Cleaning Tips - In the Bathroom

My Bathroom Cleaning Routine has become just that, a routine. I used to spend an hour once a week coughing on cleaning fumes, trying to get my bathroom clean and spotless. Now I spend less than three minutes everyday, and with NO cleaning fumes. That's right. Zero, zip, Zilch.

Let me introduce you to my tools:

1. The soap - squirted on #2 - Yep, I only use soap to clean the toilets.
2. The toilet brush - If I swish and swipe every day (or every other day if I get lazy) there is no build up, and no need for strong or expensive chemicals
3. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - I use this sponge to scrub down my shower walls - WHILE I AM STILL SHOWERING! It is just another excuse to stay in the hot shower one minute longer. When it gets done at every shower, there is no build up. Amazing. I could probably get away with just soap, but I like how Mr. Clean gets the orange residue off my white grout.
4. Cleaning Wipes - I just swipe off the counters and then sometimes the toilet seat or maybe the floor, or even the drawer handles. I am just finishing up this free pack that I got with a coupon, and then I will probably go back to the baby wipes with vinegar. I probably could use a wash cloth here, and save some money, but this is my one area where it is just nice to throw it away.
5. Spray bottle - Just a spritz of water on the mirrors, and they are ready to shine.
6. Microfiber cloth - wipe down the mirrors and shine up the faucets. I like to use the cleaning wipes on the faucets first, since they tend to be germy, but then I can shine it up with the microfiber cloth.

All of this takes me less than 3 minutes, plus I love what I am teaching my kids about cleaning and money.

• You don't have to spend the big bucks on cleaning supplies
• You don't have to pay someone to do something that should only take 3 minutes
• Sometimes having the right tools makes the difference in doing a good job
• Not only can they do this for themselves, but they could do it for pay for someone else
• Doing a little bit every day, makes a big job seem small
• Sometimes the easier solution actually is the better solution, too: for the environment, pocketbook, and your own health and safety

Thanks to Flylady for the swish and swipe tip and the scrub and tub. they have revolutionized my time in the bathroom.

This tip has been linked in to Works for Me at We are that Family. Check it out for more cleaning tips.

Why We Don't Have a Cell Phone

This is my Top 10 list of reasons we do not own a cell phone. There are probably a hundred reasons, but I am going to try to stick with just the top 10.

1. Some times I just don't want to be that accessible I know, I don't have to answer the phone, but then why would I carry it around, if I wasn't going to answer it?


2. I'm not a very good Mommy while I am on the phone I have a hard enough time trying to pay attention to what my kids are doing while I am on the phone at home, I cannot imagine trying to do that IN PUBLIC!


3. I tend to like having my time planned better than that People with cell phones tend to do last minute things. They allow themselves to forget stuff, because they can ALWAYS call someone to get what they need. Really, that drives me crazy. I would hate to turn into that.


4. Cell phones aren't safe This has nothing to do with cancer, or whatever. But you can't rely on your cellphone to be your safety net. What if your battery dies, what if you are out of range, or you don't know where you are. If you have not made a plan, or told someone where you are, because you had a cell phone, you can be putting yourself at risk. (despite the obvious safety benefits of having a cell phone.)


5. I can't believe how expensive they are. I also can't believe that I didn't mention this until #5. It is amazing how each little gadget adds so much every month. And people still pay it!


6. They aren't as comfortable to talk on. I would miss being able to cradle the phone under my chin while I did other things.


7. Cell phone culture is not really something I want to be a part of. You know what I am talking about. You're in the middle of a conversation with someone and they stop talking, check their phone, and then leave. What? Wait a minute? Weren't we just talking? Or worse, they stand there and have their conversation, leaving you completely hijacked.


8. Or what about cell phones in the car? Just because you may have hands free, does not mean your mind is on your driving. And what about the other people in the car? When there is somebody, anybody, on the phone the radio has to go down, and nobody can talk, because you are always on the verge of losing connection.


9. I don't like how addictive they are There are always people to call, people calling, new phones to get, new gadgets to have. I am afraid that it won't ever stop, and that good enough will never be good enough.


10. I worry about what it teaches my kids about money Am I teaching my kids the right priorities about spending time, and spending money. How much emphasis are we putting on convenience?

