Ask a Cleaning Lady - How Do I Keep It Clean?

Today Smibbo has an incredible list of ways you can make cleaning easier on yourself. And Lord knows I need them.


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By far the most common question I get when I show up to a job is “What can I do to make sure it doesn’t get like this again/keep it clean?”

Well, that answer always tends to be a bit long so here we go…

1. More trash receptacles. Not once have I ever seen enough trash receptacles at a deep clean site. In my opinion, every room where you do something needs a trash receptacle, whether its tiny or huge. I’m still amazed people will have a room that is obviously their favorite, where they spend the majority of their time but not ONE trash receptacle anywhere! Or if there is one, its at the other end of the room, usually overflowing because the receptacle is tiny and decorative.

Look, if its a place you rest your bones and veg out, you’re going to need a place to put your trash. Unless you get up for every snack, every nose blow, every manicure, you NEED a trash receptacle by your favorite resting spot. And it needs to have a bag. Because favorite resting spots tend to get all manner of trash, not just paper. If you don’t use a bag, the receptacle itself will begin to smell funky over time.

If you’re a parent, you need AT LEAST one large receptacle in every room. If your child is old enough to run, they are old enough to learn to throw things away properly. Let it be one of the FIRST things you teach them. Let it become automatic. IF you impress this rule upon them at 2 or 3, they will be doing it without thinking by the time they are ten. Trust me. Older kids often are a big help here because they get to be tiny dictators to the younger ones.

2. Better lighting. Most places I am hired to clean, I end up pulling curtains back and opening doors because its too damned dark to see. Once I do that, I can see all the nasty dustbunnies and fur balls that have accumulated in the corners and along the baseboards. So when you have been cleaning, you didn’t see this stuff, so you didn’t clean it. Then to your great astonishment, the place you just cleaned a couple of days ago, looks hopelessly filthy again in no time. That’s because all the stuff you didn’t see? It rolled around and covered everything in a fine layer of new filth. If you can’t see it, you can’t clean it. Add more lamps, get higher wattage bulbs, whatever – just add more light. It always looks nicer too.

3. Designate a place for your shoes and socks. People have no idea how much crap they track in from outside. If you start parking your shoes when you come in, you will notice a big difference in that wave of dirt that keeps migrating in from your front door. It won’t cure it, but it sure will help. Plus, when you go to bed at night, you’ll see the bottoms of your sock and have a better idea of how clean or filthy your floor really is. If you see me walking around my house with my shoes on, its because I know my floors are filthy and need to be cleaned. Going shoe-less is more comfy anyway. I’m surprised more people don’t do it. I know some people like to take their shoes AND sock off when they come home. For them, I say put a small clothes hamper by the shoe dock.

4. Stop using bar soap. Okay, this one is a biggie for me because its so prevalent yet so, so nasty. Bar soap is comprised of many things but one of those things is fat. That fat does not rinse completely away. Every time you use bar soap, you leave a tiny trail of dirt attached to bar soap molecules that stick to your shower/bath walls. It takes some time but eventually that dirt trail becomes visible as a brownish coating. This coating is EXCEEDINGLY hard to remove. The longer it’s built up, the harder it is to get rid of. I did one job where I literally scraped it off the shower wall for an HOUR. This was a single-person abode. The customer had never once cleaned their shower. For years. Once I was done, he was blown away at how bright his shower stall was.

Bar soap is nasty, it leaves a sticky icky coating that solidifies into something ungodly. By all that is good in this world STAHP using it!

Use liquid soap. Liquid soap is a different composition. It is detergent, not soap. Which means its actually gentler on your skin as well. More importantly, it rinses clean. Even if you don’t rinse it, it doesn’t build up like soap does. If you like, shampoo will do the job just as well. Just no more bar, I am begging you.

5. Close certain rooms off from pets. Face it, your pet has fur. Your pet sheds. THe fur that it sheds goes everywhere. Fur is fine and delicate and often hard to see. It also sticks to tile like nobody’s business! If I had a curse jar for every time I’ve battled fur sticking to bathroom tile, somebody would have their college paid for in full. I hate pet fur. But I really hate it in a tiled bathroom.

