DIY Baby Gate

Our little girl is well into the mobility phase. She is an army crawler – partly because she is just so desperate to keep up with her brothers she hasn’t learned to knee crawl and partly because she likes to grab something in each hand and chew on it periodically as she moves about. Even being an army crawler she’s pretty fast.
 
I set up our baby gate a while back to have security if I needed to run downstairs to answer the door or anything and needed to leave her upstairs. Our gate that we had was fine and all, but the opening is pretty narrow and got to be a pain when going through with laundry or a flailing/screaming 2 year old.


This gate is wonderful because I can open it and it is completely out of the way and against the wall. I actually tried a version of this when we first moved into this house but it was flimsy and didn’t turn out as I hoped. This version however, is perfect!


and apparently pretty tasty!


The components are very simple, unfortunately I didn’t take step by step pictures because I mostly got to work on it in the garage (poor lighting) during naptime or after the kids were in bed, but here is a run down…

The main components are an old crib rail,1x4”s, and a gate latch. The crib rail I found in the trash a couple years ago and has had a few lives. Basically you just cut the 1x4”s to be a frame for the crib rail and nail together with finish nails. If you’d like, you can fill the seams with wood filler, let dry, then sand.


Then just paint it the color you’d like. I had several paint samples laying around so I used up a can coating it in a nice gray. Once the paint is dry, attach the hinges to the gate, then have someone help you to hang it on the wall. With as heavy as this is, a stud if pretty much require. You wouldn’t want this ripping out of the wall! Finally, attach the gate latch.


I used a left over piece of 1x4” behind the latch to make sure it met the gate before it hit and damaged our wall.


There you go…a sturdy baby gate that can be opened completely and it’s easy for my 4 year old to open. My two year old isn’t able to open it when coming up the stairs and I think I like that…haha. I can keep him from sneaking upstairs while I’m making dinner and dumping every since puzzle on the floor .

I love how it turned out and it only cost me about $6 because I had everything but the 1x4”s on hand.

What kind of baby gate do you use? Are you able to get through it pretty easy?

Have a great weekend!

Clean and Disinfect Kid’s Toys (without toxic bleach)

So I’ve totally been on a spring cleaning kick lately. The end of last week I spent shampooing my carpets (I’m in heaven!) and I’ve had the hankering to do all the odds and edds. Like clean the crumbs out of my kitchen drawers, cleaning behind the fridge, and cleaning window tracks!
Well I wanted to clean all the kids toys and wanted to do it pretty quickly. Bleach/lysol are not allowed in my house anymore. They are just too toxic…

So here’s what I did. I started running the bathtub and poured in some Basic G, probably a couple teaspoons.

Then I dumped in all the water safe toys. You know the plastic Duplos, kitchen play toys, matchbox cars, and even the wood stuff. But they only went in and out quickly. Don’t put anything in there with batteries or holes that water can get in and possibly never get back out again.

Then just pulled them out and dry them off. Andrew was a good helper with the drying.

The rest of the toys got sprayed and wiped down. This was also a great chance to go through the toys, I threw away anything broken or cheap, pulled out things to donate, and returned the rest to their proper place.
It felt so good to have clean toys and a clean toy room. And then this happened a couple days ago…

Oh well, at least the toys and carpets are clean.
I’ve got a bunch more organizing and cleaning I want to do so stay tuned!Interested in learning more about my non-toxic cleaners...check out my website HERE , email me if you have any questions!
What’s on your spring cleaning list?

Cleaning House–How to Get Ahead

So you’re gearing up for a big event, a vacation, the birth of a baby, or a house full of guests. You know that cleaning isn’t going to happen, but you want to prepare yourself beforehand, how do you do it?

Well I’m going to share some tips and tricks I’ve come up with from recent experience. About 7 months ago, we welcomed our 3rd beautiful and happy baby to our family. I knew the routine of little sleep, lots of feedings, and two other kids to continue to feed and take care of wouldn’t allow for a whole lot of housework. I did a bunch of deep cleaning ahead of time and even made some freezer meals. It all saved my sanity!

So here are some tips to help you get ahead and prepare for your big event!

Pick what matters most: What are the most important things for you to have cleaned up before this event? Whenever I am preparing to have a baby, dusting and carpets are my things. If I can get the whole house dusted, vacuumed, and the carpets shampooed I am a happy camper. I know it’s a lot but having clean air and floors are important to me. Seems like that’s what will impact the baby the most.

Anyway, pick what your thing is. Do you want clean dishes and counters for lots of guests? Do you need to get laundry done before a long vacation to make sure you’re coming home to at least a few clean outfits? :) Figure out what you want done the most and get it done!


