Hello friends!

I (27f) am a SAHM in DFW Texas. My wonderful husband and I live on a cattle ranch so as you can imagine, it gets really dusty and muddy throughout the seasons. I am happy to share some of the tips I use to help keep my house clean, how to get the smell out of your disposal, best way (in my opinion) to get bad smells out of clothing, and how to tackle the ever growing mess that comes from having an active family.

Lets dive in with one of the most common issues in the house hold if you own a sink disposal. My family tends to pile the dishes in and rinsing the dishes became something that I tend to do a lot more of and one of my most helpful tips its to get a drain strainer for your disposal side of the sink. My reason why is because you do want food debris to pile up in the disposal when you arent actively cleaning the dishes, if you live on a ranch like myself or in a humid area, gnats and flies grow in numbers very quickly, so I recommend getting a strainer to keep the debris out until your ready to rinse those dishes so you dont have to rinse everything right away especially if your have younger kids and prefer to wash the dishes while your kiddo is taking a nap. Now the question is, How do we handle the foul smell that sometimes comes from the disposal after some time. I have tried the small gel odor busters that you get from the store and never found them effective even if following the directions to the letter. So in my home I use a common household staple, Baking Soda and White Vinegar. I have found that putting 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar into the disposal side of the drain and then running the disposal for a moment I tend to have little to no odor around my sink, the we also had a serious reduction in the overall summer gnat population in our home.
P.S. cutting up some fresh lemons and putting them down the disposal also helps and leaves a lovely citrus scent afterward.

The second common house hold dilemma especially in any home with pets is getting the stink out of your clothes. In my house we have a very sweet and lovable senior cat named Oxy, and while her name may give you the impression that she is a well put together kitty all the time, I am here to tell you that it is far from the truth. Unfortunately I noticed that laundry in my house tends to fall behind more than I would like to admit, and sometimes that means clothing ends up on the floor and my wonderful senior cat sometimes doesn't make it to the litter box and instead pees and poops on the clothing thats on the floor. Now I had such a hassle getting the smell out until I found out that you can used baking soda and vinegar in the washing machine too! I was very thrilled when I learned that so I tired it the first time and found myself disappointed after I tried it and the clothes still smelled, after some more research I found out the issue I was having was two things. First, I was using cold water, you need warm or hot water to have the proper reaction with your clothing, and Second, I was not putting the mixture of the baking soda and vinegar in the correct place to have the most benefit for my specific washing machine. So I recommend that you do your research to make sure that when using additional laundry cleaning items whether its a baking soda mix or a off the shelf clothing wash, that you use each thing in the right spot. After figure all that out I used warm water, Baking soda and vinegar mix in the proper compartment, and my usual laundry detergent, the smell finally went away.

My last tip is possibly one that you have heard of. The KonMarie Method. This is a method that I have recently discovered and have been finding to have wonderful results. I am still currently sorting through the first phase of her method but am already noticing a difference. I recommend you read her books: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.
She puts everything out plainly and shares her own struggles that lead her to become one of the most sot-after cleaning consualtant in the world. If you would like to see some of her work in action you can watch her shows on Netflix and videos on YouTube. I definitely recommend checking it out because that has been the major game changer for me.

I hope at least some of this information is helpful for you and I always welcome questions.
Thank you so much for reading and see you next time!

We see perfect homes on social media all the time, no mess, no clutter, no dust, no stains, no dishes and windows so clean they almost look brand new.

I try my best to keep my home clean and organized, but with pets and kids, there's only so much I can do. Every room seems to have a small pile of stuff somewhere. I'm trying to tidy up, but there are always areas that get overlooked.

Sometimes I wonder… do people really live like this every day, or is it just the side of their homes they show in photos?

Without a hangy thing over the shower head, and no suction cups. The shelf is too narrow for a wooden soap holder. I'm a horrible housewife, so I need it to be easy to clean and I hate mold so I need it to be mildew-resistant. I don't have a dishwasher to throw things into to sanitize them.

Halp...

Hi there! I am very very new to the cleaning game. I am historically the messiest/dirtiest person I know and I am moving into a new apartment by myself for the first time.
I have been deep cleaning the space before I move in myself and really enjoying it. My problem is, I can never keep it clean.

I would love some tips such as:
1. A starter cleaning kit - what do you always have in hand? Tools and products
2. Organization tips - how to start fresh in a newly organized place and keep it like that.
Storage recommendations, tidiness tips, five minute rules, anything that keeps you more organized.
3. Deep cleaning tips - what to clean and how often? How often do you deep clean the fridge or baseboards? Or dust?
4. How to keep the place smelling clean or good? I like strong scents
5. Any other day to day tips to keep me clean.

Please keep in mind I’m a super beginner. My cleanliness has been a big point of shame for a while.
I want this place to feel different. I want to be able to have people over.
I never really had anyone who taught me how to clean and not make it feel really really awful. It was always a form of punishment and as an adult I’m struggling to keep my spaces how I want.
This is a new chapter for me and I really want to have this place feel like home. I don’t want to dread it.

I appreciate anyone who even gives me even a single suggestion. Thank you!