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Bathroom Cleaning 101: What you Need, What to Use and How to Use It

September 20, 2012 By 5 Comments

Heather says:

Thursdays mean clean bathrooms here on Home-Ec 101. Don’t believe me? Please check out the printable weekly chore chart or look at the every popular sticky note right there ↑. (If you’re reading this via the Home-Ec 101 Newsletter, well you’ll just have to click through to the site to see what I’m talking about.)

What if you’re a Home-Ec n00b? Don’t be ashamed, we all start somewhere and not everyone’s parental units taught them basic life skills like cleaning toilets.

It’s okay, it’s what keeps me employed*. (Parents, don’t teach your kids anything, I’d like to be useful for the NEXT generation, too.) I kid, please teach your kids to clean. . . Please? If for no other reason to get a break from doing it yourself for a few precious years. As my own kids slowly begin taking over chores, I’m beginning to think that’s what empty nesters actually miss, the ability to cajole, bribe, or sometimes even just ask someone else to take over the chores we hate.

Today we’re going through a bathroom cleaning how-to. (Would anyone like this in video format? I can probably pull that off now)

How to Clean the Bathroom

Remember how to clean like a professional?

Say it with me: Top to bottom, left to right, dry to wet.

Before you choose your bathroom chemicals, I’d like to point you in the direction of the Home-Ec 101 Guide to Household Chemicals (I got rid of the ones you probably wouldn’t even think about using in the bathroom) DO NOT MIX BLEACH with anything. Got it?

So, let’s gather our bathroom cleaning supplies (this is for a heavy duty, deep clean, you don’t need ALL of these items every time, keep what you use daily in the bathroom if possible)

  • Broom (if the exhaust fan is dusty, you may want a foxtail or whisk broom and step ladder, or grab an old pillow case and put that over the broom straw)
  • Vacuum preferably with a soft bristled brush
  • Rags
  • Paper Towels or coffee filters or newspaper -for the mirror / window
  • Bucket
  • Mop
  • Grout Brush -if you have tile
  • Acid Based All-Purpose Cleaner
  • Bar Keepers Friend -not for use on acrylic
  • Q-Tips
  • Squeegee -optional
  • Window Cleaner
  • Carnuba Wax – optional
  • Fan -if there isn’t a window / exhaust fan… bathroom cleaning should always be done in a well-ventilated situation.

Let’s get started on page 2 of Bathroom Cleaning 101

Pages: 1 2 3

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PSA: Is Your Can Opener Clean?

March 16, 2012 By 12 Comments

Bran says:

This is a public service announcement from Home Ec 101.
Let me ask you a quick question: When was the last time you washed your can opener?*

Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m the dude who, when cooking in your kitchen, scrubs the can opener before I use it. And nearly every time, I’m fighting against caked-on rusty-red sludge. Or actual rust. Really.

Help me.

Do me a favour. Do yourself a favour. Do anyone who eats food from your kitchen a favour. Please keep your can opener clean. It’s one of the things health inspectors check for a reason—I mean, you open a can of tomato puree, and as it opens tomato seeps up through the cut in the metal and smears all over the blade. Sometimes, it sloshes over the side and hits the wheel, too. If left unwashed, that stuff builds up and becomes that dark, rusty-brown home for things you don’t really want to ingest. “Unsanitary”, meet “Ew”.

Electric can openers are even worse for this, I’ve found. Cleaning them well is a nightmare—particularly if the goo has already set up well on it. You’re gonna need some elbow grease and some vinegar to get that off. If you have an electric opener and the lever/cutting wheel is removable, (unplug the machine first! and) pop that lever-piece into a bowl of white vinegar for a soak until the gunk comes off when brushed with a toothbrush. In the meantime, scrub the heck out of the main body of the opener, all around the mechanism, everything. Rinse it clean, dry it all very well so you’re not just inviting rust back in, and reassemble.

If you have one where the blade and lever can’t be removed, chuck that thing and get a hand-held one. I’m serious. Better still, if you have an electric one at all my recommendation is to chuck it and get a hand-held one. Because you really should be cleaning your can opener whenever you use it, and isn’t it a pain-in-the-butt chore with that electric one?

