cleaning

How do you slim down a surplus of playthings when your child doesn't want to let any of them go? It's a common question for moms with young children.

Circle of Moms member LiAnne P., for example, says it's time for Spring-cleaning, but her children are really attached to their old toys. "Is there a way to make it easier on them?" she asks the Circle of Moms community. 

Similarly, Paulette R. says every room in her home is "jam-packed with crates of toys." As her family gets ready to move to a new house, she knows they need to de-clutter, but her sons get upset when she tries to pare down. "I have tried on many occasions to get rid of things, and they become hysterical," she shares. "Hence the reason why I have never been able to bring myself to throw anything way since they were babies . . . they have both been having meltdowns this morning for the last two hours."

If you, too, are finding your children have formed strong attachments to their toys, here are eight tips from Circle of Moms members on how to make saying goodbye easier.

Keep reading.

Spring-cleaning wouldn't be complete without giving your mattress some serious attention. Along with refreshing your bed, this easy cleaning DIY ensures a better night's sleep. No need for harsh chemicals or expensive concoctions — all you need is a box of baking soda for this cleaner. The addition of essential oil gently scents your bed, helping to soothe and lull you to sleep.

Read on for the basic directions.

Instead of reaching for bleach the next time you see a bit of mold lurking in your kitchen or bathroom, make this easy and budget-friendly clove oil mold killer. Known for its antiseptic properties, clove oil inhibits mold by attacking and killing the mold spores. Safe for use in small or large spaces, this easy recipe works wonderfully at keeping pesky mold away while naturally scenting and cleaning your home.

Keep reading for the directions.

If your laundry is a bit dingy, then brighten things up with homemade eco-friendly dry laundry booster. Instead of paying for commercial brands, you can easily make your own with basic ingredients found at any grocery store. And once you pick up the basic ingredients, each batch costs pennies to make. Keep your all-natural booster contained in a small jar so it is handy — and seriously potent — when you're doing laundry.

Keep reading for the easy directions.

When there's a mess, instead of reaching for expensive cleaning wipes, make your own for less than a dollar. With the help of vinegar and liquid dish soap, your counters will sparkle without the use of harsh chemicals. And you'll love how this easy DIY can be made over and over with the help of a repurposed coffee canister. Made from all-natural ingredients that power through any mess, adding a few sprinkles of your favorite essential oil personalizes these eco-friendly cleaning wipes.

Keep reading for the easy directions.

Cleaning out clutter can be a tough task, especially if you have been letting it build up for a while. Instead of setting aside a huge block of time to take care of months' or years' worth of clutter, take baby steps by throwing away only one type of item a day. And by throwing away, I mean recycling, selling, donating, or — as the last resort — trashing. Here's a list of 116 types of items that will take you about four months to dispose of:

1. The other side of a pair of lost earrings
2. Scraps of wrapping papper
3. Cards people have given you with no sentimental value
4. Receipts you don't need
5. Ticket stubs
6. Socks with holes
7. Old t-shirts
8. Leftover change
9. Dried flowers
10. Magazines
11. CDs
12. Hair elastics that have lost stretchiness
13. Hair accessories you don't use
14. Shoes that don't fit or that you don't wear
15. Extra photo prints
16. Little knickknacks (designate a bowl and fill it)
17. Kitchen things you don't use
18. Cooking utensils you have two of
19. Tired bras
20. Scarves you never wear
21. Clothes that don't fit
22. Gifts you don't like
23. Old towels
24. Old makeup

Read on for more items.

Although the idea of Spring-cleaning seems great — after all, who wouldn't want a fresh start? — the implementation takes a lot of hard work. Luckily, when I did a search on Reddit, I found plenty of cleaning hacks that will help make the task easier and more effective:

• Clean your shower while you're showering. User insertcitationhere says you can kill two birds with one stone when you "clean your shower while you take a shower . . . likewise, dry out your showers with one of those squeegie things after every bath (you will never get soapscum or mildew, making monthly cleaning easy)."
• Target one room at a time. insertcitationhere recommends to "clean one room a week instead of your whole house once a month. For example, I clean once a week every Sunday night."
• Listen to music. Turkishgamer says, "listening to music while cleaning helps."
• Let hunger motivate you. "Wash just after you finish cooking, because you are really hungry for the food you just cooked, [so] you blast through those pots and pans like a madman," says theresaviking.
• Store the sheet set in a pillowcase. One redditor says, "After putting a sheet set through the laundry, store the sheets (and one pillowcase) inside the other pillowcase. You'll never search for the matching sheet/pillowcase again."

Read on for more.

It's hard to be taken seriously at work when you have fur all over your outfit. Don't let your four-legged friend bring your professionalism down, and keep you and your home fur-free. To celebrate National Pet Day, let's all strive to keep fur-hassle at a minimum. Here are some tips:

• Know when to bathe. Depending on your pet, it may be good to bath them at least once a month to help get rid of loose hair. For cats, bathing might stress them out, which can then in turn cause more shedding, so it's up to you to use your discretion on the appropriate number of times to bathe them.
• Brush daily. Brush daily or at least three to four times a week to help your pet rid itself of loose hair before it starts falling all over your home and your clothes.
• Use FURminator. There is a really great deshedding tool called the FURminator ($20, originally $63), which claims to reduce shedding up to 90 percent for a month to six weeks. The sharp stainless steel edges work to remove the loose undercoat without damaging the topcoat. I've actually started using it with my cat, and it seems to be working. It's quite possibly the best method, in my opinion, to reduce shedding.
• Keep lint rollers around. I have a lint roller in my home, office, and stash a mini roller ($4 for a set of two) in my bag, so I can remove fur wherever I am and keep myself fur-free.

Read on for more.

Instead of letting pots and pans take up sink space sitting and soaking, attack baked-on dishes with homemade eco-friendly soft scrub. Along with cleaning your pans without harsh chemicals or scratching scrubbers, this concoction works easily and leaves dirty dishes clean without causing them any harm. And this soft scrub only costs pennies to make with ingredients you probably have in your pantry.

Read on for the directions.

Preschoolers love to make messes. Just ask Circle of Moms member Jessica E., who describes a day in the life of her 3-year-old daughter this way: "She pulls my makeup down and smears it. She opens up bottles of shampoo and squirts them empty. She empties toothpaste on the walls, colors everywhere, and throws food everywhere (like a box of crackers or grapes)." Help, she begs. "I have tried everything. I just don't know what to do about all the messes and how to get her to stop."

Whether it's unrolling toilet paper, scattering toys throughout the house, or coloring on the walls, all this mess-making is a sign that your preschooler is doing her job: exploring the world. But even though her habit is developmentally appropriate, it can be hard to live with! Here, to the rescue, are three tips from Circle of Moms members on controlling the chaos, plus advice on how to deal with your little mess-maker's behavior in restaurants.

Keep reading.