Ivy says:

Yesterday, my mom came over because she had a little time to kill before going to work. There wasn’t any time to clean up because she called me as she turned onto my street. Thanks, mom. “Ah, Ivy,” she said, “Your home is a bastion of cleanliness.” We both laughed because, to be honest, my house has been quite a disaster lately. I would undoubtedly receive the Home Ec 101 Seal of Disapproval if we were handing out seals.

When my grandmother died, my uncle started giving me her stuff.  I have a small garage that was nearly full of our own things.  Grandma’s stuff has spilled into my living room and now in the space of less than 6 months, my house has reached full on disaster status. Let this be a lesson, the minute you let the mess creep in, the mess multiplies like Tribbles and the next thing you know, you have a messy house. The irritating part is, I already knew this, but depression over losing my grandma and the sheer amount of stuff I got went a long way to helping me ignore my own advice.

I’m telling you this not because I think it’s fun to tell y’all about my house being a disaster, but because I suspect at least some of you are in the same boat. Your house is cluttered. If it’s anything like mine, it’s fairly sanitary (pay no attention to those cat boxes behind the curtain!), but clutter has set in, it’s overwhelming, and you’re not even really sure how to get started.

Never fear! Mess and chaos spread, but so does clean. The key is to leverage the momentum. Normally, when cleaning, I like to set a timer. But with remedial cleaning, I like to do this “by the job.” For example, this morning I cleaned off the top of the kids’ toy cabinet. I had to be ruthless- did I really want to keep all 8,447 pictures my daughter had drawn? I picked my 2 favorites and hung them up.

Make a plan for your remedial cleaning. Now that the top of the kids’ toy cabinet is cleaned off, the next job is to clean the inside of it. Someone hold me, I’m scared. Make a list and enjoy crossing off each task!  A sense of accomplishment helps move things along.  Eventually, your house will be the “bastion of cleanliness” it once was. And so will mine.

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Every Saturday we share one of our favorite entries.

Ivy says:

Sometimes you have guests coming over unexpectedly and you don’t have time for the full cleaning route. And sometimes you just don’t feel like cleaning like a madman when there are guests coming over. So what are the most important parts of your house to hit in order to make your house look decent? Here’s a list:

1. Toilets- because they’re probably going to want to use your bathroom, so make sure your toilets are sparkly clean. It’s easy to pull the shower curtain to hide a soap-scummy tub, and people will overlook a less-than perfect sink, as long as your toilet is looking good.

2. Mirrors/glass/other shinies- A general film is okay, but smudges and splatters on your shiny/glass objects, are very noticeable. Whip out the Windex and give them a quick shine.

3. Floors- Vacuum, sweep, and mop as needed. If I’m really short on time, I’ll do what I call “spot-mopping”; that is cleaning the parts of the floor that have spots or are otherwise funky. This works out better if the floor stays generally pretty clean but just has a few spots of funk on it. If your spot-mopping results in nice, clean spots that stand out from the rest, you’re going to have to go all out and mop the whole floor.

4. Cobwebs- Knock down any and all cobwebs. Pay special attention to your light fixtures, that’s where my cobwebs hide, only to come out when people come over. You can always tell them you’re decorating for Halloween, but that really only works one month out of the year.

5. Clutter- Even if you have to sweep it all into a laundry basket and hide it in a closet, get rid of the clutter on your tables and countertops. People tend to notice stuff like that, for some unknown reason.

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Ivy says:

Our fabulous commenter Bramble asked:

How exactly does one dust the wall? Do you dust the entire wall with a dust cloth? Do you wash it?

This, of course, varies depending on how big your walls are and how dirty your walls are. My preferred method is to use a wool duster with an extension handle. The wool picks up dust very well and since it has an extension handle, you’ll be able to reach just about everywhere. (Unless your walls are as tall as mine, then you’ll need a ladder.)

Now, for really dirty walls, it depends on the type of paint that is on your walls. If you have satin or semigloss, just use a damp rag to wash down the walls. I like a little Pine Sol in a bucket of water. To me, nothing smells like “clean” more than Pine Sol, a throwback to my childhood or something. With flat paint, it’s a bit different. I’m tempted to tell you to repaint with satin or semigloss, but naturally not everyone can do that. The alternative is using a dry sponge like this. For what those sponges cost though, I’d try to clean the walls with a wooly duster first, or perhaps gently washing them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

There ya go, Bramble! More than you ever wanted to know about cleaning walls!

