😌
Five methods for a tidy home

🥑
Theeee superior baby bib (after much trial & error)

🍓
Treat yourself: Kitchen towel edition

A clean and tidy living space is an antidote to chaos of all kinds. And while I’m still learning how to achieve this well into my 30s, I’ve gotten muuuuch better at making cleaning part of my daily system so I don’t wind up with a 90-minute mess on my hands at 9 p.m. Like anything, a daily practice turns actions into habits and poof, even “messy” people can have an orderly home.

I’ve also become a collector of cleaning philosophies. Behold.

Mise en place. Ladles strewn. Kale is everywhere. If making a simple soup results in your kitchen looking like it’s been through a home invasion, then getting your ingredients and tools organized on one section of your counter before you start cooking is essential. Real chefs out there, correct me if I’m wrong, but mise en place does not technically extend to cleaning, it’s a system for prep that helps cooking proceed more seamlessly. But the bonus is you’ve kept a neat workstation that’s ready for easy cleanup. 

Reset the room. I’ve referenced this before in the newsletter, but one of the most valuable takeaways I got from the book Atomic Habits is Oswald Nuckols’ method of resetting the room before you leave. One minute of tidying in the present moment saves you from a mountain of clutter across the whole house at the end of the day. If you took it out, put it back! Which leads me to…

Everything has a home. This one’s from the KonMari Method: you have to decide where things belong. You physically cannot put an item away if you don’t know where it goes. I know there is some thing that’s been floating around your counters for the last three weeks: a piece of promotional mail with a promising coupon? Extra set of sunglasses? Parking ticket? Bike lock? Retail item you’re going to return? I can go on. Decide today where it’s gonna go. 

One deep cleaning task a day. I learned about this in the novel The Maid (greetings, cozy murder genre fans): “Monday, floors and chores!...Thursday, dust we must!” The gist is by the end of the week or month or whatever time frame, you’ve deep cleaned your whole home without losing an entire weekend, which is what typically happens around here. And saved yourself from the horror of realizing you haven’t dusted under the very back of the couch in two years. Pinterest is now serving me these pre-made checklists for this exact purpose, see exhibit A. Am I doing this? No. Do I aspire to? Yes. :) 

Shout out: Baking soda and vinegar! A staple in our house for cleaning, and deserving of extra snaps because this was the ONLY mixture that worked to lift what I believed were permanent stains from our kitchen table recently. Don’t underestimate the power of this combo. That said, a Sway aside on cleaning products: You don’t need to clean your entire home with baking soda and vinegar to reduce your exposure to chemicals of concern, though you could, quite effectively. An easy rule of thumb is to look for the EPA’s Safer Choice seal when shopping for cleaning products. 

Over to you. Seasoned tidy people: Send me your hacks! 

Mushie Silicone Baby Bib
The bib to end them all. Most importantly: The silicone pouch is big, deep, and actually sturdy, so it catches most everything and doesn’t flop open upon removal, releasing slop all over your floors, like some of the other silicone bib options. Very cute prints. Food grade, dishwasher-safe silicone. Clasps high enough to cover a baby’s neckline—less laundry to do! Half the price of the higher end options. This is the one.

Supra Endura, Organic Cotton Tea Towel—GOTS certified organic cotton
A visually pleasing kitchen towel in a spotless kitchen gives the same dopamine hit as putting on your favorite accessory after you’ve showered and gotten ready. Things are squeaky clean and you have FLAIR.

Bye for now,
Happy cleaning,
And remember you can do it with an audiobook in your ear,

Jennifer @ Sway