Beautiful Spaces... Nursery Rooms

Last night I participated as a Speaker at  a Pregnant New Yorker event.  I spoke about my Cleaning Services and also about the importance of using safe cleaning products.  This is specially important if you have new born babies and young kids at home.
Seeing all those beautiful young moms made me think about nursery rooms. Here are some beautiful spaces I found around the web.


Image via Pinterest


Image via Pinterest


Image via Pinterest





































Image via Centsational Girl


Image via Emily Clark


Image via Made By Girl


Do you have a baby at home or are expecting?  I would love to learn about your Nursery ideas!


Hope you all have a great weekend!


Best,
Marcela

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Is your home "clean"?

When we clean our homes we want to do just that: Clean!  But sometimes we get confused with the term "clean".
When we use those chemicals are we really cleaning?  If we are putting chemicals on top our counter top and then we prepare our dinner then the term clean is not what we think.  For sure we are getting rid of dust and making our bathroom whiter but at the same time we're putting all this toxins on our homes for us to touch and to breath.
* Studies show that one in thirteen school age children has asthma and the cause could be related to household cleaning products.
* The levels of pollutants found indoor are three to five times higher than outdoor.
These facts were shocking to me.  My home is supposed to be the safest place in the world!!
But there are some things we can do in order to really clean our homes:
1. Get all your cleaning products and take a look at the label. Read the ingredients? Most of them are words we can not even pronounce! Ammonia and bleach are in the category of not good either.
2. Switch to Non Toxic cleaning products.  Is that simple!

I did a lot of research looking for the perfect product and I honestly saw the light at the end of the tunnel when I found GET CLEAN by Shaklee.

Shaklee is a great company that has everything I was looking for: Green, Safe AND Works!  And I just can not know this and not tell everybody about it!

I would love to share more details with you.  Feel free to contact me here if you would like to get more information.


Do you have a product that you love and does it all? Let us know, we'd love to hear from you!


Best,
Marcela

Spring Cleaning... Room by Room

So we are almost ready with our Spring Cleaning and today we'll talk about Dining Room and Home Office.


Dining Room
Windows:  Wash or dry clean drapes according to instructions. Wash windows with a microfiber cloth and dish soap. Make sure you clean frames and window sills as well. You can learn more about cleaning windows here.
Tip: Never wash windows on a sunny day.  It will leave streaks.


Image via dyilife.com

Baseboards:  Vacuum baseboards with brush. Wipe with damped microfiber cloth if needed.
Tip:  Clean spots with magic eraser sponge to make it look new!

Furniture:  Dust and polish furniture.  Make sure you use a cleaner that is not to oily because it will leave marks around.  Most of the time a Natural, Non-Toxic all purpose cleaner will do the work.
Tip:  Always clean from top to bottom, art wall and frames on the wall first, etc.


Home Office

Organize files making sure you keep only what you really need such as insurance policies, contracts, etc.
Clean bookshelves (and books). Empty pencil cup and get rid of pens don't work anymore.
And apply the same process we mentioned above for the rest of your office.


Image via The Decorista

Ok, my friends I believe we've finished Spring Cleaning our homes. It sure was a lot of work but the results are absolutely worthy :-)


Have a beautiful weekend!


Best,
Marcela

Spring Cleaning - Room by Room

Hi! Hope you're having a great week and enjoying the beginning of Spring!

We'll continue with our Spring Cleaning and today we'll talk about...

Kitchen
It might sound a little overwhelming but once you start it's actually kinda fun!  And believe me, it pays off the hard work so here we go!
Make sure you have all your cleaning supplies with you: Vinegar, Baking Soda, Natural-Non Toxic All Purpose Cleaner, Degreaser, Oven Cleaner (you will love this one the only natural product I've found that actually works on oven), Dish soap, a Small Brush.

1. Oven: Spray Natural-Non Toxic degreaser or all purpose cleaner in oven and sprinkle baking soda creating a paste or you can apply this paste and let it soak while you do other areas.

2.  Refrigerator:  Make sure you throw away everything that's expired or you can't recall when you bought it (it's probably expired). Take all items out and wash trays and drawers with dish soap and warm water. You can do one tray at a time so you don't have your counter full of food and then you don't know how to get them back in the fridge.  Clean both sides and back of it too.
I like this drawers a lot, it makes your refrigerator look more organized specially when you have kids and there's a lot of snacks, juice boxes, etc.


Images via Container Store

3. Microwave: Put a microwave safe bowl with water and lemon and boil it for about 3 minutes, carefully take it out and wash inside (sides and top) with sponge or microfiber cloth and little dish soap or non-toxic all purpose cleaner. Wash plate with soap and warm water.

4. Dishwasher:  First clean bottom of your dishwasher with a damped microfiber cloth.  Put a cup of vinegar on the bottom and run it on a regular cycle.  This will clean and disinfect your dishwasher.

