Brush Em All Off!

I shared with some friends a few months back of a magnificent tool called the Microfibre Brush.  I bought one from Cosway.  It works super well, picking up dust effortlessly, unlike the traditional feather duster that after too frequent use, will either start shedding or just move the dust else where! duhh!

The new brush picks and keeps the dust within its fibre-magnetic (from all the static that comes from the geseran of the fibre I guess).  So, when you sweep it across an area, you're left with dust-less surface, putting a big smile on your face - leceh la kalau lap, tapi habuk dok ada je kan? kan?

Anyway...I'll try and post a photo so that those who do visit and read this lonely and jarang-jarang updated blog of mine can think if they need one too!!

Make it Hot!

Its been a practice at home for a long time, ever since I can remember.  It's a routine my late mom keeps, or rather a tip that she applied and has been proven, again and again.


Mop your floor with hot water.  It's as simple as that for longer lasting clean floors.  At least that's my testament and a recent testament by a good friend of mine.


A pail of hot water, with suitable amount of floor cleaner (some swear by just antiseptic solution e.g. Dettol) and a stick of mop to wash those dirt from your floors.  Works well on surfaces such as tiles, marble and terrazo flooring.  If you need to mop of wood, make sure the mop is pressed fairly dry.


Try it.  You'll be surprise how piping hot suds can do to your floors!

Maintaining Clean Harmony

You see, in everything you have achieved, maintaining what you have achieved proves to be the greatest challenge. Be it getting good grades, winning tennis championships, ideal weight bla bla and the list goes on.  


The same goes for a clean home.  Sure, you've done a major spring clean, got rid all of the cobwebs, dusted all the shelves, vaccuumed every inch of flooring there is in your house, your sink is squeaky clean, but if you succumb to being lazy just for once, you'll probably end up having to do another major spring clean very soon.


 Photo courtesy of WikiHow.comSo you see, its not about scheduling a major spring clean, have a clean home for like 1 hour, then let it decay again slowly.  Appreciate all the hard work you have done!  Maintain the cleanliness.  Clean up as you go, and not let dirty dishes, dirty laundry, food mess (sure thing when you have a toddler) go unattended.  Therefore, just as you aspire to maintain the ability to slip into that dress which has been hanging in your closet for the past 6 months because of, ehem, extras on your body, have the same aspirations for your home too!  

Where To Start

Keeping clean is a habit.  

As such, its something you do without even realizing it, or you don't even think too much of doing it.  For example, if it's a habit for you to wash your dishes right after any meal, you'd naturally have a clean sink all the time.  Similarly, if its a habit for you to put away the newspaper once you are done with it, your living room coffee table (or wherever it is you read your news paper) won't look like such a mess.  

Some may think of it as tiresome things to do, keeping clean that is.  But I believe nobody likes to step into a messy home, whether your own or somebody else's.

As such, here are some of my own routines.  Most take very little time to do once you get into the habit of doing it.

1. Laundry everyday.  I try not to pile my laundry and wait for the weekends to do it for several reasons.  For one, the washing machine does most of the washing anyway, and with the technology today, you can select the water-level and mode of washing just to ensure you are not wasting water and electricity. As for drying up the wash, I slip in some time to hang it the same night after the washing is done.  It takes less than 5 minutes to do, and it sure does save a lot of time in the mornings.  The washing doesn't stay wet in the machine, and gets some extra time to dry before day comes.  Plus, if I keep it to the weekend, I probably won't have enough space to dry all the clothes.
   
   
   By laundry, there's also the dry clothes to fold and iron.  Because there's just three of us, I have an average of 10 pieces of clothes to fold including the ones that needs ironing.  I fold them as soon as I pick them off the lines.  I also do this for several reasons.
   a.  It takes less than 10 minutes to fold the clothes.
   b.  It helps lessen the creasing for clothes that needs ironing.
   c.  To avoid a heapful pile of must-fold-laundry over the weekend (even more stressful!)
   
   Put the folded laundry away as soon as you're done folding.  This also takes less than five minutes to do.
   
2. A clean sink is a happy one (?).  Well, you guys understand what I mean.  Always try to wash everything at once.  It doesn't take that long. If I happen to have a pot with cooking stains inside (e.g. crusts after frying rice), I simply put some water in the pot, and put it back on the stove until the water boils.  This normally loosens the crusts, and thus you have to do less scrubbing to get the stains out.  Works every time!  This beats the soaking technique, which may not loosen the crust enough, and you may end up with some amount of scrubbing.  I also try to keep the kitchen civil and tidy.  I mean, I don't wipe over everything all the time, but the key is to keep the main areas you use clean.  Besides, a clean kitchen is a healthy one.
   Which do you prefer?
   
3. Put things back at its place. When you have a toddler, this is key! I do this at the end of every evening just before going to bed.  This way, I don't stifle my daughter's "creativity" and "imagination". Before I retire, I'd take about, again five minutes to put the magazines/news papers away, chuck the toys back in its boxes, arrange the throw cushions back on the sofa.  Then, I'd look back and tell myself, "That living room looks decent enough" before I step into the bedroom.   Also, putting things away is a good habit to have as it means you don't end up with a big mess to clean all the time.

Photo credits/origins:
1.  ophir.wordpress.com
2.  gharexpert.com
3.  sodahead.com

A Clean Home is A Happy Home

I believe in this intensely.  I think cleanliness is key to transforming a house to a home.  If your home is a window to your soul, I'd like mine to definitely be clean.  Through this blog, I aspire to share my own tips in keeping homeliness in homes.  


** The content of this blog is merely the opinions of the author, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of others.  To each his/her own!