Summer is a great family time and also a great time to teach kids cleaning skills. These tips will help jobs move along smoothly. After cleaning, plan a fun activity as a reward for participation. Your family will love it!

• Always clean top to bottom. When you dust, start at the top and work your way down.
• Take all your cleaning tools with you into each room to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
• Turn off the phones and TV.
• Eliminate clutter. An uncluttered home looks better than one that is dust-free, but strewn with odds and ends.
• Clean as you go! It takes a lot less time to remove new dirt than old and to put things away as you use them than it does to clean and store the piles that accumulate.
• A house that smells fresh will give the impression of cleanliness. Leave baking soda on carpeting for the night to absorb musty odors and vacuum in the morning.
• Keep a doormat or big astro-turf mat on the porch to cut down on tracked in dirt.
• Keep a basket in the kitchen for mail, newspapers, car keys, etc. to help reduce clutter.
• Keep a laundry hamper in every bathroom.
• Put family members in charge of making their own beds and picking up after themselves.
• Always pick up the TV room before bedtime, and start the dishwasher.
• Prioritize and decide what is most important.
• Delegate by getting the entire family involved.
• Make a checklist, and when a job is completed, check it off so you can see how much you’ve accomplished.

This article was written by Carolyn Washburn, Utah State University Extension associate professor,carolyn.washburn@usu.edu.

The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming and spring is in the air! The scents, sights and temperatures are close to perfect. Getting organized and doing a bit of spring cleaning helps bring that wonderful fresh feeling into your home!

Start Your Spring Cleaning Off Right!

Many foods freeze well and are great to have on hand for family meals. It may take a spring-cleaning event to get freezer compartments cleaned, organized and ready for more food, but it will be well worth the effort. Consider the following freezer tips from the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

1. Choose appropriate and high quality food – As with other methods of home food preservation, choose foods at optimum freshness when freezing. For example, if you have fresh meat that has been in the refrigerator for several days before you decide to freeze it, the quality, once thawed, may be marginal at best. Not all foods freeze well. Such things as mayonnaise, cream sauce and lettuce may be frozen, but once thawed they are generally not very appetizing.

2. Package correctly – Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent freezer burn. It is safe to freeze meat or poultry in the original packaging, however this type of wrap is permeable to air, and quality may diminish over time. For prolonged storage, over-wrap these packages as you would any food for long-term storage. It is not necessary to rinse meat and poultry. Freeze unopened vacuum packages as is. If you notice that a package has accidentally been torn, the food is still safe to use, it will just need to be re-wrapped or over-wrapped.

3. Freeze quickly – Freeze foods quickly to maintain quality. Rapid freezing prevents large ice crystals from forming on and throughout the food. This may require dividing food into smaller containers or packages.

4. Watch for freezer burn—Basic guidelines for how long foods will store well in the freezer can be found here. However, freezer life also depends on how well the food is packaged and the temperature of the freezer compartment (0 degrees F. or lower is recommended). It is especially important to double or triple wrap foods to prevent exposure to the circulating air in a frost-free freezer since it will dry out foods and make them more susceptible to freezer burn. Freezer burn does not make foods unsafe, but it diminishes quality. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air coming in contact with the surface of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions off either before or after cooking. Foods with heavy freezer burn may have to be discarded for quality reasons.

5. Date and rotate — Write the storage date on foods, and rotate packages regularly (place newest/freshest in the back and move older foods to the front or top) to prevent having to throw away older food that has been pushed to the back and forgotten. Freezing does not stop foods from ripening or stop enzymes, but it does substantially slow the process.

6. Practice safe thawing – Never thaw foods in the garage, basement or on the kitchen counter. Three safe ways to thaw food are in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave. It is best and safest to thaw in the refrigerator. Small items may defrost overnight; most foods require a day or two. Large items like turkeys may take longer. Approximately 1 day for each 5 pounds of weight is recommended. For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag and immerse in cold water. Check the water frequently to be sure it stays cold, and change it every 30 minutes. After thawing, cook immediately. When microwave-defrosting food, cook it immediately since some areas of the food may begin to cook during microwaving.

Freezers are indeed a convenience to keep food on hand and to store large quantities of food. See the Food Safety and Inspection Service site, or contact your local USU Extension office for answers to specific questions.

This article was written by Kathy Riggs, Utah State University Extension family and consumer sciences professor.

Keep up with those 2016 goals!