5. Cabinets: Clean outside of your cabinets with a damped microfiber cloth and soap.  Wipe down or wash silverware tray as this tends to get a little dirty.

6. Now you can go back to oven and scrub with a sponge or brush and warm-hot water.  Clean the rest of paste with a damped microfiber cloth.
Tip: Put some aluminum foil on the racks before you bake or cook next time to prevent spills.

7. Clean appliances:  Coffee maker, run the coffee maker with clean water only as if you were making coffee.  Toaster,  clean the tray that traps crumbs, usually this is removable so it's easier to wash it with some soap and warm water.

8. Clean Counter Tops:  Use a microfiber cloth or sponge with dish soap or Degreaser to clean counter top making sure you also wipe under and behind appliances.

9. Vacuum and mop and you're all done!  Good job!



Image Via House Beautiful




So tell me, is it really overwhelming cleaning your kitchen?  Do you have a system that you'd like to share with us?  Let us know, we'd love to here from you!



Best,
Marcela

Spring Cleaning Part ll... Room by Room

Now that we got all our cleaning supplies, vacuum, mop, etc,  and we have figured out how we'll do it (all in one day or different tasks at different days) we are ready to start. Always start from top to bottom, if you have a 2nd floor start from there and from back to front of your house.   I always find helpful to start from the bathroom since this is probably the area that will need more work.

Bathroom
1. Start spraying bathroom cleaner and sprinkle baking soda (or Natural version of cream scrub or paste) on sink, bathtub/shower, toilet.
2. Scrub all areas, corners, edges, shower head, and rinse. When cleaning the toilet don't forget to wipe around and back of it.
3.  Clean inside medicine cabinets and cabinet under the sink.  Make sure you throw away everything that has expired or you no longer use as they are taking precious space. Use a small cup or container to gather small items such as nail clipper, twister, bobby pins, etc. Use small plastic bags for cotton balls, lady products, etc.
Do you keep hotel toiletries? I think is a good a idea to keep some just in case you run out of your own products but when you already have a full shoe box is probably time to sort out and give some away.
4.  Now is time to make your bathroom shine! Spray window cleaner on a microfiber cloth and clean mirror, polish faucets, shower door. For toilet use paper towel.
5. Vacuum and mop the floors and you're done!


Images via: House Beautiful

You can read more about how to clean bathrooms here.

Bedrooms
1. Wash all sheets, duvet cover, and mattress pad in hot water.
2. Dust blinds.  Wash or Dry Clean drapes (before putting in washer machine make sure you read instructions as they might shrink).
3. Flip mattress if you can, if that is not possible you can vacuum the mattress on high.
4. Ever wonder why sheets on hotel rooms don't come out? Here's what you can do to keep it in place. Put fitted sheet and flat sheet on top, make sure the top part reaches the top part of your mattress, put blanket (if you use it) a little bit below the sheet so you can fold the flat sheet over it. Now put the sheet and blanket under the mattress like and fold the corner so it doesn't come off. Like it shows on this pictures.


Images via My Home Ideas

5. Clean headboards, if your bed has an upholstered headboard vacuum with attachments. Dust and polish the rest of furniture. Always from top to bottoms, pictures on walls first, etc,
6. Vacuum floors, with brush vacuum window sills and baseboards. If your bed is low and vacuum doesn't fit use dry swiffer to get dust.
7. Mop

Now you have your bathrooms and bedrooms done. Yay!!  We'll talk about Living/Dining area and Kitchen next so stay tuned!

In the meanwhile, do you spring clean your home?  What tips would you like to share with us? Let us know!


Best,
Marcela

Spring Cleaning... Part I

I hope you all are doing good and getting ready for a nicer, brighter, warmer weather! As we get closer to Spring we wonder what to do to keep our homes fresh and clean.  It's a great time to do a Spring Cleaning. Actually any time of the year is good for this :)
Here are some tips to get started and do it like a pro!

Dress for Success
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. You'll be doing a lot of hard work and don't want your favorite top to get dirty.

Make a Plan
Set a day and time you will do your cleaning. If you say: 'Oh, I'll do it sometime next week' chances are you'll never get started.   Set goals on what you want to accomplish in terms of timing, how long you will need to clean each room, etc.  If you don't have time to do it all in one day set a specific time for a specific job (be realistic and work at your own pace). For example, Master Bedroom: Friday 10am to 12pm; Master Bath: 12-1pm; Kitchen: Saturday 11am-1:30, etc.  I recommend to do it in a short period of time (no longer than one week) and get stick to your timing so that way you will get the "mission accomplished" feeling and you'll see real results.

