Cheap Tricks and Household Tips

The How-to of "Wet Work": Floors

2008-09-21T18:03:00.006+02:00

All that stuff under foot: cleaning your floors

Well, you’re just about down to the finish…with walls, woodwork, and windows all washed and clean, all that is left is what’s under your feet: floors and carpets. We’ll cover floors in this instalment.

Basic floor mopping technique:
1. Sweep and vacuum first: Before mopping, floors must be thoroughly swept and vacuumed to remove all loose dust, dirt and debris. Remember: dirt + water = mud. Don’t make your work messier by failing to remove all loose dirt before adding water.

2. Gather your tools:
- two buckets
- a mop you can squeeze out nearly dry
- a sponge with a nylon scrubby back Keep a sponge just for floors so you don’t contaminate your food preparation surfaces by using the kitchen sponge on the floor.
- soft cloths for drying,
- a clean, empty spray bottle
- a clean dust mop (optional)

3. Assess your floor:
Before you begin, you must assess the type of floor you will be washing, as both the cleaning solution and the technique vary from one floor type to another. See the appropriate section below.

4. Prepare the proper cleaning solution:
Basic Cleaning solution 1 (acidic)
- 1 gallon (4 litres) warm water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 5-10 drops liquid soap

Basic Cleaning solution 2 (alkaline)
- 1 gallon (4 litres) warm water
- ½ cup baking soda
- 5-10 drops liquid soap

Basic Shine solution (for vinyl and asphalt tile floors
- ½ gallon (2 litres) warm water
- 1 cup liquid fabric softener

Caution: Never mix bleach and ammonia; this combination creates a deadly toxic gas.

Caution: If you have pets, do not use ammonia for cleaning, especially floors, carpets, and anything near the floor. Fido and Puss, whose sense of smell is up to 200 times stronger than ours, will mistake even the faintest ammonia odour for the smell of decomposing urine and be attracted to the area for use as a toilet.

A caution about commercial floor cleaners:
Not all commercial floor cleaners are good for all floors. If you choose to use a commercial floor cleaner, read the instructions carefully and follow them.

In particular, be wary of the “no rinse, built-in shine” kinds of floor cleaners. They may actually cause you more work because sometimes that built-in shine is tacky and attracts and holds dirt. A clean floor is more important than a shiny floor, especially if you have young children who crawl around on it and put their toys in their mouths.

5. Prepare a second bucket of fresh warm water.
This will be used for rinsing the floor

6. Work in small areas
Regardless of what your floor is made of, flooding the whole floor with water is not good for it. Wood floors can warp, water can get in the joints of vinyl or laminate floors, grout in tile or stone floors can discolour if allowed to stand with dirty water on them. Work in an areas no more than two yards square (about two metres). Clean that area, rinse it and dry it before you move on to the next section.

7. Wring out that mop!
A sloppy mop just makes a mess. Particularly dirty areas may need some hand washing with your sponge and some of the cleaning solution. To mop, dip your mop into the cleaning solution, wring dry, and go over the area to be cleaned, as many times as necessary to get it clean. The dirtier it is, the more passes it will take to clean it.

8. Rinse with clear water
Sorry, but getting the floor wet and then moving the dirt around with a mop is not good enough. You have to rinse to get the dirt gone. Rinse the mop in the bucket of clear water and go over the area a second time with a clean mop. If the rinse water gets grubby before you are done, empty it and get fresh.

9. Dry it off
I know it sounds silly, but you really should leave at little water on the floor as possible. Not only does it protect the floor, it protects family members from slipping on the wet. Use soft cloths or a dry, clean dust mop to dry the floor. The dust mop head can be tossed in the dryer for a few minutes to dry it out if necessary.

10. Clean your tools and store them together
Your mop buckets really shouldn’t be used for other things like garden work or carrying water to fill your fish tank. You don’t want to cross-contaminate. Rinse out your mop heads thoroughly and hang the mop to dry. Sterilize the sponge (one minute in the microwave on High) and set it to dry. Empty the spray bottle, wash it out, put it in the bucket. Store the mop items together. It is helpful to write the Basic Cleaning solutions on the side of the mop bucket in indelible marker…then you never forget it.

Assessing your floor:
It is very important to determine what kind of floor you have before you make up your cleaning solution. Even if you are planning to use a commercial floor cleaner, you MUST choose the right one or risk damaging the floor. Here are some common kinds of floors and information about cleaning them:

Ceramic and other hard tile:
Hard tiles typically come in two types: glazed (shiny) and unglazed (matte). They are cleaned differently.

When it comes to cleaning, glazed tiles are pretty indestructible. A thorough mopping and rinsing, using Basic Cleaning Solution 1 (acidic) and the Basic Mopping Technique will generally do the trick.

If you have unglazed tiles (the currently popular terra cotta tiles are unglazed), be aware that they are porous and subject to staining. Anything you drop on them will penetrate and can become permanent. Not only that, germs and dirt can live in the “pores” and become virtually impossible to dislodge. The best thing to do with unglazed tiles is to seal them (make sure they are scrupulously clean first) and then wax them to keep the sealer from wearing off from foot traffic. You will need to renew this wax periodically to keep the sealer…and the tiles…protected. But that is for another day…today you just want to wash it in the least costly, most efficient manner.

To clean unglazed tile, use the Basic Mopping Technique to mop with Basic Cleaning Solution 2 (alkaline) and make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved.

Note: unglazed tile does not shine. It is not supposed to. So don’t work yourself into a lather trying to find a way to make your terra cotta tile floor shiny…it is supposed to be dull and rustic-looking. Put your effort into sealing it and keeping it meticulously clean.

Vinyl and soft tile floors
If you have vinyl flooring in your house, count your lucky stars…this is the easiest floor of all to clean and maintain. If you have vinyl tiles rather than sheet vinyl, you must exercise a bit more caution with regard to water, but for the most part, you’ve got the easiest floor of all to take care of.

If you are tempted to use a commercial mop and shine product, think it over. Not only are these products costly, the shine agent can build up on your floors and eventually create the appearance of ground-in dirt. Furthermore, the products can leave a sticky residue behind that attracts and traps even more dirt. The second application of the product does not remove the first one…it goes on top of it. Eventually you can end up with a mess!

If you need to remove grimy, built-up residue from waxes or mop and shine products, here’s how: using plain sudsing ammonia, pour it full strength in a small section of floor and agitate lightly with your mop to help break up the old product. Use a plastic scouring pad on particularly stubborn areas. When your mop starts getting dirty, rinse it under running water in the sink. When the section you are working on is clean, move on to another section. When the entire floor is clean it is a good idea to seal the floor and then lay down a coat of wax. Afterwards, use only Basic Cleaning Solution 1 (acidic) to clean your floor and do not clean with anything containing ammonia: not only will it dissolve the wax you’ve just put on, it will act as a “pee here!” signal for your pets.

If, on the other hand, you just want to get the floor clean and move on, here are some tips in addition to the Basic Mopping Technique to make this as painless as possible:

Use Basic Cleaning solution 1 (acidic). Pour about 2 cups of the solution into the clean sprayer bottle. Walk around looking for particularly dirty spots: grubby areas at doorways, in front of the sink or stove, dried spills near the table, “misses” by your family males near the toilet, places your feet stick to the floor, etc. Squirt these dirty spots with the spray bottle.

If there are heel marks on the floor, a synthetic scouring pad…the green scrubby thing on the back of your sponge…and a squirt from the spray bottle can be helpful.

Mop using the Basic Mopping Technique, being careful not to let water stand for long in the seams of sheet vinyl or the joints of a vinyl tile floor, as it can loosen the adhesive.

If the floor looks dull when you are done, mop again lightly with a solution of 1 cup white vinegar to a gallon (4 litres) of warm water or with the Basic Shine Solution.

Marble, stone or slate:
Marble (including travertine and limestone): Marble floors are porous and prone to damage and staining. Dirt, grit, sand and other abrasives do the most damage to marble and other stone floors…they act like sandpaper, grinding down the surface. Sealing the floor will help protect it, but experts are divided on whether or not marble should be sealed.

Marble floors should be kept immaculately clean at all times to reduce the incidence of abrasives (on the soles of our shoes) from dulling the floor. Vacuum rather than sweep to keep from scraping dirt and grit across the surface with your broom. Do not use a vacuum with a beater bar, use the soft brush attachment instead.

Marble will etch from even the mildest of acids…even orange juice or tomato juice!…and salts will pit the floor, so it is critically important to clean up spills on marble just as soon as they happen. Mop marble floors using the Basic Mopping Technique, with Basic Cleaning Solution 2 (alkaline). Make certain the baking soda is fully dissolved. You can wax marble (and stone) floors, but the wax may discolour the floor (yellow it) and you will have to periodically strip the wax and reapply it, a really arduous task.

Stone: Stone floors would seem to be the most durable you can find, but a lot of stone is porous and easily damaged. Each type of stone has its own degree of porosity making some stone floors more susceptible to stains than others. Consider sealing your stone floors to protect them from wear and tear. Wash your stone floors using the same solution and technique you would use for marble.

Slate: Slate floors are durable and fairly easy to maintain. Slate naturally resists water, so it doesn’t need sealing. Wash your slate floors like marble or stone.

Grout: Slate, stone, and ceramic tile floors are usually laid down with grout between the individual tiles. If the grout is dirty, even when the tiles are clean, the floor will look grubby. Grout is porous, so liquid cleaners seep through them without much effect. Bleach can be an effective cleaner, but it can leach colour out of coloured grouts. Most home improvement stores carry grout cleaning sticks you can use to clean grout. Once it is clean and dry, apply a sealer so you don’t have to go through this again.

If you are trying to get mildew out of white grout, make a paste of baking soda and bleach, spread it on the grout, cover with a wet paper towel (if it is wet enough the towel will stick to the wall). When the grout is clean, seal it.

Cement or brick
Cement or brick floors should be sealed. They are very porous and are easily stained, particularly by oil-based stains. Once stained, they are virtually impossible to clean. Brick and cement floors should be mopped using the Basic Mopping Technique using Basic Cleaning Solution 1 (acidic) at least once per week.

