I’m excited once again to be participating in the Collectively Creative blog post, dreamed up by Kelly over at Cobwebs, Cupcakes and Crayons! This month’s editions is ‘Lovey-Dovey’.
To show my lovey-dovey side, I’m going to talk about products I can’t live without. I can hear you now….’Isn’t she such a romantic?’ I know, I know, home products aren’t exactly the most lovey-dovey thing I could talk about, but when your life is clean and organized, don’t you just feel lovey-dovey all over? 
There are not many products or items that I love so much I consistently recommend them to people. However, there are a few:
1) Paper Shredder – I’m KIND of obsessed with my shredder. I use it all.the.time. I try to regularly shred anything I want to throw away that has any account number or other personal information. Also, twice a year, I go through my entire file cabinet and shred anything I no longer need. This keeps my file cabinet from getting ridiculously out of control.
My best tip for buying a shredder…get a cross cut shredder. This cuts the paper both vertically and horizontally so that pieces are much more difficult to put back together should you happen to have someone digging through your trash (insert creepy music here).
2) Vinegar - I keep a spray bottle on my kitchen counter at ALL times. Vinegar is one of the few cleaning products I use and I use it everywhere….counters, toilets, mirrors, trash cans, dog food bowls, you name it, it’s probably getting voraciously sprayed with vinegar as you read this. It’s a natural disinfectant, a deodorant and a safe alternative to many of the chemicals used every day in so many households. Over at Pinterest to Panache, vinegar is mentioned as a great drain cleaner along with baking soda. Who knew that elementary school science fair volcano we all did could turn into a great natural cleaning product.
3) My Labeler – I can pretty much label anything. Clothes, baskets, bins, drawers, garage items, paint cans. Now maybe if I label my dogs and kids, I’ll actually call them by the right name when I’m yelling!
4) My Kindle – I am one of those true converts who said I would never get an e-reader. I just love flipping through the pages, the smell of the books, blah blah blah. It’s all true, but I’ve also come to realize a few things. When you’re juggling baby #2 and don’t have a hand to flip the page, the Kindle is AMAZING!
I have also recently jumped onto the Ipad bandwagon. I absolutely love this little machine too, but I’m still learning about it. One of the great things about the iPad is that I have downloaded the Kindle App and my husband and I can easily share books on our Kindle account.
Organization bonus! Since we are now downloading a lot of books instead of buying the actual books, we are saving space and reducing clutter in our home.
6) My minivan – seriously, have you ever driven a minivan? If not, you’re missing out. They are not the best in the Colorado snow, but hardy nonetheless.
And it’s an organizers dream car! So many bins and cubbies, two glove compartments, enough cup holders for a football team and stow and go seating so the seats can completely disappear from view without taking them out of the van. We can fit ridiculous amounts of stuff in this vehicle and just took a cross country trip with 2 kids and 3 dogs and all of our stuff. Again, I am a true convert here. This was me 4 years ago…”I will NEVER own a minivan!” Hmmmm….here I am listing it on my favorite things post. How times have changed.
All of these things help me to stay organized and control the clutter in my life. They are useful, practical, reasonably priced and used every day at my house. What products do you use all the time that make your life easier?
And what else do I love? The posts listed below brought to you by some lovely bloggers all sharing in the Collectively Creative ‘Lovey-Dovey’ edition!
Pingback: Spring Greening – Cleaning Green | Neaten Your Nest
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I’m trying to convince my husband that our next car should be a mini-van! What kind of labeler do you use?
Right now I use one of the Brother brand labelers. It’s simple and super easy to use. The refills are pretty cheap too! Once you go minivan, you never go back!
What an interesting Lovey-Dovey perspective. It may not be romantic or cute but it sure is practical. Funny how things like vinegar and a paper shredder can make us so happy because they make a lives easier. Thanks for the inspiration Erin!
I felt almost silly saying that all of those things make me feel ‘lovey-dovey’, but I think that can be true of anything that makes life more simple and enjoyable and creates time for other wonderful things!
Ok, so I have recently renewed my passion for natural, chemically free products… So I am loving the vinegar idea. When you pay attention, it’s incredibly difficult to find affordable products that are natural and not tested on animals. It is scary what is in our cleaning products, food, cosmetics and just about everything else we use. So, may I recommend Burt’s bees (even though they were bought by Clorox) and I would love to hear more about natural products that are accessible and affordable if you think it fits on the blog. Thanks Erin… You rock!
I try to generally use as few chemicals as possible, but I’m still looking for ways to cheaply switch to natural detergents and shampoos. I think a lot of people are looking for cheap, green, and safe ideas, so I would love to have more of that kind of focus on the blog. I also love Burt’s Bees! Thank you!
This is a wonderful list – - and you’ve inspired me to use vinegar as a cleaning solution more often! Thanks for your comment on my post today. So much fun to meet new bloggers through Collectively Creative!
Honestly, vinegar is the best. And it’s SOOO cheap! I’m glad to be a part of Collectively Creative too.
I heart my double pointed needles, my “good”scissors, and my few but tidy and well stocked cupboards and drawers.
I really wish I had some ‘good’ scissors actually! I have several pairs and none of them do the trick!
I don’t mean to” push my own barrow”" too much but I would like you to check this out if you have time. Also I love the way you have tapped into what is important. Giving gratitude for the wonderful things we have in our lives, big and small.
http://gentlestitches.com/2012/09/23/being-very-careful-with-scissors/
Thanks for sharing the link! Even though I’m teaching my kids to share, they should also know that there are things you don’t have to share….like a good pair of scissors!
This made me laugh. I have such inanimate object love that I could totally related to this list with my own things in my head. Such as my mirror. Pizza. My cell phone. It’s terrible.
Yeah, there are things I might be just a TAD obsessed with. I didn’t even mention Oreos, but they should be on that list too
Erin, I love all these things too! I need to use my shredder more — it’s amazing how quickly paper builds up,isn’t it? And apparently I build long-lasting relationships with my minivans because it’s literally my second home. I’m so glad the much maligned minivan got a shout-out on your list!
I might never drive another vehicle other than a van! We’re also in ours ALL the time. I’m surprised my shredder is still holding up as much as I use it. I shred everything
I heart my label maker too. Thanks so much for participating in this month’s Collectively Creative, Erin!
Thanks so much! I love being more of a part of the blogging community. Thanks for having me participate!
I love it that you took the time to appreciate things we all take for granted, Erin! Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks! Sometimes the simplest things can make life so much easier and less hectic!