I write this because our long distance rates went up. Again. So hubby is doing some cost comparisons to see if maybe a cell phone could be cheaper.

I am interested if any of you have cell phones, and if you have tips for how I can fight all of my negative feelings about them. Or if you don't have one, what made you decide against.

This post is linked up to Tune Up Tuesday at Beautiful Calling

I confess...

We use credit cards.

I know, it's shameful, but it is true. We like the money back rewards that they offer. We also like that we can download our purchases into quicken, which makes it easier to budget and track expenses.

When we were first married, hubby only used cash, and he always needed more. But we had no idea what he was spending the money on. Saving receipts was not a reliable option. So using credit cards has actually made us more accountable to how we are spending money. But this may not be true for everybody.

I also don't feel safe carrying around a bunch of cash in an envelope. Anti-credit card people recommend using a debit card instead of a credit card. But if we have our credit card paid from our checking account, how is that different from a debit card? Maybe I missed that lesson.

We also take advantage of the same as cash offers that different stores offer for making big purchases. We usually have the money in hand, but put it in an interest earning account, until it is due, and then we can pay it off in full.

But paying interest is not one of our budget items. If we had to pay a percentage every month, we would have to have a serious change in our lifestyle to just be able to afford to go into debt. It is so much cheaper to just live debt free.

Some people might consider the fact that we use credit cards as us having debt, so I admit, we are not purists. Maybe some day. I also realize that our kids may be getting a skewed viewpoint about money when they just see us using a credit card at the market or gas station. But it's not like we don't ever use cash. Besides, by the time my kids graduate, we may be on a moneyless system anyway, and this way they will have learned some self-control.

Feeling Rich #2 - Living Debt Free

I had always wanted to stay at home with my kids when they were born. My hubby and I had been married for 5 years before I got pregnant with our first baby. During those years we were a two income family. My Hubby in all his wisdom put my whole paycheck toward our mortgage. We were able to pay off our house before our baby was born.

We were also lucky enough to graduate from college without school loans. So during the first year after graduation, before the wedding, we were both working and putting money away. So when we found the perfect house, we had a substantial down payment. (Plus it was a pretty good deal)

We are also naturally fairly cheap, so our expenses are generally pretty low. However, we did manage to spend lots of money before our kids were born: new furniture, remodeling our kitchen, cars, and eating out all the time. We never carried a balance on our credit cards. We must have had good training from our parents or something.

Now that we have three kids, having zero debt is absolutely crucial. We only have one salary coming in. My Hubby has chosen to work for a place that he loves and believes in rather than going for the big money job that he doesn't like. Still, we have managed to make sure that our income is greater than our expenses.

I know many people think that it may work for us, but it won't work for them, for whatever reason. What they don't understand, is that we have made this a choice in our lives. We decided that we would say no to things that we might want, so that we can get what we need. We stopped eating out all the time. We stopped buying whatever we wanted, because we wanted something better.

Food Revolution part VII - The China Study

Now, before I go any further I need to throw out some pretty serious disclaimers.

I am not a dietitian, or a nutritionist. In fact, let me go a bit further and confess that I cheated my way through nutrition in College (please don't tell my MIL who actually is a registered dietitian)! I am in no way an expert.

I also didn't completely read the China Study, I only got through the first to chapters before it was due back at the library. So it might be possible that at the end of the book the author says, "Just kidding, we just wanted to see if you were paying attention" and then publishes different results. But some how, I don't think that is likely.

Now, with that out of the way I want to share how the China study helped us with our food revolution. See, I mentioned that my MIL is a registered dietitian, which means she know stuff about health. And, well, I don't really. I'm a pretty decent cook. I have a good instinct for substituting different flavors, and pairing food combinations that can make your mouth water. But as soon as someone starts talking free radicals and bonding, I can only picture tribal fighting in Africa.

Which makes me feel dependent on people who do know what they are talking about. The trouble is, THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE SAYING DIFFERENT THINGS! I hope you got that I was yelling, because that is how frustrating it can be. I don't know who to listen to, and its my kids health that we are talking about, not just my money.

Believe it or not, reading the China Study helped me relax. Which is unusual, since it makes many people uptight and they drastically change their diet from the extreme worry over cancer that they have submitted their children to previously.