Special note: cement garage floors are often stained with oil and grease. While nothing (not even steam cleaning) can return the floors to their original state, you can soak a lot of the oil and grease out of the floor with this simple technique: spread clay cat litter (not the stuff with smelly crystals and stuff…the cheap generic kind!) over the stains and let set overnight. Sweep up with a stiff broom (or vacuum with a shop vac…NOT the one you use on your carpets!) and discard. Do NOT use this in the litter box! Repeat as necessary…this stuff really draws the oil and grunge out of the cement, but even this little miracle has its limitations!

Laminate
Laminate flooring is nothing more than strips of chipboard with a plastic sheet laminated to the top of it. That plastic sheet has what amounts to a photocopy of wood on it. The laminated strips are laid down and snapped together…those joints are extremely vulnerable to water. Never, ever allow water to stand on your laminate floor, not even when you are mopping.

Advertising notwithstanding, laminate floors are not indestructible. Avoid dropping heavy or sharp items on a laminate floor…if the plastic “skin” that is the top layer of the laminate is breached and moisture gets in, you’re looking a replacing a panel because the water will make the substrate swell up and cause a bump in the floor. Each subsequent mopping will make it worse. How do I know this? Guess whose husband dropped a computer monitor on her beautiful laminate flooring and poked a little hole in it?

The plastic coating on the top of the laminate can be damaged by abrasives and such harsh cleaning tools as steel wool. Use the scrubby sponge and keep the area as dry as possible while cleaning. Mop laminate floors using the Basic Mopping Technique and Basic Cleaning Solution 1 (acidic). You can squirt the dirty spots with solution as long as the spots are not on joints or a place where the top plastic layer has been breached.

Tips on spot cleaning laminate and polyurethane-sealed wood floors
To remove oil, paint, permanent marker, tar, rubber heel marks: use a neutral pH cleaner on a clean cloth. If that doesn’t work, use rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover containing acetone.

To remove blood, fruit juice, wine, beer, soda pop, pasta sauce: wipe up with warm water. If that doesn’t work, use a neutral pH cleaner on a clean cloth.

To remove candle wax or chewing gum: first harden it with ice and then scrape very gently with a plastic scraper. Wipe the rest with warm water on a clean cloth.

Wood Floors
The finish on your wood floors will determine how you clean them.

Before you set yourself up for difficulty, try to determine if your wood had been varnished, polyurethaned, or oiled. Varnish and polyurethane look alike, but the polyurethane finish is virtually indestructible and can be mopped like a tile floor. A varnished floor takes a bit more care, and an oiled floor shouldn’t be mopped at all.

An oiled wood floor will have a dull glow to it, but varnish or polyurethane will have a shine. To test for varnish, go to an inconspicuous spot and put a few drops of acetone (nail polish remover) on the varnished wood and rub gently in a circular motion. After a minute or two, check it. If the finish has gone sticky or gel-like, it’s varnish. Polyurethane will not change.

To clean your polyurethaned wood floor: Use the Basic Mopping technique with Basic Cleaning Solution 1 (acidic). No further treatment is needed.

To clean your oiled wood floor: Use teak oil or mineral oil (NOT mineral spirits). Moisten a cloth with the oil and, on your hands and knees, rub the oil in the direction of the grain of thw wood. Change to a clean space on the cloth as needed. Polish with a fresh cloth to remove excess oil and to impart a shine. Particularly dirty areas just require more oil and elbow grease. Regular vacuuming and periodic dust mopping will help keep these floors soil free. Spills should be wiped up immediately.

To clean your varnished wood floor: most experts agree that using any kind of water-based cleaner on your varnished wood floor is an invitation to trouble, especially if the condition of the finish is dodgy. Water can make the wood strips swell, warp, split, even mildew. Your best bet is to purchase a cleaning product made specifically for wood floors and use it according to directions.

If you search the web you may find some sites that recommend cleaning varnished hardwood floors with a vegetable oil soap, but at least one hardwood floor manufacturer strongly recommends against it: http://www.cinhome.com/murphys.html . Considering the cost of sanding and refinishing a hardwood floor, it is better to be safe than sorry, and pop for the little extra cost of a specialized, dedicated cleaner for wood floors.

Next: cleaning your carpets and rugs

The How-to of "Wet Work": Windows and Mirrors

2008-09-13T07:50:00.002+02:00

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then windows are the eyes of the home. Nothing detracts from an otherwise lovely room like dirty windows.

Window washing is best accomplished by two people simultaneously washing the same window: one inside and one outside. But this is not always possible, so we will concentrate on single-person washing.

Gather your tools:
1) a bunch of old newspapers
2) a spray bottle
3) white vinegar (¼ cup)
4) water (2 cups)
5) dishwashing liquid (5-10 drops)
6) waterproof bucket or bin
7) indelible market

Tear or cut the newspapers into ¼ sheet pieces.

Combine water, vinegar, and dishwashing liquid and pour into the spray bottle.

Using the indelible marker, write “window cleaner” on the bottle. This is not only an aide de memoir, it is a good safety measure to prevent people from using the mixture as a plant misting solution or something of the sort. It is also helpful to write the “recipe” on the back of the bottle so you will have it handy for reference when you need a refill.

Washing up
Start with lower windows or, if it is sheet glass, at the bottom of the window. Spray liquid mixture onto window, making sure the sills and mutton bars are already clean (if they are not, clean them first). Slightly crumple the newspaper and, using a circular motion, make sure the entire window, including the corners, gets wet. Discard the wet paper into the bucket or bin.

With a dry, slightly crumpled piece of newspaper, polish the window with a circular motion until it shines. You may need a second piece of newspaper. If, after your best efforts, the windows look streaky, you need to add a bit more liquid soap to your mix. Streaks are often caused by wax and other chemicals left from cleaning the windows with commercial preparations and you need a bit more soap to clean them off. Once you get them clean, all of that gunk will be gone for good, provided you continue using this mixture for window cleaning.

Spray the next window and repeat.

Mirrors
The cleaning solution for mirrors is the same as for windows, but the technique is slightly different.

When cleaning mirrors, take care not to allow cleaning solution to get onto the frames or into the joint where the mirror meets the frame. Cleaning solutions can damage frames with moisture that you can’t remove or damage some finishes. Spray a cloth with cleaning solution, wipe the mirror, and polish with newspaper.

Defogging bathroom mirrors
Fogged up bathroom mirrors are a nuisance. Commercial products exist to prevent mirrors from fogging but they can be both costly and difficult to find. Try this very simple alternative:

Dishwashing liquid (full strength)
Two soft cloths (pieces of old towelling are perfect)

Apply a small amount of dishwashing liquid to a small cloth. With a circular motion, rub this onto the mirror. Coat the entire mirror, leaving swirls of the soap visible.

With the second cloth, rub in a circular motion to buff the soap off, and polish.

When you next step out of the shower, use a clean cloth to wipe the condensation off the mirror. Underneath the mirror will be sparkling and fog-free!

Next: Floors and carpets: getting them clean, keeping them clean.

The How-to of "Wet Work": Washing walls and woodwork

2008-09-12T08:13:00.003+02:00

Washing walls: are we having fun yet?

Before you actually start the work of washing walls, you need to assess just how much work they actually need…and how much effect your work can actually have.

Do your walls need spot cleaning…a dab here and there for dirty spots? Or are they seriously soiled, covered with grime, soot, or nicotine? Even if you are planning to paint the walls, a good cleaning is in order. And that nice new sponge mop you used for the ceiling is the perfect tool for washing down dirty painted walls. But when washing walls, begin at the bottom of the wall and work your way up…those drips of water running from the top will leave streaks in a dirty wall surface that will be devilishly difficult to remove later! The same cleaning solution used on the ceilings is perfect for painted walls, although you should test first in an inconspicuous spot to make sure it will not harm or remove the paint.

Be careful about scrubbing too hard on painted wall surfaces as you may lose the paint. If you have wallpaper and it’s not vinyl, you could be in for some trouble: wall paper can be very difficult to clean, particularly if the offending agent is oil-based, like cooking splatter.

Spot cleaning:
Crayon: WD-40 can be helpful in removing crayon from painted wall surfaces: spray over the spots and wipe off with paper towels. Then wash the wall with your cleaning solution.

Pencil: An art gum eraser can be very helpful in removing pencil marks from walls. Rub gently, as if you were erasing a sheet of paper, and wash afterward with cleaning solution.

Ink: Anything that can remove ink from a painted surface may remove the paint as well. Test the following in an inconspicuous spot before applying to the inked areas. Wash wall afterwards.

Hair spray: with an amply supply of paper towels at hand, spray hairspray over the ink spot and then blot clean. Use a fresh paper towel for each blot or you could end up spreading the stain.

Toothpaste. Gently rub a little on the spot, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then wipe clean.

Alcohol: for surfaces that will not be damaged by alcohol, dab some rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol, which is a solution of 30% pure alcohol and 70% water) directly on the stain. Try to keep a moist pad of alcohol against the stain for ten minutes or so, then blot away the stain with clean paper towels.

Nail polish remover: it can strip paint, so this must be tested before use in a visible area. This works especially well for floors and tiles, but caution must be taken for painted walls. Blot onto the stain with a paper towel.

While you are on vertical surfaces, this is the time to do windows, pictures and picture frames, woodwork, and anything else that may drip dirty water down to the floor…remember to start at the bottom and work your way up.

Washing the whole (painted) wall
The same solution, mop, and technique that were used to wash the ceiling can be used to wash painted walls with the following caveats:

1) Gloss and semi-gloss walls will survive washing better than flat latex paints. If your paint is flat (not even a little shiny), don’t scrub too hard or you may take off paint and all.

2) Wash walls from the bottom, up. Start at the baseboard (skirting board) and work your way up. Don’t allow water to run down the wall as you clean. A sponge mop that is only damp is the best tool to use.

Other walls:
Nowadays walls can be made of…or covered with…just about anything. It’s not possible to cover every eventuality, so we’ll just touch lightly on the most common wall coverings:

Wood panelling
If you have fake wood panelling, you can wash it exactly the same way you wash a painted wall. Cleaning panelling of real wood, however, depends on how the wood is finished. See the section on woodwork, below, for how to clean wood.

