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And Back to School we go

by with 2 Comments Family Organising

As the school summer holidays draw to a close its back to school we go.  Over the summer many of us have lost our regular routines and now its time to kick-start them again.

Back to making those dreaded pack lunches and being super organised with the kids.

Mine go back today and I am really hoping they come back with a list of dates for throughout the year.  I don’t know about you but we have numerous mufti days, dressing up days, school discos and bring something into school days plus not forgetting the dreaded school photograph days and if I don’t write all these down I will forget. On top of this there is the school trips and payment plans that also need to be added in you don’t want to be that parent that the school have to chase for money on a regular basis.

I use a wall planner and have a colour code for each of mine and then also repeat this information into my phone calendar with numerous alerts.

Then don’t forget the endless bits of paper they will come home with to make all the paperwork easier I have created a system of plastic folders that I keep in a box folder in my office.

One for each of them which allows me to keep any special achievement awards and certificates as well as important letter and grade cards. Then I scan into the computer any of their artwork that I would like to keep but I don’t want hanging off my fridge.

Getting younger children organised in the morning

If you have younger children leave a get ready for school chart in their bedrooms so you don’t have to keep asking them to do things in the morning rush. I used to find that this really helped me when my were younger as they used to be proud that they had finished their list of morning jobs to do:

  • Come down for breakfast
  • Brush teeth and have a wash
  • Get dressed
  • PJ’s away tidy
  • Pack school bag
  • Don’t forget your lunch Box
  • Shoes and coat by 8.20am

Small lists/charts like this can really help take the strain off so its definitely something I recommend you try.

Uniform

By now I bet this is all labelled and ready to go. A nice fresh clean PE kit all ready, bright white polo shirts and non scuffed shoes. Photos of this perfection will be displayed all over our social media this week but how long does this last.

If you’re a busy working mum makes sure you have 5 sets of school uniform so if you don’t get time to do washing in the week you know that your child will always be going into school looking neat and smart

Invest in some Ace for whites to keep those white shirts and polo t-shirt looking good.

Have your Scuff polish to hand

Pack Lunch ideas

Love it or hate it we have to feed our kids when they are at school. Schools dinners aren’t everyone’s idea of a good meal although saying that they have come on a long way over the years.  Mine actually like a pack lunch.  The girls sort themselves out these days I give them the options and they make a healthy sensible snack but I still like to do Jake’s. His more than capable but it’s me having the need to a spotless kitchen all the time.

A few simple ideas I have for mixing the lunches up a bit. I like to keep my colourful to keep them interested too. 

Sandwich swap

Tuna pasta. Sweetcorn, mayo, wholemeal pasta and tuna served cold. Fried rice with spring onions, soya sauce and bacon serve cold. Cheese and Apple. – Grate hard cheese with grated apple add a drop of lemon and mayo for a cracker topping.

Snack ideas

You can use snack pots here, prepare and label one for each day of the week)

  • Carrot and cumber sticks and hummous
  • Fruit salad
  • Fruit kebab
  • Popcorn
  • Olives
  • Crackers
  • Sultanas
  • pumpkins seeds
  • Yogurt drops
  • Home made flap jacks

I also find when they back to school planning ahead your weekly meals really does help too. I have created a FREE printable to download CLICK HERE plus you can also follow my 4 week simple meal plan by clicking  HERE

Homework

Give it a week or two and this will start flooding in. I like to know what homework mine have and try to be involved as much as I can. Plan some time in your routine for homework support even if it’s just 30 minutes a week and dedicate this time to your child without any distractions. I have always encouraged mine to do their homework downstairs and not in their rooms and I created a little homework station where they can find everything they need from stationary to a clear work space. I have always believed that doing homework in a messy and congested bedroom can’t be good for their learning.

Encourage your child to have a few educational apps on their tablet too

Try to keep your school routine so that everyone in the house follows it too. A few days of knowing when to leave and when to do homework is all it takes for it to start be the normal. If it helps make pack lunches the night before and hang school uniform out ready in bedrooms with polished shoes by the door.

Your 5 Minute Challenge is easily doable in the morning before the school run. You don’t need to do every room but set yourself a goal to at least do one room. Set your timer and go go.  You may also find that my daily Cleaning Calendar will keep you on top to.

Enjoy the first week back and thank you for reading

Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxox

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Christmas stocking gift ideas

by with No Comment Christmas

I always used to struggle filling up my children’s stockings.  It is not always easy looking for small gifts that easily fit.  I still have younger children in my family and I absolutely love to put together a stocking for them.

There are so many options for what to put in a Christmas stocking. The traditional approach to a Christmas stocking for kids is to fill the toe of the stocking with either an easy-peel orange or satsuma, or a Terrys chocolate orange.

Other ideas include adding the traditional gold coins which you could do by adding in a small bag of chocolate coins or even some money.

Putting together the stockings at Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas activities and these little. nik naks are always really appreciated sometimes more so than the big expensive items.

Last year I went on a Christmas Stocking mission and this is what I have come up, hopefully this will help give you a few more ideas.

  • Scratch card
  • Gift cards
  • Lego min figure
  • Plasticine pack
  • Hair bobbles
  • Hair clips
  • Match box car
  • Pen
  • Pencil
  • Rubber
  • Money
  • Key ring
  • Socks
  • Tattoo
  • Stickers
  • Glow sticks
  • Card game
  • Glitter
  • Badge
  • Nail polish
  • Funky tooth brush
  • Bouncy Ball
  • Marbles
  • Christmas earrings
  • Nerf Bullets
  • Chocolate
  • sweets
  • Candy Cane
  • Book mark
  • Bag decoration
  • Small action figure

Don’t forget some adults love a Christmas stocking too. For adults, stocking fillers could be chocolate, some fruit, something useful like socks and maybe some mini perfume samplers or skin creams to fill space. You can also be a little cheeky and add a cocktail can to start the festivities.