Manual can opener technology has come a long way since we were kids; even the middle-of-the-road brand will open up a can with less effort than you’d expend trying to clean one of those blasted electric machines, and a good quality one will open your can like a hot knife through butter. Gone are the days of busting your knuckles with some dull contraption of twisted steel. Some of the can openers on the market are actually a joy to use. …Don’t look at me like that. It’s true. And a lot (most, I’d wager, but check the packaging) of these manual marvels of engineering are even dishwasher-safe.

If you already have a manual can opener, and it’s dirty, the same trick with the vinegar and a toothbrush should work on it. Alternatively, if it’s old, and you notice it’s taking a little too much work to use it, take the opportunity to toss it and get a new one with a sharp blade and a distinct lack of food build-up. (In fact, having a sharp blade is a key factor in cutting metal—I know, it’s a shock—so if you’re having to put in a whole lot of effort, or if your opener skips or gets stuck, a dull blade might be the problem. Replace the blade or buy a new opener.)

And this time, this time, keep your can opener clean. Clean it every time. Keep the hinge well-oiled with food-grade mineral oil. It’s a tool, and tools deserve to be taken care of.

Thanks, on behalf of Anyone Who Eats Food From Your Kitchen and other interested parties. You won’t regret it.

*Tin opener, if you’re inclined to call them tins instead of cans. In my house it could really go either way.

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Synthetic or Distilled Vinegar, Is It the Same as Apple Cider Vinegar for Cleaning?

July 29, 2011 By 2 Comments

Dear Home-Ec 101,
I came across your blog via Stumbleupon… I thought you would b he right person to ask this question… In a lot of homemade cleaning products people use vinegar as a component. I get only the synthetic vinegar here in India. I do get apple cider vinegar but its far too expensive (Rs 160 per 0.5L against Rs 30 per 1L of synthetic). Can I use that to make those cleaners? Or do I use the Apple Cider one?

Signed,
Unsure in Udaipur

Heather says:

You’re in luck. Distilled and / or synthetic vinegar will work just fine for cleaning.

Recently we talked about solubility, it’s the amount of stuff that can go into solution. When we are talking about cleaning solutions, the stuff is usually dirt and oil. We want to the dirt to come off of a surface and go into the cleaning solution where it can be wiped away. Lowering the pH (increasing the acidity) of a solution can increase the amount of dirt that can be wiped up.

Creating homemade cleaners is playing chemist in your kitchen.

Vinegar is a common ingredient in most household cleaners; it’s relatively cheap and known to be a safe and effective cleaning agent. Distilled vinegar is your go to for cleaning recipes. You know the pH and therefore have a good idea of its effectiveness as a disinfecting agent. (Do you know the Difference Between Clean, Sanitary, and Sterile?)

Please remember that creating your own cleaning solutions is a great way to save money, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

1) Never mix chlorine bleach and vinegar.

2) Know that acidic cleaners are not safe for some surfaces.

3) Vinegar is a good disinfecting agent, but if someone in a household has a compromised immune system, it may not be effective enough.

Thank you for sending in your question.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Is Vinegar an Acceptably Safe Alternative for Chlorine Bleach when Disinfecting

December 17, 2010 By 22 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

Can one substitute vinegar -lots of it- for the bleach when cleaning and disinfecting?
I can’t be around bleach, it triggers SEVERE migraines.

Signed,
Pickled in Pickens

home ec logoHeather says:

There are certain times where I am reluctant to give a hard answer. In our litigious climate, I’m sure you can understand my concern. The CDC says the use of vinegar is inconclusive and needs to be studied further and I only found this after using a multitude of search terms to try and weed out the 934462 sites on the web that basically say, “Vinegar is the Greatest Cleaning Agent Ever!!! I don’t have any evidence, so you’ll just have to trust me because I say so”.

Do you know how vinegar is made?

