Just because I love spring cleaning doesn’t mean that I actually HAVE time to get it done, that is far from the truth. After all, I’m a work from home, homeschooling mom who also runs a family business. My time always seems to run short, but I HAVE to make time for spring cleaning because the house needs it…and I need it. I love a clean house. I hate clutter. I need spring cleaning, no matter how busy I may be it has to be done.

As a busy mom I love finding tips to help me get things done in a timely and efficient manner without sacrificing the quality of work.  To help you start planning for your spring cleaning, I’m going to share a few tips to help you through the process!

• Prioritize 

Decide what room you need to start with, it may be the most cluttered, the room you spend the most time in or the room you do your best not to enter. After you’ve selected your first room to start with, prioritize the cleaning of your other rooms and spaces in the same manner.

• Schedule

Pick a start date and an end date for your spring cleaning. By setting up a time frame you’ll find that you are more apt to work diligently and not get sidetracked throughout your spring cleaning process. You may find that some rooms or projects that you longer than you anticipated, when that happens you can simply adjust your end date accordingly.

• Brainstorm

Start a list of projects that need to be tackled while you’re spring cleaning, do this for each room in your home. Think outside of the box, look beyond the dirty floor, sticky windows and cluttered shelves, figure out what has not been used in that room in the past 6 months, get rid of things that just don’t fit your family anymore and determine what could be changed to make each room work better for your family.

That last step can become a “Honey Let’s Do This List”, I like to work on projects for my home too, so I don’t hand out a “Honey Do List”. We work on projects for our home both together and separately, if the toilet handle needs to be replaced I can do it just as easily as he can, all it took was me trying and it was really easy!

If you like to use checklists, you’ll find a simple set of spring cleaning checklists here that can help get you started.

• Assignments

If you’re a busy mom you don’t live in a house alone, so you shouldn’t be spring cleaning alone! Once you’ve made your list of spring cleaning projects, it is time to start assigning them to members of your family. Even your toddlers can help put trash in a trash can, your preschoolers can put markers and toys where they belong, older children can help with dusting, cleaning windows, making beds and much more! Spring cleaning is a great opportunity to teach your kids life skills that they will need throughout their entire lives!

Spring cleaning can be a daunting task, but it brings about peace and joy once the job is complete! You and your family will be thrilled at the cleanliness of your home after you’ve finished your spring cleaning. Your kids may not understand that spring cleaning can bring peace and joy into your home and even themselves before you start, but once it is done they will understand completely!

What is your best busy mom tip for tackling spring cleaning?

The post Spring Cleaning Helps for Busy Moms first appeared on True Aim.

The kitchen is where most of the waste we create happens. These 15 recycling hacks can help you save money and reduce your waste by making something new out of things you were going to throw away.

I grew up in Oregon where recycling was part of the everyday routine. We always did it. When I moved, it was a lot harder to do because of the special rules and separate facilities. No glass, no plastic bags, and on and on. So, I had to get a little creative.

That’s why I was so excited to see the new Energizer EcoAdvanced batteries at Walmart. It is the first battery on the market to use recycled batteries/materials and is Energizer’s longest lasting alkaline ever!

It makes it easy to reduce, recycle and reuse everyday without even thinking about it. Learn more about this new technology at BringingInnovation.net.

15 Ways to Reuse Your Trash in the Kitchen

I love making new things out of something old or that you are just going to throw away. That’s why these ideas are genius because they don’t just help you reuse things, they make your life better, more organized, more convenient!

Glass

1. Store spices in baby food jars. They are easier to measure out of and you can easily make labels for them with dot stickers or paint the lids with chalk paint.

2. Buy bulk spices which are cheaper and store them in larger glass jars like mason jars.

3. You can also use small jars to help you peel lots of garlic easily.

4. Mason Jars can be used with your blender. Just fill it with whatever you want blended and screw the blade right on the jar for individual sized drinks, small portions of dip, even baby food.

