Dusting: Rotating Decorations

August 26, 2013 by Tracy

Decorating our home is a favorite hobby of mine. I love holidays, and all the theme-centered decor surrounding those holidays.

When I was young, my mom started collecting village pieces. I loved looking at all the pieces and helping to arrange them.

As I began collecting my own decor for our home, I continued that love and have my own village collections. My villages are in themes of Easter, spring, fall, Halloween, and Christmas.

In addition to my villages, I like knick-knacks. However, I do not like dusting them. As a teenager, I used to have lots of knick-knacks in my room. Keeping the dust off was a chore in and of itself. Realizing that I was spending lots of time dusting, I began packing some items away and rotating decorations as needed.

Back then, I only had a shelf or two of knick-knacks, and I’ve never had a curio cabinet. But by rotating my decorations, I get to see them anew and truly appreciate them a few at a time. They do not get lost in a sea of items. On top of seeing them, I can better care for them as dusting a few takes less time than dusting all my knick-knacks.

My girls are starting to get into decorating. When out with her grandparents, Miss 3 was allowed to choose one item at the dollar store. She wandered around, looked at all sorts of items, and chose a 6-inch purple Christmas tree that sits on the dresser in her room.

As we collect items, I continue rotating decorations. We store seasonal and holiday items by wrapping them and placing them in totes which stay in our garage. As the season or holiday changes, we pack up the current decorations and bring out the next holiday.

If you find your home difficult to keep dusted, then consider how many objects you have around. If you rotated your decorations, could you better keep up with the dusting? It may or may not work for you, but I find this system helpful in using time wisely. Happy dusting!

Question: What tips do you have for keeping up with dusting at your home?

Cleaning: Oh, I Wonder What That Was?

October 21, 2013 by Tracy

For the most part, we clean up as we go around our house. If we see a mess, then we will stop to clean it. However, there are messes that we don’t see until something else gets moved. At that time, I might let out an, “Oh, I wonder what that was?”

One such moment occurred before I went grocery shopping. While the refrigerator was bare, I noticed a thin layer of a substance on one of our shelves. Upon further investigation, I found the mess sticky and pale in color. Ick!

Not sure how long that mess had been there, I decided to just clean the refrigerator. I find it easier to clean when the contents are minimal, so I wanted to complete this project before going to the store. My process was as follows:

1. Fill a bowl full of warm soapy water

I use a large plastic bowl and a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent. This bowl remains in the sink, so I can go back and forth to clean each shelf.

2. Take out the items on the top shelf

As I put each item from the top shelf onto the counter, I wipe down each item. This is because I don’t want any residue on these items to dirty my clean shelf. (Visions come flooding back of spending time cleaning only to find more mess than when I started from the smudged jug of milk back on the shelf. Yep, it happened.)

3. Wipe down the shelf and the surrounding area

In addition to wiping down the shelf with warm soapy water, I also clean the walls and the rear of the refrigerator while the space is clear.

4. Continue cleaning shelf by shelf

If the shelf is removable, then I take it out and clean the track as well. I’m amazed at what appears to be clean can be so dirty and sticky when the shelf is lifted.

5. Remove drawers

Each drawer is removed, emptied, and wiped clean. I also wipe down the track to remove any crumbs or unwanted substances. As I remove the bottom drawer, I am always amazed at the crumbs collected on the floor of our refrigerator. Yuck!

6. Clean the shelves on the door

If I have time, I also like to remove the items in each compartment on the door. Surprisingly, these areas stay clean. Wiping them down is quick and easy.

7. Pop off and dust the vent

The last item I like to clean is the vent located on the bottom of our refrigerator. On our side-by-side unit, I must open both the refrigerator and the freezer doors to pop off the vent. This bar gets dirty as it collects dust both on the inside and outside. I also dust off the hoses and other parts hidden behind the vent.

Keeping the vent clean keeps our refrigerator operating more efficiently. Without working harder to ventilate the air, the refrigerator circulates the air and keeps our food cool. I really need to clean this vent more often.

Though cleaning the refrigerator is not the highlight of my day, I like to have the project done. By cleaning as we go, this particular cleaning took less than an hour. Now, I did not clean the freezer, but the refrigerator was done.

In using time wisely, I find cleaning when our food supply in the refrigerator is low results in the best use of my time. Taking out lots of containers and items eats up my time. So, with a small amount of items to remove, I can complete the process in less time. Hope your cleaning projects are coming along.

