Friday Freebie (ON THURSDAY!) // 2018 Minimalist Calendar Printable

Fall has completely settled in here in the PNW – the air is chilly and wet, and leaves are blowing through the air and changing to vibrant autumn hues.  Pumpkins are everywhere and I finally felt like it was time to spruce up my front porch a little bit. This isn’t anything spectacular, but I don’t think it takes much.  When you google “fall entryway decor”, some pretty extravagant images come up. It can make you think that without going out and spending money, you can’t make your home look as nice, so why try?  I don’t think this is true at all, and as is true in many cases, less is more.

We don’t have much of a fancy entryway at our little rental home – really, our porch consists of a concrete pad under a small awning.  I collected a few pumpkins from our garden and purchased some mums, and it felt like just enough to clean it up and welcome fall with a little rustic entryway.

With the change in the air, my mind is starting to turn toward the holiday season and with that comes the New Year!  Today my freebie is a simple, minimalist printable calendar you can print and frame (or be trendy with a clipboard 😉 ) to reference throughout the whole year.  You can find the complete set with individual months included, for purchase here on my Etsy shop (PSST, if you purchase now, you will get to benefit from the added bonus of pages for the remaining 2017 months!).

This printable works great on both white cardstock or brown kraft paper (regular paper is fine too, if you are planning on framing).

Enjoy and be sure to share this freebie with your friends or pin it for later!

FREE 2018 Minimalist Calendar Printable

What are your favorite simple fall decorating tips? Share in the comments below!  Thanks for stopping by! – beca

 

Advertisements

Happy Autumn! // Freebie Friday // Free Autumn Vibes Art Print

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Fall is here.  The leaves are falling and the air has shifted and feels chilly. Maybe it is because my birthday happens right near the beginning of Fall each year, or maybe it is just my love for sweaters, scarves and all things cozy, but as much as I soak up that summer sunshine and play hard outside, Fall gets me every year.

To celebrate the equinox and changing of seasons, today I am giving you this fun little Autumn Vibes print.  These are wonderful to print once and pop in a frame each year.  I have a friend who keeps a frame on her mantel and just rotates the seasonal prints (storing out of season prints behind the displayed one) and it keeps her home looking festive.

If you liked this print, please be sure to share with a friend or pin it on pinterest to find again later!  Hope you enjoy!  Simply right click the JPG below to save and print, or download the PDF (sized to 8.5 x 11 paper) below.

-Bec

PDF Download:

Autumn Vibes Printable Fall Art Decor PenCraftLove

Tips For Keeping Your House Clean Enough to Sell // Free Ultimate Cleaning Checklist Printable // Freebie Friday

Any realtor will tell you that if you want to sell your home, you need to keep the space looking uncluttered, tidy and appealing to potential buyers.  You want people to walk in and feel relaxed and like they could make the space their own.

For a few months, we rented a house that was actively on the market to be sold.  This was great, because we didn’t have to pay as much for rent, but we did have to agree to keep it clean so that at any given moment a potential buyer could come walk through the house for a showing.  At the time, my husband and I both worked outside of the home and we had an 18 month old, so I had to come up with a system to make this work.

My trick for keeping it clean around the clock?  A cleaning checklist and getting into the habit of a daily “house sweep”.

I had a cleaning checklist, similar to the one I’m giving you free today, in a frame on the wall.  This included daily, weekly, monthly and annual chores.  I religiously followed my checklist every day and week until it became natural.  Wipe down the bathroom before bed?  CHECK.  Sweep and wash the floors? CHECK. The daily maintenance made it MUCH easier to keep the house clean – no procrastinating and then having to do a bigger job scrubbing down the bathroom after weeks of use. Also, it only really took 20 minutes a day before bedtime.

You have to remember: Keeping your house is clean not a PROJECT, it is an ongoing PRACTICE. And it might take a little bit to get into the habit, but you become what you measure! Get into the habit of checking those boxes each day.  If you didn’t get to something, then make sure you double up the next day so you don’t get behind.

The practice that made the biggest difference was doing a sweep of the house before bed every night, tidying the floors and finishing any checklist items I hadn’t gotten to yet that day.

I also found that I like having weekly chores without a specific day attached to them – if Friday came around and I still had not done everything, it just meant a little more work to catch up on that day.  But otherwise, I could pick one or two tasks a day and by the weekend be done with those bigger, once-a-week jobs.

The other benefit was that I had more time to spend with my family, cook healthy meals, and work on projects I enjoyed, all in a stress-free and clean environment. And, having friends over at seconds notice never had me scurrying to make my house “presentable”.

So, here is my personal ultimate cleaning checklist for you to enjoy! I am including both a blank checklist and one with my list, in case you are looking for a starting point/inspiration.  Download one or both!  And if you would like a custom made checklist, I’d be happy to help you out! You can contact me at: pencraftlove@gmail.com and hop over to my Etsy shop to purchase my blank Cleaning Checklist (without logo).

ENJOY YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD:

Ultimate Cleaning Checklist

Ultimate Cleaning Checklist blank(blank version)

Miss last week’s Freebie Friday?  Click on over to get your free Weekly Meal Planner Print!

