Cleaning

ENBB I think what you really need is a scrubber, maybe one that you can use to clean three or four of the individual blinds at once, not a duster like Jesse has.

Like this one:

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/5104/cleaningblinds.jpg

like a fluffy wolverine

hahahaa omg dying

I have a set of blinds that are vertical and about 15ft long, cover a french window/ unopenable room height windows. Haven't cleaned them since I moved in here several years ago and really don't know how you would.
Would love a better system there and openable windows during the summer. Plus once it gets light in th evening I haven't worked out how you control the glare on th etv screen. Maybe I just need something like a chinese screen or something.
But that was a feature on a place I was offered and not something I had any choice about. Does mean ventilation in this place isn't great during the summer or any other time really.

This thread inspired me to vinegar my windows & wipe my bookshelves today! Grimy blinds remain grimy however.

ENBB I think what you really need is a scrubber, maybe one that you can use to clean three or four of the individual blinds at once, not a duster like Jesse has.

OK, now that I've had a nap, let me tell you: I was soooo sleepy when I read your posts and everyone elses who weren't getting it, and when I read the one above I felt like I was going to tear up out of frustration.

I needed a nap.

lol/sob

I'm sorry I was frustrated and crabby and I killed the thread. Come back.

Once again I have to climb up on a ladder and scrub the bathroom walls of mildew. Stupid bathroom has no exhaust fan, and a tiny little window that we can't open fully because the giant house next door has half their windows facing it.

So once a year in the summer I open all the windows and get a mix of bleach and laundry detergent in a spray bottle and a scrubbing brush and scrub the fuck out of the walls. It's slowly taking the paint off but at this point I could care less.

honestly i'd be afraid of ever having our bathroom remodelled -- pulling off the plaster to find that the entire room is made of mold is what I envision

I've been cleaning out my apartment after moving, and my discovery is that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is some sort of demonic thing, how does it work.

Also, I started cleaning my blinds for the first time in ages, and I think they looked a lot better when the filth was evenly spread on them tbqh.

mr clean magic erasers are pure sorcery, i love them

THEY ARE THE BEST.

THEY ARE! I can't believe how well they work. I figured they were BS, but they are actually, literally magick.

I'm going to try one of the mop ones on my horrible kitchen floor

I have one left of a four pack, and now I'm not sure which of the many things I can clean are sponge-worthy.

They also work great dry as whiteboard erasers and other dust-laden stuff (*cough* miniblinds *cough*).

lol @ poly

ok so i have lived here for week and a half and outside of regular daily stuff (dishes, wiping countertops, etc) so far we have
swept and mopped all floors 1x
dusted 2x
cleaned stove multiple x (i use it a lot)
cleaned sinks/toilets 1x
cleaned mirrors 1x

this is normal y/n?
it didn't feel that awful

i also used my stupid broom to sweep the front porch/steps because i've seen ladies do that in the movies and it seems like it would keep the leaves and stuff from rotting on the cement, right?

Imo I always want to do that when moving in somewhere new. Then I get too lazy...

I mean I do it once all at once then just as and when and not often enough

i am going to target after i get my hairs cut and i am cleaning the bathroom TODAY

― veryupsetmom

LL, I think that seems reasonable? If anything, I would have ammonia'ed the entire kitchen inside and out by now, every cabinet shelf, but maybe the prev owner had it deep-cleaned for the sale so it was all done for you, which would be awes...?

I hope you put an apron on and tied up your hair in a bandanna/turban while you swept that porch. lol at "my stupid broom".

That seems reasonable, LL. You have to do a lot of cleaning when moving into a new place. How is the moving in coming along? It always takes me about a month and a half to unpack and get things halfway decent.

xp - we think you're reasonable!

It's been 1 week since the cleaning people came and I'm VERY happy to report that the apartment is still clean and orderly! I'll probably have them come again this week. I am cautiously optimistic that this is the beginning of a major turning point!

i'm sure ammonia is a wonderful cleaning product but i can't take the smell. it reminds me of cat urine.

