Carpet Cleaning Tips 2 – How To Clean Clean
1.Source: la.essortment.com/springcleaning_rmos.htm
How to avoid spring cleaning?
Spring cleaning can be a hassle for every household. No one likes to think of tasks at hand, especially when the cleaning tasks all have to be completed in a specific time frame. This can be remedied by separating your tasks and completing them throughout the year.
Yearly maintenance that needs to be done outside your house may include checking weather stripping on your windows and doors, checking for peeling, removing and cleaning storm windows, cleaning gutters and drain pipes, and checking your roof for any leaks. The best way to deal with these tasks is to split them up by season. If winters aren’t harsh in the area where you live, you may want to wait to complete these tasks until the weather warms up a bit.
While not all of the items listed above may pertain to your house, it is important to complete the tasks that are listed. By checking the weather stripping on your windows and doors, you will ensure that there aren’t any spaces that may allow in heat or cool air, or possibly even rain, which could lead to severe damage or a waste in electricity, which means that you are wasting some of your precious dollars.
Inside maintenance that needs to be done includes cleaning of closets, pantries, kitchen drawers; replacing filters on air-conditioners; cleaning your dryer vent, stove hood, and room fans; checking for any leaky faucets; adjusting burners on your water heater if necessary; cleaning refrigerator coils; cleaning the fireplace; and having your heating/air serviced. These items should also be split up by season.
When it comes to inside maintenance, the closets are everyone’s worst nightmare. Why should you clean them yearly then? Get rid of items you don’t need. You won’t wear that pink shirt with the polka dots because it was purchased ten years ago and still has the tag on it. Give it away to someone who will wear it. The same goes for the rest of your family member’s closets. If they don’t wear it, give it away unless of course it has a deep sentimental value; then place it with those other memorable items from life.
Cleaning your air filters will ensure that they last longer; this is another money saver, as is cleaning the stove hood and room fans. Dust collects in room fans, causing allergies for some people, so these may need to be cleaned more often than yearly or seasonally. If you have a self-cleaning oven, let it clean itself. Many people take for granted the idea of a self-cleaning oven. If you allow the oven to clean itself, for one you won’t have any awkward smells emanating from it when you try to bake, let alone the flavor that may seep into the cookies, but also you will be saving electricity. Your oven will try to over work if it hasn’t been cleaned.
A good tip when it comes to cleaning your oven is to leave the house. It takes a couple of hours for most ovens to clean themselves, and the smell is horrible. If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, it still needs to be cleaned for the same reasons.
Completing these tasks yearly will ensure that your home is in the best shape possible. When you keep your home in tip-top shape inside and outside, the chance of having major damage to your home decreases drastically. You will also feel better knowing that your home is clean.
If you have an attic, basement, or garage, it is a good idea to clean out these regularly as well. They accumulate items just as closets do. The same theory is in mind when it comes to the attic, basement, or garage. If you haven’t used it in over a year, get rid of it. When you have more items in these areas, the chances of a fire starting in your house are higher. Where is your water heater? More than likely it is in one of those areas. Where are your holiday decorations? Usually items are stored in boxes that are highly flammable; even plastic boxes are highly flammable, so minimize as much as possible.
When cleaning tasks are split up, it relieves the stress of having to complete all of the tasks in spring. So, do yourself a big favor and do exactly that. Make a list of items that must be done on a yearly basis inside and outside of your home for preventive measures. Then, get out your calendar and start scheduling certain tasks for each month. When you separate the tasks in this manner, you will be prepared for the task at hand and will be anxious to complete it, especially when you know that it doesn’t all have to be finished at the end of spring. So, keep your bucket, sponges, and other cleaning tools where you can always reach them.
2.Source: azaz.essortment.com/generalhousekee_rnly.htm
General Household Cleaning
Keeping a household clean and uncluttered is possible. Granted there are times when a home will be cleaner than at other times, but it can stay manageable. The key is to stop procrastination and discontinue any perfectionist notions.
Procrastination is the thief of keeping up on general household cleaning. The desire to put off what needs to be done today can be the downfall of household cleaning. A small spill of something, let’s say jelly, will take about fifteen seconds to wipe up with a damp paper towel. That same small spill left to dry, smear, and collect dust, dirt, and other objects for a few days will take one to five minutes and a lot of frustration.
The principle of seizing the moment and not procrastinating when it comes to general household cleaning can be applied to almost any task. Let me give you some examples. A bathroom mirror left unattended for a few weeks is much harder to clean than a mirror that has had the bad water spots wiped daily with a paper towel. Paper towels and window cleaner can be kept easily under the bathroom sink for quick bathroom cleaning. Getting rid of leftovers in the refrigerator every couple of days and placing empty containers in the dishwasher is much less time consuming than waiting until mold is growing inside every container in the refrigerator and it takes a few hours to clean it out. Spills in the refrigerator that are wiped out as soon as they happen take a fraction of the time to clean as spills left to harden for weeks in the refrigerator. Stove spills are tough to clean after they have burnt and hardened in comparison to a spill on the stove that is wiped off as soon as it has cooled. Taking the extra few seconds to put a plastic bag in each trash can after emptying is well worth the time as anyone who has spent hours scrubbing dirty trash cans can attest to. Leaving dishes undone for the next day can make a molehill truly a mountain. If you really don’t have the time to do them, at least rinse quickly or submerge in water in the sink for easy rinse and cleaning later.
If you do not procrastinate it will not only save you time, but will also assist in your energy level and desire to keep up your household. The dirtier and more cluttered a home becomes, the less desire one has to keep it up. A week or two worth of dirty laundry can be overwhelming and rob you of any desire to do it. A load of laundry a day, taking the extra minutes to fold and put away, is much more bearable and gives you the ‘I can do it’ feeling. Walking in to a cluttered family room when you awaken each morning will take from you valuable energy that you could use elsewhere. Taking the three to five minutes each evening before retiring to pick up the family room thus making waking up and seeing it the next morning refreshing and satisfying is well worth the time spent. Nothing can sabotage your energy levels easier than overwhelming household tasks.
Make a list of time consuming household tasks that need to be done during the year. This could include tasks such as washing windows and blinds, cleaning the oven, washing walls, cleaning light fixtures, and painting. Decide how many times a year the task needs to be done. Calendar these tasks just as you do other appointments. Granted you will need to be flexible but force yourself to do the task within the month assigned. This is another area where not procrastinating will be well worth the discipline you exhibit to accomplish the task.
A perfectionist will be well worn out in general household cleaning. A home that is uncluttered and picked up, with a healthy clean is much better than spending so much time on cleaning perfectly that one is left tired and usually unable to accomplish every task. If a home is picked up, the dishes done, the bathroom reasonably clean, and the floors quickly gone over with the vacuum, other things will usually go unnoticed. If you are one who insists on perfection, you will either need to spend all your waking hours cleaning or hire someone to help. If finances don’t allow weekly help, consider hiring someone for a specific task such as cleaning out the refrigerator, cleaning the blinds, or cleaning the oven.
If more than one person lives in the home, delegation and job assignments are a must. Each person needs to contribute to the general household cleaning. Job charts are a dime a dozen. Find one that works for you. Some prefer a job chart where each person rotates in their assignments while others find doing the same chores repeatedly works the best. If possible, save big jobs to do as a group. Washing the windows takes much less time with one person inside and one person outside than doing the same job alone. Have a household counsel to decide a time when everyone can be at home for a given block of time to accomplish the tasks needed.
Finding the right household cleaning equipment is well worth the search. Each person will have their favorites but among them should be an excellent vacuum that can easily convert from cleaning carpets to tile and cushions, a window cleaner and paper towels under each bathroom sink makes a quick bathroom cleaning a breeze, a good dusting brush for a quick dusting job, and paper towels in the kitchen for spills, shining chrome and counter wiping.
