How to Save money on Carpet and Furniture cleaning

 

I got my carpet and furniture cleaned today, and it feels so good.  If you’ve done this recently, you know it can get costly – fast!!  Especially the furniture.  I happen to have not one, but two couches both have removable cushions on the seats and the backs, and an over-sized chair, all which means more $$$.

Now getting your carpet and furniture cleaned is good not only for increasing the life of the product, but it also helps the house to remain cleaner and smell better too.  They recommend getting this done every 3 to 6 months, but frankly who has the time or money for that?  I’d like to share a few of my tricks and tips for keeping the furniture and carpet clean without breaking the bank. 

 

First of all, invest in a steam cleaner.  They cost around $200, but having a machine in the house means you get to clean on your schedule.  I often find myself doing one room or cleaning up that occasional pet stain or chocolate milk spill.  My favorite quick clean is that area of rug that gets so much traffic that it gets way dirtier than the rest of the house.  I give it a once over before bed, and in the morning it’s dry and ready for action.  The money you spend will end up being money in the bank.  I do things I would never pay to have someone else do like my ottoman, dining room chairs and  office chair.  My favorite steam cleaner is the Bissell Proheat Carpet Cleaner.  It is currently regular priced at $209 at Kohls, but if you get a 30% coupon, you can get it for $146!  The reason I like this one is that it has a built in heater, which keeps the water nice and hot.  I also like to put in about 3 drops (don’t use any more than that!) of liquid Tide.  The Tide really boosts the cleaning power, I think it’s just better at dissolving dirt.  The three drops mean no residue to attract more dirt.  If you are worried about the time it will take, I find it take me usually about 20 minutes for a normal sized room.  Having my steam cleaner means I usually only have a professional come out once a year.  The steam cleaner is such a smart investment. 

 

Next, call around for prices.  I find that if you find a local guy who does the work himself and has been in business for a while(my guy has been in business for 23 years), they will do the best jobs at the best prices.  I’ve used the big companies and felt that the job was less while the price was more.  Ask family and friends for recommendations, and visit websites for coupons and to get a feeling for the company.  Don’t be afraid to ask if they have any specials and don’t be afraid to say thank you for the price, but I am just shopping around right now.  That statement alone may prompt a new price or an offer to price match.

 

My third money saving tip is Don’t buy the Stain guard!  Today they offered to apply a stain guard to my furniture, for an additional $85!  Wow!  That’s a lot of money for some invisible spray.  I go to the store and buy a couple of cans of Scotchgard Fabric protector.  The way I see it, most of my dirt happens on the lower 2/3 of the seat cushions, so why spray on more than I need?  Dirty feet, food, spills, dog feet are the biggest offenders.  The back of the seat cushions are covered by the back cushions, and not much gets on the back cushions, although if you have some greasy heads, you might rethink that.  As a matter a fact, all of this is my personal opinion based on my family.  My kids are a little older now, so if you have crazy young ones, buy more fabric protector! 

This is what I purchased.  I got this at Kroger today.  I was in a rush and was trying to save time by not going to another store.  It cost $10.95 for a can, but when I looked it up online I saw you can buy it for $5.35 a can at Walmart.  That’s quite a savings in itself!  Especially since you will need a couple of cans.  Now I’m mad I just got ripped off.  I spray this on right after cleaning my furniture and it is almost dry.  

And remember to vacuum regularly and cleaning up spills as soon as possible.   Hope these tips help you to save a few dollars on steam cleaning! 

 

Have a great day.

Upcycled Garden Shed Window

A couple of Saturdays ago, my husband headed out to 2 barns sales at our two favorite barns.  Imagine that they would both have a sale on the same day!  And instead of going to just look, we actually had a project in mind.  We have been wanting to add a faux window to the side of our garden shed.  I wasn’t entirely optimistic about this, since usually when you are trying to find something specific, you just can’t find what you are looking for.  I’m sure you know what I mean, it’s like seeing a ton of cute dresses when you are not in the market, and then when you really NEED one, nothing!  But, the stars must have been aligned that day, because we found just the pieces we needed at three different vendors, and each and every piece was the perfect size and compliment to the other.  A galvanized tray was found for $14, and the shutter set was $5, the last piece needed was an empty window frame (no glass wanted) and we found it for $10.  So, happy with our finds, we headed home and had fun putting it all together.

The first step was to put up the window frame.

Then we added the shutters.

The galvanized tray needed a slight alteration to make it lay flat.  My husband took care of that.

Looking good, but needed to be jazzed up just a bit.  So I added the words Le Fluers to the tin.

And of course added some flowers!

And then it was done!  The side of the shed looks much happier now!

Don’t you just look when a project comes together??   Me Too!!!

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American Wreath

Found myself checking in at the Dollar Tree this week.  Lots of graduation party supplies and kids summer toys going on in there right now, but I also spied some Americana décor that I couldn’t pass up.  My mind once again went to a wreath, and I thought why not!?  So I collected a few items and headed home.