Keep Up with the Day to Day: Don’t forget to do you’re regular chores in addition to getting ahead. Here’s my regular schedule. When I try to get ahead, I’ll do my regular chores and add in an item of deep cleaning or get ahead.

Set a time frame: When do you want the cleaning done by? Figure out how long you have to get your list done and plan it out day by day.

With this I would also say to think about when you can do the items on your list. Laundry, dusting, dishes, and more can be done at night while the kids are sleeping, if that’s your situation. But other things like vacuuming can’t be done at night so you’ll want to prioritize those to the day.

Set a timer: If you’re pressed for time, try this trick. Give yourself a specific amount of time, 15 minutes or more, and literally set a timer. Accomplish as much as you can in that time period, don’t get distracted by the phone, facebook, or other things. Then get back to the kids or other pressing matters. If I don’t have any distractions I can usually get 2 bathrooms cleaned or a couple rooms vacuumed.

Put away non-essentials: Grab an extra box or bin and put away any extra toys, papers, clutter, or other mess. Go through these things. If it’s truly non-essential donate or sell it. If it has a proper place, put it away. If it’s something extra you’d like to hold on to like toys, pack it up to prevent future mess during your down time. I picked up a ton of toys and put them away before having our baby. I knew I wouldn’t have the energy or time to pick up toys. Putting away the non-essentials and stream lining your living space can really help reduce stress with visitors over or prevent mess while you’re down with a baby.

Go over the game plan: If you’re the one who takes care of the majority of the housework, go over the game plan with your spouse. This is especially important if you’re having a baby or going on vacation without them. Make sure they know where things are like cleaning supplies or where things belong like dishes or pots and pans. This way you won’t fall behind or get stuck wondering where something was put away.

Also if you have any detailed cleaning routines, be sure to go over those. For example, we cloth diaper and while I use a detergent that doubles for regular laundry and is cloth diaper safe, if too much is used it could still cause stink. So I made sure to go over the cloth diaper routine with my husband so he could help when he noticed the bin getting too full.

Be Realistic and get help: My last tip is to be realistic. If you’re 39 weeks pregnant, don’t expect to clean the entire house top to bottom, clean the gutters, and touch up the nursery paint with other kids running around. It’s not worth the stress, no matter the reason you want to prepare. Also ask for help with the crucial aspects of your preparation. Ask your spouse to do difficult tasks or ask friends to watch your kids or help (or put the kids to work :) )

(my friend’s little girl, helping clean the church after an activity)

I had an experience once when I saw a pregnant friend in need. I went to her house, without being asked, ready to clean for her so she could take a nap or just relax. Well, she turned me away, wouldn’t let me help and it hurt, a lot!  Don’t be afraid to ask for help because there is most likely someone who is more than willing to help, but maybe they are afraid to offer or have been turned down before like I was.

Bonus: If you have a delay start option on your washing machine, take advantage of that. I recently started doing that and it helps a ton on laundry days. I’ll put a load of laundry in on Monday night as I’m heading to bed, set the timer to start early Tuesday morning and the load finishes by the time I’m usually downstairs feeding the boys so I can transfer to the dryer or start hanging it up. Try it out, let me know what how it goes! 


What other tips help you prepare for those big events or times you know you won’t be able to keep up with the housework?

DIY Compost Bins and Composting Tips

For Christmas, we gave the boys a Curious George DVD and they love it. One of the episodes is about composting and it got me thinking, I throw out so much stuff that can be composted, why don’t I start one. I know most of you aren't even close to thinking about spring and planting yet, but here in southern Nevada it has been a very mild winter.

So I grabbed some plastic bins, I had previously used these for planter boxes in our previous home when I wasn't ready to set down a garden bed.

Drill holes in all the sides of the box and lid

Fill with dirt and leaves.

Then add your compost items; fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells, lint, egg carton.  Wet all the contents and stir to cover with dirt

Put the lid on and let it do it’s magic.

Here are some other tips to help you get started:

Mix, Mash, Moisten, and Move

-MIX as many different plant based ingredients as you have.

-MASH: the smaller the pieces are the faster it will break down, so you may want to chop everything into smaller pieces.

-MOISTEN: you want it just right, not too dry and not too wet, just moist.

-MOVE: The more often you turn the contents, the faster it will be ready

     -If you want it ready in two weeks, turn daily

     -if you want it ready in three months, turn weekly

     -if you want it ready in a year, turn monthly

Good items include:  fruits, eggs shells, dead leaves, grass clippings, shredded cardboard or newspaper, dryer lint, hair, and vacuum dust/debris.

Limited amounts: saw dust, pine needles, coffee grounds, and hedge trimmings

NO: animals parts, seeds and fruit pits, dairy products, anything treated with pesticides, pet waste, or grease