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Earth Day is right around the corner and it brings many people the question of what they can do to help protect the enviroment right from home. Check out these great tips I found! Many seem simple, but it is so easy to forget the simple things sometimes when we are in a routine or living a busy life. If you want to do more, check out the Earth Day events going on right in your town.

• Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
• Sweep outside rather than using a hose.
• Only run full loads of laundry/dishes.
• Make the switch to Fluorescent light bulbs.
• Reuse what you may normally just throw away, such as saving empy jars/containers and using them for leftovers.
• Don’t overstock on groceries, just buy what you need to eliminate waste.
• Recycle!
• Try natural methods to keep your garden chemical-free, such as a dose of Cayenne Pepper to keep the little animals from eating your tasty garden and grasses or createing your own insecnt repelant.
• Wash your cloths in cold water, not hot…..believe it or not 90% of the energy used when washing is just to heat the water.
• Air dry some clothes when you are able.

Did you know many communities have collection programs to help us all keep hazardous products (cleaners, paint etc.) out of landfills?

Along with spring cleaning, comes cleaning out that closet! I decided to try something different and headed over to Plato’s Closet. I checked out their web site, saw what items they take and gathered up our old clothes (they take many different brand name clothes, they even have a list on their site along with what season they are looking for). It was simple too, I put it all in a bin and while they went through it I looked around the store at the clothes they sell. After they were done, I got money for my old clothes and donated what they didn’t need to Goodwill. In an hour and a half I cleaned out our closets, made a little money and donated the rest! Only downfall for me was they don’t take the toddler sizes I was also trying to clean out, but it was still worth the extra cash in my pocket for the rest. I didn’t know much about Plato’s closet until I found it online, and thought it would be great to share with everyone. So, if your cleaning out that closet this spring, check out Plato’s Closet, you may be able to get some extra money for your efforts, and that’s always a plus!

Spring Cleaning…..that time of year we all look forward to right? Okay, so maybe not all of us look forward to it, but we still manage to do it. This year I decided to use a checklist for motivation and to cross items off at my own pace. I found a generic list to work off of and it is great because it has extra space for me to add things missed specificaly for my house.  Now all I have to do is take 15 minutes to walk through the house jotting down places I notice are missed with daily/weekly cleaning, then I am ready to go. I can choose a few chores a day or make a weekend out of it!

Click here to also print the list from creativehomemaking.com and start personalizing yours too!

One of our customers, Shannon, accidently left her wedding ring in the 2004 Honda Pilot she and her husband traded in.  Justin, our wonderful detailer found it!  We made sure it got back to her and she was so thrilled she called all the Portland newstations about it!

With the weather changing and the chill in the air, it may seem there is not much to do with the little ones once fall begins. Check out these ideas for some great things you can do together!

1.      Build your own scarecrow with some old clothes, hay, straw or even newspaper.

2.      Play a few rounds on your old board games, like Monopoly, battleship or Operation.

3.      Take a nature hike; explore all of the changes fall brings to the outdoors with your little ones.

4.      Make it a movie night, heat up some popcorn, and grab a blanket and a movie you can all enjoy.

5.      Do a puzzle together. Find an autumn puzzle and you can even use puzzle glue and a frame and make it a home decoration when you are done.

6.      Bake something together. Some favorite autumn dessert ideas include, Classic Apple Pie, Carmel Apple Crisp, Cranberry Oat Bars, Pumpkin Pie, Creamy Sweet Potato Pie or Cranberry Pie.

7.      Have a scavenger hunt. You can do this inside or out, just get together some things from the house, make a list and start searching.

8.      Throw a tent in the backyard and have a camp-out! You can use the flashlights for a game of flashlight tag.

9.      Make use of those pine cones outside. Paint them for decoration and put them around the house.

10.  Clean up the yard in a fun way, pile up those leaves and jump in with the kids.

11.  Make Candy Apples together.

12.  Go on a leaf hunt! Encourage them to find as many different ones as they can. Afterwards you can paint them for decoration or use them as crafty fall stamps.

13.  Make those pumpkins they found this year their own. Carve, paint or even use stickers for the younger ones to decorate them how they like.

14.  Have a family fun game of fall touch football.

15.  Gather all those pictures from the summer and make your own scrapbook together.