Dealing with clutter is another area where constant small steps in the directions of no clutter is much easier than waiting until it’s hard to see anything but clutter. Junk mail should be thrown away daily, even it you haven’t the time to sort everything. Whenever possible, transfer information from school and work newsletters, invitations, and other appointments from paper to your planner or calendar. Throw away any paper not needed. Tackling paper clutter is only one area of clutter that needs to be addressed. Give away items that you do not use. Many thrift stores will be grateful for your donations and you will be glad for an uncluttered house.
In general household cleaning requires time and attention but it can be done with a reasonable amount of both.
3.Source: inin.essortment.com/houseworkstanda_rbhv.htm
How to reduce Your Housework?
Are you a slave to dust and dirt? If you resent spending so much time on tedious and repetitive housecleaning, try some of these tips for reclaiming your life. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend most of the weekend relaxing rather than mopping the floor?
Reality check your standards
Take a hard look at the weekly tasks you do around the house. Are they all really necessary? If you work long hours during the week, and your weekend entertaining is more or less restricted to the living room or kitchen, why
Not consider letting the rest of the house slide for a week or two? After all, you’re not at home during the day, and your friends are hardly about to embark on a thorough, top-to-bottom inspection of your apartment. You may be pushing yourself to clean every corner and crevice, when nobody
Really notices if the floor in the study gets vacuumed every second – or even third – week, rather than on the stroke of 10am every Saturday.
How else could you be spending your time?
Take a minute to imagine in detail what your fantasy weekend would look like. How would you spend it? Sleeping in, doing some leisurely shopping on Saturday afternoon, maybe catching a movie or having friends around for an afternoon tea which turns into jugs of cocktails, and ordering in some Chinese? In this kind of relaxed atmosphere, no-one will be thinking of donning white gloves and running their finger along the mantelpiece
Checking for dust, or getting down on the floor to inspect the tiles for traces of dirt. Well, the state of the floor may get checked at close range if one of your friends topples off a kitchen chair after her fourth marguerite. But this will be an accident, and won’t count as a real inspection.
Once you have a clear picture of what your Saturday or Sunday afternoon COULD be like, it will be very, very hard to justify getting out that vacuum cleaner or rolling up your sleeves to clean out the fridge. Remind yourself of your priorities – when it comes right down to it, would you
Rather catch up with an old friend you haven’t seen in months, or have a scrubbed and sparkling toilet?
Can you enlist any help?
Who says the housework has to be your entire problem anyway? If you’ve reduced your cleaning tasks to the bare minimum and you’re STILL feeling frazzled and resentful, it’s time to call in some help.
If you share your place with anyone, there’s simply no reason that you should be doing all the menial tasks. Call a house meeting right now, and delegate some of the household jobs. Even if you find it hard to give up
Control of this area, just try it for two weeks. Sure, there may be a few dust balls remaining under the table, and the kitchen sink may not be shining brightly enough to see your reflection in it, but these are minor issues if they end up giving you two or three hours of your weekend back.
If you can’t share the workload, there’s one more option available: pay someone else to deal with the mess. Before you dismiss the idea as too expensive or embarrassingly middle-class, think for a moment. How much can
it really cost to get someone in once a fortnight? In between visits from your cleaner, you can still straighten up and run a cloth around exposed surfaces if you feel you really should. And let’s face it: there are always dishes to do if you’re feeling uncomfortably idle.
Give this plan a chance, and you’ll notice there are plenty of positives to be found. You’ve just created a job for someone who needs the work. You may even be able to offer the cleaning gig to a teenage niece or nephew who looking for a first job, but can’t get a break. That way, you get a clean apartment and contribute to developing a young person’s work ethic and understanding of the possibilities of financial freedom. Everybody wins.
So, solve the cleaning problem, and get ready to deal with having whole chunks of time to devote to the important things in your life. Now, what are you going to do first?
4.Source: tntn.essortment.com/houseworktipss_rgmr.htm
Housework Tips
Dust bunnies shelter themselves under more American beds today than ever before. That’s according to a University of Maryland study about how people use their time. Whatever the reason — two income families or accommodating multiple schedules – American homes are not as spanking clean as they were a decade ago. In 1965 women spent 27 hours a week on housework. Today that figure has dropped below 16 hours.
Still, 16 hours is a lot to devote to wielding a dust . It robs an entire month from each year of your life. It seems especially mindless since once eradicated – the dreaded grime sneaks right back in.
Historically, housework has always been a female pastime. Back in the sixties most men didn’t know a dish rag from a wash cloth. The women’s movement and second income trend have helped level the field, but apparently not enough. According to the National Cleaning Survey, recently released by The Soap and Detergent Association, women still do a majority of household chores – a whopping 79 percent.
It’s not that men can’t clean, it’s just not in their nature. The male perception of what constitutes a dirty house is far different from a woman’s. Like other major female-oriented issues, men seem oblivious to the value of cleaning. But amazing as it may seem the woman of the house may be learning a thing or two from men.
Cleaning is drudgery – pure and simple. Learning to look the other way may be hopeless but learning to break the bonds of housework moil stokes a flame in every woman’s heart. The secret of interiors that look freshly scrubbed is daily maintenance and prevention. The following pointers should help:
Clear the doo-dads. Clutter is dust’s best buddy. Ask yourself if keeping an item is worth a lifetime of maintenance. If not — toss, sell or donate the item.
Simplify supplies. You really don’t need dozens of products – especially toxic ones – to have a clean home. A few intelligently formulated, multi-purpose products can do a better job: easier, quicker, at no greater cost and without risk to you, your children or the earth.
Keep supplies organized. Create a repository – a big bucket perhaps — housing glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaning solution and rags to tote from room to room to eliminate running up and down stairs. If you have space, you may want to store a cache of supplies on each floor of your house. Likewise, keep cleanser, sponges and paper towels under both the bathroom and kitchen sinks.
Stop the insanity. Wood furniture doesn’t need weekly polishing. Too much polish can cause build-up that demands major cleaning. A light buffing with a slightly damp cloth is all that’s needed to make wood regain its natural beauty.
Focus on one area at a time. Don’t roam from room to room dusting baseboards. Concentrate on an entire room’s grunge before going to the next.
Do a little each day. Spend a daily pittance to gain a chunk of time for more pleasurable pursuits. Whisk through the house before leaving for work, clearing away yesterday’s newspapers and vacuuming unwelcome guests that returned while you were sleeping.
Develop routines. Load and run the dishwasher before going to bed and assign one of the children to empty it in the morning or after returning from school.
Get help. Teach children that toys, books and dirty clothes have permanent homes and must be back where they belong before going to bed each night. Encourage and enforce the practice with small rewards.
Practice prevention. The Japanese custom of removing shoes before entering a house is a neat one to follow. Every shoe left at the doorstep bars an army of dirt and germs from entering. You may want to place a decorative container by the door for housing shoes, umbrellas and backpacks.
Swipe at spills, accidents and other cleaning horrors when they happen not after they’ve grown into a major chore.
Educate your cleaning team. Teach spouses to wipe stray whiskers from sinks and toilet bowl drippings after each use. Tutor children in the fine art of wiping up toothpaste globs.
Once a week, organize a cleaning party. Invite your family to join you in a game of “Hunt the Grime.” Mirrors, tubs, sinks and floors will be the likely prey. Note: Don’t allow children to use toxic cleaners.
Bite your lip and ignore it. Dust and dirt are not pretty but in the grand scheme of life, it matters little whether your house is June Cleaver clean.
