Clean House

If you want a clean home, clean it. Little by little, step by step. No room for laziness.
Here are some of my tips to make cleaning easier and faster. Hopefully they'll help you, too.

• If you take something out, put it back when you're done.
• Do the dishes before they pile up. Just wash 'em. Its really not hard. Maybe annoying, but not hard! This helps starve the nasty night crawlers that like to feast on your leftovers.
• Use an anti-bacterial spray to clean your countertops. After washing dishes, just give it a once-over. Spray the sink, too. It gets rid of all kinds of germs to regularly clean these areas. Clorox Anywhere Spray is great! No rinsing needed. Very easy.
• Allow the kids' toys to be out, messy, and accessible. Just don't let the toys to be strewn about the house. Keep them in one room. Every so often "reset" by putting them all back in their places.
• Vacuum often. It makes the rest of the house feel clean. If you don't have time for the whole house, just do one or two rooms.
• Want to freshen the air? Use a scent tablet for vacuum bags. They really work. They leave a very fresh scent, and they even cover up the nasty pet hair smell that used to waft out of my vacuum. Also, get an Airwick Freshmatic. Battery operated, automatic, set it up on a shelf and forget about it. It sprays a freshener every half hour or so.
• Use the Swiffer! Wet mop the hard floor at night after the kids go to sleep. It gets up the daily dirt and crumbs. Keeps the floor clean for the kids who love to roll around while playing. Added bonus, it makes shiny floors in between the hard core mopping. Buy the refills at Sams club. Big savings. (More to come about Big Savings at a later date)
• Have a laundry problem? Downsize to only ONE large laundry basket. When its full, its time to do laundry. One load every couple days is much more manageable than tackling the 72 hour laundry monster.
• Make your bed. It just looks nice. And it sets the tone of the whole room. If your bed is made, your room automatically looks better. And really, how long does it take? 2-3 minutes? Not a bad makeover.
• Dust. Just do it. Use the inside of the T-shirt your husband wore to bed, or the used bath towel that is just a bit damp. Pick it up off the floor, run it along the dresser, throw it in the laundry basket. Hey, its gonna be washed anyway! Two birds with one stone... done!
• For heaven's sake, clean your bathroom! It is actually my favorite place to clean. Strange? No. Its the smallest, fastest, and easiest! Scrubbing Bubbles for the shower. It can even do the sink and countertops. Spray and wipe or walk away. Lysol in the toilet. Give it a whirl. Windex the mirror. Swiffer the floor. DONE! This takes me roughly 5 minutes.
• (HELPFUL TIP: Fill a basket with these cleaning products, add a roll of paper towels. Now you have your bathroom cleaning kit. Store it in your linen closet or somewhere close to the bathroom. Even under the sink, if you don't have children who could get into the chemicals. If you have everything in one easy basket, you will be more likely to grab it and do a quick clean.)