Also, pets do leave effluvia behind when they sit. If you have your room open or your office or whatever, the pet will go in there and sit because that’s where you are. If you can contain the area of contact, it is easier to clean and keep clean. Especially rooms that have off-the-floor furniture (like a bed)

6. Brush your hair every day, in the same place. NOT in the shower. You are asking for a visit from your plumber with all the hair you let slide down the drain. Just brush it beforehand in a place you can easily sweep or vacuum it up later. Or over a trash can. That’s what I do. Even if your hair is short.

7. When you spill something, don’t just leave it there. Don’t just wipe it with a bare paper towel and walk away. Use a spray, a slightly soapy sponge or cloth or even plain water. Once you wipe up what you see, squat down and wipe the area. I guarantee you there is splatter. It may just be a few drops but those drops accumulate over time and darken the walls, doorways, floor, baseboards. If I had a dollar for every time I had to sit on the floor SCRUBBING splatter off of baseboards I wouldn’t have to clean for a living any more.

8. Ladies: Take your tampon out while standing/squatting. NOT while sitting on the toilet. Use a folded toilet paper in your other hand to catch the tampon when it comes out and you won’t get a mess anywhere. Every time you take one out while sitting on the toilet, it swings and hits the underside of the seat and that stuff is HELL to scrub off.

Men: keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the bathroom. Pick a day, any day of the week, and resolve to on that day, wipe behind the seat hinge of the toilet. It is easy, it takes three seconds and it won’t hurt you in the slightest. Just fold some toilet paper, pour a little rubbing alcohol on it, and wipe just behind the seat hinges. Your urine spray accumulates there at a frightening pace. For gawds sake wipe it once a week. And if you have to pee when you’re stumbling drunk, fer crying out loud SIT DOWN.

9. Learn to throw away Kipple. Kipple is the paper detritus that breeds in your home, usually the desk or kitchen counter. Stop saving it. That coupon you think you might use? You won’t. If you really were going to use it you’d put it in your purse or wallet. That offer you got in the mail for a new blahblah at half price? Toss it. If you had really wanted a new blahblah at any price you would have already bought one. If its something you have to really be enticed to go buy, then you probably don’t need to buy it in the first place.
Whatever your weakness is, throw it away. And while we’re on the subject, wherever you usually go through your snail mail, put a trashcan specifically for kipple.

10. Brush your teeth with your lips closed. Preferably bend over the sink somewhat. Stop spraying the mirror: it doesn’t make your teeth cleaner to make a mess while brushing. After you’re done brushing, rinse the sink. It takes two seconds. Use your hand to cup some water, then sling the water at the sides of the sink. Bam! Clean sink.

11. If you go in a non-kitchen room with food or drink that requires a non-disposable container, use a tray or bring a bin with you. When you are done with your food/drink, put the dish/es on the tray or in the bin. You will feel too lazy to take your dishes back to the kitchen right away, but its always likely you’ll be walking by later not doing anything in particular and you can grab the tray or bin and take it to the kitchen.

12. If you don’t want to wash your dishes right away, SOAK THEM. Just pour some water on those puppies before you walk away.

13. When something spills, WIPE IT UP. It helps if you have paper towels or rags in every other room. You can stash rags in drawers, you can hide a roll of paper towels under a coffee table.

14. When you use the microwave, put a paper towel under whatever you’re heating. No exceptions. When you take your food out, you can leave the towel or throw it away. Because there’s a garbage can nearby, right?

15. Groom your pets.
16. Keep a dustbuster by your couch or your desk.
17. When you vacuum, take a second to vacuum the baseboards, the indentations in doors and lampshades.
18. More laundry hampers. I’ve never met a client yet who had enough laundry hampers.

19. Don’t nag your partner/roommate about picking up, give them a list. Don’t even say anything, just leave it where they will find it. They are an adult, they don’t need instructions, but many people do need a list.

20. Pick a specific place for: your keys, your glasses, your cell phone, your lotion, your “important weird thing I need to attend to within a week”, your medicine, your vitamins, your lighter, your cigs/pipe/snuff, and never, ever, EVER listen to your brain when it says “I’ll just put this here for now… I’ll get back to it later” because you know good and well you’re never going to find it again.

Bonus: When you can’t find something, start cleaning up.

For more amazing cleaning tips and hilarious stories, visit Smibbo!