Tile
Tile is pretty forgiving and most things will come off tile pretty easily. Problems with grout sometimes arise, though, and sometimes rust will stain tile.

A poultice made of bleach and baking soda on a damp paper towel will help remove rust stains from tiles and grout. The poultice can be stuck to the tile…even tiled walls…by wetting the paper towel and smoothing the outer few inches against the wall.

A paste of bleach and baking soda can also be “trowelled” into grout using the back side of a teaspoon. Allow to dry, rinse off, and repeat as necessary.

Wall coverings
Vinyl wall paper can be washed with a damp cloth and mild soap. Hard scrubbing should be avoided to prevent rubbing off the pattern. Dry with a soft cloth.

Other wall coverings such as sisal, paper wallpaper, fabric should be vacuumed with a soft brush. Any further cleaning should be done by a professional.

Washing the woodwork
When the walls are clean, it is time to wash the woodwork: doors, door frames, window frames and sills, built-ins, and panelled walls.

Painted woodwork
Woodwork is usually painted with high gloss or semi-gloss enamel paint. This makes it relatively easy to clean.

Never spray your cleaning solution directly on a surface, and this includes woodwork. Spray the solution onto your cleaning cloth and wipe it over the surfaces to be cleaned. Do not forget to wipe the tops of door sills and door frames. The same solutions to wall stains can be used on painted woodwork.

When cleaning vertical surfaces, be sure to start at the bottom and work your way up so you don’t create drip marks.

Varnished woodwork
Most “natural wood” woodwork is varnished. If neglected, varnish can easily damage, which creates an even bigger problem: sanding and refinishing. You must take care of varnished wood or pay the piper.

Before you set yourself up for difficulty, try to determine if your wood had been varnished or polyurethaned. They look alike, but the polyurethane finish is virtually indestructible and needs only to be wiped down with a damp cloth.

To test, go to an inconspicuous spot (get on a ladder and test the top of a door sill) and put a few drops of acetone (nail polish remover) on the varnished wood and rub gently in a circular motion. Do not allow it to run! After a minute or two, check it. If the finish has gone sticky or gel-like, it’s varnish. Polyurethane will not change.

In your arsenal of household products you should have a bottle of teak oil. You can get light teak oil and dark. If you have wood furnishings and woodwork, you should have teak oil on hand at all times. Light teak oil works on light woods, dark teak oil on dark woods. Teak oil works remarkably well to remove dirt from varnished or oiled wood surfaces, and it camouflages scratches. Mineral oil (not mineral spirits!) is a good second choice.

If rubbing with teak oil did not remove the soil, then you must wash the surface. You can wash varnished wood by dampening a clean cloth with a solution of mild soap and warm water and rubbing a small section of the wood to remove dirt. Dry immediately with a soft cloth. Working in small areas at a time prevents the finish from absorbing moisture. Remember, when working on vertical surfaces, like door, door jambs or window frames, to start at the bottom and work your way up.

Apply a coat of furniture polish or wax when finished.

Oiled woodwork
Before anything else, try to use teak or mineral oil to remove dirt. This can take a bit of effort, but it is the best way. Always rub with the grain of the wood.

If the soil is too deeply ingrained, then follow the instructions for varnished wood, above. Make certain that you adequately oil the wood when finished cleaning it. Rub the oil in with the grain of the wood until it looks like it is “too much.” Wait about 15 minutes for the oil to soak in, them come back and polish with a soft dry cloth.

Unfinished wood
Unfinished wood is porous and unprotected against moisture, which will eventually cause damage. Unfinished wood (unless it is redwood, cypress, or cedar) needs some kind of protective coating.

Because it is uncoated, it is very difficult to clean soiled unfinished wood. Dirt and debris can cause permanent staining. If you have unfinished wood in your home, protect it by giving it a coating of mineral oil, furniture polish, or furniture wax.

You can clean unfinished wood like varnished wood but, except in the case of very light soil, do not expect miracles.

When you acquire a new piece of unfinished furniture, treat it immediately: oil it, varnish it, wax it, paint it…anything to protect the wood. Don’t forget the bottom of the piece, where it touches the floor or you don’t see. The paint/oil/varnish is not there for looks: its primary purpose is to protect the wood from the elements, such as dampness…or too much dryness…in the air. The same is true for wood elements in your home: unfinished wood doors, door frames, built ins, may all look fresh and natural, but once they are soiled (finger prints, spills, scuffs) the soil in permanent. Seal and protect your wood so that it will give you decades of beautiful service.

Making your own wood polish
You can make your own wood polish with items found in most households. Remember, our ancestors didn’t have commercial spray-on furniture products to clean those beautiful antiques we cherish today. They made it themselves from common household goods.

You can use 2 parts vegetable or olive oil with 1 part lemon juice to make a furniture polish. Put it in a bottle with a tight fitting cap and shake vigorously. Make sure to shake again each time the oil and juice separate so that you have an emulsified liquid on your cleaning cloth. Apply with a soft cloth and then rub in a circular motion to polish. Make sure you label the bottle (use a permanent marker) with its contents on one side and the “formula” on the other so you can easily mix up a refill.

If you like lemon oil polish, take a pint ( ½ litre) of mineral oil (not mineral spirits) and dissolve a teaspoon of lemon oil in it. Bottle and label as above.

Here are some tips from Michigan State University Extension for cleaning various types of wood:

For Unfinished Wood: Mineral Oil. Mineral oil is flammable. Apply sparingly with a soft cloth.

For Mahogany: Vinegar. Mix equal pans white vinegar and warm water. Wipe onto wood and then polish with a chamois cloth.

For Grease Spots: Salt. Immediately pour salt on the grease spot to absorb grease and prevent staining.

For Scratches: Lemon Juice and Vegetable Oil. Mix equal pans of lemon juice and salad oil. Rub into scratches with a soft cloth until scratches disappear.

For Water Spots: Toothpaste. To remove water marks, rub gently with toothpaste on a damp cloth.

For Washing Wood: Mild Soap. Dampen cloth with a solution of water and mild soap, such as Ivory or Murphy's Oil Soap. Wring the cloth almost dry and wipe the furniture section by section, drying with a clean dry cloth as you go so that no section stays wet.

Next: Windows and mirrors

The How To of "Wet Work": Ya gotta start at the top

2008-09-10T13:28:00.001+02:00

Ceiling and mouldings:
If your ceiling and crown moulding require washing, that’s going to be your first “wet work” task. Washing a ceiling seems like a daunting task, something any sane person would definitely put off to another day. Visions of teetering on a ladder with a scrub brush and precariously balanced bucket of soapy water slowly float through our minds and procrastination…putting the job off until the last…comes quickly to mind.

Supplies:
1) a new sponge-type mop, one with a squeezer

2) two buckets of warm water, one with a cleaning solution, one plain.

Cleaning solution:
1 gallon (4 litres) warm water and 2 tablespoons household ammonia.

Washing a painted ceiling:
1) Dip mop into bucket containing cleaning solution, squeeze dry.

2) Starting in one corner, wipe the ceiling (no scrubbing back and forth…just one steady wipe) for a foot or two (half metre or less).

3) Bring down the mop for inspection. Rinse the mop thoroughly in the clear water, squeezing it out

4) Dip the mop in the cleaning solution again

5) Thoroughly squeeze out any excess, then repeat*

*If the mop was extremely dirty when inspected, use shorter strokes and rinse more often. Change the rinse water if necessary. If it was only mildly soiled, then continue with strokes of up to a yard (approximately a metre).

Cleaning decorative mouldings and ceiling rosettes:
Unfortunately, for these lovely bits of household décor, if vacuuming with the soft bristled brush didn’t do the trick, the ladder is your only real option.

Use these techniques ONLY with painted mouldings or PVC plastic. If you are using the Styrofoam stuff, then you may vacuum and blot gently with a cloth dampened with water and nothing else! Rough handling can cause the decorative bits to break off!

You will need your ladder, a cloth or small sea sponge for applying the cleaning solution, a fresh cloth to wipe the solution away when you are done, a small pail of fresh water to rinse the fresh cloth, and a spray bottle with the cleaning solution on it. In your apron pockets you should have a small brush (a 1” to 2” wide paint brush is perfect) and something with a bit of a point on it so you can get into crannies where dirt may be lodged.

It is wise to wear some kind of eye protection as this technique can cause drips and ammonia or vinegar in the eyes can be extremely painful. Tying a scarf around your hair (I prefer to use a cheap shower cap!) to keep the cleaning solution out of your hair is helpful. And to protect your floors/carpets, a cheap plastic drop cloth under your work area is not a bad idea.

Start by assembling your tools and placing them where you can work with them easily. Using a painter’s ladder…the kind that has a little platform near the top…is best. Put such things as your cleaning cloths (a small natural sponge is the absolute best for cleaning this kind of thing), brushes, etc. in your apron pocket, and you can hang the spray bottle from your waistband by its trigger.

1) Position the ladder beneath the area you are going to clean.

2) Do not stand any higher on the ladder than the manufacturer recommends.

3) Spray cleaning solution onto the sponge: do not saturate because if it is drippy, the drips will run down your hand and arm and into your underarms. very unpleasant.

4) Wad the sponge into the shape you need to reach into the crannies of the design and rub gently.

5) Use the rinse cloth to wipe away the cleaning solution

6) Something pointy like the barrel of a ball-point pen can be wrapped in a bit of cloth and used to poke into corners for cleaning.

7) Consider antiquing the mouldings and rosettes so next time the dirt won’t show!

Chandeliers and light fixtures:
If your chandeliers or light fixtures have removable bits like crystals and shades, this is the time to take them down for cleaning. Because there is such a variety of design of such items and an infinite number of materials, only a few suggestions can be imparted here:

1) If the shade is made of paper, cloth, cardboard, or anything other than glass, metal, or hard plastic, do not clean it with water or anything wet. It should be vacuumed thoroughly and, at most, wiped quickly with a cloth barely dampened in water and thoroughly wrung out. Masking tape, because it is barely adhesive, can be used…sticky side out…to remove dust and “fluff” without risking smearing.

