Saturdays - Clutter Reduction/Organization

Today's tip:

What's virtually free but can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year? What miracle item (you need to maintain it every week) can help you to eliminate clutter before it happens and focus your time spent on a different task so that you don't spend so much time on it?

Why, that miracle item is a simple shopping list.

You may already keep one, which is great. For you, this tip will focus the task a bit more. For those who do not already keep a food shopping list, here's how to do so with the biggest bang for your buck in terms of time investment.

(a) Purchase a small pad or cut 8 1/2" x 11" paper into thirds or quarters. You're looking for paper that's about 2" x 3" to 3" x 5".
(b) Purchase a magnet with a clip to hold the pad to the refrigerator door.
(c) Add a pen or pencil by tying a length of string to the pad and then making a loop for the pen or pencil. I prefer pens as the caps have a clip to hold the string in place.
(d) Using your pen, mark the paper off in quarters.
(e)In one quadrant, you'll put produce items. In another quadrant, you'll list nonfood items (health and beauty aids, cleaning products, etc.). In the other two quadrants, you'll either list one class of items you buy a lot of (say, frozen items) with the other quadrant for everything else or you'll enter items found in the first half of the store in one quadrant and items found in the second half of the store in the other. Don't worry if your listing isn't perfect, as not everyone remembers which aisles are in the first or second half encountered. Do your best and place doubtful items (doubtful in terms of where they are in the store) close to the dividing line between quadrants. That way you won't miss them.
(f) Every time you run out of something, put it on the list. You may be involved with other things, but be sure that when you have a moment you add the item.
(g) Keep a pen and paper on each floor of your home. When you run out of items on the second floor, make a list and then add it to the master list right before you're ready to go food shopping.
(h) Only go to one store if you can help it. Sometimes, people go to one store for coupons and another for produce. Try contacting the management of whichever store is closer to your home. Ask them to fix whatever you don't like (e. g. Your produce isn't the freshest in town. ___'s is or Can you please offer triple coupons like ___'s?). While your letter, call or email might not fix the problem, enough complaints will. The manager wants his/her store to be the one where everyone goes for everything. They need to hear from people like you so that they know what's wrong and why they're losing money in a certain area. You only need to call, write or email once.
(i) Keep store loyalty cards with coupons. Or, if the store loyalty card is offered as a key fob, add it to your key chain and you'll never forget it again.
(j) Go shopping when no one else is around. In my community, that's usually Saturday evening. In the last state we lived in, it was Sunday morning.

The kitchen

Today's tip:

Bugs! Roaches, termites, ants, ticks, fleas, spiders, etc. Ugh! What's worse is, even clean homes can have them.

Unless you keep 'em as pets, you want 'em gone. And, since they (like all other life on this planet) need water, you're most likely to see them either in the kitchen or the bathroom.

There's no substitute for an exterminator and that's really the only way to get rid of termites and carpenter ants. There are natural bug killers/deterrents (e. g. boric acid) but they are messy and can be somewhat slow. I realize it's not environmentally correct to want to grab a spray anytime you see a bug, so my suggestions here are ways to minimize the number of bugs you have, so that you grab that spray can less frequently.

* Ants - they're attracted to food (particularly sugar) and water. A preventitive is (a) clean up after all food spills as soon as possible; (b) use ant trap disks; and (c) keep all sugar, syrup and honey in sealed containers. Sugar can be taken out of the bag it comes in and put into an airtight clamp canister or a zipper bag. Syrup can be kept in the refrigerator. Honey shouldn't be refrigerated (it gets too viscous) but you can put the jar into a zipper bag and then seal the bag.
* Fleas and ticks - these come from your outdoor pets. Use flea collars and bathe pets frequently. Whenever you board your pets, pay extra to have them bathed and flea-powdered. If you live in a Lyme disease area (e. g. Long Island), learn the facts about Lyme disease (ask your doctor).
* Spiders - you may not love 'em, but they kill all of the other bugs. Still, you may not want them in your home or at least not in a well-seen area. You can (a) move them to a location that you prefer. Since spiders reweave their webs every day or so, this won't interfere with their natural behaviors; or (b) catch one (on a card or stiff piece of paper) and place him (or her) outside. I'm not a fan of killing spiders unless they're deadly, and the only deadly kind is the black widow - only a worry if you live in a tropical area, which I don't.
* Roaches - these are the most insidious of the bugs. They're very hard to get rid of, but it can be done. They are attracted to any kind of food (not just sweet stuff) and water. One major advantage you have over them is that they have no work ethic. That is, they will choose food they can get without working for it over food they have to work for, and they will make this same decision every time. What you want to do is make it hard for them to find food and water in your home. (a) Make all food inaccessible by placing it in the refrigerator or freezer, putting it into airtight clamp canisters or placing it into well-sealed zipper bags (double the bags if you're concerned about them sealing properly); (b) Clean up all food spills immediately, including crumbs; (c) Fix all leaky faucets; (d) Do not leave standing water anywhere in your home (that means don't soak cooking pots with burned-on food. You'll have to clean them immediately); (e) Get rid of all cake/bar soap and change to liquid soap, and keep the spouts closed or covered (since soap is partially composed of fat, roaches have been known to eat it. Plus, cake/bar soap is often wet, so it fulfills another need for them); (f) Do not leave food out for any reason if it isn't going to be consumed immediately (so put away all leftovers quickly and don't leave snacks around); (g) Empty candy dishes and don't use them (leave candy in sealed zipper bags in your pantry or cabinets); (h) Do not leave pitchers out for any reason unless the drinks are going to be consumed immediately (roaches have been known to go for a swim in iced tea); (i) Clean carefully around couch cushions and all chairs placed in front of the TV as crumbs may end up between cushions; and (j) Be patient. These preventitives may take a while. For every bug you see, there may be dozens lurking in the baseboards, etc. so it may take a while for the infestation to depart your home.