 

5 Surprising Things You Can Do To Make Your House Stay Cleaner with Less Effort

Somedays (to be honest, most days), I find myself feeling like I am working and taking care of kids all day at home and then will walk through the house and feel like nothing has been accomplished. There are toys out (again), the floor is dirty, the dishes are still not done, the entry way isn’t tidy.  It is all of these little things that build up to make my house feel messy and unwelcoming and myself overwhelmed. I look around and feel defeated, unsure of where to start and if there is any point in trying if it is just going to get messy again.

I have learned that these things can seem like too much to tackle, but in reality, it only takes a matter of minutes to get everything back in order with a little effort.  So these are my quick hacks to getting my house tidied up in 20 minutes when it seems out of control.

1. Don’t Mop the Floors!

   That’s right, you heard me! I don’t even own a mop, and our flooring is almost completely tile in our home. I keep rags in a basket in the kitchen and a spray bottle with a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water filled under the sink.  I grab it and spray down the floor, then just put a rag under my foot (or one under each) and do a quick back and forth skate across the kitchen.  I get a little bit of a workout (ha!) and the kids even enjoy helping out from time to time. I have young kids at home, so sometimes I do this a 2-3 times a day, and this simple quick clean up helps me feel like my house is so much cleaner throughout the day!

2. Sweep Your Area Rugs

   Now, vacuuming doesn’t have to take long and I try to vacuum every other day, but I usually have to sweep up my kitchen anyway, so I just quickly run over to my area rugs and sweep up the crumbs and lint and put them in the garbage inbetween vacuuming.  This means putting in just a little bit less effort for a quick tidy and cleaner floor.

3. Don’t Buy Lots of Different Cleaners

   Not only will it be better for your health, but you can clean many things in your home with simple homemade solutions.  White vinegar is a MUST to have on hand, as you can clean almost everything from your sink, to the floors and bathrooms with it. Invest in some good spray bottles and have rags on hand to keep your house in good shape. If you like scent, look into some essential oils or lemon juice to add to your spray bottle.

4. Give EVERYTHING a Specific Home

   This may take a little more work in the beginning, but once everything has a specified home, cleaning takes so much less time and everyone can help put things away easier. Schoolwork, mail, toys, sports gear, purses, keys – EVERYTHING. Keeping a basket by the stairs can help too, if you are good about taking it up and emptying it out once a day so it doesn’t just become a “junk” basket.

5. If It Takes Less Than 2 Minutes, Do It RIGHT AWAY

   Seriously.  If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it right away.  Need to file that important letter in the file box in the office upstairs?  Run and do it!  Yes, you might feel tired and want to just set it by the stairs, but the peace of mind and jolt of energy you will receive from getting the task done right away IS worth it. Sometimes it takes a bit of a pep talk, but when you just decide to put in the extra effort, you realize you can get so much more done each day and have less weighing on your mind.

One thing I read as a young girl was a simple saying, “redeem the time”. I think of this often when I am waiting for something and just want to check out on my phone – what could I be doing instead to save the wasted time? Downtime is important and we all need rest, but often we can waste valuable time and then wonder where the went.

Thanks for reading, what are some of your favorite cleaning hacks and tips? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

(p.s. Check back this Friday for FREEBIE FRIDAY and download my FREE Cleaning Checklist! )

Freebie Friday – Printable Weekly Meal Planner

Everyone loves a good freebie, right?? This colorful printable is a great way to get your weekly dinner plans in order.  Someone once told me a tip that if you want to set your day up for success, you should know what you are making for dinner by 8:30AM.

At first, I thought this was a bit extreme, but how many times has 4PM crept up on me, the kids are cranky and I don’t have anything planned yet?  Every morning when I pull out my daily bullet journal page, I always think about this and try to come up with a dinner plan by the time my coffee is finished (if I haven’t gotten my whole week planned out already).

This printable is a fun and easy way to quickly glance at your week!  Just print out, pop into a frame (I love to put magnetic strips on the back and stick it straight to my fridge!) and then use dry-erase markers to jot down our your weekly meals (and easily make changes if need be).

Hope you enjoy this printable! Be sure to follow my blog in order to be updated everytime I add freebies and promotions in the future!

-Bec

To PRINT:  Simply right-click on the image below and save, open and print at 100%

Let’s Get Organized!

I’m so glad you have stumbled onto my site! My name is Bec, the creator/designer behind PencraftLove.  I am just starting out my new blog and hope you will join along the way – be on the look out for free printables, organizing ideas/hacks, art prints, and more! You can check out my current stock of digital downloads in my etsy shop by visiting: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pencraftlove

Minmialist Monthly Planner Pages available for Instant Download in my Etsy shop.

I also do custom work and get giddy over helping others get organized in a way that suits them, so if you like my work, please contact me!

You can find this originally handlettered print in my shop for instant download!

Check back for more soon and make sure you sign up for my email list to get periodic updates & freebies.

Thanks for stopping by,

-Bec