Calculate how much your cleaning habit really costs. For example, if you make $40,000 a year, your hourly wage is $20. ($40,000 divided by 2000 — the average number of yearly work hours.) So, spending 16 hours a week on housework equals $320 worth of your time. At that rate you can hire an expert cleaning team to battle your home’s filthy demons.
5.Source: ak.essortment.com/cleaninghouses_rhbr.htm
House Cleaning Schedule
Everyone has his or her own idea of what clean is. If you take a look in a number of different homes around the country, you will probably see different degrees of clean. A person’s house that does not seem to be as clean to you, may seem to be spotless to them or to someone else. Different people tolerate dirt and mess differently.
Once you have an idea of how clean you actually want your home to be, you can determine just how often each task will need to be done. Set realistic goals. If you work forty hours a week and take care of a family, you may not be able to wash your floors two or three times a week. Although, the more family members that can contribute to the household chores, the better your chances of having the clean home you desire. But, having more family members also means having more cleaning to do.
To decide how often you will need to clean, you need to decide how clean you want your home. Do you want it to be tidy, clean or absolutely spotless?
Tidy: things are picked up and look neat
Clean: everything is clean and ready for unexpected guests
Spotless: you could eat off of the floor
TO HAVE A TIDY HOME:
BASIC CLEANING
Straightening up- 2x every week
Garbage- 2x every week
Dusting- 1x every other week
Dusting out of reach- 1x every month
Spot-cleaning walls etc.- 1x every other week
Washing walls- 1x every year
Vacuuming- 2-3x every month
Carpet spots- 1x every week
Shampooing carpets- 1-3x every year
Dusting blinds- quarterly
Washing blinds- 1x every year
CLEANING THE BATHROOM
Sinks- every day
Mirrors- 1x every week
Toilet- 1x every week
Wipe shower- 2x every week
Clean shower- 1x every week
KITCHEN CLEANING
Sink- 1x every week
Sweep floors- 1x every week
Mop floors- 1x every week
Wax floors- 1x every month
Clean stove/oven- as needed
TO HAVE A CLEAN HOME:
Straightening up- 4x every week
Garbage- 3x every week
Dusting- 1x every week
Dusting out of reach- 2x every month
Spot-cleaning walls etc.- 1x every week
Washing walls- 1x every year
Vacuuming- 1x every week
Carpet spots- 2x every week
Shampooing carpets- 2-4x every year
Dusting blinds- 6x every year
Washing blinds- 1x every year
CLEANING THE BATHROOM
Sinks- every day
Mirrors- 2x every week
Toilet- 1x every week
Wipe shower- 4x every week
Clean shower- 1x every week
KITCHEN CLEANING
Sink- 3x every week
Sweep floors- 2x every week
Mop floors- 1x every week
Wax floors- 1x every month
Clean stove/oven- as needed
TO HAVE A SPOTLESS HOME:
Straightening up- 7x every week
Garbage- 3x every week
Dusting- 3x every week
Dusting out of reach- 1x every week
Spot-cleaning walls etc.- 3x every week
Washing walls- 2x every year
Vacuuming- 4x every week
Carpet spots- 7x every week
Shampooing carpets- 1x every month
Dusting blinds- 1x every month
Washing blinds- 2x every year
CLEANING THE BATHROOM
Sinks- every day
Mirrors- every day
Toilet- 2x every week
Wipe shower- every day
Clean shower- 2x every week
KITCHEN CLEANING
Sink- every day
Sweep floors- 5x every week
Mop floors- 2x every week
Wax floors- 1x every month
Clean stove/oven- as needed
6.Source: tn.essortment.com/cleanroomrpoce_rfwr.htm
Room Cleaning Procedure-teaching your children
Cleaning his room can be a daunting task for a child at any age. For the more perfectionist types it presents something that they desire to do. However, for most of the other types (which seem to be the majority) it presents a challenge.
These helpful hints and ideas might be the catalyst to motivate your child into serious room cleaning!
The first thing to do is to make a list of the things that need done in the room. There are different ways to accomplish this. The list could be numbered according to each item that needs done.
An example of this would be:
1) Pick up clothes from floor
2) Put clothes away
3) Pick up toys and put in their proper places
4) Pick up trash from floor
5) Put all books, cads, sports cards, magazines, sandals, shoes, etc., where they belong
6) Take broom–check for cobwebs (this applies to older children)
7) Vacuum floor/dust dressers (also applies to older children)
8) make sure everything is off of the bed
9) Make bed
10) Empty trash in proper receptacle
11) Look around your room. Is everything neat and clean? If not, finish what is left.
Another method that could be used is this:
Instead of looking at the whole messy room and being discouraged, take one section at a time.
For instance, take a corner area. Separate toys, clothes, trash, books, etc., into different piles until it looks neat(for the most part).
Next, go to another section of the room. Bring the toys, clothes, etc., to the previous piles. Continue this throughout the room until there is one pile for each particular item. THEN put the various things away–vacuum, dust, and make the bed–voila! You should have a clean room.
Some other helpful things to tell your children about cleaning in general would be:
1)When you walk through a room and you see something out of place that no one is using, put it away.
2)If you are cleaning one room and certain items belong in another room just pile them up together until you are finished.Work your way from room to room doing that and when you get to the last room everything should be in its proper place. This saves a lot of time rather than taking one item to a room and ten minutes later another one to the same room.
Cleaning a room in some kind of systematic way is much easier than the hit and misses style. It gives a good feeling of accomplishment and hopefully instills within your child a better sense of the benefits of being at least somewhat organized.
Some things that could help smaller children with their cleaning would be to put stickers on the outside of plastic tubs with pictures of various articles. Each tub would have a picture of the items located in that particular tub. This would be especially effective in a toy room or their own bedroom. Pictures can be cut out of older magazines (or drawn if you are artistic). They could come from color books or picture books that are no longer used.
Working together with your younger children to direct them in cleaning their rooms can be a bonding and fun time. Hopefully what you start when they are young will be retained and used as they grow older. At least the memories will still be there!
7.Source: fl.essortment.com/mothballhazard_ryft.htm
The Hazards of Moth Balls
Mothballs have been around for years. They were what every mother used to keep the moths out of winter and summer clothes. The mothballs would be placed in a trunk to also keep the clothes deodorized. People used mothballs under their sofa cushions and in drawers and closets and under rugs. They were placed everywhere. Mothballs were the most inexpensive deodorizer to buy, so they were purchased in large quantities and used most frequently.
Now we find out that mothballs contain naphthalene, which is a poison if inhaled. Mothballs can cause nausea, vomiting and headache. Other signs of illness are shortness of breath, coughing and burning eyes.
Most people use them today without realizing their side effects. Children that have glucose problems can become severely ill. Having clothing just removed from a storage trunk and put on can cause the naphthalene to enter through the skin.
Children that play in the home and reach under the sofa can ingest one by placing a mothball in their mouth. Caution must be taken to rid the home of every mothball there is. Sometimes this isn’t easy since there are flakes that are usually scattered and come in tiny slivers. They have to be vacuumed or swept up; try to contain the fumes in the process. After removing all the mothballs and flakes, empty the vacuum cleaner bag and discard it immediately outdoors.
If mothballs are placed under carpet and rugs in your home, remove the mothballs or flakes and have the carpets cleaned. This will remove any traces of naphthalene from your carpet. Then air out the house by opening the windows.
Make sure that all flakes are removed and that there are not any hiding for which you forgot to remove.
8.Source: ks.essortment.com/cleaninghometi_raec.htm
House cleaning tips
Most people I know would rather have a root canal than clean the bathroom. They put it off until their mother-in-law is coming to visit and then spend two hours in fumes scrubbing their hearts out to get the room presentable. While I cannot claim to make cleaning fun, I can give some tips of the trade to make it a little easier.
