Falling back again

The time changes soon. Another 6 months or so gone by and another hour lost on the clock. We 'fall back' and lose an hour on November 2nd, which seems to be coming up sooner than I can believe! Each time change there is always an article or two reminding the population to check the batteries in their smoke detectors but has anyone ever actually followed this advice?

Well this year I am making myself a promise to not only check the batteries but also make a whole twice a year to-do list. Using the "6 Excruciatingly Simple Steps" I am creating my list and I will accomplish it by this autumn's time change. My list revolves around getting and keeping my house sparkling clean. Then when I actually manage to get it all picked up and vacuumed my house will look like one of those supremely immaculate homes that always leave me shaking my head and asking why mine never seems to really shine.
My neighbor Janeille is an awesome realtor and really great at the staging business. Basically she goes in and gets her clients to clean out closets, put out plants and other little tips to make their place look so gorgeous that buyers are sucked in by the cookie scent wafting out of the kitchen and offer up double the list price. OK so maybe not double, but she can really spruce a place up and make it much more appealing to potential buyers. I asked her what could be the difference between the houses that look picked up versus the houses that shout out "a clean-freak lives here!" and her response was genius. Baseboards. According to Janeille the biggest thing that you will never notice is clean baseboards.
I took this gem of wisdom and I am running crazy with it. I am going to have clean baseboards at every time change from now on but there is more. I may be a little too ambitious with my time-change-to-do list since I only have a month, but I will keep you updated on my progress. I didn't get started today because I was out of every grocery staple but it is on like Donkey Kong tomorrow, as soon as Killian and I get back from story time.
Feel free to take my list and make it your own. If you're attempting something similar let me know how it goes! Post your own list here and keep us updated on your wade through dusty curtains and cobwebbed corners.

1. Check all smoke detectors.
2. Replace fridge's water filter.
   
3. Clean out kitchen cabinets. Donate what's unlikely to be eaten and rarely used small appliances.
4. Move and clean behind stove and fridge.
5. Clean all interior windows.
6. Clean all exterior windows. (YIKES!)
7. Get carpets professionally cleaned.
8. Dust all light fixtures and replace at least 1 bulb in each room with a CFL.
9. Get yard ready for winter *directions to follow* including getting all toys boxed up and inside.
10. Clean baseboards!
    

Out of dishwasher detergent

While cleaning the other day I had the dishwasher all loaded and ready to clean dirty dishes when I realized I had ran out of dishwasher detergent. My child was asleep, which is why I had a few minutes to actually make my house presentable, so running to the store was out of the question. I really didn't want to beg more off of my neighbor since I had borrowed a load's worth fairly recently and that just gets tacky after awhile. So I did what any modern mommy does in a cleaning crisis. I Googled "out of dishwasher detergent" and let the internet work its magic.
After wading through a bunch of hippy weird-os and their off beat posts I noticed I did find a similar recipe on most pages. Equal parts Borax and baking soda. Some helpful advisers also recommend a bit of oil for smelling purposes but I don't particularly want my plates to smell like essential vanilla anyway so I decided to omit this. It's a personal choice, feel free to add it if you wish.
Unfortunately for me though, I had never actually heard of Borax before this internet sojourn. So I had to wait until Killian awoke from his slumber anyway, but I was intrigued by this supposedly cheap and effective dish washing method. On my next trip to The Bowels of Hell, (you may know it as WalMart) or TBoH, I located said Borax near the laundry soap and it seems to have a myriad of uses. They're listed on the box so I won't bore you with them here but I now keep a box in my laundry room and I find myself using it more and more.
Now for the dishes I do supplement some regular dry dish detergent but I keep my baking soda/Borax mix in an old spaghetti jar next to the detergent and I use about a Tablespoon of each for my dishes. According to the Internet Advisers I am helping to reduce the pollutants introduced into my city's sewer systems and therefore the world at large and also saving myself a few dollars a month. Who knows, I may even save enough to not feel so guilty about that $5.00 latte?