Old Dutch Chases Dirt - But Do You? How?

[scotrace]

We're all in this boat together.
We are people who fill their homes with gewgaws, bric-a-brac, frew-frew and nick-nacks, collections - STUFF!
The fountain pens, hats, radios, carpet sweepers, records, clothes, shoes, cigarette cases, dishes, barware... pile up.

I've spent the day, the DAY cleaning. So as I'm scrubbing and washing and brushing and wiping, I wondered about how you handle it all. Do you have a regular tidying routine? Special organizational ideas? What are your tried-and-true cleaning secrets?

How do you keep all that STUFF clean???

 

[raiderrescuer]

Mr. Clean....

Us bald guys got to stick together !

 

[Rosie]

I've also been cleaning today, it's been a week long task as I've taken on the entire house and I'm 96.5% done. lol Truthfully, I usually do a thorough cleaning on Saturday mornings, I wash my bed clothes, vaccuum, dust, mop, wax, do other laundry, give the dog a bath but, during the week, I clean the bathrooms and the kitchen of course.

Usually, I start with the wash since I use my dryer as little as possible, I try to let the clothes dry as long as they can (during the warmer months I hang on the line, when its colder, I have lines in the house) then it's on to the living room, sewing/painting room, bedroom, laundry room, which I also paint in, upstairs bathroom, then it's downstairs, then I dust, then sweep and mop.

I'm a bleach queen, I use for all wet cleaning then follow up with some Mistolin which smells great. During the week and for quick clean ups, I use swiffer wet jet, which is great for those times when you don't feel like pulling out the mopping bucket.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I use modern conveniences, I admit.

I simply throw everything into the dish washer and I'm done with it.

 

[Sefton]

Tonight I used dishsoap and a soft sponge for my cleaning...my 78s that is. Such dirty records and not a blue word to be found on them!

Actually I got so tired of cleaning the intricate items that I've left them in boxes until I can afford to buy glass display cases for them. Dusting several hundred toys and whatnot just became too much.

 

[VintageJess]

Routine, Routine, Routine. Seriously, if you do a little bit of cleaning on a regular basis, it will mean less major cleaning projects in the long run. I have daily, weekly and monthly schedules. I know that sounds a little over the top, but it is the only way for me to stay on top of it.

Get rid of the clutter. You can't clean clutter, so you just end up shifting it around the house. Check out http://www.flylady.com for great decluttering tips and inspiration. (The site is a little hokey and preachy, but there are some ideas in there, particularly under the "Flying Lessons" section.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

I do couple of things every day... water the plants, dust, wipe down the kitchen and bathroom, and tidy up my bedroom. There are some things that are simply left to go awry. The situation with dishes in my apartment is... atrocious. I have a roommate who I "share" the responsibilityh with (ha). If I had a vaccum, the carpet would be vaccumed and Carpet Fresh'd every day. I'm also anal about dusting the widow blinds and TV screens.


-Jeremiah

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm a bachelor, so... cleaning?

 

[scotrace]

Bleach!

I'm a bleach queen, I use for all wet cleaning then follow up with some Mistolin which smells great. During the week and for quick clean ups, I use swiffer wet jet, which is great for those times when you don't feel like pulling out the mopping bucket.

There's nothing like a little Clorox! I made the stupid, stupid mistake of laying a white tile floor in the kitchen a few years ago, with light gray grout. It looked GREAT for a week. Now the bleach water and hands-and-knees scrubbing with a stiff brush is the only way to bring that grout back from blackness.
Bleach is THE end-of-story cleaner. But what is Mistolin?


By the way, Old Dutch cleanser is actually very good stuff for scouring. But not for new fixtures as it is dulling. Bonus: 20 cents a can at Odd Lots.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm a Bon Ami user, myself -- great for scouring sinks, the tub, and the bathroom tiles, as well as anyplace else that gunk accumulates. Floors get a scrubbing with a good strong soap/ammonia solution twice a year or so, and the rest of the time it's whatever generic Household Chore cleaning product I've got under the sink at the moment. I don't have carpets, and the rugs I have are washable, so I take them over to the laundromat and toss them in the big heavy-duty machine when they need it. Which, in fact, right now they do....

 

[magneto]

I'm a bachelor, so... cleaning?

Now Tony, "cleaning" is a ritual performed by gentlemen who want to make a good impression on ladies and thus no longer be bachelors.
I also spend a few minutes each day "sprucing up" and do the laundry on a weekday; weekends do the heavy scouring/mopping/vacuuming. Like Rosie, I bleach down everything, thanks to my house-mate's cat that likes to lick random surfaces :rage:
My favorite tip is, while cooking, to wash every utensil/pan the instant you're done with it...great to be able to enjoy your meal without mixing bowls and dirty pots stacked all over getting crustier by the second...