 

Kindergarten Kids - The Holiday Aftermath

Problem: 

With the huge influx of toys, games and rubbish during the holidays, your house may seem messier and more cluttered no matter how organized you are. You have to get rid of the old to make room for the new, but how do you decide what gets the boot?

Solution:

There are several different ways to separate the keepers from the get-the-hell-outers.

1) Anything your kids haven't played with in two months or more, get rid of. (They'll tell you they'll miss it. They won't).

2) Check for repeats. These aren't always obvious. I mean, in my case they are because twins. So sometimes I'll get two headband makers, when I really only need one. For those who have kids of different ages, choose the one dancing Mickey you like the best. You don't need 2006's version and 2012's version, even though they're "different."

3) Let your kids open their own presents, and give away the unopened gifts (unless you are sure your kids would love the toy or game if they would just give it a chance.)

This seems cruel, but it's not. Like, my kids could not care less about little "action figures." (IDK what we call them these days). Bratz, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop. They don't even open the boxes, and the ones I've pried open have just made a huge mess in my house and no one has even played with them once.

Now, if you don't open these well-meaning gifts, you could return them for something your family would enjoy, or (what I usually do), you can donate unopened boxes of stuff to people who can't afford it. Then they get something new, which is always rad.


 

Guest Post - Kid's Got Style: Key to a Cool Toddler Room

Today I am lucky enough to have a guest post for those who are able to strive for more than just the oh-my-God-I-cleaned-the-room look.

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Whether you are cruising Pinterest for trendy ideas or walking through the stores to see what's hip in the way of toddler bedrooms, there are plenty of design ideas to help make your kid's bedroom "cool".
Do you have a son who loves the outdoors and wants a treehouse bedroom? Or a little girl who can't get enough gummy bears? Make their quirky interests into a modern bedroom theme. These simple tips will help you create a beautiful room your child will be proud to call their own.

Color Palette

Keep the colors of the room consistent with the theme. For instance, a dinosaur room might have a green, blue and white color palette. So, paint the top half of the room white, the bottom half blue and add a thick green stripe just below the ceiling. Incorporate blue and green wall accessories and maybe throw an orange chair with footstool. Get creative and let your child assist in the design of the room.

Window Treatments

While you don't want to compromise on style, choose window covers that promote healthy sleep habits. Roman shades offer a stylish look with many different color options, while still providing the darkness that makes it easier for your child to get a good night's rest. Blinds or thick curtains are also a helpful elements for a successful nap and will work well with any room design.

Photographs

Incorporate unique pictures into your theme. For example, if you are designing a "construction" room for a young boy, take some pictures of him dressed up in a work zone vest and safety goggles with a toy hammer in hand. If you are creating a princess palace for a girl, take fun photos of her casting magical spells with a glittery wand in a tiara and a tutu. These type of pictures add a personal touch to the room design without taking away from the theme, and are a design element that both you and your toddler will love for many years to come.

Homemade Art

According to Real Simple, the best way to display art is to hang a single wire from wall to wall. This way you can easily add, subtract and substitute artwork as the years go on. Have your son or daughter draw or color something that works with the theme, but give them the freedom to be creative as well. If a marine bedroom, ask them to draw their favorite sea creature. You may end up with a mermaid or daddy swimming in the ocean and that's OK. Encourage originality. This allows your child to have a stake in their own room, and feel proud of their work.

Organize

The more organized your child's room is, the more organized they will be in the rest of life. A clean, uncluttered bedroom allows a child to truly utilize the space they are given, and gives them a stress-free place of their own. Keep toys in a toy box and books on a bookshelf. You can incorporate storage into your theme as well. If your kid's room is a garden, create a bookshelf tree that stores books but looks like a tree. Allow your toddler to leave one or two favorite stuffed animals on the bed. The more clean and organized your kid's room is, the happier they will be and the more you will enjoy the environment you have designed.
When your toddler assists you in redesigning their room, you will create lasting memories of working together that will be cherished for a lifetime. These tips will ensure you end up with a room that you enjoy walking into each day, and that your child enjoys growing up in. Help them be the cool kid on the block. Which, in turn, makes you the cool mom (or dad) in the neighborhood. Success.

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Justin Greig A self-proclaimed "21st century hippie," Justin studied Journalism at Berkeley and freelances for many environmental publications. He has a special interest in conservation, and he and his wife recently added solar panels to their home.

