cleaning
using magazine files to keep larger projects from cluttering your countertops. For example, during a home remodel, you may find yourself accumulating glossy brochures, paint chips, fabric swatches and receipts. Instead of letting these items create clutter, use a magazine file to store everything during the duration of the project. Magazine files are also useful when managing a large event like a wedding, charity auction other celebration. Keep the file in a handy location so you can easily add to it.
If you do have a bathroom fan, now is the time to degunk it so that it can work more efficiently. This job may sound difficult, but it really shouldn’t take long. Find your circuit breaker and turn it off — it’s not safe to clean the fan with the electricity on. Remove the cover from your ceiling fan and clean the cover with warm, soapy water. Grab your vacuum and use an attachment to clean inside the fan as best you can. Completely dry the cover and put it back on. Turn the circuit breaker back on and give yourself a big pat on the back.
One of the keys to staying organized, regardless of the size of your space, is to have a system where every item has a home and items go back to its home after use. Spend some time evaluating how you use your space and your belongings, and keep these guidelines in mind when deciding where to place things.
having clean, clear floors is a way to streamline your life and keep your attention on the here and now. If piles of things tend to accumulate on your floors, perhaps it’s because there isn’t a better place for them — if that’s the case, make a home for these items so you won’t be tripping over them anymore. As for the floors themselves, keeping them fresh, clean, and dust free makes for a more pleasant space and helps improve indoor air quality.
Clutter is visual distraction. Every time your eyes land on a stack of papers, a tangle of jewelry or a pile of laundry, some small part of your mind is at work thinking about dealing with said items. If you want a calmer experience at home, a good way to begin is by making it routine to clear all the surfaces in your house daily. When your eye can skim across clean, clear surfaces throughout your home, it also becomes easier to stay focused on the present moment.
A common organizing mistake is to clutter your prime active zones with items you don’t frequently need. Out of sight, out of mind is an especially apt expression when it comes to organizing. Make It Easy to Put Away: When you need to go get something, you’ll get it out — it doesn’t really matter where it is — but when it’s time to clean up, we all get a little lazy. When you’re organizing your stuff, group everything you need to complete a task in the same place. Wide-open drawers are an invitation to clutter. Anytime you have a drawer where you’ll be storing small items, use a drawer organizer. use wall-mounted holders to store brooms and mops so they won’t tip over. Keep heavy items at or below waist height, including boxes, kitchen equipment (those dutch ovens and stand mixers weigh a ton!) and anything else that takes some real effort to lift.
Clean Your Range and Oven scrub the areas of caked-on debris with ammonia. Let it sit for half an hour, then wipe with water. Be sure to rinse thoroughly so your oven doesn’t smell like ammonia the next time you use it. An alternative is to spread baking soda throughout the oven, then spray it with a solution of a quarter-cup of vinegar, two cups of hot water and a drop of dish soap to make a paste. Let that sit, then scrub off with a bristle brush or steel wool. For stove-top rust stains, make a paste of cream of tartar and water and wipe it on in circles.
Stainless steel stove hoods need to be cleaned weekly to prevent a buildup of grease and dust. Cooking grease mixes with dust in the air and lands on the stove hood, making it thick and hard to remove. A simple cleaning remedy is to spray a cloth with rubbing alcohol and wipe it over the top of the hood. Make sure not to use the rubbing alcohol near an open flame.
Since the handles on your stainless steel appliances are used the most, they should be wiped down weekly with a damp microfiber cloths. Fine-woven microfiber cloths, such as the ones used for cleaning eyeglasses, can be found at retail chains and grocery stores. They work great to remove dust and don’t leave any streaks or smears. There’s no need for harsh chemicals to clean your stainless steel appliances and surfaces.
It’s safe to freeze food indefinitely at 0° F but, according to the FDA, the food’s quality decreases the longer it’s frozen. Tenderness, flavor, aroma, juiciness and color can all be affected. The quality of ground beef declines in three to four months, for example, while chicken pieces will last for nine months, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The quality of soups and stews starts to degrade in two to three months.
Window vents and bathroom fans can easily get dusty too — and you don’t want them to be circulating fresh air mixed with dust. Avoid this by using a paintbrush to clean the vents. You might need to do a deeper clean if your fan has become noisy, as there could be dust inside the motor. After disconnecting the fan from the power supply, you can take off the cover and use cotton swabs to remove deep-seated dust. If the dust has begun to turn to greasy grime, use a damp cloth and an all-purpose or window cleaner to wipe the blades, then wash the cover well in soapy water.
TVs, Wi-Fi routers, DVD players, printers and computers are real dust magnets, but keeping them dust-free is crucial for them to run well. Unplug the equipment before cleaning and then wipe down gently with a microfiber cloth. Next, be sure to vacuum dust and pet hair from around cords and vents, because it can clog machines.
Some teddy bears and soft toys are machine-washable, but you can also put those that aren’t too big into a big plastic bag with a cup of baking soda. Secure the top, then take it outside and shake well. The baking soda and static will draw out the dust. Take out each soft toy one by one. Shake it thoroughly so any baking soda clumps fall off, then vacuum any large soft toys that are not at risk of being sucked up the nozzle. Small toys might benefit from a brush with a medium-stiff brush.
Spot Clean the Obvious Stains For minor blemishes, you can use vinegar and a microfiber cloth and gently wipe.
