Tip for Tuesday: Static Cling Fast Fix

It's that time of year, dry air plus dry skin and clingy fabrics... static cling is in the air!

I have found that the best way to fight static cling is also really great for your dry skin- just use lotion!

That's right, no sprays or sheets required. If you will be wearing pants or a top that has the potential to cling just put lotion on before you get dressed. If your skirt starts to cling during the day, apply a bit of lotion to your legs. Wearing tights? Lotion up before you put them on to keep layers from clinging.

How's that for a win-win? No static cling and bye-bye dry skin!

{Friday Favorite} Bouncing Woolies + GIVEAWAY!

This post is not a sponsored post, however the giveaway is sponsored and provided by Bouncing Woolies. All opinions are my own.

I am so excited to share this product with you all! I met the owner of Bouncing Woolies when our kids were in swim lessons this summer- good times. She shared with me the product information and I knew I had to try them out! A few months ago I bought 4 BW's and I've been bouncing ever since!

I really can't believe it took me so long to find Bouncing Woolies. Since buying them for myself, I have recommended them to so many of my friends and there is a good chance some BWs will be showing up in some Christmas stockings this year!

They make great gifts for new moms, any mom really... actually, they are great gifts for anyone who has to do laundry! College students would love them because they replace expensive fabric softener or dryer sheets and they dry clothes faster.

Here's why I love them:

They are great for my family's skin sensitivity.
I bought 4 Bare Naturals Wool Dryer Balls and left them unscented. I don't have to worry about scents, dyes, or other irritants that could aggravate Little Man's eczema!

I know a lot of moms who use BWs when they dry their cloth diapers because they are safe for baby's sensitive skin.

They make our laundry fluffy.
You leave the BW's in the dryer and can completely forget about using fabric softener or dryer sheets. You won't miss those products at all! Clothes, towels, and sheets come out fluffy every time. Now that dry winter air is setting in, I have noticed a little static cling, but not as bad as drying clothes with nothing in the dryer.

photo courtesy of bouncing woolies

You now how people recommend throwing tennis balls in the dryer with comforters? With BW's you don't have to do that! They really help to keep bulky items from balling up.

Laundry dries faster!
Less drying time=saving money. Who doesn't love that? Even with just 4 BW's I have noticed a difference in drying time. The more BWs you add the faster laundry dries.

If you don't have to worry about sensitive skin issues, you can add all natural scents to your BWs and they have some super fun color combos too! Their website has some great stuff- check it out here.

I love my BWs so much that I asked the owner if she would do a giveaway because I want one of our readers to get to try these out asap! So, if you "like" Bouncing Woolies and CLMM on Facebook using the Rafflecopter entry form below, you will be entered to win a set of

2 FUNKTastic Wool Dryer Balls!

You can even chose what scent you want added!

photo courtesy of bouncing woolies

The giveaway ends on November 15th at 12:00am and the winner will be chosen at random and notified my email! We will announce the winner on Facebook so enter and cross your fingers 'cause you're going to want to win!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Weekly Work Out {Clean & Lean}

It's been a while since I posted about Clean & Lean. But for good reason. :-) I've already shared the basics, you can find them under the tab at the top-o-the-blog, and now that I have my handy dandy treadmill I have been working on some "routines", if you will.

To integrate cleaning my house into my workout schedule I have found that cleaning makes a great warm-up and cool-down. This also reduces the amount of time I'm on the treadmill, But I still get 50 to 60 minutes of workout 4-5 days a week.