2) If the light fixture has crystals that can be easily removed, take them down and place in a bath of vinegar and water (or sudsing ammonia and water) to soak. As soon as the ceiling is clean, wash each crystal in the bath in which it has been soaking, rinse in clear water and polish with a soft cloth. Return the crystals to their right places.

3) If your light fixture has a removable glass shade, do the same as with the crystals. If it is not removable, wipe the fixtures on all sides with a clean cloth dampened in the vinegar or ammonia solution, wipe next with a cloth dampened in plain water, then wipe dry and polish with a fresh cloth.

Cleaning the fixture:

Electricity + water = disastrous results!

If you need to clean light fixtures like chandeliers and ceiling and wall-mounted light fixtures, caution is in order. Since you likely have no idea the state of your wiring, it is always better to err on the side of caution. If you can shut off the electricity to the room you are working in, then do so. If not, ensure that the switch to the fixture is turned off and that you are grounded (earthed)!

A wooden ladder is best as they are non-conductive. If you are using a metal ladder, make sure it has rubber feet on the bottom and that there are no holes in the feet where the bare metal shows through.

OR…put a rubber mat on the floor under the ladder. A real rubber mat, not some fuzzy rug with a rubberized backing.

OR…wear a pair of wellies (gumboots, rubber boots)

OR…wear rubber gloves (not latex kitchen gloves…real rubber gloves)

OR…do all of the above

1) Do not spray cleaning solution or any liquid onto light fixtures that are affixed to a wall or ceiling

2) Instead, dampen your cleaning cloth and use it to wipe dirt away

3) Do not allow the liquid to get into the fixture and do not attempt to clean the cavity into which the light globes are screwed/fitted

4) Dry fixtures with a soft cloth before turning on the switch

5) If the fixtures are so dirty they require more vigorous cleaning, have someone with a knowledge of electricity remove them from the wall/ceiling and reinstall them after you clean them.

Wait to replace the shades, crystals, etc., onto wall-mounted light fixtures until you are finished washing the walls.

Next: washing walls and woodwork

The How-To of “Wet Work”: Overview

2008-09-09T14:30:00.004+02:00

Once you’ve finished the dry work of sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting (hopefully in that order), it is time to finish the room by doing the “wet work.” This is a big topic, so it will be broken into several parts.

Wet work second
We do the wet work second because we don’t want to expend all that time and energy washing the dirty bits, only to stir up dust (sweeping is dusty work, even with a dampened broom) and have it land all over our nicely washed surfaces.

There are two basic kinds of places that need wet work in a room:
1) stuff you clearly see, like rings on a table or a dirty spot on the floor; and

2) places you don’t see because they have become part of the landscape and you just don’t notice them, like the smudges around the light switch or door handle.

Before you begin, you must assess the room for the kind of wet work it needs because this helps you plan your work. Check the following areas for soil that needs washing off:

1. Windows and mirrors, glass doors on cabinets (inside and out), glass or shiny ceramic vases and other tschochkes.

2. Doors: look on both sides of the door near the doorknob and above the knob for hand marks. Look also at the base of the door for foot scuffs.

3. Furniture: hard surfaces gather stickiness from the atmosphere and spills, and carved areas on furniture may need more than dusting; soft surfaces may be spotted or just grimy.

4. Architectural features: ledges, shelving, mantles and hearths, ceiling mouldings, chandeliers and light fixtures, niches and nooks, exposed beams and trusses…all of these things gather both dust and dirt.

5. Floors and carpets: these may require anything from just a light wash to heavy soil treatments.

6. Walls and/or ceilings: if there is a smoker in the house, these will definitely need washing. Also look at walls near light switches, window frames, and trash bins.

7. Curtains, draperies, “tossables” like cushions, throws, scatter rugs, doilies, table cloths and runners.

8. Woodwork: this phrase includes aluminium and clad aluminium door and window surrounds, window sills and casings and mutton bars, and all decorative touches like plinths, rosettes, reeding, fireplace surrounds, louvered doors and shutters

9. Built-ins such as heaters, furnace controls and thermostats, air conditioning units, heating/cooling registers, cool air vents.

Getting down to it
You need an order in which to do the necessary work. Remember, the goal here is to get the maximum amount of clean out of the minimum amount of effort and expense, and doing things in a logical order will help achieve that. You may begin anywhere you feel inspired to begin, but I always start at the top…literally.

As you assess your room, it can be helpful to make a set of lists. You need two basic lists to fill in: vertical surfaces, like windows and walls, drapes and doors, and horizontal surfaces like floors, ceilings, table tops, etc. Each of these lists can be further broken down into hard and soft surfaces. As you assess the room, try to figure out where in your list a particular item fits. An armoire, for example is hard and vertical whereas a sofa is soft and horizontal. It may not make sense now, but it a minute it will be clear as (clean) glass.

Basic rule of wet cleaning: wet stuff drips and the drips run down.
In practical terms, this means that you use gravity as the guide for prioritizing the order of your work. When working with horizontal items, like ceilings and light fixtures, you don’t want to drip dirty water down onto clean surfaces, so you clean those items first. In particular, you clean ceilings before the items beneath the ceilings so if dirty water drips down, it won’t be onto something you have already washed and polished.

Vertical items are a little trickier.
When washing a wall, for example, it would seem logical to start at the top and work down but that may actually give you more work in the long run. No matter how careful you are, some of your cleaning solution is going to run down the wall and if the wall it runs onto is still dirty, it will cut clean streaks into the wall that will still be visible even after you wash that section of the wall later. This is especially true if the wall is a light colour and is nicotine stained or has not been cleaned in a long time.

So, even though we start at the top for most things, for vertical surfaces it is wise to start at the bottom and work up.

Next: washing ceilings and other stuff ’way up there.

The How-To of “Dry Work”

2007-12-27T00:38:00.001+02:00

When you are putting an untidy house to rights, once the rooms are cleared of clutter and debris, you broken the job down into manageable chunks and you have a plan, actually cleaning the rooms is the next step. But what if you literally do not know how to do certain cleaning tasks? What if you have never been shown how to dust or sweep or properly clean a mirror or window? Believe it or not, this is the case for a surprising number of people. Many of us were simply sent to our rooms with the instruction to clean it, but with no instruction as to how.

Dry work first
We do the “dry” work first because we don’t want to stir up dust and clouds of airborne debris that will just dirty up our already-clean areas. We’ll remove all that stuff first.

Dry work is dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming. You can pretty much do it in any order, although sweeping really should take place before vacuuming in order to remove large items from the floor that might choke the vacuum cleaner.

Vacuum cleaners exhaust air as they work and unless your vacuum is one of those expensive new gadgets with HEPA filters and such, you can be guaranteed that a certain amount of fine dust will be emitted with the vacuum exhaust. Knowing this, the most efficient order of doing the dry work in a room is sweep, vacuum, dust.

Let us assume that you have decided to clean your bedroom and you will take the various tasks in their most efficient order. You will therefore start with sweeping.

Sweeping
(Tip: sweep with a broom that has the ends dampened with water This will prevent dust from becoming airborne and settling later onto clean surfaces.)

Your basic task is to sweep all debris to the centre of the room where it can be collected with the dustpan and then discarded.

Starting at one end of the room, put the broom against the skirting boards and use short, sharp strokes to remove accumulated dust, dirt, fluff, and debris. Sweep along the wall and sweep the collected stuff towards the centre of the room. Sweep the entire perimeter, then the open floor, always directing the debris towards a single, central location.

In order to get the room clean, furniture must be swept under and behind. This may not be possible in all cases (you may not be able to move an armoire full of stereo equipment, for example), but to the degree possible, pull items away from the wall (onto the floor already swept) to sweep behind. Leave the furniture out, as you will next vacuum.

In the case of carpeted rooms, sweeping may still be a wise first step. Vacuum cleaners don’t like large items, strings, rubber bands, wads of paper or pet hair, or fiddly things like paper clips, hair pins, or coins. Sweeping up and discarding such items from a rug before running the vacuum can save you considerable aggravation and expense.

If the room has a floor and rugs, remove the smaller rugs from the room…just deposit them outside the room for now (when you are finished cleaning the room you will either take them outside to shake or you will take them to the laundry). Rugs too large to easily remove should be left in place, but their edges flipped back so you can sweep as much from beneath them as possible.

When all debris has been swept to a single location, collect it in the dustpan and discard into one of the plastic trash bags that are in your cleaning basket. Step back for a moment and admire your freshly swept floor and congratulate yourself on having accomplished your goal. Now you are ready to set your next goal:

Vacuuming
(Tip: dampen a cotton ball with a fragrant oil or your favourite perfume and place in the vacuum’s tank or dust bag. As the machine works, the exhaust will be scented by the cotton ball and leave a pleasant fragrance in the room.)

If the room has both flooring and large carpets, begin by vacuuming the flooring. This way you will not track residual dirt and dust onto the carpet when you step on and off of it during vacuuming.

Locate the crevice tool (a short tube with a slanted tip). Most upright machines will allow you to disconnect the hose that goes to the bag or tank and connect a wand with an attachment to it. Begin by using the crevice tool to suction dirt from corners of the room and from the tops of the skirting boards and where the skirting boards meet the floor/carpet. When this is finished, switch to the floor attachment and vacuum the floor.

Choose the proper height/attachment for vacuuming a floor. Upright machines usually have a three-level (or more) adjustment that will raise and lower the head for floors (lowest), low pile carpet (medium), and high for a deep pile carpet. If the vacuum is a canister type, there should be a carpet attachment and a floor attachment for the end of the wand (tube). The carpet attachment usually has a roller with brushes attached to it. The floor attachment is usually as wide as the carpet attachment but the suction opening does not have a roller (although it may have a brush).

Vacuum the floor in a regular pattern, in one direction, being careful to empty the bag or cup when full. If there are carpets, flip them back and vacuum beneath them to the degree possible. If there is furniture that can be moved so that it can be vacuumed behind or under, do so.