We are big on dairy around here. As babies my kids would have some form of milk (breast, formula or cow depending on their age), yogurt mixed in with something (fruit, cereal, etc.), and generally some form of cheese. My MIL encouraged this because "growing kids and breastfeeding mommies need calcium." But...

Dairy is Scary
You have heard the reports and whether or not you believe them, it still makes you wary. Hormones fed to cows? Diseases?Poor treatment of animals? Puberty arriving sooner and sooner? Food Quality Testing Scandals? Doubling and tripling Prices? May cause Cancer?

What is a mother to do? Well, after reading the China Study I decided that we don't have to drink milk every meal, and that we can get calcium from sources.
Those other sources are usually vegetables, and they are not cheap, and my kids don't like them (yet), but I can make them, and I can offer them, and I don't have to worry.

So what does this have to do with teaching kids about money?

1. Ignorance is not a good excuse for bad health
2. I can do a little bit at a time
3. I can increase the good stuff, even before I decrease the bad stuff
4. Saving money is not a good enough reason to make poor eating choices
5. It's never to late to make a good decision

Feeling Rich #3 Coming From Generous Families

This is part of a series about Feeling Rich. There are past posts #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5, and #4 that you can read before I finish off my top ten.

We have been blessed on both sides with parents who have done well. Both sets are working and putting money toward retirement.
My parents are small business owners that have just recently added 2 employees for the first time in 30 years. Yes, even in this slow economy their business is able to grow. My Hubby's folks were recently transferred to the main office, where their job descriptions and salaries grew.
Hubby's folks are concerned about education, so they have been setting money aside each year for our kids' college fund. For Xmas we usually put something creative on our list for them to get us. One year it was gymnastic lessons, another year we did a family membership at the YMCA, and other times we have had swimming lessons. I am thinking that in future years we may ask for music lessons, or memberships to museums.
I know some people are put off by being so blunt about gifts, but this is a win-win for both of us. I know that they don't really like to go shopping, but they want to get something for our family that we will actually use.
We can take pictures of the kids doing their special activities and Grandma and Grandpa can brag to all their friends about what great grand kids they have.
It keeps them in touch with what my kids are into. When they call on the phone, they have something to talk about.
The interest in the gift lasts for more than a day. Because lessons or passes last for months, they feel like they are getting their moneys worth.
We don't have to put it in a yard sale a few months later. The interests of kids can shift so quickly. And when you have too many toys, it is hard to keep up with whatever is the favorite of the day. But if you get a gift that you do, then you won't have to figure out what to do with it when it gets old or broken.
My folks on the other hand do like to shop. So it is a bit more tricky to balance the flow of stuff. I know they buy stuff because they love us, but we really don't need so much stuff. I don't want them to feel rejected if we say no to stuff, so here again I tend to share more specific needs.
My folks like to travel, so we will often go with them, and then they can be as extravagant as they want, because they are spending their money making memories with our kids, instead of making clutter.
They also like to take us out to eat. They know that this is an area that we try to keep tabs on in our own budget, so they feel it is special to be able to treat us everyone in a while.
I try to keep them updated on interests and sizes, so that when my mom finds a great sale, she can get whatever she wants, and knows that my kids will probably like it. I have learned to mostly get just winter stuff for my kids because we live where there is a lot of snow and my folks don't, so we have a different definition of dressing for the cold.
But it wasn't until after reading Gary Smalley's Book about Love Languages that I became more open to accepting all this generosity. Both sets of parents weren't giving us stuff because they thought we really needed it. They gave it because they loved us. Our family has chosen to live more simply than others, but that doesn't mean that we have to reject the gifts of love from our families.
It is also nice to see that our kids have not become spoiled by all this gift giving either. When grandma and grandpa come, they are ready with arms open for hugs, not presents.
This has also made us very thankful. Both families give us things that we wouldn't normally have gotten for ourselves. So when we use the gifts, we feel special and loved, which is the whole point of gifts to begin with.

