Cleaning Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless Steel cleaning issues:   This seems to be the season for stainless steel problems. My glass cleaner Benya removes stubborn finger prints from stainless steel refrigerators. It will shine stainless stoves but does not remove burnt on food. Alternately mix a 50/50 solution of food grade distilled white vinegar and water. Some folks use straight vinegar but a 50/50 solution should work. Make certain your vinegar says "food grade" or it's made from petroleum.

Look for the Grain:  Stainless steel has a grain just like wood. Get up close and personal with your sink and appliances to find out the directions those grains run. Grease is going to stay right where it is unless you clean or scrub with the grain and not against it.

     Then get a grip on your cleaning cloths. Stainless steel and black faced appliances smear if your cloth is dirty. And you wonder why your counter tops look greasy after wiping them down with a used dish cloth. Use a clean cloth and make sure you don't use fabric softener, bleach or dryer sheets in the laundry. For an inexpensive and eco friendly alternative to these products, pour a cup of food grade distilled white vinegar in your rinse cycle.

     At least once a week, clean stainless steel sinks with a slightly abrasive cleaner to keep them shining. Use baking soda as other powdered cleaners have high health risk ratings. Besides, cleaning the sink with baking soda helps with odor issues in the drains.

     Mix a thin paste of baking soda and water to give the stove or fridge a good scrub. Be leery about using standard metal polishes on residential stainless steel. Most are made for industrial stainless steel and can damage residential appliances.       

    Stay tuned as I'm testing a new Benya formula. Its concentrated, which is far more earth friendly plus it saves you money buying my current ready to use product. Now be sure to pick up the May issue of Real Simple for more of my cleaning tips!

This article may only be copied giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. All rights reserved world wide.

A Few Money Saving Tricks

 

     We all look for ways to save money even in better economic times. Snagging a new pair of panty hose is enough to bring on the tears. Brush the tears away and save those panty hose.

 

      Long Live the Pantyhose: When you bring them home saturate them good in water and place in a zip lock bag - please make certain it does not leak. Put that in a plastic bowl and freeze it solid for a full day. Thaw at room temperature. Freezing hardens the fibers so they don't run. Then once a month after you wash them, refreeze them.

 

      Don't Toss Them Reuse Them: When you do get those runs, cut off the leg drop a bar of organic soap into the toe and tie that around an outdoor faucet. It's an easy way to wash your hands outside. Use the panty portion to polish your shoes.

 

     The War with Broadleaf Weeds: Rather than buy toxic and expensive weed killers, grab a bottle of food grade distilled white vinegar instead. Dig the weed first. Grab a food baster and pull some vinegar into the tube. Squirt about 2 tablespoons of vinegar directly on the root and it will never come back. Vinegar will also kill the surrounding grass so don't go overboard with the vinegar.

 

     For the Love of Vinegar: When you dilute a concentrated cleaner like Mary Moppins EPA registered CleanEz add two tablespoons of food grade distilled white vinegar to the mix and use less CleanEz. Vinegar boost the cleaning ability of the cleaner so you don't need as much.

 

This article may only be rewritten giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Window Cleaning Tips

 

     If you are like me, I would rather darn socks than clean the windows. Here are a few tips to make this job a bit easier.

 

     1) Grab an old barely damp rag and place it around the Mary Moppins Cleaning head. Run this around the window and across the top ledge to dust for cobwebs. The end of the mop head glides along the upper edges of the window to thoroughly and quickly clean the entire window.  NOTE: Please do not use our precious water to hose off windows. 

 

     2) Remove the screen and clean it with a dry sponge. Guess what? No sloppy buckets of water. You'll find dry sponges at pet stores. They are used to remove pet hair from fabric furniture. I carry them as well. When they soil sand them with a light grit sandpaper and keep on going. 

 

     3)  Next use a 1 1/2 inch paint brush to clean the tracks of the window frames. Every few years these clean the tracks with a metal polish to remove the black oxidation so your windows slide easily.