Vinegar is the byproduct of ethanol fermentation. Basically, a specific kind of bacteria -genus Acetobacter metabolize (think of it as their equivalent of eating) alcohol and produce acetic acid as their waste. You’re just craving some french fries with malt vinegar, now aren’t you?

Distilled vinegar is the only type of vinegar that should be used for disinfecting. Why? You need to know the acidity of your cleaning agent. Aside from that, you certainly aren’t going to save money by cleaning your toilet with aged balsamic vinegar, even if it does smell nicer.

So here is my advice, given with the understanding that if you have any type of condition that may compromise your immune system, you follow your health care provider’s advice and not mine. Got it?

In most cases, distilled vinegar is acceptable as a disinfectant for hard surfaces in a home.

It is not safe to use as a disinfectant for any medical equipment. If you are looking for information on cleaning home healthcare items, you must follow your physician’s advice.

There’s a whole genus of bacteria Pseudomonas out there that really don’t give a hoot about vinegar. Is Pseudomonas an issue? Well, for some people, it certainly is. If you have anyone in your home with Cystic Fibrosis, it can cause pneumonia, in patients on chemotherapy it can cause skin infections, etc. Ever heard of hot tub rash? Pseudomonas is the likely culprit. So there are cases where vinegar really isn’t the smart choice. In hospitals, Pseudomonas can be particularly devastating, it’s the cause of Necrotising Entercolitis in NICU patients and devastating skin infections in burn patients.

Dilute solutions of chlorine bleach applied properly is the only agent I feel comfortable recommending when disinfection truly matters. If you use chlorine bleach properly, there should not be a significant source of fumes.

Your home is not a hospital.

As humans we actually need some exposure to pathogens (disease causing agents). Encounters with small amounts of some bacteria may actually be good for our body’s ability to recognize and fend off disease. Think of it this way, influenza is especially problematic because of the way it changes. It’s still the flu, but each season new strains of it show up. Because they are just different enough that our immune systems may not have defenses, they cause people to get sick. If the virus did not change, most healthy individuals would pick up a natural immunity to the virus through exposure and it wouldn’t tear through populations each year. It would be more like the chicken pox or other one-time diseases that can be miserable -or worse in cases like polio, but it wouldn’t really have the potential for a pandemic.

Those of us who have healthy immune systems should be exposed to some bacteria. On a related note, there are some really interesting studies that suggest allergies are the result of our lack of exposure to parasites. -I know when I’m sneezing, itchy-eyed, and snot-nosed for days on end, that a low-grade case of hookworms sounds like a fabulous alternative. I am not an advocate of keeping a hyper-sterile home. Despite all this there are times where disinfection matters, in those cases vinegar is a good choice for most of us, but dilute chlorine bleach is the better alternative for those at risk.

Please use your best judgement when making these decisions.

Also? Wash your hands.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

ref: http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/Disinfection_Sterilization/3_3inactivBioAgents.html

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The Unappreciated Importance of Regular Toilet Cleaning

November 19, 2010 By 7 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

I have a 9 month old baby girl and as she is becoming more mobile, it is becoming a lot more important to me to keep things really clean. She loves crawling into the bathroom and playing with those little plastic screw covers at the base of the toilet and as much as I try to wipe down that area it is never really free of grime and hair.

I am trying to train my husband to keep the bathroom door closed, but that may be a lost cause and I, of course, pick her up and take her out of there when she does find her way in there, but I would like to get that area cleaner anyway and then I wouldn’t feel like I have to disinfect her whole body if she escapes me and spends some quality time with her new favorite toy!!

Do you have any suggestions for getting the base of the toilet clean and keeping it that way?

Thank you so much for any suggestions you may have!

Signed,
Playing in the Potty

Heather says:

First of all congratulations, you’re about to enter the most harrowing phase of parenting, the toddler years. Once they hit three years, you can probably take a deep breath and maybe, just maybe a short nap. From now until that point your child is on a mission to road test your child proofing.

