 Challenge #1: Spring Cleaning With Attitude - The Supplies!
It's dust bunny season!
We are going Spring Cleaning with Attitude!
Retailers, marketers, and advertisers are doing their best to
convince us that Spring starts by shopping in their stores. According
to the ads, we need new tools, new bottles of cleaners (with a spring
stink, I mean "scent"), a new sweeping appliance, a new vacuum
appliance, and new dusting appliances. We also need new plastic
totes, new shelving units, and a new bathroom cupboard organizer. Oh,
and don't forget the wicker baskets, the stacked boxes, and the fancy
hangers to use in your newly organized closet. Cha ching, cha ching!
At Cindy's Porch, spring cleaning starts by SHOPPING at home FIRST.
Let's see what we have already paid for and put it to use.
Are you ready? First off, if it is warm enough, open a couple
windows. Let the fresh smells of spring into your home. This "scent"
is real and doesn't cost a cent.
Then, fill your home with great music. Josh Groban is going to get a
workout in my home! Now, let's get started.
- The cleaning chemicals: Where do you store your cleaning
chemicals? Perhaps it is under the kitchen sink. Maybe under the
bathroom sink. We keep ours in a cupboard in the laundry room (along
with a lot of other stuff). Today, we are going in. I want to know
what I already have in the home.
If you keep your cleaning supplies under the sink or in a cupboard,
haul everything out. If you find trash, put it into the trash bag
right away. If you find stuff that you don't want anymore, add it to
a cardboard box for a future garage sale or donation run. If you find
stuff that doesn't belong, put it away right away. Then set aside the
stuff you want to keep.
When the cupboard/shelf is empty, vacuum out the crumbs, and wipe
down the insides with a damp rag. While you are in there, look for
signs of water damage, spills, or other wear and tear. This is
something you DON"T want to procrastinate on because it will end up
costing you more down the road. Start a "FIX IT" list and post it to
the fridge. If you are into shelf paper (I'm not, but my mom is), now
is a good time to put some fresh paper out.
Now how many bottles of cleaning chemicals did you find? Do you have
enough window cleaner, floor cleaner, and other cleaners to make it
through the month? Before you ask, my favorite cleaners are the ones
I have already paid for. SHOP at home FIRST.
If you have the time, go through the other shelves in the same
cupboard/closet. Ours has a huge pile of grocery bags collected
throughout the winter, TWO families of dust bunnies, plus a pile of
other stuff that needs to be sorted.
- The Manual Cleaning Appliances: Where do you keep your manual
cleaning appliances? This would be the things you use to wipe with,
wash with, and dust with. Rags, dusting cloths, sponges, brooms,
mops, pails, mop squeezer-outers (whatever they are called LOL),
pumice stones, brushes, old toothbrushes (you only need a couple),
and anything else that you use when cleaning.
Toss out any rags or sponges that are disgusting. Just get rid of
them. In the trash. Out they go! Did you find any buckets with a hole
in the bottom? Out they go. Did you find 20 ice cream pails? Do you
need 20 ice cream pails? Been there, done that – there is a lot more
room when I only keep one or two. Take a look at your mop. Regardless
of whether you use a string mop, sponge mop or other type of mop, see
if it is in any condition to actually clean the floors. I simply use
a pail of hot soapy water and a coarse rag to wash my floors (just
don't use a head-set phone at the same time – it doesn't work too
well after it falls in the bucket of water!). Whenever possible, I
also use a couple kids to wash the floors - hee hee.
Take a look at your broom or whatever you use to sweep the floors.
Does it actually sweep the floors? Or does it leave bristles or fuzzy
bits on the ground? Can you find the dustpan that goes along with it?
Our dustpan is usually out partying with the dust bunnies! The kids
always seem to be able to find it though (smile)
Take a quick inventory of those manual cleaning appliances. Do you
have enough to get you through the month? Vacuum out the
cupboard/closet/corner etc that store your manual cleaning appliances
in. Wipe down the walls and floor with a damp cloth.
- The Electric Cleaning Appliances: In our home, this is the
vacuum cleaner, the shop-vac (the "boy" vacuum LOL), and the steam
cleaner. This may sound backwards, but we are going to replace the
bag BEFORE we start spring cleaning. WHY? Because the vacuum will
work better. While you are replacing the bag, quickly check the
filter (perhaps it needs a quick cleaning), check the belt for wear
and tear, and check the beater brush. Ours gets a lot of strings
wrapped around the brush. Also, look for blockages in the hose. If
you happened to have a real Christmas tree and decided to vacuum the
needles, there is a good chance that some of them may have become
lodged in the hose. If you have hairy dogs like us, those needles and
the hair combine to create the "monster hair ball" in the hose. Also,
hunt down all the pieces that go with the vacuum (especially the
brush attachment and that skinny nozzle attachment – they are going
to be handy when we get into those tight spots). Lastly, give your
vacuum a quick wipe with a damp rag. This guy is going to get put to
work this month, he may as well look nice.
That's it. You SHOPPED at home FIRST and your spring cleaning tools
are ready to go (and the spot you keep them in looks a little nicer
too).
Take care of you,
Cindy
Return to "Spring-Cleaning With Attitude!"
|