5. You could get really fancy and rent a glass cutter to make drinking glasses out of empty glass bottles and vases out of wine bottles. Maybe go in with a friend or the neighbors and do everyone’s glass all at once.

Plastic Bottles

6. Milk jugs can be turned into so many things. How about a watering can for the kids or maybe a scoop for pet food?

7. Make a sprinkler out of a 2 liter of soda. The kids will love it in the summer time!

8. Cut plastic water bottles in half and use the top to seal open bags of food and snacks.

9. Cut out a hole in the side and fill with birdseed for an easy bird feeder.

10. All sorts of planters can be made with all different shapes and sizes of plastic bottles; hanging planters, outdoor, and indoor.

Misc. Trash

11. Save those containers from yogurt, sour cream, and others. You can easily remove the label with some nail polish remover or peanut butter and wash them out to store food or anything else.

12. Speaking of containers, cans from coffee or nuts are great to store odds and ends in.

13. I like to reuse peanut butter jars for extra craft supplies. The clear plastic helps me see exactly what I have.

14. If I had a dime for every pair of rubber gloves I went through, well I wouldn’t be rich, but I go through a lot. Now, I turn those into big rubber bands.

A photo posted by Janine LaTulippe (@trueaimedu) on Aug 29, 2014 at 3:56pm PDT

15. Plastic bags are the worst! Save those for craft projects. You can make so many things by turning them into yarn and weaving them into bags, mats, even a jump rope.

Is there anything that you reuse in the kitchen? Share with #BringingInnovation, I’d love to hear about it!

The post 15 Recycling Hacks for the Kitchen: Make Old Things New first appeared on True Aim.

Did you know that school-age children get on average 8-12 colds a year! Sounds miserable, but it doesn’t have to be.

Treating Cold and Cough Symptoms

The first step to treating colds is to have a good defense. I make sure my children are washing their hands before meals and extra during cold season (Sept. – April).

I also try to keep a cleaner home during this season by changing bedding often and disinfecting surfaces that are touched frequently; any handles, phones, and the bathroom.

For a cough or sore throat, I always have an over-the-counter medicine on hand for my eldest child (7), especially if she is loosing sleep because of it.

Sometimes it’s hard to give her this medicine because it tastes dreadful. She’ll wrinkle up her nose and stick out her tongue to show me how much she dislikes it. That’s why I recommend the all new Dr. Cocoa’s liquid cough and cold medicine for children ages 6-13.

Kids are happy to take it because it’s made with real cocoa and there’s never any dyes, alcohol, and it’s gluten free. Get a $4-off coupon offer now, or learn more about Dr. Cocoa in this new video.

In addition to the medicine, I’ll have my daughter gargle with salt water and if it is really bad, I’ll give her some honey candy or a throat lozenge right before she goes to bed.

I feel a lot better when I know my kids are getting a good night sleep. That is so important for them to be able to fight off their cold and it’s also important for me too. I could easily catch their cold if I’m not getting enough sleep.

For my younger kids and babies, I give them a little agave syrup and feed them cold things to help soothe their throat before bed.

When they do sleep, I run a cold mist humidifier and try to elevate their head a little by propping up their mattress with a towel.

For more tips on how to keep your children comfortable during cold season, visit Dr. Cocoa on Facebook.

How do you keep your children comfortable when they have a cold? Please leave a comment!

This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation that contains affiliate links. However, all opinions, text and experiences are my own.

The post 7 Ways to Help Treat Your Child’s Cold and Cough first appeared on True Aim.

Finally, I gave in.  I started with a simple routine that I learned from a friend to help my baby sleep.  When I discovered how well that worked, I started making schedules for everything!

Usually I keep all my lists and schedules for the month on the computer in my Google Drive or this free blank monthly calendar, but I also like my weekly to-do list and menu magnetized to the side of the fridge as a quick reference.  So, I made this handy weekly planner printable to share with you!