 

     4) Windows are the only surface where it's safe to use microfiber. So grab a bottle of my streak free Benya and one of the courser microfiber pads as it will easily scrub the bug juice off the windows. Our Benya will put a super shine on the windows. Another NOTE: Please do NOT use paper towels or newspapers to clean windows. We need our precious trees.

 

     5) If you are seeing streaks after cleaning the windows, then grab a dry eraser used for dry erase boards and wipe the smears away!

 

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website www.goclean.com. copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Bacteria Laden Soap Dispensers

 

     Clean Link, a Jan San industry ezine just reported that studies found large amounts of bacteria coming from soap in public restrooms.  "We were surprised to learn that the soap from one in four bulk dispensers is contaminated with an average of more than three million bacteria, many of which are known to be opportunistic pathogens," said Carrie Zapka, microbiology scientist, GOJO Industries. "Exposure to such high levels of these organisms can be a significant health risk to individuals with compromised immune systems – estimated to be at least 20% of the population. In contrast, soap from sealed dispensing systems was free from contamination."

 

    This means that if the soap is dispensed from a sealed bag and replaced each time the soap runs out, the soap is not contaminated. If you are washing your hands and the soap dispenser itself is refilled each time, that soap contains high amounts of bacteria. Look closely at the dispenser. If you see a plastic bag inside, the soap is safe to use. If not then wash your hands using hot water only. Carry a tub (not a bottle because bottles spill) of hand sanitizer in your car. Then use them when you return to your car rather than washing your hands in a public restroom. And here we thought we were combating germs by washing our hands with soap and water. It turns out the soap contains the harmful bacteria in a restroom.  

 Quick & Easy Spring Cleaning Tips

 

      First of all re-read my early 2009 Blogs for a more thorough Spring Cleaning Guide. Here are a few green cleaning tips to make your spring cleaning just a bit easier. Use a Dry Eraser to clean window screens and fabric window shades as well as flat lampshades and fabric furniture. They do a great job removing pet hair from furniture. Find them at Bed Bath & Beyond or pet stores if you are not placing an order with Mary Moppins. Clean by sanding them outside with very fine sandpaper.      

     Window Pains: Speaking of windows, don't use paper towels or newspapers to clean your windows. They are made from wood pulp and the pulp will scratch glass. Mary Moppins carries some wonderful Lint Free Towels or use old cotton t-shirts. Remember to get your bottle of streak free Benya!

     Wood Floor Scratches: Remove some scratches in wood floors (not laminates) by sanding them very gently with 0000 steel wool pad dipped in paste wax. Call the store where you purchased your flooring to find the best paste wax. Flooring finishes change from day to day. What was good to use yesterday may not be safe today.   

     Remove Scuff Marks: Crayons, heel and scuff marks generally come off linoleum floors by rubbing them with a bit of toothpaste. Did you know you can remove some scratches from CDs by rubbing the surface with toothpaste and a very soft cloth like an old cotton tee shirt? Don't use toothpaste that contains baking soda. Rinse it with water and dry well. Be sure to work in circles or you will leave worse scratches. Toothpaste also removes black cutlery marks from fine china.

     Gutter Cleaning: There are excellent gutter scoops available at hardware store and worth the money. Otherwise grab an old gunny sack and tie it around the end of your down spout. When you hose the gutter, the leaves collect in the gunny sack and can then be hauled to the composter. You do have a composter right?

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright @2010 All rights reserved worldwide.

Caution about Floor Heating Vents

 

     Folks I have read on several website to put screening inside floor registers and vents. It prevents small items from dropping down the vent or register. It's a great idea with small children but there is a down side to this trick. The screens actually inhibit the air flow. As a result you will see a marked increase in the cost of your heating and air conditioning bill. And the collection of dust on those screens blowing back into a room is hard not only on your heater but it's also not healthy for you. 

Car Cleaning Tips for Lasting Beauty

    

Washing your car: 

     Automotive stores contain shelf after shelf of cleaning agents. A variety of cleaners, wax, sealants, wax and wash products all beg for your billfold. Yet there isn't an owner's manual that gives advice on how to properly care for your vehicle. What Frank next door has used for years on his car may not work for your brand new vehicle since finishes are frequently changed by the manufacturer. Besides if it foams, it's toxic to our environment.

