Author Archive

Dealing With What Comes Through The Door. 

Set up a small area by the front door to act as a “landing strip” for incoming items to your home.

Do Your Dishes After Every Meal

This will help you stay on top of your kitchen instead of having it turn into a monster! No one really wants to do them. But waiting for another meal or until you have enough to fill the dishwasher just makes things feel overwhelming and easier to put off. The same goes for taking out the trash as well. If you need to take the trash out, place it by the front door to go out in the morning or dispose of it that night so it’s over and done with.

Laundry

If you have a washer and dryer at home, do a little bit each day. Spread things out so you don’t feel bogged down by 200 towels and stinky socks. If you take things to a laundromat, sort clothes as you go so things are easier to load into machines when you get there. Fold them before you come home so you aren’t dumping baskets out on your sofa or bed and they can go straight into drawers and closets.

Whistle While You Work

No one really enjoys cleaning, but singing, humming, whistling or turning up the stereo are all great options to keep the beat in your feet and have fun while working.

Set a Timer

Most items on the list below should take no more than 20 minutes total. It’s easy to rationalise 20 minutes, but it’s also easy to get distracted by phone calls, emails, children and other projects that call your name as you tackle each chore. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and that way when it sounds you know exactly how much time you have left. If you find yourself off task it’s easy to get back on track.

30 Day List

1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)

2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)

3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)

4. Surface clean “extra” rooms (basement, office, playroom)

5. Surface clean living room and kitchen

6. Clean bathrooms

7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)

8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don’t forget stairs)

9. Surface clean bedrooms

10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)

11. Clean bathrooms

12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)

13. Surface clean “extra” rooms

14. Deep clean bedrooms (organise drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)

15. Surface clean living room and kitchen

16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)

17. Clean all doorknobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, bannisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.

18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry

19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they’re often our home away from home)

20. Surface clean living room and kitchen

21. Surface clean bathrooms

22. Surface clean bedrooms

23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable

25. Surface clean living room and kitchen

26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, baseboards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)

27. Surface clean bathrooms

28. Surfaces clean bedrooms

29. Clean one item you’ve been meaning to get to and haven’t (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)

30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

1. Declutter and pick-up

Take things that don’t belong in the bedroom out. Throw dirty clothes laundry into hampers and rehang up any outfits that you may have tried on and left out. Clear off your surfaces as much as you can of things that don’t normally go on them.

 

2. Take an old pillowcase and dust your fan blades

(if you have a fan) or clean out any ceiling light fixtures. (Important to keep your dirty sheets on your bed to catch any falling dust and spider webs.) → How to Clean Your Ceiling Fan The Easy Way and → How To Clean Ceiling Light Fixtures.

3. De-spider web

Take a broom to the corners of your ceiling to dust away any spider webs.

4. Start the laundry

Strip your bed and take all your dirty laundry from the hamper and start a load in the washer.

5. Dust all surfaces

Pay special attention to the nightstand and dresser tops. Don’t just dry dust…use a moist cloth to really swipe up dust and lock it away from resettling. Don’t forget about the tops of mirrors, art and any accessories in the room.

6. Wipe the windows and the mirrors with window cleaner

7. Wipe/dust the blinds and vacuum the curtains

Use a hand attachment to your vacuum to get to the hard-to-get spots. → Saturday Assignment: Clean Your Blinds!

8. Vacuum the floor

Spend extra time behind/under the bed and behind furniture. If you’re feeling particularly bold, consider vacuuming the mattress. → How To Clean Your Mattress

9. Remake the bed

Take the time to try something new out so it feels like your room is clean and fresh. → 5 Quick Ways to Make Your Bed Look New By Bedtime (No Power Tools Required)

10. Set up your nightstand like a pro

Focus on the function as well as aesthetics.

 

We are so happy to have finally found a cleaning service that we can rely on for quality and consistency. Your immediate, personal responses to our requests are greatly appreciated! Thanks for a wonderful contribution to our family’s peace of mind!

Use Tea to Save Your Stove from Splatters

This tip went viral when our books premiered on EVINE Live: Use tea to keep gunk from sticking to your stove. Brew a pot of tea that is four times normal strength, then wipe it on your stove. The tannins in the tea will make it hard for grease and food to stick, making cleaning quick and easy.

DIY All-Purpose Orange Cleaner

We love the scent of orange in our kitchen, and we love this all-purpose cleaner made from orange peels even more. It works great on all kinds of kitchen surfaces like countertops, sinks, and greasy stoves, and all you need are the peels of several oranges, plain white vinegar, water, a spray bottle, and a glass jar with a screw-top lid (a Mason jar works perfectly). Place the orange peels into the glass jar, cover with vinegar, and leave for several weeks in a cool spot. Then transfer some of the mixtures to a spray bottle and add two parts water. Shake to combine, and it’s ready to use. Your family will love the scent!

Second Use of Used Baking Soda

Instead of throwing away baking soda away when it’s finished its 30-day stint in your fridge, dump it down the garbage disposal with running water. It will keep your disposal fresh too!

Make Oven Cleaning Easy

The secret to making oven cleaning easy is to take care of spills the second they happen. If there’s a sticky mess on the bottom of your oven, sprinkle salt on top as soon as possible. After a little while in a hot oven, the spill will turn to ash and you can easily wipe it up with a wet cloth once your oven cools.

Top of the Fridge? No Problem

The top of the refrigerator can get gross, fast, thanks to tiny food particles that float into the air on steam and end up there. Make it easy to clean by topping it with a layer of plastic wrap each month. Then simply remove the plastic wrap and replace. You can barely see it, and you’ll never have to wipe down the top of your fridge again.

How to Clean Stainless Steel

Stainless steel appliances look great, but they can be hard to clean. Believe it or not, one of our favourite stainless steel cleaners is vodka. Place a little on a sponge or paper towel, then wipe. Your stainless steel appliances will soon be sparkling again, so pour yourself a little glass to celebrate!

Buff Up Your Sink

If cleanliness is next to Godliness, then a clean sink might be the gate to heaven. After you clean your sink (perhaps with some of that vodka), wipe olive oil, baby oil, or an oil-based wood cleaner like Pledge over it with a paper towel or dry rag. It will make your sink look new-kitchen shiny as well as create an invisible film of oil that prevents water and food stains from taking hold.

The Trick for Removing Cooked-On Grime

If you’re having trouble cleaning off the baked-on grease and grime on your range’s hood or other areas around your stove, make your job easier without the help of harsh commercial cleaners. Instead, warm it up by blasting it with your hairdryer. Once it’s warm, it will wipe right off with a soapy damp cloth.

A Lemony-Fresh Kitchen

To give your kitchen a lemon-fresh scent and get rid of cooking odours like fish or burned toast, you don’t need to buy expensive air fresheners. Just use a real lemon! Poke a few holes in it with a toothpick or skewer, then place it directly on the rack in a 300°F oven for 15 minutes. Leave the oven door slightly ajar, so that the wonderful aroma can permeate the whole room. Alternatively, you can slice a lemon and boil it in some water on the stovetop for 10–15 minutes as well.

Clean Every Appliance

Keeping countertop appliances clean is the secret to a fantastic-looking kitchen. Make it easier with our tips for cleaning all your kitchen appliances.

I want you to know that your cleaners did an AMAZING job cleaning my home! I was highly impressed with their efficiency and willingness to go above and beyond making sure that my home is spotless! I look forward to working with them in the coming weeks.