Truth be told, I’m a horrible whistler, so thankfully, we’re not talking about actual whistling. We’re going to talk about something I recently discovered – the greatest housecleaning aid ever: music. I know, I know. Some of you are probably like, “Girl, I’ve been cleaning with music for years!” Well, as we’ve mentioned before, when Greg and I got married we moved into an apartment until we found a perfect fixer upper. That means “cranking up the tunes” wasn’t an option. Though at times it seemed that rule only seemed to apply to us. Our neighbors thought it was totally okay for them to make all sorts of racket on a regular basis. Bitter? Me? No way. ; )

Anyway… Greg and I have recently rediscovered the joy of loud(ish) music, and I’ve found that cleaning to a rhythm is amazing for my productivity. There are actually several scientific studies that back up the idea that music makes repetitive tasks (such as cleaning) easier and/or more enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I put together what I think is a perfect Housecleaning Mix. It’s about 1 hour long – so it’s perfect for daily (sometimes every-other-day) blitz cleaning. Now, you might call my cleaning mix odd. I prefer to call it “eclectic”. It covers the full gamut; from true classics to show tunes to modern pop. And, of course, no cleaning mix is complete without a few “guilty pleasures”, so don’t judge! : )

1. Rolling in the Deep – Adele
2. 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
3. Marry You – Bruno Mars
4. The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
5. Forget You (Glee Cast Version) – Glee
6. Heartburn – Alicia Keys
7. I’m Shakin’ – Rooney
8. The Story of Us – Taylor Swift
9. Defying Gravity – Wicked
10. Friday is Forever – We The Kings
11. Ignorance – Paramore
12. Butterflies – Dave Barnes
13. Goodnight and Goodbye – Jonas Brothers
14. Love Can Wait – Cameron Mitchell
15. Don’t Rain on My Parade – Hello Dolly
16. Born to Hand Jive – Grease

Can’t you tell which ones are total “guilty pleasures”? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Though I’m not a Jonas Brothers fan-girl (Though I have to admit, I kinda was back in the day) or considered a “Gleek” (However, I am a fan of The Glee Project! A friend of my brother’s, Cameron, is one of the contestants.), but this is my concoction for getting the job done. So next time you’re housecleaning, crank up the music! As Martha Stewart would say, “it’s a good thing.” ; )

So what’s in your Cleaning Mix? Do you crank up the tunes when you do housework?

It’s time for your well-deserved vacation and you’re busy packing all of the necessities for a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But don’t rush out the door too fast! Here are nine things you need to remember before you head off for your vacation destination…

1. Turn off any breakers that won’t be needed while you’re gone. This can save you a pretty nice little chunk of change. Sure, you could just leave everything in the “off” position, and you’d still save some money, but many modern electronic devices still draw power even when they’re “off”. By turning off your breakers, you’re also doing a lot to lower the risk that your electronics will be hit by a power surge while you’re gone. Of course, don’t turn off the breaker to your fridge, air conditioner, or security system. You’ll still need these things (among a few others) to be running while you’re gone.

2. Clean out your refrigerator and pantry. Many people rush out the door dreaming of sandy beaches and not thinking about what their house might look or smell like when they get back. Before you leave, clean out any perishable items that might go bad while you’re having your fun in the sun. That way, your house doesn’t smell like a garbage dump when you walk in the door upon your return. Take the perishable food over to your parents’ or even a local food bank.

3. Clean, bleach, and plastic wrap your toilets. Yep, you read that right: plastic wrap. I’ll get to that in a minute. First, clean your toilet with your normal cleaning supplies to make it nice and clean. Who wants to come back home to toilet bowl rings? Then, pour in some bleach. This helps prevent mildew, which is part of what creates that musty smell in your house while you’re not there. This last (and strangest) step is optional, but great for people in warm, humid climates taking extended vacations. Tightly wrap plastic wrap over the bowl like you’re trying to seal up leftovers (that is, air-tight). You see, in warmer climates, water can evaporate from the toilet bowl and allow sewer/septic gas to leak into the house. You don’t want that. It’s smelly and can even be dangerous.

4. Set your air conditioner to a reasonably high temperature. Just bumping your temperature up a few degrees will allow you to save a decent amount on your power bill. However, setting your AC to 80 degrees (that’s about 27 Celsius for our metric friends) or more will cut your energy bill down significantly. Just remember that if your AC isn’t running much, it’s not taking the humidity out of the air, so be conscious of what the things in your house can tolerate. For example, musical instruments made from wood (guitars, cellos, pianos) don’t tolerate high heat or humidity very well, so if you have a high-end instrument, set your AC at the point where it will kick on every now and then to keep the temperature and humidity in check.

5. Turn off the water. Well, turn if off to whatever extent you’re comfortable. This is a matter of personal preference and may depend on how long you are leaving your house. Some people shut off water to their entire house while they’re gone. This takes the pressure out of your plumbing and ensures you won’t spring any costly leaks. Of course, turning it back on underneath the house right after a long car or plane ride isn’t exactly fun, so you could just hit the shutoff valves at each of your water-using appliances. The most vital are the washing machine, any leaky faucets, toilets that run constantly, etc. Of course, fixing these things before you leave would be nice, but not everybody may have that kind of time.

