Contents:
1. A Note from Christina (The Original Happy Slob)
2. I'm Bloggin' - Blog Highlights
3. Website Highlights
4. 3-Steps is All It Takes
5. NEW SECTION: Happy Slob HOME: Organize & Stylize
Today's Mission: Organizing the Bathroom
6. Happy Slob Hints: Fun Cleaning with Old Socks
7. Cleaning Recipes of the Week
8. Testimonials & Thanks
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A NOTE FROM CHRISTINA
Contact Christina at christina@happyslob.com
with ideas, tips, lovely remarks or anything
else you'd like to share!
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Hi everyone,
Don't be too shocked - it's been (embarrassed look from moi on this point) MONTHS since I've sent out a good and proper Happy Slob Housecleaning Newsletter. I needed a wee bit of time to figure out what my goals and plans for this site really were, and now that I have things a bit clearer in my muddy old mind, I'm ready to go with some fresh new ideas for cleaning and home organization that I think all of you will LOVE.
First change is that I've added a new section to the newsletter that will help you turn your newly clean home into a more organized and stylin' kind of place. Check out Happy Slob Home: Organize and Stylize to get these handy tips and a few product recommendations that really do help. This week I focus in on organizing the bathroom - a challenge that isn't nearly as intimidating as you might expect. Next week, we'll focus more on Stylize, with a view to understanding how different colors in your home change how you feel.
As always, your tips, ideas, jokes and contributions make this newsletter truly special - and so I'd love for you to email me anytime! My email is christina@happyslob.com - easy peasy, possibly breezy. (I'm not sure if that made ANY sense...but wow, did it make me happy to type it!)
So, enjoy the new newsletter - and take a little time to enjoy your living space. And remember - cleaning isn't rocket science. Anyone can make a bit more effort, and see excellent results.
P.S. Just for fun, take the "Are You Cleaningly Challenged?" Quiz that I've posted up on the blog...the results should be enlightening, and hopefully funny too!
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I'm BLOGGIN': Blog Highlights
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Here are some of my favorite recent Happy Slob Blog entries, that I know you'll find very useful in your cleaning adventures:
Hey, I know you deserve a big, bubbly bath after all your hard efforts cleaning and organizing your home. :) I know I'm really big on that sort of treatment! There's just something about soaking your achey muscles in a warm tub of bubbles...
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>>> WEBSITE HIGHLIGHTS<<<
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#1 on Our Website: Fruit & Veggie Wash Recipe
Apparently people are VERY concerned with safe & effective ways of cleaning their delicious fresh produce - because THIS recipe is currently our very most popular page on the site! Fruit & Veggie Wash Recipe
PS. Another great way to scrub your veggies and fruit clean is with a paste of baking soda and water. Then simply wash away the baking soda residue, and you're left with clean and lovely fresh things to eat.
Uses for Epsom Salts Around the Home
Epsom salts are great for more than just soaking sore muscles in the tub! Find out some fabulous, unexpected ways to use them: Epsom Salts Uses
Remember, easy, stress-free cleaning starts with the Happy Slob's
3-Step Solution:
1. 2 fast cleaning bursts every day - budget the time you can spend -
anywhere from 5-20 minutes or more. Set it on the timer. Tidy up
as much as you can - focusing your attention on IMPACT areas (those
areas that are seen the most and used the most in your home. Kitchens,
bathrooms, and living areas are often impact areas.)
2. 1 Focus Room every day - A minimum of 10 minutes in one specific
room or area. I like to add storage areas to my focus room list
so that those nasty areas also get cleaned! (This is when I
do some de-cluttering - just one small section in the focus room.)
3. One weekly Clean-for-All - You and the family get down to
cleaning business once a week. This is where you get some of those
other cleaning tasks done. But don't worry if you can't get
everything done. Over time, and with the accumulation of your
good efforts you WILL!
These basic guidelines will help you keep your home cleaner and tidier
than ever before. It's simple, it's not intimidating and it works!
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HAPPY SLOB HOME: ORGANIZE
Yes, even slobbos can get organized!
Today's Mission: the Bath
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You CAN organize. Say after me 10 times, or as many times as is necessary to convince yourself: "I am a Happy Slob, but I'm still capable of organizing a closet!" Oh, very good. You've convinced me as well.