Day to Day
Try to put things where they belong right away so as to avoid handling objects twice and doing twice the work. For example, do not pile mail on the table to look at later. Keep box for bills, etc. and toss the junk mail immediately.
When you are about to leave a room, scan the area for things that do not belong in that room. If you see something that belongs in the direction you are heading toward, pick it up and put it away.
If you have a dishwasher, put your dirty dishes directly in the dishwasher. Storing them in the sink adds an unnecessary step to doing dishes. When you run the dishwasher try to empty it right away.
While cooking, clean as you go. If you are waiting for something to simmer, clean out the bowl you just used to mix it up.
Always straighten the shower curtain to avoid mold. Keep a set of bathroom cleaners in each bathroom ready to use. They do not go and having set ready lessons the time moving about the house gathering supplies for that job that you would rather not do anyway. Also having cleaners handy in each bathroom makes it easy to wipe when unexpected guests arrive.
The Weekly Clean
Use a heavy duty apron (gardening aprons work well) to hold you’re cleaning supplies so that you will not have to dash back and forth to your closet.
Dust first. Unless you have allergies or are expecting your mom and her white gloves to arrive, using a feather duster is perfectly fine for dusting. Make a game of how fast you can move (get some exercise too!) through the house and run your duster over all the surfaces and nick knacks.
Vacuum the upper levels first and work your way down. Move furniture as you go and put it back before moving on.
Clean floors using an old towel dipped in cleaning solution rather than a mop. You can wash the towel afterwards and it is quite easy to skate through the room on the towel using your weight to scrub the floor. Use a different towel for each room to avoid transfer of germs.
Doing the bathroom twice a week will actually make it much easier to do. If you put aside 5 minutes on Tuesdays and Fridays to run through the room with a paper towel and Pine Sol, you will find the chore less arduous. Keep an automatic toilet bowl cleaner in your tank to cut down on scrubbing time.
The Panic Clean
Someone is visiting and you are not prepared. Nor do you have time for a full cleaning. Never fear.
Grab a laundry basket or similar container and run through the house picking up clutter. Be sure to put the basket where you will find it later. Remember to go through the basket later and put things where they belong. You wouldn’t want to lose your heating bill!
Do a quick check of the bathrooms and use a paper towel and window cleaner to wipe down the obvious smears of toothpaste, etc. Use the same towel to quickly wipe the floor using your foot to push it around. Pour a little bleach in the toilet bowl and come back later to do a quick swish.
Only vacuum the rooms your guest will see. Don’t move any furniture; it’s the high traffic areas that are the dirtiest anyway. If you have wood floors, use a Swifter mop to get up the dust quickly. A quick spray of pledge floor cleaner will add a scent giving the illusion of clean.
Finally, scented candles will complete the effect.
9.Source: mdmd.essortment.com/householdtips_rtnr.htm
Household Tips
Hopefully, a few of the tips below will eliminate the worry of stains, mildew, odors, coffee rings, etc. The appearance of your home will not only appear cleaner, but will smell better.
In boiling water, add ground cinnamon and an apple. Just leave it on the stovetop until you are ready to dispose of it. You will not believe what a pleasant smell you will have in your home.
Would you like to have another way to use your window cleaner? It can be used to remove sticky labels from cooking oil, margarine, mayonnaise, peanut butter, etc. Spray window cleaner on the label and let sit.
You are in the grocery store and you are almost finished, but you have to crisscross isles to get that last item. You should plan your grocery shopping according to the layout of the isles in the store. Take the time to map out the isles to make your shopping easier. Just think, no more crisscrossing.
Have trouble with dough sticking to your rolling pin? Before using, keep your rolling pin in the freezer.
Dusting pans with flour can be messy. Fill a salt shaker with flour and use to dust pans. You can also fill the salt shaker with salt to use to sprinkle on chicken. Powdered sugar can also be put in a salt shaker for muffins and the tops of cakes. Another idea is putting cinnamon and sugar in a salt shaker for sprinkling on toast.
Don’t forget to put a small piece of bread inside your cookie jar, cake dish, etc. This will help to keep your baked goods fresh and they will last longer.
Dirty kitchen sponges can look bad in your kitchen. Wash them in the top rack of your dishwasher. When you remove them from the dishwater, remember they may be full of hot water. Be careful.
Coffee rings or spilled drinks can make such a mess on your counter top. With your fingertips rub a small drop of liquid dishwasher soap on the stain. Wipe thoroughly with a damp cloth after letting it sit for a few minutes.
Say goodbye mildew! Mildew on a shower curtain can make a difference in the appearance of a bathroom. Fill your bathtub with warm water and add one cup of borax. After you soak the curtain for awhile (when the mildew disappears), remove from the water and hang it up. I recommend drying off the curtain with a towel before after each shower.
You may want to put lead weights in the bottom of your shower curtain in order to keep them down. Fold the hem and sew the weights in.
Putting Efferdent in the toilet overnight will remove stains and hard water deposits.
Turn the carton of eggs over and return them to the refrigerator. This helps them to last longer and will keep them fresher.
If you have any old washable place mats, use them as drawer liners.
Cleaning out your refrigerator weekly with help to eliminate odors. Also, put a box of baking soda in your refrigerator and freezer for odor control.
Instead of making a pot of coffee, put half pot water and half pot vinegar through your coffee maker. This will keep inside of coffee maker clean and remove stains.
Grease splatters are a kitchen’s worst nightmare. Use tile glue and put two or three, whatever you need, floor tiles on the wall behind your cook top or oven for grease splatters. All you need to do is wipe off the tile. There are many pattern selections that will add color to your kitchen. Makes a great conversation piece as well.
Important tip is use baking soda to put out grease fires.
How many burnt pans do you have and cannot remove the stains? Put fabric softener in the pan and leave it overnight. You should be able to wipe out the stain the next day.
10.Source: kyky.essortment.com/bouncedryerssh_ruim.htm
M any uses of Bounce Dryer Sheets
BOUNCE…the stuff you use in your dryer:
Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
Eliminates static electricity from your television screen. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
Dissolves soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a used sheet of Bounce.
Freshens the air in your home. Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang one in the closet.
Prevents thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce to eliminate the static cling on the thread before sewing.
Eliminates static cling from pantyhose. Rub a damp, used sheet of Bounce over the hose.
Prevents musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
Freshens the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
Cleans baked-on food from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in the pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agents apparently weaken the bond between the food and the pan while the fabric softening agents soften the baked-on food.
Eliminates odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
Collects cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
Eliminates static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resetting.
Deodorizes shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they’ll smell great in the morning.
11.Source: pa.essortment.com/homeorganizatio_rwhq.htm
Home organization tips on reducing clutter
If the surfaces, closets and drawers in your home are littered with clutter, it’s probable that your home is a source of stress for you. You’re overwhelmed by stacks of paper, upset from searching for lost items, and you find the act of getting dressed tiring as you pull at clothes jammed in your closet. Here are ten simple ways to reduce clutter.
1. When in doubt, throw it out. This rule has always applied to refrigerated leftovers, but it is useful to apply to every item in your home. While some people make an art and a living from restoring, reusing and reselling “good stuff,” most simply fill their storage spaces with items that may—but probably won’t—come in handy. If you can’t find an immediate use for an item, give it to a friend, take it to a recycling center, call a salvager, or offer it to the Salvation Army.
2. Set up recycling containers in a convenient but unseen location. Plastic bins work best because they can be scrubbed, but baskets, bags, and old boxes serve well too. Home recycling centers don’t have to be fancy, they just have to be readily accessible so they get used regularly.
