Brain washing (Wrapping Your Head Around The Dreaded Spring Cleaning)

     Ok guys, I've been standing on my soapbox for a while now and my feet hurt so I'm gonna take a little break. But what will be do in the meantime? Well, I was thinking, and since its spring time, maybe I can give a few cleaning tips. When I clean my apartment, I usually always do it when no one's home because I have a system and people just get in the way (or do it wrong!). So if you hang out, you can be here one minute in a whirl wind of mess from my 6 year old, then come back in a few hours and it's like elves came in and made it all better. So, wanna know my secrets? Sure ya do.

     First things first. You can just make yourself get up and clean, but that sucks. Everyone has that little burst of energy (almost manic) every day or every few days. If you don't jump on the train when it starts, you'll miss it and have to wait for it to come around again, otherwise you'll be doing the dreaded "making yourself do something you don't wanna do" dance. Nobody wants that!

     Also, for me, I can look at a sink full of dishes and a messy living room and will just suck the energy out of me before I start (even with the magic energy that blows through). I never sit and look around to take inventory of what needs to be done over the course of a few hours. It sounds like a bad idea, but if you just walk over to a table and pick up a soda can/empty glass/junk mail and put it where it goes, that can be the jumping point to getting everything done. Then, in the midst of cleaning, you can survey your surroundings.

     I can't clean without music, well, I can, but I'm not gonna! Just like people working out, I can make a playlist that makes you wanna jump outta your skin and do something. Granted, when I was 16, I never thought that I would be sweeping the floor to the lyrics "Burn motherf*cker, burn", but life is funny that way, and it gives me the extra edge I need to keep going. Make a playlist of either upbeat or hardcore music (or both) and play it while you run around the house.

     Here come the numbered tips!
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The "every room except the bathroom and kitchen" tips

1. Start High. NOT THAT KIND OF HIGH, put that down! I mean, start with your tables, on top of the tv, or the headboard of your bed/dressers. If you sweep your floor, then wipe your table, even if you wipe it into your hand, you will just be causing yourself more work, or an unsatisfactory job. So, the bigger the job, the higher your start.

2. Everything's place. Have you ever been cleaning, and you don't know where to put something? By the time you get done, its clean, but still cluttered. What a bummer, right? What I do is take those things and put them on the couch. After I'm done, the couch is a mountain of junk, but then I can solely focus on where each and everything on it will go. Also, I'm usually tired by then, so its nice to sit down and go through it.

3. Your Arsenal. There's nothing like climbing under a table/bed/in the closet, and then realizing you need the spray cleaner/pledge/dustpan, only to have to climb back out and search it down. My solution to this one is, before I mop (which is last), I take the mop bucket and stuff a cleaner for everything, paper towels, rags, dustpan with the little attached hand broom, and a grocery bag or two. I pack it from area to area with me. The grocery bag is for trash that has found its way under things and out of sight, or for a paper towels that are used up from cleaning/blowing my nose.

4.  The Catch all. This isn't so much of a Cleaning tip, as it is a keep it clean tip. But since you still have to clean your Catch All, I can slide it in. This is a "catch all" area, usually by the door, that can make a localized mess (you want this!). It usually attracts shoes, keys, bills, coats, etc. You can also hang your calendar in the Catch all and get extra benefit from it. When you clean your place, your catch all has caught most, and you can just scoop it up. Not to mention, if your anything like me, you won't misplace things as much, and keep more appointments with the help of your catch all and calendar.

5. Tackling the floor. Ok, this is where people get worn out by doing it the hard way. I've seen even the best house cleaners wear themselves out by going about it all wrong. If you walk around and pick up things like this "toy, shoe, piece of clothing, this goes in the trash, this goes here" then you are doing it wrong. Simply, look around, What ever there is more of, that's first. Kid's room have toys everywhere? Then toys first. After that is cleared away, then do clothing. Every pass will make it better, and by doing the big one first, it isn't as discouraging because the next pass always looks easier than what you just did.

6. Swept off your feet. I have tile floors, so mine is a two parter, if you have carpet, than this is even easier. You've started high, wiped the tables/tv/dressers, and moved everything out of the way. Now you can sweep your floor, or vacuum. If your still energized and your couch isn't a thousand pounds from the clutter on in, you can slide it out and sweep behind it first. I always sweep the hardest part first, then it just gets easier.

7. Mopping. I always save mopping for the very last. I even do my dishes first. But I wanted to break this down as a kind of cleaning your living room/bedroom/utility room guide first. So this has to go in here. By wiping off your tables, you've made it smell pretty good in here so far, but mopping will not only clean, but put that finishing scent in your place that makes it just wonderful to be in. Mop your way out of the area and don't come back in until its dry. Stand guard if you must to protect against muddy intruders.

8. Take out that trash. you don't want it stinking up your nice clean place. Sprinkle some baby powder, carpet sprinkle, whatever is handy in the new bag for an extra kick of freshness.
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The Kitchen tips.

1. Jenga!. if you have a sink full, just looking at them can make you want to run screaming. Take the dishes out of the sink and stack them up. Plates together, cups side by side, pots n pans neatly inside one another. Then you can assess the severity of the job, usually its not as bad as it once looked. Fill your sink up with warm water and soap and do one section at a time. I always do silverware and cups first, because they are the most hated, and I like things to get easier as I go. Whatever you hate the most about dishes, just do it first, you'll feel better once that section is out of your way.