Get your supplies all together



Images 1-4 Martha Stewart; 5 MB Green Cleaning


Remember, you'll do this like a pro.  Gather all your cleaning supplies, tools and accessories together so you don't waste time going back and forth to the kitchen or broom closet to get that cleaner you forgot!
You can put them all together in a caddy, bucket or a bag. Here's what you'll need:

Plastic Bags (to organize small items)
Magic Eraser (Water activated, no need to add any sprays)
Bon Ami, Baking Soda or Paste
Microfiber Cloths
Microfiber Duster (or swiffer duster extender)
Small brush (a tooth brush will work great on corner and edges)
Lint Roller
Vacuum with attachments (see more about vacuums here)
Mop
Sponges
Non-Toxic Cleaners:  Bathroom cleaner , window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, degreaser. (Check out my favorite Non-Toxic cleaners here)


Coming soon.... Cleaning Room by Room.

So tell me, do you have a system to do your cleaning?  Share yours with us, I would love to hear from you!

Best,
Marcela

Beautiful Spaces... Kitchen

Hello everybody, I hope your all had a good week and are getting ready for a nice-relaxed weekend.  I want to share with you some beautiful kitchens to make us dream....


Via House Beautiful


Via House Beautiful


Via The Decorista


Via Apartment Therapy


Via Centsational Girl


Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Best,
Marcela

Organizing... Necklaces

Wouldn't you like to be able to reach your necklaces quickly every time you get dressed? It would save you so much time if they weren't tangled, right?   I LOVE necklaces and like to keep them hanging from a hook so it's easy to get them.  There are a lot of nice options out there to hang yours and get them in a breeze....

I like this wood one a lot...


This would fit perfect in a narrow place in your closet...


These are super nice to display necklaces and bracelets on top of your dresser...



What about an over the door hanger??


What a beautiful way of displaying jewelry as an art wall...


I never thought of this.... What a nice way to repurpose an item is meant for something else, Love it!


Images by:  1 Ikea; 2,3,4 The Container Store; 5 Pinterest; 6 BrassyApple


So tell me how do you like to keep your necklaces and jewelry organized? I'd love to get some inspiration from you.  Feel free to send me pictures!


Best,
Marcela

Cleaning... Bathrooms

Cleaning the bathroom is probably the least place we like to clean... I mean, it takes so much time, you don't want to deal with cleaning the toilet, etc.  Well, I have a little system that will leave your bathroom sparkling in just few steps.

First you need the right tools:  Bathroom cleaner, Baking Soda (or a natural version of Scrub Cream or Paste), Window Cleaner, 2 sponges, 1 Magic Eraser Sponge, some Paper Towel, Microfiber Cloth.

1. I start by spraying the bathroom cleaner AND baking soda on sink, bathtub and toilet.



2. Use one of the sponges and scrub sink and tub/shower. Use magic eraser sponge and water to get rid of soap scum of glass shower door. It will clean it without damaging the glass.
Use the other sponge to scrub toilet (you don't want to pass germs from toilet to the rest of your bathroom (eww!)
Note:  How will you know which is which!?  Cut one corner of one of sponges and leave that for toilet.



3. Rinse with clean water.

4. While that dries you can start cleaning inside medicine cabinet (Yes, that is something you need to do.  Believe me your guests WILL open it and look inside).



5. Start drying and make all faucets shine. Spray window cleaner to a microfiber cloth and dry and shine faucets, counter, shower wall and door, bathtub... Don't forget to clean around shampoo/conditioner bottles.  And finally dry toilet. Do it from top to bottom: water tank, cover, front, sides and behind.



And your good to go. Now enjoy a bathtub with sea salt, Ahhhh!

Images via: 1 BHG, 2 Scotch Bright, 3 Martha Stewart, 4 Pottery Barn

Do you have a system to clean your bathroom?  I'd love to know.  You can check my favorite cleaning products here.  If you have any questions about them email me.


Best,
Marcela

Beautiful Spaces.... Home Offices

I'm always inspired by beautiful spaces. How cool this Home Offices are?

Look at this place. Love the baskets on top of the shelves, so stylish and you could store lots of things without making a mess. I also love that chair!
Tip:  Don't forget to lift baskets and dust top of the shelves. We usually tend to forget high top shelves.  If we do it regularly we don't need to spend a lot of time on them, a quick dust once a week and you're done!



Look at this gorgeous place. I love the clean look of white and pop of color (and the shiny floors!)
Tip:  Use a lint roller to clean lamp shades.  It will get all dust without damaging the fine fabric of shades.


































I love the mix of bright pink and zebra print.
Tip: When cleaning soft surfaces like the tables below don't use abrasive cleaner. Actually, a soft microfiber cloth and water will do the work!



























Same for this beautiful white cabinet, microfiber cloth and water.  Also, make sure you clean all finger prints you'll leave when opening mirrored doors.




Images by: 1,2 Better Homes and Gardens; 3 BHG Small Space; 4 Design Heaven


Tell me... How do you keep your Home Office?  Please send me some pictures, I would love to see!



Best,
Marcela