 

Let's take a look at some easy solutions and toss in a few quick tips.

 

·        Paint manufacturers recommend washing with soft 100% Lambswool Mitts. Lambswool will not scratch like some brushes and sponges.

·        Use mild soaps like Mary Moppins EPA certified Clean Ez. Most people use liquid dish soaps or harsh cleaners which deteriorate the shine and ruin the finish.

·        Wash early in the morning or evening to avoid water spots. Add one-half cup of food grade distilled white vinegar to your wash bucket. Vinegar neutralizes the alkali in water to prevent water spots.

·        Start with the roof and wash by section drying each section as you clean to avoid water spots. Once water spots form on a car or truck you have but one or two days to remove them. Water spots etch into the surface becoming difficult to remove.

·        Use a concentrated organic cleaner like Clean Ez to remove oil and grease. Remember give your product time to work. Rinse immediately.

 

     Windshields and tires present an entirely different set of problems when you clean. Glass is porous so water spots etch in quicker than they do on the body of a vehicle. If you see those nasty spots before your eyes, wipe on boiling vinegar in the evening. Keep applying every 5 to 6 minutes for about 30 minutes. For windows or windshields, scrub with a white scrub pad. Use a soft cotton cloth when working on the body of a vehicle.

 

Below are a few handy tips for working with windshields to make your view a bit clearer:

 

• Clean windshield wiper blades frequently to remove the oil buildup, which causes them to smear the windshield.
• Scrub window gaskets twice a year with a stiff bristle brush to remove the oxidation.

     For streak free windows try Mary Moppin's Benya, which even removes the film from the inside windows.

 

Tire Care: Scrub tires four times a year with an organic cleaner or CleanEz and a tire cleaning brush to avoid problems. Rubber naturally oxidizes and can leave the tires looking cracked. Scrubbing removes this oxidation. Sos pads work quite well removing dirt and grime on whitewall tires. Scrub and wipe with a shop towel then rinse. This prevents the SOS suds from going down the drain and into your streams and rivers.

 

     Think twice before using a tire treatment. If your tire should blow out and the tire manufacturer determines a tire treatment caused the blowout they will not honor the warranty. Warranties only cover manufacturing defects and tire treatments are not a defect. Most tire treatments contain petroleum distillates, which deteriorate rubber and over time can cause a blowout. Although one treatment may not affect the tires, a blowout on a major highway is not the place to find out.

 

Wax, protect or seal

 

There is a large selection of products made for protecting the finish of your car or truck. Let's first look at the difference between wax, protectants and sealants. All three usually contain petroleum distillates, which binds other chemicals together in a product.

 

     There are different kinds of distillates. High quality distillates may not damage the clear coat finish. Low grade distillates deteriorate the sealant leaving you with an oxidized vehicle.  

 

     There is a fail proof method to determine whether or not your vehicle is oxidizing. If you are applying a protectant three to four times per year and the paint is still coming off on your buffing rag then your wax contains the wrong kind of petroleum distillates. Changing products should correct this problem. If you are applying a protectant only once or twice a year then a more frequent application is needed.

     

     Here are guidelines to follow when purchasing a wax or protectant:

 

• Wax is made from Carnuba, which seals the pores of fiberglass and yellows most white or off white paint. 
• Protectants like Mary Moppin's Advantage are made from polymers, which do not seal but sit on the surface to protect against UV damage.
• Products containing silicone are certain death for your car. Over time, silicone slowly deteriorates the finish causing it to oxidize. Unfortunately silicone cannot be completely removed. Paint will not adhere to silicone so it peels leaving the car in a disastrous state.
• Sealants remove damaging oxidation, scratches and water spots. The bottle will read for heavy duty waxing or oxidation removal.

This Article may only be used or rewritten giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website www.goclean.com   copyright@2010 all rights reserved world wide.

