Margaret Arnold • May 17, 2025
A Happy Cleaner: Four Decades of Family Moves & Experiences

When my four children were in elementary and middle school, an annual Christmas card and letter that arrived each year gave me a glimpse of the life stage that awaited our family. I recall the usual family news but what struck me about this particular holiday update was the amount of moves her four children made in those college and post-college years and the loving assistance she provided. Little did she know she was modeling how I wanted to be, and have been, for my children these past 13 years and 18+ moves (counting three for my husband and me).


From college dorm room to first apartments and now to first homes, I have had the joy of helping my kids settle into their spaces. What an exciting time it is for them!  A key role I’ve played during these move-ins and occasional move-outs has been that of a cleaner. I like to clean – I mean I really like it. Not only do I enjoy the physical work I especially like the mental and organizational challenge and doing this domestic task better, deeper and, in the last three years, more sustainable.


A KEY ROLE I'VE PLAYED DURING THESE MOVE-INS ... HAS BEEN THAT OF CLEANER.

I enjoy cleaning and “resetting” so much that I mentioned to my husband several times during my public relations career that I wouldn't mind cleaning professionally. Eventually, this became reality. During a summer when I lived up north in the "year of temporary living," friends who owned a vacation rental property management company approached me about joining their team. After initially declining, their persistence paid off — they came back a third time offering flexible hours. I accepted and spent the summer learning invaluable lessons through vacation property turnovers (sometimes four in one day!) and caretaking stunning private homes along Lake Superior's shoreline. The summer flew by, and I added new practices to the 40+ years of taking care of my own spaces.


As my cleaning interests and techniques have evolved, I have compiled favorite tips for smart and sustainable cleaning discoveries. Cheers to summer and the joy of our family and friends’ spaces!


Gear – Organize a tote of cleaning supplies and cleaning cloths (microfiber and old kitchen flour sack towels). I use a gardening tote I received from a friend. It allows me to be on the go in the house or on the road. I can keep a few extra tools in the small pockets like:

  • Small screwdriver (pro tip: wrap the tip with a cloth to easily get into tight spaces and seams on appliances and cupboards)
  • Measuring tape (there is always a space to measure during a move or cleaning project)
  • Small glass scraper
  • Cleaning gloves
  • Scouring pads
  • A step stool


Sustainable tip: Take the scouring pad and cut them into quarters and use a smaller, easier-to-mange size for scrubbing to save product and money.


Products –  Smart sustainable cleaning means you use less product and more natural and eco-friendly products. My favorites include:

  • Vinegar and water
  • Expired baking soda or Bar Keepers Friend for tough scrubbing
  • Denatured alcohol* added to Windex (one-part denatured alcohol to four-parts Windex mixed in a spray bottle for glass and mirrors)
  • Method products (see links below)
  • Multi-surface cleaner (see link below or a few squirts of Dawn soap in hot soapy water for all-purpose cleaning as an alternative)


Try to use up your existing cleaning supplies before purchasing new ones, and then streamline your products for both quantity and storage. When we moved from our large family home, I collected at least a years’ worth of product spread throughout the house and changed my ways after that.


Personal note: For disinfectant purposes, I still keep Soft Scrub with bleach on hand for kitchen and bathroom sinks.


Keeping Engaged – It is easy to keep engaged working and visiting with family or friends on special move or cabin cleaning projects. But most days I’m on my own so I often listen to audiobooks, podcasts or Broadway musical soundtracks (Wicked and Les Mis are favorites). I also stay engaged by catching up with my sisters, children and a few friends on the phone while cleaning.


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Past Blogs

Maple syrup bottles on the counter with holiday decor.

The Wisdom and Challenge of Simplicity

By Margaret Arnold • January 1, 2026
As I go about my Silverish Simplicity days, I've started mentally categorizing my activities and intentions. Is this a lightbulb moment? Is this extreme? Is this an add-on to an existing idea? Since this is the time of year to look back while looking ahead, I'm sharing a few ideas in the categories below with the warning, dear readers, that they aren't for everyone—but no doubt there is wisdom and a challenge in each of them. Epiphanies After more than five years of downsizing and living more simply, I continue to have epiphanies as I go about my day. They come suddenly and are ideas I can't wait to try. Most challenge me to reduce, reuse, or repurpose and lean towards quality. One recent example: splitting and gifting a gallon of Saint John's Abbey Maple Syrup (one of 24 gallons bottled last season) won in a silent auction. With handmade tags added to glass bottles I had been collecting, this small-batch, limited production liquid gold became perfect gifts for my children (all who have visited the sugar shack) and a few hostesses. Extremes Some things I do to help the environment or save money would make my own family roll their eyes. Toilet paper, for instance. I save dryer lint in empty toilet paper rolls to create fire starters for outdoor bonfires. Saving dryer lint was a trick I learned from a friend way before I was Silverish Simplicity. I added the empty toilet paper roll for a more contained starter (and to keep the lint out of sight). An extra: I challenge myself to use only three perforated squares rather than grabbing half the roll. The cost savings and septic system benefits are real. I won’t go into any greater detail! ... I continue to have epiphanies as i go about my day ...
Christmas tree with white lights in front of a window, indoors.

A Season of Foraging, Layering and Reflection

By Margaret Arnold • December 6, 2025
Five years ago, during the Covid season, my children came home to find tables of sorted items, empty storage closets, and the beginning of a life of simplicity and repurposing. Today, that simplicity—downsizing, repurposing, purchasing quality—continues. It's my go-to, my reset, my happy place. This fall and winter seasons have been busy, so here are some Silverish Simplicity insights: Foraging – For several years now, I've foraged for my own fall and winter outdoor planter decorations: pines, dogwood, sumac, birch. This year was especially fun with the discovery of hard-to-find bittersweet and cutting down our own small balsam fir for the holidays. Best of all, I shared the love of foraging with my daughter and her husband. Layering – I heard about "layering" Christmas décor rather than completely switching out your home, and it matched my intentions perfectly. This year I added touches of the holidays here and there without removing any existing décor. In the process, more than two totes of Christmas decorations moved on to family or Goodwill. With three children purchasing new homes this year, it was the perfect time to pass along items that matched their interests—from prints and books to snowmen and ornaments. It's fun to visit their homes and see these items being used, so it wasn't a complete farewell. ... A perfect time to pass along items that matched their interests ...
Laura Ingalls Wilder Book Collection

Stories in Small Moments: Essays and Simple Living

By Margaret Arnold • October 11, 2025
After nearly 30 blog posts about simple living, I continue to find enjoyment in downsizing and being intentional. This summer reinforced my commitment to simplicity in two ways: first, letting things move on—including my 55-year collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder books to my son's fiancée, a teacher, with whom I discovered a shared love of the series; and secondly, using groceries wisely, experimenting with what's on hand and increasing freezing techniques rather than waste (more on that later). This intentional approach extends to reading, one of life's simplest pleasures. Some of my best memories and connections to people are through reading. Laura Ingalls Wilder's books read in the early 1970s remind me of home upstairs in the girls’ “dormitory” bedroom. The Sound of Music on a family road trip in a GMC motorhome in 1976 gave me moments of escape alongside five siblings. Kate DiCamillo, Gary Paulsen and the Harry Potter series remind me of my children as emerging readers and their well-worn books. Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig and Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner connect me to an early book club of serious readers and friends I still cherish today. This intentional approach extends to reading ...