It’s such a simple way to get your bathroom guest-ready, that it only takes about 3 minutes and you’re done!  Plus, it’s inexpensive.  All it takes is some tissue paper. You can either buy your tissue paper (we grabbed an amazing assortment from here) or you can save it from a gift. Either way, it’s a simple way to get your toilet paper rolls for your visitors in a prominent place.  It’s easy for them to use and makes your bathroom look nice at the same time.

How to create toilet paper rolls for your guests.

So here’s how you do it.  Grab a sheet of tissue paper.  Place your roll slightly off-center and at the end of your tissue paper. Roll your toilet paper in the tissue paper. Tuck the shorter end completely into the toilet paper tube. For the longer end, gently twist the tissue paper while gently pushing it into the tube. Done!

The possibilities are endless.  We’ve decided to give you some inspiration for how to use this simple hack to get the toilet paper rolls for your guests ready for whatever you’re hosting.

From changing out the theme every month.

To hosting a baby shower or gender reveal party.
Or you can have toilet paper rolls for your visitors ready every day by matching your bathroom decor.

You can stick to only using solid colors, or you can grab some fun patterned paper to throw into the mix. The possibilities are pretty much endless…and it only takes a few short minutes.  Which, if you’re like me, you’ll need the rest of those minutes to clean your bathroom…

The post Toilet Paper Rolls For Guests ~ A Simple Bathroom Hack appeared first on Twitchetts.

1 – Organize

This is one of my goals for the new year.  And it’s something that I always struggle to find time to do.  But I’m devoted to getting it done this year, and let me tell you…I’m glad that I am.  Each time I get a chunk of space organized, it helps maintain the rest of the beast.  For example, I have an awful problem with putting craft supplies back once I’m done with hem.

The reason for this? Because my craft table was such a disaster that I didn’t have any room to put anything!  So this is where I started.  Every night, once the kids are in bed, I set an alarm on my phone for 15 minutes.  That’s it.  Just 15 minutes.  Do you know how much you can get done in 15 minutes?  A Lot!  It’s amazing!  So, after 4 days of 15 minutes power cleanings, I finally have my work space back.

Not only that…I have a place to put away the 2,000 piles of craft supplies.  Which means I have my kitchen table back.  Which means I  have a place to put my new Kitchen Aid Mixer.  Which means I can play with some new recipes that have been rolling around in the back of my head.  Which means you’ll get to see some new recipe posts…See, we all win!

If you’re looking for some more tips on organizing…check out these easy closet hacks.

2 – Find your chunks of time

Now I don’t want this to get confused with “multi-tasking”.  I’m talking about the 20 minutes while your dinner is baking/cooking.  Or the 5 minutes your kids are playing in the bath tub.  Both of these chunks of time are golden for me.  I spend the bake time emptying my dishwasher and loading the dishes from the morning.  (check out my huge dishwasher time saver here…)  I spend the 5 minutes of bath playtime washing my bathroom.  I even wipe down the tub while I shower…thanks to a little tip I found on Mama By Fire’s Clean Your House In 30 Minutes or Less post.

Remember…you don’t have to clean everything every time you clean…I bath my kids about 3 times a week…so I wipe down the sink/mirror one bath, the floors another bath, and clean the toilet the third bath.  (I also use very natural products, so I’m not stinking out the kiddos with fumes.  If you’re looking for a quick cleaning wipe, check out the ones I make.).

3 – Delegate

If there is more than one person in your house, there is more than one person that can clean.  Sure, you may do 90% of it.  But that last 10% can be all you need to keep your sanity.  Even my 2 and 3 year olds help.  I even tried my hand at making some cute chore charts so that they can have some fun with their new responsibilities.  We’ve also started to use Susie’s 10 minute clean up routine.  Every night, my phone goes off and everyone drops what they’re doing and cleans for 10 minutes.  4 people cleaning for 10 minutes can get a lot done.  Once the 10 minutes are over, we can move on with our evening…but it’s strategically placed at the end of our evening, so that the natural next activity is baths or some quiet time.  That way they aren’t dragging everything out again once we’re done.

4 – The less you touch things, the less time they take

This is a huge time management tool that I use in my day job.  And it helps get things done around the house too.  When I get home from the grocery store, the first thing I do is fill the sink with cold water and vinegar.  That way, while I’m unloading the groceries, I can just put the produce into the sink.

If I did a Costco run, I immediately separate out the large bags into smaller, more manageable bags.  (you can read more about his tip here) If I don’t do these things right away, then the large bags just get shoved into the small freezer and the fruit gets thrown into a bowl.  Neither of these things are the end of the world (and both things happen on some weeks), but knocking them out in the beginning saves time with meal planning and feeding young children.  (it’s so much faster to just reach into the fridge and grab a clean apple and toss it to a fussy 2 year old, then to have to take the time to wash it while their hanging from your leg).

