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My Hubby Helps With The Daily Chores!

July 15, 2010 By

Yesterday I shared my daily housekeeping chore list. Today I want to share a story of how this list has helped get Hubby’s help. Yes, believe it or not, my daily chore list got him to assist in completing the tasks!

Each night Hubby would announce he was “going up” which means he was heading to bed. I would of course be 20 minutes behind him. One night he asked me “Why don’t you come up with me”? I simply told him there were a few things that needed to be taken care of before I could.

Him: “What are they? Can I Help?”

Me: “Oh that would be great honey. I have a list on the fridge. Whatever isn’t crossed-off.”

Him: (he goes to my list) “Ok, I’ll do this and that.”

Me: “Thanks honey. I would like to get these things done so I can go up with you.”

He helped me that night, and we went up to bed together. That’s all I’ll share – TMI!

And so began Hubby’s habit of checking the list each night before going up to bed.

Filed Under: Cleaning

Daily Housekeeping Chore List

July 14, 2010 By

Routine, schedule, habit, procedure, formula – whatever you want to call it, you need to create a daily housekeeping chore list. In order to have a clean, organized and comfortable home, you need to maintain on a daily basis. So you must have a list of things that must be done on a daily basis.

Create A Daily Housekeeping Chores List

Some like to create morning and evening routines, but I prefer to have one list. It’s simple to read and follow. So grab a pen and paper and a cuppa something and follow these simple guidelines to create your list.

1. Make a list of the rooms in your home. Then think about you and your family use these rooms: how often are they used? what activities happen there? how messy does it get throughout the day?

2. List all the chores that need to be done on a daily basis that will keep each room tidy. This is not a cleaning list – this is a list of the basic tasks that you feel are necessary to keep your room tidy enough to be comfortable and usable. Keep this list easy!

I’m going to share with you my daily housekeeping chore list so you can get started with yours.

Living Room/Dining Room

  • General tidy-up
  • Wipe down tables
  • Swiffer® floors

Kitchen

  • Empty sink – fill/run/empty dishwasher as needed
  • Wipe down counter, sink and stove top
  • Swiffer® floor
  • Change hand towel

Office

  • General tidy-up
  • Swiffer® floor

Bathrooms

  • General Tidy-up
  • Wipe down sink counter and toilet
  • Swiffer® floors
  • Change hand towels

Bedrooms

  • Make beds
  • General tidy-up
  • Put away clean clothes

Miscellaneous

  • Sort mail
  • Empty garbage cans
  • Scoop litter box
  • Laundry (sort/wash/dry/fold/put-away)
  • General tidy-up in family room

I keep my daily housekeeping chores list on my fridge so I can refer to it all day long. It’s printed-out and hung in a sheet protector. During the day, I refer to my list and cross-things off with a dry-erase marker as I do them. I spend 5-minutes here-and-there throughout my day getting things done.

Each night before I end my day, I complete the chores left on my list. (With the exception of putting away laundry – I wouldn’t want to wake up my son if he’s already in bed.) Then once my list is completed, I can relax and read a book, spend some time on the computer, watch TV with Hubby, or go to bed (sometimes with Hubby – wink, wink).

Here are a couple other things to keep in mind when creating your own daily chore list:

1. General tidy-up means to put toys or games away, refold throws, fluff & place pillows, put away clothes, put garbage in the trash can, etc.  – in general, put things where they belong.

2. I have a combo living room & dining room (aka great room) and this is where we spend the most time during the day, so it has a tendency to be the messiest. We also have a family room in the basement where the movies and video games are, but don’t use this room as much (really, it’s Hubby’s Man Cave). Your home set-up and room use may be different so create your list accordingly.

3. I Swiffer® the floors everyday because I have laminate or tile flooring in all the main areas of the house. I also have two dogs, two cats, a little boy and a big boy (Hubby), so it gets dirty & dusty everyday. I don’t like to leave dust bunnies laying around because they will eventually turn into tumble weeds. But this is a personal preference. Depending on the use of your rooms, you may or may not need to include sweeping or vacuuming on a daily basis.

4. I scoop the litter box every-day because I have a particularly picky cat. Some households with cats only need to do this every-other day or twice a week.

