Speed Through Household Chores With These Cleaning Shortcuts

The faster you get your cleaning done, the more time you’ll have to spend time with friends and family. The trick to quick cleaning is to have a system and to stick to it. Set a time limit for each room and you’ll be finished before you know it. Follow these tips for quick and efficient cleaning!

  • Keep up with daily cleaning tasks to help maintain your home's tidiness. By doing simple tasks every day, the cleaning will be much easier and not be so overwhelming.
  • Use a tote or bucket to keep all your cleaning supplies in. You can bring this from room to room and you won’t need to waste time searching for the supplies you need.
  • Use a vacuum to clean all of your floor surfaces. You should also use an extension cord for the vacuum to allow you to reach multiple areas without taking the time to keep plugging it in.
  • On your shower walls and door, use a squeegee after every use. This will prevent soap scum and water spots later on.
  • Focus on what you are cleaning and cut out anything that might distract you, e.g., your phone and the TV!

13 Tips to Help You Speed-Clean Your Home [Better Homes and Gardens]
Clean Your House in Less Than an Hour [Woman’s Day]
Speed Cleaning: Tips For Fast & Efficient Housekeeping [The Inspired Room]

Calling All Teachers: These Pinterest Boards Are Head of the Class!

Being teacher is an incredibly fulfilling job, and Pinterest is one of the most beneficial tools on the Internet to help make the most out of your classroom. From funny quotes to creative lesson ideas, the Pinterest teaching community offers something for all types of educators. Here are three of the best teaching boards on Pinterest.

Classroom Management
Teaching a class isn’t all fun and games, and this helpful board offers a number of tips and tricks for organizing your classroom and keeping everything running smoothly. Here, you’ll find creative ways to motivate your students, plus fun decorations that double as educational resources and printable worksheets to bolster your lesson plans.

Classroom Organization
Any teacher will tell you that staying organized is the key to a happy classroom, and this board is filled with ideas to help you do just that. Creative sign-out sheets will help you to keep track of all of your students, while bins and cubbies make great spaces for organizing all of your classroom supplies. There are even printable labels, worksheets, and calendars that all teachers will love.

Teacher Quotes
At the end of the day, teaching is all about maintaining a sense of humor. These inspiring and often hilarious quotes are filled with inside jokes that only fellow teachers will understand.

Let the Sunshine In: DIY Spring Home Decor Projects

After your spring cleaning is complete, you may start to feel like your home could use a bit of a decorating revamp, as well. No matter your budget, you can easily give your home a springtime makeover with DIY home decor projects. Here are just a few of the best spring-themed decorating projects for every room in your home.

Colorful Egg Window Dressing [familycircle.com]
Set to work crafting colorful paper eggs that will dress up those newly cleaned windows. This simple tutorial only requires multicolored construction paper and some scissors to complete, and it’s easy enough that even the kids can help out.

Heart-Shaped Sachets [countryliving.com]
Freshen up your drawers and closets with these adorable DIY sachets. Simply take some scrap fabric in a pattern that you like, cut out two heart shapes, and sew them together around the edges. Fill them with potpourri just before you sew them closed, then seal them shut and enjoy the scent.

Daffodil Flower Care [marthastewart.com]
One of the best ways to spruce up your home for the springtime is by adding fresh flowers wherever you can. Freshly cut daffodils are the picture of spring, but they can often be difficult to care for. This tutorial will show you how to properly cut daffodils and arrange them in a vase in a way that even a florist would admire.

Helpful Study Tips for Students of All Ages

Students from sixth grade all the way up to graduate school struggle can find studying to be a daunting task, despite how different their curriculum may be. Use these helpful study tips to improve your own studying or to help your struggling child.

  1. Review before bed. While it’s not the best idea to study when you’re overly tired, there’s some benefit to studying right before bed. Your brain strengthens new memories while sleeping, so you’re more likely to remember what you learned if you look at the information right before falling asleep.
  2. Create mnemonic devices. Whether you’re trying to remember complex chemistry concepts or the states and their capitals, it often helps to create a little story or other mnemonic device using people or objects that you’re already familiar with. For example, make a poem out of the first letters of each of the planets for a child who is struggling with an elementary science class.
  3. Create practice tests. One of the only ways to really test your knowledge is by putting yourself to the test. Download pre-made practice tests online or enlist a study partner to quiz you on the topic.
  4. Write instead of typing. Many studies show that the human brain is more likely to remember something that you write by hand than something that you type, so leave your laptop at home the next time you take notes.

