In order to stay on top of housecleaning, it is essential for us to have a routine.  Every situation is different, so the routine that works for your mother, sister, or friend may or may not work for you.  But we can all create our own routines to make housecleaning easier.

* Tackle one room at a time.  Many of us don’t have an entire day to dedicate to house cleaning every week.  Doing one room at a time allows us to break the work up into smaller chunks while still accomplishing something noticeable.  One or two rooms each day should allow us to get the whole house clean in a week’s time.

* Do one task at a time, but do it for the whole house.  This is another effective way to break the work up.  For example, you could dust the entire house from end to end and be done with it.  Then you could move on to sweeping or vacuuming.  Doing things this way will save time by eliminating a lot of the “stop and go” as well.

* Try grouping certain tasks together to multitask.  Chores like doing the laundry do not require constant attention, so we can do other things while we’re waiting for the clothes to be washed and dried.  Associating another task with it that is more labor-intensive, like dusting or cleaning the kitchen, can increase our productivity.  Once the first load is finished, we can fold or iron clothes while waiting for the next load.

* Break larger tasks up into smaller ones if they become too monotonous.  Some of us have rooms that it seems to take forever to clean, or certain chores that we just hate to do.  Breaking them up into smaller, more manageable parts might help us get them done.  For example, if you despise cleaning the bathroom, you could clean the shower and then go work on something more enjoyable for a while.  Then you can come back later and tackle something else, and repeat until the whole bathroom is clean.

* Put on some upbeat music to keep yourself motivated.  Listening to music you love can make any task more pleasant, and something with a good beat will keep you moving.  You might even find yourself dancing as you clean.

Having a routine is a great way to do anything more efficiently.  This is especially true for housecleaning.  You may have to experiment a little at first, but finding a routine that works for you will pay off.  You’ll be able to get your house clean in less time, and you might even start enjoying it more. I no house cleaning is a chore that most of us dread, and if you live in a family unit getting everyone to pitch in is a chore itself.  Goog Luck!

Circus Party Invitations and Decorations

Invitations for a circus party could take many forms.  You can find invitations featuring circus animals or clowns at your local discount or party supply store.  You could also find designs online or included with your favorite printing software.  Or, if you want to get really creative, you could make invitations by hand.

Circus posters or tickets make excellent invitations to a circus birthday party.  For extra fun, you could dress the honoree up as a clown or trapeze artist and take his picture to add to the invitations.  Get creative with the wording and layout for a more authentic circus feel.

Primary colors are perfect for a circus party.  Lots of balloons in those colors are inexpensive yet realistic circus decorations.  If your child has some large stuffed animals such as lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, or elephants, you could set them around the house.

Circus Party Food and Favors

Popcorn is a staple at the circus, and it makes a wonderful snack for a circus birthday party.  If you happen to have a cotton candy machine, fresh cotton candy is good too.  You could add some small fruits such as grapes or berries or larger fruit cut into slices for good measure.

Cake ideas for a circus party include clowns, tents, or animals.  If you’re making the cake yourself, you could use chocolate icing to resemble a dirt floor, and add toy circus animals as toppers.  Cupcakes are also great at a circus party.  You could bake them in ice cream cones for added fun.

There are lots of favors that would work for a circus party.  Small stuffed circus animals are a fitting choice.  Animal stickers are also a favorite.  For homemade favors, you could buy a large box of animal crackers and fill small bags with them, tying them up with colorful ribbons.

Circus Party Games and Activities

Hiring a clown is a natural choice for a circus party, but that could eat into your party budget.  A parent could dress up as a clown and entertain the children, or you could forgo the clown altogether and come up with other fun activities.  There are lots of simple games you could provide for a circus party.

A beanbag toss game is easy to make with a large piece of cardboard.  You could also create a “Pin the Nose on the Clown” game that kids will love.  Putting small, inexpensive favors into balloons and blowing them up, then letting the kids pop balloons and keep the prizes they get, makes for an entertaining activity as well.  And don’t forget the face paint.  Kids love getting their faces painted, even if you’re not the world’s greatest artist.

Recycling is one of the easiest steps toward green living. By teaching your children what things can be recycled, they can help sort things. If you live near a recycling center, your family might even take a tour and see how it works.  When shopping, you can turn it into a game of “I spy” by trying to find the three arrow symbol on a product that shows it’s made from recycled materials. 

Reducing is another important step in learning to live green.  Most families use more water and electricity than they realize.  Remembering to turn off electronic items and lights when they aren’t in use is one of the easiest things to do.  Have the kids go around the house and see who can find the most number of things that are on that don’t have to be. 