Again, I want to stress that your daily housekeeping list should be the tasks you feel is necessary to keep your rooms comfortable and usable for your family. List the chores that you think will make the room “good enough” so you can enjoy the rooms. Do not make a list that contains chores that your Mother did, or your neighbor does on a daily basis. This list should be customized to your family and how you use the rooms in your home.

Now go make your own daily housekeeping chores list. Or if you have one already, evaluate how it’s working for you and make adjustments  you thinks may be needed. And please, let me know how you do!

PS: If you’ve posted your daily housekeeping list on your blog, please share in the comments. We can all learn from each other!

Filed Under: Cleaning, Organizing

Clean Your Sponge – Tuesday's Tip

March 9, 2010 By

Yuck! Sponges are a germ heaven! They are the number 1 source of germs in the whole house.

When was the last time you cleaned your sponge? Can’t remember, can ya? It’s easy to forget. Let’s do it right now!

Spring cleanHere’s how to clean your sponge to remove germs.

  • Run it through the dish washer. Germs can’t take the heat! (Make sure it’s secure and won’t get caught on any of your machine’s parts)
  • Nuke those germs by placing your damp sponge in the microwave for 1 minute. (DO NOT microwave a dry sponge – it can burn.)

A few more tips about sponges:

  • You can always ditch your sponge and buy an antimicrobial brand if you feel you can’t keep your sponge clean
  • The cleanest kitchen are those of bachelors – because they use their sponges less and therefore spread fewer germs!
  • When finished using a sponge, squeeze it thoroughly and allow to air dry completely between uses. Bacteria will die in a dried sponge.

Go clean your sponge now! And leave me a comment letting me know you did it.

I’m linking up to Tip Junkie’s Tip Me Tuesday – head on over for more great tips!

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Filed Under: Cleaning Tagged With: ,

Tuesday's Tip: Cleaning Straws and Sippies

February 23, 2010 By

Ever have one of those “DOH!” moments? I had one of those recently when doing the dishes.

I’ve struggled keeping Little Dude’s sippy cups and straws clean. You know how yucky stuff gets caught in every crevice of those things, right? Well I figured it out.

Are you ready for this? It’s so simple, you’ll say “DOH!” too.

Use a pipe cleaner to clean straws and sippy cups.

Yeah, I know – it’s so obvious now isn’t it? I’ve been kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.

Run to your craft supplies and grab a pipe cleaner and put it by your kitchen sink. I bent-over the tops so they wouldn’t be sharp and poke anything. It works like a charm!

PS: I’m linking to Blog Mommas’ Tuesday’s Tip Jar. Check out the tips over there.

PPS: If you already knew to use a pipe cleaner to clean straws and sippy cups, feel free to make fun of me in the comments :)

Filed Under: Cleaning, Tips/Short Cuts Tagged With:

OxiClean Does It Again (Product Review)

February 17, 2010 By

My boys are dirty, stinky boys. Hubby works in a warehouse environment with boxes so he comes home a mess almost every day. And Little Dude, well he’s a 4-year-old boy – what more can I say?

I love OxiClean! Use it almost daily – can’t live without it. I rely on OxiClean to take care of dirt, grime and stains in every load of laundry I do.

So  I jumped for joy when MomCentral invited me to be a guinea pig for OxiClean’s new Max Force Power Paks and Max Force Pre-Treater Stain Stick (to be in stores mid-February). I anxiously awaited the arrival of my samples. I ran to the door each time the FedEx man came (not my Hubby, but the delivery guy). Yes I know it’s pathetic, but this is how I am :)

Now, please note that because I haven’t used any pre-treaters or laundry boosters other than OxiClean in ages, I don’t have a good comparison. But I can tell you this – they kick dirt’s a$$! I wasn’t let down with the new Max Force products!

One thing I can tell you is that the Pre-Treater Gel Stick took care of a stain on Hubby’s work shirt like it was nothing! I’m not sure what it was, but it was a greasy spot right on the middle of his belly. Of course, in typically man style, he didn’t tell me about the spot and I found it after a few days. So I used the pre-treater before adding the shirt to the wash. Voila – stain gone!

Now, the Max Force Power Paks might be one of my favorite laundry products ever! I go through my regular OxiClean powder probably faster than I should. That’s because Hubby doesn’t understand measuring it before adding it to a load of laundry. (yes ladies, Hubby helps with the laundry!) He always adds more than is needed. With these paks, all he does is grab one and throw it in!

