Keeping it clean in the New Year

I think we can all agree, when it comes to cleaning our homes, we can find many other things we would rather be doing yet we enjoy having clean and tidy surroundings. And not to mention when we get that unexpected phone call or knock on the door with visitors. Yikes! Now there's a mad scramble to pick up, put away and cover up our life's messes. As well, many of us have made a resolution to keep our homes more tidy and organized this new year. Wouldn't it be nice to always have a neat sand tidy home? Yes?!? Well you've come to the right place!

I wanted to share an easy way to keep your home neat and tidy this new year, by spending about 30 minutes per day on a cleaning/organizing task in your home. You may need to customize this routine, given the size and number of rooms in your home, or even recruit (aka require) family member's help. But once this routine becomes a daily habit, you will never have to sweat that unexpected visitor, your stress levels will decline, and you will have more free time to spend with your loved ones.

Here is a list of a few things you will need to acquire or need to start doing to accomplish your new habits:

• A caddie containing your favorite cleaning agents to include glass cleaner, tub and tile cleaner, all purpose disinfectant, furniture polish and an abrasive cleanser.
• Also included in the caddie should be two old plastic drinking cups. One will house your toilet scrubbing tools which include a green/medium duty scouring pad and a pumice stone. The other will house your sink and tub scrubbing tools which include an old tooth brush, a white/light duty scouring pad and a magic eraser.
• A microfiber duster
• A vacuum
• A hand vac (if you have stairs)
• A mopping system. *I say 'mopping system' because there are so many to choose from. You need to choose the right system given the amount of hard flooring in your room as well as the type of flooring. These systems range from a mop and mop bucket for large areas of hard flooring, a microfiber mop and floor spray for medium areas of hard flooring to hands and knees for small areas of hard flooring.
• Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier than you currently wake up.

Now let's discuss our new daily routine!

This routine needs to become a habit so don't get discouraged if it doesn't come easily or takes more time in the beginning. Also, just because you wake up 30 minutes earlier doesn't mean you have to do this routine in the morning. Getting up earlier just gives you that extra 30 minutes, to do this routine any time of the day but.... try to complete your daily task at the same time each day of the week. Doing so will solidify it as a habit that you need to fulfill at that specific time of day. Also, use your time wisely. Example: while your laundry is washing and drying, you should be doing other tasks from the list. 

Got it? Ok, here we go!

MONDAY: Bedroom (recruit (aka require) each family member to take care of their own)

• strip your sheets and make the bed with a fresh set
• put all dirty clothes in the hamper
• do a load of laundry
• pick up and put away things lying around on your furniture
• fold and put away clean clothes
• dust and polish furniture
• vacuum carpet/mop hard floor

TUESDAY: Living Room

• make your  bed! Ya I know this is in the bedroom but get use to it because you're going to do it daily!!
• do a load of laundry
• fold and put away clean clothes. Again, this isn't a living room task but you're going to do it daily!
• pick up and put away things lying around on your furniture
• dust and polish furniture
• vacuum carpet/mop hard floor

WEDNESDAY: Kitchen

• make your bed! Ya, again!
• do a load of laundry
• fold and put away clean clothes
• pick up and put away things lying around on your kitchen counters
• wipe out your microwave
• wipe down counter tops and spot clean exterior of cabinets
• scrub sink with abrasive cleanser, rinse and polish
• shake/vacuum your rugs
• vacuum carpet/sweep and mop hard floor

THURSDAY: Bathroom

• make your bed
• do a load of laundry
• fold and put away clean clothes
• remove shower necessities, dampen the walls of your shower with water then spray your tub and tile clean -let sit
• sprinkle abrasive cleanser in toilet and sink
• spray toilet with all purpose/disinfectant
• put things away on your bathroom counter
• scrub sink with white/light duty scrub pad using the toothbrush to get around the tight areas, rinse and polish
• clean mirror
• wipe down counter tops
• scrub toilet with green/medium duty scrub pad, using pumice stone for hard water or rust then flush
• wipe all components of the toilet, from the lid all the way to the floor
• wipe floor around toilet (just because it's usually difficult to get that area with your mopping system)
• scrub shower walls with white/light duty abrasive pad paying attention to corners and grout lines. Rinse the walls with warm/hot water
• sprinkle abrasive cleanser in the tub and use the white/light duty abrasive pad to scrub the tub then rinse with warm/hot water
• wipe the tub and shower walls dry and polish the faucet
• vacuum carpet/mop hard floor

FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY: Living/Common Areas

• make your bed
• do a load of laundry
• fold and put away clean clothes
• choose one other room of the house, being a family room, another bedroom or what have you, and do one of the previous routines. Again, if you have multiple family members in the home, and they all chip in and do a room a day with you, then you may very well have these last three days to have fun! Yep, I said it HAVE FUN! After you make your bed and do laundry that is.....

