5 Cleaning Tips for dealing with the Little Mess Maker in Your Life – Windex Giveaway

Cleaning the messy house. The uphill battle in EVERY mom’s life right?

Do you have a mess maker in your house?

My little boy Kyle is my biggest ‘mess maker’ and constantly leaves smudgy fingerprints EVERYWHERE.

Little crumbs and adorable smudged fingerprints are constantly appearing on my clean counters on the kitchen island and in my powder room. Areas I prefer to look spotless all the time – both for unexpected guests and my own sanity. However, little boys love to collect small things – Legos, pebbles, stones, and other random natural treasures – my son manages to leave a trail of them throughout our home which leaves little messes daily! His finds are precious and sweet but do leave me with the clean-up task of deciding: do we keep this item or throw it away? And let’s not even talk about the miscellaneous “boogers” young boys manage to misplace!

A clean living area makes me feel like I am in control of the chaos in my life. Controlling the organization and cleanliness of the living area downstairs in our home means I’m continually striving to stay on top of the mess my young children generate.

Here are my tips for dealing with little mess makers:

  1. Clean kitchen counters, crumbs, and those smudgy fingerprints immediately after they appear. You’ll appreciate the clean look right away and avoiding a bigger messy build up later in the day.
  1. Set an alarm clock for 5 minutes every day and ask the kids to return their toys or clothes back to their rightful home in the playroom or their bedroom.
  1. Leave a toy bin downstairs for miscellaneous finds, so if need be you can clean up in a rush for unexpected guests.
  1. Keep cleaning products in the kitchen and every bathroom to make cleaning up daily easy and a part of your routine. Windex® Touch-Up cleaner looks stylish on counters and works great for this purpose. It’s the best to have on hand for cleaning those little messes I talked about in tip #1.
  1. Make it a habit to make cleaning fun and involve the kids in the process. Reward them with compliments for helping out. And when that “big mess” hits which requires more effort to clean up, let the kids join in the efforts. We often play dance music or the songs from Annie – “It’s a Hard Knocks Life” from the scene where the kids are forced to clean, during our own clean up routine to make it more exciting for everyone!


Check out the Windex® Shineboard on the brand Facebook page for inspiration and tips to help you simplify cleaning and the mess in your life. Be sure to share your favorite tips and images from Shineboard on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Instructions for entering our Classy Mommy’s giveaway for Windex® “Mess Maker” Prize Pack – 2 winners:

Prizing includes:  A prize package including a flip camera, one bathroom Windex® Touch-Up Cleaner and one kitchen Windex Touch-Up Cleaner. Approximate Retail Value of prize is $100.00 USD and will be given to two (2) selected winners

1. Please leave a comment below by February 15th, 2013, answering the question, “Who is the mess maker in your house?”

Optional entries:

2. Like ClassyMommy on Facebook here and leave a comment telling me you liked our page

3. Daily comments as daily entries are allowed.

4. Tweet the following for an entry:

“I’m hoping to win the Windex® “Mess Maker” Prize Pack giveaway from @ClassyMommy”

5. Daily Tweets allowed.

6. Follow Classy Mommy Colleen Padilla on her YouTube Channel here. Leave a comment letting me know you followed me on YouTube.

7. Follow Classy Mommy Colleen Padilla on her Instagram page here. Leave a comment letting me know you following me on Instagram.

*If you are a winner, please leave a testimonial here once you’ve tried it out!*

Visit the official Windex® Facebook Page at www.Facebook.com/Windex or visit www.Windex.com to learn more about the Windex® Touch-Up Cleaner.

Disclosure: I have partnered with Windex® and am being compensated for my posts. However, my opinions are my own.

OFFICIAL RULES  (read on to see full rules) 

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT POST OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR, PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. Eligibility: Classy Mommy’s Windex® Touch-Up Product Giveaway (“Sweepstakes”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia) who are at least eighteen (18) years of age.  Employees of Classy Mommy (“Sponsor”), Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., and SC Johnson & Son, Inc. and any of their parents, subsidiaries affiliated companies and their advertising and promotion agencies, as well as the immediate family (spouses, parents, siblings and children and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and household members, whether or not related of each such employee are not eligible to enter or win. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

2. Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Whether an entrant receives a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. Timing: The Sweepstakes begins on February 28, 2013 at 12:00 a.m. EST  and ends on March 15th, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST.  (“Promotion Period”).