Before you worry about how clean the base of the toilet is, please get a lid lock. Yes it’s a pain. Yes, it’s one more thing to have to clean. The household toilet is actually a drowning hazard, especially so during the cruising months where infants and toddlers don’t have strong necks. Barring that, get a GOOD child resistant lock for the door or if you can’t find one of those, a hook and eye up where only adults can reach can keep your kiddo out of the bathroom and two small drill holes are easy peasy to patch in a couple years.

Cleaning toilets is one of those adulthood sucks kind of things. It’s not fun and there’s no big reward for having a clean toilet.  Most of you know that I rarely recommend convenience products. This is one of those rare exceptions.

Each morning, sweep the bathroom. Due to the temperature of your cold water, toilets often sweat. The hair and other bathroom gook likes to stick to the damp surface. If you are diligent in getting the hair and random fuzz balls out of the bathroom there is less stuff to stick to the base of the toilet, in general.

When men pee¹ they splash. The splashed liquid is a combination of urine and water which wipes up easily, if taken care of immediately, but if allowed to evaporate the ammonium salts left behind leave a nice little treat referred to as urine scale. Nice.

The best way to keep this from building up and becoming a nice, sticky germ ridden place is a regular wipe down.

You could keep a spray bottle of diluted vinegar and a collection of rags to wipe down the toilet each morning. You don’t have to do a super thorough cleaning, just a wipe down of the lid, underside of the lid, seat, under side of the seat, rim, and base. Since you’ve swept, there shouldn’t be a coating of hair to make this any more than a quick wipe.

Since you have a soon-to-be busy toddler to protect from herself, I highly suggest the disposable wipes. I recently picked up some Clorox Green Works  Compostable² wipes from Target just to see how well they worked -do you appreciate my level of commitment to you guys- and I was impressed. They work well and there’s a lower level of guilt with these than other disposable wipes.

Seventh Generation also has a similar product², but I haven’t tried it and I’m not sure if the Seventh Generation Wipes are compostable or not additionally the chemical in these wipes is a potential irritant (this isn’t a big deal, but if you have sensitive skin, you may be better off with the alternative).

I’m sorry there’s no magic way to keep your toilet sparkling clean. Regular maintenance is your best bet. Sweep, wipe, go.

I promise, your child won’t be fascinated with toilet forever. As soon as they are potty trained the porcelain throne loses much of its appeal.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

¹Urinate really didn’t sound any better and all I can think of is the Little Johnny Joke – Urinate. Teacher, you’re an eight, but if you . . .

²Affiliate link

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Oxygen Bleach an Introduction

October 11, 2010 By 14 Comments

 

Heather says:

Welcome to the second installment of the Series on Common Household Chemicals.

I think I was a kid when Billy Mays first showed up on my radar. He pitched Oxyclean late into the night and I’d sit there fascinated watching the red swirl away and magically disappear. Oxyclean is just a brand name for oxygen bleach or sodium percarbonate. When Na2CO3·1.5H2O2 is added to water the H2O2 is released. H2O2 should look familiar to you, if you didn’t sleep through your entire high school chem class. It’s the same stuff you buy in the little brown bottle and store in the medicine cabinet. H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide. It’s essentially a water molecule with an extra oxygen atom. This isn’t a very stable molecule, things like: light, heat, and agitation, can all break that weak bond leaving behind plain old water.

Sodium percarbonate is made from natural soda ash or borax that has been treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Since hydrogen peroxide is so unstable, this powdered form is much better for shipping and storage.

As a regular consumer you most likely will find oxygen bleach in the following forms: ultra, concentrated, and as an added ingredient to things like laundry detergent, and liquid.

When you purchase oxygen bleach, you are going to get the sodium percarbonate you’re after and other filler ingredients. Sometimes it’s a detergent or surfactant, other times it’s just filler. Experiment with different brands and find the one you find most effective with your water.

Always use in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions and do not use with silk or wool.

Typical applications for oxygen bleach:

  • mold and mildew stain remover
  • bleach & clean decks and siding
  • color safe stain remover
  • laundry disinfectant

When it comes to laundry oxygen bleach isn’t particularly good at brightening whites, but if used consistently it can help prevent the dulling that occurs over time.