Food Revolution Part IV - The Juice Wars

Luckily, for my family, I am cheap. I refuse to pay full price for juice. So, many moons ago, juice was not on sale. So I didn't buy it. That was okay, because I like to stock up when it is on sale, so we had plenty.
But it wasn't on sale the next time either.
Or the next.
And then we ran out of juice.
So you know what we did?
We drank water.
I can hardly believe it myself. I love Juice. My kids LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEE juice. What kind of mother does not buy enough juice for her family? What kind of mother makes them drink water?
I'll admit we went through a bit of withdrawal. We kind of quit cold turkey and took a few weeks before my kids stopped asking, "juice, please" with every meal.
There have been several sales on juice since then. I even had a coupon for juice once, and you know what I did with it? I threw it away.
We drink water now.
And we like it.
I had no idea how many benefits there would be by cutting out the juice.

1. Money, money, money ... We have saved at least $5 a week just from juice. I know, its only the cost of one cup of coffee, but still that's more than $20 a month. That $20 equals more than $240 in a year! Just for juice. I could get 3 weeks of real food for that same amount of money.

2. Better health... Now, when cold season comes along I don't have to beg my kids to drink more water. I don't have to add sugar, buy pedialight, or mix in some juice just to keep them hydrated. They drink it all by themselves. Amazing.

3. Less wasted food... Now that juice was not the main entree for lunch, snack, and dinner, my kids actually started eating real food. They were not filling up on the empty calories from juice, so they would still be hungry enough to eat whatever it was we were having for dinner. We started getting requests for seconds on food, and not juice any more.

4. More adventurous... Now that my kids were actually hungry at lunch time, I could introduce them to a wider variety of food. They actually voluntarily tried foods that I could only beg them to look at before.

5. Treats are treats... We still have the occasional juice for special occasions, or when company comes over. My kids get excited, and take their time drinking it, because they know how rare it is.

6. Adding Nutrition... We have started doing more smoothies, which everyone loves. They are even better than juice. They are cold like ice cream, but they are made from actual fruit. And I can add spinach and other goodies that my kids have not quite acquired the taste for. Yet.

7. Cleaner everything... It is so nice to not have to worry about spilled juice on the table, clothes, whatever. If water spills, it is okay, even if we don't clean it up for a while, no problem. And I am not scared to open sippy cups that I find under the backseat of the car, I know it's just water.

I never imagined that cutting out juice would have such a positive effect on our family. I thought I was just being cheap, but it turns out I was making a good decision for my whole family. Who knew? This is how teaching money and improving my kids health works for me.

Graduating Debt Free can be Life Changing

This is a highlight of a post original published at Good Financial Cents. Click the link to get the full article that I guest authored for Jeff.

Recently I ran into a former student who was at the market with her mom. We were trying to do the two minute catch-up, when her mom mentioned that she had recently gotten her SAT scores back and she was likely going to be a National Merit Scholar. The girl got a bit embarrassed by mom bragging and tried to brush it off. That is when I stopped her to say, “Graduating debt free can be life changing.”

You see, I married a National Merit Scholar, and between generous parents, multiple scholarships and working, we both graduated from college debt free. Our lives have been different from day one.

Choose a job for the fun of it

Choose a job based on location

Choose a job based on your belief in the mission

Save money for down payments

Choose where to live based on Family priorities

Be out of debt faster

Live on less


It’s amazing the choices you are able to make when the decisions are not ruled by interest rates or payment schedules.


I would really love for you to read the complete story over at Good Financial Cents. Maybe someday I will have a chance to share it here.

Feeling Rich #4 Even in a Small House in a Small Town

This is just a bit of house cleaning. I went back through my archives and realized I never finished this series about Feeling Rich. There are past posts #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, and #5 that you can read before I finish off my top ten count down.

We fell in love with our house the moment we saw it. We had only been married for 3 week. We had just returned from a moving honeymoon from California to small town Michigan. We were ready to buy our first home.

(To read more about our story, I did a guest post about the benefits of graduating debt free over at Good Financial Cents which helps explain some of our decisions on where we chose to live)

The older man who was living alone in this house was moving to an assisted living center. We were young and ambitious and saw the potential in this cute house. We didn't mind that it was 100 years old and had not been updated since 1956. It was close to Hubby's work, and it was the right price. It has the most unique fireplace on the front porch, and some great wood work in the entry.
We didn't, however, notice that there actually wasn't a shower, or a dishwasher, or that the refrigerator was in a different room. We chose to overlook the red and yellow carpet in each bedroom. We were young and ambitious when we imagined how we could transform the olive and gold kitchen
Even though we have easily put $25k+ into this house, we still feel as if we have gotten a great deal. This house has helped us choose a lifestyle that we love.
My Hubby is close to work which has many benefits. He walks/bikes to work which saves gas and commute time. He comes home for lunch, which saves huge money from eating out and time spent waiting. This also gives him time during a lunch break to run errands like the post office, or bank.
Our House is close to the town center. We can easily walk to the library, grocery store, or any of the downtown shops. There are 9 playgrounds within an easy walk or bike ride from our house.