I am enjoying the smell of our pumpkin candle as I finished a top to bottom cleaning of our living room. I am off to work on our dining room. One step at a time and one project at time is how I roll. Hopefully, I won’t find more messes that have me saying, “Oh, I wonder what that was?” Happy cleaning!

Question: What current cleaning project is on your to-do list?

Cleaning: Take Back your Kitchen – Part 1 of 2

November 11, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

As I found myself cleaning our kitchen and not finding a clean surface on which to work, I was inspired to write this two-part post in preparation for Thanksgiving.

During times of celebration, I get out of my rhythm as more people are milling about the kitchen and helping to prepare and serve.

With the more people involved, I find more mess accumulates. At the end of the wonderful celebration, I am left with a sink of dirty dishes, messy countertops, and little motivation to start another project.

Now, my fantastic husband usually cleans it all up after big events. Realizing that not everyone has that kind of help and there are other times that the kitchen is in upheaval, I will share from my experiences how to take back your kitchen.

In part 1, I will share how I work through the mess with a dishwasher and a divided kitchen sink. In part 2, I will share how I would clean up if I had a dishwasher and a big kitchen sink without a divider. In getting back our kitchen, I can muster the motivation needed by visualizing my once-cleaned space, roll up my sleeves, and start.

Part 1: Take Back Your Kitchen with a Divided Sink

1. Prepare the Dishwasher

When everything in my kitchen is in disarray, I concentrate on the dishwasher. If the dishes are clean, then I put them away without setting them on any counter. With an empty dishwasher, I now have one clean space in which to work. 😉

2. Evaluate the Sink

With a divided sink, I keep the rinsed-off dishes that are ready for the dishwasher in the left side. The dishes on the right side still need rinsing/cleaning. When other helpers come into the kitchen, they do not usually follow my system. If I cannot tell which items have been rinsed, then I unload the sink and start over.

3. Setup Boundaries

With the sink unloaded, I start on the right side because this is where our garbage disposal is located. Any food particles can just go through the disposal throughout the cleanup process. I rinse and remove food particles from the dishes and place them in the left side of the sink. I continue to clean until the left side is full.

4. Return to the Dishwasher

With the left side of the sink full, I open the dishwasher and begin loading using the rinsed off dishes. If I fill up the dishwasher, then I add the detergent and start the load. If I still have room in the dishwasher, then I return to the sink and keep rinsing off items. Once the dishwasher is completely full, I get it going.

5. Take a Break

At this point, I usually need a little break. With my “helper” (the dishwasher) still cleaning, I go sit down for a few minutes.

6. Designate a Hand Wash-Only Counter

After my break, I come back to see what dishes are still remaining. If I have hand wash-only dishes, then I designate one counter or space for those items. I gather the platters, silverware, glasses, or anything else that needs handwashing and place it in that space.

7. Return to the Sink

Back at the sink, I rinse off any remaining items and stack them carefully on the left side. If food still needs to be put away, I find an empty space and clean it up.

Then I transfer the food to plastic containers, put them in the freezer or refrigerator, and place the dirty dishes to the right side of the sink. Once all the food is put away, then I finish rinsing the dirty dishes and place them in the left side of the sink.

8. Clean the Counters

By now, the end is in sight, and the only dishes left are in the handwashing pile. I need a space for the clean dishes, so I wipe down all the counters, stove, and any other appliances that need cleaning.

9. Hand Wash the Special Dishes

In the clean spaces, I usually put down a towel. Then I hand wash the items and set them on the towel to dry. If large pots still need cleaning, I tend to hand wash those to get them out of the way. Once all the handwashing is complete. I just need to tidy up.

10. Finishing Touches

With all the dishes either cleaned or rinsed and ready for the dishwasher, I add these finishing touches:

Wipe down all surfaces
Run the garbage disposal
Clean the sink
Sweep the kitchen floor (if the floor is dry)
Remove any spills or marks on the kitchen floor
Go rest with my family

Getting back my kitchen is a process. Thankfully, this process is not an everyday occurrence. The times I use this system are when we entertain or have a complex meal.

As our Thanksgiving celebration is fast approaching, I have a plan in place. It might take time to accomplish the project, but I will know where to start when I am ready to tackle the kitchen.

When you get to where you cannot find a clean space in your kitchen, discover how to take back your kitchen. Feel free to use and adjust my system until you master a process that works best for you. Happy cleaning!

Question: How do you take back your kitchen when you cannot find a clean space?