^^^ it just smells like pee to me

moving in is basically complete! d is a tyrant when it comes to getting things in order, so that was done in a few days; my room/office/lounge area is still kind of in disarray but that's ok because it's my area! i can't find anything if everything is put away.

anyway, i feel pretty good about this cleaning! i'm trying to focus on making this a regular part of my life, and this is totally embarrassing, but i am going to put some appts in google calendar to remind me when the next time i should mop will be. i'm saying every 2 weeks? vacuum 1x a week?

while sweeping i did not wear hair in turban or don a cute apron (though i do know where they -- plural -- are) but i did smell like a goat and i wasn't wearing a bra, so at least i got into character a little.

thanks for the kind words -- i need them!

I forget in which thread carl talked about wages for housework, but I was reminded of it by yesterday's NYT editorial:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/opinion/pay-people-to-cook-at-home.html?hp

I am feeling a little better about hiring housekeeping help back in the day when I had a job and stuff. Now S and I are doing a pretty reasonable job keeping our casita in decent shape, even without help.

i can't find anything if everything is put away. :D :D :D :D

Frequency kind of depends on your traffic? Do you enter the house through the kitchen/back door or do you use the front door/foyer/whatever you have? I might say, wash kitchen floor once a week and sweep (or swiffer or vacuum or whatever you like) foyer/entry once a week--the rest of the house can probably wait until you notice dog hair tumbleweeds?

Wait, what am I thinking? Do those things every TWO weeks, not one. You're not a full-time housekeeper, for the love of cheese.

Just suggesting, not telling. I'm hungover and on my first cup of tea and first food of the day after going to two different stores on my bike to find scallions for my tacos before it starts thunderstorming.

i'm pretty good with noticing the tumbleweeds/sweeping/vacuuming for dog hair -- it's the invisible stuff i have trouble with. i have to mop the kitchen floor once a week? really?
being serious. once every 2 weeks isn't enough?

we have cork tile (?) in the kitchen so it never looks any cleaner or dirtier and that's making it hard for me to tell when it's dirty.

xp phew i thought 1x a week for floor cleaning was a bit much!!

i also sprayed and wiped the large kitchen appliances today, forgot to mention that

You're doing great!

Also: giiiiirrrrrrrl you have a PORCH? We are going to jibber jabber for so long on that porch.

now i have to do this every two weeks
i will celebrate when i have successfully done it every 2 weeks 6x
that's what, 3 mo of clean? that's enough to build a habit on i think.

we have a front stoop area and a little SUN PORCH off the kitchen -- both are v conducive to jib jab :) i can't wait til it warms up tbrr

I think after whatever period of vigilance you set for yourself, you can get to a place where you just check the floor every two weeks, and maybe sometimes it doesn't need washing, but it's a reminder to look at it? That sort of thing.

LL, one thing I have tried that helped (& would have continued to help if I had kept up with it) was writing chores on post-its and coosing one or two of them to do every day.

There are/were routine ones like "wipe down counters," and "scrub toilet," and special ones like "hang curtains," and "sort junk drawer," and "repot plant."

It's nice to have a list of options you can choose from. For me it staved off not knowing where to start and doing nothing.

Good idea! I like it.

Yeh, I'm inspired to reinstitute that system now.

um you guys I totally made my bed this morning

THIS IS THE DAWNING OF THE AGE OF AQUARIUS AGE OF AQUARIUUUUUUUUUS

You *deserve* it.

aquair
i
uuuuuus

in laws are here, have not complained about any found filth so far
they haven't taken a good look at our bookshelves yet though hehehehe

i cleaned the toilet and wiped all the soap scum off the shower walls but i'm never gonna get the rust out! how does one use CLR? dilute w/ water and use spray bottle? i should have gotten one.

Hmm

Can I put CLR in a spray bottle?

No, CLR is acidic in nature. When using CLR it in a spray bottle, the solution could "spray back" on your clothes or in your eyes and the spray could drift.

That sounds like a "Yes, but be careful" to me.

Just sponge or blot it on?

It also says not to leave it on the surface for more than two minutes, so it's probably OK just to put it on a sponge or something since it doesn't have to cling too long.

xp

i don't have any gloves either. google is broken! i feel lost!