 

Spring Cleaning Your Car

 

     Spring may be a month away yet for many Midwest or Eastern states. When the next warm day comes your way be ready to do that all important spring cleaning and inspection of your car. Dirt, salt, sand, ice and snow all take their toll on the exterior of your vehicle. Here are a few tips to keep in mind so your car doesn't melt away with the last spring thaw. For more detailed information visit my website at www.goclean.com/go-clean.php. Click on the car, RV or boat for further discussions. 

 

Check weather-stripping: Inspect weatherstripping around windows for any mold, cracks or brittleness and replace them if needed. Silicone will help water bead away rather than seeping into the window. However do not use a silicone spray. Look for a libricant and wipe on with a cotton swab. A silicone spray will drift onto the windshield and the car itself. Silicone is very difficult to remove and leaves a film. That film can cause visual problems.

 

Check the underside for rust. Use a high intensity trebel light to check the underneath of your car. Sand, salt and ice do cause damage. Unless you work on cars, take your vehicle to a mechanic for repair. Look for rust issues on brakes, clamps, tailpipes or holes forming on mufflers. It is wise to have the steering and suspension systems insepected for winter damage. The last place you want to find out about winter car damage is driving 65 mpg down the highway.

 

Cleaning the locks: If you have issues with keys sticking or being difficult to work, spray a bit of graphite lubricant on the key then insert it into the lock. Be sure to clean the key with an old cloth. Spray door and trunk hinges with a small amount of petroleum-based lubricant to deter rust and squeeks. Be sure to hold an old cloth around the hinge to prevent the lubricant from overspraying onto carpet or other surfaces that will discolor from the lubricant.

 

Be careful out there and come back to learn how to properly clean your vehicle.

 

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright@2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

TIRE WARNING!

 

     This post is not about cleaning but contains important information I felt very strongly that everyone should know. On this news clip from ABC news there may be a short commerical at first so please don't turn it off. This video talks about people who have been killed or in serious accidents because their tires are old even though they may be brand new tires. Please watch the entire video and don't turn it off until you get to the end where you are taught how to read the codes to check for the date of your tires. This is the most important part of the video and literally could save your life or someone elses if your vehicles goes out of control from a tire blowing. Then please pass it on. This is information everyone should know about.  

Click on this link :   http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

Earth Friendly vs Human Friendly

Let's continue our last discussion concerning the benefits for you and Mother Earth when we make a few life style changes. Earth Friendly, Eco Friendly, Green Cleaner what is the difference and why should you care? Let me start by saying that a cleaner like my CleanEz is both Earth Friendly - because it is concentrated, and a Green Cleaner - it's EPA certified. A cleaner may be Human Friendly because it's certified. But if it comes with a sprayer then it's ready to use and not Earth Friendly.

One quart of CleanEz dilutes to make 32 quarts of cleaner. When you purchase any ready to use cleaner you must purchase 32 bottles to obtain the same amount of cleaner that one bottle of concentrated cleaner offers. Let's bump this up a notch. Say one million people buy a ready to use cleaner and one million people buy my CleanEz. The folks buying ready to use cleaners must purchase 32 million bottles to one million of my CleanEz. When you keep in mind that plastic is made from our precious oil, you begin to get the scope of the problem with ready to use products.

Now consider cleaners are packaged 12 bottles per case. If you do a little math it means that one million bottles of Clean Ez require 83,333 case boxes to ship. It takes a staggering 2,666,666 cases of cardboard boxes to ship 32 million bottles of ready to use. You have just cut down an entire forest just to ship ready to use cleaners. Not very earth friendly.

Next consider the tremendous amount of oil and fuel needed to ship 2,666,666 cases of ready to use product versus 83,333 cases of concentrated. Understand that two trucks are required to get products to the store. One semi-truck takes the shipment to a distribution center then a second truck to the store.

Still not convinced to make the switch? This next fact might get you moving. Say you order a ready to use cleaner online and millions of folks do. Ready to use products average $5 a bottle. One bottle of CleanEz is $25. Because you must continue to buy ready to use cleaners it means for every bottle of Clean Ez you buy for $25 you must spend $160 for a ready to use cleaner. You pay $10 in shipping for either product but 32 bottles later and you have spent $320 to ship a ready to use product and only $10 for CleanEz. Total cost for ready to use? A whopping $480 rather than $35 for one bottle of CleanEz.

