7 Days of Clean! {Day 2}

How to clean the Kitchen in 5 easy steps

{picture via}

It is important that you are prepared for all the cooking ahead. And as you know the kitchen is always the place where all guests end up :)

1. Clean the refrigerator. Remove items tray by tray, clean and put them back. Make sure you toss items that are expired.

2. Clean up the counters. You'll need as much space as possible so put away large items that your not using on a daily basis such as blenders!

3. Clean dishes, pots and pans as you cook and put them away immediately. Leave soaking if needed while you clean other areas. 

4. Clean up spills of stove and oven immediately before they dry and it's harder to remove.

5. Clean floors. No time to vacuum? No worries, swiffer the floors and clean up with a damp cloth

TIP: Add half cup of white vinegar on each load of dishwasher. It will leave your dishes sparkling and will remove odors from cooking

Make sure you come back tomorrow for the third day of the 7 Days of Clean series!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela

PS: Due to a busy week, I had to change to only 7 Days of Clean.

7 Days of Clean!

Day 1

How to clean your bathroom in 5 easy steps:

1. Give a quick clean to toilet, shower, sink and shine everything with #allpurposecleaner

2. Clean mirror. No smudges are allowed here! 

3. Clean floors, shake bath mats

4. Replace everyday accessories such as toothbrush, toothpaste, etc for festive ones! A candle or a bowl of ornaments are great! (The everyday items can go in the medicine cabinet or drawers these days)

5. Spray a #diy air refreshener (distill water and organic essential oils) or lite a candle

And voila! Your bathroom now looks AND feels festive!! 

Stay tuned for the next 7 days of clean tomorrow! 

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela

PS: Due to a busy week, I had to change to only 7 Days of Clean.

10 Plants that clean air…

Hello everyone!  Hope you all are having a great week!

Did you know that indoor air pollution might be three to five time higher than outdoor air?  Shocking, right?  The good news is that there are very simple ways to fix that.  According to NASA researche, plants can help purify indoor air.  It turns out, not only they add beauty to our homes but they also clean the air?!! I absolutely love that!

Below are 10 plants that will help purify the air you breath at home.

Snake plant:  Removes benzene, found in glues, adhesives and also formaldehyde found in furniture

Golden Pothos: Removes formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide which can be found in combustion fumes produced by cars. Ideal for entry ways and mudrooms.

Peace lily: Reduces volatile organic compounds (VOC) found in paint and furniture wax

English Ivy:  Absorbs formaldehyde, VOCs and pollutants emitted by computers and office machines which causes headaches and nausea

Boston fern: Helps remove formaldehyde

Lady palm:  Targets ammonia found on cleaners, textiles and dyes

Spider plant:  Removes formaldehyde and benzene (found in plastics, resins, synthetic fibers)

Red-edged Dracaena:  Removes formaldehyde, xylene (found in cleaners and paint thinner)

Chinese Evergreen:  Removes formaldehyde 

Aloe: Reduces formaldehyde

All images {via}

What do you think?  Is there a plant that you like and helps you clean the air at your home?  I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela

Let's talk clean

Oh, is this time of the year again.  Weather getting nicer, putting our winter coats away and taking our fresh skirts out of the storage.

With Spring already here, it is also time to make our home fresher, by opening windows and doing a nice-deep cleaning.
Let me start saying that small changes can make a big difference.  And switching your cleaning product is a great start!  You really don't have to go crazy and change every single item in your home (who could do that!?), but taking small steps will be a huge help for our planet and our health.

This is probably the first (and easiest) step you should take.  And since it's time for "Spring Cleaning" I thought it would be appropriate to share this with you!

I know many of you might be thinking that natural products won't work as good as traditional ones.  But as you may know I own and run a cleaning company in NYC and efficiency is just as important for us!

