SPRING CLEANING YEAR ROUND by Debbie Williams
Spring is right around the corner, and you know what THAT means - the pressure to clean and declutter our domicile is upon us! Few of us keep our homes or apartments as spotless as our grandmothers or even mothers did, but I can teach you a few tricks of the trade to keep your home in tip-top shape throughout the year. Spot Clean as You Go - Once a month or even quarterly, vacuum the perimeter of each room of your home. No need to do this all at once - just choose one room a month and by the year's end, you've chased the gribblies (a.k.a. dust bunnies) from your corners and behind your bed. Dust Bunnies, Beware - On a regular basis, use a blow dryer to blast the dust off silk plants and greenery. Be sure to set your dryer on LOW or you'll be smelling burnt plastic for days! Toss pillow shams and comforters into the clothes dryer, add a dryer sheet, and turn the dial to AIR. Tackle the toss pillows and afghans next. Things will smell nice and fresh, and you'll save a bundle on the dry cleaning bills. Touch Up - Keep a quart of paint handy to touch up walls and trim inside your house. Once a month, go through your house with a small plastic cup, a sponge brush, and your bifocals to catch all those chair nicks, sneaker scuffs, and toy car tracks on your walls. Be sure to think like a kid- riding toys leave terrible dings in the door trim, and you'll probably discover a pencil track or two. This tip may sound very time-consuming, but I've touched up the walls of my house for the entire six years I've lived in it, and I have yet to repaint an entire room. (Well, come to think of it, maybe by now I literally have!) Using quick and dirty tricks like these will add spring in your step and sparkle to your life. But I can't guarantee that these cleaning techniques work on monsters under the bed - you'll need industrial strength monster spray for that cleaning challenge! ---- Debbie Williams is an organizing coach, parent educator, and founder of the online organizing forum, OrganizedTimes.com . *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Journey from clutter List Website http://journeyfromclutter.com Members Only Page http://journeyfromclutter.com/MembersOnly/MembersArea.htm Unsubscribe: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word 'unsubscribe' in the 'Subject:' field to be removed from the main list. To Unsubscribe from the Digest version of the list send the unsubscribe message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