The Power Paks worked great in every load of laundry I did. I even pre-soaked a load of whites using two paks, and I was impressed. OxiClean has done it again! Like I said before, I have not been let down.

My only problem – I’m out of paks! I can’t wait till they are in the stores!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of OxiClean and received a sample to facilitate my candid review.

Filed Under: Cleaning Tagged With: , , ,

Thrifty Thursday: Homemade Carpet Cleaner

February 11, 2010 By

Having messy boys (Hubby & Little Dude) and several critters has made me a pro at keeping my beige, berber carpet spot-free and smell-free. I mostly use home-made solutions to take care of any spots. Most of the cleaning products available in the stores are pricey. Plus, they leave residue – not good for the carpet of the vacuum.

First and foremost, prevention and maintenance is key in keeping your carpets looking new. I regularly vacuum and use my steam cleaner a few times a year.

If there is a mess, clean up the spot/stain ASAP with paper towels or rags. Blot the spot – never rub! Soak up everything you can. And if a scrubbing is needed, for things like mud or peanut butter, use a soft bristled brush (or even a tooth brush).

After that, I use one of the three home made cleaning solutions:

  • Hydrogen Peroxide: mixed with water (half and half) cleans organic spots and stains like blood, coffee and juice (not juice mixes like Kool Ade).
  • Distilled White Vinegar: mixed with water (1c vinegar to 2c water), vinegar makes a fantastic spot cleaner when mixed in a spray bottle. Let it sit for a few minutes on pet urine, then blot with clean rags. This even worked for me on Play-Doh!
  • Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol: I use this when I find a “pee spot” awhile after the incident. Pour alcohol diluted with hot water (half and half) onto the spot, allowing ample time to soak through to the padding. **You don’t want a puddle – just enough solution to get through the whole spot. Blot with rags, getting it as dry as possible. If there is a visible stain after wards, follow-up with the vinegar & water solution.
  • Baking Soda: cleans up oily stains, like salad dressing, by absorbing the oil. Follow-up with one of the above solutions.

After treating any spot or stain, I leave a dry towel on top of the area until it dries. This will keep the area clean while it dries.

I do own a carpet cleaner. When I have to break this out, I use only very hot water – no cleaners or other solutions. Cleaners can leave a residue on the carpet that gets on my pet’s paws which makes me very nervous. Plus, Soap must be rinsed out completely or it will attract dirt and always be a problem. And things like vinegar can gum things up in the machine.

cute pictures of puppies with captionssee more dog and puppy pictures

Remember to never use ammonia on pet stains – smells to similar to urine and may attract your pet back to that spot.

Any other tips or recommendations are appreciated! Just leave me a comment below to share.

PS: If you want to participate share Thrifty Thursday tips on your blog, feel free to leave me a link. You can use my button too!

<a href=”http://thehouseholdhelper.com/blog/index.php?s=thrifty+thursday” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j189/girlie0226/thriftythursday.jpg” alt=”Thrifty Thursday Tips @ TheHouseholdHelper”></a>

Filed Under: Cleaning Tagged With: , , ,

Tuesday's Tip: Dusting

January 26, 2010 By

While you may know I’m slightly head-over-heels in love with Swiffer products, I do have a couple other tools in my caddy that I use for dusting. After all, having the right tool makes completing the chore much faster.

Make-Up Brush

I use this on delicate items that need dusting such as my plants. I also use it to dust my knick-knacks that have lots of crevices where dust can hide. This works great on pleated lamp shades too!

If you want to get one for dusting, just make sure it’s soft – avoid that stiffer bristles as they will scratch.

Foam Paint Brush

This handy-dandy little tool is perfect for getting into corners  – especially the corners of the individual window panes on my doors. Because of it’s tapered end, it really gets into the creases.

I also keep one near my dryer to clean-out the lint trap.

Sticky Tape Lint Roller

Besides removing pet hair from clothes, it gets if off my furniture and drapes. I also use this on throw-rugs before vacuuming.

This also removes all the lint and fur from Little Dude’s felt books better than anything else I’ve tried.

Using these tools on-top-of my usual duster helps me dust my home. Having the right tool to do the job feels like I’m really cleaning.