New Year, New You

Have you made your resolutions for 2016? If not, here are some amazing ideas to get the ball rolling. If you have, check this list and make sure that your goals are on-track!

Make sure your goals are SMART:

If you plan to set goals, make sure they are SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and has a Time frame. Add as many intermediate action steps to your goal plan as possible. A written goal with these elements puts your brain to work faster than if you merely have the thoughts in your mind. A few minutes each day taking action on your goals can put you farther ahead in attaining them as opposed to spending hours periodically. There are many goal setting resources on the internet to help you with the goal setting, planning and completion process.

Make your goals VISUAL:

Create a vision board with pictures and words of your goals. Put a frame around, which can be as simple as painter’s tape, to give your brain parameters on which to focus. Spending a few minutes a day concentrating intently on the images and words, 2-3 minutes in the morning and at night can be very effective. As you attain your goals, put your completed goals in a binder with the date you accomplished them. This will give you momentum to complete your goals faster. Again, there are many resources on the internet on vision boards, but one I like is 3KeyElements.com.

Check your CREDIT REPORT:

Even more important than knowing your credit score, which is often provided for free by credit card companies, is knowing that your credit history is secure and accurate. Incorrect information and fraudulent activity can affect your credit standing greatly. Annualcreditreport.com is the official site to get your free annual credit report for the three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. If you stagger pulling your report throughout the year it will help keep a monitor on your credit. Consider getting your report in January, one at tax time and one in the fall.

Make some positive HEALTH changes:

You can find useful tips and tools for healthy activity and food choices on ChooseMyPlate.gov. Consider shopping more on the perimeter of the grocery store where you can find healthier choices such as fruit and vegetable produce and dairy and meats. Choose lean dairy and meats. Choose more whole grain products. Making your changes gradually is more effective than trying to do too much and giving up.

Monitor your ACTIVITY level:

Get a good device to track your activity level. If you are tracking steps, 7,500 – 10,000 is considered active, with 10,000 being the better goal of the range. Start where you are and add steps gradually till you reach your goal. Smart phones often have activity tracking options and there are many apps to help with tracking your activity and food intake. Be sure to check with a doctor before beginning an exercise program.

Strengthen your family RELATIONSHIPS:

Eating dinner together is a great way to increase family togetherness. The benefits of eating together are better communication, better nutrition and better well-being. Eating dinner around the table has greater benefits than watching TV while eating.

Make a PLAN:

If you have a business or plan to start a business, make sure you have a plan and the know how to run a successful business. Be sure you have thought everything through before starting a business. Many small businesses end within the first two years after having put a lot of time and resources into it. There are many business planning tools available through SBA.gov and SBDC.gov. Watch for the Garfield County Business Conference in March, which is open to everyone to attend.

Use the USU Extension Office as a RESOURCE:

Check your local County Utah State University Extension Offices for classes, resources and information on these and other topics. Or check the state USU Extension website extension.usu.edu for additional information, fact sheets and articles.

This article was written by SuzAnne Jorgensen, Extension Agent, Garfield County

Follow these tips to help you make the most of your limited closet space!

Don’t Lose Your Shoes!

It’s easy to take your shoes off after a long day at work and simply throw them into a pile at the bottom of your closet. However, looking for a matching pair of shoes the next morning with this system is not quite so easy.

Fortunately, Teresa Hunsaker from USU Extension has thought of 7 ingenious ways to help you organize your shoe pile and maximize your shoe storage space.

Having your shoes organized will help you know where each pair of shoes is and will help keep your shoes in tip-top condition. Who knows, you may even organize so well you will have room for a new pair of shoes! 😉

Take away the stress of going back to school by establishing fun and orderly routines!

Children may not exactly beg parents to establish routines for school-day mornings, family meals or weekend chores, but every family needs a certain amount of structure to function well.

Morning routines at home can help family members feel prepared for the day and reduce the stress they might otherwise feel if they were to rush out the front door in the morning with barely enough time to shower, get dressed and grab their backpack.

Here are some tips to help get your routines established!

Weekday morning routine. The website, www.healthychildren.org, established by the American Academy of Pediatrics, suggests that in order to make the household function well in the morning, family members should know what needs to be done in advance. The organization suggests the following:
∗ Put as many things in order as possible the night before.
∗ Keep wake-up routines cheerful and positive.
∗ Be sure your child eats breakfast, even if he or she is not hungry in the morning. It’s important to have food in the system to start the day. That goes for grownups, too.
∗ Pause long enough to say goodbye to your child. A hug goes a long way to make your child’s day go better; receiving a hug in return is great, as well.