5 – Do one load of laundry a day

If you’ve been following us for long, you’ll know that laundry is my nemesis…well good habits are laundry’s kryptonite…and while I am still struggling with keeping up with these step, when I do, my life is so much more at peace.  I absolutely despise having a pile of laundry sitting on my couch…but it happens so often that it’s mind boggling.  When I can keep up with this one step, it saves me so much sanity!  When I get home from work, I do a quick walk around and collect all of the laundry out of all the hampers or off the floor and sort it.  Then I start a load before I start working on dinner.  Usually the kids need some wind down time when we first get home, so they are pretty quiet…usually…  After dinner is done and the kids have run off to go play, I run downstairs and put the load into the dryer.  When I do this I bring up the load from the day before…yes, it’s probably better to put a way laundry as soon as it’s dry…but baby steps.  Now this part is important….put away the laundry right away!  It’s actually easier to do this while the kids are playing.  Because either they want to be with you, in this case you hand them some wash clothes or ask them to bring you hangers; or they are busy playing, so you can fold it quickly and get it put away in peace.

6 – Invite people to your house

This one may sound silly…but think back to when your house looks the nicest.  It has to be a proven fact, somewhere, that you can get more clean in the hour before guests arrive than you do at any other point.  So now I’m going to make it a point to invite someone over at least once a month…and sisters/best friends don’t count…because they don’t care what your house looks like.

Now, I’m not perfect…and some of these tips don’t always happen in my house.  But when they do, my life is so much easier…and I have time to do the other things, like write blog posts for you!

What are some of the things that you do to keep up with the constant cleaning routine?

The post 6 Cleaning Tips for people who don’t have time to clean appeared first on Twitchetts.

I decided that this year I was going to try my own attempt at a chore chart.  One that is designed for the youngens.  My kids are 2 and 3 and love helping me around the house.  Hubby and I decided that we would keep things simple.  They only had to complete 2 out of the 4 tasks in order to earn a bed-time show.

So I set off to make my super cute, pin worthy chore chart.  I was inspired by the chore chart the J used last year.  It’s cute.  Involved very few supplies.  And was made in very little time.

I basically drew a chore that represented each chore onto a piece of paper.  If drawing isn’t your strong suit, you could easily find some cute clip art and print some pictures.

 Then I glued the piece of paper to an old refrigerator magnet.  

I whipped these up, put them on the fridge, took my pictures for this post and waited for the kids to wake up and learn all about their new responsibilities.

Little Miss was very excited.  She quickly moved over “Brush Teeth” and “Breakfast dishes” into the Done section.

 Then she scurried to pick up all the toys in the house.  The pass out forks would have to wait until dinner time.  It was a success!

Then came Mr Monster.  He was also very excited about the new addition to the fridge.  But he was more excited about how he could so easily peal them apart…He still does his “chores”, but he could care less about moving a magnet.

The lesson of this story….Little ones will help you with chores whether or not there is a cute chart to go with it.  They just love helping.  To them they are not chores, they are times that they can be with mommy and daddy and feel appreciated.  And while Little Miss is still using her part of the chore chart (Mr Monster has had no interest since his original destruction).  She’s more excited about the idea of helping than the idea of moving a magnet.

Do you use chore charts?  How old were your kids when they first started?

The post Simple Toddler Chore Chart appeared first on Twitchetts.

If you’ve been following us, you know we don’t do a lot of advertisements. We’ve been bouncing around the idea of AdSense and we’ve linked to some Amazon affiliate links. But they never truly felt right.

When I received my first Mighty Fix, I had a feeling that his was a company that would fit.

Mighty Nest sells only natural and safe products for your home, body, and kids. They are where I found the sprinkles I used for Little Miss’ birthday cake.

On top of providing me with peace of mind, they donate 15% of every purchase to the school of your choice!

So I can buy quality safe products for my home and give the kid’s school a bit of extra spending cash!  Win. Win.

Mighty Nest has a great subscription service called the Mighty Fix. Once a month, I pay $10.00 and they ship me something fun. The first month I received 2 packs of these great wash clothes. I know, I know…not super exciting…but I was kinda geeking out over them.  They’re 100% organic cotton, wash up great, and are super cute!

The next month, I received a bottle of great natural sunscreen. This shipment came right before we left town on vacation. In other words, perfect timing.  I love being able to spray on sunscreen, because have you tried to put sunscreen on two toddlers?  Yeah, the spray has been amazing!

