I moved!

Hi Cleaning Fairy Fans! I have moved to wordpress! I am just getting everything moved in and back up and running at my new site, but I would love it if you would come follow me over there! 

 My New Blog!

Get Ready For Your Weekend!

Now I know a lot of us are getting ready for the weekend. The weather is turning nice around here so a lot of us would rather be out in the garden than cleaning up our homes! So today I am going to focus on how to KEEP your house clean, so when it's time to clean house it's not such a daunting task.

I talked about not procrastinating a couple of days ago. That works well for keeping your house clean as well. Don't leave messes to do "later" because pretty soon later turns into never.

Have Helpers: When my kids were little I taught them to pick up after themselves by making it a game. Who could put away the toys the fastest? How many blocks can you pick up in a minute? Things like that. My son used to love to vacuum the house for mommy. It wasn't perfect of course but one sweep of the vacuum can go a long way to making things cleaner around your house! Now that my little monkeys are big monkeys they actually know how to clean up after themselves, and hopefully will continue that on when they are out on their own.

Bathrooms: The bath tub and shower are one of the worst things in the house to clean. I guess most people figure if you are washing in there it's got to be clean right? WRONG! Soap scum and mold can build up fast in a bathroom if you aren't on top of it. I suggest to every one of my clients that have a shower curtain to take it down and wash it in the washing machine with vinegar once a month(or more if it needs it). The machine does all the work and it comes out like new, saving you the cost of buying a new one. You dry your self when you get out of the shower, right? Why not keep a squeegee or a microfiber cloth handy, and take that extra minute to wipe down your shower when you are done. If you have shower doors, this will save you so much work cleaning hard water, and soap scum off of them in the future.

Kitchen: The kitchen is a place most of us are in daily. We eat there, we fix our meals for our families there, and we socialize there. It's the heart of many homes. So why oh why do we let them get so dirty? Time! We are busier with little ones, and work. Who doesn't want to spend more time cooking than cleaning? I have a rule in my home, and maybe this can help you as well. I never let dishes pile up in the sink. You use it, you wash it! My kids know that if they dirty a glass they are going to have to wash it, so they don't grab a new glass every time they switch drinks. They take the glass to the kitchen and wash it out, and leave it to air dry. Tada! One less thing The Cleaning Fairy has to do when she gets home from cleaning other people's houses! I also clean AS I cook. I try and wash pots and pans when I am done with them so I don't have to come back after a great meal to a giant mess. I can enjoy family time instead!

Do you have a time saving tip? I would love to hear about it!

Mom to Bed by 8 is excited to present the Housewarming Dyson Event from June 1 to June 15. This is a free blogger event and accepting signups now.

Join the Housewarming Dyson Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one fantastic cleaning tool giveaway!

Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

I admit it, before I discovered these little microfiber gems of magic cleaning goodness I used old cloth diaper, T-shirts, old dish towels and bar cloths to clean. You still can, but once you try these you may re purpose your old cleaning rags! A friend told me about microfiber and I haven't looked back since. If you haven't tried these, you must! A few reasons why I *heart* microfiber should be enough to convince you, right? You purchase, or make less cleaning products, which means less chemicals in your families home! You use less paper products, and you spend less time cleaning!

Before I start let me say do not go super cheap on these. The dollar store will have them, but they aren't as good as a package of better ones. They last for a long time, so the money you save in the future on cleaning supplies and paper products will be a nice return on your investment. For The Cleaning Fairy I use different colored cloths so as not to cross contaminate when I clean a clients home. I suggest getting into that habit and always use the same colors for the same task so you don't accidentally grab the bathroom one to wipe down your kitchen counters. Maintenance on these little grippers is easy peasey too. All you have to do is toss them in the laundry with your towels. I wash them in hot water, and if I can, I hang mine to dry to save energy and help prolong the life of my cloths.