After-school routine. When parents can’t be home to welcome children when school is out, it’s important to choose a place they can be where they are safe and cared for until mom, dad or another guardian can be with them. The majority of risk-taking, participation in pranks or juvenile delinquent behaviors from children and youth commonly take place after school when children are unsupervised.

Whether the after-school routine includes staying to participate in activities at the school, going to a grandparent’s home, or elsewhere, children who know they have a safe and caring place to go after school will remain more focused throughout the day. Parents should make every effort to see that a caring adult or responsible teen is available. Even having a close neighbor who is at home and available to call, if needed, helps children feel secure.

Dinner routine. It doesn’t really matter if the meal is dinner. Families should eat several meals together every week providing all members time to be together. In a back-to-school article posted on life.familyeduation.com it states sitting down to a family meal can be a wonderful time in the day. It should be a time to hear about everyone’s day and reinforce that family members do care. This time can be made very positive by allowing each member of the family to briefly tell about their favorite part of the day. It may also serve as a time to discuss family plans or how to best support a family member in an upcoming activity.

Bedtime routine. Children, teens and adults all benefit from having an established routine when they can wind down before crawling into bed. Younger children will benefit the most emotionally and physically from repetition each night. If parents will allow 30-45 minutes of preparation, the children will be calmer and able to fall asleep more easily. Bedtime should include story time and/or a chance for children and youth to talk about their day with mom or dad. Try to avoid rowdy activities just before bedtime. As they get older, children will be able to establish their own routine. However, parents should still have older youth stick to an established time to be in bed.

It is a challenge for families to establish comfortable, effective routines. It requires planning, creating a structure that is realistic, and getting all family members to commit to the plan. However, such efforts will pay great dividends in cutting down on disorder and confusion. It may also strengthen the family unit overall and increase children’s devotion to their family.

This article was written by Kathleen Riggs, Utah State University Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Professor for Iron County. Questions or comments may be sent to kathleen.riggs@usu.edu or call 435-586-8132.

Before you fire up the grill, you may be surprised at how much better everything will taste – if you clean it first!

What You Didn’t Know About Your Trusty Grill

One thing is for sure: Americans love to grill. Three out of four households own at least one grill, and more than a quarter of those have at least two!

Did you also know that July is National Grilling Month? Grilling is a great way to get family and friends together to enjoy holidays and the great summer weather.

Although July is almost over, it doesn’t mean that the grilling season is. Chances are that you will keep grilling for the rest of the summer and possibly the rest of the year!

For safety and to keep your food tasting delicious, remember to give your grill a good deep cleaning.

Stop burning time and check out this video featuring Teresa Hunsaker so you can get cleaning your grill today!

Bonus Recipes!

Now that your grill is clean, try these delicious recipes! This homemade marinade is so simple and tastes fantastic on any meat or vegetable.

Click on either recipe for a printable version!

References

www.hpba.org

The first sign of Spring brings crisp fresh air, newly budding flowers, singing birds and a sense of renewal. Getting organized and doing a bit of spring cleaning helps bring that wonderful fresh feeling into your home!

5 Simple Steps to Easier Spring Cleaning

There’s more to spring cleaning than just attacking yearly tasks. It includes organizing as well as cleaning your home. We have to admit our normal routine can be lax and infrequent sometimes. Spring cleaning will ensure you make up for those hurried days of sliding a dust rag carelessly across the book case.

These five steps will make your house look like new!

1. Make a detailed list of what needs to be done in each room. Be sure jobs that you only do once or twice a year are also listed. Take your drapes to the dry cleaners or give your blinds a dip in the bathtub. If all these odd jobs are on a list, you won’t forget to do them.

2. Gather together all the cleaning supplies needed for the tasks. Nothing is worse than getting ready to do your task and then finding out that you are missing the one item needed to complete your task. A large bucket or caddy is great for holding these items and carrying them from room to room.

3. Decide if you’ll have help. If so, assign tasks or rooms. If you’ll be tackling the cleaning alone, you might want to do it in short periods over several days to avoid burnout.

4. Make your cleaning fun. Think of it as exercise. Turn on some lively music and move to the beat. Open the drapes and let the sunshine and fresh air in.

5. Concentrate your efforts. Do one room at a time. First, get rid of the clutter. Make a box for trash and a box for charitable donations. Get rid of items you no longer need or use. Take time to organize as you complete each task. Next, start at the top and clean chandeliers or light fixtures. Work your way down to tables, chairs, window sills and finally the floor.