All fun aside for a moment - organizing IS an intimidating prospect for those of us who'd rather be doing anything else, right? So, we're going to make the whole idea of it a lot less scary by tackling small bits of our organizing at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and our bathrooms won't become instant havens of organizational bliss in one day either. Or...can they?
Perhaps not organizational havens of bliss (or whatever I just said) in one day, but we can make a big impact in our bathrooms in one day. In just one hour, to be more precise! So, find a block of time when you can devote at least one hour to your bathroom, and start working towards organizing it. Here are some of my favorite tips to help you on your mission:
1. Under the Sink - this is a messy pit of destruction for most of us happy slobs. But, a little attention now - and a little attention later - will make it a much happier experience when you open the cabinets in your bath. Very likely you'll need to invest in a few baskets, boxes, or hooks to have nice, neat and organized places to put stuff back into. First things first - do a vicious purge on the under sink area, getting rid of out of date products, prescriptions - whatever you have down there. Then, use the baskets and other organizing goodies to neatly put back the essentials.
2. Extra Toilet Paper - some of our bathrooms are just too tiny for large toilet paper holders (for those oh-so-necessary reserve rolls!) If you have a large space, toilet paper storage units are nice. For tiny baths like mine, an over the toilet - toilet paper holder is an amazingly inventive idea that I LOOOOVE. Bring on the toilet paper reserves, slobbos, you'll have them stored in style.
3. Medicine Cabinet - again, this area needs a good old purge of junk before you clean it out, and replace the necessities back in. After purging out all the garbage, make sure to wipe the whole interior and exterior down with your Very Vinegar Spray.
4. In the Shower/Bath Itself - This is an easy place to let clutter run amuck (amuck seems a very appropriate word to me when speaking of a messy, icky shower!) Instead, get rid of outdated shampoo bottles and old body puffs that have seen better days, and use a shower organizerto keep everything just where it should be.
5. Extra Space - Even in the Tiniest Spaces - glass shelves are an excellent way to get more space in even the tiniest of bathrooms. It's clearness makes it look as if the items stored on the shelves are just floating in the air, and is a good spot to put a couple of baskets for extra storage, or a cute way to display extra towels nicely rolled up like they do in hotels. Even large bathrooms can make use of some beautiful, glass shelves or other types of shelving to hold extra necessities.
With a little effort, you can organize and beautify your bathroom - all in one shot! Give it a try today, and you'll be amazed at how your bath will become a serene spot you actually WANT to spend some time in.
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HAPPY SLOB HINTS
If you guys have some answers to these questions, please
send them in to me at christina @ happyslob.com. :) Either
myself or one of our readers will surely be able to help...
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Easy Dusting with Old (Clean) Socks
Jane says:
Use holey clean old socks as dusting cloths--just put one on your hand and swipe away!
Another tip to add to that one, is to use the same (clean!) old socks on your feet for fast and easy floor cleaners! Kids LOVE to clean the floors this way. Just provide them with a squirty bottle full of our Very Vinegar Spray and they can get the floors sparkling clean - leaving you with one less chore to tackle.
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CLEANING RECIPES OF THE WEEK
I'd LOVE to hear from you if you have a natural
cleaning recipe to share! Send it to me at christina @
happyslob.com
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"I have found your guide wonderfully helpful!! If I could have emailed you during our trip, I would have. heh Thanks to you, we came back to a wonderfully clean home -- especially compared to before! My husband even commented that the home looks new!!! lol Getting a handle on the cleaning has helped me feel a lot better about things, improved my relationship with my husband -- and now we are even expecting baby #3! So it's quite something! I'm so glad to have discovered and ordered your book when I did, and not later.
Being pregnant now, I can even use your natural cleaning product ideas to clean bathrooms. I used to avoid the chemicals (leaving it to husband). Ha! So I know he appreciates your book too!! "
Dear Anne,
So glad to have been of assistance! :) And hey, if it helped you with baby #3 - well, there is just a new and unexpected benefit I had never anticipated! hehehe Thanks for such kind and wonderful words. Just remember to keep doing the 3 Step Solution, and not to overwhelm yourself, especially now that you're pregnant. I want you and the baby to stay happy, healthy and cozy in your "new" home.
,