General anti-bug tips: (a) Seal your home well, with caulking around any window leaks and a sweep under each outer door; (b) when you do spray, be sure that it's when you have very little food at home. Or, be able to fit it all into the refrigerator or freezer. No matter where you spray, if you have food out, there's a chance that it'll be contaminated. Better safe than sorry; (c) After you spray, go out to eat and to a movie (or to any other pursuit that will get you out of the house for a few hours). You want to be away for a while as the spray does its work and continue to keep your food under wraps. Plus, your home will smell. If you can, spend the night at a hotel; and (d) If the infestation is too much, and if it's termites or carpenter ants, call a professional to be rid of them.

Glass surfaces/Mopping

Today's tip:

One glass surface that is often ignored is right in front of you. In fact, you're staring at it - the computer screen. Never spray anything directly on a computer screen and be aware that some cleaners are more abrasive than others. The best way to be truly safe is to start with a truly free cleanser which works well and, in moderation, won't harm anything. This miracle cleanser is water.

Lightly wet a paper towel or rag with water. Do not soak it. It should not be dripping. If it is, wring it out until it is no longer dripping. Gently wipe rag or paper towel over computer screen. Dry with a dry paper towel or rag.

And, while you're at it, you may as well clean the keyboard. You can use the same technique, e. g. a rag or paper towel dampened (but not soaking) with water. Carefully clean the edges and tops of keys, making sure not to get water in between keys. If that happens, take a dry paper towel (a rag won't be stiff enough; use a paper towel) and poke the corner in between the affected keys. The dry paper towel will absorb the water. Keep poking in dry paper towel until the water is all absorbed (remove paper towel afterwards). Also, turn keyboard upside down and gently tap the back with a hand. Don't hit it; just tap it lightly. Crumbs and dust will fall out and onto the desktop. Wipe away with a wet paper towel or rag and dry off the surface before putting the keyboard back.

Vacuuming

Today's tip:

If you've only got a limited amount of time to vacuum, you want to make it count. And one of the best places to do so (assuming company isn't coming) is the bedroom. One source of dust is, well, the human body. I'm not just talking about dandruff, although that's a part of it. Human dust (as it were) is composed of dead skin cells, flaked off deodorant, hair, dandruff, bits of fingernail, etc. Much of this accumulates while you are sleeping, plus some non-human dust, such as bits of paper may also accumulate if you read in bed. Furthermore, although you're more likely to see it elsewhere, you may also see another type of non-human dust: bits of fabric and thread.

So, spend your limited time vacuuming the bedroom, particularly around the bed itself.

If you've got a limited amount of time but company's coming, I'll cover that next week.

Dusting

Today's tip:

An area that gets terribly dusty but is often ignored is the tops of doorways and curtain rods. You may think this is silly, a strictly white glove-type of area to dust. After all, no one looks up there, right?

Of course, but you should dust it anyway, because of the following reasons:
* Dust is an irritant to eyes, nose and throat, even if no one in your family is allergic to it. Hence, it's a worthwhile goal to try to eliminate it everywhere possible.
* Gravity works on dust just as readily as it does on everything else. Therefore, the dust on top of the doorways and curtain rods will inevitably end up as dust on the floor. Why not clean it now, while you're thinking about it, rather than later?
* If you keep up with it, it will remain something that people don't notice. But if you don't keep up with it, eventually they will notice it just like they'd notice any other dirty area of your home.
* Dust on curtain rods will inevitably end up on your curtains, so they'll need to be cleaned more frequently. Since many types of draperies require dry cleaning, this can get expensive.
* It's easy to keep up with this.

Grab a paper towel or rag and add cleaning fluid. It can be any type of cleaner - ammonia-based, bleach-based, the kind you use for wood surfaces, whatever. The rag or paper towel should be damp and not sopping. Be sure to cover or move any food items or hygeine items (e. g. toothbrushes) which might be in the way of falling dust. Wipe from the hinge side out in one smooth motion. For curtain rods, do the same except move curtains to one side or another and secure with tie-backs. Wipe the center portion and then wipe between curtain hanging hooks or rings. Be sure to include finials and brackets.

If you are too short to reach the tops of the doorways and curtain rods, stand on a two- or three-stepped stepstool or ladder. Do not stand on a chair as they are less sturdy.

Bathrooms

Today's tip:

One source of dust in a bathroom comes from baby powder (if no one in your family uses baby powder, then feel free to ignore this tip). Since it's so light, it floats everywhere. I've even found it on top of the light bulbs in open fixtures and on top of the door.

Here's how to minimize the amount of baby powder dust (you'll never eliminate it unless your family ceases using baby powder. However, baby powder is good for keeping dry in the hot summer months, so you might want to reconsider if your remedy is cold turkey):
* Always keep the canister closed unless in use. If the canister is closed and knocked over, then only a little powder will puff out. But if it's open, you have a major spill on your hands.
* When moving an open canister around, keep your hand on top of the holes until you are actually using the powder. That way, the powder will puff into your hand and not into the air, and you can simply wash away any powder that gets on your hand.
* Apply powder either over the sink or the tub. If possible, apply it while standing in the tub (e. g. take a shower, dry off and then go back into the tub to apply powder. This will work for everything except, of course, your feet.
* Apply powder sparingly to feet and then immediately cover with socks or stockings.