I rarely use glass cleaner, furniture polish, or shower cleaners when I use these. There is no need! I can dry dust with one, and it leaves the furniture clean, and the microfiber holds all the dust in the cloth. I can also mop with these. I use one on my swiffer instead of using the refills that you can buy in the store. You can either dry mop with them to collect dust and pet hair on hard wood floors, or use them wet. I sometimes will just use them dry with my spray bottle of vinegar and water solution to mop, because I like the disinfecting results of vinegar. When I do any type of glass, I wet half of my microfiber cloth and clean the glass, and dry with the other half. They have amazing absorbancy, and don't leave streaks. Showers are a little more work, but once you get your tub/shower cleaned up and sparkling clean, taking a microfiber cloth with a little vinegar and water solution to your tub once a week should keep it clean with very little effort.

You can buy these in bulk at Costco, and Sam's club, or you can buy the ones I use HERE!

Have you tried microfiber? Do you have other uses for them? Let me know in the comments!

Dirty Drain? Clean It Up!

Today I am going to talk about cleaning a Drain. Cost effective, healthier for your family and pets, and your drain comes out clean and clog free.

A lot of people wait until their drains are clogged and they run out and buy a harsh drain cleaner. have you read the ingredients on those? Not to mention the cost even WITH a coupon! I suggest cleaning your drains once a month, or more if you need to. It keeps them free flowing, it's all natural so it won't hurt your septic system, AND it can make them smell better!

1. Pour about 1/2 of the box of baking soda down the drain. This is done dry, just dump it right down the drain.
2. Gather up your rags, and have them ready at your side.
3. Following the baking soda, pour 1/2 cup of vinegar down the drain. Immediately after you pour it in, be sure to plug the drain with the cloth or rag, filling the hole completely so nothing can escape. This is because the interaction of the two ingredients, vinegar and baking soda, will cause a “mini volcano” that will want to come up and out of the drain – but you want to keep it down there.
4. Leave this concoction in the drain for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting, boil a tea kettle full of water.
5. After 30 minutes, remove the cloth or rag and slowly pour the boiling water down the drain.

All done! Your drain should flow smoothly now. If not, just do it again. Sometimes I have to do it twice in a row, but it doesn’t happen too often. The important thing is that you can now unclog a drain without chemicals and in a natural way, so you can do it as often as you need to.

For Kitchen drains with a garbage disposal I always grind up a lemon, orange or lime when I am done. It smells fresh and can really help keep your drain clean!

Eliminate Procrastination in Cleaning!

The Cleaning Fairy is here to help you!

Do you look around your home, and think "I wish I had a cleaning fairy!"? Well if you don't have your own cleaning fairy like so many of my clients, then you need to do it yourself. You might consider hiring someone on a one time basis just to get you started if it's really too much for you. Otherwise it's just baby steps!

If your tasks are simply overwhelming you, break them down to smaller tasks that are doable. For example, don't leave your all housework for the same day of the week, do a little bit each day.


Make lists of what have to be done and cross off the completed tasks. For example, your household list might be, laundry on Mondays, washing floors on Tuesday, cleaning the bathroom on Wednesdays and so on. If even these breakdowns are too daunting, further breakdown the tasks. If cleaning the whole bathroom at once is too much, clean the bathtub, then go relax or do something else non related that needs to be done such as picking the kids up from school and return later that day to clean the toilet and sink.


Set time limits; work on cleaning your house for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, then relax and the go back to the chores that need to be done. This technique is great for what seems to be one big unmanageable task such as spring cleaning the entire house.


Give yourself a reward for tasks accomplished. If you successfully cleaned your house, treat yourself to a dinner out. Other types of rewards could be taking a nice relaxing bubble bath, or play time on the computer.

Don't simply ignore the task, it doesn't go away just because you don't want to deal with it. Chances are, the task will worsen if you neglect it. Then your friends and neighbors will put you on one of those embarrassing shows where they find dead cats in your house because you forgot about them under the clutter... and who really wants to be on one of those?

Give Mom The Day Off!

Do you know a great mom that could use a day off from cleaning? 

That's what The Cleaning Fairy is here for! 

Call us today to get that last minute gift certificate giving mom a day off from cleaning!

Maybe you want to clean for mom? Why not change the way YOU and mom clean by using greener, non toxic, and CHEAPER (and who doesn't like to save money?) methods of cleaning?

Follow this blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter to learn tricks and tips on how to do that!