5. Cleaning 101

Let Stramenda show you how to clean your home in the simplest, easiest way – yes the traditionals will shake their heads, but it works!

Here we assume that your house is currently in a really messy state and you want to tackle it and then begin a system that will keep it that way. We also assume that you might like to know how others do it !

Tab 3 at the very top of this webpage “Easy Routines” is where you’ll find the system to keep things from looking trashed again. However for the actual nitty gritty of my easy to cope with cleaning, read on . . .

First,lets get in the mood:

Put on some upbeat music – something like “Simply the Best” by Tina Turner or “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones, or “While You See a Chance Take It” by Steve Winwood – you get the idea, light an oil burner (I like ocean fresh fragrances), and start bopping around. Sing out loud as you go!

Set a timer for yourself and compete with the clock ! If it’s a really big mess, you could set it for 30 minutes, and use a digital camera to take a picture before you start, one after 30 minutes, and then one after 60 minutes, to show yourself what you can accomplish in an hour. I’ve done this and it works !

How to Clean the Kitchen

Got a pile of dishes that have developed dried and crusted food on them? This is what you’ll deal with first. They’ll be no good in the dishwasher, so fill up your sink with hot soapy water, and plonk them in. Fit in as much as you can. Now let this soak for a while. When you come back to it, the dirt will just fall off with a quick wipe.

Now that all your dishes are soaking in the sink, remove everything from your bench tops and spray your bench tops and sink counters with spray on cleaner, leave for about 15 minutes (you may wish to include your stove top in this). Any dried gunk will just wipe off smoothly.

While you wait, pick up any old newspapers, pamphlets and junk that needs to go in the bin and toss them out. Put away anything that needs to go into the pantry or cupboards. Hang any teatowels. If some items belong in another room, put them all in one corner and make the trips to other rooms later.

Now wash the dishes (or load the soaked ones into the dishwasher) and wipe and clean the benchtop and sink to perfection, wear a disposal glove if you want to – it saves your hands from the cleaning products. Clean up your sink and tapware until you can see your face in them. An old sink might need some steel wool to achieve this, or you could eventually look for a good metal cleaner. Put your bench top stuff back, wiping any gunk off them as you go.

Spray your table and clean it. If your chairs are gunky, do them too.

Wipe any cooking splatters from the wall tiles.

Wipe your window sill. If you have lace curtains, they are quick to wash and you can rehang them wet. They dry in no time.

The top of the bin – I recommend you do this after you’ve wiped everything else. Spray with disinfectant and use paper towels that you can throw away, then throw away your disposal gloves.

The floor. Sweep or vacuum (I prefer sweeping because by the time I get out the vac and all its bits and pieces, I could have already swept the floor – and its less noisy and more therapeutic as I can bop to my music while I go). Now for mopping, get a self sqeezing mop (the bigger the mop head the better), or a bucket with a squeeze pedal, and add some floor cleaner. Mop away to the music! Mop yourself into an external door so you don’t have to walk through until its dry.

Wow ! – Stand back and admire your work ! Now go to “Staying in Control” to learn systems to keep your kitchen from getting trashed again !

Consider sending me your “30 and 60 minute before and after” photos ! click here to submit your photos. Oh the satisfaction of before and after!

How to Clean the Bathroom

Go to “get in the mood” first (above)

Now, I have a totally weird way of coping with cleaning bathrooms/showers/toilets because I hate touching and breeding germs. Unfortunately just the smell of toilet or mould make me dry-reach. I don’t know why I’m like this – my mother says I was like that from very young so its NOT MY FAULT !! However, if I can clean toilets and bathrooms, SO CAN YOU !!

Here’s how I do it:

How to Clean the Shower

The easiest way to keep the shower clean is progressively. The shower has 5 inner surfaces. Four walls and a floor. Keep a semi-rough sponge in the shower at all times, squirt on some body wash (with this method you never need chemical cleanining products). Monday – scrub and rinse the wall with the taps on it, including the taps etc. Tuesday – do the next wall on the right, keep turning right each day until you get to Friday, do the floor.

