Mommy Musings

Three Simple Steps for Preventing a Carpet Stain Let’s face it! As parents, we’re often faced with spills and stains that can damage our beautiful carpets! However, with fast action and the right techniques, taking care of a stain quick can ensure your carpet will remain just as beautiful as when you first bought it. The best cure for a spill is ultra-fast response. It’s important to take care of a spill before it even has the chance to become a stain, where it will be much more difficult to remove. Here are some basic steps for eliminating spills and stains from damaging your beautiful carpet. If a spill occurs, it’s important to do the following to prevent a deep, damaging carpet stain: ·          Apply a clean, wet paper towel with cleaning solution, and then dampen the carpet with it. It’s important to use the right cleaning solution, as specified by your carpet provider. Stores like Flooring America can help determine the best cleaning so...

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  One of the things I loved most about the house Skip and I own is the flooring.  It was one of the first things I noticed when we were looking at this place.  The kitchen has a light grey tile, the living room and dining room have hard wood floors, and all the rest is a light tan carpet. I love the way the light colored floors open up the house.  It also makes it easy to match them to any wall color I want.  Which is good because I tend to change paint colors at least once a year. But the one thing I don't like about having light colors floors is how hard they are to keep clean...especially with a dog and two small kids running around.  My first line of defense is vacuuming as much as possible.  Though as much as I love having a central vacuuming system, it doesn't have the suction really needed to take care of my carpets.  So I really should get a secondary vacuum t...

Spring cleaning your entire home can feel daunting. There is much to get accomplished, and it’s easy to burn out quickly. But not this year! Here is an easy-to-follow 30-day spring cleaning schedule. Day 1: List making. Print our free 30-Day Spring Cleaning Checklist , then walk around your entire home, look in every closet and drawer and note anything else you want to tackle this spring. Day 2: Ceiling fans. Dust ceiling fans and do a quick sweep of any debris that falls to the floor. Tip: While you’ve got the ladder out, replace batteries in smoke detectors. Quick Tip As part of your cleaning routine, stock up on essentials like batteries. You never know when you’ll need them for remotes, smoke detectors and other gadgets. Only Duracell® has DuraLock Power Preserve™ Technology, which guarantees lasting power for up to 10 years in storage. Day 3: Windows. Clean the inside and outside of all windows . Day 4: Baseboards. ...

This post is a perfect example about why I should blog about things as soon as I think about them/do them. A few weeks ago I came across Heather's blog post about how she made laundry detergent.  It was the first one I'd seen that was simple and straight forward.  I'd never really thought about making my own laundry detergent before, but after reading how easy it was for Heather, I had to give it a try {and yes her container is WAY cuter than mine, so follow her lead instead!} I told Skip about my plan, and after him laughing at me for 10 minutes and muttering things about us not being pioneers, Charlie and I headed out to the store. {of course I had pictures of each item and the whole process, but my phone died the day after I took them and I lost all those pictures, so you'll have to deal with the one I've got!} Ingredients 1. One bar of Fels Naptha {or any laundry soap will do} 2. One box of Borax 3. One box of Arm&Hammer Washing soda {I don't know what ...

When the weather turns warmer, everyone begins talking about spring cleaning....opening up the windows, scrubbing down the staleness of winter, shaking out all the germs.  Its a way to feel a fresh start after a long winter. But what about in the fall?  You never hear about fall cleaning.  But I'll be honest, I get the itch to deep clean come October, just as much as I do in March and April.  Before we seal up the house and hunker down for winter, I like to do a good scrub, ridding the house of all the pollen and dirt that's collected with the windows open.  There's a seasonal changing of the guards as well so to speak. Yesterday Skip and I decided to get a jump on our fall cleaning so it's all done before some house guests arrive in a few weeks.  We went through every one's clothes in the house first...bagging up the clothes that don't fit Charlie anymore, and bringing out her 18 month {!!!!} stuff.  We weeded through Emmy's clothes as well, putting a...

One of my least favorite things in our house is the tile in our kitchen. It is very nice porcelain tile...so it would be stupid to replace it. But it is just not my style, I don't think it matches the kitchen very well, and it shows the dirt like crazy! {not a good thing when you have two dogs and a toddler} I stay on top of it as much as possible, but my biggest gripe is the grout. The builder used white grout, which should brighten it and make it seem as clean as possible. However he did not seal the grout, which you should do, so it is constantly getting dirty and making the whole kitchen seem dingy. Every few months I clean and bleach the grout, but had yet to seal it because I am very l azy busy.  But the other night I decided enough was enough.  I was going to bleach and seal the grout one last night! {yucky, yucky grout} I have bleached the floor several times, and a few different ways, and this seems to be the quickest and most effective way for me.  First ...