Spring Cleaning

March 19, 2009

Since tomorrow is officially the first day of spring, since I am in the midst of heavy spring cleaning, and and since I need help...please share your favorite cleaning tips. My favorite one is club soda. Picked it up from this book several years ago and still use it religiously. I use it instead of Windex. Great for windows, mirrors, glass, etc. I buy a bottle of club soda fill up an empty spray bottle and it works every time. Love that it gets things clean quickly, cheaply,safely, and keeps my children entertained/engaged (they love cleaning when they spray things like crazy!).

I am also trying to stick with my Aunt Carol's advice about only touching an item once. Pick it up, decide where to keep it (or get rid of it), and be done with it. Don't keep adding it into another pile to be sorted. Sounds simple, but since I am constantly making piles and sorting piles...not so easy for me so I have it running in my head these days as a little mantra. I am also following Megan's advice for creating a box just for my dad's things.

My general method is to clean one room at a time. I need to have that feeling of accomplishment and whenever I feel overwhelmed I can return to that room, look around, feel some peace/success, and then get back to the remaining chaos. Adam's approach is different and it drives me crazy. He works like a Tasmanian devil tearing through the house, jumping from one project/task to the next with manic speed, not necessarily completing the tasks in sequential order but somehow,eventually getting them all done. I just can't stand the space in between his start and finish when everything seems to be undone, but it works for him. What works for you?

And here's my current cleaning dilemma: getting ball point pen drawings off of painted walls.I have tried that Magic Eraser sponge. I have even painted over the drawings and they bleed through. Any suggestions?
Jennie said...

I unfortunately clean house like Adam. And it drives Jon crazy! I start one thing, then another, then another, until I'm washing clothes, vacuuming, cleaning the counters, dusting . . . all randomly, here and there, until I finally get it all done. I guess it's just that there is always so much to do and I get distracted.
Hopefully I'll get some spring cleaning done this weekend -- the windows are filthy and the floors have got to be cleaned! But then I really need to plant those new spring flowers! See there I go again!

Anonymous said...

http://wildparenting.blogspot.com/2008/07/living-stuff-free-how-to-tame-toys.html

read this......sorry i don't know how to get it into a link for you

Anonymous said...

Oh, not the right person: my method is just like Adam's!
For house cleaning tips, I've used this for years
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Housekeeping-Ellen-Sandbeck/dp/B001OW5O5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237490538&sr=1-1
but its general approach is too systematic for me!
I will try to stick to your Aunt Carol's adivice also, that sounds just right!

Anonymous said...

To get the pen covered up you should start with some thick primer, that's one thing primer is good for. It might still bleed through the first coat, but that's what's worked for me. Be sure to let it dry thoroughly before re-coating, that helps it lock the dye into a lower layer.

morninglight mama said...

It may sound crazy, but I've found that spraying hairspray on stuff that has pen on it and it kind of dissolves it... don't know about on a painted wall, but it might be worth a try since you can just wash it off if it doesn't work. :)

Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish said...

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! Adam will be happy to know he is not alone in his approach!

South of Rome said...

Let me know on the pen thing. M 'decorated' right when we moved in and I have never been able to get it off. The magic eraser actually dissolved the plaster!!! So now I have pen with pockmarked walls- errr! And only 3 months to find a solution ;)

Anonymous said...

I have found alcohol gets pen out of clothing. Not sure on the walls. (use a q-tip and not much at first) ALso, I swear by the oxyclean method. It might help with the pen. As for cleaning, I seem to be on Adams side. Drives me crazy but I do it. Randy is the move things from one pile to another. I'm like, move it to its proper place the first time but no, it seems to move around. Again, I go crazy. I'm just destined to be crazy, I guess.

Jan

Anonymous said...

Another thing, I've found a couple of coats of Kilz will cover anything. I used it when we were painting over paneling that bled. It took 2 coats over the knot-holes but it worked

Jan

Mom said...

I laughed out loud when I read that Adam's cleaning style was like a Tasmanian Devil! Since I "tidy up" like a maniac I guess he gets that from me. I'll bet Dad thinks I am a tasmanian devil too.

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