When you purchase products, look for products that are not only human friendly but Earth Friendly as well. Purchase bulk whenever you can to eliminate packaging. Take your own reuseable bags to the stores. Become a Mary Moppins Greener Cleaner by visiting my website www.goclean.com for more earth saving tips and walk gently on Mother Earth.

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. All rights reserved world wide copyright @ 2010

Longer Lasting Razor Blades

 

     My son told me several months ago that water is the reason razor blades dull so quickly because the alkali in water wears the blade down. He said he has been using the same blade for a year now where before he was buying a pack of ten of them every few months. Jason has a heavy beard so he is a good test and he is right. One blade has lasted me 3 months so far and it's still quite sharp. Rather than rinsing off my blade I just pound it against the sink then wipe the blade dry with my towel. I also leave the cap off to make sure the blade doesn't build up moisture from shower steam. If you have small children be sure to tuck your blade in a drawer and not leave it on the counter where they can cut themselves. I purchase the more expensive blades as I found cheap ones nicked me and lasted about 2 shavings if that much. 

 

    Now just think of the savings to Mother Earth. One person does make a difference. With the number of mops I've sold so far, I've kept over 125,000 mops out of the landfill so far. When you multiple a pack of razor blades every six months by the say 100 million people who probably use them,  it's easy to see the savings to Mother Earth. Just this one small step reduces power wastage for manufacturing; packaging material including trees being cut down for shipping boxes; toxic ink used to print the packages and finally fuel for shipping to the distribution centers then again to the stores. Let me put it this way. If each person is buying a pack of blades every six months multiplied by 100 million people that is 2 billion - yes 2 billion razor blades a year that are not being thrown into the landfills. And that is just one very small way each of us can have a huge impact on Mother Earth plus save a bundle of money. I'll give you more sustainable living tips in future blogs.

 

     For more green cleaning tips be sure to visit my website www.goclean.com. Mary Findley copyright @ 2010.

   First Step to a Clean Home

 

     I started out the New Year determined to post daily memos on a step by step process to clean your home from top to bottom this year. I am now finding my tips posted on other websites without giving me proper credit. My content is copied word for word so I'm forced to stop this series. Instead I'll write a downloadable ebook. It will take time to complete but I promise I'll get it done. In the meantime read my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning." It will give you a good start.  

   

    The very first step before you start any cleaning job is to refresh your cleaning supplies. Do you have a tote tray or are you trying to use an apron? Please stop using aprons. Triggers on bottles do get bumped and the spray damages furniture. Besides the additional weight around your neck slows you down and is literally a pain in the neck. Don't use them.

     If you don't know where or how to start putting a kit together this is the time to consider my Precision Cleaning Kit. This kit comes complete with various towels for dusting, cleaning windows, bathrooms, kitchen and floors. It includes my CleanEz concentrated all purpose cleaner, Benya, my streak free window cleaner and a signed copy of my book. Come Feb 5th, the kit prices go up. My free shipping will also go from a $100 purchase to $125. 

    Plus on my site you will find a list of the rest of the items you need for your kit, which are cheaper at the grocery store. Click on my website the click "my system" at the top. Clicking on the Precision Cleaning Kit above will also get you there.

     Now that your kit is ready to go, start by reading my blog from January 1^st forward to learn the beginning steps to cleaning your home. Don't put this off any longer as the weather will be warming up and the call of the sun will beckon you outside.    

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright @2010 All rights reserved worldwide.

A Proper Finish for Closets

I hope you have been doing your push ups and pumping iron because it takes a bit more muscle to haul those heavier boxes out of the bottom of closets.

Pull the boxes or whatever out of your closet, one box at a time. Start with whatever is closest to the door. Okay so your closet has sliding doors so which door am I talking about right? With sliding doors clean the closet like you do a room and that is from left to right. Whatever has been hiding in those dark corners get it out and go through it. Go through boxes and things with the GTS - not GPS but GTS. That is my acronym for Give, Toss or Sell idea. Anything that hasn't been used for 5 years goes - unless like I said earlier, it is high quality and could become tomorrow's antique.