Also, it really doesn't have to cost more, actually if you choose the right ones they might even be much cheaper and the impact in our health is amazing.  Once you switch them you will notice your skin looks better, no more allergies, no fake perfumes, just plain clean smelling.

My favorite cleaning products are Get Clean from Shaklee.
Tip:  If you really like scented products add a few drops of organic essential oil and voila!

{MB Green Cleaning - Shaklee}

Get some microfiber cloths.  This is a win-win, works better than paper towels, since they are washable and re-usable you will save money and less trash to landfills  :)
Tip: You can throw them in the washer machine, just don't put them in the dryer.  They will loose the efficiency overtime.


Get natural rubber cleaning gloves and natural sponges.  They are biodegradable and, again, they are not more expensive than the regular ones :)
Tip: Hang them like in the picture below so they can air dry and prevent mildew inside.


How about you, did you switch to natural, organic cleaning products yet?  Which are your favorite?
Share your thoughts with us!


Thanks for reading!

xo,
Marcela

How I wash my makeup brushes...

Experts say we should wash our make up brushes once a week.  I have to admit I'm (very) bad about following their advice.  Instead I will wash them once... in awhile!
My brushes didn't look that bad so it didn't seem urgent to do it.  Since I hadn't cleaned them 'in awhile' I decided to do so this weekend.

Let's look at them before their bath...

Not too bad, right?

I usually wash them and rinse them individually, but this time I soaked them in soapy water to see the real dirt in them...

 WOW, that's pretty bad!

Then I washed them the way I usually do and rinse them under running water.  

(Note:  I always put brushes facing down so the bristles don't open up)

Then I pressed them with paper towel to get the excess of water and lie them down on a clean paper towel to air dry...

And here are my clean brushes!

Much, much better!!

I can now use them safely.  Not just makeup free, but also free of germs!

How often do you wash your brushes?  Do you have a favorite product you use? I personally like Brush Conditioning Shampoo from Bare Minerals. I know there are a lot of brush-shampoo out there, which one do you like?

Hope you have a great week!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela 

Silver...

I saw these beautiful trays at a thrift store and loved them!  They were in great condition except they were very tarnish.

This was the condition I found them...

So I decided to give a try to some silver polishers and see which would work best...

I had to scrub a little on some more with certain products.  Let's see what happened:

1. Wright's Silver Cream:  I loved the way it works.  It comes with a sponge and is super easy to use.  Doesn't smell bad at all.

2. Eco's Earth Friendly:  This was surprisingly good!  I love the fact that is "green" and worked super fast. not much scrubbing, just a add some cream on a soft cloth and apply to the tray, rinse and voila!

3. Goddard's Silver Polish:  I have to admit that I was disappointed on this one.  I honestly thought this would be the easiest to work with and was just the opposite.  It required a lot of work and it smells so strong!

And this is the final result...

 

My conclusion:  The three cleaners did the job I was looking for, my trays look shiny and beautiful! But some of them took longer to get the jobe done and some were very strong and didn't smell good.

And the winner is...

This was absolutely my favorite, it has the two things I look for on a cleaner, Eco Friendly and Works and it smells soooo nice!!

I have to say that Wright's Silver Cream worked fantastic too, I would definitely choose that one too :)

Do you have a special way to clean your silver?  Please share your trick with us!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela

Last minute dusting

As the holidays approach faster and faster there's so much to do and so little time! Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year?  I'm sure one of the things on your to-do list is cleaning your home.  That is one of the not-so-fun tasks, certainly not as fun a preparing the turkey, gravy and all that yummy food that will let us with a few extra pounds that weekend.  If you're running out of time to clean your home you can definitely call our Company and we'll be happy to help!

In the meanwhile I want to introduce you one of my favorite tools to give a quick touch up to your home:  Duster Extender.

Why I love it:

- It extends up to three feet. 

- When is not in use you can put if back to regular size for easy storage

- You can get to those hard to reach places without much effort or risk since you won't need to stand on a step ladder to get to the top of wood furniture, corners, door and window frames, ceiling fan, etc.

