Cobwebs seem to show up in corners all by themselves... even when you haven't seen any spiders. If you don't get to them promptly, they tend to gather a layer of dust and take on an odd, fuzzy appearance. Spend 15 minutes getting rid of them and make your whole house a little cleaner.
Scoot items in the corners out of the way if you can and set your timer. Grab your broom and a couple of dry rags or paper towels. Sweep the line where the wall meets the ceiling from as far as you can reach to the corner on both sides, then sweep the corner itself all the way to the floor. Use a rag to clean off the end of the broom and move on to the next corner. Even if the dust and cobwebs are really bad, you can probably knock out at least 3 rooms in 15 minutes. If it hasn't been too long since you swept your corners, you might be able to get the whole place!
Safety thing: Anytime you're working above your head like this, you risk getting stuff in your eyes. Wear some kind of glasses if you can. If that's not an available option, a baseball cap is a decent second choice. Squint and turn your head away when you can, no matter what protection you have.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sticky Fridge
Occasionally, the shelves of your refrigerator will start trying to keep your food firmly attached by using little splashes and spills as glue. It only takes about 15 minutes to clean the entire interior of the fridge, so set your timer and go!
1. Run some clean dishwater in the sink. Dish soap and hot water is perfect for this job.
2. Empty out 1 shelf.
3. Use a clean dishcloth (dipped in the dishwater and wrung out) to wipe down this shelf and the surrounding walls. Don't forget to run the cloth around the edges of the shelf!
4. Wipe down the bottoms of the containers that are going back to this shelf.
5. Check for anything that needs to be tossed as you put items back. See something that's past its prime? Dump it, rinse the container, and drop the container into your conveniently ready dishwater.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each shelf. Don't forget the vegetable drawers and the door shelves!
In most cases, each shelf will only take about 2 minutes, depending on how cluttered or grimy your fridge is. If you have time between finishing the interior of the fridge and the beep of the 15 minute timer, spend it washing the dishes you threw in the sink. If you have to do those dishes after the timer goes off, take heart. It won't take long.
1. Run some clean dishwater in the sink. Dish soap and hot water is perfect for this job.
2. Empty out 1 shelf.
3. Use a clean dishcloth (dipped in the dishwater and wrung out) to wipe down this shelf and the surrounding walls. Don't forget to run the cloth around the edges of the shelf!
4. Wipe down the bottoms of the containers that are going back to this shelf.
5. Check for anything that needs to be tossed as you put items back. See something that's past its prime? Dump it, rinse the container, and drop the container into your conveniently ready dishwater.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each shelf. Don't forget the vegetable drawers and the door shelves!
In most cases, each shelf will only take about 2 minutes, depending on how cluttered or grimy your fridge is. If you have time between finishing the interior of the fridge and the beep of the 15 minute timer, spend it washing the dishes you threw in the sink. If you have to do those dishes after the timer goes off, take heart. It won't take long.
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