Treat the whole house like a Target bathroom

Ever notice the back of the bathroom door at Target stores?

They keep a log of when the place was last cleaned. Brilliant! I decided to do that for myself, to keep track of the dates I cleaned, changed, or accomplished various things, by using masking tape and small magnetic dry-erase boards on the inside of the bathroom mirror/cabinet.
PLEASE NOTE: I DON'T ALWAYS REMEMBER TO RECORD EVERYTHING, SO SOME OF THESE DATES ARE COMPLETELY WRONG. For example, I rotated some toys just yesterday.
I admit; this would work much better if I kept up with it more. I'm usually better with it; the holidays got me off my game.

World's Best Cat Litter

I love World's Best Cat Litter; we've been using it since we first got our kitty 5 years ago. It's a clumping litter made of corn, which means that there's no mining issue (if that's something that concerns you). It's flushable, if that interests you, and it's safe to eat, for what that's worth.

What I like about it particularly, though, is that it's quite good at clumping and odor control. We use a litter locker, which means we scoop the clumps, so having scoopable clumps matters.
No matter what litter you use, you're bound to smell a cat's fresh deposit (unless you use an F.O.R.A., like we do), but once the litter has absorbed the material, the scent from the litterbox is a gentler scent than the overbearing perfumes from a Fresh-Step-type litter.

What reminded me of writing this post is that I saw a full-page ad in Entertainment Weekly for a rebate program they have going on right now. Yeah, a cat litter ad in a media periodical IS WEIRD, right? But still, $12.99 back for what I buy anyway. You too; follow this link.

Dustbuster in the kitchen

This is actually an idea I got from my mother-in-law. She keeps a dustbuster handy in the kitchen, so she can quickly clean the floor. This, in a house with an infant and toddler, is genius.
I have the latest in Black & Decker Dustbuster technology, and I use it almost daily (should use it daily) to clean up all the food scraps the kids get on the floor. I suppose a dog would serve the same purpose, but the dustbuster doesn't need to be taken for walks.

The 'buster is so helpful, I have even granted its charger precious kitchen countertop real estate. It's worth it to have it handy like that.