Category: Cleaning

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Never Ending Cycle of Carpet Cleaning

Lots of family and friends visiting your home is without a doubt going to bring in lots of dirt to your carpets that you worked so hard to clean just the week before. I’ll check out carpet cleaners to see if I can find someone to come and clean up this mess for me. Sometimes it’s really frustrating and can make you feel like a hamster running on a wheel over and over again never to reach an end to the cleaning.

I know I feel that way on occasion and it’s not just with the carpets. The most famous place that makes me feel this way is my children’s toy room. It seems like I can never keep it clean. I spend a good 30 minutes in the evening making sure everything is put away and nice and tidy. Then, by 9 o’clock the next morning it’s a disaster area all over again.

Anyway, it would be nice if cleaning companies offered some type of before and after service for carpet cleaning. Maybe they could come in before your big family gathering or event to get the place in tip top shape, and then return again afterwards to clean up after the big mess everyone has left behind. That would be a package I would definitely purchase.

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I Want To Brag A Minute

Okay, I want to brag for a minute or so. I’ve been working really hard to keep my new year’s resolution to work out 3 times a week and so far I’ve been doing great with that. But, That’s not what I want to brag about. I want to brag about the fact that my kitchen has been spotless for the past 12 days.

My sink has been spotless every night before I go to bed and the dishes haven’t piled up because I do a load every night as soon as the dishwasher is full. Then in the morning I empty while I’m making myself coffee so the sink never has a chance to have a dirty dish left in it because the dirty dishes can go straight into the dishwasher as soon as we are done with them.

It has felt absolutely amazing to go to bed and wake up with a clean kitchen. I don’t know what inspired me but I hope that I can continue it because it feel s amazing. I suppose it will just take some discipline and determination to keep going and to not give up.  Why would I want to stop doing something that makes me feel so fantastic?

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The Great Closet Purge of 2013

I’ve decided it’s time I go through and clean out my closet, well closets really if you could my children’s and my husband’s closets, to get rid of anything we don’t wear, is tired and needs to be thrown out, and things I know I would like to give away or donate.

I have a bunch of closes in my closet taking up tons of space that I know could be put to better use  I would like to have one of those fancy looking closets that you see in all of the home and garden magazines. I know it will be possible to have pretty baskets and shelves once I get rid of things to make space.

I’m sure I have sweaters and dresses in there that I haven’t worn in well, honestly I don’t know how long. I think I’ll go with the rule if I haven’t worn it in the past yea it’s gone for sure. I say the past year because of the different seasons. I can’t hold on to things that I think I might use someday just because it’s still in great condition. I think items that are in great condition are the perfect ones to donate.  Who wants to buy a tattered old robe from Good Will? No one! But, you can be certain someone would be willing to buy a plush and cozy robe without any rips or stains. I have a robe, I’m just not using it so it’s going in the donate pile.

I’m pretty sure this project is going to take a while and it won’t all get done in one day. I think I’ll start with one closet at a time and go from there.  I don’t want to overwhelm myself.

 

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When Do You Put Away Your Holiday Decorations?

Christmas is over but I like to leave the decorations up until at least Three Kings Day in January. Some times I’ll leave them up a little bit longer. I remember one time I left them up longer than I really should have because I truly enjoy sitting by the Christmas tree and gazing at the warm lights.

I did  take the decorations from outside down I just left the tree up past Valentine’s Day that year. I loved every bit of it though. Then, I realized that I should put it away in order to keep it special. Because if I left it up all year long, it would loose it’s special value of being a Christmas tree and turn into an every day house hold item in our home and that was not something I wanted.

I have already begun to put away some of the things I got while out shopping yesterday.  That’s one of my rules; if I buy new decorations on sale I can’t set them out until the next year. I did get a bunch of  cute things to set out for next year and I can’t wait for Christmas to be here all over again. I look forward to decorating the house every year, it’s just the putting everything away afterward that I don’t’ really like.

When do you put away all of your holiday decorations?

 

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Household Holiday Clean Up

I have less than a week before everyone arrives for Christmas.  We’re hosting Christmas at our house this year so I need to do my household holiday clean up.  That’s where I go and scrub every surface that a mother-in-law could complain about seeing dust, and make sure everything is put away in it’s place.

I need to steam clean all of the carpets and drapes. The kids seem to bring dirt in no matter how many times I have them wipe their feet or take off their shoes.  I don’t know how it gets in, it’s like they are dirt magnets. I plan to do that this afternoon and then take the kids out afterward so the carpet has a chance to dry.  Hopefully once it’s clean it can stay that way for at least another week or two while everyone is here.