Water is another area most families can reduce usage.  Make a usage chart and keep track of how many times a day people use water: drinking, showers, flushing, watching clothes or dishes.  Try to see how much each activity uses and find ways to use less water.  Shortening showers and adjusting the toilet tank are only a couple ways to save water.

Take a walk or bike ride with your family.  See if you can spot ways that people are either saving or wasting resources in your neighborhood.  By not driving, it reinforces using alternate means of transportation, which not only saves gasoline, but also reduces air polution.

Reusing is another way to help your family start living green.  On Earth Day, why not plant a garden and start a mulch pile?  Even if you don’t have a large yard, you can clear a small corner and plant a few tomatoes or cucumbers.  By starting a mulch pile, you can show how nature can replenish itself by reusing organic materials.  You also have the pleasure of raising vegetables, which are a healthy alternative to other snacks that your kids might pick.

Earth Day makes the perfect time to start teaching new earth-friendly habits.  By putting the green ideas into practice now when they are young, they will be more likely to continue as they get older.

The most important thing to remember when selecting chores for toddlers is to keep it simple.  Very young children do not have the cognitive or motor skills to take on complicated tasks.  But there are some things they can do that, after some practice, will be helpful to you.

* Picking up toys - Getting your toddler to pick up after himself can be a great help.  But it’s usually too much to expect him to put everything in its exact place.  A better approach would be to provide a laundry basket or large box for him or her to simply throw all of his stuff into.  Then you can take it to his room and put it where it belongs.

* Feeding the pets - Kids are often honored to help take care of their pets.  Toddlers are capable of helping to feed pets, but occasional messes should be expected.  To minimize accidents, you could buy pet food in individual packets or cans for small cats and dogs.  For watering purposes, toddlers can put the water into a small watering can and then pour it into the bowl.

* Watering plants - Small children usually can’t resist the opportunity to water plants.  This is another task that could get messy, so make sure your plants aren’t sitting on or near anything that could be easily damaged by water.  It’s also smart to make sure they don’t fill the watering can over half full.  This will help prevent spilling the water in transit.

* Cleaning the floors - It may seem like an adults-only task, but floor cleaning is something that kids often enjoy.  The trick is to let them use tools that they can easily manage.  Cordless floor sweepers are ideal for this purpose.  There are also small, working vacuum cleaners and brooms available in the toy departments of most stores.  While it might be too ambitious to expect a child to sweep all of the dirt into a neat pile, he can help get the dirt out of the corners while you go behind him and sweep it all together.

* Helping with the laundry - Every mom could use some help with the laundry, and young children are often happy to oblige.  Toddlers can help sort dirty clothes, and you can even turn it into a learning experience.  You could also enlist your toddler’s help in loading and unloading the washer and dryer.

When your child is old enough to walk and is somewhat verbal, he can start helping with the housework.  Getting your child to help with chores will help him develop a sense of responsibility.  And that is something that you will be thankful for when he is older and can do more substantial housework.

Flowers - What little girl doesn’t like flowers? There are any number of adorable baskets and buckets with flowers on them. You could even put her things in a clay flowerpot. Decorating a plain container with either paint or stickers can personalize it even more. You could purchase a few packages of flower seeds and kid garden tools so she can plant her own flowerbed.  Chocolate roses could also be a nice touch.  You can find them in most stores, or buy molds and make your own.  Depending on her personality, adding some gummy worms could be fun as well.  Top it all off with a new Easter bonnet that can double as a gardening hat, covered in flowers.

Animals - If she loves animals (and what little girl doesn’t?), you could put together a basket featuring her favorite animal.  If the animal has a distinctive pattern, such as a zebra or giraffe, you could decorate the outside of a simple basket or bucket with the same pattern.  You could probably even find a stencil at your local craft store.  A small stuffed version of the animal is usually easy to find, instead of using the standard Easter bunny.  There are many books and movies to chose from about animals of all shapes and sizes.  It should be no problem to find an enjoyable one.  Of course, no matter what her favorite animal is, she’ll still enjoy having a chocolate bunny in her basket.

Fashion - Many girls love playing dress up and getting into mommy’s makeup and clothes.  Putting together some age appropriate makeup, or even play makeup for the younger girls, would be a nice treat.  Add in some things for her hair, like barrettes, clips, ribbons, or headbands.  A matching comb, brush, and mirror set can make a nice gift to add to the basket as well.  Depending on the young lady’s age, you could put in some of the candy jewelry, like necklaces and ring pops.  The older girls would enjoy some fun jewelry as well.

There are many other possible themes for girls.  If she collects a particular toy or figurine it can be used as a theme.  Add some pretty tissue paper or Easter grass, some ribbons or bows and your basket is almost complete.  There’s an almost endless choice of candy out there to add for the finishing touch.  Let your imagination flow.