4. How to Enter: During the Promotion Period, there is one way to earn an entry: 1. Leave a comment on this blog post answering the question, “Who is the biggest mess maker in your house?”

All online entries must be received (comments posted) by 11: 59 PM EST on March 15, 2013 to be eligible.   Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means and entries by any means which subvert the entry process are void. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the blog post and he/she must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the e-mail address by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), on-line service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses.

Entrants must comply with guidelines provided by Sponsor. An entrant’s failure to comply with the terms and conditions and/or guidelines, as determined by Sponsor, may result in disqualification and all associated entries will be void. By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from Sponsor.

5. Winner Determination: Potential winners of prizes will be chosen from all eligible entries received in a random drawing to be held within five (5) business days after the close of entries by Sponsor whose decision is final and binding in all matters. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

6. Winner Requirements: Potential winners will be notified by email on or about twelve (12) days from March 15th, 2013. The inability to contact the potential winner within a reasonable time period, the return of the prize or prize notification as undeliverable or non-compliance with these Official Rules will result in forfeiture of prize.

Winner, by acceptance of prize, except where legally prohibited, grants permission for Sponsor and its designees to use his/her name, address (city and state), photograph, voice and/or other likeness and prize information for promotional purposes without further compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide in perpetuity, without notice or review or approval.

7. Prizes: A prize package including a flip camera, one bathroom Windex® Touch-Up Cleaner and one kitchen Windex Touch-Up Cleaner. Approximate Retail Value of prize is $100.00 USD and will be given to two (2) selected winners. Prize is non-transferable and no substitution or cash-redemption is permitted except by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, which reserves the right to substitute the prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes (including income and withholding taxes) and any other costs and expenses associated with prize receipt and/or use not specified herein as being provided.  Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

8. Release: Entrants agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor,  Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., S.C. Johnson & Son  and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliate companies and advertising and promotion agencies and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, out of participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of the prize.

9. Ownership/Use of Blog Posts: By submitting a blog post, each entrant agrees Sponsor shall own the blog post submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and that it and its designees (including S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) may exploit, edit, modify, and distribute the blog post and all elements of such blog post, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations mentioned therein (including the use of the blog post for promotional purposes in connection with this Sweepstakes and for the promotion of Windex® products, except where prohibited by law), in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party.

10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Sweepstakes, or any part of it for any reason, including if virus, bugs, worms, unauthorized intervention, or any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Sweepstakes, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  In the event of cancellation, Sponsor reserves the right to select the winner from among all remaining non-suspect entries received as of time as such cancellation. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or those of any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and all associated entries will be void. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Twitter and Facebook are not affiliated in any way with the Sweepstakes.

11. Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information in any Sweepstakes-related materials, whether caused by entrant, printing or typographical errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; (2) lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cable, or network/computer hardware or software, or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Sweepstakes; (4) technical, mechanical, network , electronic, computer, human or other errors which may occur, including any errors that may occur in connection with the administration of the Sweepstakes, the processing of entries or blog posts, the announcement of the winner or in any other Sweepstakes-related materials; or (5) late, lost, incomplete, misdirected, delayed, garbled, illegible, postage-due, undeliverable, damaged or stolen entries or blog posts or mail.  Released Parties are not responsible for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, accessing or downloading information in connection with this Sweepstakes. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes.

12. Winner’s Name: Winner will be available after twelve (12) days from March 15th, 2013 at classymommy.com.

13. Sponsor: Colleen Padilla

214 thoughts on “5 Cleaning Tips for dealing with the Little Mess Maker in Your Life – Windex Giveaway”

  1. My middle child (2 years old) is my mess maker. He absolutely wears everything he eats as well as leaves the evidence on the table, high chair, sometimes carpet, etc. Ugh… 🙂

  2. How to cope with the children’s mess thoroughly explained! Great post and useful advice. You have two very beautiful children. I love the part where they smell the windex and make the lovely faces looking at each other. Stay smiling!
    Best regards,
    Barry @ HouseCleanersLondon.co.uk

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