Like Cinderella, most of us would love to have a fairy godmother who could clean house with a twitch of her fingertips and send us off to the ball. Maria Bevins is hoping to be seen as the fairy godmother. She teaches a class in Birmingham, Ala., on ”speed cleaning.”
”I guess everybody wants me to come in there and tell them how to wave a magic wand and `poof` their houses clean,” she said. ”But it`s primarily to show people how they can clean their entire home and keep it that way even with small children running in and out.”
The key is to make a date with yourself sometime during the week and tackle everything in a few hours, she says. Don`t waste your weekends dancing with a dust mop. Even 9-to-5 working stiffs can psych themselves for a night of intense domestic duty to avoid that fate, she says. Just tell friends you are unavailable and take the phone off the hook.
Then get organized. Pile all your cleaning products into a bag or basket and take them from room to room to save unnecessary steps. Wipes can be tossed into a mesh bag and carried over your shoulder. She recommends using cloth diapers and designating certain cloths for certain tasks. Use one cloth for furniture wax, another with glass cleaner and so on.
”If you use diapers, you`re not going through 20 million sponges a year because all you`ve got to do is throw them in the washing machine, and they`re ready to go again. They`re absorbent and they make great cleaning tools,”
Bevins says.
One package costs less than $10, and a dozen should take care of an entire house.
Begin in the back
Begin in the farthest reaches of your home and work your way forward. It`s all too easy to quit if you start with the areas visitors see and put the rest off until later.
Remove all clutter, dividing objects into three groups-junk, charity and
”twilight zone.” Bag the first two and store the third until you decide what to do with it. Then vacuum everything in sight to remove dust, hair and debris. Work from top to bottom and use brush and hose attachments for upholstery, vents, drapes, woodwork and ceilings.
Prepare to get on your hands and knees to scrub tile or vinyl floors. There is no better way to reach corners and base boards, and mopping may just move the dirt around. Two ounces of mild cleanser to a half-bucket of water should cover a kitchen floor. After a good scrubbing, you should be able to get by for a couple weeks with only damp mopping for occasional spills, she says.
Lynn Grimsley with Inside-Out cleaning service says floors are a major headache for maid services. Businesses often have to use heavy machinery to strip floors because clients use waxy floor products that lead to grimy buildup. She advises do-it-yourselfers to avoid such products when they clean to prevent a costly cleanup later.
Mini-blinds are another problem. She calls them ”the scourge of cleaning companies” because they are nearly impossible to clean. She suggests those who can should take them down and soak them in the bathtub with ammonia. Then hang them to dry. If you don`t have a place to let them dry, don`t wet them. Just vacuum them with a special attachment or have them professionally cleaned.
Dreaded bathrooms
Once you reach the bathroom, Bevins says, let cleaning liquids do the work for you. Squirt your toilet bowl cleaner and let it sit while you spray down the shower. While that`s standing, clean the sink. Finish cleaning the toilet and return to the shower. Everything should be dried after scrubbing. A light coat of lemon oil on the inside of shower doors will help resist the buildup of soap scum, she says. But the best way to prevent soap scum from returning is to take 30 seconds each time you shower and dry everything around you.
As you move around the house, don`t forget chair rungs, door frames and ceiling fans. If you can`t reach the fan with a vacuum brush attachment or dust mop, climb up on a chair and loop a cloth over each blade. Hold the ends and pull forward.
”Cleaning a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house every two weeks should not take you any longer than three hours, tops,” Bevins says.
Some folks may prefer to assign themselves a task each day, but Bevins says she finds it too easy to procrastinate. There is more satisfaction in a completely finished product.
Parents with children at home can involve them by handing them a cloth and letting them wipe with Mom and Dad. Older children can do their part and turn the task into a team effort.
”What we do is (offer) an allowance-incentive program,” she says. ”We have a full computerized sheet we print out every week-a weekly job list.”
Her daughters-Katy, 8, and Courtney, 11-earn 10 cents for keeping laundry picked up, 30 cents for taking out the trash and 50 cents for cleaning their room. But the system also has penalties built in. ”We deduct a nickel for every light they leave on (in unused rooms) in the house for any length of time,” Bevins says.
”The biggest part of this allowance-incentive program is whatever amount from their allowance that they want to put into a savings account, we`ll match. And if they want to spend any money out of that savings account, it`s subject to family discussion. So they can save up for a new Nintendo game or they can save up for a new Madonna tape or whatever they want.”
The girls can work at their own pace and take on as many chores as they like, she says.
The important thing is to stay focused. Make a list and check it off. Don`t let yourself get distracted. And know when to say ”Help.”
Budget and save the nasty tasks you really hate for a professional, she says.
