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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Dear Home Ec 101,

How can I make my husband help around the house?

Signed,

Nags Head, NC

Heather says:

I moved out quite young and lived with an interesting variety of roommates until I married.  Different people have different standards of cleanliness and tolerance.  If you are the Felix of your relationship, odds are you will carry more of the cleaning burden.   You can ask, but you cannot make your spouse or partner do anything.  This goes for those living with roommates, to a point.  As long as finances aren’t an issue, roommates have the somewhat less difficult option of dissolving the situation.

My best tip for achieving help around the house is to ask politely and directly when the other party is not busy.  Use the same courtesy you expect from others. Thank them when the are through and do NOT immediately fix what they have done.

I know many of our readers have been down this road and not every tactic works for every relationship; please share what you have found helpful in your situation.

You do have a choice when it comes to the maintenance of your home: you can wallow in resentment and self-pity or you can choose to maintain your surroundings to your* standards.

*If a spouse is both critical and unwilling to help, please seek professional advice.

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Dear Home Ec 101,

My husband and I recently moved into a new home….one in which the previous owner clearly had never heard of cleaning the shower. I tried using “Kaboom” on the tiles and glass doors, but it seemed to have no effect. The scum on the doors is truly gross. We have relatively hard water, so it’s just caked on. Any suggestions for getting off years of mineral deposits and soap scum?

Signed,

Limed in Limerick

Heather says:

Who ever thought soap and water could cause such a mess?  The mineral and soapscum buildup you are describing is basic in nature, this means it has pH over 7.  Nearly any acidic cleaner and elbow grease will solve your problem.  I recommend using a ceramic stove cleaner such as Weiman Cook Top, the pasty consistency will help with application to the shower doors and tile walls.  If the mineral buildup is as thick as it sounds, I believe it may take several applications.  To keep the job from becoming overwhelming, I would consider using the cleaner over the course of several days.  When the hard water stains have been removed, use a solution of diluted vinegar as an after shower spray.

Do not use acidic cleaners on marble, limestone, travertine, or onyx.

Good luck.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com

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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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