I started by painting the grapevine wreath white and wrapping the  necklaces around the wreath and secured with a glue gun. 

Looking better already!  I then took some wooden stars I had on hand and attached some springs to the back.

The next step was to dip the stars into some glue and then into glitter.  I always swear I won’t glitter again and some how it always finds it way back into my life.  What can I say, I like a little sparkle!

I then attached the America sign to the back of the wreath.  I actually just glued the string from the sign around the back of the wreath, but didn’t attached the sign, just in case I want to take it off later and repurpose it.  Afterwards I attached the bow, which had just had a twisty tie, so it was so easy.  And that was it.  Here’s the finished results:

The total cost of this project was about $5.  I purchased the springs for Home Depot.  They were around $4 or $5, I think, but you get 84 springs in assorted sizes. 

Hope you are having a great day!!

Diane

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Personalized “Quote” towels

This past weekend my mother-in-law turned a very special number.  She would kill me if I told the world what “number” that was, so we shall leave it a mystery.  I really lucked out in the MIL department.  She has always treated me like one of her own.  I love her so much, and feel so lucky to have married into a great family.  We decided to honor her at a surprise dinner.  The thought was to shower her with gratitude and appreciation for all she has done over the years for all of us.  I wanted my kids to let her know how much she means to them, but I knew they would never get up and speak the words in front of others.  Instead, I asked them to give me a thought, quote, memory, or feeling that reminds them of their grandma.  Once they had given me their quote, I used transfer paper to put the words onto a flour sack towel. 

      

My daughter said, “My Grandma is the nicest, sweetest, prettiest person I know!” and my son said, “My grandma is prettier than a butterfly and smarter than a scientist!”  I then printed their names on the bottom of the quote with the date. 

Now she can be reminded every day while in the kitchen of how much she is loved. This is a great idea that can be used for a variety of occasions.  You could make one for your child’s teacher, a birthday, Christmas or Mother’s Day gift.  This is also a great idea for remembering those funny things that your kids say.  Preserve that cute little saying on a towel and everyone can giggle about it everyday!

TIP: Remember when using transer paper to always choose the mirror image setting on your print page.  The print needs to be in reverse or when you iron it on it will be backwards.

 

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Tool shed Pallet Sign

Here’s a quick sign that my husband whipped up yesterday evening for his shed out back using pallet wood. 

Really easy to make, he just attached some wood together, stenciled on the letters and attached a couple of old tools. 

It makes a cute addition to the shed.

I love it when my hubby gets crafty!

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2 Hydrangea Wreaths

Purple or blue?  Too hard to decide.  Why not one of each?

The purple one is a dollar store noodle, wrapped in white muslin fabric and burlap strips, fringed at the edges.  3 purple silk hydrangeas, stems cut down, and the leaves hot glued to surround the flowers.  Finished it up with a sweet bird nest filled with flowers. So soft and romantic.

The blue wreath uses a foam wreath base, again wrapped in muslin strips, with 3 bands of gorgeous designer ribbon.  3 hydrangeas cut down, leaves glued along the bottom, and a burlap snail resting on top.

Which is your favorite?  Mine is the purple, no wait, it’s the blue. . . Well I have more accessories for the blue, but the purple is so pretty.  Sigh. 

Just think, another month or two and I should have some real hydrangeas to love.  Until then, my wreaths will keep me happy.

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Quick & Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup

What a busy weekend we had.  We took my son to the Great Wolf Lodge for his 10th birthday, and returned with just an hour to spare before we needed to be at football practice followed immediately by a game.  The whole time it poured on us.  When we got home it was after 5:30Pm.  We were cold and hungry, but of course, I had nothing started for dinner.  I whipped up this soup that completely hit the spot on a cold spring day.  It was so easy, and to be honest my inspiration came from my freezer left-overs.  The whole thing took a matter of 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to heat up.  Here’s what I used:

-the rest of the bag of Tyson frozen Grilled and Ready chicken breast strips, cut into chunks (you could also use left-over chicken breast, adding as much as you like, I used maybe less than a half bag)
-about a half bag of frozen tortellini (any brand you have)
-about 1 cup of Meijer’s organic Salsa, mild (again whatever you have on hand would work, use less if you want it less spicy)
-2 cans of Campbells cream of chicken condensed soup
-1 can of water
-1 tsp of cumin
Toss everything in the pot, stir and heat for about 10 minutes.  Make sure to stir a few times while cooking, as the cream soup tends to stick to the bottom of the pan.

I added some Tortilla Strips for crunch on top. I got these at Meijer. I think adding some corn to the soup would have been a good idea, but didn’t today.   Then I just added some grilled cheese sandwiches, and it was an amazingly filling and satisfying meal. This made a pretty big pot of soup that would probably feed 4. I love it when something I throw together works so well.  I would totally make this again!!  

 

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Caulk as rug gripper–A Pinterest test

 

 

Several months ago I Pinned the idea of using caulk as a rug gripper and have been thinking about doing it because my dog is always tearing around the house and leaving my rugs grippers showing.  Tired of always fixing the rugs, I decided it was time to put this to the test. 

