This time of year, you’re faced with a dreaded decision. Do you go bike riding or throw yourself into a spring-cleaning frenzy?
You can do both. You just need to learn a little about speed cleaning.
“If someone stays organized, it’s easy,” says Pat Stanley, owner of American Maid Service in Newport News, Va.
“It’s harder to clean when you have a lot of stuff, knickknacks, all over the place.”
Clutter-control expert and author Paula Jhung agrees.
She describes the affliction affecting American homes as TMS–the “too much stuff” syndrome.
“A surplus of stuff not only makes cleaning harder, it makes living harder since there’s a definite stress-mess connection,” says the author of “Cleaning and the Meaning of Life: Simple Solutions to Declutter Your Home and Beautify Your Life.”
“Once we get in the habit of pruning clutter on a regular basis, day-to-day living flows and cleaning becomes a piece of cake–well, almost,”
So, get on your mark and get set to do some speed cleaning, using these tips from cleaning professionals. Then you can go out and enjoy a healthy bike riding, knowing you will return to sparkling rooms.
Tools and cleaners
Less can be more when it comes to tools and cleaning products. For instance, a microfiber cleaning cloth will clean 90 percent of the surfaces in your home–glass, mirrors, leather, brass, marble, oak, walls and laminate–without chemicals, according to the book “Speed Cleaning 101.”
Here are a few additional suggestions:
– Simple Green can replace a slew of specialty products because it works on floors, counters, ovens, laundry, even fireplace brick, depending on how it’s diluted, says Jhung.
– Top Job breaks through nicotine stains and smells, and can be safely used on painted and stained wood, says Stanley.
– Waxing wood twice a year with a good paste wax like Howard Citrus Shield–found at Home Depot–means you can skip the silicone polishes like Pledge and Endust since they actually attract dust.
– Select one good glass and mirror cleaner.
– Other multipurpose cleaners are Pine-Sol, Old English, bleach and Murphy’s Oil Soap. Always read the label for uses.
– For cleaning rags, use all-cotton bar towels (available in bundles from places such as Costco and Sam’s Club) or soft, absorbent diapers.
– Assemble all your products together, including a small bucket with handle, hand-protecting gloves, mop and maybe one non-abrasive scrubbing-type brush.
“Sealing most surfaces: i.e. stone with a stone sealer, fabric with Scotchguard, window sills and shutters with polyurethane, will lighten the cleaning caddy and reduce the need for weekly chemical warfare,” says Jhung.
Ready, set, clean!
Bedrooms
– After five years of regular use, 10 percent of a pillow’s weight is dust mites (and mite feces). They’re a pain to wash so protect them with hypoallergenic covers.
– Strip the bed and wash all the stuff that doesn’t get a weekly cleaning such as your comforters, quilt, mattress pad, pillows, bed skirt and blankets.
– Vacuum corners and baseboards first–for corners, use the wand attachment–then work your way toward the center of the room.
– Body oils and perspiration pass through sheets and onto your mattress. Vacuum your mattress, then shield it with an impermeable cover under your mattress pad or featherbed.
Living room
– Don’t polish your furniture! It creates a sticky layer of gunk that attracts more dust. Use a damp microfiber cloth.
– Dust from top to bottom so you’re pulling the dust in the right direction. Start with pictures and window frames, then work your way down to vases and other objects.
– Vacuum drapes with an upholstery attachment, or send them to the dry cleaner; 80 percent of dust on your drapes will be on the top 2 inches and bottom 12 inches, so skip vacuuming the middle part.
Closet
– Cardboard boxes can leach dyes from clothes. Instead, store winter colors in polyester bags like the ones dry cleaners use.
– Donate or toss old clothes that don’t fit anymore to create more room.
– Overlooked stains can become permanent over time, so inspect clothes under bright light–flip collars and cuffs too–before tucking them away for winter storage.
– Ditch dry cleaning bags once clothes make it home. Fabrics stored inside plastic bags can’t breathe, so faint or invisible stains (like perfume spots) darken faster.
Kitchen
– Mopping made easier–use two buckets instead of one. Fill one halfway with water and a spoonful of dishwashing detergent. Wring your mop out in the empty bucket–or in the sink –to avoid cleaning with dirty water.
– Use a mop instead of a sponge to mop walls. You’ll cut your time in half.
– Run the dishwasher empty for one hot cycle with no soap to give it a refresher.
Entryway
– Keep drippy umbrellas and dirty sports equipment in stands and baskets to contain the mess at the door. You can do the same to organize shoes if taken off at the door.
– Station a bag of clean rags by the door so you can handle your dog’s muddy paws right as he walks in.
– Clean your outdoor mat–shake it out and hose it down so it can do its job well.
In the book “Speed Cleaning 101,” author Laura Dellutri tells how you can speed clean your bathroom in 10 minute or less, instead of 25 minutes using the old-fashioned method. However, you need to do one deep cleaning before using the speed-cleaning techniques. Her book ($15) outlines deep-cleaning and speed-cleaning techniques for all rooms in your home.
– When you start the room, first add a disinfectant cleaner to the toilet bowl and let it sit while you do the rest of the room.
– Dust with a microfiber cloth, use a disinfecting glass cleaner on the mirror, counter and sink fixtures; let it sit for the recommended time, then buff with a dry cloth.
– Spray the shower with an all-purpose bathroom cleaner, rub it in, rinse and dry.
– For mold removal, spray full-strength peroxide, leave it on the surface 3 to 5 minutes, scrub with a grout brush.
– For a dirty tub, use a cream cleanser and scrub pad, working in circles.
– Use a toothbrush to clean the shower tracks and around the shower fixtures.
– For shower doors with a white, chalky look from mineral-scale buildup, clean with a lime remover on a scrub pad and rinse well.
– Back to the toilet bowl where you earlier poured disinfectant cleaner. Spray disinfectant cleaner on the tank lid, front, sides, handle and seat (bottom and top), hinges, base and anchor bolts. Using a disposable cleaning cloth, wipe down all of those surfaces. Scrub the inside with a plastic bowl brush, or use a disposable one. Flush and wipe all surfaces with a dry cloth.
– In a small bathroom, hand wash the floor, using a neutral cleaning solution or plain warm water to clean and preserve the finish on no-wax floors. Use an all-purpose or disinfectant cleaner on heavily soiled floors. Cleaning a small floor should take 1 minute; for larger bathrooms, a flat mop with a microfiber pad works best.
For more tips and shortcuts, visit the author online at www.healthyhousekeeper.com.
Sources: Carpet and Rug Institute; April issue Redbook magazine; Soap and Detergent Association, “Speed Cleaning 101” by Laura Dellutri; “Cleaning and Meaning of Life: Simple Solutions to Declutter Your Home and Beautify Your Life” by Paula Jhung; and Lou Manfredini, better known as Mr. Fix-It, the home-improvement expert on NBC-TV’s “Today” show.
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Emergency cleaning caddy
Keep these supplies in a caddy so you can do a 30-minute cleanup job before company comes through the door:
– Glass cleaner with disinfectant
– Four to six microfiber cloths
– Ostrich feather duster or extended-reach duster
– Trash bag or laundry basket
– Microfiber flat mops
– Air freshener spray-
– Sponge or scrub pad
– Rubber gloves
– Spruce up house in 30 minutes
– Shine bathroom sinks, mirrors and toilets (5 minutes)
– Shine kitchen appliances, counters and sinks (5 minutes)
– Vacuum high traffic areas only (10 minutes)
– Spot mop floors and entryways (5 minutes)
– Tidy magazines, pillows and throw (2 minutes)
– Pick up mail, toys and newspapers (3 minutes)
