Spring Spruce-up Week...a winner...and other stuff~

Welcome to the first day of Spring Spruce-up Week at the Shabby Nest!!! Today our Springiest of Spring topics is Spring Cleaning! Stop that! I can see you rolling your eyes. I've got some interesting stuff for you all here...including some tips I bet you've never heard before. (And besides, somewhere in this post, I'll announce the winner of my Etsy drawing.)

So here we go...

For most of us Spring Cleaning is not exactly something we look forward to. It's a necessity. One of those things that we need to do to keep our homes in tip-top shape. But, the end result can certainly make you smile. For instance the closet where I keep my cleaning supplies was looking a little worse for wear. (The Hubby has somewhat of an OCD obsession with purchasing cleaning products.) Here is the before... Yikes, I know. Notice my poor sewing machine...it was feeling a little out of place...

But in about fifteen minutes... I had a garbage bag full of empty bottles, I had relocated out of place items like sunscreen (???) and Stingeze (???) and my poor sewing machine, and I had divided like items and placed them in these pretty little baskets that I got at the Dollar Store. Really. Then I added some hang tags to each basket, so my short little self could see what was in the basket without having to get a stepstool...that took another 5 minutes. So the whole project took 20 minutes and $7. Not bad. And now I get a smile when I see bright blue baskets in my boring beige closet! (Almost makes me want to clean the bathroom...almost.)

So on to some of the tips I promised...

1. Use Spring cleaning time as a chance to change out batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (you can do the same in September around the first day of fall...or when the clocks change back.)

2. Make sure you wash down your walls...they get a lot dirtier than you think. Or, if you are like my hubby, repaint the entire interior of the house, and patch every hole with spackle...but leave the spackle there for a week so that your spouse can get sufficiently sick and tired of the polk-a-dots and will really appreciate the new paint. ;-)

3. Freshen your garbage disposal. Yes, sometimes our garbage disposals get bad breath. Use a little bit of baking soda and dish soap and scrub. Then run some citrus rinds through the disposal for a nice fresh scent.

4. If you like "green" cleaning products...try making your own glass cleaner by mixing vinegar and water in a spray bottle. (This works best if you use newspaper to wipe the windows rather than a rag.)

5. And here is a tip I bet you haven't heard...if you have brown stains inside your dishwasher, they are probably due to rust. There are expensive products out there that can remove the stains, but try this first. Take some Tang powder (you know, that Orange flavored Astronaut drink) and use it just like you would use dish detergent. Run a cycle (without dishes of course...unless you want everything you eat for the next few days to taste like orange punch). During the cycle, once the washer is filled with water, toss in a couple more tablespoons of the Tang powder. You may have to repeat the whole cycle a couple of times, but it does remove the rust stains. REALLY....I've done it!!

6. To remove Water Rings on wood, mix equal amounts of baking soda and plain white toothpaste (not gel) . Use a soft cloth to gently rub the mixture in a circular motion on rings.

7. Finally, do you have a budding Picaso...in other words, do you have crayon on the walls? Mister Clean Magic Eraser rocks!!!

Once your house is all sparkly and clean...you'll be a happy camper!

Don't Forget! Tomorrow is Toile Tuesday!!! Hop over to Pretty Organized Palace and link up with your posts about TOILE! It will be tons o' fun!

Aaaaaaaaand, I was interviewed this past week by the lovely Giorgina at Decor Medley. You can find the interview here. Please pop over!! (She did a beautiful job, and I feel like a mini-celebrity!)

And finally, the winner of my Etsy drawing - as chosen by Random.org - is...........

Princess!!!! Princess, you didn't leave me any contact info, so please drop me an email or leave me a comment with an email address so I can get your prize to you!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

I have some fun projects and Spring Decor in store as Spring Spruce-up Week continues, so y'all come back now!!!

Have a lovely Monday~