The 5 gift rule

The 5 gift rule is a useful way to plan buying gifts. This is particularly useful if you are buying for children or a large family. The 5 gift rule helps you plan for a variety of different types of gifts whilst keeping the number of gifts sensible.

For presents the general 5 gift rule is:

  • 1 thing they want
  • 1 thing they need
  • 1 thing to read
  • 1 thing to wear
  • 1 thing to do

Hope this has given you some stocking inspiration don’t forget my Christmas Calendar countdown is now available.

Happy Christmas Planning

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Did you know you can use the power of Steam to clean many household items?

by with No Comment Cleaning Tips

Steam cleaning has become the cleaning method of choice for most health-savvy households and even medical establishments, and there are plenty of reasons why. Unlike traditional cleaning methods that can do more harm than good, steam cleaning has amazing benefits for you, your family, and even your pets. 

A few of those benefits include:

Steam cleaning refreshes your home makes it look new again.

Because steam cleaning uses high temperatures, it can remove dirt buildup and residue that has been left behind by other cleaning products. Additionally, using steam helps sanitise your home and surpasses the cleaning power of conventional methods that rely on solvents and sponges. Steam also deodorises and sanitises naturally, with the help of heat and moisture. 

Steam cleaning is versatile and can be applied in so many different areas of your home like bathroom tiles, natural stone countertops, hard flooring, curtains, mattresses and even upholstery.

Steam cleaning helps reduces allergies and dust mites.

Steam cleaning your home is a great way to keep your family healthier by eliminating allergies.

Airborne allergens are some of the most prolific allergy triggers in the home. In fact, allergens like the waste matter of dust mites is second only too pollen when it comes to causing allergic reactions. Steam cleaning your home regularly will remove these microscopic allergens for good. 

Steam cleaning eliminates stale and pet odours.

Just because you have pets around the house, doesn’t mean your home has to smell. Using steam can help you not only eliminate unwanted pet odours from your home, but it can also help keep your pet happy and healthy by killing fleas and their eggs.

Over the winter months sofas take a lot more wear and tear so a blast of steam every so often will eliminate any odours and make then feel refreshed.

Steam cleaning is an eco-friendly alternative to cleaning your home.

For the most part, steam cleaning requires mostly water, so it uses far fewer chemicals compared to traditional cleaning solutions. Apart from being safe for you, your family, and your pets, steam cleaning is also environmentally friendly since it reduces the number of chemicals that get washed down the drain and recycled back into our water supply.

Use code QUEENOFCLEAN to save 20% off my handheld steamer

What can I steam………..

Refresh the carpet

Most floor steam cleaners will come with a carpet refresh option and a glide that you then attach to the bottom of your floor steam cleaner.  The steam won’t deep clean your carpets but it will kill surface germs, eliminate nasty smells, refresh and bring your carpet back to life.

If you have carpet dents from moving your furniture then simply glide over with the steamer and the dents will disappear. The steam will also help to loosen any carpets stains making them much easier to remove.

Toilets

When using a Handheld steamer in your bathroom you can give the toilet seat and the pan a really good blast, killing nasty germs and bacteria also you can get to those hard to reach areas such as behind the toilet, the pipes and seat attachments.

Clothes

Garment Steamers are great at helping you save time especially if you are not a massive fan or ironing. A shot of steam will take creases away in seconds.  Also Garment Steamers are great for outdoor wear big heavy coats that are hard to wash and items that require dry cleaning.

Curtains and upholstery

Steam cleaning is one of the best ways to clean upholstery because the warm moisture lifts stains without releasing too much moisture into the fabric and padding, will combat any nasty odours and refresh. A steam a few times a month will keep your sofa looking as good as new and the good news it your sofa will dry quickly in a well ventilated room. Use the flat headed attachment on your handheld steamer with the microfibre cover.

Close your curtains and glide over a few times of year to give them a refreshed look and remove any creases.

Car seats

Cars seats can get very messy especially if you have children so a quick steam every so often will help your car to stay looking good, remove stains and refresh.

Shower doors and screens

Soap scum and limescale can be difficult to remove and becomes hard like cement. Using a handheld steam cleaner makes light work of this job. Blast with steam to remove that top layer of dirt and limescale and then using a dry microfibre cloth buff dry to shine and polish.

Tiles and Grout

Steam will lift ground in dirt from tile grout and will leave your tiles looking nice and shiny.

Ovens

I don’t think many of us find the oven a particularly nice job to do but steam cleaning will make this job so much easier. Add the oven attachment and glide back and forth, you do not need to press to hard just let the thick steam do the work for you. After steaming use a clean, dry sponge or towel to wipe off grime, grease, and any condensation as you go. If you have grease on the tops of your cupboards and your extractor fan from cooking steam will cut right through the grease allowing you easy cleaning.

Garden Furniture

Handheld steam cleaners are great for taking outdoors to clean your rattan or plastic garden tables and chairs. The steam will blow away any leaves and cobwebs and make lighter work off all the scrubbing.

Dirty windows

This is such a satisfying clean but you only really get the full benefits when cleaning filthy windows. Add the flat headed attachment and start at the top and work your way down, once the steam has broke down the dirt buff dry with a thick microfibre cloth.

Pet beds

Not all pet beds will fit into the washing machine but a good blast with steam will break down odours and refresh

Remember when using steam to clean you eliminate the need to use product as steam will kill 99.9% of germs and bacteria. Saving you both money and space in your cupboards. Steam can also help clean those place we sometimes forget to clean

Use code QUEENOFCLEAN to save 20% on my handheld steamer

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