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I’m a huge fan of teaching my kids about eco-friendly alternatives. Recently I ran across the Food Kozy, a fun and attractive way to wrap up sandwiches, wraps, fruit and more. They are perfect for school lunch boxes as well as yours. And they are even more perfect for the environment!

Get rid of your plastic baggies and grab yourself a set of Food Kozies. They are reusable and are easy to rinse in your kitchen sink. They come in the lime green color shown here as well as orange. So do something good for your kids and the environment and check out this great solution.

Do you ever feel like you live in a toy store? Most families have a hard time avoiding mountainous eruptions of toys that trickle throughout their homes. There are ways to find a happy medium, so you don’t have to feel like your house is being taken over by monster trucks, dolls, children’s books and flashing musical instruments. We may not be able to hide our children’s tracks through our home entirely, (and who would want to, anyway?), but we can keep toys in check with these simple organizational tips.

Less is Less

Children are all for having “too much of a good thing,” but we can teach them how to scale back to keep everyone’s life more sane! For every new toy or book that comes into your home, one should be donated to charity or put into storage if you plan on saving them for a younger sibling. Convincing your little ones to adhere to your “out with the old, in with the new” policy shouldn’t be too difficult. Most kids will happily part with an older toy, as long as it doesn’t have sentimental value, to welcome a new addition to their toy box. *Top Tip: Also keep in mind that toys aren’t the end all be all in childhood entertainment. Spending time outdoors, in parks and museums and partaking in family activities rounds out playtime and cuts back on the need for tons of toys.

Enlist Kids to Help with Clean-up

Teach your children from a very young age to put away their toys and books when they’ve finished playing with them. A fun way to encourage this habit is to purchase bins for each type of toy: plush toys, musical instruments, Legos, trucks, etc. Take a picture of each set of toys, perhaps as your child plays or poses with them, and then tape the photograph to the outside of the bin. This will enable your child to see exactly where his toys need to go during clean-up.

Book Smart

Purchase a small bookcase to house all of your children’s books. Make sure it is topple proof and sturdy before  acquainting your child with her reading niche. Teach her to put away her books when she’s finished reading them. Kids love to sort and stack books, so this activity will give them pride in their book collection, and help nourish their love of the written word.

Decide What “Look” You’re Going For

Some parents want to camouflage their children’s toys and belongings, while others are happy to have them out in the open as part of their home decor. If you want to maintain a more sophisticated home appearance, there are a variety of sleek baskets and containers that will conceal toys when they’re not in use. You may also store toy containers under a bed or in a closet, and only take them out at playtime. If you’re lucky enough to have a designated play area in your home, opt for cute, child-friendly toy storage boxes so your kids may easily access their entertainment. *Top Tip: Don’t buy storage containers or toy boxes that have heavy lids or hinges, as you want to avoid any injuries from lids slamming closed or hinges pinching your child’s fingers.

Routine Round-Up

Staying on top of toy clean-up and organization is essential. Daily maintenance is required so things don’t get out of hand and you aren’t tripping on remote controlled cars on your way to make dinner. Sometimes toy clean-up is required several times a day, but it is worth the effort to maintain a sense of decorum, and safety in your home.

If you’re a parent, you know that life will never be the same now that you have children. In the same vein, our homes will always be touched by their wonderful musings. Go easy on yourself and your children if your home is less than perfect! The above tips should help you find a comfortable way to live amongst all of your children’s gear and reverie!

Did you know that dryers are typically the biggest energy zappers in our homes?

There’s no better time than the summer season to let your laundry air dry in the sunshine. Even if you don’t have a sprawling backyard and clothesline, you can still hang your clothes to dry indoors on a rack in your basement, garage or other dry area. By doing so, you’ll not only save money on your personal electricity bill, you’ll also pitch in and help save the planet from global warming.

Line drying is beneficial for clothing, and may even prolong the life of certain garments. Tumble dryers can be rough on clothing, while line drying poses no wear and tear. We’ve all scratched our heads over unbelievably wrinkled, scrunched up clothing sometimes pulled from the dryer. When you shake out clothing and pull it taut before hanging it to line dry, wrinkles are eliminated. Sunlight acts as a natural bleaching agent, so whites get even whiter on the line. For this reason, turn bright colored clothing inside out, or hang vibrant items to dry indoors. If you think your clothes aren’t as cuddly when dried on the line, simply add fabric softener during your wash cycle to soften the load.

As you know, I’m all about re-purposing household items, and those dryer sheets will need a new job while you hang your laundry out to dry on clotheslines. Here are ten clever ways to use your dryer sheets outside of the dryer:

1. To leave a fresh scent in odorous areas, place a dryer sheet in the bottom of the diaper pail, under the liner of the kitchen trashcan, at the bottom of the laundry basket, inside stinky shoes, in your gym bag and under the seat of your car.

2. Dust your blinds with a dryer sheet and watch the dirt stick.

3. Pin a dryer sheet to your shirt while in the great outdoors, and it will act as a mosquito repellent.

4. Wipe your television screen with a dryer sheet to remove static and dust.

5. Use a dryer sheet to clean soap scum off shower doors.

6. Rub a dryer sheet across your clothing or fabric furniture to collect and remove pet hair.

7. Next time you spill flour, powder, or sawdust, easily wipe it up with a dryer sheet.

8. Clean scissor blades with a dryer sheet to restore smoothness.

9. Place a dryer sheet in your luggage and clothes will smell laundry fresh throughout your trip.

10. Rid an old or used book of a musty odor by enclosing a dryer sheet between its pages.

Most of the above work with used dryer sheets as well, minus some of the fragrance.

GreatCleaners’ newest bathroom cleaner is a product called Kaboom® Foam-Tastic™. This fantastic foam sprays on blue and then turns white as it cleans. I actually tested this product out myself to see if it really works as advertised. I sprayed the foam around the rim of a sink and sure enough it came out of the can a bright blue color. I stood and watched as it turned white signaling that the cleaning was complete. I then rinsed off the area and was amazed at the results. The scum and grime was completely gone and I never scrubbed, wiped or sponged the area at all!

I highly recommend Kaboom® Foam-Tastic™! You can buy it online now and save $1.00 off the retail price. Don’t spend any more time cleaning than you have to!

If you’re a Mom with little kids like me (I have 3) then it’s often a huge challenge to get them to help with tidying up their rooms, playrooms, etc. Here are a few ideas to make clean up time less stressful:

* Sing songs or listen to music while you tidy up. This often makes the time go much faster and who doesn’t love to dance once in a while?

* Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and challenge your kids to pick up as much as they can in that time frame. This tatic turns a chore into a competition and you’ll see your kids quickly rise to the occasion to see how much they can do before the timer goes off.

* Play a game that involves asking your kids to put away all the red toys first, then all the yellow ones, etc. This helps you get the room tidy and also help your children with color recognition.

* When all else fails, a reward often does the trick! A promise of pizza for dinner or an ice cream treat often works wonders.

If you have other ideas that work for you, leave them in a comment below and happy clean up to everyone!

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Hi – I’m Julie and I’d like to welcome you to Julie’s Cleaning Secrets! This blog will provide you with fresh tips and ideas around cleaning, organizing, products for the home and more. If you have your own ideas that you’d like to see featured here then please leave us a comment under this post and I’ll be more than happy to post about them. And don’t forget to check out all our great products and deals at GreatCleaners.com. Thanks for reading!