In general oxygen bleach products break down into borax and water, which makes it an environmentally friendly choice.

Oxygen bleach is safe for septic systems, when used properly. Don’t go flushing pounds of sodium percarbonate down the toilet.

Since when we talk about sodium percarbonate we are essentially talking about hydrogen peroxide, it’s time to ask:

What makes hydrogen peroxide an effective cleaning agent?

The extra oxygen molecule in the hydrogen peroxide molecule is essentially a scavenger just looking for weak bonds to break. These weaker single bonds are often found in organic molecules.

When material is dyed the pigments are typically set, rendering the item colorfast. This simply means the colors don’t bleed. Hydrogen peroxide, in low concentrations, can be a color safe bleach and works by breaking some of the single bonds in the pigments of a stain. Once these weak bonds are broken, you don’t see the color.

In higher concentrations, hydrogen peroxide will bleach more than stains. Follow the label directions for proper dilution.

As a disinfectant, hydrogen peroxide acts as an oxidizer. Those rogue -totally not a technical term, but you get what I’m saying- oxygen molecules can oxidize the molecules that make up the structure of bacterial cell walls. When this happens the cell walls break, killing the bacteria.

It is important to note that there is a big difference between the 3% hydrogen peroxide most people keep in their medicine cabinets and the 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide.  35% food grade peroxide is typically diluted to 6% strength to sanitize food preparation areas. You cannot get 6% hydrogen peroxide from 3% dilution, that busy little H2O2 molecule is just too unstable.

Yes, at the proper dilution hydrogen peroxide is a fantastic disinfectant. However it is not shelf stable, you’re paying for the shipment of water, and in higher concentrations hydrogen peroxide is a strong irritant. 3% is the only strength approved for contact with skin. Use gloves if you use a 6% solution to sanitize your kitchen and follow the instructions carefully. Just because H2O2 breaks down into water and oxygen doesn’t mean it can’t do damage on the way.

There are a lot of snake oil websites out there touting hydrogen peroxide as a magic cure all. Some even want to dupe people into believing that hydrogen peroxide is an effective cancer treatment. Please read what the Cancer Institute has to say about oxygen therapy. On a personal note, I think it’s cruel to try to sell a sham to people in pain, who are in need of hope.

Use your common sense. If you find yourself short on that, default to the instructions on the label.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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How to Use Bleach Safely

October 5, 2010 By 10 Comments

Heather says:

This is the first in a new series on household chemicals.

Over the past few years, I have gotten the impression that many people are using chlorine bleach¹ in an unsafe manner. Chlorine bleach aka sodium hypochlorite is a powerful disinfectant and is one of only a few widely available, inexpensive sanitizing agents. It is so powerful in fact that it should only be used in fairly low concentrations.

Chlorine bleach should always be used in a well-ventilated area.

If your eyes are watering. You are using too much bleach. If your skin is peeling: A) you should have worn gloves B) you are using too much bleach. If you use hot, rather than warm water, chlorine gas can be released and this isn’t recommended. Never mix bleach with other household chemicals such as ammonia or vinegar, both can cause dangerous chemical reactions.

Don’t waste the power of your bleach on cleaning; reduce your use and save it only for sanitizing.

Chlorine bleach works both as a cleaning and a disinfecting agent. However many less corrosive and dangerous household items also work as highly effective cleaning agents: hot water, scrub brushes, and dish detergents are but a few examples.

Chlorine bleach is a highly effective sanitizing agent, but it needs to be used properly. Repeat after me:

Clean, rinse, sanitize.

When sanitizing food preparation areas: counters, tables, sinks, knives, and cutting boards. All surfaces should be washed to remove organic materials (food bits) and rinsed. It is only at this point that the items should be sanitized with a bleach solution of approximately 200ppm. This is about 1 TBSP of chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Did you catch that? Let me repeat it.

The proper dilution of chlorine bleach for sanitizing food preparation surfaces is 200ppm or 1 TBSP per gallon of warm water.

