Streamline cleaning tasks to maximize sparkle and minimize joint pain and strain. Here are some household cleaning tips and cleaning shortcuts:
1. House cleaning tips begin with pacing yourself. Instead of a dedicated chore day, clean just one room a day. “If you do everything in one day, you’ll end up overexerting yourself,” says Linda Cobb, host of “Talking Dirty With the Queen of Clean,” on the Do It Yourself (DIY) Network.
2. Focus on the heavy-traffic areas. “You may need to vacuum only the pathway from the kitchen to the doorway to help spruce up the place,” says Donna Smallin, author of The One-Minute Cleaner (Storey Publishing, LLC, 2007).
3. Equip yourself properly. If squeezing a spray bottle or lugging a heavy bottle of laundry detergent is tough, look for easy-to-handle packaging. Concentrated laundry detergents come in smaller, lighter bottles but contain enough product to clean the same number of loads. For scrubbing, simple cleaning tools, such as microfiber cloths and gloves or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (2-pack for $2.69 at chain stores or www.mrclean.com), remove dirt beautifully with just a little water and minimal muscle.
4. Strategically store cleaning supplies. In a two-story house, stash a complete set of cleaning solutions and tools on each floor – including separate lightweight vacuum cleaners, such as the 8-pound Oreck XL Upright (starting at $300, www.oreck.com), which received the Arthritis Foundation’s Ease-of-Use Commendation. “That way, you don’t have to carry heavy equipment up and down the stairs,” says Cobb.
5. Clean messes when they’re fresh. Waiting until a stain sets or clutter builds up ultimately results in more work. “It’s much easier to rinse the sink right after you brush your teeth, instead of letting the toothpaste dry and having to scrub it off,” says Smallin. Keep a canister of cleaning wipes near the sink for quick cleanups.
6. Let cleaning solutions work for you. Once you apply a cleaning solution, let it attack the grime for a few minutes, then come back to wipe up. “You won’t have to scrub as hard,” says Smallin.
7. Freshen it in the dryer. To freshen bed or throw pillows, toss them into the dryer with a fabric-softening dryer sheet. It not only eliminates odors from smoking, pets and spills, it also rejuvenates the pillow’s shape.
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Seven Shortcuts to a Clean House
How to cut corners without sacrificing cleanliness
By Lisa Milbrand
They both work full time and have the idea that because I am home all the time I should be the one doing all the work.
I agree with the pay rent or help out idea.
Neither of them can afford to move out, so the helping or paying idea is great.
I will be talking to my husband about this tonight when he gets home from work.
Thanks again,
Pam in Virginia
Regarding cleaning the tub/shower: After you use the shower use a towel to wipe the walls and fixtures down. I use scrubbing bubbles to clean the tub. Hardly any scrubbing is needed. Tub mat looking icky. Just put about an inich or two of water in the tub and add some bleach. Presto a few hours later its clean and sanitized.
Love all these tips though.
After all the years that you have put in to raise them and they don't help you is awful, but only you can do something about it, dear...Stop doing for them...You are not doing them any favors...Make them fend for themselves for once...Good luck...
Also Lime-o-sol makes a product called the Works Tub and Shower for cleaning soap scum and water scale from virtually anything that water comes in contact with. Magic erasers also work with the Works! (no pun intended)
Realisticly, if you dry your fixtures when you finish using them it will keep them shiny clean a lot longer and greatly reduce your cleaning time.
One of my tricks is to use a long-handled, light weight, metal barbeque tong, to reach items from cupboards, etc. Make sure you get the easy squeeze kind. It works well for me.
I have a simple, four-tiered, low-level bookshelf, next to my recliner in the living room. I keep the items I use the most throughout the day, labeled in plastic containers on there for easy access, anytime. Magazines, mail, pen and paper, etc. OTC meds, such as pain ointment, if you don't have small children. Tissues and Handiwipes are great. I keep a space open for food and a drink, right within reach, for those times when I'm unable to do anything.
Thanks
cleaning process is a very tiring process .... I also hate the dust :/
I also think that applying these tips needs time .. sometimes u need to save time as well as money... last Jan I needed to clean my house and I dealt with <a href="http://www.princessmaidservice.com/">princess maid services</a> company and I think it is also money saving , they did very good work and I didn't have to pay too much money.
Thanks again for your tips ... keep the great work up
I do not have any problem and I have been using it since it came about.
Marty
Ver-You suggested things I haven't figured out yet, so thanks for mentioning your thoughts too! I can't wait to have my husband move the cat box to a table and I will try all of the long handled stuff too! I guess I always figured I was streching my aching bach whenever I reached for things but when it hurts to bad to strech, I just leave stuff where it falls until someone can get it.
I use the tv, books or a timer to make sure I'm pacing myself. I will only work so many commericals a show, or I will get up after reading so many pages in a book, or after so many minutes. I use a crate on wheels when picking up a room and put everything that doesn't belong in that room in the crate and move it to the next room. And I only do as much as I can do! I have had to learn that the people who come to visit are coming to visit because they love me and my house doesn't have to be perfect when they come over!!!
Mr Clean used to have a great bathroom cleaner - but, sad to say, no more.
For washing the soap scum off the bathtub, I use an aquarium cleaner. They come with long handles and a scrubbie at the end; they don't have a scrubbie end that wobbles all over the place like most equipment that purports to help people with arthritis.
Keep a grabber, dressing stick and long-handled dust bin on each floor of your house and the garage. The long-handled dustbin allows you to pick up stuff off the floor that you will drop (I drop almost everything because of my hands) or falls. You simply kick the object in the dustbin and lift it up onto the table. The best ones sell for $1.50.
If you have cats and a basement, buy a large table and put the litter box(es) on it. Use a metal scooper not the plastic ones. Also, feed your cats on another table. It makes it a lot easier to clean and spares your neck. Dogs aren't messy eaters and can't jump, so use your long-handled dust bin to get water and food down to your dog and up off the floor if your neck is bad (which if you have RA will happen eventually).
For more tips on Aids for Daily Living, you can browse my Facebook group on that subject.
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