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No one’s time should be wasted cleaning needlessly or inefficiently. Housekeeping is never-ending and little appreciated. By learning how to prevent housework, and by using professional cleaning methods, you can reduce your household chore time by as much as 75 percent...
Once you’ve got your house in top shape again, it’s time to try something different. A little consistency can save you a lot of time, energy and discouragement. Avoid the “up-and-down” style of housekeeping. Establish an acceptable cleanliness level and maintain it daily ... You’ll learn to wipe down shower walls and plumbing fixtures daily to avoid having to give them an acid bath every month to remove hard-water deposits. You’ll wipe up spills immediately … Clean it when it’s soiled, not when it’s scheduled.
Clutter is one of the greatest enemies of efficiency and stealers of time. Refuse to be the janitor for the family messes. It’s not what you clean with so much as how you go about it that really matters.
The Basic Principles of Cleaning
Eliminate, Saturate, Dissolve, Remove. Only get as tough on a stain as the stain demands. Give the solution time to work. Wield your mop at unpopular times! Clean in short bursts. Don’t yield! Simply say “no” [to interruptions].
What’s the best direction to clean? Top to bottom. North, south, east or west. That’s because almost everything ... has a grain or texture.
Give yourself a janitor closet.
Dress for success ... rubber gloves are a cleaner’s best friend.
Short Cuts
The following are a few tasks you could trim back on and relieve yourself both of cleaning effort and a guilty conscience: windows, vacuuming low-traffic areas, closets, ceilings, silverware...cobwebs, inside the cupboards, towel washing, bathrooms, interior chrome and stainless steel, brass and copper, furniture polishing and drying dishes. (Read Aslett’s expert details on how and why to accomplish these cutbacks sensibly in, Is There Life After Housework?)
Magnificent moppers remember these basics: Use the right solution. Always sweep, dust-mop or vacuum the floor thoroughly before you start. “Frame” the floor first. Mop all the rest in a “figure 8” from side to side out in front of you. Keep your mop clean. Go over the floor twice.
(c) 2005, Don Aslett. Used by permission of Marsh Creek Press. All rights reserved.
Excerpted, adapted and condensed from Don Aslett's book, Is There Life After Housework?
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