Pampered Mom's "Steam" Cleaning

One of the first things that hubby and I do when we're spring cleaning is STEAM & Shampoo the carpets.  It's amazing how dirty they can get within 6 months, especially if you have pets like we do.  

We don't use any fancy products at all, we literally rent a shampoo carpet cleaner and use a pre-mixed solution with EXTREMELY HOT water.  That's it.  When it's all said and done, the carpets take a full day to clean, and a full night to dry.  Try not to walk on the carpet if you can during the drying process.

 

 

We also move all of our furniture out as well, there's no point in cleaning carpets if you can't move at least the lighter pieces.

The Pampered Mom's Favorite Room Fresheners

 

Do you have rain mate or an air purifier?  After I get done "Spring Cleaning" my house, I always add a little Mrs. Meyer's Room Freshener to my rain mate and fill the room with a clean aroma.

 

In the kitchen I always use Lemon, Bathrooms usually a floral scent and bedrooms I stick to lavender.

 

What do you use to refresh your rooms?

 

I have found that I can only purchase these online, as they don't sell them in the stores near me.  A bit pricey, but it's totally justified!



The Pampered Mom's Spring Cleaning Checklist

To Download the Checklist, Click HERE.

 



It's Spring Cleaning Week ...

 

It's ...  Spring Cleaning Week!

We'll be posting our new & revised Spring Cleaning Checklist Tomorrow!

 



The Pampered Mom's: Williams-Sonoma's Simmer

  Hello Spring!  

We are in full Spring-Cleaning mode here at the Imhoff Household.  Every year we purge the house until it looks, smells and feels like the first day we moved in.  Forget attachment to items, we're usually ready to get them out the house, only to make room for the new finds and steals throughout the next year.

This year is a little different.  We are gearing up to sell the house, and hopefully have it on the market within the week.  Which really puts a new meaning to CLEAN!  It's my opinion the home buyers not only buy the house, but they buy the lifestyle.  It's your job as the seller to create the look, feel and style they desire to live.  I do this a few different ways, which I'll be sharing with you over the course of the next week.

One of my favorite go-to aromas when getting ready to show the house are 1. Eucalyptus [clean and relaxing smell] and also, the Williams-Sonoma Simmer, which is what I'll share with you today.

The Pampered Mom's: Williams-Sonoma Simmer

 Super easy to create on the spot ... you'll need:

1. One to Two cups of water
2. A freshly cut lemon, sliced thin

3. A couple of sprigs of Rosemary [I grow my own]

4. A teaspoon of Pure Vanilla

Throw it all into a pot on your stove. Once it boils, turn to simmer and you're house will be smelling good in no time!  *You will most likely need to add water throughout the day if you'll be simmering for a while.

 Nothing beats a clean, good-smelling home!  I will also save back a few lemons and fill up a clear bowl on the kitchen as well! 

Mrs. Meyer's Room Fresheners

People ask me all the time how I get my home smelling so great. It's true, and I never thought it was that big of a deal. But I am learning quickly that if you are going to have a clean house, it needs to smell clean too!

It wasn't until the pizza delivery guy asked me what I used that I thought I would blog about it... because well, if the pizza guy thinks your home smells good ... you may want to share the secret!



My secret is simple, Mrs. Meyer's Room Fresheners. I was able to buy them around town in Walmart, TJ Maxx or HyVee but lately I haven't been able to find them. I love them so much that I placed a bulk order online and had them shipped. For the price of a small candle [$4.99] you can't go wrong!

You can use them the traditional way, or you can use them in a room air freshener system because they are pretty pure. I use the room fresheners in the Rainbow Rain Maker ... and it fills the room with the best smell. I use Lemon scent in my kitchen and bathrooms, Gardenia in the family room and living areas, and lavender in the bedrooms. Ahhh ...

Also, here's a little secret. If you are getting ready to have company over after work and you don't have time to run home and clean clean clean, just spray a bit of the lemon scent in the room and bathroom and it will smell like you have been cleaning ALL DAY LONG!

So there it is ... my "cleaning" tip for the week!

{Fall Cleaning}

Anyone else go into full nesting mode when the leaves start falling? It's like that first Spring like day where you open up all the windows and start dusting and ti dding things up ... but in fall. The leaves start changing and the feeling of being trapped inside the house for months overcomes you. I for one start throwing things out, putting things on craigslist, and just have an utter dislike for things in my house. I think it's my bodies way of telling me "It's almost Christmas and you have NO WHERE for the new toys to go .... time to start purging." Which I guess is a good things since it's true.

It's not only getting rid of items in the house, but cleaning is in full effect. Yesterday I took every single mattress off the bed, cleaned under the beds, put a mixture of baking soda and lavender all over the mattress and vacuumed them entirely. I told you it's like nesting ... but I promise I am not prego... PROMISE this time :)

Many of you asked me yesterday about the baking soda and lavender mixture ... so I thought I would let you in on my little secret for "Deep Cleaning" those mattresses ... which by the way, should be done at least twice a year!

Go to the store and buy the large box of baking soda ... you'll need it if you are doing multiple mattresses. Then purchase some lavender oil [really any nice oil will do, but I use lavender because it technically means "clean" and lavender helps the body fall asleep.] I will add 2 cups of baking soda and about 10 drops of lavender oil to a food processor. I use a processor because I like it all mixed together really well. Once everything is mixed, apply it to your mattress. It should be applied to the mattress itself. Now, let it sit for an hour. This will take out all the moisture and bacteria. While you are waiting, wash all of your sheets, you don't want to put on dirty sheets to a clean mattress :)



Once you have waited and cleaned the sheets, bring in your hand held vacuum and clean up all of the baking soda. You're room should smell fresh and clean! Make sure to get it all! Afterwards, put back on your clean sheets, and get really for a peaceful nights sleeps! This also takes care of bed bugs,etc if you have a problem with those!