3. Immediately open and sort your mail as soon as you remove it from the mailbox. Put all incoming bills and correspondence to be answered in an inbox. Discard all junk mail that does not spark your attention. If you like to browse through catalogs, keep only those that seem most interesting, and allow yourself no more than 3 days to store them before the first viewing. Allow yourself one week to read a magazine. If you don’t open a magazine within 7 days of receipt, chances are you won’t get to it before the next one arrives. If you stand next to your recycling bins as you sort mail, you can put all recyclable pieces, such as catalogs, directly into the bins.
4. Contact companies from which you do not want to receive further communications (or junk mail) to eliminate its arrival in your home. If you continually neglect a magazine, cancel the subscription.
5. Sort through any existing sources of clutter by handling source at a time, and one item at a time. Typical sources of clutter include: kitchen counters, home office areas, catchall drawers, closets, children’s rooms, attics, basements and garages. Typical items of clutter include: mail, periodicals, old clothes and toys, photographs, hobby materials, decorative items and obsolete household items.
6. Establish a regular bookkeeping and clerical schedule. After paying bills and balancing bank statements, immediately file stubs in a filing cabinet containing folders for each utility or institution. Maintain financial records for 7 years, and then discard the old ones to make room for new ones. Filing cabinets are inexpensive assets to home organization, and they can be kept in a closet, attic or basement if you do not have a home office.
7. Discard or recycle any garment you have not worn in the last 6 to 9 months. As you inspect each garment, ask yourself whether it is in style, whether it fits, whether you feel good in it, and whether you’ve worn it during its last appropriate season. Also discard any item of clothing your children have outgrown. Find another parent with a child who can use the item, or toss it in the trash without sentiment.
8. After reviewing a wardrobe, wait at least thirty days before purchasing replacements. This time period enables you to note what garments are needed to supplement your wardrobe. Perhaps you’ve discarded formal office attire, but they’re not missed because your current dress code is casual.
9. Teach your children to passing along outgrown toys or games. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, church groups and other mothers will gratefully accept items that are still in useful condition.
10. If you have an abundance of home decorative items, divide them into categories for seasonal display. Items lighter in color, such as crystal and glass, are more appropriate for summer than heavier items such figurines and books. Wreaths with dried flowers are more appropriate for warmer weather than wreaths with apples and dried leaf themes. Group collections rather than spread them around the house so that they can be appreciated as a group instead of viewed as clutter. Rotating items keeps your décor fresh and your surroundings less cluttered.
12.Source: lala.essortment.com/speedcleaning_rwtb.htm
Speed cleaning
When it comes to cleaning, you may not be able to cut your chores in half, but you can probably reduce the amount of time you spend on them by half. Keep the following tips in mind as you do your housework.
-DON’T BACKTRACK. This means you’ll want to work your way around the room, cleaning as you go, just one time. Carry your cleaning supplies with you in a basket or pail so you don’t waste time retrieving them. This also means working from top to bottom. Think about it – if you clean the bottom of a wall first, you’ll have re-do spots you’ve already cleaned when dirty rinse water runs down into the clean place.
-ONLY CLEAN WHAT’S DIRTY. This means that if your paned window glass has only a fingerprints on one pane, don’t clean all of them. There’s no sense in continuing to work after a surface is clean, either stop wiping and move on. The fingerprint rule also holds true for walls and cabinet doors, which tend to collect grime where people reach for handles and light switches.
-USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE TASK. Here’s the one example that most people could benefit from: instead of wiping and rubbing at miscellaneous gunk that gets stuck to counters and shelves, carry a glass scraper with your cleaning supplies. You’ll dislodge those sticky messes with one motion instead of all that scrubbing. If the tool or cleaning solution you are using isn’t doing the trick, move on to something more heavy-duty. Another invaluable tool is a toothbrush, for quickly removing grime and gunk from grooves, grout lines, corners, and around faucets.
-CONCENTRATE. Housework is boring, no doubt. But if you let your mind wander, you’ll spend even more time cleaning. Focus on what you’re doing, make every move count, and you’ll finish more quickly.
-TIME YOURSELF. Jot down your beginning and end time for each room. Try to do the same room in less time, the next time you clean. Make a game out of it.
-CARRY YOUR SUPPLIES WITH YOU. Not only will you not have to backtrack, but you’ll work faster if you get into the habit of putting a tool or product back in its spot after every time you use it. That way, you’ll instinctively reach for your supply pail instead of groping around on the counter. Another method that works well is a supply apron, like the ones carpenters wear. You can keep scrapers, toothbrushes and small items in the pockets, while hanging spray bottles from the loops.
-DUST FIRST, VACUUM LAST. Start dusting from the top of the highest shelves, the tops of cabinets. These tend to be less dusty than lower shelves. Even if you dust quickly with a feather duster, you’ll be moving the dust down to a lower level, usually the floor, where it is easily vacuumed away. Always vacuum after dusting, for this reason.
-USE HIGH TECH TOOLS. There is currently a new generation of cleaning products on the market that may be expensive, but certainly make life easier. For example, consider using one of the shower sprays that you mist your shower with daily. These prevent mildew and soap scum from building up, allowing you to go months without scrubbing the bathroom. Also notable are the new dust sweepers that use specially treated cloths to grab dust and dirt, instead of just pushing it around on the floor.
-ONLY RINSE ONCE. There is a big temptation, when cleaning a bathroom, to do half the job and then rinse, to see how much is left. This only takes up time. Keep scrubbing until the tub and shower doors, as well as the tiles around them, are completely clean and then rinse.
-OWN PORTABLE TOOLS. This means a whisk broom and mini-dustpan for quick cleanups and dry spills, and a small, hand-held vacuum cleaner. Use the portable vacuum in between vacuuming to clean pet hair off upholstery, touch-up area rugs that are showing lint, and pick up loose soil in the hallway that would otherwise work its way into the rest of the house.
-CONTROL CLUTTER. One of the best rules for this is touch it once. That means, if the mail is in your hand, then sort it and discard junk instead of dropping it on the couch or hall table. If you take the phone book from a drawer, use it and then put it right back. Keeping things in their places can drastically reduce the amount of time you spend picking them up and putting them away later.
-WORK IN A TEAM. If you can get a spouse, child, roommate or whoever to clean with you, the job will go faster. Just be sure to coordinate efforts and make sure you are both following the tips listed above.
-HIRE HELP. Though this sounds like a luxury, it makes sense if you get so far behind in housework that you feel you’ll never get caught up. Consider, for example, spending money to have the house cleaned thoroughly – this means baseboards, mini blinds, ceiling fans and other dust traps. Then you’ll be starting with a clean slate you can use your cleaning time to maintain these surfaces.
13.Source: nv.essortment.com/tipsonkeeping_onh.h
Tips on Keeping a Clean House
Keeping a clean house is sometimes difficult. Families have many pressures on their time and energy. The chore that many people put last on the list is cleaning the house. Although cleaning a home can be time consuming, the main irritant for most families is that toys, homework projects, magazines, books, shoes, clothing and other items clutter up every room of the house. This article gives a tip on a simple method to keep a house clean and uncluttered.
The key is to put a container of some sort in every room of the house that gets cluttered. In any department or discount store, there are various sizes and shapes of baskets. These baskets are usually made of wicker or plastic. A simple laundry basket will work as well. The baskets also come in various colors to coordinate with the home’s décor. Purchase these for each room of the home in varying shapes and sizes according to how cluttered the room gets. A person who is crafty may even want to use ribbons, dried flowers and other materials to customize the basket to the room.
Next, find a convenient place in each room to put each basket. Then set aside a regular time such as first thing in the morning, last thing at night, or perhaps before or after mealtime, and simply pitch all items that belong in another room into the basket. The basket can be cleaned out and the items put away at a later time. The time to clean out the basket can be a regularly scheduled time or it can be done when the basket becomes full.