- Not only to reaches high but also low places such as baseboards or under very low furniture where the vacuum (or even the regular Swiffer) can't get to

- Works wonders on blinds

- The head can move to different positions for easy cleaning

- At $8.99 you can't go wrong with it!

Do you have a last minute touch up routine?  Please share with us, would love to hear from you!

PS: This is not a paid post.  Comments are genuine and my personal opinion, I really love this stuff! :)

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela

Marker stains

My daughter loves to draw and she's GREAT at it!  The only thing is that she likes to draw on a piece of paper on our coffee table.  More often that I would like our poor little table gets markers stains, like this...

OMG!! What to do!!!!

Ok, count 1-10 and then let's try this...

Yay, it worked!!!!!

I love you Scour Off!

I love happy endings, don't you?


Thanks for reading!

xo,
Marcela

Beautiful Spaces: Master Bedroom

After a long day of work we all need a good rest, and when that happens in a beautiful bedroom even better, right? Here are some inspirational bedrooms to make us dream and some tips on how to keep our bedroom nice and clean.

Via Home to Decor

Tip: Make your bed every day before you go to work. Nothing worse than coming home tired and see that messy bedroom. Once you make your bed your whole bedroom will look nicer, trust me!

Via West Elm
Tip: When vacuuming don't forget under the bed. If vacuum doesn't fit clean it with a swiffer with dry a cloth.

Via Breakfast to Toast

Tip: Use a lint roller on your duvet to remove dust, you'll be surprised at how much dust it accumulates!

Via BHG
Tip: Wash those canopies! They are usually from a very soft, sheer fabric which needs to be wash on delicate cycle and air dry.


Via The Decorista
Tip: Use lint roller to clean lamp shades


Via House Beautiful
Tip: Vacuum the fabric headboard with upholstery vacuum attachment

Thanks for reading!


Best,
Marcela

Caring for your Jeans

We all love a nice pair of jeans and probably have our favorite one.  Well it is important how you take care of them.  A little extra care will make them last longer.

(Please read care label and follow their instructions if different than these)

Wash them with care:




1. Empty the pockets.  Nothing worse than wash your jeans and realize that you had something it could stain them.

2. Turn your jeans inside out.

3. Set the machine on "Delicate Cycle" or "Cold Water"

4. If your machine has a top door, run water first and add detergent to dissolve before you put your jeans in the machine. My favorite detergent is this one, which it tough enough to remove dirt yet gently with clothes.  And it's completely free of chemicals which is good for your skin too!

5. Take them out promptly to prevent them getting wrinkled.

6. Turn your jean right side out and air dry them.

7. If you want to put them in the dryer, set the dryer in the lowest temperature.  I personally put mine for only10 minutes or less just to get the excess of water and then I hang them to finish drying.

8. Never use bleach when washing your jeans.

9. Never mix light colors with your jeans.  As they tend to fade and will stain the rest of your clothes.


Via Jcrew


Store them with Care.  Fold or Hang?


A) Fold:
Folding your jeans is one of the best ways to store them. And if closet space is an issue then this becomes an even better solution.
Make sure you lay your jeans on a flat surface, fold them in half with zipper inside the fold, then fold them again in half or three depending on the size of your shelf or drawer.
Place them in shelf making sure they don't get too close from your light color pants, as they might stain your other pants/clothes.
 


B) Hang:
Even though hanging jeans might save space, this method might be a little tricky if  hung incorrectly. Lay your jean in a flat surface, fold them in half with zipper inside the fold, then hang them on a thick hanger in half making sure they lay evenly across the center of the hanger .  Never hang them on a wire hanger you get from dry cleaners as they are too thin and will cause creases in the legs.

Via The Pink Peonies



Via Gap


Do you care for your favorite jeans? What's your method?  Let us know!

XOXO,
Marcela