Being centrally located is good for our social life, too. Because our house is close to the downtown, whenever we have friends in town, they often stop by just to say hi. I know this may not be a benefit to everyone, but we love spending time with friends, and not having to leave our house to have fun is just another bonus.
Back in my working days, I used to carpool. One major advantage to where we lived was that my carpool picked me up right from my front door. We didn't have to go to a more convenient meeting place.
We don't have room for more stuff. This really helps keep our expenses low. We can't buy more stuff, cause where on earth would we put it?
Despite its age, our house is easy to heat (hard to cool). We have an open floor plan, with two stories, so when we have our wood stove burning, our house gets nice and toasty. And thanks to our new, more efficient windows, it stays warmer, too.
But here is the major downside. Our house is getting too small. Our house has a kitchen, living room, office (potentially awkward bedroom), 1 1/2 bathrooms, and two bedrooms. Because of our Chalet style roof, we have major storing in our attic and basement.
Right now we have 3 kids sharing one room. Which, I know, for centuries, all around the world, people have been squeezing even more kids into even smaller places. But aren't we living in the 21st century?
So we should get a bigger house, but it isn't just the money that has kept us where we are.

Food Revolution Part V - Dinner Dilemmas

I finally came to a point where I had to admit that we may not have been eating the best foods. I also had been reading about different vitamins and how your body needs them. And that our bodies may not be getting the vitamins that they need just from the children's chewables. But I hated the fight at the table.

"Please eat more food..."
"If you eat this, then you can have a treat..."
"Just one more bite"
"But you haven't even touched your vegetables"
"I don't think you have eaten enough to be full"

I knew there were some things I needed to accept if my kids were ever going to eat good:

1. Kids will not starve themselves. If there is food, they will eat it...eventually.
2. Acquiring a taste may take months and months and months of trying.
3. Eating at the table is a privilege.
4. Just licking a food is sometimes the first step.
5. Encourage quality eating, not quantity eating.
6. If I don't buy it, we won't see it, and then we don't eat it
7. Its okay to throw away food
8. Treats are for Bravery
9. Kids don't have to eat everything on their plate
10. They will never eat it if I don't serve it.

So this was a process, one that we took on gradually. It turns out, that I may have been the one holding my family back this whole time. Once I started giving my kids decent food, and then showed them that I expected them to eat it, they did. Truly, it seemed like a miracle.

I was so worried about wasting food, that I was only serving my family food that I knew they would eat. I hated to throw away food, so I would just serve junk. Junk that I had because it was cheap, and not serving good stuff, because I didn't think they would eat it.

Well, now I can see that my motives were all wrong. I was feeding my family to save some money, not grow them up healthfully. I hope nobody was noticing, but I was teaching my kids that money is more important than health.

This post has been linked up with Tune up Tuesdays

Do Your Kids Need Money - 2. Buying Gifts for Others

"My mom picked it out."



Have you heard that before? From your child, or at a birthday party? It is not usually said with pride and excitement. How kids spend their money on other people is a great indicator for 1. how they feel about that person, or 2. how they feel about money.



Gary Chapman wrote an excellent book about love languages, entitled appropriately The Five Love Languages. Not to give away the ending, but one of the love languages mentioned is Gift Giving. Some people have a gift for this sort of thing.



You may find yourself with a child who loves to give gifts, is willing to spend whatever money he has to buy the best gift possible. Or you may have a child who could care less.



But unless you want your kids to join the countless others who go into debt ever Christmas only to waken to a plastic hangover in January, you will have to teach them...



How to buy gifts for Others



It is okay to set a budget At the beginning of the year, or just a general dollar amount per friend, setting a budget gives a sense of control on how much you can spend.



Do not be controlled by guilt Just because they gave you an expensive gift, does not mean you have to return the favor (or mistake). Stay within your budget.



