Living life as The Queen of Clean

Before I was the Queen of Clean I was the Princess of Precociousness. One story often repeated to me was about when I was visiting someone's house, bending over to check out the baseboards and announcing to the entire room that they "needed a little girl like me to dust for them." Or the time I was hands on hips in someone's kitchen, sticking out my foot using my best toe point, stating matter of factly, "There's a spot, right there!" (That phrase has become my mantra!)

Here are a couple things I have been doing for years that are tried and true tips for you:

Clean Microwaves by putting a bowl of water with lemons (if you have them) into into the microwave for 2 minutes. Then simply wipe clean. There is no excuse for a dirty microwave - gross! Though I will admit now that the little one is learning to use it I often find suprises inside my own.

Clean Drains with 1 cup baking soda and 1 cup of white vinegar, let sit for one minute then flush with 1 kettle of boiling water.

Sometimes people ask me what my favorite cleaning products are.

A: Soap and warm water cleans just about anything.

I don't spend a lot of time buying products like 409, etc. Baking Soda and Vinegar are great natural ways to clean. And if you wipe surfaces down regularly with soap and water they won't get so mucky you need some super chemical!

I will often use windex for quick wipe downs of bathroom counters and faucets. And if you just take a quick few seconds to wipe down bathroom counters when you are finished in the bathroom in the morning they will never get really sticky (unless your name happens to be Katie and you use a gallon of hairspray and hair gel every day! Then you need a scraper!) I can get by with just Comet or Ajax for regular bathroom cleaning... but a toilet bowl gel is easier to get up under the side of the bowl.

And of course there's always bleach! If the house doesn't smell like a swimming pool it isn't clean lol! (sigh..) I admit, I love bleach!

Home Comforts is one of my favorite books about keeping a house. I love that Cheryl Mendelson takes the time to tell you the history about housekeeping... why laundry is traditionally done on certain days and things like that! Plus if you have rules in your house like 'street clothes never touching your bedding' then this book is full of tons of justification for why your silly house rules aren't silly at all!

I believe keeping an orderly and clean home is one of the best gifts that I can give my child. One of my favorite quotes about home is from the LDS Bible Dictionary: "A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed... A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness."

I believe in making my home a sacred place, where my family can feel comfort and safety, but most of all loved!

What do you do to make your home a place for your family to grow and learn?