After the floor is finished, switch to the proper height/attachment for the carpet. Vacuum the carpet in one direction, slowly pushing and pulling the vacuum head over the carpet. Depending on how dirty the carpet is, you can go over a spot once or twice (very light soil) or half a dozen or more times (visible dirt on the carpet). Once the entire carpet has been vacuumed in one direction, vacuum a second time, this time perpendicular to the first pass. In other words, if you vacuumed the room along its length the first time, this time vacuum across its width. The vacuum should be leaving visible marks on the carpet where it has been cleaned, so it is easy for you to

Large area rugs should be vacuumed in the same manner, but with care taken not to suck the fringes into the vacuum. If fringe is sucked in, immediately shut the vacuum off and release the trapped fringe by hand.

After the floors and carpets are vacuumed, step back and look at the curtains, upholstered furniture, and the ceiling. Using the crevice tool, you can remove cobwebs from ceiling corners, and using the soft brush tool, you can vacuum the ceiling where there are bits of hanging fluff. Most vacuums have a small attachment that looks like a miniature floor attachment. This is for upholstery and curtains…and it does a marvellous job of removing embedded dust from them. To vacuum the curtains, put the upholstery tool on the end of the wand and place the tool at the top of the drapes/curtains. Pull the wand slowly towards the floor, repeating the process until the entire curtain has been vacuumed. When vacuuming upholstered furniture, remove cushions and vacuum underneath them as well as the underside of the cushions and the sides and bottom edges.

When the vacuuming is finished, put the vacuum cleaner out of the room, push all furnishing back into place, then stand back and admire your handiwork and the lovely fragrance from the scented vacuum cleaner exhaust.

Dusting
Dusting is the final bit of dry work. The objective of dusting is to remove the dust from objects so it can be discarded or washed away. And while may seem like a no-brainer, there really are right and wrong ways to dust.

Wrong way: feather and/or lambswool dusters. These items not only can scatter dust back into the air, sending it out onto your freshly vacuumed and swept surfaces, they can cause tschochkes to be knocked over and damaged.

The right way to dust is with a dampened cloth…oiled, if you are dusting wood furniture). Dust will cling to a soft, damp or oiled cloth, rather than be scattered back into the room to land elsewhere. Here’s how to do it:

If there are both wood and non-wood surfaces to dust, dampen a cloth (smooth…not a fuzzy or fluffy or nappy surface) and wring thoroughly. Fold the cloth as many times as necessary to make a size comfortable to hold in your hand. Also fold a dry cloth in the same manner and take a bottle of teak oil.

Remove items from the surface to be dusted. If the surface is wood, pour a small amount of oil onto the cloth (never directly onto the wood!) and wipe the wood in the direction of the grain, lifting the cloth at the end of each stroke to collect the dust onto the cloth.. After the surface dust has been removed, fold the cloth to a clean section and polish the surface with circular strokes, making sure to remove any excess oil. Wipe any other parts of the wooden piece (legs, rungs, skirting, etc.) that are made of wood, polishing away any excess oil.

Now, using the damp cloth, wipe all the articles that were removed from the wooden surface to remove all dust. Replace in their proper place and move on to the next item.

Remember:
1. Wood that has fancy work (carving, grooves, turned legs or arms) will need a bit of special attention: use a thin edge of the cloth to get into the little grooves and carved bits to remove dust and dirt, then polish with a dry cloth.

2. Wood work needs dusting and cleaning: tops of door sills, window frames, mutton bars on windows, window sills, etc. If the wood is unpainted or unvarnished, it could use oiling, too.

3. Tops of books get dusty

4. Fabric flower arrangements, lamp shades, and the lamps themselves can get dusty, too.

5. Don’t forget the feet of chairs, sofas, display cabinets, and coffee tables.

The absolutely final touch in the dry work is changing linens. If it is a bedroom, fresh bedding is a must. In other rooms it might be doilies, scatter rugs, a table cloth, or towels. Whatever kind of soft goods belong in the room, your last “dry” task is to replace them with clean ones.

When the dry work is finished in a room, the work is nearly finished. Stand back and admire the gleaming wood and spotless accessories and know that, once the wet work is done, you’re done too!

Wet work, of course, is what we’ll deal with next.

Making the Job Manageable

2007-12-25T11:27:00.000+02:00

So, you’ve given your house the Laundry Basket Treatment and cleared it of clutter and debris. And you’ve assembled a cleaning basket with all the items necessary to clean. The vacuum cleaner has a clean bag in it, the broom, dustpan, mop and pail are all at the ready…and you just don’t know where to begin. The task just seems monumentally overwhelming and you are tempted to flop onto the sofa with a slab of chocolate and just ignore the whole thing.

There are two reasons for feeling this way: first, few of us were ever actually taught how to clean…we were just told to do it and left to our own devices. Second, contemplating cleaning a whole house…or in some cases, a whole room…can be a frightening experience if you don’t have the confidence that you know how to clean the space efficiently. In other words, if you don’t have a plan, the job looks a lot bigger than it really is!

But there are ways to break even the most overwhelming task into small, manageable chunks that are within your comfort level.

Making a plan, setting your goals
If making a plan seems overwhelming, too, take heart in knowing that the plan doesn’t need to be very specific, detailed, or even comprehensive. There is a simple basic plan that you can use as the starting point of your own: set yourself a series of goals and accomplish them one at a time.

For some people, even this may feel overwhelming. If the idea of making a plan has you thinking “I don’t know how to do that!” then simply make one goal, accomplish it, and then make another one. And the goal you make can be as simple and as small as “dust the blinds in the front window of this room.”

The secret, you see, is to set achievable goals. And the definition of “achievable” is as individual as the person setting the goal. You know the goal you have set is achievable when your gut says “I can do that!” Monitor your feelings: if your mind tells you the goal is achievable but you still feel overwhelmed, then the goal is really too ambitious. Don’t let ideas of “should” or “must” distract you…be true to your feelings and keep reducing the goal to smaller and simpler until you have that “I can do that!” feeling and start there.

Practical matters
Now that you know how to set goals that you can handle, you can move on to the practical matters. The first thing you must do is decide which room you will begin with. You will be most successful if you choose the room that requires the least amount of work. That’s because such a room will allow you to finish more quickly, giving you a feeling of accomplishment much quicker than if you choose a room that needs a large amount of attention. And that feeling of accomplishment is important because it has the psychological effect of making you feel like a winner…you got it done!...which encourages you to continue with your tasks.

Bathrooms and kitchens require a special set of cleaning techniques (which we will eventually cover), so it is best to select something less challenging to begin with. A bedroom, or even an entry hall or closet will be a great starting point, although a study, living room or dining room will serve as well. Choose your room, gather up your cleaning materials, and go to the door of the room.

Rolling up your sleeves and plunging in
You have already cleared the clutter and debris, you’ve assembled your cleaning supplies, and you’ve chosen a room, and you’ve set a goal…so now it is time to actually get going.

The first rules of cleaning:
1. Wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting wet, dirty, or stained. Pant legs should be at the ankle or higher so they don’t drag over wet floors, shoes should be waterproof (like rubber flip-flops, Crocs, or those neoprene gardening shoes). No dangly jewellery, and unless it is waterproof, no watch. It’s a good idea to leave your rings in a safe place, as well.

2. Do dry work before wet. This means you dust and sweep before you mop and polish.

3. Look around the room and choose a task. This will be your first goal, to accomplish that task. Remember to monitor your gut feeling. If you reduce the goal to a small, achievable task and still feel overwhelmed because you feel like the rest of the work is hanging over your head, get a pencil and paper and write down each thing you see that needs to be done. Once they are written down, you have a concrete plan and you are now in control of the work, it is no longer a huge, amorphous undertaking looming over your head. You can now choose something on the list as your first goal, knowing you can choose as many or as few as you want to do in the course of the day. You are in control now.

4. You can only accomplish one goal at a time, so focus on the one you have chosen to the exclusion of others. So, if you have chosen dusting the blinds as your first goal, don’t allow yourself to be distracted by the dirty windows you find beneath them…you can make those windows a subsequent goal after the blinds are done (write it on the list if you want).

First decision
Let’s assume your first goal is to dust the blinds in your bedroom. You take a cloth dampened with water (so it will collect the dust rather than scatter it into the air so it can land elsewhere) and with the blinds closed you wipe the slats from side to side. Now, you reverse the direction of the blinds so you can see the other side and, with a clean spot on the damp cloth, repeat the process. Then, just to make sure you’ve got it all, you wipe the horizontal header at the top, you wipe the cords that raise and lower the blinds, and you wipe the wand that you use to twist the blinds open or closed. Done!

You are now at a decision point: you can change to another task in the same room or, if you are feeling confident about dusting blinds, you can go to other rooms and repeat your success. There is no right or wrong choice here, you don’t have to completely clean one room before you move on to another (with the exception of kitchen and bath, which will be discussed later). Some people crave the big satisfaction jolt of standing in the doorway of a spotless room while others revel in the constant stream of little successes. Choose whatever feels right for you, but stick with the task you have chosen so you are on track to accomplishing your goal.

The How-To
So, you’ve made your decisions and your choices, you have a plan and the job doesn’t seem so daunting anymore, but there is just one more little problem…you don’t know how to actually clean. Or maybe you do, but the way you know how to do it is just so time-consuming and arduous.

In the next instalment we will look at some techniques (and plans) for cleaning a room…or a whole house…with the least amount of time and effort expended.

Before you clean, you need supplies...

2007-12-17T11:06:00.000+02:00

Once the disorder and chaos in your house is under control, it’s time to clean those areas that have been beneath the clutter. But first…where are your cleaning supplies?

If you are like most people, your cleaning supplies are scattered all over the house. There are some under the kitchen sink, some in the bathroom cabinet, still more in the laundry area or garage or basement. In order to clean efficiently (and that means quickly, getting it over with in as short a time as possible) you need a single, portable repository for your household cleaning supplies…and nothing works better than a good quality rectangular plastic laundry basket.

If you are tempted to think “oh, I know where everything is, I can skip this step,” think again. You need a cleaning basket. That means a basket with everything you are going to need must accompany you to the room…no excuses for leaving the room and getting distracted! Remember how your home got into this condition in the first place: lack of focus on the goal. By putting all of your cleaning supplies in one place, a place you can easily transport from room to room, you greatly increase your chances of success because you will not need to leave the room in which you are working to fetch additional supplies. Leaving the room breaks your focus and if you are distracted by something more interesting or compelling while you are out to get the bleach, you…and your clean up project…can get permanently stalled.

