are.

If you look around the rooms that you clean the most, you should be able to see a pattern with what is usually in that room, what people leave in that room, and what always is getting picked up. once you figure that out, group them into categories
.

I know it can be overwhelming once you walk into a messy room and you juts don't know where to start. So what you do is walk in, think of what group of stuff is making the most mess, and pick that up first. And so and and so forth.

Below is an example of my Living room groups that I pick up by:

For instance, this morning, there were couch blankets all over, so I put all those in the blanket basket. Then I was able to see that the girls left a lot of clothes, so I threw those all down int he basement. next I picked up dishes and collected trash laying around. Done Now I can easily run a vacuum real fast.

I have the same kind of list for the kitchen as well:

Yes, clothes seem to be in our kitchen a lot too. I don't know why. Its a big kitchen and my husband insist on having a TV in there, so, it happens.

I have categories like this for each room, even the girls bedrooms. They have a list on their wall, and when they have to clean their room, they go down the list of groups. It seems to help them as well.

Hope you try this out. Let me know how it works for you!

Current Cleaning Routine

Hey all!

If you are anything like you me, you feel like you either clean all the time, or like you never have time to clean. I took the day off of work yesterday, and had literally NO time to clean.It was a busy busy day. I actually passed out before 11pm, which is early for me.
That busy day led me to having to get shit done this morning. So I thought I would share with you my cleaning "routine". I loosely call this a routine because, well......life happens....and you fall off track. and if your a working mom like me, life can fall off track every few days. But to try my best to stay ON TRACK, I follow this little routine below.

All week days:

7:20am -- Once I wake up the kids, and they are moving, I get myself dressed and shoes on and ready to walk out the door. But, while i am waiting for the kids to come downstairs and need my assistance, I will try to start doing some dishes. (we do NOT have a dishwasher) Usually I can get through a load of cups. And that way, 25% or more of the dishes are done for later.

8:30am -- All the kids have been dropped off at school.This is typically when I will pick up the LR. I use my grouping method of picking up - dishes, clothes, trash, shoes & blankets. (will do another post on this Grouping method tomorrow)

9:00am - I have to log in for work. And usually I have to pick up the desk to be able to make it a workable space, so that gets cleared everyday as well.

With those duties, of course things will change on an ass needed basis. Sometimes the kitchen needs ALL my attention and the LR doesn't.

Throughout the day, I will pick up a few little things here and there as needed. If one room is extremely messy with the kids stuff, I make them pick it up.

10:00pm -- Before bed, when I am making the kids lunches, I try to completely clean the counters and tables & wipe them down. That way the kitchen is fresh and ready to go in the morning, and I can just start on the dishes.

Wednesday - recycle trash day:
Our inside can for recycle items goes out every Wednesday morning. On those days, I pull out both trash cans from that corner of the kitchen and sweep & mop that corner.

Weekends:
Typically on weekends, I try to get cleaning done, that is a little more tedious. I try to clean the bathroom, sweep & mop the kitchen, make sure everything is wiped down and clean like stoves and cabinets. I will straighten up our front porch and maybe vacuum it (depending on how much time we are spending out there at that time of the year). Vacuum the couch. Straighten up shelves and wipe them down. Get any laundry to the place where its needed, whether it needs to be done or if it needs to be put away.

As i stated, life happens and things change, so this list is mainly my goals for cleaning. Lately I feel I have been doing pretty well with trying to stay on top of this. And, this also changes in summertime as well, as kids are home all day and I work from home, so we are all here all day, everyday.

I hope this helps you realize that you too can keep on top of things, if you just attack cleaning in smaller portions throughout the day and not a big huge chore each day.



  

My thoughts on the Grammy's

Hey all!! 

So, I have been hitting a road block lately with the blogs, I know. its winter and we don't get out much, so there isn't too much to talk about. And like I have mentioned in some past posts, that we are not in a financial place right now where I can do shopping sprees and stuff like that. SO......

I am going to start doing these blog posts where I vent about celebrity stuff. I watch a lot of reality shows (hey, its pretty much all there is anymore). And we shall see how all of my readers like that. 

I will still be doing all my other money saving tips and couponing and craft posts. This is just going to be a new installment to MamaMIA.

Today, the topic is the Grammy's!!!! 

I actually watched quite a bit of this last night, including some red carpet interviews and such. So here are my thoughts.

*Madonna - its polite courtesy to not have your back to the person interviewing you. Ryan Seacrest had to keep leaning around her to put the microphone in front of her so she could be heard.

*Arianna Grande - loved the new song, but boring performance. Although I guess it did make you actually listen to the song and her voice, so not too bad.

*Taylor Swift always annoys me and I hate that I like her songs, so no comments there.

*Madonna - I used to love her. I feel like each time she makes a new album it comes and goes pretty fast. I like her, but I think with her aging, she should maybe start doing some more mature things. I don't know...just my opinion.