Do you have any unusual tools for dusting or cleaning in your caddy? Or do you have a question about dusting? Please leave me a comment!

PS: I’m linking to BlogMommas Tuesday’s Tip Jar. Head on over for some more cool tips!

Filed Under: Cleaning Tagged With: , , , ,

Useless Gadget: Book Brush

October 28, 2009 By

Would You Pay $80 For This?

I have a small house – actually I prefer to call it cozy.

A small house has small storage space. So I make sure that utilize my space to the max, and make sure I don’t have anything useless in my home.

I had to laugh when I found this Book Brush.

“With different brush lengths, brush off the top pages of books along the shelf and store the brush book along side your books. Any book collector will appreciate this item.”

Um, no thanks. I’d prefer to save the space on my shelf for another cook book.

Besides, dusting the tops of books is easy peasy! I use a paint brush. Yep – I have a paint brush in my cleaning bin just for dusting odds and ends. It is especially useful dusting my “fragiles”.

I also used the Swiffer Duster – works well. Especially kicks butt on electronics!

Filed Under: Cleaning

The Only Detergent That Works

October 1, 2009 By

As I was doing the dishes this morning I was inspired to post about my crappy old vintage dishwasher. Yep – that’s it my friends. My Magic Chef circa 1970 dishwasher in all it’s  ‘harvest gold’ hideousness glory.

I’ve even got the matching stove, sink and counter tops – aren’t you jealous? It could be worse – pink, turquoise or avacado green perhaps.

I’ve often thought of decorating my kitchen around the appliances – totally post-war retro. It woulds be super cute and kitchy, but hubby doesn’t like that idea. Besides, the fridge is newer – have you seen the prices for refurbished or replica appliances? So we’re saving for an updated kitchen, but that’s a story for another post.

The thing is, it still works – just not as well as a new one.

I think I’ve tried every dishwasher detergent available. And so far, the ONLY detergent that gets the job done is Cascade Complete. I know it’s not exactly “eco-friendly”, but unless I waste gallons of water hand-washing dishes before I put them in, this is the detergent for me.

Cascade Complete comes in different forms: gel, powder and packs. I have to stick with the gel since the little detergent container doesn’t open properly.

I don’t have to pre-wash or pre-rinse (unless you count the critters getting the dinner dishes when we’re done). As long as the dirty dishes don’t sit and get all crusty, they get clean. And they get sanitized too – the rinse cycle is H.O.T.

So that’s my tale of woe – and my solution for today. Maybe this time next year I’ll have an updated kitchen and be telling you all about my super fabulous new appliances!

Hey – if you have  a similar problem, I’d love to hear about it! Share your issue in the comments so we can discuss and share!

Filed Under: Cleaning

Remove Pet Hair From Furniture {Tuesday's Tip Jar}

September 29, 2009 By

I have spoiled critters. They are allowed on the furniture. Why not? After all, there is nothing as relaxing as watching a movie with them cuddling with you! My “girls” are a part of my family.

Allowing them on the furniture means constantly getting their fur off  – which is one of the reasons I recently slip-covered my sofa. Regular brushing and grooming is good prevention and helps a little.

There Are Easy Ways To Remove Pet Fur From Your Furniture

  • A lint roller or lint brush will quickly remove surface fur from your cushions. I’ve personally found that the lint brush works best of the two. It picks-up the deeper, woven-into-the-fabric fur.
  • A slightly damp sponge will work just as good as any gadget seen on TV. Rub the hair briskly in a circular motion. It will gather up and you can remove easily.
  • Before vacuuming, spray with Static Guard®. This loosens the fur’s grip to the furniture allowing for easy removal with the vacuum. This works especially well when fur gets woven into upholstery.
  • Using the same principle as Static Guard®, use a dryer sheet to pick-up fur. The bonus is that “April Fresh Scent”.
  • Rubber gloves work well to. Put it on, rub in different directions and viola – instant fur remover.

Now, here’s an interesting way to keep the fur off of the furniture. I don’t think any of my girls would allow me to do this since they scatter as soon as the vacuum is turned on. But it’s a great idea!

PS: Head on over to BlogMommas for more Tuesday Tips!

Filed Under: Cleaning Tagged With: ,
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