As you pull out boxes, wipe down the carpet next to the baseboards with a damp cloth. If you live in a humid or rainy area get nose to nose with your carpet and sniff for any signs of mold or mildew. If you do smell mold or mildew you must find the source of the moisture and resolve the problem before you have major mold infestation. You might need to clear everything out of the closet and pull the carpet back to treat the carpet backing as well as the floor and carpet. Usually a good dousing with undiluted food grade distilled white vinegar will kill mold and mildew. Never use bleach.

For those of you fortunate enough to live in a drier area, after you have pulled out the first box or grouping of "things" then pull out the next batch. Remember the GTS as you work your way around the closet. Once you have everything out of the bottom of the closet and have wiped the baseboards and carpet next to the boards, vacuum and return what you are going to keep. Step back and give yourself a pat on the back. Better yet, give yourself a bigger boost and get down on the floor to stretch. Those boxes were heavy and your muscles need the stretch.

Your "home"work for the next 3 days is to finish the other closets. I'm still pretty swamped with getting information together for these magazine articls but I'll try to drop back in for a boost of encouragement.

This article may only be copied giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved world wide.

More on Closet Cleaning

It's already time to tuck my tail and make a confession. I promised I would post a blog everyday to keep you encouraged on your house cleaning adventures. As you can see it's easy to get behind. Even being tired and having 2 author signings in the past 3 days and information to get ready for a couple of articles is no excuse to sluff off this project and ignore you.

After you finish cleaning the top shelf, it's time to tackle the bottom shelf or shelves. Continue pulling everything off those shelves and discard, give away or put in a garage sale anything you no longer need. If you have the top shelves done and don't have any other shelves in your closet to do then take this time to tackle your linen closet. Yes that has to be done too.

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved world wide.

Third Day of Closet Cleaning

Be prepared with the dust masks because today you pull down what is on the shelves of closet number one and the dust is going to fly. Have an old rag handy sprayed with my diluted CleanEz or your all purpose cleaner. Start with the top most shelf then the next shelf down. As you remove boxes, clean the lids, sides and wipe down the shelf. People tend to wipe down shelves after they have been completely cleared. Stop that. All you achieve is to scatter the dust on that shelf to your clothing or the floor. Who wants dust mites on their clothes? Hopefully not you. Wipe off the shelves.

Go through these boxes and take to Goodwill what is no longer useful and toss anything that can't be taken to Goodwill. If any of your closets contain used computer equipment take that equipment to a company in your area who recycles computers. Many communities have them now. Just make sure your computer has been totally erased. Replace the boxes and move to the next shelf if you have two shelves in the closet.

This article may only be reprinted giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

CLOSETS CLEANING CONTINUED

Today your goal is to go through the second closet and remove little used clothing. Yes it seems like I'm bouncing around but if you have picked up the clutter on the floor chances are a good part of that clutter is clothing. Thanks to New York City Mold removal for pointing out in their post that clearing out unusedcloset items makes room for the clutter you just picked up.

It may seem a bit strange that I'm not having you go through one closet at a time to thoroughly clean it. There is nothing that motivates me more than to walk into any room of a home and see progress. It's easy to visualize the overall picture of how your home will sparkle when we complete our year of duty if you see progress in every room. Besides if you focus on just your bedroom closet, the kids are going to whine when you get them started on theirs if they have to work on them every day. This way they have a few days break between their bedroom chores making cooperation a bit easier to gain. Yes I know the kid's rooms should be their private space. So give them the choice of them doing it all by themselves or having your help. The excess goes and the clutter gets picked up. Period.

This article may only be reprinted referencing Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Clean the Closet

A clean home doesn't happen haphazardly. There is a method to cleaning and that means starting at the back of rooms and cleaning your way out the door. What good does it do to clean a bedroom then tackling the closet later. You end up pulling the dirt from the closet onto your clean bedroom floor and scattering dust and dirt everywhere.