Here's what a weeks worth of Clean & Lean looks like for me now (there are a few new moves that will be coming to the blog soon :-)):

Monday
Start a load of laundry
15-minute pick Up
25 minutes on the treadmill
Squats while I transfer clothes from washer to dryer
Standing crunches
Push-ups

Tuesday
{rest day}

Wednesday
Start a load of laundry
Vacuum Lunges
25 minutes on the treadmill
Mopping arms
Laundry Plies
Standing crunches
Push-ups

Thursday
{Some weeks this is a rest day}
Start a load of laundry
Window Abs or Dusting Standing Crunches
25 minutes on the treadmill
Squats while I transfer clothes from washer to dryer
Push-ups

Friday
Start a load of Laundry
Guest bathroom (toilet cleaning squats, bath tub arms, mirror abs)
20 minutes on the treadmill
Master bathroom

Saturday
Dishwasher calves/Dishes
25 minutes on the treadmill
Standing crunches
Push-ups
Clean the kitchen- counters, sink, floors, wipe down cabinet fronts

Sunday
{rest day}

Here are a few mommy machine secrets to make this as efficient as it can be:

• I usually get my hour of workout in while my kids watch an hour of TV. After we get home from school/the babysitter's house it is good for them to have some quiet time and a snack. It also happen that they love Max & Ruby and that show is on from 3-4. Good timing for me.
• I don't beat myself up if I don't get everything done. There are some days that things come up and I have to rearrange my schedule. That's ok!
• I will substitute activities as necessary. This routine isn't the end all, be all of my schedule. Somedays I have way more dishes/kitchen clean up to do so I will swap that in for dusting or laundry. If it's really nice outside we will go for a walk or play soccer in the backyard and that's my "treadmill time" for the day. Flexibility makes it much easier to get things done and stay active!
• I do more housework than this, but these "routines" help me to maximize my cardio work and muscle toning in a one hour time frame. All the other "chores" I do still count, but they just happen before or after my hour workout.
• I remind myself that every thing I do around the house can be active- even if I have to piece my 60 minutes together over a few hours, at the end of the day I will have a cleaner house and a healthier body!

What's your favorite household chore to step up and make a work out? I'd love to know!!

Happy cleaning everyone!

Tip for Tuesday: Hydrogren peroxide as a stain remover

Do you all use hydrogen peroxide? Did you know it's not just for disinfecting cuts and scrapes?

Through puppy training, potty training, scraped knees, tummy bugs and many things in between, hydrogen peroxide is my go to for messes like urine, poop, blood, and vomit. Yep.

Not only will it get the stain out, it will also deodorize- very important for the aforementioned messes.

Always try using hydrogen peroxide on a small unnoticeable piece of fabric or carpet to make sure it won't discolor. It is safe for a lot of things- but not everything.

I keep my hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. It makes it easy to use and I don't have to worry about pouring too much on the stain.

Simply spray hydrogen peroxide on a stain, let sit for a minute or two and blot with a paper towel. For stains in clothes you can soak the stain in hydrogen peroxide and then rinse out after a few minutes (remember to test the fabric first).

I have used this trick on our carpet, couch, towels, rugs, socks, shirts, and more. It works great!

My Top 5 Uses for White Vinegar

I have been out of town on a nice, relaxing, fun girls weekend! It's so great to get away for a day or so and relax, but it is always so wonderful to come home.

Yesterday, when I got back in town, I started laundry, prepped snacks for the week, and made dinner.

All three of those tasks had something in common {other than the fact that you could call them "chores"}: I used white vinegar for all 3! Talk about versatile.

Now, I am aware that there are numerous ways to use vinegar. And I know that it's all over Pinterest. I am going to highlight the top 5 ways that I love to use this stuff. {Note: I did not come up with these ideas on my own, I have provided links to the sources I reference in my daily life but please note, they might not be the inventors of the method being shown}

Top 5 Uses for White Vinegar

1. Laundry Booster/Fabric Softener: We have skin sensitivity issues in my house. To keep the eczema to a minimum, I don't use scents or dyes anywhere near our laundry.  Adding white vinegar to the "fabric softener" cup in my front load washer keeps colors from bleeding {read: I don't have to sort laundry}, our laundry stays soft, and it helps to keep my towels extra clean without having to use bleach. As a bonus, it also helps keep the mildew in the washer drum to a minimum!