Even very young children can be taught to pick up their toys at bedtime, naptime or mealtime. All the children have to do is put the items into the designated basket. In a span of five minutes, a home can go from a cluttered mess to semi-organized by following this simple tip for a clean house.
14.Source: arar.essortment.com/howtocleanyou_pzf.htm
How to clean your house quickly
No one likes housework. This is an eternal fact that was true in 1768, and will be true in 2768. The fact is, in today’s society, we not only dislike housework, and we have very little time to get it done properly. So, we buy expensive products and spend time and money that we don’t have. That is, until today. After today and reading this article, you will be able to clean your home and have time and money for you and your family.
Only Buy What You Really Need
This is an important lesson and must be addressed first. Advertising affects everyone and we all feel that we must have the newest, latest, greatest, most improved item on the market. And we pay big bucks for these items. But do they work? Well, not always.
The only items you need to clean your home thoroughly and effectively are the following, inexpensive items:
1. Bleach .75 cents
2. Mustard .65 cents
3. Baking Soda .65 cents
4. Vinegar .75 cents
5. Cheap baby wipes 1.49 (this is the most expensive, and optional)
6. Dish soap 1.49 (Ajax is the cheapest and most effective for the money)
That’s it. These items will clean everything, and they will do so quickly and beautifully. So, I know you can’t wait to ask, what in the world is the mustard for? But let’s discuss these items in order, first.
Bleach is a staple of most American homes, so it may seem silly to mention it to you here. But, some people are not aware that bleach is for more than laundry. The next time you go to the store, read the labels on some of the more expensive toilet cleaners, kitchen cleaners, shower cleaners or cabinet degreasers. They will all have bleach (The good ones, anyway.) So cut out the middle man and use the bleach yourself. Buy an inexpensive spray bottle, and use the bleach on your toilet, tub, shower, tile counters and floors, and even on your kitchen wastebasket. This is cheap and quick. Spray it on, let it sit for 20 minutes, and then wipe it off. Simple, clean and cheap.
So, now we can discuss the mustard. Is it for when you get hungry while you’re cleaning? Actually, it’s for when you wash your dishes. You can get any built up grime and grease off of the bottom of your non-stick or cooper cooking ware by simply spreading mustard across the area in need of cleaning, and let it sit for half an hour. Then, you simply and gently wash the mustard off and wash as usual. The shine you get will be incredible, and will look as if you spent hours scrubbing with an expensive cleaner.
Baking soda is a very good secret cleaning solution. If you want the shiniest stove and burner covers, the freshest smelling refrigerator, and the shiniest kitchen sink, use baking soda. For the stove and burner covers, simply shake on, and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Then, use a sponge and wipe clean. You will be amazed at how effective and cheap this is. It is also painless and fast. No need to scrub for hours with an expensive brand name cleaner. Also, for the fridge, just tear the top half off, squeeze a small amount of lemon or orange juice into the box (fresh is better and cheaper than bottle) and place in fridge. Replace every two weeks. You will love this! Baking soda is not just for cooking anymore.
Vinegar is a very effective degreaser. This item is best used to clean your floors, (dilute 1/4 with water for no-wax and wood) and windows. The glass will be clean, clear and no streaks. This method is fast, with an inexpensive spray bottle, you spray the floors, let sit for 15 minutes, and then use a mop and warm water to clean over it. This is very effective and you will love the results. To give the room a better smell, you can also squeeze a small amount of lemon or orange with the vinegar to give it a pleasant scent.
The cheap baby wipes are really self-explanatory, if you think about it. More effective and faster than paper towels (and sometimes cheaper), and less hassle than cloth towels (after the clean up, you have to clean the towels) and they are reliable and fast, fast, fast! I’ve been talking about and using wipes to clean my TV, microwave, kitchen table and breakfast counter, and to dust with for years. If you notice, I must be doing something right, because a lot of the big name brands have their own “cleaning wipes” on the market now, for $4 or $5, when you can still get the others for $1, $2 or $3.
Dish soap is necessary because you need effective anti-bacterial cleaner for all dishes. However, if you want to get more for your money, you can also use dish soap to get rid of your toilet’s “ring”. Squeeze a small amount of dish soap into the toilet, and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. After that you just run the brush lightly across the bowl, and you are done. This will usually remove all hard water and rust stains. Some may require direct application of the detergent onto the stain.
You can save money, have more time, and also have a cleaner home with a little knowledge on the subject.
15.Source: la.essortment.com/houseworkschedu_pbn.htm
A Housework Schedule
In order to make your housework flow smoothly and to budget your time you will need to make an overall plan of your daily and weekly activites and schedule your homemaking tasks. Perhaps this information will be of help to you, I certainly do hope so.
First of all, let’s sit down and write down every task that needs to be done daily. This should include cooking, serving meals, washing dishes, picking up clutter in the home, making beds, laundry, etc. There are a number of tasks that do require to be done daily such as the ones
Listed in order to just keep the home running smoothly. Go thru each room and bring that tablet and pen and let’s write down the daily tasks. For instance, we’ll take the kitchen, where the most work daily will be done. The dishes will need to be washed, dried and put away daily, meals
Will be prepared and served, the counter tops should be cleaned after each meal or whenever anyone leaves a dish laying on the counter. That dish will need to be picked up, the counter wiped if necessary and the dish put in a dishpan of soapy water before washing.
Take each room, go through it and decide each chore that needs to be done, now divide these chores into daily and weekly on separate lists. This will take awhile and also there will be trial and error in getting a proper schedule adjusted.
For those weekly chores, you should plan to clean each room thoroughly, all laundry should be washed, dried, folded and put away, ironing should be done, meals should be planned, etc.
If you will try my plan, I do know from my own experience that your life will run much smoother, your home will be cleaner and your family will be happier as you will be also. Try it, this works.
16.Source: tntn.essortment.com/clutterorganizi_rtrp.htm
Household Clutter Reducing and Organizing
Clutter in a house is like a force of nature; it tends to take over unless measures are taken to reduce its impact. All too often it is a battle many of us end up fighting daily. We fight it in kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms. It adds frustration to our lives, stress to our relationships and wastes time on a regular basis. It would be fair to say that most of us have
spent more time than we’d like to admit sorting through paper, hunting for wallets or searching couches for keys. The good news is that the answer to all the chaos and frustration can be found by a little planning and some good organization.
There are generally two types of clutter that collects in a home. The first type is made up of things that have a place they should be, but aren’t. This “misplaced” clutter consists of things like toys, dishes, video tapes, books, jackets, shoes, etc. These are usually fairly large items, but can also be things like pencils and pens, ribbons, scissors or other things that should be in a specific place but are not put back. The plan of attack for these types of things is simple. Each thing should have a specific place, a “home” that it needs to return to. The “homes” should also be practical. For example, video tapes should have a shelf near the TV, and toys can be kept in a toy box in the play area. Some things may need several homes: pencil holders should be placed in the kitchen, at the main telephones and throughout the house where needed. Wicker baskets are great “homes” for things. They can hold pencils in a recreation room or study, hair accessories in the bedroom, or combs and brushes in the bathroom. They
Are also decorative, look good in almost any home decor, and keep things very close to where they will be used. The more convenient it is to put something away, the less likely it is to end up as clutter.
Teaching children (or other family members) to put things away is not always easy, but can be accomplished by consistent modeling and insistence. Often organizational skills can also be taught in stages. If you have decided to organize your home, and your twelve year old daughter consistently dumps her book bag, jacket and school papers all over the living room after school, remind her to put it all in her room. Or put it there for her. Then she will have to organize her room to find things when she wants them, since all the clutter will be in there instead of the living room. At this point, parents usually have a fit – their children’s rooms will be a perpetual mess! For a while, this will likely be true. Getting rid of clutter and learning new habits don’t happen over night. Usually it takes a bit of transition time, during which it will be essential to have some “clutter zones.” The important thing is to start somewhere. Establishing “non-clutter zones” and “homes” for everyday items is the first step. If you make a serious commitment to organization in family areas, then individuals can use the same principles in organizing their own spaces.