For stubborn dust in very tight spaces, you can use a canister of compressed air to blow it out.
For scrubbing scum and hard-water stains, many consumers swear by products such as the Magic Eraser sponge, while others suggest repurposing dryer sheets (simply wet and scrub). Since these products contain chemicals, consider wearing cleaning gloves to protect your skin. Another technique is to repurpose the powdered version of Bar Keepers Friend in the bathroom. To use, wet the glass surface and shake the cleanser onto a nonabrasive sponge, then scrub. Rinse with warm water or vinegar, then squeegee for the finale. Krud Kutter, a biodegradable, nontoxic cleaner-degreaser: Mix one part Krud Kutter with five parts water in a spray bottle. Tip: Be sure to put the water in the bottle first, then the product. Otherwise foaming bubbles could make work even more of a chore. A mixture of baking soda and water makes a scum-fighting scrub that many experts swear by. Measurements for the mixture will vary depending on how much you need. To get started, try using a half-cup of baking soda, then add water as needed to make a thick paste. Using a nonabrasive sponge, scrub the glass and rinse it with vinegar. Several products are designed to wick water away from surfaces, and although they...
To sanitize clippers and loppers, dip the cutters in a solution of rubbing alcohol and water or bleach and water, remove them and allow them to fully dry. This step helps prevent the spread of disease from plant to plant. Use the same method for trowels and shovels, scrubbing them clean of dirt first, and rub wooden handles with furniture oil before putting them away.
When cleaning your exterior windows, you can use a broom wrapped with a rag to remove dust and cobwebs from the glass.
Wipe Down Screens Window screens accumulate a lot of dust and pollen over the spring and summer months. Don’t bother washing them. Instead, wipe them with a large-looped microfiber cloth. The dry microfibers will extend through the screen and pull off all the dust with a few wipes.
You can clean extremely high windows using a telescoping microfiber duster with just a spritz of water. These windows usually aren’t that dirty, but they should be wiped lightly to remove any foggy buildup.
Designated storage is far more efficient and useful than general storage. By having a specific place for each item, you’ll avoid the possibility of everything being thrown in haphazardly.
Assess the height of the shelves in your dish cabinet and how they affect how you can organize things. Are you storing tall items too high because that’s the only shelf that will accommodate their height? Find an arrangement that’s easy for you to use and maintain, then adjust your shelves accordingly.
boot rack
And rather than climb a ladder with a hose to flush out the gutters, consider investing in a telescoping hose attachment designed specifically for gutter cleaning. This attachment has a hooked nozzle on top that directs the water into the gutter and flushes out the trough while allowing the user to remain on the ground.
put baskets on shelves to collect mail or other junk that accumulates
Set a few small, pretty bowls on the counter to use for keys, pocket change and any other tidbits that tend to accumulate on your counter. Choose a time every week or month to clean out the bowls.
Quilts are delicate by nature and should never be washed in the machine. Most can safely be washed by hand in the bathtub and line dried.
Put a slipcover back on your furniture while it’s still slightly damp for the best fit. Vacuum upholstered furniture regularly to help prevent dust and dirt from building up. Use a stain-repelling spray to protect upholstery fabric.
Vacuuming walls every few weeks will help keep dust from accumulating; dust can make white walls look dingy.
Pullout Organizers for Under the Sink
Removing greasy stains from any fabric is a simple two-step process: Start with rubbing alcohol or vodka, and pour it over the greasy stain. Let it sit for 20 minutes, and then rub a bar of soap onto the stain. Rub it in further with your fingers, and add a few drops of water to create a lather. Place the fabric into the washing machine, and wash on its usual setting. Let it air-dry, and if the stain remains, repeat the process.
Then, pour hydrogen peroxide (the standard 3 percent solution found at drugstores) over the area and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. The stain will disappear over time.
A simple way to remove a water ring is to dip your finger in some regular store-bought mayonnaise and smear it all over the stain. The oil in the mayo will be absorbed into the wood and make the stain disappear. Use a wet cloth to wipe away any remaining mayo on the wood surface.
Soot. Whatever you do, don’t try to wipe soot off with a wet cloth or sponge. Soot is very oily, and water and oil just don’t mix. Instead, use a dry sponge to remove as much soot as you can. If you have a few smears that won’t come off, dip a corner of the sponge in rubbing alcohol to remove the remaining soot. You can also purchase an eraser designed to remove soot.
A simple way to remove burnt-on food from glass-topped electric and induction stoves is to use a flat razor. If you place the razor at a 45-degree angle, it will get under the buildup without scratching the stove-top.
pour a few capfuls of mouthwash into the bowl to remove buildup and smells.
try using a pumice stone on the stain. The ring is actually a buildup of minerals on the porcelain, and it can be removed by using such a stone. The pumice is harder than the minerals yet softer than the porcelain, so it removes the stain without scratching. Most large retail chains now sell pumice stones specially designed for cleaning toilets.
Rather than simply shoving your duvet into the cover and wrestling with a mountainous landscape, try flipping the duvet cover inside out first. Lay the duvet on top of the inside-out cover and, using safety pins, pin the duvet and duvet cover together at the top two corners. Next, push the duvet through the open end of the cover, feeding it through until it’s right-side out. Give it a good shake to flatten it out, then reach inside and remove the safety pins.
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