Housework makes me grumpy, how about you? But I am also a clean freak. So girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Fortunately, I have devised some great tricks over the years to keep the house clean and the cleaning to a minimum. Plus there are some brilliant new products to simplify the dirty work of cleaning house.
Turn on Style Network for some clean house drama…it will make you feel good about your mini-messes. http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/shows/cleanhouse
Here’s my 20-minute plan that I guarantee will take the grump out of your housekeeping.
Lets start at the beginning of the day, getting out of bed. The first thing I do after going to the bathroom in the morning, bladder takes priority over everything, is make my bed! It takes no more than one minute to pull up the covers and smooth them over. Done. And it’s always better to end the day when you can toss the decorative pillows to the side, throw back the comforter and crawl under the covers into nice toasty sheets. And they’re toasty because, hello, they’ve been covered by your blankies all day!
Bathrooms can get extremely nasty if not regularly primped and shpritzed. Wipe down the toilet seat and rim with every potty visit. A quick swoosh of the toilet bowl with a brush kept in a handy dispenser (fixture universe has some beauties) will keep the brown nasties from sticking to your pristine white bowl. I keep a bottle of body spray handy in the bathroom. I buy it from Bath and Body works. I know they are supposed to go on your body, but I find them to be light and refreshing, not strong enough for the body but perfect for the bathroom, especially after a smelly ‘episode’.
Shower Squeegee’s can be a GH’s (grumpy housekeepers) best friend. Squeegee the tiles and door after every shower. It will prevent the yucky mildew build up and make your glass nice and shiney.
After washing your face and hands and brushing your teeth, use the hand towel you just finished with, to wipe down the tb spray spots from the mirror and water drips on the faucet. A quick wipe of the sink to clean out the leftover paste and spit will keep your sink from serious spew stain build up. Finally, after brushing your hair, or after a hubby’s shave, take a tissue and wipe out the hair from the sink and throw it in the trash. This will save you from a hefty plumbing bill in six months when the hair has accumulated in your pipes.
The kitchen can be a cesspool of nasty or a pleasant place to prepare meals. The key here is to not let dishes pile up. When you are finished with a meal rinse everything and put it in the dishwasher or wash them and put them in a dish dryer. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink to pile up can become overwhelming. Wipe down the sink and counter tops after doing dishes, wipe off any serious grease and grime from the stovetop and sweep, or better yet my favorite new find, Swivel Sweep. http://www.swivelsweeper.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1 all the crumbs off the floor.
The dining room or eating area should also not be excluded from your daily routine. Never ever leave an used dish, glass or utensil sitting on an eating surface after a meal is finished. Pick up the dishes, rinse them off and stick them right into the dishwasher.
The rest of your living spaces like the family room and living room are super easy. Just fluff up your pillows, fold up the blanky’s or throws and stack books and magazines neatly. Recycle newspapers daily after reading, old magazines every month and put CD’s, DVD’s or videos back in their holders right after using them. Its’ a bummer when you are looking for a special movie to watch and the package is devoid of its rightful dvd. If you are really ambitious, or anal neat freak like me, put them in tidy DVD baskets, holders or shelves. Pottery Barn makes great ones. http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/accessories-decor/home-office-storage-organization/home-office-organization/?cm_type=lnav. Or you can find some great organizers at West Elm shops http://www.westelm.com/.
At the end of the day, it’s back to the bedroom. Another must do is to put your clothes, purses, and jewelry in the proper place after a long hard day. I know your inclination is to drop, lock and roll, but taking the extra two minutes to put dirty clothes into the hamper and dry cleaning in a special bag, will save you from being labeled a clutter queen. Your room will look nice and neat and your dreams will be sweeter. Maybe not, but no one can really sleep peacefully in an overwrought room. Put your jewelry away in your jewelry box too…it saves from the stress and expense of losing precious little things.
There you go from grumpy to glorious in a matter of mere minutes.
Hi, cool post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for writing.
This is a great post. When I incorporate this into my day, my life goes by much better. I wish you would have told me this during our Long Beach magazine interview.
Hello could I use some of the insight found in this blog if I link back to you?