 

[jamespowers]

I'm a bachelor, so... cleaning?

I can do you one better. I got married. (cleaning?! what's that?)

Regards,

J

 

[Lancealot]

There's nothing like a little Clorox! I made the stupid, stupid mistake of laying a white tile floor in the kitchen a few years ago, with light gray grout. It looked GREAT for a week. Now the bleach water and hands-and-knees scrubbing with a stiff brush is the only way to bring that grout back from blackness.
Bleach is THE end-of-story cleaner. But what is Mistolin?


By the way, Old Dutch cleanser is actually very good stuff for scouring. But not for new fixtures as it is dulling. Bonus: 20 cents a can at Odd Lots.

Scotrace,

Have you tryed sealing the grout?

 

[Caledonia]

Ok, so none of you are going to want to come to my house! I'm a fanatical clothes and linen washer. Other than that, I'm afraid my housekeeping skills are somewhat lax. I don't have carpets so that's a bonus - I run round with the hoover once a week hoovering up dog hairs and general dirt. I clean when people are coming to visit and when I turn round and, Whhooooff , where did THAT dirt come from! I use septic tank safe bleach for the kitchen sink and whitening clothes and linens, eco-friendly cleaners for everything else, water and vinegar for windows. I've kind of got used to dust - it creates a homely, lived in atmosphere I think. And I can't bear to hurt spiders or their eggs, so I look on the cobwebs as all year round festive decorations, unless I'm absolutely sure nobody's living in them. Books, nick nacks, etc - all in the atmospheric dust laden category! Sorry guys. Total house keeping disaster zone. In fact I'm considering cordoning off the house with eco-disaster warning signs and issuing white overalls and breathing aparatus to all who dare enter. But the upside is, I have a really high germ tolerance!

 

[scotrace]

Scotrace,

Have you tryed sealing the grout?

Plus tax. The week it was finished and every 6 months thereafter.

What to do with the dusty doodads? I have little antique bulldogs all over the place, and the little nits gather dust faster than their live counterparts. Have you noticed that you can carefully clean the shelves in the china cupboard/cabinet and soon after, remove something to show someone and there it is: a dustless spot where the object sat, surrounded by gray fluff...
I know a lot of you are compulsive readers. Books and bookshelves are a particular chore. I tend to find drama in pulling a fat volume off the shelf and blowing the dust away before opening it, but that's me.
You want to see dirt? Open the case of your computer. Or turn your keyboard upside down and give it a shake.

 

[Braxton36]

Just shook my keyboard upside down...

and in the words of my 10-year-old daughter... Ewwwwww!

 

[Pilgrim]

If I can't vacuum it, I confess that I basically ignore it. Dusting is only for when company comes over or the dust bunnies on shelves start to move in packs (or thereabouts).

Windows? C'mon, we've only been in the house 8 years. Plenty of time to get around to that later.

Kitchen, dishes and food-related surfaces? Spotless, wiped multiple times with every use, and stowed neatly.

At no extra charge - my theory on yard work:

If you can't do it with a lawn mower, weed whacker or other power tool, it doesn't need to be done and can be eliminated from the landscape. (Flowers are my wife's job).

 

[mysterygal]

Scot, I face the same problem with my kitchen floors...very frustrating. Even with sealing, you still need to do some major scrubbing!
I hate clutter, so I have very little in the way of doo dads and ceramic pieces, everything has it's own place. I've also learned that by cleaning up after yourself immediately after making a mess, saves you a lot of time.
Every two months, I'll go through everything room by room and do some major organizing and getting all those dust bunnies out of the closet corners.

 

[Paisley]

When I really want to get the house clean, I invite company over. All the cleaning gets done so much faster and better when I'm motivated to avoid embarassment.

 

[Rosie]

There's nothing like a little Clorox! I made the stupid, stupid mistake of laying a white tile floor in the kitchen a few years ago, with light gray grout. It looked GREAT for a week. Now the bleach water and hands-and-knees scrubbing with a stiff brush is the only way to bring that grout back from blackness.
Bleach is THE end-of-story cleaner. But what is Mistolin?


By the way, Old Dutch cleanser is actually very good stuff for scouring. But not for new fixtures as it is dulling. Bonus: 20 cents a can at Odd Lots.

My downstairs bathroom is white tile and I have a black cat, enough said on that. Mistolin is this: http://store.amigofoods.com/mistolin1.html
(though this online store is selling it for an outrageous price, I just bought some today) its a cleaner that I guess is used by mainly Latinos [huh] , I began using it years ago, a friend of mine, who is Latino suggested it to me. It comes in many scents, I personally like Lavander, Floral and Vanilla best.