6. Buy timers for a couple of the lights in your house. These create the illusion that your house is still occupied, even when it’s not. Some timers even allow for different settings for different days. This is the kind of timer you want to buy. If all of your lights come on at the exact same time every night, it’s going to be rather obvious that they’re on a timer. Set each of your two (or more) timers to come on and turn off at different times each day. You might even set them to turn off or on near the same time to simulate someone coming home or going to bed.

7. Try not to order anything for delivery while you’re gone. Or, if you do, have it delivered to a friend or neighbor. There are two reasons behind this: 1) You don’t want whatever you ordered to sit outside for weeks on end. 2) Some professional criminals follow delivery trucks around to see if anybody answers the door when the driver knocks. This, along with leaving the packages on your doorstep while you’re gone, leaves the impression that you’re not around.

8. Remove any hidden keys. If no one is home and your neighbors aren’t extremely nosy, a burglar has virtually unlimited time to look around your house for keys. Make sure he doesn’t find any.

9. Recruit a friend to go by your house from time to time. You don’t really need to give them a key, either. All they need to do is pull in, make sure there aren’t any packages at your door, grab your mail, and ensure nothing looks broken or vandalized.

Do you have any helpful tips to add to the list? Let us know in the comment section!

Suitcase photo found here. Plastic wrap photo found here. Toilet found here. Light timer photo found here. Slight altered key rock photo found here

Here at the Brown house, we have a pretty hefty amount of magazine subscriptions. Well, actually, I have a pretty hefty amount of magazine subscriptions. Real Simple, InStyle, The Nest, Professional Photographer, Better Homes & Gardens, Fresh Home, House Beautiful, and not to mention catalogs from some of our favorite stores like Pottery Barn, Flor, Crate & Barrel, Ballard Designs, West Elm… the list goes on. Since we started renovations on the house almost a year ago (Wow! It seems like just a few months ago!), I’ve been saving the magazines that had articles that inspire me. Magazines dating back to February (when we moved into my parents’ house to begin the renovation) have been piling up on the bookshelf in my office. That’s a lot of magazines. On one hand, I didn’t want to get rid of them. They’re chock full of inspiration, information and cool products that we’d love to use. On the other hand, I really don’t need them taking up valuable space in my office. I’m a “have your cake and eat it too” kind of girl, so I needed to find a way to condense, simplify, and organize my magazine collection.

I like things to be organized. “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” And I love notebooks. (As if you couldn’t tell from the blog design!) In my top right desk drawer, I have three spiral notebooks: one for to-do lists, one for jotting down creative ideas (projects, designs, etc.) and one for blog topic ideas. They keep me organized and sane.  Two very good things. I also love a well-organized 3-ring binder. We have one for home maintenance, one for our collection of home inspiration photos, one for takeout menus, and even one for Bentley’s medical records. Call it an obsession, if you want, but my notebooks keep things simple and organized. We never have to wonder where Bentley’s records are or where the California Pizza Kitchen to-go menu is.

Anyway, I digress. I needed to do something about my growing pile of magazines. So what do I do? Go to the office supply store, of course! Greg and I ended up leaving with a few bags of office supplies (a girl can’t have too many glue sticks and Sharpies), but most importantly, I found a solution for my growing pile of magazines!

Fast forward a few hours, dinner, a walk with Bentley, shower, getting comfy, an email answering session; here’s what I gathered up to get started on Operation: Magazine Madness…

• 3-Ring Binder
• Dividers
• Page Protectors
• Post-It Note Wallet (how cool!)
• Ultra Thin Sharpie
• Scissors
• My Massive Stack of Magazines
• Some good movies/TV shows on the DVR

Now, the plan of attack: I started browsing through the magazines one by one. When I found something I wanted to hold on to, I simply tore it out and trimmed the edge (nasty, ripped edges are a n0-no). After a few magazines, I realized the articles and clippings I was setting aside could easily be divided into eight categories: Home Decor (Yes, we have a notebook for home decor photos, but this section is for home decor articles such as picking the right paint color, curb appeal tips, etc.), entertaining, home life, recipes, beauty/health, gift ideas, general articles, and photography. Low and behold, the eight tab names.

Once I got in a groove, it was actually a lot of fun!

The Post-Its come in handy to make notes — especially in the gift idea section. If I come across something that will be perfect for my mom, I can just attach a note. And if for some reason she’s later browsing through my ultra-organized, nifty magazine notebook, and I don’t want her to see my gift idea, I can just snatch it off and put it inside the sheet protector between the pages.

I’m not quite finished going through every magazine at the moment. That will take another magazine night or two!

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Isn’t the notebook going to eventually overflow?” It’s possible. We may have to upgrade from a 1.5″ notebook to a 2″ notebook one day, but I’m going to go through the notebook every couple of months and remove the things we don’t care for anymore, read one too many times, etc. That way, things don’t get too out of hand. The notebook will be ever-evolving and it’ll always stay fresh and new. This process is a lot better than keeping stacks upon stacks of magazines, right? Yeah, I thought so too.

What are your favorite magazines? Do you keep them around for a few months or pitch them as soon as you read them?

Want to make your own Magazine Notebook? Click here to download cover art for your notebook (like the one pictured above). Happy organizing!