Photo: Corbis

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How clean is your shower? Photo: Stylin' Home

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Keep the flies at bay with basil. Photo: More Quality Less Clutter

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Fido can relax on the couch as long as he'd like with this handy tip! Photo: Canine Supply Info

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Homemade dryer balls are easy as pie. Photo: Tipnut

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Got dentures? Clean away. Photo: Country Living

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Rid your home of cobwebs... for good. Photo: Victorian Fireplace Shop

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Could vodka be an outfit's best friend? Photo: Country Living

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A clean fridge makes a happy fridge. Photo: Life123.com

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When life hands you lemons... clean your kitchen! Photo: Beautifully Used

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The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home. It is the busiest place in the house, where guests and family congregate. But do you know what congregates with them? Stuff, that's what. And before you know it your counters are covered with clutter and all of your drawers resemble the junk drawer.

How do you keep your kitchen organized and clutter free?

1) If you don't use it daily, put it away. I am not a fan of appliances on the counter. At all. It doesn't take much effort to put things away and take them back out again. The only appliances that live on my counters are my coffee pot and my huge stand mixer. Some people argue for the toaster to be kept on the counter and to them I say, "Do you really eat that much toast?"

2) Keep the top of your refrigerator clear. Don't stick stuff up there. This one is going to be controversial, get all those papers and magnets and photos off of the front of your refrigerator. It makes your kitchen look like a cluttered mess. I know you think that yours looks different better, but trust me... it doesn't.

3) Store your items in your cabinets in a logical manner. Imagine yourself using your kitchen before you decide where to store your dishes. It makes much more sense to have your dishes stored near your dishwasher rather than across the kitchen. Your coffee pot is probably better near your sink, your spices and pots near the stove, napkins and place mats as close to your eating area as possible. Don't be afraid to rearrange the contents of your cabinets if you find your original placement isn't working for you.

4) If you have glass front cabinets or open shelving, make sure that the things that are visible are neat and orderly. If you have nice glassware, this is the place to store them. Decorative baskets can be used for hiding things that might not be attractive.

5) Get that spice rack off of your counter. There are several options for your spices from a rack that hangs on the inside of your cabinet door to tiered risers that raise the spice jars in the back row up so that you can see them.

6) Purge, purge, purge. Kitchen things seem to multiply on their own overnight. Go through your things with a critical eye and get rid of those that you don't use. I finally got rid of some random mismatched silverware pieces I had been hanging onto since college. Do you have older pots and pans that you aren't using? Cookie sheets that have seen better days? Cheap knives that don't even cut? A thousand and one plastic water bottles? Get them out of your kitchen and reclaim that space.

6) Pay attention to the details. Put your canned goods away with the label facing forward. Find a place to store and organize your mail other than the kitchen counter. Put your purse away in the closet.

7) Get in the habit of always putting things back where they belong. If you put your things away after you use them you will never be faced with a cluttered mess again.

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So you are moving. You are not alone. Approximately 40 million Americans will change their home address this year. Whether you are moving across the country or around the corner being organized will help things go more smoothly on both ends.

1) Purge. Moving is the perfect opportunity to lay your hands on all of your belongings. Give them the critical eye. Is it useful? Is it beautiful? Does it make your life better? If the answer to all of those questions is no, then get rid of it. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you might find a place for it at your new house. Odds are if you didn't like it enough to find a place for it at our current home, you won't find a place for it at your new home either.

2) Begin early. It is never too soon to start packing before a move. There are many things in your home that can be boxed up in advance and not missed. Seasonal items, toys, seldom used kitchen appliances come to mind first. Even decorations and pictures can be boxed up a month or more in advance. Find one area of your home to store the packed boxes.

3) Quantity. You will need more boxes than you think. Look around objectively at all of your things. Estimate how many boxes you think you will need to use. Double that number and it will probably be a good place to start. Do the same for the packing tape.

4) Think of your back. Remember, don't make your boxes too heavy to lift. There is nothing worse than struggling with boxes that are too heavy.

5) Like with like. Begin packing a box in one room and finish packing in the same room. No matter how tempting it is to just fit that one random item into that space in the box, resist the urge.

6) Label it. Label your boxes with the room they are going to in your new house, not necessarily the room they are in at your current house. Colored dot stickers are perfect for having a visual reminder. Each room has a different color dot. When you arrive at your new home stick a corresponding colored dot on the door of the room. When people are helping to carry in your boxes they won't have to pause and ask each time where you want it to go.

7) Mark it. With a permanent marker write on the outside of the box exactly what is contained in the box. Even if you think you will remember. You won't. Heck, by the fiftieth box you pack you won't even remember why you wanted to move in the first place.

8) This leads me to, mark all sides of the box. It might seem like overkill, but I assure it is not. Invariably one of your helpers will stack the boxes in the corner of the room with the labeling facing the wall. You don't want to have to move the boxes or climb on top of them just to find out their contents.