Get yourself a spray bottle and mix up a batch whenever you’re going to need sanitizing agent. Be aware that chlorine evaporates so only mix a small amount at a time. If you’re making 1 quart of sanitizing solution estimate ¾ teaspoon per quart, and that will get you in the neighborhood of 200 ppm. Just rinse after use.

Allow the 200ppm bleach solution to sit on the surface for at least a full minute to give the bleach time to work. With a 200ppm dilution rinsing is not necessary and it’s actually best to allow most surfaces to air dry rather than re-contaminating with a towel.

Chlorine bleach is also an effective sanitizing agent outside of the kitchen.

When sanitizing other surfaces, such as in the bathroom, bleach may be used in a 500ppm dilution.

A 500ppm dilution is 2½ tablespoons of 5.25% chlorine bleach per 1 gallon of warm water.

While bleach is a cleaning agent, milder methods are highly recommended. Save the bleach for the final, sanitizing step, just as you would in the kitchen.

If you weren’t aware, urine evaporates leaving behind ammonium salts. Always clean and rinse any area that may have urine: near toilets, cat boxes, dog kennels, etc before sanitizing.

How to use chlorine bleach in the laundry.

When bleaching a load of whites, use 3/4 cup of liquid bleach in a standard washer and those with high efficiency washers should consult their appliance manuals or call the manufacturer. Typically the amount of bleach per load in a high efficiency washer is equivalent to the maximum fill line of the bleach dispenser, but check to be sure.

When pre-soaking laundry bleach safe fabrics, first  remove as much soil as possible, then use 1/4 cup per gallon of warm water. Anything stronger can damage the fabric.

So for the TL:DR crowd here’s the quick summary:

  • Clean, rinse, sanitize, wait 1 – 5 minutes. Rinse again if it’s stainless steel.
  • Food prep surfaces require a 200ppm or 1 TBSP chlorine bleach per gallon of warm water.
  • Other surfaces may use a 500ppm dilution or 2½ TBSP chlorine bleach per gallon of warm water.
  • Laundry pre-soaks 1/4 cup per gallon or 3/4 cup for a full load in a standard, top loading washer.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com

¹♪♫Let’s talk about bleach baby, let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things and all the bad things bleach may be. ♪♫ Yeah, I woke up with a song in my head.

References:

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/poul/virtuallibrary/mckeeeffectivechlorine.html
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=178.1010
http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/110-3-definitions-19705933
http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-963/FAPC-116web.pdf
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Do You Need to Clean a Broom

September 1, 2010 By 2 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,
Should I be cleaning my floor broom?
Can I clean my broom, if I use it on something really disgusting? Currently, I have a synthetic fiber broom, but I suppose the question is relevant for any types.  And then how?
Nasty things I may have to sweep up include:

  • sticky foods in the kitchen
  • dust bunnies from under the appliances
  • occasionally, animal excrement -some of these animals are welcome in my home, some are the pesky invader type

Thanks so much. I love your site, and more importantly, I love that you’re honest and helpful without being snide, overbearing or sarcastic. :)
Sign me,
Broom Wielder

Heather says:

Yes, you absolutely can clean your broom. While it’s not a chore you need to obsess over, it’s still a good idea. After all brooms are used to clean the floor, not the kitchen counters. However, if the broom has been used to sweep up the droppings of birds or mice, is used to sweep around toilets, or if there are small children or cats in the household, cleaning the broom from time to time is a good idea.

Synthetic brooms are much easier to clean than their straw counterparts. Why? The synthetic fibers don’t absorb water and swell like their straw counterparts. If you have a straw broom, you can use the same steps, just be aware that it will take much longer to dry and that you should hurry through the wet cleaning to keep the straws from absorbing too much water.

Pull as much of the tangled matter off the straw as possible.

Use a hose to spray off any solid, remaining dirt.

Swish the broom briefly in a bucket of soapy water.

Rinse.

Then, if you are particularly concerned about sanitizing the broom:

Dip the business end of the broom in a bucket of dilute bleach solution.

Allow your broom to dry thoroughly. This can take quite a while for a straw broom.

