Tipping Tuesday

I have 5 kids which translates to a lot of cleaning. And the little rugrats can't seem to grasp the concept that red Kool-Aid does not belong on my carpet. So until I make them understand I had to find a solution to save my sanity and not put me further into the poorhouse. By golly I think I've got it! Hydrogen peroxide. Yep. That stuff you can get in the dollar store in the brown bottle. I read it on some web site, and thought I'd try it and was pleasently surprised. I put some in a spray bottle, sprayed the spill and blotted it up with a white towel and presto, no more red juice on my carpet. A couple of spills I let sit long enough (okay, I couldn't find a clean white towel) and it disappeared withno further assistance from me. It's cheap and it works, what more can you ask for?

Tipping Tuesday

Keep your drains clean and clog-free. Once a week I pour about a cup of baking soda down all the drains in my house. Follow it with vinegar. It will bubble up like crazy (remember making volcanoes as a kid), but it's supposed to do that. It's cheap and a lot less gross than digging the hair out of your tubs drain with your hands. Sometimes I finish it off with boiling water and sometimes I don't, either way the only time my sinks or tub gets clogged up is when Bear (my 2 year old) decides to stuff them with toys, or toothbrushes, or clothes, or change, or keys, or a whole roll of toilet paper complete with cardboard roll at once. In which case, baking soda won't work.

I have 3 wonderful little boys, 2 of whom are potty trained. I thought I would be smart and teach them to sit and use the potty. One day my sister took the oldest out and not wanting him to sit on a public toilet told him to stand "like a big boy". That's all she wrote. They must now stand which means I am mopping my bathroom floor about once a day. Who has time, right? Instead of trying to find the time, or assigning the kids an extra chore, I fit it into our bedtime schedule. Now in the evening, I put the youngest boys in the tub, wash them up and then let them play. While they're playing I clean my bathroom. I use lavender scented Comet (my favorite) or baking soda (cheap and just as effective) so they aren't overwhelmed with fumes and I take 10 minutes or less to wipe out the sink, swipe the toilet bowl out, wipe down the mirror and spot mop behind little boys who haven't quite perfected their aim.
For those of you with wee little ones, it can sometimes feel like you're always cleaning up after them, what are some things you do to keep it managable?