*Lady Gaga -- First, I like her new look, although it did remind me of Jessica Rabbit. But that's OK!
Second, am I the only one who noticed, it seems as though she wasn't sure how to move in that dress, to that song, and I swear it was like the was "trying" to twerk while standing up straight. It was a little odd. All together, her and tony sound great together though!

*Pharrel Williams -- that was the scariest version of Happy I have ever heard. It did not make me feel happy at all.

*Kanye West -- I feel he is conceited and his performance made it seems as though that is true. All lights in the place off except for him, and then he just runs off stage??? And of course...his "playing around" act at the end.......no more words....**eye roll**

*Kim Kadashian -- I am REALLY getting tired of seeing your boobs.

Crockpot Chili

Hey all!

Below is my recipe for crock pot chili. I have done this recipe with ground beef and ground turkey and both ways are delicious. The choice is up to you. This is a great winter weekend meal, to warm up with while watching a movie, snuggled on the couch. or you can cook this up, and have it ready for guests when they come over. 

Just add all the ingredients (except the cheese) to the crock pot and cook on high for a few hours, then turn it to low until cooked to your liking. 

Serve in a bowl and top with shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

Dollar Tree find - Bagels

Hey all!

I have another Dollar Tree find for you today. I wanted to spread the wealth. 

We are talkin' bagels!

Now, if you enjoy a nice, non-frozen bagel, from time to time, you end up paying about $3 + up at the grocery store for a package of 5 or 6, right?? 

Well, no more. Dollar tree sells packages of fresh bagels for $1.00. They are packages of only 4, but if you buy 2, you are getting 8 bagels for $2. Now that's a deal if you ask me.

From the photos, you can see that they are not stingy small bagels either. They are decent size. And they are yummy as well.

Next time you are there, check them out and try them. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Why I sometimes envy single moms

The struggle is real on BOTH sides of the fence, but you never hear someone say "Ugh, I'm a married mom, my life is so hard."  But damn it, just because you are married and have your children's father helping you doesn't mean life is always roses & easy. And for that, I will admit that I sometimes envy single mothers.

I have friends who are and have been single mothers and I see the struggles they go through. And in most situations I am glad I am not. But married moms go through struggles of their own as well.

Married:
When you try to teach your children rules and keep them on time schedules, you always have someone behind you who is willing to ruin all your effort and decide to take the kids to the park and give them ice cream, while you are home cooking dinner. HELLO?
Single:
You say no park & ice cream until after dinner, and that's it.

Married: 
You say No to something, they go running to the other parent.
Single:
You say NO, and that's the end of it. There is nowhere else to run.

Married:
You stick to financial rules, and say no to frequent stops at coffee shops and such because you can't really afford it, and then you realize that just because you said no, that didn't real mean no and he stopped for breakfast on his way to work (although the fridge is full of new groceries & a full pot of coffee is on)
Single:
You can't afford it, you don't buy it. End of story.

Married:
the other parent sometimes feels they can go up and down with their participation in your day to day life. For instance, my husband didn't want to get out of bed for the last 2 yrs in the morning (due to working late nights), so I took all the girls to school myself everyday, and didn't bother waking him. Now, he wants to help and let me sleep in...but its only on the days he feels like getting up. In the meantime, my alarm is set to go off every single day at the same time, and my kids know OUR routine, and we do it with minimal arguments and we are like our own little army. The kids don't like the inconsistency in this pattern either. But if I ask him to not help, he gets mad. So instead I lay in bed, trying to sleep, while listening to what is going on in case I need to intervene.
Single:  
No interruptions in daily routines.

Married:
You have the kids all the time. Once in a while you might get a sitter, if you beg someone, but typically, its assumed you have kids with you alllll the time.
Single:
You get regularly scheduled breaks to do whatever you want & regain your sanity.


I know this may sound like I am whining, and I should be grateful...which I am. But...my point is that, there ARE times that even married moms, envy single moms.  There is not my life is harder because its just me. Everyone's lives have easy and hard points to them. Its not a competition, its life!!!!

Save money on school lunches

Hey all!

I've got another frugal tip for you all here. 

I have 3 very picky eaters, so I have to make lunches each day for school for them all. As we know, snacks can be a little pricey at the grocery store. 

My kids like the snack baggies of chips and such. Well those run about $7.00 for a sack of 12 bags. And in our house, those 12 bags of chips can go pretty fast. So sometimes, I like to hit the Dollar Tree to see what we can find for lunch snacks. (Yes, I am at that store a lot). 

We bought a fairly big bad of cheese balls, and a bag of pretzel sticks. I decided to break them up, and put them in baggies, so they were #1 portion controlled and #2 more viewable for the kids when they chose their snacks each night.  (we have a snack drawer they choose their lunch stuff out of)

Once all was said and done, we got about 15 to 20 baggies of snacks. We only paid $2. Which compared to the store costs, saved us about $5 and we got about 5-10 more bags of snacks.

 

Dollar stores have come a long way. Give them a chance, if you need to save some money!