WARNING -never mix cleaning products, always use them as directed and wear protective equipment as suggested. 

I hope this routine helps you achieve your goals of keeping a neat and tidy home this year. And don't forget, you can always get a little help from a licensed, bonded and insured professional cleaning service in your area. 

Sincerely, Erica Jensen -President Clean Right Company, Spokane, WA.

A clean bathroom doesn't have to be a chore

One of the most dreaded areas in a home to clean is the bathroom. Many people hate to think about the scrubbing and scouring associated with cleaning your tub and toilet. Here is the way we, here at Clean Right Company, clean a bathroom. It streamlines the process so you are using less energy and letting the cleaning agents do most of the work for you.



First, here's a list of supplies you are going to need:

1. Abrasive cleaner with a bleaching agent -something like Comet.
2. Disinfecting cleaner
3. Glass cleaner
4. Tub and tile cleaner
5. Your favorite cleaning towels -we use terry cloth
6. A white/light duty scouring pad -to be used in your sink and tub. Choose one that won't scratch your shower's surround, especially if it is a plastic surround.
7. A green/medium duty scouring pad -to be used in your toilet
8. A pumice stone -for those rings in your toilet (if you have them) 

Step 1: Prep your bathroom for cleaning. You do this by taking out all the rugs, clearing off your counter tops and putting everything away. Get a basket or something that you can put everything from your shower in. This makes it easier to do the scrubbing needed without knocking things around. 

Step 2: Spray the shower with Tub and Tile Cleaner. A tip here is to get your shower walls wet first. This helps spread the tub and tile cleaner evenly over your shower walls. Make sure you read the directions and warnings on the bottle, wear gloves and open a window for ventilation. Tub and tile cleaners are acidic and may cause irritation to your skin. 

Step 3: Sprinkle the Abrasive Cleaner in your sink and toilet. No special tricks here!

Step 4: Dust the light above your mirror. I just take a dry towel and remove the dust from my lights. If it has been a while since you've done this, you may need to put more effort into it. If you do, then turn off your lights and lightly spray your towel with the glass cleaner. Make sure your lights are off and are not hot.

Step 5: Scrub the sink and toilet and rinse. Take your white/light duty scouring pad and scrub your sink. Take the scrubber to the faucet and handles as well. If you have hard water build up, you may need to put more effort into it but be sure not to scratch your finishes. Use warm water to rinse the abrasive cleaner down the drain. Use the green/medium scouring pad to scrub the inside of your toilet. You may also need to use the pumice stone to remove any hard water and rings. When you are done, flush the toilet to rinse.

Step 6: Wipe down and polish the sink and toilet areas. Spray your towel with glass cleaner and clean the mirror above your sink. Then use the disinfectant to clean your counter tops and to polish your sink and faucet. Now us disinfectant to clean the rest of your toilet including the top, seat, bowl, front and sides all the way down to where it bolts to the floor. I take the opportunity to wipe the floor around my toilet at this time while I'm down there. 

Step 7: The shower! The shower is the most difficult area to clean in any bathroom. You have already sprayed the shower walls with the tub and tile cleaner. It has had time to break down soap scum and hard water so now all you have to do is use the white/light duty scouring pad to scrub the walls. If the shower walls are dry, get the pad wet and scrub away. Make sure you are scrubbing real good in the areas where the water actually hits you walls when you shower as well as in, under and around the soap holder. Once you are happy with the walls, rinse them with warm water. After rinsing the walls, sprinkle your abrasive cleaner in the tub and use the same white/light duty pad to scrub your tub. Once scrubbed, rinse with warm water. Now use a clean, dry towel to dry your shower walls, polish the faucet, shower head and handles and to dry the tub. 

Step 8: Last but not least, the bathroom floor. You can use whatever you like to clean the floor but I find it easiest just to wipe it down with my disinfectant and a towel on my hands and knees. Of course if you have a huge bathroom you may want to use something that will be more convenient for you. 

Now that you have a nice clean bathroom you can put your items back in your shower, on your counter and put clean towels and rugs out. 

I suggest you give your bathroom a good cleaning at least every other week. 

Not sounding like a good time? Then give Clean Right Company a call and we'll do it for you. Along with the rest of your house! (509) 534-3343 or visit us online at www.cleanrightco.com