It’s not necessary to use a laundry basket, per se. You can substitute one of those wheeled storage containers or a large rectangular basket with handles or whatever suits your fancy, but nothing works as well for as little money as a laundry basket, and the rectangular shape accommodates more items than round or oval.

Setting up your cleaning basket

The first thing you must do is determine the kind of supplies will you need. For safety purposes, make sure that all containers in your basket are unbreakable (in case you drop them on the floor). Also, label all bottles into which you have decanted liquids: not only will you know what is in them, so will other people. And finally, never use beverage containers for cleaning supplies: you do not want to take the chance that a child will mistake your cleaning solutions for something drinkable!

What your cleaning basket needs:
1. A window cleaner that can be used for windows, mirrors, chrome, and other shiny surfaces. You can opt for one of those blue ammonia-based cleaners or you can mix up a solution of vinegar and water and put it in a spray bottle.

2. Scouring powder: You can purchase one of those chlorinated, bubble-action, super-duper scrubble bubble thingies…or you can put a cheap box of baking soda in the basket

3. Disinfectant: there are a million of them on the market but nothing is cheaper (or more effective) than plain old bleach. Buy a 1 quart bottle of bleach that you can keep in your cleaning basket and refill from the gallon bottle in your laundry area.

4. Degreaser: Add a bottle of your favourite degreaser for cleaning soap scum and those grease marks your kids leave in the strangest places. White vinegar, straight from the bottle, is an amazing degreaser and baking soda sprinkled on a damp sponge does well, too.

5. A bottle of your favourite dishwashing liquid is helpful. It’s amazing what plain old soap will clean.

6. Teak oil: Wood furniture loves teak oil: the oil penetrates and nourishes the wood, keeping it from drying out and giving it a warm, inviting look. Avoid wax build up on furniture by staying away from the aerosol products that spray waxes that seal the wood. What the manufacturers don’t tell you is that the wax should be periodically removed from the wood (in the old days we used to scrub it off with steel wool!), the wood cleaned, and then the wax re-applied. You can get around the whole thing by cleaning and polishing your wood furniture with teak oil on a soft cloth. (Works on wood floors, too.)

7. Water: yep, plain old water. You need something to dampen those sponges with!

8. A couple of rectangular reusable plastic containers (Glad or Ziploc or whatever you have in your plastics cupboard)

9. Rubber gloves. Invest in good-quality, flannel-lined gloves so that your hands don’t sweat inside them and your risk of puncture is reduced.

10. Sponges: two or three cellulose sponges, preferable the kind with the green scrubby thing on one side. If the sponges are not new, dampen them and put them in the microwave oven for one minute to sterilize them…or better yet, sterilize them at the end of your cleaning spree before they are stored.

11. Brushes: Several kinds of brushes are helpful for cleaning, but at minimum, a small stiff brush that can be used for scrubbing away grime, and a large stiff brush (one with a grip like a steam iron handle is particularly useful) for floors and large surfaces.

12. Rags: You will need something to clean with: the most economical option is rags…pieces of old cotton T-shirts, towels, and sheets work wonderfully! Once they have come to the end of their useful lives, cut them into 10” squares and use them for cleaning. They can be repeatedly laundered, and will save you a ton of money on disposables.

13. Paper: For certain tasks you really need paper instead of rags, but newspapers actually work better than paper towels and are much less costly. Save the paper towels for making poultices, where the newsprint might transfer onto the surface being soaked.

14. Toothpicks, cotton swabs: Sometimes the most difficult cleaning is not getting the grime off the door knob, it’s getting the little bits that are stuck in little crevices. These can often be removed using cotton swabs (to apply the cleaning solution) and toothpicks to gently scrub away the offending bits. Keep them in a zippered plastic bag in the basket.

15. Bags: Vacuum bags, trash bags…you need bags. Plastic supermarket bags make excellent liners for small trash cans around the house and are convenient additions to the cleaning basket. If your vacuum cleaner uses bags, this is the place to keep at least one.

What else you will need:
Well, this stuff won’t fit into your basket, but no cleaning effort is complete without

16. A vacuum cleaner with accessories. Not only can you suck up debris off the floor, the wand can be used to suck down cobwebs, and the various attachments are useful for draperies, blinds, and furniture. Sweep floors with a broom before vacuuming to remove large items the vacuum might choke on. You can also sweep carpets for the same purpose and spare your vacuum (and your wallet) the trauma of burning out the motor due to a clog.

17. Make sure your broom is in good nick. If it is worn to a point, replace it.

18. Brush and dust pan: these are not absolute necessities, but they do make it easier to pick up your sweepings and discard them.

19. Mops: You should actually have two mops: one for your floors and another for walls and ceilings. Yes…the easiest way to clean a ceiling or wall is with a sponge mop!

20. Mop pail: some thing in which to mix up a mopping solution

Now, you may have noticed a few things are conspicuously missing:

Feather or lambs wool duster. Feather dusters just scatter the dust around so it can settle back down onto your furniture later. Lambs wool dusters collect the dust better than feather dusters, but you have to leave the room and take them outside to whack them and remove the dust…leaving the room you are cleaning before you are finished with the task at hand (dusting, in this case) is a no-no.

Mop and shine products: these things are not good on all types of floors and they leave a sticky residue behind. Sticky residues attract dirt, which means you have to clean more often.

Carpet cleaner/spot removers: most of these products also leave a sticky residue behind. You end up with dirtier carpets than you began with.

Sprinkle-on carpet deodorizers: a complete waste of money: baking soda does just as well and at a fraction of the cost.

Toilet bowl or bathroom cleaner: Save yourself a ton of money: pour a cup of bleach in the toilet, let it soak, then don your rubber gloves, sprinkle some baking soda on a sponge, and give it a wash. Cheap, sanitary, and fast. (Keep this sponge separate from the other cleaning sponges…use it only for cleaning the toilet.)

Now that you have a cleaning basket, you will need a place to keep it. Best bet is to find a cupboard into which it can be slid, but whatever you choose, do not put in a difficult-to-reach space, and don’t leave it in a place where you or other will be tempted to toss things on top of it (like on top of the dryer).

With your cleaning supplies assembled, you are now ready to tackle those rooms you rescued from disorder and disarray…just how to do it without being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task is our next instalment.

House a cluttery mess? Try the Laundry Basket Treatment!

2007-12-16T12:55:00.000+02:00

Bet you thought laundry baskets were just for laundry, didn’t you? Well, they actually have an amazing versatility, not the least of which is their usefulness when blitz-cleaning a messy room.

I used to be the queen of the untidy house. With a full-time job, a husband, three kids, an assortment of dogs and cats, a five-bedroom house, and no maid or cleaner, I was housework-challenged. My husband was firmly of the opinion that housework was “woman’s work,” a sentiment eagerly embraced by the boys, and my teen daughter…well, let’s say that if there was a clear path from her bedroom door to her bed (so I wouldn’t impale my foot on some buried artefact while delivering clean laundry), it just wasn’t worth the effort to tangle with her roiling hormones.

With so much house and so little time to keep it, it was an endless chore to keep things picked up. I also tended to get distracted…I would begin cleaning the living room by picking up dirty glasses and cups and toting them to the kitchen, where I would get distracted by a couple of kid’s sweaters on the table which I would carry to their rooms…where I would get further distracted by attempting to collect dirty laundry from the debris-strewn floors. End result? hours spent running from room to room with little bits of the mess, and none of the rooms ever getting tidied up.

I can remember my mother telling me “clean your room!” and being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task and baffled as to where to start. Helping my youngest child, who suffered from ADD and learning disabilities, to clean up his room taught me a few valuable lessons. First of all, “clean up” is too vague: the task needs to be broken down into smaller steps. And secondly, what do you do with something once you have picked it up? If the item in your hand belongs in the kitchen, can you stay on task long enough to take it to the kitchen and return to the room? And how many trips to the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, etc. are you going to make? And at what cost, in terms of time?

I came across the solution to my untidy house quite by accident. Having a mountain of laundry to do each weekend, I had invested in a stack of large rectangular laundry baskets into which I could sort the various loads and easily carry them to and from the washer and dryer. While upstairs gathering laundry from a bedroom one day, I stuck a few items that belonged downstairs into an empty laundry basket so that I could carry them easily back to their place of origin. Pulling dirty clothes out of another room, I spotted some items belonging to the kitchen and put them into an empty basket for easy removal. It didn’t take long for me to take this to the next level, and in a short time, I evolved a system that has stood me in good stead until this day (those children now have teenagers of their own!).

Here's how it works:

Invest in at least three large rectangular laundry baskets: you can get more, but get them in multiples of three. Boxes will work, but they aren’t as sturdy or as versatile and they exude a subliminal message of “storage” to which you do not want to succumb. The ultimate objective is to put possessions away and throw away trash, not to store the stuff.

Now, mentally label the baskets “Here,” “Another Room,” and “Trash.”

Take the baskets to the first room to be cleaned, put them near the door, and begin. Go through the room, starting at the door, and pick up each item that is on the floor, bed, tables…everything that is out of place…and place the items in one of the baskets. If a basket gets full, do not empty it! This will distract you from your task of removing the clutter from the room. Either pile stuff around it or bring in another basket. If an item is too large to fit into a basket, put it beside the appropriate basket. The objective here is to clear the room of clutter in an organized manner, and in such a way that you will not get distracted by other tasks in other parts of the house.

When all the bits and pieces have been cleared away, take the trash basket outside and empty it, returning to the room with an empty basket. Now, take the basket you mentally labelled “here” and remove each piece and put it in its proper place in the room. You will now have two (or more) empty baskets.

Now, go through the “Another room” baskets and sort the contents into the baskets you just emptied. Perhaps you’ll have “Kitchen,” “Family Room,” and “Kids’ Rooms” baskets. Maybe you'll have "Upstairs," "Basement," and "Patio" baskets...mentally label the baskets according to need. Now take those baskets to the appropriate spaces.