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Ivy says:

This has been a hard one for me to write, because I have a small house. My living room or family room or great room or whatever you want to call it is also my office, sewing room, dining room, etc, etc, etc. So the way I spring clean my living room wouldn’t necessarily be the same as yours. For example, I’m going through all my files and cleaning out everything that’s too old. Most people don’t store their files in their living room. Anyway, I hope this suits most people’s needs for living room spring cleaning.

• As usual, start at the top. Dust the walls (Y’all, mine were horrid! I would have definitely won the Home Ec 101 seal of disapproval!) and light fixtures and ceiling fan if you have one. Knock all the cobwebs down too. If your ceiling isn’t too horribly tall, dust it too.
• Take all your throw pillows outside and let them hang out in the sun for awhile to freshen. Take down any curtains, throws, and other such items and wash them. Give your blinds a good washing. Take any area rugs outside and beat them. (Fun for all, right!?)
• Pick up and organize everything. This is a good time to go through your media like your DVDs and video games and take them to someplace like Digital Planet (That’s where I go. Naturally, if you’re not local to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, find a similar local joint) to make a few bucks off stuff you don’t watch or play anymore.
• Dust everything. And I mean everything, kids. Pick up all your electronic equipment and dust under it. This sounds odd, but dust your cords, too. Mine seem to collect dust and cat hair. I wish they’d collect something useful, like money, but no such luck. Don’t forget to dust your picture frames! My boss when I was a maid always said you can tell a truly good housekeeper by how dusty the tops of their picture frames are. Because of that, I always dust my picture frames, even if I’m too lazy to dust anything else, ha!
• Your maid may not do windows, but you’re going to have to. Wash them inside and out. My mom says windows are the “eyes” of a home. Keep your home’s “eyes” clean!
• Move all furniture away from the walls. Dust the baseboards. If they’re still funky, give them a good washdown.
• While you’ve got the furniture moved out, vacuum the floors. If you are like me and like to rearrange the furniture, go ahead and do so.
• Move all the furniture back and then vacuum the rest of the floors. Wash down your doors and switchplates and all that fun stuff that gets funky.
• Take all your knickknacks outside and throw them at a neighbor you don’t like. Okay, just kidding, but do you need as many knickknacks as you have? Consider cutting down. It’ll make all your dusting easier!
• Put all your curtains, blinds, throw pillows, area rugs, etc. back where they belong.
• Enjoy your shiny clean living room!

I feel like I may have left something out here, and I don’t know what it could be. As I type, I keep remembering things I’ve left out, ha! I know you fab commenters have got my back, so let me know if there’s anything I’ve left out!

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Ivy says:

 Thanks to commenter Sandy, I am getting back on track with the spring cleaning posts. I totally have blogging ADD. I’ll be chugging along with something and then suddenly- “Look! A puppy!”

So, today we’ll talk about spring cleaning your bedrooms. Here we go, wheee!

• I like to start with the closets. I toss everything except the clothes out of the closet and try to get rid of about half the stuff that’s in there, if possible. Eventually, you’ll get your clutter level down so low that there is mostly essential items in there, but you’ll still find stuff you don’t need, guaranteed.
• Then take all the clothes out of the closet and get rid of anything that doesn’t fit, you hate, or is stained or torn.
• Once you have everything out of the closet, dust the walls, ceiling and light fixtures, wash the baseboards, and vacuum. Then put everything back in there.
• Take your comforter off the bed and then dust the fan and/or light fixtures. The reason I say take the comforter off is because funky dust is easily washed off sheets, but depending on the laundry instructions for your comforter, it may not easily be washed off. If you do have a washable comforter, take your comforter off and wash it, store it, or whatever you do with it in the spring.
• Take the sheets, dust ruffle, and any other extraneous stuff you have on your bed and wash them. Put pillows out in the sun to air out.
• Pull all the furniture away from the walls and wash the baseboards and use your edging tool on your vacuum cleaner to clean where the wall and carpet meet.
• If your curtains can be washed, take them down and wash them. If not, do a thorough vacuuming of your curtains. Wash the windows, too!
• Thoroughly dust the walls and furniture. Remember: top to bottom!
• Empty the trash in your room.
• Move all the furniture back and vacuum the entire room.
• Clean out your nightstands. Get rid of anything you don’t need.
• Put clean sheets on your bed.

Enjoy your fresh, clean bedroom!

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