9) Get real moving boxes. Craigslist is a great resource for used moving boxes. While it is fine to collect random boxes from stores, they don't fit together as well as moving boxes. This is especially important if you have tight moving van space and/or a long distance move.

10) Use unprinted newsprint to pack fragile items with. You can get the end of rolls from your local newspaper or you can buy rolls from any of the moving van rental companies. While it is fine to use newspaper, the print will rub off on your items and you will have to wash everything on the other end of your move. Decide for yourself if saving a few dollars is worth the hassle.

11) Last On/ First Off, or things you can not live without. These will be in the last boxes to get on the truck and be the first off. Distinguish these couple of boxes somehow from all the others. Paint them red, let the children color them, whatever the case may be so that you can locate these boxes easily in the sea of cardboard.

What should be in these boxes?

Think about the items that you can not live without, or of you have children what they can not live without. Coffeemaker, coffee, DVD player, shampoo, vodka... whatever it is that you will need at your new home before the heavy duty unpacking begins.

Cleaning supplies. Designate one of the last on/ first off boxes to these items. Think hand soap, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, plastic cups, that sort of thing. Inside one of these boxes you also want a big box of black trash bags. Remember all of that paper you just wrapped your things in? Somehow on the other end of your move this paper will multiply.

Bed linens. Most likely you will want to sleep at some point after your move. Make sure that you clearly label your bed linens so that you can immediately make your beds after setting them up. Consider that part of unpacking. You will be happy later that night.

12) Random personal items such as a change of clothes, toothbrushes, that stuffed animal your child can not possibly sleep without, put in one of your suitcases and toss in your car. This is also a good place to put the remote controls, power cords, cameras, and mail. Things you don't want to get lost in the shuffle and were probably using up until the last moments.

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Make your own dish soap at home! Photo: sea turtle, Flickr

Making your own dish soap is a great for so many reasons. Homemade soaps tend to not dry out your skin and they work well for people who are allergic to commercial cleaners. But, my favorite perk is that you save money by eliminating dish soap from your shopping list. Dish soap can be made using liquid castile soap, soap flakes, or soap scraps -- so pick your preferred ingredient and those plates will be clean in no time!

Recipe #1: Liquid Castile Soap
This method is by far the easiest because the base is pre-made within the castile soap.

1. Grab some liquid castile soap from your local health food store. Castile soap refers to any soap that is made entirely from vegetable oil.
2. Mix 2 cups of castile soap with 1/2 cup of warm water in a recycled dish soap squeeze bottle.
3. For scented dish soap, add a few drops of essential oils.
4. Shake well before using

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Banish grass stains! Photo: Flickr, wili_hybrid

Summer means light-colored clothing and plenty of time spent outdoors. It also means a resurgence of one of the most difficult stains to remove -- grass stains. Whether you're diving to catch a Frisbee or simply kneeling down to retrieve a dropped object, grass stains are inevitable. But, they don't have to be a death sentence for your favorite outfit.

Grass stains are caused by the chlorophyll in the plant combined with proteins and other organic matter. Follow the steps below and your clothes will be clean in no time.

1. Be sure to treat the stain as soon as possible. If you allow the stain to dry into the clothing, it will be much more difficult to remove.

2. Determine the type of fabric that you'll be cleaning. If the material is dry-clean only, your best bet is to take the garment to the cleaners as soon as possible and identify the stains.

3. If the fabric is washable, apply a pretreatment product. Spray 'n Wash or OxiClean work well. For a DIY pre-wash, try mixing one part white vinegar with two parts water. Let the the mixture sit and soak into the fabric, then scrub it lightly with an old toothbrush. If you need to remove the stain from a dry-clean only garment yourself, you can use the white vinegar and water mixture but be sure to test it on a small, inconspicuous area.

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Did you know that air-drying your clothes can save up to 700 lbs of CO2 each year? Neither did I, and luckily for both of us, I've rounded up a few other green tips for your laundry that are 100% free to implement. I keep a list of these in my laundry room as a reminder that taking a few extra steps in my daily laundry routine can make a HUGE difference...


1. Clean out your dryer's lint trap before each use to improve efficiency, which saves energy in the long run.
[BONUS: Dryers are the third leading cause of household fires, so by keeping it lint-free, you're keeping your family safe and sound.]

2. Run the cold cycle. Trust me, it gets the job done just as well as warm, and there's even a special cold water detergent you can purchase if you don't believe me.
[BONUS: Your clothes are less likely to bleed in cold water, so when your husband throws that bright red dishcloth in with your whites, running the cold cycle will have more than likely saved your marriage.]

3. Swap bleach for baking soda or vinegar. Bleach can be harmful to the environment, so switch your bleach-infused softener to white vinegar or baking soda.
[BONUS: Both ingredients are ridiculously cheaper than softener and perform double duty when it's time to clean your kitchen.]

4. Wash in full loads to save water. Always, always, always.
[BONUS: You'll end up doing less laundry loads, which means more time with your family!]

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