New Year's Resolution - Clean It Up! Monday Chores....

 So, since it's a new year we thought we'd start it off by having a clean house. Every day this week we'll be posting a cleaning chart for the day. I don't know about you, but I HATE cleaning. However, I HATE having a disgusting house even more, especially when those surprise guests stop by. One thing we've noticed is that people who have really clean houses don't spend a whole day cleaning. They break it up into manageable chunks throughout the week. That way, it's not such a bear and their house is always passably clean and ready for guests. Don't wait for spring to clean! It's a new year, start it off right!

The kitchen can be one of the biggest chores in the whole house. With all the grease, food splatters and just general use the kitchen can begin to look run down and just icky, sticky even after you clean. Get it shining brighter! Use multi-purpose products and task specific tools for everyday cleaning to minimize the time spent cleaning and maximize the effectiveness of your cleaning.


Barkeep's Friend: Use Barkeep's Friend and a gentle scrubbby pad to get the sink shining like new. Barkeep's friend also works great on all the build-up in your oven. Anything stainless or non-stone is a great surface to use this product on. It's super inexpensive and goes a long way!

Mrs. Meyer's All Purpose Spray: I use this stuff everywhere! It's great to shine up the surface of all of my appliances, my granite counter tops, glass, cabinets, and baseboards. I use a soft microfiber cloth (saves on the cost of paper towels) and basically just go to town with this stuff. It's also a great furniture dusting spray! Plus, it smell's AMAZING! I use the orange and clove smell. When people walk into my house they're constantly asking what room fresher I used! Basil is another good choice and one of the brand's signature smells.

 

My higher end tools are my Dyson stick-vac, I have the Animal version and it's worth it's weight in gold, and my Shark Floor Steamer. These two tools will make quick work of your floors. I also use a super in-expensive floor cleaner mainly for smell purposes. I like the Citrus version of the Fabuloso Floor Cleaner.

Finally, for easy clean ups after meals or just general spills, I like to keep Clorox Bleach Wipes around. Even after cleaning things up with a paper towel the surface can still be sticky or gooey. These wipes are convenient and cut right through all the ickiness.

 

Quick Daily Checklist:

1. Clean off coutertops

2. Pick up all trash and take it out

3. Put clean dishes away

4. Put dirty dishes into dishwasher

5. Wipe down counter tops and table tops

6. Wipe down appliances

7. Clean out the microwave (take a microfiber cloth, soak it in water and microwave for 1 minute to heat. Let cool for a minute and then use the cloth to wipe the interior of the microwave. The steam from the cloth will loosen some of the baked on goo plus the cloth will be warm enough to remove any splatter grease).

8. Wipe down cabinets

9. Wipe down baseboards and switchplates

10. Sweep (or vacuum) floors

11. Mop floors

If you do all of these things quickly and efficiently it should take no more than 30 minutes. Investing 30 minutes a day in a clean house is so worth the effort. I know when I do this for myself I feel a lot less stressed and harassed because I'm looking around at a clean house rather than a pig sty! Happy cleaning!