Hi, I’m Michelle from the blog Lovely by M and the website/shop Twig Creative.

I’ve always considered myself a clean freak; I grew up never being told to make my bed or clean my room because it was already done!  Now as a stay at home mom with a one year old little girl, I’ve established a routine & method that helps keep my house and life in order without spending my life with a broom in hand.  I also desire to live a minimalistic lifestyle, trying not to accumulate things I really don’t need and making sure to dispose of things I really don’t use.

Here are a few tips from me to you:

Develop a Weekly Clean List: I simply took a colored piece of paper, wrote an inspirational quote on the top of it, and then divided my household tasks to specific days.  It is posted on my fridge where I can easily be reminded of the days chores.  This helps to not only assure that all chores are accomplished but that only a small portion of the day is devoted to cleaning.  Because really, who wants to spend their whole day scrubbing!  Not me!  When you develop a routine like this, you save yourself from inevitable piles such as laundry that can overflow from waiting too long or be wasteful if done when the need is not sufficient enough.  A weekly clean list also means that your Saturdays and Sundays can be left free from any major cleaning!

Also found on the side of our fridge is a small clip that holds important paperwork or mail.  Does anyone else feel like paper piles can overtake your counter?!  When opening mail, I throw away the unneeded items/envelopes immediately and then clip up important mail or put shred items on top of my shredder for my weekly shred.

Clean Up in Rhythm with Cooking:  My husband and I once invited his parents over for dinner.  My mother-in-law commented on the fact that all of the dinner making dishes were already washed and put away.  See we didn’t have a separate dining area, our dining table was in our kitchen.  How nice was it then for our guests to not look at dirty dishes and spice jars strewn along the counter top. 

Before this incidence, I hadn’t quite considered the nicety of my normal routine of cleaning up as I cooked.  But now, I couldn’t recommend it more.  Using a spoon to stir the pasta? Rinse it and immediately toss it in the dishwasher when done.  Using a jar of salt from the cupboard?  Put it right back where you found it immediately after using.  This is such a time saver plus it can be really overwhelming to not only cook a good meal but then have a dirty kitchen needing cleaning afterward.  One of my biggest pet peeves is dried pancake batter on the counter top.  When you let it sit and dry, it goes from easily wipe-able to practically scrape-able!  So why not wipe it up immediately and dodge the headache. 

I know that I enjoy dinner time more when I don’t look over to a mess of a kitchen left from cooking.  We can simply rinse our dishes and either hand wash or place them in the dishwasher and wahlah, evening time is left for each other, not pots and pans!

I should also note that with a small child, the floor around a highchair can be quite messy after a meal.  I love my little hand vacuum for this purpose.  Once my daughter is finished eating, I simply vacuum out her high chair and the floor surrounding and we’re good to go.  I also think that high chair mess cloths like this one from Elsa Bags are great.  I use my hand vacuum almost daily to pick up small crumbs and dust in corners and under cupboards.  It’s surprising how many particles end up on the floor but with a little crawler, I’d rather have it in the vacuum than her mouth!  

Sanitizing: When I was in college I had a roommate who taught me a valuable sanitation lesson.  She  was often heard saying that water doesn’t clean counter tops, it just rinses them.  She would then with all purpose cleaner in hand, wash down the counter tops and table; sometimes squeezing a little fresh lemon along them as well, leaving a lovely aroma.  As years have passed and I’ve continued her cleaning method, I’ve noticed how most people do not use an all purpose cleaner in their daily wipe ups of meals or cooking.  They simply drench a dish cloth in water and wipe everything down.  Just think of the germs and residue left unseen on each surface!  With a young child, I’ve become much more aware of the all natural products on the market for such purposes.  Two of my favorites are: Green Works All Purpose Cleaner and the Seventh Generation Dish Soap.  The best part is that you can sign up for their newsletter or visit their website for coupons off of the product price. 

and lastly,

Organization: Organization is key in cleaning right?  I’ve found that if everything has a place and you return it to that place when done using, life is blissful.  You don’t run around last minute trying to find this or that, you don’t misplace items as often, you clean more quickly and with more ease, and you stay organized! 

Organization has helped me towards my minimalistic lifestyle.  I am by no means a minimalist as I love to decorate and make my space homey, but I am a big believer in finding new uses for old things and being honest with yourself in getting rid of anything you really don’t need or use.  This doesn’t mean throwing it away, but instead donating it to a thrift store, a friend, or a neighbor. 

I’ve learned to organize my home by re-using several items such as baskets and jars.  Example 1-Before my daughter was born, I used a medium sized basket for throw blankets next to our couch.  I found that it could be nicely re-used as toy storage in her room.  We also no longer had a use for one of our small laundry baskets due to a change in our storage space and so I re-stationed it as a place to throw often used blankets that sits at the end of my daughter’s crib.  Example 2– Peanut butter or any glass jar for that matter are perfect for storing q-tips, hair ties, cotton balls etc.  I simply washed my jars, cut a circle out of a cute piece of paper, and decoupaged it to the top.  Cute paper and decoupage can go a long way!  Example 3– We moved into a new apartment and found ourselves needing several large pieces of furniture all at once.  That also =’s expensive!  One of the needed pieces of furniture was a dresser for our bedroom.  We received a small shelf as a gift and decided that it would be the perfect solution to our problem until we really needed a dresser.  We have a large closet that houses most of our clothes and so with a small basket set a top the shelf, socks are stored and easily folded items like pants and sweaters have a home as well. Example 4– Favorite bowls or ceramics are great for jewelry storage + decorative knobs or hooks for hanging necklaces.  It really is amazing what you can re-use or re-purpose when you just take a look around your house.  

 There are however some items you just have to buy.  One for us was toy storage in our living room.  When our daughter began to crawl, I realized that I must clear out the bottom portion of our living room shelf and replace the decorative items with her toys.  It’s a fact of parenthood right?!  I purchased medium sized canvas bins that are not only easy for her to pull out but make for a quick clean up and hide all of the plastic and wood and bright colored items when company is over! 

Oh boy, I think I could go on and on as I love a clean home, because to me it also means a clean mind, a clean heart, and a clean start to the more fun things I like to do.  Thanks for having me!