Time Management Tips to Survive the Holidays

Oh boy. Here it comes...

The next few weeks are going to be abolutely insane. Snow, ice, Christmas trees, decorating, gifts,

And don't forget, you still have to work, get the kids off to school, cook, clean...

You know, doing things in a ritualistic way can help you get through it all. Rituals are really just habits. Just get yourself in a groove and things get done sort of on auto-pilot.

Here's a great article on how to use rituals to survive chaos >>>

And hey, while you're watching TV this week - get those Christmas cards done!

Have a great day :)

Dinner at Sis's

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

With all the commotion going on in the family this year, I didn't make dinner :(
I love making Thanksgiving Dinner and having ahouse full of people. Call me weird.

I couldn't go to my dad's because my other half-sister just had part ofher lung cut out due to cancer, and I have a bit of a cold. So my other half-sister decided she was going to make dinner and have a neighbor family over.

So, I went. I don't go over there too much because all I want to do is start cleaning crud off stuff. But she's unemployed now, so it should be better, right?

The living room was clean.

The dining room table was clean. No, not the whole dining room, just the table.

Now you don't expect the kitchen to be a showcase when there's been big cooking going on all day, but...

I decide I'm going to help getting some of the dishes cleaned and out of the way. In the dishpan was yellow murky water that they had been washing dishes in. Not to be too condesending, I refrained from re-washing the dishes they had already washed. I picked up the dish pan to dump it out and put fresh water in and almost passed out. At that point I thought, oh my god, I'm actually going to eat here...

I shut up and tried to put my clean freakiness aside for the day. But it amazes me how we turned out so different. She truly is trailer trash. Now, don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that I don't love her. She has a heart of gold. In the grand scheme of things, I would say she's a better person than me. But...

We did have a nice dinner. Everything was really good. After sitting and talking for a while, I got up and started cleaning. I tried to be really discreet about cleaning behind things, and scraping paint off the sink and faucets, and stuff like that. I got the kitchen about half clean, but I needed them to be putting things away, and they just weren't interested. Heck, if you have someone cleaning your house for free, don't you think you'd do whatever it took to keep it going?

But they don't really care.

Clean Freaks think slobs have a sickness.

Slobs think clean freaks are the sick ones.

And so the world turns....

---------------------------------

How to Clean Your House Fast >>>

Mold Build-up on Shower Grout

When I was growing up, Mold in the shower was a fact of life. The grout on the bottom third of the shower was pretty much black. Gross!

I even tried cleaning it - to no avail.

When I had placed of my own, I didn't let it get that bad.

But when things got tough, I moved in with a friend. Her shower was disgusting. Mold and rust stains. I tried the usual spray and clean routines - nothing worked very well.

Then I found the secret. I don't know what had gotten into me that day, but I picked up the bottle of Clorox Clean-up and just started spraying. And then I left it.

Sure enough, when I cam back, it was starting to look better. So I sprayed it some more, and left. Little by little, it finally came clean until it looked brand new! I was so proud of myself ;) It was the cleanest, shiniest shower you'd ever want to see.

Now I spread this out over a couple of weeks, a little here and there. If you need to get it done faster -

Spray generously with Clorox Clean-up, BUT, do not let the cleaner get on the chrome. If it does, rinse it right way. Any cleaners with bleach will pit your chrome.

Now, walk away. Maybe skip down and start working on the kitchen while you wait. You don't want to stay in the room if you like breathing.

Check back in an hour. Spray again. Repeat until mold is close to being gone. When just a slight hint of gray remains, spray and scrub off the rest.

This method also works on the underside of bath mats, and shower liners.

Good luck!

For the complete guide on getting your house clean, and keeping it that way >>>

Deep Cleaning Wood Furniture

If you have a little extra time on your hands this weekend (yeah right?)
you might want to spend an afternoon getting your wood furniture looking great again before the hoards of company come.

Here's a great article on how to give your wood furniture new life >>>

Tackling Gross Kitchens - The Rangehood

When's the last time you looked under your rangehood?

Is it dripping in yellowish brown gunk, with dustballs and animal fur stuck to it?

Maybe you've looked under there before and decided that you just didn't have time to deal with it. You're right in thinking that its going to take some tiem, but it doesn't have to be all at once. I like to use what I call - the wear away principle.

Hey, it took it a long time to get that way, didn't it?

First, take the filter out and put it in a sink of hot water, and Dawn dishwashing soap. Let it soak.

Take the lightbulb out. You may want to put a new one in later, just for cleanliness.

Generously spray with 409 Kitchen cleaner. Wipe away drips on the stove and counter top, but do not touch the rangehood for 10 minutes. Let the cleaner work. Maybe you can work on the filter while you wait. You can buy a replacement filter, so don't stress too much about it.

After a few minutes, take a srubby sponge and gently start working away at the grime. You don't want to sbrub hard and leave a bunch of scratch marks. Work at it for a few minutes, wipe it down, and come back tomorrow and do a few more minutes.

Just a few minutes at a time, and eventually it will be clean.

Carole
author of Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak
or How to Clean Your House Fast!

Are you a clean freak at heart?

Do you secretly yearn for a spotless home?

I always have. I come from a long line of terrible housekeepers. I was always so embarrassed. Our house always looked so bad. And it's not that we were poor either. We weren't rich - but there was no excuse.

I was like 12 when I started cleaning the house. And I had to clean 2 of them. My mom was single, so we were shipped off to our grandparents house every weekend - and every school vacation.

I can't stand a dirty house.

Since there's only 24 hours in a day, and being a working single mom - I have learned to live with a certain amount of clutter. But it's not what I secretly desire.

But dirt, grime, mold, and all that gross stuff I grew up with? No way. There might be papers and stuff on the table, and my desk is always buried - but the house is clean!

How about you? What's your level of cleanfreakiness?

Carole

author of
Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak
or How to Clean House Fast!