Chances are, each of those spaces need the Laundry Basket Treatment, too, so just put the baskets down at the appropriate doors and mentally label them “Here.” Bring in two empty baskets for the trash and things that belong in another room, and repeat the process in each room.

You’ll notice that no dusting, sweeping, vacuuming or other cleaning has been done…there is a reason for that. It is important to stay focussed on the immediate task…removing clutter and restoring order to the rooms. Cleaning, which is actually a different set of tasks from restoring order, can be done after each room has been relieved of its accumulated clutter. Order brings a sense of calm, disorder brings a sense of chaos, and if you are feeling unsettled and anxious, it scatters your energy. Hence the importance of focussing intently on only one task…restoring order to a space through the removal of those things that do not belong in it and putting the remaining items in their proper places.

When your whole house has been restored to order, then it is time to clean. We’ll talk about that next time.

Saving More Money: 25 Cheap Tricks with 1 Ordinary Product

2007-12-14T19:42:00.000+02:00

We all now know about the magic of that neglected superstar of cleaning, white vinegar. But what we may not know is that there is another economical, versatile product lurking in almost every home, something that’s cheap to buy, easy to use, is totally non-toxic, and has a variety of practical uses. What are we talking about? Sodium bicarbonate or ordinary baking soda!

Baking soda has a multitude of uses in cleaning and deodorizing. It is a very mild abrasive, which makes it useful for cleaning items that you don’t want to scratch, like the interior of your refrigerator, and its ability to absorb odours is legendary. Here are just 25 of the many things you can do, cheaply and easily, with plain old baking soda:

Stinky stuff:

1 Deodorize and clean cutting boards: baking soda is safe to ingest (indeed…we use it in cooking!), so it is safe to use on food preparation surfaces. If your cutting board is retaining odours despite a good wash with soap and water, sprinkle baking soda on a clean damp sponge, scrub the cutting board, and rinse clean. (To ensure the sponge is clean and germ-free, microwave it for one minute before using it.)

2. Garbage disposal odours: Pour about one third of a cup baking soda into the disposal followed by one or two squirts of dish washing liquid. Turn on the disposal for 15-30 seconds (with cold water running). If the odour persists, repeat the procedure, this time adding half a lemon (peel and all) and run the disposal for 60 seconds.

3. Refrigerator odours: Simply tear the top off a box of baking soda and place it near the back of the fridge. Replace monthly. (Don’t discard the used baking soda, though…you can re-use it for cleaning!) Once a month, clean the fridge with a baking soda solution (see below).

4. Freezer odours: sprinkle baking soda on paper plates, one for each shelf or basket. Leave the baking soda in the freezer for 24 hours, then remove and discard.

5. Vegetable crisper/meat keeper: If your refrigerator drawers have an aromatic life of their own, try sprinkling a thin layer of baking soda on the bottom of each drawer. Cover the baking powder with a piece of paper towelling to prevent baking soda from transferring to the food. In crispers, this can help keep vegetables from wilting. Replace monthly.

6. Lunch bag: has your zippered lunch bag developed a kind of funky odour that washing can’t seem to remove? Wash the bag, dry with a towel, then sprinkle ¼ cup of baking soda inside. Now zip it shut and shake thoroughly. Allow to sit overnight, then unzip and wipe clean inside. Smell will be gone!

7. Plastic ware, including baby bottles: if you have ever had milk or formula sour in a baby’s bottle, you know how difficult it can be to get the smell out! Soak the offending item in a baking soda solution overnight, then wash and rinse clean. No more sour milk smell!

8. Diaper pail: you’ve done the ecologically friendly thing and gone with cloth diapers…now avoid harsh chemicals and deodorize your diaper pail with baking soda. Sprinkle a little in the bottom of your clean, empty diaper pail and sprinkle a bit on each diaper as you add it to the pail. Not only will the odour be controlled, the baking soda will help clean and deodorize the diapers during laundering, leaving them sparkling clean!

9. Cat litter box: just as baking soda does is great job neutralizing diaper odours, it can help with your cat’s litter box as well. When preparing a fresh litter box for your cat, sprinkle a layer of baking soda in the bottom of the box before adding the litter. It will help absorb odours and, as kitty scratches in the box, it will be mixed with and spread throughout the litter.

10. Stinky shoes? Smelly feet? Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of baking soda in each shoe. Tap the shoes together to distribute the soda throughout the shoes. Allow to stand overnight, then dump the soda out and discard. Be sure to tap the shoes firmly to dislodge any clingy bits. Done regularly, your shoes will cease to retain odours and the residual baking soda inside the shoes will help deodorize your feet as well.

11. Mops: has your spaghetti mop taken on a sour smell? Rather than discard it and spend money on a new one, try this first: make a solution of 1 cup baking soda, ½ cup salt, one quart warm water. Soak the mop head in this solution for half a day, then rinse in clear water and wring dry. To prevent the mop from souring in the future, rinse thoroughly then allow to fully dry before storing.

12. Vacuum cleaner pumping out funky air? Add ½ to 1 cup of baking soda to your vacuum cleaner’s bag or dirt cup before using.

13. Pet beds: Vacuum regularly and sprinkle with baking soda. A sprinkle on Fido, brushed in, won’t go amiss either.

14. Garbage cans, trash bins: by their very nature, these items are prone to collecting odours. After collection, wash out bin with garden hose, turn upside down to drain thoroughly, then sprinkle a layer of baking soda in the bottom. Once a month or so, clean the inside of the bin with a baking soda solution (see below).

Cleaning stuff:

15. Fridge Cleaning: remove everything from the refrigerator, including the shelves, bins, and door shelves. Make a solution of ½ cup baking soda to 1 quart warm water and pour into the bins to soak the bottoms. In a bowl, make a solution of ½ cup baking soda to 1 quart warm water and carry it to the fridge with a fresh sponge (microwave for 1 minute to kill germs if it is not a new sponge). Wipe down the inside of the fridge, with this solution, during with a soft cloth as you go. Wash shelves, door shelves and bins with a warm baking soda solution, rinse, dry with a soft cloth, and return to the fridge. Restock the fridge, discarding items as necessary and wiping jars and bottles with a baking soda solution before returning them to the fridge. Place an open box of baking soda at the back of the fridge to retard odours.

16. Battery posts on your car: if your car is difficult to start and the battery has blue-green corrosion around the posts, a solution of baking soda may remedy the problem for you. Corrosion on battery posts can retard the flow of electricity from the battery to your starter, making your car difficult to start. Clean the posts with a solution of baking soda, but be sure to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the corrosion. Rinse with clear water, dry with paper towels (not cloth or reusable wipes).

17. Cleaning garbage bins: Rinse bins with garden hose. Make a solution of 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup salt, and 2 quarts warm water. Pour into bin and wash interior of bin with a mop. Stuff that is stuck to the bin can be scoured with a sponge: sprinkle baking soda onto the sponge and use as an abrasive. Rinse thoroughly with garden hose, turn upside down to drain. When dry, sprinkle a generous layer of baking soda inside to absorb odours.

18. Jewellery: Jewellery can be cleaned with a paste of baking soda and water and an old toothbrush. Even costume jewellery can be cleaned as long as the paste is not left on long enough to soften the glue that holds the “jewels” in place.

19. Cleaning stains from marble: some people don’t realize until it is too late that marble is porous and it stains. It makes beautiful kitchen counter and table tops, but it can be a chore to keep clean. If you find stains and discolorations on your beautiful marble, or if your bisque figurines have been dulled with accumulated grime, try cleaning them with a baking soda solution: 3 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water.

For stubborn stains on marble, make a paste of baking soda, a squeeze of lemon juice, and water. Scrub affected area with a circular motion and rinse with clear water. If the stain persists, make a thick paste of lemon juice, water and baking soda, apply to the stain, cover with plastic and allow to work for 24 hours. Remove the paste (use a wood or plastic spatula if it has dried…never metal) and rinse area with clear water.

20. Oil stains on garage floor? Baking soda will leach oil out of concrete! Sprinkle a thick layer of baking soda over the stain and allow to sit for 24 hours. Sweep up the baking soda and discard. Repeat as necessary.

21. Burnt or scorched food stuck to a pan? Moisten the affected areas and apply baking soda thickly. Allow to stand overnight, then scrub clean.

22. Sludgy drains? Try putting a cup of baking soda down the offending drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. Wait 2 or 3 minutes, then flush with water.

23. Bathtub rings: dry baking soda applied to a damp sponge acts as a mild abrasive that will quickly remove those scummy bathtub rings.

Other uses:
24. Take the discomfort out of bee, wasp, and hornet stings: Make a thick paste of baking soda and water and apply to the sting. Leave on for at least five minutes.

25. Fire safety: Keep a box of baking soda, preferably already opened, anywhere you use open flame or the danger of combustion exists. Ideal places are near the kitchen stove, the fireplace, and the barbeque. A box in the workshop can be a lifesaver if a spark from grinding or sanding goes awry. It’s not a perfect substitute for a fire extinguisher, but certainly better than water, which can spread grease fires and conduct electricity in electrical fires.

Saving Money: 12 practical uses for one inexpensive product!

2007-12-14T19:38:00.000+02:00

Did you know that one of the most useful…and economical…items you can have in your cabinet is a half gallon bottle of white vinegar?

Seriously! Take a look at some of the things you can do with it…

1. Windows: A solution of white vinegar and water (about 50/50) and some old newspapers will get your windows and mirrors just as clean as those blue window cleaners and paper towels, and is much kinder to your pocket.

2. Glassware and crystal: Other glassware, like stemware, glass vases, even your spectacles, will benefit from a quick polish with some white vinegar and a bit of newsprint, and is non-toxic as well!

3. Sunburn: got a painful sunburn? Compresses of white vinegar…or just stand in the tub and pour the vinegar over your shoulders and back…takes the sting right out! You will smell like a salad, but you won’t hurt nearly so much!

4. Boiled eggs: do you have a problem with eggs cracking when you boil them? For every dozen eggs you are boiling, add half a cup of white vinegar to the water. If the eggs crack, the white stuff will not leak out.

5. Poached eggs: tired of all that filmy floaty stuff in the water in your poached egg pan? Add a tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of white vinegar to the water before you slip the eggs in. The eggs will not have a vinegar taste, but they will look lovely and compact.

