Sarah's Housekeeping Blog

Summer is coming to a close, and the season of entertaining outdoors will quickly turn into huddling indoors. How's your patio furniture holding up? If you're like me, you may find some sticky surprises from your latest party lingering on your furniture. Find out how to clean wrought iron patio furniture.

Homework time? Many parents dream about setting up a study area for their children, but sometimes space is a big issue. No matter how much space you have, you can organize homework and study supplies into a great place for your kids to learn and progress.

You have a stain. Depending on how much you love the outfit, it can feel like the end of the world. Before you rush to figure out all the pieces of a stain removal process, review these 10 general stain removal tips.

While working on a recent article, I compiled some of the most common myths that housekeepers come across. My son was really interested in what I was working on. When I told him I was writing about cleaning myths, his eyes got very wide with surprise. After a few more minutes he asked me, "Is having to clean our room a myth?"

While we may have to clean our rooms, there are some things about cleaning that aren't fully true. Find out about the top cleaning myths.

I've taught my son to do laundry. I feel that this fact alone is something to be celebrated. His future wife will thank me someday, I'm sure. He's actually great at sorting. He's fantastic at loading the washing machine. But, I guess I forgot to stress that you should measure the soap.

I caught him pouring the soap in without even glancing at the measuring cup. He poured a lot of soap in before I could stop him. His reasoning...? The clothes were really dirty.

So does more soap equal more cleaning power?

My husband recently took our sons on a father/son outing. They ended up at a department store...in the power tool section. On their way back through the store they happened across the vacuum cleaners. The sales associate was very surprised when my sons started naming the different brands of vacuum cleaners. We like vacuum cleaners in our house. But what about the people who say that vacuuming is bad for your carpet? Truth or cleaning myth...we'll sort it out.

Ammonia is a relatively inexpensive cleaner with a distinctive odor. Common housekeeping tips say that it can be used to clean a lot. It's supposed to be an easy oven cleaner. Not to mention it's ability to effortlessly clean microwave ovens. But, is ammonia really the best tool for the job...or is it just another cleaning myth?

I was reminiscing with my son about the first time I ever saw a computer. I was in second grade, and the computer had a game that required you to insert a large floppy disk to play. Midway through the game, you had to insert the second disk to be able to finish. Now it seems like we can't lived without our wired world, and while a lot of things are becoming wireless, we still have a love/hate relationship with the wires and the way they look. Find out some great tips for hiding unsightly wires in your home.

I can't live without my microwave. I'll be the first to admit it. I think I could find a way to live with nearly any other appliance in the house, but not my microwave. It's not just me, either. It's my whole family. We've gotten used to the quick way it warms anything we want. Consequently, my microwave gets quite a workout each day, and more than it's fair share of spills. Thankfully there are a few tricks to make a microwave cleanup, no fuss.

You wouldn't think that T-Ball could generate as much mud as a major league game, but I have proof that the little kids make some mud stains the big leaguers would be jealous of. The thing about mud, is that it smears, dries, and stains in a matter of minutes. So what's the first step to removing mud stains? Believe it or not, the first step is to let it dry.