James's mom sent me this copy of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag: And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha -- almost as soon as I saw it I knew it was destined for a place of honor on the kitchen shelf with my favorite cookbooks. I generally think the idea of being a "housewife" is a little nauseating (even though I am one?) but I do take a secret pride at being good at cleaning and I love learning new tricks.

Jolie Kerr's second book answers reader questions on how to clean the most random (yet filthy) things: everything from hair dryers to car seatbelts. The book has only been in the house a few days but I've already read it cover to cover and even used a few of its tricks (Woollite + vinegar to de-deoderantify workout clothes is my fave).

Most of all, I love Jolie Kerr's refreshing honesty and ability to deal with the grossest, most off-colored scenarios. And for reminding us all that you can still be a Clean Person even if you occasionally fall asleep eating chocolate in bed.

I used the excuse of moving to get rid of a lot of stuff, including in the craft box. All of our on-its-last-legs art supplies -- worn down crayons, half-empty paints, semi-dry dot markers, glue dregs, foam sheet scraps -- came out for one last hurrah before I threw them in the trash. I put everything on the table in front of Anouk with a stack of junk mail (catalogs that won't stop coming no matter how many times I cancel are my pet peeve) and let her get to work.



The result were these mixed media collages that I think are very colorful and fun. It was hilarious and really interesting to sit back and watch A. make them, exploring her newfound creative freedom over what was basically the whole craft box. Trying to get in there and experiment with everything all at once is basically her life's mission right now. This was her chance and she took it with gusto.





Now I have some art for the fridge at the new house and my craft bins are about 5 pounds lighter. I don't think of it as throwing stuff away, I think of it as Strunk-and-White-ing my art supplies (Omit needless pom-poms).

Happy Monday! Have you been fall cleaning this year? Any creative ways of getting rid of excess junk?

Some of the things we've accomplished over the past seven days: finally organizing our pantry (which was a jumbled up mess), giving a few pieces of old furniture some much-needed TLC, cleaning and disinfecting hordes of A.'s toys, and rearranging the garage to fit all of James's hunting gear, Anouk's outdoor stuff, and my gardening tools and still have room to walk. I would pick the garage as our proudest achievement so far -- in fact, I find myself going and standing in the doorway several times a day just to admire our handiwork. This weekend, we're tackling the yard. And James and I are currently drawing up plans for a potting bench we'd like to build for the backyard -- neither of us are woodworkers, though. So we'll see how it goes.

While I was scouring the internet for a natural tub spray I'd seen but forgotten to pin, I came across this post at Playful Learning about encouraging toddlers to clean up after themselves and was so inspired by it that I decided to try to involve Anne as much as possible in our deep clean from there on out. I've started breaking down each big task whenever I can into at least one small kid-sized project -- A. wipes the bottom windows, I do the top; she holds the dustpan while I sweep, etc. When we can, we make cleaning into a game, and we're sure to take frequent breaks to reward ourselves for a job well done and to admire our efforts.  And after reading this article, I've also made an effort to start assigning A. small daily chores -- helping to fill the cat bowls and to put away her clean clothes in her dresser. We're still working on the latter, because handing her a pile of clothes usually means she has to stop and try them all on, right there, right now, but she's doing pretty well on the former. In my opinion, there is basically nothing cuter than watching Anouk toddle across the kitchen  with a cup of cat kibble and place it, piece by tiny piece, in the food bowl. So determined, so careful, so thoughtful about it!

Are you spring cleaning this year? If so, here are a links to help you out:

• Apartment Therapy's step-by-step for spring cleaning (don't miss these places!) 
• How to organize your garage so it's summer ready.
• Once-a-year checklist for getting your household paperwork in order.
• Cleaning and disinfecting all kinds of kids toys.

How do you encourage your kids to help out around the house?