Everyday Clever: Simplifying Cleaning

So, I hate to admit it, but I'm a little obsessive compulsive. I clean my house every weekend, religiously...even if it's not that dirty. Although, having two animals that shed does give me plenty of reason to feel that I need to clean, regardless.

To add to the whole OCDness of "cleaning religiously", I always clean my house in a particular order--an entire room, one room at a time--first the kitchen, then the dining room, the living room, the master bedroom & bath, guest bath...and so on. I'm not sure how the order was originally determined, but it was, and I follow it...every weekend. But, after a period of time, it was taking too long and, since I try not to "cut corners", I had to figure out a different way and make it work.

Not too long after that, I read somewhere in a magazine (not sure which magazine, though) that cleaning your house one room at a time lengthens the cleaning process and that, instead, you should complete one task at a time on every room before moving on.

For example; start by dusting everything in your house, then, clean all of the mirrors and windows at one time, after that, clean all of the toilets and sinks, from there, empty all of the trash cans, and finally, sweep and mop all of the floors. See, by task, not room.

Anyway, it definitely works! I was able to shave 45 min- 1 hr. off of my cleaning routine and still have the satisfaction of knowing that I did it thoroughly.

Maybe you're not like me and you don't clean your house very often, either because you don't care or because you don't have time. Either way, here are some other useful cleaning tips that I thought you'd enjoy. :)

1. Listen to music while you clean--apparently studies have shown that listening to music while you work can help you complete tasks more quickly and efficiently.

2. Use a bottle brush to clear out the lint that won't come out on the lint tray of your dryer.

3. Use a disinfectant wipe to clean remote controls, light switches & switch plates, toilet handles, door knobs, and kitchen drawer pulls. These are places commonly forgotten to clean where germs breed.

4. White vinegar is your best friend--you can use it for everything from washing clothes to cleaning toilets to cutting the mineral deposits on bath and sink faucets.

5. Throw your oven knobs and sink strainers in the dishwasher to clean out those "hard to reach" areas.

6. Periodically vacuum the refrigerator air in-take on the bottom portion of the fridge--it reduces how hard that the fridge has to work and will help your energy bill.

7. Put a coffee mug with water and a few slices of lemon in your microwave--run the microwave on high power for three minutes and then let the mug of water and lemon sit inside the machine for another 3 minutes. The steam will soften the food splatter inside and the lemon will help eliminate odors.

8. Fill the dishwasher detergent cup with white vinegar and run an empty cycle or dump a packet of powdered lemonade into the cup and run the washer empty. The citric acid will break up stains and help with any odors.