So, assuming we succeed in taming “misplaced clutter,” that still leaves “incoming clutter.” Incoming clutter includes everything that is not an everyday item in the house. Flyers, newspapers, bulletins, school newsletters, letters and bills are good examples. Though not all
Incoming clutter is paper-based, probably over half of it is. The first way to deal with it is to stop the incoming flood. A “no flyers” sign will help a lot. Then, arm yourself with two indispensable tools – a garbage can and a paper recycling box. Preferably near one another, and near the mailbox. Once read or dealt with, anything of simple paper origin can go in the paper recycling box, and any other incoming clutter can usually hit the garbage can. A
Lot of incoming clutter hangs around the house simply because it was not dealt with when it arrived. One piece of invaluable advice is to make it a rule to never pick up a piece of paper twice. As much as possible, paper should only end up in your hands once. Often we read things and then put them away to do later. Later, of course, the entire thing must be sorted out of a pile of other junk, and reread. If things are dealt with immediately (or, in the case of bills, put away immediately) then they don’t become clutter.
Another thing that adds to disorganization and clutter in the home is that many people hang onto paper clutter (and other kinds of clutter as well) because they think they may need it down the road. Most clutter, as long as it has been dealt with, or has served its purpose, can be thrown out. However, if you like to err on the cautious side, a paper recycling box is a must. It isn’t as final as a garbage can – you can still retrieve things a few weeks later if need be – but it still allows you to get rid of most incoming paper clutter. You can throw out the flyers that continually arrive at your door, but if your student needs a current affairs article out of the newspaper, they can go and dig it out. Most communities have recycling centers where you can easily take your paper to when the box is full. A large box can easily hold several months worth of paper.
Having dealt with misplaced clutter and incoming clutter, there is still routine cleaning. While some of this need to be done as it occurs, like daily dishes and wiping the table, etc, much of it can be delegated. This, though, often becomes a chore. One fun way around this is to do a weekly “Quick-Clean.” All the family members can have a delegated job, like dusting or bathrooms (depending on age) and then set the oven timer for 10 minutes. Put on some upbeat music, and have everybody do their own job. They can race to be the first done, or get a reward when they’re done. Ten minutes of hard work at any particular job will usually be enough.
Ideas like paper-recycling boxes, “quick-cleans” and wicker baskets are simple and inexpensive, and can do a great deal towards organizing a household. However, having a home free of clutter is a step-by-step process, and consistent principles of organization are the key. Things like establishing clutter-free zones and personal responsibility for individual space, returning misplaced clutter and dealing with incoming clutter are essential for living in a calm, chaos-free home. However, taking action is the first step. Plan it, do it, and stick with it. Home, after all, should be a sanctuary.
17.Source: mo.essortment.com/planninghousewo_rslm.htm
Tips for Planning Housework
I have been a homemaker for many years and have learned a lot also during this time. The first few years I worked too hard and too long on housework and had very little time for myself. I then sat and thought about how I might change my housework and these are a few of my thoughts that have worked successfully for me, hope they will also for you. It doesn’t matter how many appliances, etc. your home is equipped with if you don’t have the time to use and enjoy them.
The responsibility for keeping a home is definitely upon your shoulders so why not make it easier by being more efficient. Have a healthy respect for the career of being a homemaker; it is not to be taken lightly. Make yourself a schedule and cut down on confusion and disorder. If you will schedule your time you will actually save time, for example, on Monday I go through my home and polish all of the furniture and Windex all the pictures and the mirrors. I won’t do these again until next Monday. Write down a schedule of the items you will clean on Monday and follow that schedule.
Evaluate your time and spend it wisely. Plan how much time you will spend cleaning the bathroom, daily, weekly, and monthly and stick to that schedule. During the first few weeks you will need to have this plan written down and will need to check off the items as you have accomplished them, such as polishing the furniture, when you have completed this for example on a Monday, then check it off. In time you won’t need a checklist as you will remember what you have planned to do each day.
Let’s start off a typical day in my home for example and follow through till evening and use this as a sample of a plan. First of all I make breakfast, and fix a lunch for my husband, then after breakfast I clean the kitchen, put away any dishes left in the dishwasher that are clean, then reload with the breakfast dishes, clean the counter tops, wipe the stove and pick up any clutter from the night before on the counters.
Next I fix a pail of pine oil and hot water and go to each bathroom and clean the faucets, basins and toilets: yes, I clean toilets daily. In each of these bathrooms, I put out fresh towels if necessary, empty the waste cans and pick up any clutter.
The next step in my routine will be to make up the bed, and then take the laundry hamper and put on a load of laundry, when done, put it in the dryer and then fold when dry and put laundry away in its proper place. Then I take the dust mop and go over the floors and then vacuum any areas where rugs need vacuuming. By that time my home is neat and not cluttered, the laundry is put away and I am free for my morning walk, etc. I fix a small lunch and repeat the cleaning process mentioned above for the kitchen. After dinner time I cook my dinner, serve and clean the kitchen.
This is my daily plan, of course I feed and water pets and do lots of other things but this keeps the home daily in a neat order and not cluttered.
Have a healthy respect for your time and you will have more time for yourself and also more time for your family. This makes life more enjoyable, try first of all making a schedule, write it down, follow the plan you make for yourself and you will have a cleaner house, plus you will have time for yourself and extra time for your family and above all you will be happier and less stressed. Sit down today, go thru each room and make a plan.
18.Source: mtmt.essortment.com/housecleaningt_rtvq.htm
Housecleaning Tips
When we clean our home we need to have some standards to go by and the way we run our homes is determined by the standards we set for ourselves. Start off my planning these standards, and yes you can lower them or change them, even upgrade them, this is your plan and also your standards.
First of all some homemakers think that Monday has to be the day to do the wash, that used to be the custom when they didn’t have machines in the home but now most have their own washer and dryer and can do the laundry weekly, daily or however they wish. This will also depend on the size of your family and the size of the laundry needing to be cleaned, folded and put away. So decide for yourself when you want to do laundry for instance.
Most homemakers carry their schedules around in their heads, but if at first you need help get out those note cards and fill it what needs to be done daily in each room. For instance most will be making the beds as the children and husbands are heading off to work or right afterwards as it just seems when a bed is made in the bedroom the room just seems to look tidier. Let’s take the bedroom as an example, start by making the bed, the run the dust mop or the vacuum depending on the floor in the room. Pick up the clutter around, whether clothing or books, magazines or whatever, then take a dust rag if necessary and dust around the furniture, save the polishing for a weekly chore. Check the drawers and see if all are folded, just takes a few minutes, then the closet, after this you probably have a very tidy room.
The kitchen requires a lot of care as you is preparing meals, the family is eating the meals and naturally there is a lot of cleaning in this area. In the morning after preparing breakfast, get the dishes clean and put away, the counter tops all clean, the stove clean and then think about what you will be preparing for lunch and also dinner, perhaps take out the meat to thaw.
As you plan the order of your cleaning, keep in mind that things change, a doctor’s appointment, a trip to the school, all these change our plans.
Keep a calendar on the wall to keep track of the appointments, etc. and plan your cleaning order around these items.
Decide when you will do the laundry, when you will fold the laundry and put it away, naturally if you will take the clothes from the dryer or the line and fold them and put them in assorted piles by the rooms it will be easier for you to place them back in the order you have assigned for each article of clothing, such as your husband’s socks, sort and fold and place in the same place he removed them from and you have a neat system and a neat underwear drawer.