 

Preschool Pointers - 5: Cycle the Toys

Problem:

Over the past however many years you've acquired a metric ton of children's toys, more than half of which your kids don't even touch.

Solution:

Periodically go through these items and quietly discard / give away toys that are no longer age appropriate. During these times (usually nap or school time) put half of the stuff you have in storage. Don't say anything about it, just do it. If they ask for a specific toy, go get it for them, but you'll be amazed at how rarely that happens. Then, the next time you go through the stuff, switch the toys out. No fanfare. Just put some of the stored toys in with the toys that are out, and put some of the toys that are out in storage. It's like Christmas! Suddenly, toys your kids never would have deigned to play with are new again, and so, so cool. This gets maximum use out of all the objects in your home.



 

Getting Things Done - An Introduction

Let me paint a picture for you.

It's eight o'clock on a Monday night. My husband has just gotten home from work, my kids are bopping around being crazy. Everybody is hungry, it's time for dinner.

But I'm in the final round of an online writing competition and I can't tear myself away from the poll.

Dice onions, refresh page, cut up peppers, refresh page, start cooking sausages, talk to friends about the poll, oh shit! I'm burning the sausages! Flip them, refresh page.

All was going swimmingly (if too slowly for my hungry family's liking), when I came across a jar of olives that I could not open.

Conundrum. To go upstairs and have my husband open it for me would require at least two minutes away from the poll! I tried to go quick. Sprinting up the stairs with jar in hand, I twisted my ankle for the first time in ten years.

Ouch!

Also, I lost by two votes. And you know what? I would have lost by two votes whether or not I saw the updated poll every ten seconds or not.

On the flip side, dinner was freaking delicious.

Moral of the story is: Don't try to do too many things at once. You will hurt yourself.


This isn't just for physical injuries and it isn't just about superfluous things that don't really matter. It goes deeper than that. How many times do we do nothing because we have so much to do? If I think about everything I have to do in one day, I paralyze myself. It is too much.

If I think about the task I must complete after the task I'm currently undertaking, I lose steam. I get caught up in the to-do, and never appreciate what it is I'm getting done.

Relax. One thing at a time, two things max. More than that and you're courting disaster. Let go of the things that don't matter. Prioritize, but really think about your priorities. Try to see them from outside yourself. Sometimes our priorities are wrong, and we don't even know it. We give way too much importance to one thing, and not nearly enough to another. Learn from these mistakes.

Accept what you can get done and leave the rest for the next day. Then do the same thing tomorrow.

I give myself a list of 16 things to do every day. I've been doing this for two years. I have never gotten all 16 done. Not once. At first that was totally defeating. But getting everything done on the list isn't the point. Having somethign concrete that allows me to organize my day while still feeling like i have a choice is what the list is for.

I'll talk more about it tomorrow, when I actually talk about the mechanics of getting things done.






 

Guest Post - How to Be the Best Organized Mommy in Town

I am fortunate enough to have the talented and organized Ana Brady guest blogging for me today. She's got tips on how to include your children in your life so that everything gets done and fun is had at the same time!
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There are mommies who manage to get everything on their daily agenda done, and mommies who simply don’t.

Before I got pregnant, it was just my husband, me, and our desire to spend our lives goofing around, going out with friends, traveling, watching movies, cooking together... We watched our acquaintances and wondered how they survived with jobs, children and so many obligations that come with that.

Then we got two beautiful babies and suddenly it was my husband, me, the babies, and our desire to do everything to keep them safe and happy. Well, that, and a pretty firm decision we will not be like many other parents who "quit" their previous lives when they get children. We made a deal we’d be the best organized parents in town. Did it work? Well... We haven’t made a survey, but I’m satisfied at how our plan is coming along. If you feel like you don’t have parenting figured out and you’re always missing some time for yourself, here are some tips I found very useful, that might help you, too.

1. Make a list of things that you’d be very unhappy if you had to abandon them. I don’t mean activities that would give you some pleasure, but those that you really can’t do without. Activities that you as an individual really need. Everyone needs some alone time, some entertainment time, some shopping and getting-hair-done time. Make a list of what you really need in your life. That could be: exercising at least twice a week, drinks out with girlfriends once a month or more often, reading a chapter of a book every day, writing poems, planting flowers, etc. You and your partner need to figure out how to help each other keep your favorite activities and hobbies.