Be Choosy You don't have to give everyone a gift. Make a list of close friends and family members that will receive gifts. Everyone else gets a card, or a freebie.



Stock up on Freebies or Cheapies Create a stock pile of gifts that would be great for anyone or any occasion. Art supplies from back to school clearance sales, new or like new items from yard sales, gifts that just weren't quite right for you, but might be perfect for someone else.



Encourage Hobbies Homemade cards or gifts are a great way to teach kids that their skills have value. Some kids may feel self conscience giving a gift they made themselves, such as a knitted scarf, but many of those feelings are learned.



Giving an Experience Some of the best gifts can't be opened. Going for a pony ride, having a girls night, or a chance to ride in a big rig may beat a $10 Barbie. Look at what resources you have, and find a way to give of your time, and not just your money.



Mass Production When you find a good deal on something, buy several, and do not be ashamed to give two people the same thing. Whether it is a great recipe for granola, or a copy of a great book you will be glad to get it all done at once.



Plan Ahead Good deals are not found at the eleventh hour, only junk. Keep in mind who you are buying for early in the year, so that when you see something on sale, you can buy it. Just don't hide it in your closet and forget about it until after its too late.



It is good for kids to learn how to do these things for themselves. As your kids earn money, one of the things that they should be saving for is gifts for others.

I know that my kids get way too many presents for Birthdays, Christmas, and its been more than a month since I have seen you so here's a present. Many of the things that my kids want, I tell them they should put it on their Christmas list. So a lot of the money that they earn, could go towards buying things for others.



Even if you don't think your kids are old enough to be earning and spending their own money on gifts, they can practice the act of unselfish giving. When it is time for a little brother or sister to have a birthday, your older child can "shop" from their out grown toys, until they find something that would be just right for their sibling.

My daughter got this bike for Christmas right before she turned 3. My little Prince wanted that bike so bad, despite not being able to reach the pedals.

Fast forward 18 months, and now it is his turn to be 3, and Miss Love knew exactly what she wanted to give him for his birthday. She secretly cleaned the tricycle up, and with mommies help put blue streamers on the sides, and a Lightning McQueen sticker on the back.

TaDa! It had been transformed into his very own race car bike. He was so excited, and Big sister was so proud to be able to give him a gift that she knew he would love, and it was 100% from her.

She didn't have to ask me for any money. She gave from what she already had. She learned that it's not the amount of money spent that counts, it's the amount of love.

And not having to do last minute birthday shopping? That works for me.

Do Your Kids Need Money - 1. Giving Tithe and Offering

This is part of a series Do Your Kids Need Money? No and Yes

I wrote about the reasons for giving tithe and offering in a previous post: Maybe you should read this first so if you have questions about giving tithe, you can read my rationale, even if you don't go to church.

This post is about why your kids need money for tithe. I am assuming that you believe in giving, if not, check the link above.

The act of giving does not quite have the same impact if it is not your own money. If it is earned, it is not quite as easy to give it away. The lesson comes with the sacrifice.

Kids need to earn their own money, so that they can practice being generous with it. Some kids will naturally be tightfisted with money (or any small object for that matter), while others may easily give it all away. So it is a skill that is taught.

I teach kids to give tithe when they can count objects to ten. Not just say their numbers to ten, but actually do one to one matching while they count. For some kids, they can have it mastered by 3, while others still struggle until they are 6.

The easiest way is to start with 10 pennies. Count each one. And then go back to #1. Say, "#1 belongs to God." Pick it up and put it in a different pile, jar, or envelope. The you can count out #s 2-10 and sort them however you want.

If you have more than 10, you start over at #1. Every time you say 1, you put it in the pile for God. Even if you only have 11 pennies. There would be 2 pennies for God, and 9 pennies for everything else. If you want to start counting at #2 when you count the next time, you can, but I have never found it possible to give God too much.

But something happens in that little heart when he takes out the money that he has earned with his own two hands, and gives it away without getting anything in return.

It would be easier to just grab some change, or a loose dollar bill from your wallet to give to your kid for when that offering plate comes by, but we didn't sign on to this job because it was the easy job, now did we?

We are teaching our kids about more than just money, we are teaching an attitude of gratitude.

Find more stories of gratitude @ gratituesday with heavenlyhomemakers.