Cleaning: Take Back your Kitchen – Part 2 of 2

November 18, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

When Paul and I lived in our apartment, we had limited countertop space. Our entire kitchen was in the shape of an “L” and included our refrigerator, sink, and dishwasher.

As I made large meals, like a Thanksgiving feast, we spread out into our dining room. Though it made more of a mess, I needed the space in which to work.

In that tight space, we had a sink without a divider, so it was a bit more difficult to clean.

Continuing our Take Back your Kitchen post from Part 1, I remember maneuvering in that tiny space to take back my kitchen with a big sink without a divider.

Part 2: Take Back Your Kitchen without a Divided Sink

1. Prepare the Dishwasher

When everything in the kitchen is in disarray, concentrate on the dishwasher. If the dishes are clean, then put them away to have a clean space.

2. Empty the Sink

Without a divided sink, I could not tell what was rinsed and what needed to be rinsed. When I went to clean, I just piled everything on the counters. With an empty sink, I washed it out.

3. Setup Boundaries

Then I began rinsing items and placing them directly in the dishwasher since I had no clean countertop space.

My dishwasher was to the left of my sink, so I worked from left to right to clear off my counters. I rinsed until I had fully loaded the dishwasher.

4. Start the Dishwasher

With the dishwasher full, I started the cycle. Our dishwasher was not large, so I usually had more dishes left to rinse or wash.

5. Take a Break

At this point, I usually needed a break as I was transitioning between mostly dirty dishes to mostly rinsed and clean dishes. Depending on how much of a break I needed, I might just sit for a few minutes and then get back up to finish.

6. Designate a Hand Wash-Only Counter

After my break, I came back to reorganize. I would remove any remaining items on the left countertop and clean the surface. I would then place any dishes that needed handwashing into the sink leaving all the other dirty dishes on the right countertop.

7. Hand Wash the Special Dishes

In the clean space to the left, I put down a towel. Then I hand washed the items and set them on the towel to dry. If large pots still needed cleaning, I washed those by hand to free up space in our dishwasher.

8. Clear off the Counters

By now, my left kitchen counter was clean. I concentrated on rinsing the remaining dirty dishes and stacking them on the right counter or to one side in the sink.

9. Finishing Touches

With all the dishes either cleaned or rinsed and ready for the dishwasher, I added these finishing touches:

Wipe down all surfaces
Run the garbage disposal
Clean the sink or the half not in use
Sweep the kitchen floor (if the floor is dry)
Remove any spills or marks on the kitchen floor
Go rest with my family

Getting back your kitchen is hard within a small space. I have been in homes where there was not enough room for two people to be in the kitchen at the same time. Though working in a tight space is difficult, it is not impossible to creatively entertain and clean.

Investing in the lives of others is an admirable way to using time wisely. Taking back your kitchen is a job that often goes unnoticed, but a task that must be done. Having a plan in place to tackle the dirty dishes makes the process a bit easier. Discover what works best for you as you entertain, serve, and take back your kitchen. Happy cleaning!

Question: What are your tips for working in a kitchen with limited space?

Cleaning: Combine Tasks for Better Efficiency

March 26, 2014 by Tracy

My spring cleaning is underway.

In getting our routine maintenance completed for our heating and air conditioning units and having our home pressure washed, I was ready to get the inside clean.

In between loads of laundry, I worked to dust, organize, and vacuum our downstairs.

With our kitchen needing more attention than most of the other rooms, I found that I could combine tasks for better efficiency.

Needing to soak some soiled clothes before adding them to the washing machine, I decided to soak them in my kitchen sink.

Usually, I soak the clothes with OxiClean in our utility sink located in the garage. Knowing that OxiClean gets my kitchen sink sparkling white and my sink needed cleaning, I chose to let the cleaner do the work for me.

Once the clothes had soaked for about 2 hours, I washed that load of clothes and drained my kitchen sink. The result was a sparkling white sink and stain-free clothes. By combining laundry and cleaning my kitchen sink, I saved money from using 2 cleaning products, energy from scrubbing my sink, and time doing two tasks.

As I continue working on spring cleaning, I seek opportunities to combine tasks for better efficiency. Another combination I use is boiling 2 cups of water for homemade baby wipes while steam cleaning my microwave.

In using time wisely, remember to combine tasks for better efficiency. From making phone calls while checking e-mail to making tea while cooking dinner, you can save time while knocking those tasks off your to do list. Happy combining!

Question: What tasks do you combine for better efficiency?

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