When all the tasks are finished, stand back and enjoy the springtime freshness!

This article was written by Ellen Serfustini.

Ellen Serfustini is an Extension Associate Professor for Utah State University. Her major is in Home Economics Education with a Masters in Human Environments. Her specialties include nutrition, food safety, and finance as well as youth-at-risk programs.

Author – Ellen Serfustini

“Spring is beautiful and smells sweet. Spring is when you shake the curtains and pound the rugs, and take off your long underwear, and wash in all the corners.” As noted in this quote by Virginia Cary Hudson, when winter has said it’s last goodbye, it’s time to open the windows, shoo away the doldrums and tackle the annual spring cleaning! Along with Spring comes thoughts of crisp fresh air, newly budding flowers, singing birds and a sense of renewal. Getting organized and doing a bit of spring cleaning, helps to bring that wonderful fresh feeling into your home.

History tells us that spring cleaning was born thanks to old wood burning stoves or oil furnaces. The arrival of spring meant warmer temperatures and home heating was no longer required. However, the need to clean the ash and soot left behind on all household surfaces, including draperies and exposed surfaces was clearly evident. Today, modern heating systems eliminate such mess.

Spring cleaning is more than just attacking areas of your home not normally cleaned. It’s combining thorough cleaning and organization of your entire home. If we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit our normal routine can be lax and infrequent. Spring cleaning will ensure you make up for those hurried days of sliding a dust rag carelessly across the book case.

To get started –

1: Make a detailed list of what needs to be done in each room. Be sure jobs that you only do once or twice a year are also listed. Perhaps you might take your large comforters to the laundromat, or your drapes and winter coats to the dry cleaners, store you winter clothes and bring your warm weather clothes out of hiding or check the smoke detectors. If all these odd jobs are on a list, you won’t forget to do them.

2: Gather together all the cleaning supplies needed for the tasks. Nothing is worse than getting ready to do your task and then finding out that you are missing the one component needed to complete your task. A large bucket or caddy is ideal for holding cleansers, rags, sponges, and other essentials. They can be toted easily from one room to the next.

3: Decide if you’ll have help. If so, assign tasks or rooms. Be sure to leave potentially dangerous tasks to the adults. Don’t assign cleaning ceiling fan blades or disposing of chemicals or pesticides to a young child. If you’ll be tackling the cleaning alone, you might want to do it in short periods over several days to avoid burnout.

4: Make your cleaning fun. Be positive. Think of it as a ‘feel good’ exercise—one that will really help you to feel good about yourself and your clean, organized environment. Turn on some lively, fun music and move to the beat. Open the drapes and let the sunshine and fresh air in.

5: Concentrate your efforts. Do one room at a time.
• Before getting down to the nitty-gritty, first remove the messy clutter.
• Make a box for trash and a box for charitable donations. Get rid of items you no longer need or use.
• Take time to organize as you complete each task.
• Don’t take smaller stacks of items and create larger ones. That’s not cleaning, that’s reorganizing existing clutter.
• Empty wastebaskets and clean furniture tops, then proceed to dust, wash or shampoo.
• A good rule is to start at the top. Clean chandeliers, light fixtures and pictures first, then work your way down to tables, chairs, window sills and finally the floor. Rather that shuffling furniture from one room to another in an effort to shampoo the carpet, save time and back-breaking effort by covering each furniture leg with a small plastic bag. Then simply move the furniture aside to clean the area and then return to its original spot.
• As you clean each room, make a list of items to be repaired. If you need to replace a light bulb or caulk the bathroom shower, make a note. It’s not necessary to repair it right away, but you’ll want to be sure you complete the repair in a timely manner.

When all the tasks are finished, stand back and admire a job well done.

Ellen Serfustini is a Family and Consumer Sciences agent in Carbon County. She has worked for USU Extension for 17 years. Her specialties include food safety, nutrition, and finance.

Author – Teresa Hunsaker

Spring cleaning is great for your house, but does your cleaning supply closet or cupboard need a little attention too? Now is a great time to simplify and ‘clean out’ the cleaning closet. What should you toss and what should you keep? I’m sharing just a few of my favorite cleaning products and how to use them, plus a couple of recipes you may want to try for yourself, if you haven’t already.