This month’s shipment was a bottle of Bug Repellent lotion.  I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet…but I’ll let you know how well it works!

Just in case getting a monthly product and 15% donated to your school wasn’t enough, I can tack on all my purchases for the month and have them delivered, with no shipping charges, with my Mighty Fix.

So Little Miss’ sprinkles…free shipping.
Mr Monster’s sprinkles and food dye…free shipping.

So hop on over to Might Nest and check them out! But be careful…you’ll have a wish list as big as mine before you know it!

I was so excited to be giving back 15% to J’s school. That really adds up fast… especially when they have so many great items to choose from!!

This post contains affiliate links.  Don’t worry, it’s only for things that we love.

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PURGE!

Use Those Shelves

#2 & #3 Wasted Spaces

That’s right Suit coats behind. They are rarely used and can be extremely bulky.

#4 Hidden Space

 #5 Accessorize

On the end of the rack they make a perfect spot for sweaters and cardigans.

Also a vertical shoe rack can save tons of space!

I’m a terrible tri-fold offender…This motivates me to do some massive organizing!

The post 5 Space Saving Closet Tricks appeared first on Twitchetts.

My Quick Dishwasher Tip

Have I mentioned before that I work full time?  I have?  Oh, OK.

Well, my full-time job is in accounting.  And this week is our fiscal year-end.  And anyone that knows anything about working in accounting knows what that means.  It means my life is a bit on the crazy side right now.  I’m dealing with deadlines and decisions and massive amounts of data entry.  I have numbers coming out of my ears.  When I get home my brain is about as fried as the rice that Susie made me make last night.  (which was Amazing, by the way!)

Anywho…Since I’m a little strapped for time (and mental functionality) I’m going to share with you something that I recently discovered.  I honestly don’t know where I read this.  So if I’m stealing this from someone I’m sorry, let me know and I’ll give you some credit.  This little bit of a tip has changed my world.  Literally.

It’s how I load my dishwasher.

Now, I know I’m working my way into some sensitive territory for people.  Telling some people how to load their dishwasher is like telling them how to fold their undies.  It’s personal.  But trust me, this is awesome!  And it’s so simple!

Grab more quick cleaning tips here!

Load your dishes in groups.  Done.  That’s it.  Put your forks with your forks.  Your spoons with your spoons.  Your kiddie silverware with your kiddie silverware….I’m pretty sure you’re getting the picture. They come out clean, and all I have to do is grab the bunch and throw them in the drawer.

Now for the top…

Line up your cups.  Put your measuring spoons together, Keep the lids with the containers.
I know that this is far from rocket science.  But the amount of time this has saved putting away my dishes has been minutes…OK, so that doesn’t sound like much.  But, when you’re staring at your kitchen debating whether or not you should skip the kitchen and grab the ice cream, those couple of minutes help…A Lot.

 

The post The Dishwasher Tip That Will Change Your World appeared first on Twitchetts.

I did a little brain storming.  About 90% of my house gets cleaned with either a Norwex Cloth or a spray of vinegar and water.  You really can’t make the Norwex Cloth any easier than it already is.  That leaves tweaking the vinegar and water method.

What I used:
1 Roll of Paper Towels
2 Gallon Ziploc Baggies
Cleaning Solution

The hardest part of this process was cutting the paper towel roll in half.

 

Since you get two rolls of wipes out of one roll of paper towels, I can use them in different areas of the house.  I’ve placed one bag on the dining room table, to have handy for quick meal time cleanups and to wipe down the high chair.  I put the other one in the bathroom, so that I can do quick wipe downs of the bathroom.

Last night, Hubby informed me these were the best thing I’ve done since I started blogging!  Awe!

Have you ever tried to make wipes before?  I’ve seen baby wipes on Pinterest, but never thought to take that plunge.  Anyone tried those yet?

The post DIY Vinegar Cleaning Wipes appeared first on Twitchetts.

 

 

I did what anyone would do I Googled it. It kind of smelt like food so I read a few different ideas on oil and grease. A lot of them ended in washing on a hot water cycle. Well that wasn’t an option it was already 10 pm, I knew better than starting a load.

So I just went for it.

I covered the spot with baking soda and let it sit for about 30mins…

I read if there is a lot of browning of the baking soda wipe it off and apply again…

Next scrape off the baking soda and get some dish soap on a soft sponge. Lather it up on the spot…

Take a toothbrush and get those suds in there…

Now, this is where I started winging it…

I filled the tub with a quarter cup of white vinegar, then topped off with hot water…

I agitated it with my hands loosening off most of the dish soap…

Then I dumped it and filled it once more… let it sit 10 mins.

Rinsed and laid it flat to dry… It looked very promising!

TaDa!!!!

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