{Check out this website for the source for tips one and two.}

2. Produce Wash: A couple of tablespoons of vinegar and some cold water make the perfect fruit and veggie wash! Just add the vinegar to a big bowl, add water, add fruit and let it soak for 5 minutes before draining and rinsing. This helps to get produce cleaner than water alone and you won't taste the vinegar- promise. I do this every 2 weeks when I get back from the grocery store.

3. Cooking: duh, right? There are lots and lots and lots of recipes including vinegar. It adds a nice bite to dressings and sauces among other things. Here's the link to PW's website {she doesn't know me nor does she have any knowledge about this post} where she shows how to make a BBQ sauce to put over meatballs. I don't make my meatballs the same way, but I follow the BBQ sauce recipe exactly. It's so yummy and uses- you guessed it- vinegar!

4. Cleaning: basically, vinegar=clean. When combined with other common household ingredients (and even on its own, sometimes) it's a great degreaser, deodorizer, soap scum remover, and mildew preventer. Pinterest is crawling with tons of great recipes for homemade cleaning products that use vinegar! Just search "vinegar cleaning" and you'll be good to go. My favorite recipe is also my last favorite...

5. Drain Deodorizer: I have given you all a tip to clean your garbage disposal, but what about the other drains in your house? I use equal parts vinegar and baking soda in any drain that starts to smell, or when I am doing my seasonal cleaning (every 3 months). The vinegar plus baking soda will clean and deodorize and all you have to do is wait.

Vinegar is essential in our house. I always have a huge jug on hand.

How do you use vinegar? Tell us and we may feature your favorite use in a post!

Clean & Lean: Sock-Folding Wall Sits

Summer is a time for bare feet, right? Not for my Little Man! He has a grass allergy that means he has to wear sock year round.

He doesn't seem to mind, and neither do I. To make the most of my time matching up pairs of socks, I incorporate some wall sits!

Wall sits bring out my competitive side. I love to set goals for myself so I always try to fold one more pair of socks before I have to stand up. My hamstrings hate me, but it's a good burn! These are also a great compliment to Laundry Plies, working different muscles but all in your legs.

Proper Form
Tummy Tight. Suck your belly button into your spine.
Place your back to the wall and bend your knees forming a 90 degree angle. Imagine you are sitting in a chair.
Hold this position for as long as you can stand it.

Clean & Lean
Place all of your mis-matched socks on your lap and match them up while you are "sitting". {See this tip to keep all your socks together.}
Having an activity to do helps distract you from all the muscle you are building.

Step It Up
Time is the biggest factor here.
Work your way up to 1, then 2 minutes.

Run out of socks to fold? Try to fold all of your laundry like this!

Want to be efficient and "lean" while you clean? Check out all of our Clean & Lean ideas!

Clean & Lean: Laundry Pliés

Raise your hand if you'd like your boo-tay to be a little perkier.

**Raises hand**

Recently, I was trying on swim suits. Not my favorite thing to do. Thanks to the tight elastic, awful lighting, and wicked mirror, it was pretty obvious that gravity is starting to affect my rear.  Since then, I make sure to incorporate some of these butt-lifting pliés into my laundry routine! An extra perk (get it?) is that I also feel like I'm in ballet class again. Memories...

Anyway, here's how I lift my gluteus maximus AND get the awful chore of folding laundry finished.

Proper Form

• Stand in front of your {full} dryer. Half a foot to 12-inches away from the opening.
• Put your heels together and point your toes in opposite directions:

• As always, keep that tummy tight!
• To do a plié, you keep your heels together while pushing your knees out and bottom down. Lower slowly and raise back up slowly. Imagine you are a graceful ballerina. :-)

Clean & Lean

• As you plié, grab an item out of the dryer.

• Do one more plié as you fold the item.

• Repeat as necessary until your muscles burn or your dryer is empty!

Step It Up

Hold the plié position (where your bottom is down) while you fold (or about 15 seconds) and then raise up.


Can you feel the perkiness? I can! Happy ballet-ing!

Don't forget to enter our super easy 31 organization giveaway here!!