I have most of the normal everyday cleaning done it’s just the things I only do on more of a monthly basis that still need to be done.  I need to change the sheets on the bed in the guest room.  I don’t remember when they were used last but fresh sheets are always nice to have.  I should probably also cull the magazine collection I have in that room as well. I don’t need a two and a half foot stack of magazines int here to collect dust.

What is your routine for your household holiday clean up?  I’d love to hear how you get through it and any tips or tricks you might have.

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Weekend Clean Up For The Holidays

image credit: libertgrace0

This weekend I’m spending time cleaning up the house in preparation for the holiday.  I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Before any big family gathering I like to do a big deep cleaning if time permits.  I hate to think about someone coming over to my house and leaning against the mantle and being covered in dust.

It brings images of the white glove check to mind. If a white glove can’t pass over the area and remain white then it isn’t clean.  That’s the principle I was raised on. I remember my mother and grandmother walking into my room after I told them I cleaned it to do a thorough check.  It was  always a scary thing and I hoped that I didn’t miss a spot.

Today I plan to tackle the dusting of every room, vacuuming, and  steam cleaning of the carpets. It sounds like a lot but it really isn’t when you break it up in to chunks throughout the day.  The longest part is waiting  for the carpets to dry after they are cleaned.  Once they are cleaned I just have to make sure that the kids, or anybody else for that matter, do not track dirt in all over them again before Thursday. It drives me nuts when that happens and I have to do it all over again.

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Homemade Dryer Sheets

So I was surfing the net tonight after I put the kids to bed and I came across a really neat article that explains how to make your own homemade dryer sheets. I love making my own things when they actually work and can even save me a bit of money in the process.

To make your own dryer sheets there are only a few things you need: Liquid fabric softener, wash cloths or pieces of flannel fabric, a container to hold your dryer sheets. The article said to add 1/4 cup natural fabric softener to 3/4 cup warm/hot water and still it up.  Then add in your pieces of flannel and let them sit for at least an hour before using them.  Pull one out and add it to your wet clothes when you toss them in the dryer.  Dry your clothes as usual and they will come out smelling nice and static free.

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Cleaning Ceiling Fans

Dirty ceiling fans are really gross.  I hate how they collect dust and then just whirl it all around the air in my house.  They make products designed to help you clean ceiling fans.  Most of them are long poles with some sort of attachment.  I recently got a nifty Swifer type thing that helps me get the job done and I love it.

If you don’t have one of these fancy gadgets it’s still possible to clean your ceiling fans.  I’ve found that a chair and some damp paper towels work wonders for the lower ceiling fans.  But for the higher up fans you will need something to help you reach the distance.  I’ve used a broom in the past to help me knock off the dust.  It gets messy and dust goes everywhere.

I’ve also tried taking an old paper towel roll and slipping it on the end of the broom and bending it so that it has a right angle.  Then I cover it in damp power towels and use that to wipe off the fans. It’s not fancy but it definitely gets the job done.

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Dirty Carpets and Getting Them Clean

Dirty and stained carpets absolutely drive me nuts.  They are on one of my biggest pet peeves list. That’s why as soon as I spill something on the carpet or find a mess that someone else has left me I clean it up as soon as possible. I’m a firm believer that the longer the dirt and grim sit on the carpet the harder it will be to get out.

When I do get a hard to get out spot I like to call in the professionals to take care of the dirty work for me. Searching for round rock texas carpet cleaning services can give you options of places that can help you remove those unwanted stains.  When I find a company that I like that provide great service I always make sure to call them back again if I have a similar problem with my carpet.

Luckily for me I haven’t had to have my carpets professionally cleaned to remove a nasty stain in over a year.  However, I have had the professionals come out just to do a major deep cleaning of all of the carpets in the house to freshen everything up.  The carpets look great and I like to have them come out at least twice a year just for maintenance.

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Time To Clean Up the Grill

The weather is getting warmer and we’ve been using our patio a lot more often. We’ve enjoyed some lovely breakfasts and lunches outdoors. However, we haven’t had the chance to enjoy dinner on the patio. The main reason for this is because well the grill needs to be cleaned.

Neither my husband nor I like to do it.  It’s a dirty job yes, but it has do be done. We normally do an ok job after each time we use it, but it’s been soo long since it’s last use that everything is sort of caked on. To clean it up this year I’ve decided that I’m going to take out the grates and lay them on newspaper. Then, I’ll spray them with an oven cleaner and let it sit for about an hour. The oven cleaner should hopefully take all of the extra elbow grease out of the tough job. I can’t wait to enjoy the grill on the patio and eat some tasty grilled food again with my family.