Ideas on how to clean and organize the home

The Butler Speaks ~ The Art of Housekeeping

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I have a lot of wonderful friends in the social media world. One of my friends Mrs. Shery tagged me in a photo of a book called The Butler Speaks: A Return to Proper Etiquette, Stylish Entertaining, and the Art of Good Housekeeping. I was truly intrigued by this. So I jumped on Amazon to find it and was really happy to see that it had the “look inside” feature.

So I was able to take a quick peek inside the book and may I say it caught my attention. I have the first Kindle so I tried to download a “sample” to it but I could not find it. I always try to download samples to my Kindle before I commit to buying a book. So I took a risk and went ahead and order it.

I don’t think I will regret this purchase. I read a few pages on Amazon and I was truly pleased.



Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash


Here is what author Charles MacPherson had to say about housekeeping:

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, cleaning was a matter of pride and decency. Harsh techniques and chemicals were used to clean practically everything in the home. What we have learned today is that cleanliness is possible, even preferable, without the use of toxic chemicals. In fact, harsh techniques and chemicals actually damage the surfaces they touch. 


A furniture conservator and friend of mine, Mr. Greg Kelly, once described our role in caring for household items as “custodians of fine furniture for future generations.” Before he said this, I’d never thought of my butlering role this way. Instead of concentrating on the drudgery and stress of maintaining the cleanliness of every object in a household, I was heartened to think of my role-and indeed the role of all the household staff as that of a preserver of a kind of legacy. 






photo credit Olivier Bergeron

After reading that I thought wow…… my have things changed. We have no care for what our homes look like. In fact, people care less about how they look and live now than ever before! We have so many things to help us yet we are so lazy! I absolutely refuse this! My home is always clean and always will be. I agree with what he said, cleaning was a matter of pride and decency. Let us bring that back. 


                                Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
I will be sharing more from this book. I believe we will enjoy it!

(text Charles MacPherson) 


Ideas for Laundry

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Washing clothes is a chore that most of us really don’t like doing. I don’t really mind it because I like clean clothes and I love it when I can get tips on how to make it better.

One of my favorite bloggers and interior designers Nicole Gibbons gave some great tips on some daily items. See her tips below…

How Often You Should Wash Your Jeans
Every 4-5 Wears. While some say you should never wash your jeans, I recommend washing them every four-five wears. Be sure to turn them inside out and always hang them up to air dry! Here is a favorite product for washing your denim.
How Often You Should Wash Your Bras
Every 3-4 Wears. Try not to wear the same bra more than two days in a row which will help it keep its shape. The best way to wash them is the good old fashioned way… in the sink with a little gentle detergent. If you’re too busy to wash your bras by hand, put them inside a mesh bag specifically made for washing lingerie and run them on the cold, gentle cycle in your washing machine. And your bras should never go in the dryer- it will break down the elastics making them less supportive and also cause your underwires to pop out over time. Lay them flat to dry. If you’re looking for a lingerie wash bag, find some great options here, here and here.












How Often You Should Wash Your Sheets
Even I am guilty of this one but you should be washing your sheets once a week in hot water to kill any germs that have accumulated. A great hack is to put a tennis ball in the dryer with your sheets which will help keep them nice and fluffy.
Clean Your Mattress! 
Now, this is one surprising item you’re probably not cleaning! But – over time, dust mites and other gross stuff buries into your mattress – yuck! So its a good idea to give the top of your mattress a good vacuum once every six months to suck up all the dust mites and any other living organisms. If your mattress has any stains, just use a cloth and an upholstery shampoo to clean it. I also recommend using an allergen protecting cover for your mattress which will help prevent dust mites.  Any hand vac will do but here’s one specifically made to remove microscopic dust and allergens from your mattress.




Photo by Trend on Unsplash

Clean Your Purse!
Inevitably, you’ll set your purse down somewhere that’s bacteria-infested… A table at a coffee shop, a bar stool at a restaurant or even the floor which is swimming in bacteria – ew! To keep it clean, use a disinfectant wipe to clean off the bottom and inside of your purse once a week!
See my blog entry here about how I clean my bags!
Wash Your Dishwasher!
Wait, what? Yes, that’s right. While your dishwasher doesn’t seem like an obvious item that needs cleaning, the moist environment is a breeding ground for mold and fungus. To combat this, an all-natural hack is to fill a cup with vinegar set it on the top rack with the dishwasher otherwise empty and run a cycle on hot. This will naturally sanitize the inside of your dishwasher!
I do this once every couple of months. 

I love these tips and will be printing this list out. To read the original article from Nicole see here. Also, read my blog entry here about the Laundress. Enjoy washing!!!
( text via Nicole Gibbons)

Travel Garment Bags

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We all love traveling but the only hard part about traveling is packing!!! I always try to make sure that I find items that will make packing fun and organized. I saw these beautiful travel bags at my local Talbots store.

They are great!! I ordered them online during the “Black Friday” sale and only paid $19 after shipping!!! What a steal!!! I love them. They are so chic and will make you feel like a million bucks when you open you suitcase and see your lovely garment bags keeping things organized and beautiful.

This bag is called “unmentionables”. I love it!
My garment bags at home. They came beautifully package like this.

Talbots Travel bags

This is the “wash and fold” bag.

This bag can be used for shoes and other garments.






On the back of each bag has the “Talbot”s 
signature on it. Very chic….

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Garbage Disposal Refresher

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I think this is a simple and great idea! I normally use lemons but oranges sound even better. I saw this on the Style Me Pretty Living website. The article is called “How to Clean your Whole Kitchen with 10 Basic Ingredients”.  You should definitely read it if you have the time.





CITRUS GARBAGE REFRESHERS

Put a few citrus peels into a muffin tin or ice cube tray and fill with vinegar. Freeze until solid and transfer to lidded container. To use, put a cube down the disposal and run it. The ice actually helps to sharpen the disposal blade, and your smelly kitchen will be replaced with a super yum citrus scent!

photo via Style me Pretty

Matching Hangers

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I was standing in my closet recently trying to figure out ways to make it look more orderly when the idea popped into my head about matching all my hangers! I thought, “let’s get all black hangers and see if that will help it look more orderly”. Well, I went and purchased some at the store and Voila!

I think it makes my closet look much better. What do you think?

My closet “before”.

My closet “after”.

Looks so much better!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

How to Fold Hospital Corners

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I didn’t really understand this concept until I saw a how-to -video from Ballard Designs. Once I saw it I loved the way it looked. It also got me thinking about my fitted sheets. Sometimes those are so hard to get on the bed and this would be a nice change every other week. So I think I am going to give the hospital corners a try. Below is the how-to-video from Ballard Designs. Enjoy!


Photo by reisetopia on Unsplash
To watch the how-to video click here.



Refreshing Your Bed

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I love climbing into a nice cozy bed every night. But what really makes it nice is when your bed smells wonderful. Over the last several years, I have always sprayed my bed with some sort of linen spray. I especially love anything floral.



I am always excited when I come across home-keeping videos on YouTube. I loved these two videos from One Kings Lane about how to refresh your bed. I hope you get some ideas. Enjoy!

Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe on Unsplash

To watch how to Refresh your Bed click here.
(photos via google)