Here are a few last minute tips to have your home looking tip top in no time.

Kathy Zengolewicz

If you don’t have a cleaning supply caddy, then invest in one. Keep all of your supplies together and include an all purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a dust cloth and a roll of paper towels.

To keep things smelling fresh, make sure to take out the trash often and wipe out your wastebaskets with a damp cloth. Sprinkle some baking soda over your carpets, let it sit for about 15 minutes and vacuum it up. Use a potpourri pot or, if you don’t have one, an old stove pot. Fill it with water and evergreen or pine tree scents and let it simmer. You house will smell great in no time.

Use a large laundry basket and do a quick check of clutter throughout the house. If you don’t have time to putt everything back into it’s own space, just stash the container in a closet and worry about it later.

Last, but not least, always wear rubber gloves to protect you hands. When you finish with your last minute clean up just take off your gloves and your manicure is in tact.

These tips should help you to get things in shape just in time to enjoy the holidays.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

The first process calls for a mixture of baking soda, water and dish detergent. Fill a spray bottle with water, spray the entire oven and sprinkle with plenty of baking soda. Let this sit over night and then use a sponge with hot water and a little bit of dish detergent to scrub the inside of the oven. Rinse with cool water.

Another home made method is on the same lines as the first. Spray the inside of the oven with water and take a cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of table salt, mix them together and sprinkle them in the water. Let this sit over night. The next morning, scrub the inside of the oven with hot soapy water and rinse.

You can clean your oven racks by soaking them, if they’re not too grimy, in hot soapy water and then scrub them clean with a paste made from baking soda and water.

Here is a handy recipe for  a homemade cleanser, a softscrub. Mix ½ cup of baking soda and ½ cup of liquid dish detergent (any kind will work, choose what’s on sale). Gradually add 1/8 to ¼ cup of vinegar until you get the consistency you like. Vinegar is an abrasive and works very well on grimy surfaces.

I hope that you can use some of these tips to help with cleaning your oven.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

For instance, Animal shelters very often need used blankets, towels and sheets. They use these items to create a soft sleeping surface or for cleaning up messes and for bathing the strays they help.

Women’s shelters can always use women’s and children’s attire, toys, books, etc. If you have it to spare, why not buy some disposable diapers and donate them, too.

I hate to throw away books or magazines. I take the older magazines and give them to the receptionist is my doctor’s office. They appreciate the reading material for their patients.  When I finish reading a few books I have my husband take them into his work and give them to whoever wants them.

Half way houses can always use men’s attire, especially winter coats in the cold weather.  Any power tools that you no longer use can be given to groups like Habitat for Humanity.

If you come across some old food containers you can use them for organizing your sewing materials like buttons, pins, needles and cloth scraps.

These are just a couple of ideas. I’m sure you can find many more uses for old household items that you are no longer using. Donating these items help others and you get organized and rid of clutter at the same time, so it’s a win win situation.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

It has also been used as a repellent for fleas. After removing the fleas from your pet with a fine toothed comb, you should drop any fleas that you removed into a solution of Dawn and warm water. It is also recommended that you wash the animal’s bedding in the dishwashing liquid and warm water to keep the fleas away. When you think about it, it’s probably safer to use Dawn than a flea and tick spray.

Dawn has been mentioned on a few websites as an ant repellant. Spray your countertops in the kitchen and bath with a solution of Dawn and water and the ants don’t like it. Spraying the solution directly on the ants will kill them.

Shampoo builds up on your hair from constant use and using dawn, once a month, the same way that you would a shampoo will strip any buildup from your hair without damaging your hair.

When you get an oil based stain on your clothes, such as lipstick, butter, motor oil or cooking oil, use Dawn to pre-treat the stain before laundering. Apply the liquid to the stain and scrub with a small brush or toothbrush until the oil is removed and then launder as usual.

I have some more ideas involving the use of Dawn, but I’ll save that for another day.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

Anyway, I have come across a few things that seem to take the stains out and I thought I would share them with you. Please let me know through the comments section if you have a better way to remove the stains.

For stubborn stains I tried soaking some paper towels in distilled white vinegar and letting them sit over night on the stains. You may need to do it a couple of times, but it does work. You can also mix ¼ cup of salt with ¼ cup of baking soda and a little bit of warm water to make a paste. Spread the paste on the stain, scrub with a damp sponge and rinse thoroughly.

For the rust stains, I sprayed them with lemon juice and a sprinkle of baking soda, then scrubbed with an old toothbrush that I use for cleaning. To prevent stains and rust on you tub, try giving your tub a coat of wax, the kind you use for a fiberglass boat. The wax will give the tub a great shine, protect the surface and prevent any more deep penetrating stains.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

Have an area rug at all entries to the room to catch any dirt or pebbles that may be tracked in. Place rugs or mats in areas where there are chances of spilled or splashed water, like in front of the kitchen sink.

Sweep your floors often with a good quality, fine bristle broom. Vacuum the floor once or twice a week using a soft brush attachment to minimize scratching. Use a soft mop, tightly wrung out, a few times a week to keep the debris to a minimum.

To treat an area of a wood floor that has a tough stain, use a professional wood floor cleaning product that is recommended by your manufacturer. Unrecommended cleaners can cause the finish to dull.

