Entries Tagged as 'Whole House'

Cleaning With Sickness In Mind

January 9th, 2009 10 Comments

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

They say, “it’s going around” and it’s “going around and around” in my house, for sure. Winter is prime time for viruses to come on in the house and take up residence. It’s up to you to clean them away as best you can. Of course, you’re not going to be able to fight off every single bit of bacteria and viruses that are in your house- nor do you want to, as some bacteria is good. But you definitely want to hit several areas to make sure you’re doing your best to keep the nasties away.

Living Areas

In your living room, great room, and all other areas where you “hang out,” keep in mind areas your hands touch- doorknobs, light switches, remote controls, computer keypads. For items that are less likely to be harmed by getting a little wet, spray Lysol and leave it without wiping. For more sensitive electronic items, I usually spray Lysol on a cloth and wipe from there.

Kitchen

Here, you’ll also think about areas hands touch. Again, clean the light switches, doorknobs, the refrigerator door handle, and all other areas your hands touch. Lysol, again, is the best for this. Don’t forget things like your coffee maker and the buttons on your microwave. I rarely use bleach for cleaning since I cannot handle the smell, but I do use a bit of bleach in my dishwater when washing dishes if anyone has been sick. I also make sure all dishes are absolutely and thoroughly dry before putting them away. I normally make sure they’re dry, but in the case of sickness, bone dry, baby.

Bedrooms

I change the sheets as soon as someone’s finished being sick and wash them with hot water. If you’re going through a particularly ugly round of sickness and you feel too weak still to change sheets, changing the pillowcases will be a good temporary solution until you feel well enough to go all out and change everything. Don’t forget your can of Lysol and spraying all the areas your hands touch. I also like to make sure I thoroughly dust and vacuum (this goes for every room of the house) if it’s a respiratory illness- sometimes a bad cold is actually allergies. Give your pillows a nice sunning, if it’s dry enough outside.

Bathrooms

Clean your toilets like the Queen of England is coming to use the loo. And, of course, don’t forget the good ol’ Lysol. Clean the sink and tub really well, too. And, of course, don’t forget the light switches, etc.

Laundry

All clothes and bed linens from the sick person should be washed with the hottest water possible. If there have been diarrhea or vomiting issues, be sure to wash those items separately with bleach, if the items can be bleached. Dry on the hottest possible setting as well. And, naturally, Lysol all the areas that hands touch. You should be used to that routine by now.

Tell me, Home Eccers, how are you faring this cold and flu season?

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Sudden Company: What to do, What not to do

September 3rd, 2008 6 Comments

Ivy says:

I have a longstanding agreement with my friends from both in town and out of town. You’re welcome to come see me anytime, whether it’s short notice or if you schedule weeks in advance. Just come on. I want to see you.

I’m often tested on that, and people have come to my house in varying states of clean. For people that aren’t staying overnight, or if they give you very short notice, my top 5 things to clean when you’re in a hurry list is fab. It also works when certain cousins of mine call me at 10 at night saying, “Hey, we’re on our way to Florida and we’re tired, can we crash at your house? We’re in Bowling Green.” (Bowling Green is about an hour and a half from my house, stalkers.) Then I add “change sheets in the kid who gets kicked out of his bed’s room” to that list.

But usually I seem to have about 4-6 hours of notice when people are coming to spend the night. In that case, I have more time and can get it all done. Here’s how I do it:

First, make a plan. Decide what will be most important to the people who are coming. Consider allergies. Are they allergic to cats? If so, the most important part is pulling out all the furniture and getting all the cat hair vacuumed up. Is someone coming with a peanut allergy? In my house, this is a major consideration, as my husband is a manager at a restaurant with peanut shells thrown on the floor. All his work shoes are carefully cleaned and bagged and I drop a call to him at work to make sure he hoses off his shoes and doesn’t bring them inside. No allergies? Awesome, forge ahead with general cleaning.

Then, go to the store for things you need. Any extra food, cleaning supplies, whatever. I like to pick up a bouquet of flowers, if I can find them inexpensively. Oh, and I also usually pick up some Red Bull for when I get tired and need to power through. Yes, Dad, I know it’s bad for my kidneys. I don’t do it *that* often.

Then, come home and get to work. Go from most important to least important. With the exception of the bathroom, which I do in one fell swoop, I tend to move from room to room. I tend to work from top to bottom, so the floors are usually what’s done last. This is living a bit dangerously- sometimes I’ve had to warn people to mind the wet floors, but working from top to bottom ensures that the work flow is smooth and you don’t have to do things twice.

Don’t forget to enlist help. Even my youngest kid is involved in fetching and toting things back and forth for me. I tried to train the dog to wash dishes, but alas, no opposable thumbs.

So, that’s how I get ready for guests on short notice. What are your tricks and tips?

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5 Things You Probably Need To Clean

August 26th, 2008 11 Comments

Ivy says:

When I worked as a professional maid, sometimes the boss would come into a house we had just cleaned and would do what she called “the white glove test.” She’d wear a white pair of gloves and check areas we were supposed to have cleaned, and if so much as a smudge appeared on the famed white gloves, we’d get marked down.

There were 5 places she called “hot spots”- these were the places she would most likely find that we had missed. These are those places.

1. The top of the refrigerator- Oooh, I’ve seen some nasty refrigerator tops in my time. Normally they’re fairly close to the stovetop, so the dust on top of the refrigerator gets mixed in with grease and it’s just a nasty, heinous mess. Also, people like to store stuff on top of the refrigerator, so now your stuff is greasy and dusty. Go ahead and start making the top of your refrigerator a regular part of your kitchen cleaning routine. If you do it at least once a week, it won’t be bad at all.

2. The tops of door frames, and the tops of anything hanging on a wall- I have a confession to make. Because this was something my bosses at the cleaning service were SO snotty about these particular items, it was years before I was able to go into someone’s house and not run my finger on the top of their door frames. Talk about conditioning. When you’re dusting, don’t forget the tops of door frames, the tops of picture frames, the top of your doorbell box, your smoke detectors, your thermostat, and anything else that hangs on your wall.

3. The back sides of your faucets- This is something that is easy to miss. When I make the kids clean the kitchen or the bathroom, they miss this every time. One would think that being busted on this myriad times would make them remember, but one would be wrong. It can get pretty funky back there, so don’t forget to clean behind the faucets.

4. Underneath and behind appliances that sit on the counter- When I was at my mom and dad’s house on Sunday, my dad’s coffee maker decided to flood. We quickly pulled everything out and started mopping up. Behind the coffee maker was actually pretty clean, but behind the microwave- eww. I know it’s a pain to pull larger appliances like that out, but be sure to clean under there every once in awhile.

5. Toilet paper holders- When I worked at the cleaning service, this was something I got marked down on a few times. Toilet paper leaves dust on the sides of the holder, and it needs to be dusted off. This is something that would have never occurred to me to clean if I hadn’t ever worked at the cleaning service, but there it is. Clean your toilet paper holders, yo!

Now, I know these items are all really fussy things to clean. You could go the rest of your life not dusting your door frames and be just fine. But if you’re looking to get your house completely spotless, don’t forget these items!

Don’t forget to check out our latest giveaway.

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Mess begets mess, so try the vice versa

May 7th, 2008 10 Comments

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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The Cleaning Imbalance

April 30th, 2008 8 Comments

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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