It really only takes a couple of minutes to do one wall a day, and your shower is always clean. (I recommend a hand held, water saving shower head – the type you hang on the holder – it makes rinsing really easy).

How to Clean the Toilet

I have been picked-on and ridiculed about my toilet cleaning technique, but it works. Remember, just the sight or smell of toilet grime would have me dry-reaching.

Put on a pair of disposal gloves.

Lift all the seat components.

With toilet bowl cleaner, squirt inside and all around the toilet bowl. Leave for about 5 minutes.

Get the toilet brush and brush all around the bowl and the bottom where the water sits. Flush whilst holding the brush in the clean flushing water to clean the brush and put it back in its holder.

Get a spray on dissinfectant cleaner. Spray the top of the bowl, wipe with a bit of TOILET PAPER and throw the used paper into the bowl.

Spray under the seat, wipe with TOILET PAPER and throw the used paper into the bowl.

Put the seat down and do the same with the top of the seat, under the lid, the top and back of the lid, and the toilet controls, throwing the used toilet paper into the bowl.

Now FLUSH and the whole thing is clean. Throw away your gloves and wash your hands.

Done !

The Bathroom Basin and Mirror

I have found that the best way to clean the basin is with the dissinfectant cleaner spray. Spray the taps and the basin. Wipe with a sponge and keep rinsing the sponge and wiping until all the gunk has gone. Dry with an old towel. Do the same for the mirror. Spray, wipe and dry with an old towel. (If the outside glass of the shower needs a wipe, do it now – spray, wipe and dry with the old towel). Throw the towel in the wash to use next time.

The Bathroom Floor

I keep a small self wringing mop behind the bathroom door. I just spray some dissinfectant spray or floor cleaner onto the floor, wet the mop in the shower, squeeze with the self wringer, and mop it, and then put it back behind the door.

Its important to do the floor LAST because while you clean the toilet and basin you’ll get drips of water on the floor.

Laundry

The mantra for keeping up with the laundry is to do a load a day. Yes, you heard right, a load a day.

Each day, go through the bedrooms/hampers and collect dirty clothes, sort the colours (whites with white, blacks with blacks etc) and do a load of washing and hang it out to dry. The next day, do another load AND FOLD AND PUT AWAY the load from the day BEFORE.

The first week I did this was amazing. Instead of piles of similar looking socks, I only had about five pairs to fold. Instead of huge mounds of towels, I only had to fold about four. I used to have a spare room dedicated to washbaskets of unfolded and unironed clothes. I had even bought five wash baskets because I was always so behind ! Now I’ve only ever got one load undone at a time. Almost a miracle !!

Also, take some time to clean the control board of your washing machine with a spray, wipe and dry with an old towel.

Mopping floors

First you have to sweep or vacuum the floor really well to pick up floating dirt. Now to mop . . .

I like commercial floor cleaners because they get rid of grease spots and give the floor a shine, but a good squeeze of dishwashing detergent will do the job.

For mopping large areas, I like to use a mop bucket with a squeeze pedal. Half fill with HOT water and detergent, and mop away. Use the plastic bit that holds the mop together to scrape at any dirt build-up and then mop over. Ring the mop regularly. Start at one end of the house, and end at an exit door so you can mop your way out and sit outside for 5 minutes whilst the floor dries.

Most weeks you can mop around couches, but once a month you need to move the furniture and mop under it.

Vacuuming

Most weeks you can vacuum just the middles of the carpet, but at least once a month you need to actually MOVE things and vacuum under them. Now the cleaning professionals will totally disagree with me, but to me, cleaning is not my life and its not going to bother me if I don’t vacuum under the shoe rack every week. Put the music on loud and boogie while you vacuum!

Changing Sheets

I actually hate changing the sheets, but I work it in with my “load a day” theory of doing laundry. Once a week, include the sheets of every bed in the laundry process. Immediately pull out a new set and place the set on the bed. When you return later in the day, set a timer for 15 minutes, and try to beat the clock as you put the new sheets and pillow cases on. Done!