So today you get to go through all those old boxes and clothes you haven't worn for the last 5 years and give them to Goodwill or hand them down. Remember if you have fine clothing they could be tomorrow's antique. Eye what you give away carefully. It's going to take a couple of hours per closet to get them thoroughly cleaned out so we'll do this a step at a time. After we do the first closet I'll post small notes like I did on clutter cleanup days to give you time to plow through all your bedroom closets. We'll do hall and pantry closets later. So for today, rummage through your clothes that are hanging up and pull out the discards.

Remember to pick up a copy of my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning" to learn my Precision Cleaning tips and to have access to the best stain removal guide ever. My book is your guide to becomming a Mary Moppins greener cleaner.

This article may only be copied giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Air Freshener Warnings

Do you have the clutter under control? I have a confession to make. Although the rest of my home is tidy, my home office looks like - well you really don't want to know do you? The guilt started setting in as I typed my first three messages of our year long love affair for a totally clean home. After only a couple hours sweating, papers are filed, old books taken to Goodwill and my desk saw daylight for the first time in two years. Hey, I even fixed part of my bookcase that had broken.

As I was tossing things out I ran across an air freshener I used once for a seminar presentation. Folks kick the air freshener habit and get rid of those toxic things. Most of them work in one of two ways. They either numb your sinuses so you can no longer smell odors or they cover odors with toxic fragrances. Either way they are not healthy and probably causing a multitude of health issues. Switch to an enzyme based air freshener like Pure Ayre. Better yet sprinkle just a little cinnamon in your carpet and open the window.

Tomorrow we start tackling projects like closets so if your clothes are strung around the bedroom - get moving!

This article may only be copied giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Pillows and Sinus Problems

Time for confessions. How many of you have cleared the clutter out of at least 2 rooms and hopefully 3 to 4? Not even started yet? Even after I talked about the health issues including sinus problems caused by dust mites, mold and mildew? You have today and tomorrow to get that clutter out of your home. After that we start other heavy duty cleaning jobs. This is a full year of a boot camp cleaning regime and at the end you will have one clean home.

Speaking of sinus congestions - are you suffering from a stuffy nose or headaches? Try switching pillows. It wasn't until I went to the Midwest to care for my parents for a month and a half this past fall that I realized my pillow was causing severe sinus congestion. I was gone long enough that my sinuses cleared up. After I was intentionally hit head on 7 years ago, I bought one of those latex foam pillows with the high bumps that supposedly supports your neck. Either the latex foam caused the sinus problems or the height of the pillow was pushing my neck into such a contorted position that my sinuses could not properly drain at night. It was probably a combination of the two. I switched pillows and my sinus problems vanished. Before you consume any more sinus medication, take a serious look at your pillow. If it's older, then dust mites might be the culprit. People are allergic to latex so that might be your problem or it could be that the pillow has your neck out of whack. Switch pillows for a month and see what happens.

See you tomorrow!

This article may only be rewritten by giving full credit to Mary Findley and her website at www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.

Why Clutter Control?

 

     When was the last time you were around a two year old? Mommy why does a cat meow? Why do we have toes on our feet? After my first post yesterday you may want to ask why you have to clean up the clutter.

 

     My purpose in spending the next 5 or 6 days pumping you full of information like this is to give you time to get the rest of the clutter picked up in each room of your home. If I continue to give you cleaning projects each day, you won't have time to pick up the rest of your home so you'll end up quitting my 365 day regime to become a Mary Moppins greener cleaner. I like success stories and you are going to be one of them. So here's the down and dirty of clutter.  

 

     Clutter is not just unsightly but it's a breeding ground for dust mites. Ever wonder why you get headaches or a stuffy nose at home? Clutter could be your culprit. Mold and mildew also love growing in dark damp places like under clutter. And you wonder why your carpet smells. Sniff no further for the answer. Now why are you sitting at your computer instead of clearing out a room? Get moving!

 

This article may only be reprinted giving credit to Mary Findley and her website www.goclean.com. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved worldwide.