22 Science-Backed Study Tips to Ace a Test [Greatist]
10 Tips to Study Smart and Save Time [Lifehack]
Adults in College: 10 Secrets to Success if You Haven’t Seen a Classroom in Years [Back to College Blog]
Top 10 Study Tips for Busy Adult Learners [Back to College]

Essential Beauty-Enhancing Products You Already Have at Home

The next time you want to try a new beauty product, you might want to start by browsing your kitchen cabinets instead of heading to the drugstore. Many common foods and oils can double as creams, scrubs, and skin treatments! Here are a few beneficial beauty products that you likely already own.

  1. Tea bags. Instead of investing in a pricey eye cream to get rid of those dark circles after a night out, use some tea bags instead. Soak two green tea bags in warm water and lay them on your eyelids. The caffeine will shrink the appearance of blood vessels, while the antioxidants reduce inflammation.
  2. Oatmeal. Make your own face treatment by using your favorite breakfast oats. Place a handful of whole oats inside of a washcloth and secure it closed with a rubber band. Soak the whole thing in a sink of warm water until the water turns cloudy, and then splash it onto your face. This will create a protective barrier on the skin that seals in moisture and provides anti-inflammatory properties.
  3. Oranges. Use oranges to get rid of pesky dry patches on the skin. Squeeze half of an orange into a bowl and mix in 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Rub the other half of the orange on dry knees or elbows to loosen the dead cells, and then rub on your homemade scrub to slough them away.

Have A Spa Day…At Home! 10 DIY Beauty Treatments! [Seventeen]
Our Favorite All-Natural Home Beauty Treatments [Fitness]
Crazy Beauty Tricks That Really Work [Whole Living]
6 All-Natural Beauty Fixes [Woman’s Day]

Plan Your Dream Wedding With Help From These 2 Websites

The wedding-planning process is an exciting time in the life of any bride or groom, but it can difficult to know exactly where to start. Whether you're planning backyard nuptials or an elaborate affair on a tropical island, these two image-heavy websites can help point you in the direction of your dream wedding.

Style Me Pretty
Arguably the most popular wedding blog out there, Style Me Pretty posts user-submitted photos from "real" brides. Each post tells the story of the bride's day through beautiful photos, which are supplemented with wedding planning advice and tips from the newlywed.

Once Wed
Similar to Style Me Pretty, Once Wed is eye candy for brides-to-be. Ooh and aah over images of real brides' gowns, bouquet, and shoes, then scroll down to learn how she coordinated her bridal party, decorated her tablescapes, and decided upon invitations. Borrow some of her ideas for your own wedding.

Create Something Great With These DIY Blogs

DIY-ers know that there’s no shortage of online instructional videos and websites showing you how to make everything from a bed made of wood palettes to your own beaded jewelry. If you’re a crafty girl or guy who loves to build things from scratch, these two creative websites are full of ideas to get your gears turning:

Pretty Handy Girl
Though the name implies that it’s a site for females, Pretty Handy Girl is full of ideas that all types of people will love. From complex home renovation projects to simple arts and crafts ideas, this site will help you make your house look as chic and stylish as a page in a magazine. It also features a peek inside the blogger's toolbox, helping beginning DIY enthusiasts learn which tools are necessary for just about any project.

Makezine
Makezine is a complete online resource for all things DIY, from project instructions and tutorials to meet-ups with other makers in your area. The main page offers interesting articles about incredible projects that other people have made, as well as the latest news from the DIY world. There’s also a database full of how-to guides, video tutorials, and even categories dividing projects by various subjects. Whether you’re a recreational DIY-er or an amateur inventor, Makezine has something for everyone.

Public Domain/Public Domain

5 Household Uses For Mint

Did you know that there are a lot of uses for mint beyond a garnish for your iced tea? Well, read on for a few creative, household uses for this versatile plant. If you're intrigued, you can learn more about these and 10 other household uses for mint over at Mother Earth Living.

Bug Repellent
Did you know that mint deters pesky bugs like ants and flies. Bring a potted mint plant into your kitchen, or spray diluted peppermint essential oil (ten parts water to one part oil) around doorways and windows.

Pet Care
Keep your household pets flea-free with this homemade repellent: bundle two parts fresh spearmint, one part fresh thyme, and one part fresh wormwood, and place it inside a small pillow. Put the pillow near your pet’s bed, or favorite resting spot.

Cure Stomach Upset
Peppermint tea is a refreshing way to ease an upset stomach. This is because peppermint naturally serves to calm the digestive tract and alleviate indigestion, intestinal gas, and abdominal cramping.

Soothe Sunburn
Menthol cools and soothes skin, so mint is a great herb to have around in the warm weather. Rely on it to ease sunburn — make a strong peppermint tea, and then refrigerate the mixture for several hours. Then, carefully apply to the burned area with a clean cotton ball.

Home Fragrance
Keep your home smelling great with mint. Add a few drops of mint essential oil to your favorite unscented cleaner to infuse your home with a refreshing scent. 

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