Here’s my go-to list of the cleaners I like to use:

All Purpose Cleaner
In my opinion, every home should have one good all-purpose cleaner. The intent of the all-purpose cleaner is to clean most surfaces and tackle many tasks. While they have their limitations, a good one will serve many functions in cleaning. They can clean floors when damp mopping, walls and counters, cupboard shelves and windows. The trick in their use may be in the strength and cleaning rag or scrubber, as well as the rinse. I have even been known to use them on a laundry stain or two.

Commercial favorites: Greased Lightening, Simple Green, Seventh Generation Free and Clear, Lysol All Purpose Cleaner, Fantastik Orange Action and 409.

Note: You can make your own cleaners with a few basic ingredients mixed with water. Here is one I like:

2 cups warm water

1 cup vinegar

1 TBS borax

1 TBS liquid Castile soap (or 1 TBS liquid dish detergent)

Mix all ingredients and put in a spray bottle.

Soft Scrubbing Cleanser
It is possible to make your own scrubbing cleansers, and they work pretty well, but for a few cents extra, it is nice to have one handy and ready to go for those tough spots and stains on porcelain, some tile and even on pots and pans.

Natural Soft Scrub
½ cup baking soda
½ cup liquid soap
5 – 10 drops pure antiseptic essential oil (lavender, tea tree or rosemary)

Place the baking soda in a bowl. Slowly pour in liquid soap, stirring constantly, until frosting-like. Add oil.

Dish Detergent
Dish detergent is a basic staple in any cleaning cupboard. It can be used to clean many surfaces and lift many stains.

Commercial Favorites: Dawn Liquid Hand Dish Detergent, Palmolive and Ivory—especially the formulas for de-greasing.

Vinegar
Vinegar is a great addition to a cleaning cupboard. Because of its acidity, it is also a pretty good disinfectant and mold inhibitor. Use it to dissolve mineral deposits, grease, remove traces of soap remove mildew or wax buildup, polish some metals and deodorize. Vinegar can clean brick or stone, and is an ingredient in some natural carpet cleaning recipes. Use it with baking soda to clean a toilet bowl, or mix it with salt to clean a tub. For a hundred other uses, go to www.vinegartips.com. It is amazing how many uses it has!

Lemon
Like vinegar, lemon juice has many options for your cleaning arsenal. In fact, many of the same uses for vinegar can be interchanged with lemon juice. No all, but many. Remember, nothing acidic can go on marble! Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon juice is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. It can be mixed with vinegar and/or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces and stains.

Homemade Furniture Polish using Lemon:

Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for hardwood furniture.

Borax
Borax is a naturally occurring mineral, soluble in water. It can deodorize, inhibit the growth of mildew and mold, boost the cleaning power of soap or detergent, remove stains and can be used with attractants such as sugar to kill cockroaches. One great use for Borax is to kill odor-producing mold and bacteria in garbage cans: sprinkle 1/2 cup Borax in the bottom of the garbage can.

Note: Borax is toxic if ingested.

Rubbing Alcohol or Isopropyl Alcohol
This is an excellent disinfectant, and can be used on most home surfaces without damaging them. It is especially nice for cleaning keyboards. It cleans dry-erase boards very well and other unwanted ink-related marks. Don’t buy special cleaners to get out baby formula stains, use a little isopropyl alcohol on the stain, then a regular detergent worked in. Works like a charm. Use an isopropyl alcohol/water solution for cleaning mirrors or chrome: 1 part alcohol to 4 parts water.

Many of our homes have “special” surfaces (travertine, marble, stainless steel, solid surface counters, brass and chrome) that we may need to be sure we know how to properly care for — but even many of these surfaces can be cared for with at least one or two of the above products. While there may be “special” cleaners to go with these “special” surfaces, checking to see if other options will do can save you some cash and some cupboard space.

Teresa Hunsaker

Family and Consumer Science Educator, CFCS

USU Extension, Weber County

Teresa was raised in Arizona. She received a B.S. degree from BYU in family resource management and family finance, and a second major in nutrition and food science. She has worked for USU Extension since 1980 and has served on many state, regional and local boards—including the County Fair Board for 18 years—and has served as president of her two state associations. She has written many bulletins and publications for USU Extension and appears regularly on KSL Studio 5. She is the supervisor of the Food Stamp Nutrition program for Weber County and teaches classes on finance, home management, food storage, food preservation and food safety throughout Weber County. She is married and has two grown children. She loves to cook, sew, scrapbook, work in the garden, read, camp, hike and be involved in her community.