It only makes a difference when you preplan, bring a container that has cleaning items such as: glass cleaner, paper towels, scouring powder, all purpose cleaner, a small pail, furniture polish from room to room and you won’t be making wasted trips going back and forth bringing the cleaning items from the kitchen to the bathroom. If space allows have a set of these basic cleaning items in a container with a small pail in each of your bathrooms and clean the rooms near them with each container.
Don’t forget to encourage family members to pick up toys, and clothing and put in the proper hamper, or box in their rooms. Also encourage them to not mess up a drawer when getting out a pair of socks of perhaps a tee shirt or shorts, get out the item they have decided upon and if others are out of order they need to realize they should put them back as they were and life becomes easier for Mom.
Just do a little preplanning, encourage others to do their part, and this homemaking career will be easier and more rewarding than you think.
19.Source: msms.essortment.com/housecleaningt_rtuo.htm
House cleaning Tips
If you will have a master plan for cleaning your home you will have more time for yourself, time for rest periods and time to enjoy your life much more. Make yourself a daily plan as I have shown below, just substitute tasks and plans that fitinto your life and your schedule. Sure hope my
Thinking helps you.
6:45-7:00- Dress and get the children up
7:00-7:30- Prepare breakfast
7:30-8:00- Serve breakfast
8:00-8:30- Get the children completely dressed, older ones off to school, husband off to work, then start tidying bedrooms. You can even start your work on the bedrooms while helping the children pick out clothes, etc. and get ready for school, such as make a bed while waiting for a child to put on socks and shoes, pick up any clutter around the room while waiting for them to dress, etc. In other words, just stay busy eliminating tasks that you would do later in the day.
8:30-8:45- Finish bedrooms. Take laundry to hamper. Tidy bathroom.
8:45-9:45- Wash dishes, straighten kitchen, start
Lunch preparation if necessary, straighten living room.
9:45-11:15- Special, daily or weekly tasks.
11:l5-11:45- Rest or go outside and take a walk
With a younger child.
11:45-12:l5- Prepare lunch.
12:l5-12:45- Serve lunch. Get the older children
Started on their way back to school (this is for
Children living close enough to come home for lunch).
12:45-l: 30- Put youngest child to bed for rest, clean up kitchen, start dinner preparation
l:30-2:00- Rest, watch TV, just lay down and relax
2:00-5:00- Finish daily or weekly tasks.
5:00-6:00- Prepare dinner.
6:00-6:45 – Serve dinner.
6:45-7:30- Wash dishes, straighten kitchen, set table for breakfast
7:30-8:30- Activities with children
8:30-9:00- Help children prepare clothing for next day, and get them ready for bed.
9:00- Watch television, read, and rest till bedtime.
You can see that a schedule like this does not mention every move you will make during the day. It charts the day, grouping the fixed jobs together so as to leave time for rest periods, recreation and special tasks. It shows where you can save time by making the clean up of one job a part of the get ready for the next. Of course this varies from day to day. Get out a set of note cards and jot down these jobs and the tasks involved in cleaning and taking care of each room and check them off till you remember them. Life will be much easier. I can assure you.
On the note cards make one for each room, write down each task you do daily and each one you do weekly and you will be surprised how much help these cards will be to you and you will also be amazed at how very much you accomplish and how much more time you have for yourself.
20.Source: nmnm.essortment.com/housecleaningh_rqoj.htm
Housecleaning Hints
Spring Cleaning is the top to bottom cleaning that is done two to three times a year.
This cleaning involves moving knick knacks and furniture to clean, from the ceiling to the floor, scrubbing every surface until free of dust and dirt. Ceiling fans, corners of ceilings, tops of doors, windows, window sills, furniture, and baseboards should all be cleaned with furniture polish.
The sheets should be removed from the beds after the cleaning is done. The floors are vacuumed and things are put back. In bathrooms the walls, tubs, toilets, sinks and floors are scrubbed and the floor mats are removed and washed. In the kitchen, the tops of cabinets, cabinet fronts, counters, appliances, refrigerators and floors are scrubbed and the oven is moved and cleaned behind.
The general weekly cleaning is the upkeep of the spring cleaning. It involves dusting, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming. The bathroom toilets shower sinks and floors are cleaned and in the kitchen the counters and floors are cleaned. The weekly cleaning should be done one room at a time, focusing on the cleaning and putting any organizational projects that are encountered along the way on hold until all the cleaning is done. This ensures that you won’t get distracted with a new project and not finish cleaning. This is why cleaning seems to take all day; we get distracted with smaller projects within the rooms.
Start at the back and top of the house and work your way down to the front of the house. This will help you focus on your goal of cleaning the entire house. If you start at the front, you may become tired and not reach the back bedrooms or bathroom. Do not do laundry during cleaning. Simply pile the laundry near the laundry room and work on this project later, or the next day!
Cleaning can be accomplished quicker by enlisting the help of your family, even small children can be given a cloth to wipe off a table or the tv, that will hold their interest and the TV will sparkle. Use the right tools, a clean rag or sponge can be used in all rooms. Vacuuming the floors as well as the carpets saves time on sweeping. If you have small children, concentrate on their area, the floors and baseboards and everything in their eyesight, on their level.
After you finish cleaning, put your feet up and enjoy the fruits of your labor. With a little hard work, concentration, organization and “elbow grease” the house can be cleaned quickly and to your satisfaction. Enjoy!
21.Source: md.essortment.com/howtocleanhou_rqqf.htm
How to Clean Your House Faster
Housework can’t be avoided, but it can be completed in less time if you know the secrets of how to do it. The basic secrets for accomplishing this goal are listed in this article.
The first thing you need to do is to make yourself a supply and tool apron. The apron should consist of several large, deep pockets. In these pockets, you will keep your dusting spray, glass cleaner, cleaning clothes, scraper, etc. After you use the apron a few times, you will wonder how you ever cleaned without it! The apron will save you time as well as save your feet from making unnecessary steps to retrieve cleaning supplies that you forgot to take along with you in the first place.
You should add a soft, cotton glove to your supply apron, too. It makes an excellent cleaning cloth, and can be worn all the time you are cleaning. Using a glove saves times as you simply spray and wipe your gloved hand over knick knacks, shelves, doorways, etc. If one glove is not enough to completely dust your entire home, then keep a clean spare in your apron pocket for when the first one gets soiled.
The next thing that you should do is to put a good-sized clothes basket in every room where floor clutter collects. Even before you begin to dust, you will need to pick up the odds and ends of clutter up off of the floor. Simply place them in the basket and let the room’s occupant put the things away later. Or, if you have a basket of assorted clutter from the living room, for example, tell everyone to go through the basket and reclaim whatever items belong to them.
Now begin your cleaning routine is the first room at the room’s doorway. Move clock-wise around the room, dusting and glass cleaning as you go. Moving in one direction in a patterned-fashion is the fastest way to clean a room. Not only that, but you’re opt to miss items like you would if you moved around the room in a hit-and-miss fashion. When you finish dusting that room, you should move onto the next room and onto the next, etc., performing the same routine.
After the dusting is finished, now is the time to vacuum any cloth furniture you might have. Then, use your sweeper and vacuum all of the carpets. If your vacuum cleaner has a bare floor setting, or a bare floor attachment, you can clean every floor in your house at the same time. Don’t vacuum one room at a time, as dirt and dust can be easily carried from the dirty floor onto the clean floor.
Finally, mop the bare floors and allow them to dry thoroughly before allowing any traffic on them.
Before you put your tools and supplies away, if your vacuum cleaner has a dirt bag, check to see if it needs to be replaced. Also, refill your dusting spray bottle and your glass cleaning bottles, etc., so that your supplies will be ready for the next house cleaning session. Hang your apron in the closet along with your cleaning tools for easy availability.