Just remember in most cases, mopping is the actual germ killer. The role of sweeping is to remove the solid particles that can damage flooring and to make mopping more effective. That said, sanitizing your broom on occasion can help prevent the cross-contamination of surfaces.

For all you TMBG fans out there, I give you: I am Not Your Broom, thanks to @amblin

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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How to Reduce Paper Clutter

August 26, 2010 By 6 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

There are stacks of paper all over my house. Do you have any suggestions on how I can better organize this mess?

Signed,

Precarious Piles

Heather says:

I am completely guilty of this avoidance behavior. Living in a mess of paper clutter is a sure sign that someone in the home is indecisive or afraid of commitment.

Why?

Papers most often represent decisions or actions that need to be done. Allowing the paper to pile up is the essence of procrastination.

Bills need to be paid, children’s artwork needs to be stored, displayed, or disposed, jotted phone numbers – are these people worth committing to memory or your contact file?- it goes on and on.

There is no immediate, magical fix for your paper clutter problems, but you can begin to develop habits that will counter the build up of paper clutter.

If you have reliable internet, switch to electronic communication for as many services as possible.  Important – this does not mean you switch to auto-pay, if there is a billing snafu of some sort, you want to manually  confirm what comes out of your bank account.

Learn to recognize your avoidance and commit-a-phobe behavior. Sort mail as it comes into the house. Don’t put the whole pile on the counter to deal with later; make the first decisions immediately. Flyers and junk mail go right into the shredder or recycling. Bills go into their appropriate place.

You don’t have to keep every piece of artwork your child ever created. Scan and save their better work and only display their best and most precious pieces. Not every sketch and doodle requires this type of effort. Just because Little Johnny slapped a couple of scribbles down for praise and a hug doesn’t mean you must keep it until the end of time.

Figure out how to back up your electronic data and stop storing scraps of paper out of fear. My friend Michael Carnell of Palmettobug Digital has a great post on how to back up your information.

So these ideas help reduce the incoming paper clutter, but how do you deal with what already exists?

There’s nothing to do except deal with it. It doesn’t have to be all at once. Each day set a goal of dealing with one pile. If those piles are huge, set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and attack one of the existing piles: toss, scan, or file as needed. Just start making the decisions or the situation will only get worse.

I get it. I know it’s hard, but avoiding it only makes it harder.

Good luck.

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Shining Stainless Steel

July 7, 2010 By 12 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

I just got some new stainless steel appliances–and they streak–and have blotchy places on them.

Any ideas?

Signed,
The Streak

Heather says:

You aren’t the first homeowner to fall for the gleaming lure of stainless. It’s so pretty there in the show room. What you don’t see are the legions of employees wiping down the appliances night and day.

We all know a few high maintenance types, right? You know, the lady who won’t leave the house until her make up is perfect and has her hair done weekly? Stainless steel finishes are a lot like her. The relationship can be beautiful, but it’s going to take some work.

You’re going to have to make a couple of decisions, I’m going to assume it is plain brushed steel, check with your manufacturer before following the given advice.

If you choose to go the homemade cleaner route remember with a water based cleaner (like diluted vinegar), fingerprints and smudges will show more quickly while oil based cleaners (some people swear by baby oil) tend to attract dust and streak. Whichever you choose, it needs to be applied to the whole panel of the appliance and rubbed in well, with the excess buffed away. I recommend using microfiber cloths for this chore. The appliances will still need to be wiped between cleanings.

If you want to go the commercial product route, which may be required by your warranty, Consumer Reports has done some testing for you:

Finally, do not use Pledge® furniture spray on your appliances, I don’t care what you read on some forum, this is a very bad idea. That silicone build-up is the devil to remove. (Don’t believe me on the silicone? Check out SC Johnson’s site  What’sInsideSCJohnson.com dimethicone is listed under the heading “film formers”. Many thanks to SC Johnson Wax for helping consumers make informed decisions, I and many others appreciate that.)

The short version is this, whatever route of cleaner you choose, consistency is key. Frequent wiping will help keep the appliances from getting gunky and will make regular cleaning easier.

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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