 

 

All you have to do is flip the rug over and apply strips of caulk to the back.  So I applied the caulk and set it up to dry.

 

 

Round one:  Caulk fails to adhere to rugs.

 

 

Round 2:  applied Caulk making sure to press down into the rug.

 

Dry again for 24 hours.  Notice the little dog nose in the corner.  She’s thinking, “Is this going to ruin my fun?”

Rugs go back down.  The first thing I notice is the rugs still move around.  Oh no.  Decide to give it a few days to see how things go.  I take up the rugs a few days later and notice that even though I made sure caulk was completely dry before I put them down, the caulk is sticking to my floors in some places.  I also notice that the caulk is still very easy to remove from the back of the rug. 

 

So do I recommend this Pin?  No.  Sorry, it just didn’t work.  My rug grippers are back beneath the rugs.  One good thing is that the grippers seem to grip onto the caulk, and are not showing as much, so I don’t know maybe that makes this is not a complete failure.  Also, after I did the caulk, I went back to the pin, and read some comments.  Many people claimed the caulk left oily marks on their floors and felt their floors were ruined by this.  Probably should have read up on that first! 

 

Didn’t work for me

 

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Cleaning Grease off cabinets

Just a little update on this post.  First of all,  who never this silly little post on my dirty cabinets would be so popular!?  I suppose many people have this problem.  So before you read on, I just want to clear up a few things that I've received many questions and/or comments on. My cabinets are not real wood.  They are thermafoil coated, thus making this totally safe to do.  As I originally stated,  I would use caution on real wood, and personally wouldn't even recommend it, but if all else has failed, proceed with caution!  Next, this is NOT a sponsored ad by SoftScrub.  Just my little ole opinions! And lastly, these cabinets came with the house when I bought it, grease grime and all.  I'm just happy to have finally discovered a remedy!!   So read on and clean on!



I have had a dirty little secret!
Everyone always tells me how clean my house is.  It’s not really.  Not since I’ve had kids. You’ve seen those cute little signs, Excuse the mess, we are busy making memories or Excuse the mess, we live here?  Well that’s not really my style.  In fact, my house is nothing like the clean it used to be before the kids.  I’ve grown more accustomed to the mess, but so many little things tend to get over looked these days.  Many people have exciting goals like running a marathon or skydiving (and I may have just become the biggest loser because I just googled Common goals people have, because I couldn't come up with 2 good ideas), you know what I’ve always wanted?  To put my house on the market and have the ad say, “Mrs. Clean lives here”.  I’m not kidding, I actually told my realtor I wanted that on my add.  She said, your house will sell itself.  OK, she was right, but I really wanted that at the time.  

One thing I’ve been over-looking lately is my kitchen cabinets.  I’m home cleaning today and thought, maybe today’s the day to get that grease off the cabinets.  Now keep in mind, I've never been able to get these cabinets truly clean since I moved into this house.  I've tried every type of cleaner, but the grime above the stove top cabinets just never seemed to come off.  Years of build up have left them a mess. I wipe down my cabinets frequently, since they are white and show any dirt, but I do tend to “overlook” these top cabinets because I never could seem to get the grime off. So, get ready for some ugly, because here is what my cabinets looked like a few minutes ago (embarrassing photos enlarged and close up for detail to follow):




So this is the top edge along the ceiling.  I have those god-awful therma-foil cabinets and for lack of a better term the surface is “pockey”. That means there is a little texture that allows dirt and grease to accumulate.  I think the top picture shows best how greasy these cabinets were.  I’ve tried many products before, but today I decided to go for some simple soft – scrub and a warm dish rag. 

 

I love the lemon scent and use this for a lot of my cleaning.  I poured it on my dishcloth and just rubbed it on the grease, and just like that, all of the grease and grime came off.  I’ve tried many other cleaners and de-greasers and seriously never got such great results with not much elbow grease needed at all.  I might suggest if you are working over your head that you wear some protective eyewear, because trust me when I say, you don’t want your break from cleaning to involve trying to get soap out of your eye!  Just sayin.  So, I now proudly show you my clean cabinets!

I was not compensated for my opinions in this post, just little ole me sharing my daily mundane chores and the results I got.  Sometimes it seems the simplest products just work the best.  If you try this, remember to wipe down with a clean rag after, to remove any left-over product.  If you decide to try this on wood, I would test it on a small area, and don’t scrub too hard! 

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my ever exciting life! Alright, I’d better get back to work!

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Planter–From Dated to Aged

 

I recently found this brass planter at a local thrift shop.  It’s a nice big planter and it was only $7. 

I thought it was cute, but a bit 1980’s.  So I decided to paint it with some Annie Sloan paint I had lying around.  I used Old White as the base and followed it with French Linen on top.  Afterward, I sanded it down to age it a little, and applied a coat of car wax over the top to protect it from the weather. 

It’s in the house right now, since it’s too early to put plants outside.  Once it gets warmer I plan on moving it outdoors.  I’ll post a picture when I do.