Use furniture pads under your table and chair legs and on the feet of dressers or bureaus. Be extra careful wearing heavy shoes or high heels, as they may cause dents in the floor.

Most surface sealed wood floors are sealed with urethane or polyurethane and are stain and water damage resistant so just sweep and mop and you are done.

Penetrating seal treated or oil treated floors soak into the wood grain and harden. This type of floor needs to be protected with liquid or wax paste.

If you are not sure what kind of finish you have, here is a quick way to find out. Rub your finger across the floor. If a smudge appears then the floor has been treated with a penetrating seal, oil finish or a varnish and then waxed. If no smudge appears then the floor is surface sealed

Take care. I’ll talk to you later.

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Kathy Zengolewicz

Make a list of weekly chores that will keep your home clean and organized. Set certain days for specific chores. For example, make Monday laundry day, Tuesday ironing day and Wednesday the day to empty all waste basket throughout the house. Also, if your child is tall enough to reach your washing machine, you should have him/her do one or two loads of laundry weekly. Teach them how to sort colors and whites, or better yet, start them out with towels. That is two less loads of laundry for you to do and you will be surprised at how important it will make them feel.

Make up a daily list of chores for each child and spouse too. Younger children can dust and straighten the house and the older children can vacuum the carpets. This will help you to deal with keeping your house in tip top shape and also teach kids valuable lessons on being responsible.

Creating a schedule and sticking to it is not as hard as you think. Once you list everything that needs to be done on a daily and weekly basis you then need to assign those chores to the right person. Let the kids help you with the schedule. Speak with them and let them know that you value their input and the help they can offer.

This is a great time of the year to get started on this project. If you start now, you can have thing running smoothly into the new year.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

Today I want to deal with all of the mess and stain that you know you will have after the feast. I know my table is always a mess after a big dinner. I would like to share with you some sure fire ways to help with your clean up.

Removing nasty stains is a big job. To remove cranberry sauce or wine stains simply put ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide and one cup of cold water in a spray bottle. Spray the stain and then dip a clean clothe in ice water and rub. The stain will be gone in no time.

Coffee and tea stains? Mix one teaspoon of white vinegar to one quart of cold water. Spray it on the stain and blot with a clean cloth. Poof! Stain gone.

Dawn dish washing liquid is great for removing grease stains for almost any fabric. I use it to remove the grease stains from my table clothes.

Believe it or not, if you have a nasty stain like grease from a bicycle try smearing the stain with Cheeze Whiz and then launder as usual. You will be shocked by the outcome. It really works.

For butter stains on carpet or upholstery, scrape off any excess butter, sprinkle with baking soda or cornstarch and let it sit for about 20 minutes then vacuum. If the stain remains, mix one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent and one tablespoon of white vinegar with two cups of warm water. Apply the detergent/vinegar solution to the area with a sponge, then blot with cold water and use a clean clothe to blot dry.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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sxc.hu

It is not a good idea to use a commercial cleaner since most of them contain chemicals that can be harmful to pets and humans. Some of those chemicals contain ammonia or vinegar and those odors will probably encourage your pet to return to the same spot. Use a regular carpet soap on the area. Bissell makes a carpet shampoo especially for pet stained or soiled carpets. Whatever you do, do not use a steam cleaner. The heat from a steam cleaner will set the odor and stain into any carpet that has man made fibers.

Animals have an excellent sense of smell and since pets mark their spots they may seek out the same area again and again.  If your pet has an accident here is what you can do. The best way to soak up the urine is with newspaper. After soaking up any excess urine, clean the area thoroughly. You will have to neutralize the odor with baking soda. Let the carpet dry for about an hour and sprinkle the stain with baking soda, let it sit overnight and vacuum it up.

Once the area is clean, you may want to check out any pet odor neutralizing products available in your local pet supply store and treat the area with a neutralizer. If you get the scent out of the carpet, chances are your pet won’t be attracted to that area.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kathy Zengolewicz

I love to listen to music and dance, well it’s what I call dancing, while I dust and straighten up. I am sure that you have mismatched socks around the house so put on aside for dusting. Spray the sock with furniture polish, put it on like a mitten and dust your lamp tables, chair and table legs, knick knacks, etc. When dusting always dust from the top down.

Use a bucket of bleach water (but be very careful, you don’t want a spill) and a clean cloth, or Clorox disinfecting wipes for cleaning down you light switch plates, phones, door jambs, etc. In winter months it’s especially necessary to wipe your door knobs to rid them of virus and flu germs.

Save the vacuuming for last. Using a handheld vacuum for the chair and sofa cushions is a lot easier than dragging the larger vacuum around. Handheld vacuums are great for picking up crumbs and dust in between cleanings. Some housekeepers vacuum multiple times during the week, especially if there is a pet in the house, but once or twice a week should be enough in most circumstances.

Keep the clutter to a minimum on the coffee table, keep books and magazines in a neat pile. Fold afghans or sofa throws when you finish with them and give any pillows a quick fluff. Throw out old newspapers and put video equipment away after playing. If you do these things daily, you home will never be in a state of disarray.

Finally, make sure to have a good sturdy door mat for wiping your feet. The mats made of artificial grass do the best jobs of getting debris from shoes so you track less dirt inside.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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