2. Wipe it good! Wipe down your counter-tops and stove. I save old scrub sponges that I won't use on the dishes anymore for this. I scrub everything down with hot water to get the hard stuff off. Then I put the sponge away and break out the paper towels and spray cleaner. This way I don't use as much cleaner trying to break up anything stuck on. It saves you money and helps the environment. Win/win

3. Put those dishes up. By now, dishes are probably dry. Put them away so you can enjoy a clutter free kitchen.

4. Sweep and mop. self explanatory

5. Take out the trash.

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The bathroom (cue scary music here)

1. Pick up. Get the laundry outta here. you might also find a few bare toilet paper rolls you can toss. usually the bathroom won't have as much in the way of picking up. Also, take all your shampoo bottles, soaps and various other things lying out and put them in a bucket or on your bathroom rug and slide them to the outside of the bathroom door to deal with later.

2. Your arsenal. Yep, your gonna need it.

3. The spray down. Get your bathroom spray and (after removing bottles, soaps, etc) spray the heck outta that tub, shower, sink, toilet. Open a window before you pass out!

4. Wipe it good! By the time you've sprayed your various sprays. The first thing you sprayed is the first thing you will wipe/scrub. Just work your way through by the way you worked your way in. You'll probably run into a lot of hair in here. Just pluck it from your brandished sword of cleaning and toss it in the trash as you go. You can rinse as well if necessary. Don't forget that bathroom mirror, you might have a hard time seeing yourself through all that toothpaste(we all watch ourselves brush our teeth).

5. Sweep and mop. now that everything is cleared out and done from top to bottom, you've paved your way to easy town, to get this done.

6. Place and replace. Get that giant pile of "so fresh and so clean" and place every item where it belongs. You might need to wipe the bottoms of your bottles in case they have picked up soap scum. This is also a great time to de-fuzz your hairbrushes. They're starting to look like they have a head of hair of their own!

7. The beat down! Take that bathroom rug outside and give it a beating it will never forget.

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The Extra tips and tricks I've picked up

     Put dryer sheets in each drawer of your dresser. It keeps your clothes smelling nice for a long time. If you feel like it, safety pin one to each of your hangers for the clothes in your closet.

     If you use bar soap and have a bunch of little pieces from not finishing the bar, drop them in the back of your toilet. They don't do much, but they do make a nice smell every time you flush (do not overload. Put them the farthest from the little hole inside).


      Take your favorite air freshener or perfume and spray it on your light bulbs. When they heat up they will spread the lovely smell around. (do not spray on a hot bulb! I put it on new bulb or bulbs that haven't been on in a while. If you spray a hot bulb, it will break!)


      Spray lysol or air freshener in your waste baskets under and in the trash bags to help combat odors.


      If you smoke inside (I don't), line the inside of your ashtrays with carpet sprinkle or kitty litter. It helps extinguish them and keeps them from stinking up the place.


      Take a clean rag and spray it with your best cleaning solution or air freshener and wipe your walls and doors with it. You don't have to clean your walls every time you clean, but this will add a pleasant long lasting scent that makes it nice, just as if you did.


      Take a needle and thread and run it through big pieces of potpourri, necklace/bracelet style, and hang it on wall pictures or door knobs. It doesn't look half bad, and smells great.


      After I have used a sponge on dishes for a while, I don't toss it right away. I use it on dishes, then for the counters and stove, then when its not good enough for those, I use it in the bathroom. I usually by multicolor sponges so I know which color each area is on. Saves money, good for the environment. Win/win


      I like to strip the bed of everything, toss some carpet sprinkle on, and jump up there and vacuum it really good. It works wonders, but if someone sees you standing on the bed vacuuming it, you might have some 'splaining to do.


      Sometimes, when you vacuum, your vacuum gives off foul smells from sucking up foul things. Usually, if you use carpet sprinkle, it won't be a problem. If you have a bag-less vacuum you can put a few spoonfuls of laundry detergent in the canister (or bag if it takes one), and the air that it pushes out will now smell wonderful. Also, if you clean the filter out with water every so often, just add some lemon juice in there too. After letting it dry out and putting it back in, the air coming from it will be fresh and citrusy.


      This isn't a cleaning tip but its pretty cool. Know how your mirror fogs up when you shower? Take shaving cream (not gel) like barbasol and spray it on the mirror, take a dry paper towel and smear it around and wipe off (not with any cleaning solution) until clear. Next time you get out, no fog. This works for a couple of days until you need to do it again.


      This one isn't a cleaning tip either. Take your cooking spray and use it on squeaky door hinges. A little spray then open and close the door a few times and listen to the squeak magically go away!


      Got chewing gum on one of your favorite clothing items? No problemo! Just pop it in the freezer, and when you come back the next day or after a few hours, the gum will have frozen solid and can be snapped and cracked off. If its on the floor, just use oil or mayonaise on it, work it in and pull it off. Ice cubes can be used in the same manner as the freezer for things that will not fit.







      Get your spring cleaning done when you're feeling it. The more you make yourself do something you don't wanna do, the more you will hate it and torture yourself every time it comes around. My biggest tool out of all those tips and tricks is still the music. A rockin tune will get me on my feet faster than anything.

     This is Jessica, wishing you many lemon scented days, a clutter free home, and a wonderfully random world.


SC Johnson has some really great smelling products, such as Pledge, Scrubbing bubbles, and glade. They also have a bunch more tips on their website (if those weren't enough for ya)