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.