6. Souring milk/cream: does a recipe call for sour cream, soured milk, or buttermilk and you don’t have any? Pour out the requisite amount of liquid and add vinegar in a ratio of one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of liquid. Stir quickly and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Voila!

7. Urine smell: puppy have an accident on the carpet or tiles, and now keeps coming back to that spot? Soak the area with white vinegar, straight from the bottle (do not soak wood or laminate floors). Remove excess moisture with folded towels. Repeat as necessary. Vinegar neutralizes the ammonia smell that sends a “Here’s the toilet!” message to dogs and cats.

8. Cat squirt: got one of those cheeky cats that simply will not stay off the couch or kitchen counter tops? Fill a trigger-spray bottle with a solution of water and white vinegar. You can start with a 50% solution, but if the animal is recalcitrant, you can increase it up to 75% vinegar. Set the spray on stream (as opposed to mist) and keep it with you. When the cat misbehaves, shout “NO!” very loudly and squirt the cat. The vinegar will not harm the cat, but cats hate the smell. Eventually the cat will associate the command “NO!” with the wet smelly stuff and then you won’t need the squirt bottle any more.

9. Coffee machines, steam irons: Coffee machines, steam irons, and other appliances that use water are prone to developing deposits that clog them up and produce icky tastes. Shower heads are also prone to clogging with scale. Run your coffee machine with a 50% solution of white vinegar, then rinse thoroughly and run again with pure water; fill your steam iron with a 50% solution of white vinegar and press the button to get the steaming action to go. Hold the iron over an old towel or some newspaper, as it will spit and sputter. For showerheads, soak the showerhead in pure white vinegar and clear out the holes with a toothpick or pin. Rinse thoroughly. Caution: vinegar is an acid and may corrode some shower head finishes, so test first on an unobtrusive spot.

10. Copper and brass: Assuming your old copper kettle or brass gewgaws aren't covered with a protective coating, vinegar can clean them like magic. Just add salt. Yep, a little vinegar to cut the oxidation and a little salt for grit, plus a little elbow-grease from you and your copper and brass goodies will shine good as new. This is especially good for copper-bottomed pots as it is non-toxic, user-friendly, and best of all, cheap!

11. Jewellery cleaner: Soak your fine jewellery (diamond rings, gold studs, etc.) in vinegar to dissolve the dulling film they pick up from soaps, conditioners, even oils from your skin. For costume jewellery, test first on an unobtrusive spot to make sure it will not discolour, and use with caution on costume pieces using glue.

12. Removing soap scum: Vinegar cuts soap scum. If you have a serious build-up, it may take several attempts to remove it all, but once it is gone, wipe down your tub, shower doors and bathroom windows with vinegar and newspaper to keep them sparkling. Vinegar will even keep your shower curtain free of soap scum and mildew: just spray it weekly!

As you can see, white vinegar is truly a versatile product, good for more than making salad dressing or pickles. So save yourself a little dosh the next time you cruise through the supermarket: skip the cleaning products aisle and head for the white vinegar!

22 Ways to Pinch Pennies and Make your Money go Further

2007-12-14T19:21:00.000+02:00

Like it or not, food prices are going up. It’s inevitable, after all…everything goes up eventually…but for some reason prices have this nasty habit of going up faster than salaries.

Economizing at the grocery store (along with reducing electricity and fuel use) is an effective method of belt tightening, but a surprising number of people just don’t understand how to shop in such a way to reduce their costs. Here are a few tips:

1. Stick a piece of paper to the refrigerator door with a magnet and put a pen on top of the fridge. Each time you run low (don’t wait until you are completely out) on something, write it on the piece of paper. At the end of the week you will have a list of the things that you need to buy at the store. Stick to the list (with the exceptions noted below).

2. Buy items you use a lot of in bulk quantities. For example, buying toilet paper one roll at a time is the most costly way of doing it. Buy the largest quantity you can (9 or 12 roll pack of TP, for example), especially when it is on sale. This does not apply to perishables unless you can freeze them: you can freeze butter, for example, but not apples.

3. Stock up on things that are on sale and will not spoil before you use them: toilet paper, pasta in sealed cello bags, rice, sugar (if you can store it in air-tight containers), cleaning and laundry supplies. When possible, shop at warehouse-type stores card and buy such items as laundry soap and bleach in large containers. Skip expensive pre-treating compounds and use a paste of laundry soap and water to treat stains.

4. Reduce your use of chemical cleaners: use white vinegar (and newspaper) to clean glass and mirrors, to polish surfaces. Use salt and vinegar for scouring brass and copper. Purchase a store-brand multi-purpose cleaner in large containers for general purpose cleaning and decant into smaller spray bottles. Buy kitchen liquid soap in a gallon-sized container and decant it into a smaller bottle for daily use. Use laundry bleach to clean your toilet and shower. Teak oil is much less expensive than such things as Pledge and your wood loves it better: use it for wood furniture (indoors and out), natural wood floors, door and window frames.

5. Canned foods that you use frequently…tuna or canned fruits and veg…purchase in quantity when they are on sale or buy in quantity. Do not, however, purchase large cans unless you can use the entire contents in a day or two, otherwise the product will spoil.

6. If you use zipper-type plastic bags, buy the best brands and wash and re-use the bags. Cheap bags don’t last and ultimately cost more in the long run (because you have to keep replacing them).

Convenience is costly
7. Wean yourself away from disposable stuff. Instead of paper towels, buy reusable wipes and run them through the laundry. To keep them from shredding in the wash, cut the leg off an old pair of pantyhose (surely you save those things…don’t we all?) and put the wipes inside the leg, knot it shut, and toss in the wash with your jeans.

8. Give up expensive habits: stop smoking; stop take out; make fast food a treat rather than a regular alternative to cooking. Stop buying soft drinks…make them an occasional treat rather than a part of daily life. Water is better for you than coffee, tea, or cola, anyway. Not bottled water…tap water. Water quality questionable? Boil the water and store it in clean containers for drinking.

9. At the store, buy seasonal fruits only. Out-of-season fruits and veg, no matter how tempting to your taste buds, are a disaster to your pocket.

10. Think before you buy…learn to calculate the cost per unit so that you can intelligently compare prices…you could get some big surprises! You would think that it would be cheaper to buy whole fruit and cut it yourself rather than buy fruit already sliced, right? Well, if pre-cut strawberries and whole strawberries are the same price, the cut berries are actually a better buy because you aren’t buying any waste. It isn’t until the cut strawberries cost more than the whole berries (with green tops on) that the whole berries are the better buy.

11. The same applies to meat, where there can be a lot of waste. Meat should be purchased on a “cost per serving” basis rather than “cost per pound.” You see, if you buy cheap hamburger, you are buying a lot of fat that will be rendered out during cooking, reducing the amount of actual meat per serving. Look at a piece of meat and try to figure out how much of it is fat, gristle, and bone…you will pay for these bits at the same price you pay for the meat, but you will throw that stuff away. So, if you pay $7 for a pound of meat that is 50% waste, you are actually paying $7 for half a pound of edible meat, or $14 per pound for the meat. Rather than throw away half of your money in the form of bones, fat and gristle, buy a smaller quantity of a higher quality meat…save money and improve the quality of your meals.

12. When meats are on sale, buy a larger quantity than usual then, at home, cut the extra into serving size pieces and freeze. Wrap in foil or put in zipper freezer bags, both of which can be cleaned and re-used. When available and on sale, buy large quantities of chicken parts and make up meal-sized packets for freezing.

13. Do your meal planning in the market: upon entering, go directly to the meat department to see which meat/poultry/fish are on special. Choose your meats for the week, deciding at the time of purchase what you are going to prepare with each one. Then, go to the produce department and collect the necessary produce for the meals, concentrating on the items on sale. Stay away from specialty produce, like endive and baby corn, and concentrate on staples like potatoes and carrots (the cheapest ones, not the peeled baby carrots!), and flavourful items like onion and garlic.

14. Cook things that the leftovers can be the basis of another meal. Make a bigger beef roast than usual, serve only two-thirds of it. Keep back the other third for the basis of a stew the following day. Serve a roasted chicken, then use the leftover bones, skin, and meat as the base of a chicken soup or stew the following day.

15. Take advantage of inexpensive meats like smoked ham hocks that can be used to flavour a pot of dried beans, split peas, or lentils and make a delicious, filling meal at a remarkably low cost.

16. Make meatless meals out of seasonal vegetables: leek and potato soup, or even just potato soup. Eggs…omelettes, for example, or frittatas…are not just for breakfast, you know.

17. Make hamburger go further by making dishes like spaghetti sauce, chili con carne or tamale pie. Make a meatloaf, meatballs, or hamburger patties using bread (soak in water and wring out) or oatmeal as an extender.

18. Eliminate brand name cereals: buy store-brand cereals and make cooked oatmeal (not instant) for breakfast. Liven up the flavour with a drizzle of honey, some sliced fruit, or a spoonful of jam.

19. Pack lunches for family members. Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and most children love peanut butter sandwiches. A piece of fruit, a tub of store-brand yoghurt, and a bottle of fruit juice (not those expensive juice boxes…decant juice that you buy in large containers into smaller plastic bottles), and perhaps one or two cookies makes a fine lunch. Instead of expensive cold cuts, make egg or tuna salad (lots of protein, inexpensive). And buy cheese in blocks rather than slices, and use a cheese slicer to cut sandwich-sized slices.

20. Shop at a low cost supermarket…you can save hundreds by staying out of the premium, high-end stores.

21. Don’t waste precious fuel by driving from one market to the next to take advantage of every market’s sale. Spending $1 on gas to save a nickel on peas is penny wise and dollar foolish.

22. Whenever possible, grow your own: tomatoes can be grown in pots on even a small balcony, and you can plant a dwarf lemon or orange tree in a half barrel…and then plant leaf lettuce (which you will harvest by cutting leaves carefully off the plant, allowing it to grow even more) in a circle around the tree trunk. Voila! Free salad!

Not all of these suggestions work for every household, but employing as many as you can will surely reduce the amount of money you fork over to the market every month.