Welcome First Day of Spring =Time to start Spring Cleaning. I was trolling on Pinterest a while back and saw several great sites with tips for cleaning naturally.  One stood out for clearing a slow drain as our shower had been acting up even though I'd put a thing of commerical (toxic) cleaner/unclogger down it recently.  So I tried the tips and not only did they work it was cheap, cheerful and all natural!  So if you have a slow drain in a sink or shower:
1) Remover drain stopper/shower drain cover
2) Use a wire hanger to fashion yourself a "drain snake"   - unravel top so wire hanger is straight and close top hanging curve so you've got a bit that the gunk can be caught with. Use "snake" to fish into drain and pull out as much obvious gunk as you can.
3)  Take 1/2 cup baking soda and sprinkle into drain
4) Pour 1 cup white vinegar into drain - this will cause the 4th grade science project volcano effect...FIZZ
5)  Immediately cover drain with old towel/rag so all the fizzy goodness to clear drain stays in the drain.  Let it begin to work its magic.
6)  Boil a kettle full of water and after 5 mins of fizz action - remove towel and pour boiling water down the drain to flush the system through.

I'm not going to lie...the process is a bit messy BUT it really worked.  No chemical stink and it's been running proper since then. 

In an effort to keep my sponge/wipes off the counter by the sink, I devised a holder using an extra plastic container affixed to top of inside sink cabinet door with Velcro strips. Can you imagine all the places inside your kitchen/bathroom cabinets you could mount a small container to help keep items at the ready? I'm loving this idea!

Do you feel like this is what's in your way at times when it comes to getting organized?  Most jobs I work on do involve getting rid of some things - most often the client WANTS to let certain things go but just hasn't done it yet.  MAIN REASON?  They want to pass it along for a good cause as more often than not, it is something special/worth value to them and worthy of more than being tossed in a trash bag and dropped at Goodwill.  This is where working with a Professional Organizer can help - I spend part of each week researching local events and causes so I can best inform clients on great places that NEED their things and often will pick them up for them!  I found two great local North Atlanta causes this week alone.  Let me help YOU remove your roadblocks!

Prom with a Purpose:  collecting new or those "once worn" formal dresses of all styles, types and sizes that will be sold for purse friendly prices on Feb 10th at the Windermere Lodge - benefits to proceed families with kids fighting cancer.  Go to Facebook and use this link for full details. http://www.facebook.com/events/532401043451715/

HomeStretch Atlanta: needs furniture — lamps, end tables,
coffee tables, dressers, chest of drawers, TV stands and dinette sets. If you
have furniture that you can donate, please contact HomeStretch Facilities
Manager Steve Watson ([email protected] or 770-642-9185, ext. 112).
HomeStretch helps families in Atlanta by providing temporary housing,
life-skills training and mentoring. http://homestretch.org/

I can't take credit for this one - it belongs to my mother in law "Ninny"  Ginny Payne but I'm going to pass it along becuase it's so darn good!  Got small area rugs or chair pads on your kitchen chairs that are sliding around and won't stay in place?  Our kitchen chair pads (even with the ties for the chair backs kept sliding around making us all nuts.  Ninny hit the dollar store and bought some of the rubber shelf liner (the non-adhesive kind with the nubs on it) as an alternative to that expensive rug liner material you'd buy at a home improvement store.  Worked like a charm! 

With as much tea as I drink ( it's alot...) eventually the inside of the mugs have to be dealt with to get all the staining off that the dishwasher (or dish soap if washed by hand) will not get off.  It's as simple as a sprinkle of baking soda into the mug and a paper towel slightly dampened with hot water.  Work the baking soda into a paste inside mug with paper towel and a few whirls around mug will lift stains right off.  This same process will work to lift stains off corningware/pyrex and plastic containers.  Easy, cheap and makes your items look like new again. 

At some point, as I did yesterday, you realize that having the dry erase board is only as handy as actually being able to read what's on the dry erase board.  As I was trying to transfer items off the board to my phone notes for the shopping list, I decided enough was enough and got to figuring out how best to clean.  Based on a bit of internet searching, I first tried the recommendation of WD-40.  It did work and got a lot of the dried on mess off but wasn't quite there.  Then I tried the simple idea of a dab of alcohol based hand sanitizer on a paper towel and it was amazing.  Got every bit of excess old dried on mess right off.  Literally looks like a brand new board!