(PS: When you fold and put away sheets, fold the matching pillow cases and bottom sheet inside of the top sheet, so they stay all together.)

Dusting

For a quick dust, go around the house with a feather duster and dust all surfaces, picture frames, etc. Go outside every now and then and shake out the duster. Now wet and squeeze a sponge and go back and wipe any areas that had fingerprints or cup rings etc.

Front Verandah

Sweep the area just outside your front door, water any plants, pick up any stray items and arrange any chairs and plants nicely.

That should cover every area of your home !

Proceed to Page 6 – The 15 Minutes a Day Theory

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Cleaning tips submitted by readers: click here to submit a cleaning tip.

Tip by Lisa:

Sick & tired of all the cleaning products out there? Promising the world but only shortchanging you $5. Well, a formula that has stood the test of time is as follows: 1/3 water 1/3 metho 1/3 white vineger. Put all three into a spray gun, which you can pick up for $1. Its great in the kitchen, as it cuts through all the mess, and leaves a streak free finish. Also great in the shower, really gets into all the yuk stuff. Cheap & it works!

Tip by Jo:

This is actually a laundry tip, when hanging out washing I put each family members clothes on seperate lines as i go, When it’s dry I fold up one members clothes at a time and pile them all in the basket in order, I put my bundles into the dryer to give them a fluff up and when they come out hot i fold them straight away and pressing them next to my chest to iron out creases,I then put that pile away while the next load is in the dryer. It saves with ironing.

Tip by Debbie:

A disolved dishwasher tablet in water will clean the kitchen to a sparkling, grease free shine.

Tip by Helen:

My favourite cleaning tip: I learnt this washing my cafe floor. Great for the bathroom or laundry if your floor is waterproof and has a floor waste drain.

Spray floor with hot water from hand held nozzle, sprinkle with nappy san(great antibacterial), scrub with scrubber side of floor squeegy, rinse of with hot water and then squeegy off the whole floor area down the drain. Gets it super clean and shiny.

Thanks Helen for your tip ! Even without a floor drain, I really like the nappy san idea ! Thank you.

Cleaning tip submitted by “Livia”:

My favourite cleaning tip: When you’ve finished your laundry, quickly wipe the control board and top of your washing machine with window cleaner for a sparkling fresh look.

Thank you Livia, yes we (I) usually forget to wipe down the washing machine!

Cleaning tip submitted by “Viviana”:

My favourite cleaning tip: get a cleaning lady!!

Sorry Viviana, that’s not an option for most of us, and even if it was, a cleaning lady can’t solve all the mess problems all the time! LOL

Cleaning tip submitted by “Violet”:

My favourite cleaning tip: Save old toothbrushes under the laundry sink with the old teatowels for any tricky cleaning. Also, a good way to use up all those small bits of soap is by buying a “soap saver” from The Body Shop, which is like a bath glove/sponge with a pocket in it for all your tiny bits of soap, so they actually get used without you having to moosh them all together! It works really well!

Thanks Violet, excellent ideas !!

Cleaning tip submitted by “April”:

My favourite cleaning tip: Fill up your washing machine with a load of clothes at night, put in the detergent and let agitate for 3 minutes. Then, shut the machine off and let sit over night. First thing in the morning, run the load of clothes. Now, if you do this you can use half of the laundry soap you normally use and the clothes will be just as clean and you’ll have a load ready to hang out first thing in the morning.

Thanks April, I really LOVE that idea – great for stains too!!

Cleaning tip submitted by “Andrea”:

My favourite cleaning tip:: When I feel overwhelmed about cleaning a room with lots of little bits of clutter, I will grab a laundry basket and toss all the clutter (and anything else out of place) into basket. My room is clean, and then I set to work sorting out my basket!

Thanks Andrea, its amazing how seeing the room clean so quickly is motivation enough to put all the stuff away – great tip!