2. Some of the things you want to do, like shopping or seeing your friends, don’t have to exclude your children. Malls have playgrounds where you can leave your children with experienced instructors for an hour or even more, and you can spend some of that time checking out the latest spring/summer collection at your favorite store. If there’s some children’s play going on in a mall, or park, or any other venue, you can set up a meeting with your friends there, and enjoy their company while your kids are engaged with what the puppets or actors are doing on stage.

3. If cooking is taking too much of your time, you need to make some organizational changes in the kitchen. For some time now I’ve been practicing cooking only, or mostly, on weekends. That’s when I make one or two meals for the weekend, but I make large quantities so that I can freeze extra servings. While my husband is playing with our kids, I also cut the newly bought groceries and prepare them for the freezer. That way, in the week to come, I have several ready-made meals and ingredients that can be whipped up into a healthy meal very quickly.

4. If your children are hyperactive, take them outside for a long walk that will tire them out after a while, and also feel wonderful to your body that probably doesn’t get enough exercise. Do this after dinner, so that when you get back home, they are ready for bed, and you can have some relaxing alone or partner time.

I’m aware that the advice I offer here will not work for everyone, for various reasons. Still, it’s good to see how different families function. That way you can modify what works in someone else’s family, or you might get an idea for your own four (or more) tips on how to get organized and live a more relaxed and enjoyable life.

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Ana Brady is an enthusiastic mother of two and writer who blogs about nutrition, recipes, family time, fitness, healthy living and similar topics. She and her husband work on a project on vinyl sheet labels. 

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To-do List 101

I've never been very good at making lists.  When I have been able to convince myself to make a list, it was rare that I was able to follow it - until I became a stay at home mom.  I've found, these days, that without a to-do list, absolutely nothing gets done.  I never know where to start.  I'll clean the same room over and over because when you try to clean a house from top to bottom with toddlers running around, by the time you've finished, the entire place is dirty again.  Cooking, cleaning, and making time for yourself all while being a full-time entertainment center for your kids is a tough job.  Sometimes a list can really help slow down the whirlwind.  Here are some list tips from a person who doesn't do lists.

1) Make a list the night before.  Timing is everything.  If you make your list right before you go to bed, you'll feel more prepared for the morning and ready to go when you wake up.

2) Don't limit your list to jobs.  As a parent, everything you do that doesn't involve immediate childcare is a success.  If you use this philosophy when making your list, it won't be as scary to look at in the morning, and you won't feel so overwhelmed.  Taking a shower is an accomplishment in my house, and if it's been a couple days, I will put shower on my list.  I'll put trips on there like walk to the library.   I'll even put stuff I do in my downtime on there.  It gives my list the well-rounded look it deserves.

3) Use your downtime wisely.  There are two reasons I put downtime activities on my list.  The first being so that I actually do them and take some time to relax and enjoy myself.  The second being so that I use that downtime wisely.  If I have three activities I want to do during naptime, it's easier for me to stop playing on the internet and start scrapbooking if both of those items are on the list.  To be honest, much more time would be wasted surfing the unchanging internet pages I visit if I didn't put other fun activities down to be scratched off.

4) Make the list a rolling list.  You are not going to get everything you write down each night done everyday.  If you try, you will only set yourself up for failure.  If you don't get to some items, simply put them on the list for tomorrow.  In this way, you give yourself a bit of choice each day as well.  I try not to let an item stay on my list for more than three days, but, honestly, clean the bathroom can sit on there for up to a week before I can actually bring myself to do it.

5) Don't scratch off an item until you've done the job completely.  One of my faults is my love of the half-job.  I'll start cleaning the kitchen but get distracted and leave before I wash the cabinets and the floor.  I'll do two loads of laundry, but forget the third in the washer.  By not scratching these jobs off before I finish them completely, I remember to finish them the next day.  And I'm more apt to finish them first because psychologically, I'm already halfway there, as opposed to only half-way done.

Maybe lists still aren't for you, but I know as one who has never made lists in her life that when I do follow this technique, I feel better about my day.  I'm more organized, I get more done, and I see the variety in what would otherwise look like a day the same as yesterday the same as the day before.