Free Weekly Planner Printable

To make my weekly planner reusable and easily accessible, I added a few things to it.  First, I printed my planner off on cardstock.  Then I used contact paper to cover it so I could use some dry erase markers on it (you could also use a laminator).  I slapped a magnet on the back so it sticks to the refrigerator and if I need a reminder about what I’m doing that day, it’s right there!

I love having the weekly planner instead of the full month because I can write more details and it doesn’t clutter up my refrigerator.  To print your own weekly planner, simply click on the image below.  Then right click and either save it to your computer, or click print to send it directly to your printer.

Please do not copy or link directly to the image on any other website.  You are welcome to share the link to this post with your friends by clicking on the social sharing buttons below!

How do you use schedules to help plan for the future?  I hope this printable helps!

For more free printables and parenting advice, subscribe to my Free Weekly Newsletter!

The post Free Weekly Planner Printable first appeared on True Aim.

1.  A Manageable Mess:  Once a mess becomes too large, no one wants to clean it, including me.  So, I have all of our toys, games, and books divided up into containers.  The rule is that each child may play with one container at a time.  When they are done, they must put everything back before moving on to the next container.

This method is great because at no point is the mess so large that it is unmanageable and our house is always moderately clean – just in case the neighbors pop in!

2.  Off to the Races!  Often, my kids would drag the cleaning of large messes out all day.  As long as I was watching they would clean, but the moment I left they would lose focus and begin playing.  Also, they cleaned at a snail’s pass, hoping that if they waited it out, one of their sibling would eventually finish the job without them.

That is why, instead of “cleaning a mess,” we head “off to the races!”  I set a timer and give everyone an area to clean up.  Whoever cleans up their mess first wins the race!

3.  Repossession or Reward?  When my children forget to put away their toys, I simply repossess them.  Once a toy is repossessed, my children must buy it back with Popsicle sticks or by doing an extra chore.  On the other hand, if they do keep their toys tidy, I reward them with Popsicle sticks or an occasional treat!

For more cleaning and organizing ideas, follow me on Pinterest!

Want to give your child a head start?

Check out our Christian Preschool Curriculum!

The post Get Your Kids to Clean Up Without a Fight first appeared on True Aim.

 

Hello! My name is Janine and I blog over at True Aim. I am a Mother of 3
under the age of 5. I also have a Home Preschool and teach 3 other children.

Click here to see my tips for Cleaning with Kids

Hi my
name’s Rachel from the blog, Lines
Across. I am a mom of two kids, Benjamin (3)
and Lyla (23 months). You can follow me on Facebook here.

As a crafty person living in a small
house with two young kids, two cats, and a husband, it’s definitely a struggle
to keep things clean. I almost always have some sort of project out on a desk or
tabletop. In fact, right now, I have a handful of balloons hanging from the
shutters in our kitchen.

That being said, I think that it is so
important to help teach your kids to clean up and be organized. We have made a
point of keeping the kids’ rooms clean and organized, and we want them to be a
part of it. For me, the most important part of this is having good storage for
toys. We got these bins from IKEA, and we
love them. Every toy has a place in one of these colorful bins. My son,
Benjamin, knows what toys go where, and he always wants to make sure that
everything is in the right place.

We try to encourage him to clean up the
toys he was playing with before he moves on to another room or another activity,
but sometimes we are in a hurry or forget to remind Benjamin. That’s why we have
made clean-up time a consistent part of bedtime… after brushing teeth and
right before we curl up and read a book together. It works well because my
little 3 year old is of course looking for ways to stall going to bed and is
always happy to help clean up his toys. Sometimes we even come up with games
like lego basketball, color sorting, counting, or a reenactment of an episode of
Thomas. Even though our house is never perfect, and there is always some chore
that needs to be done, it feels so good to tuck my kids in at night in clean and
organized rooms.

Your Turn:

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