Country Girl at  Angel Song Acres  

How to Clean Your House in 30 Minutes or Less

Cleaning house can feel like a gargantuan task, especially when you’ve let things slide for a few days too many. But it doesn’t have to be such a time-consuming undertaking. By incorporating these easy tips into your daily routine and prioritizing the areas that have a knack for getting the messiest the quickest, you’ll find that keeping the house in order is as easy as pie. The only drawback is that now you’ll have to figure out what to do with your new-found free time.

Kitchen:

• Do the dishes or place them in the dishwasher after every meal. (5 minutes)
• Wipe down counter tops and stove with an all-purpose cleaner after cooking. (2 minutes)
• Wipe up any spills and sweep up any crumbs after eating. (2 minutes)

Bathroom:

• Keep sanitizing wipes under your bathroom sink so you can quickly wipe the counter-top after each time you wash your face or brush your teeth. (2 minutes)
• Once a week, wipe the toilet and seat rim and clean the toilet bowl. By keeping the cleaning products within reach, you’ll be more likely to reach for them even if you’re not doing a major cleaning  (2 minutes)

Bedroom:

• If you’ve already started a load of laundry, don’t consider it finished until you fold and put away clean clothes. Doing it right away ensures you’re less likely to have piles of clean clothes on your bed. (5 minutes)
• Each morning, clear bedside tables of dishes, books, and reading glasses from the night before. (2 minutes)
• Get into the habit of making your bed every morning, the moment you get out of bed. You’ll be happy you made the time when you come home that night. (2 minutes)

Living Room:

• Every few days, wipe the tables with a microfiber cloth to pick up dust while you watch TV. (2 minutes)
• Break out the Dust-buster to swoop up crumbs on the floor and in the couch cushions. By doing this while you watch TV, you’re integrating the chore into your daily routine, instead of waiting for a deep-cleaning session. (2 minutes)
• Before retiring for the evening put away all entertainment gadgets, DVDs, newspapers, and games that have been left out. (4 minutes)

By doing all these clean-ups listed above often it will make your weekly house-keeping of sweeping, mopping, and dusting a breeze!

And here is a reminder of a few often forgotten but very important cleaning projects:

Reusable Grocery Bags
Many of us have gotten into the habit of taking our own bags when we do our shopping, but how many of us clean them after each trip? According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, 97 percent of consumers never wash their bags. About 50 percent of the bags tested contained coliform (fecal) bacteria, and 12 percent contained E. coli. Especially since many people choose reusable bags to bring their lunch to work, to transport books or clothes, and for many other household uses, washing them after each use is the key to stopping contamination from vegetables or raw meat. Cloth bags can go directly into the washer and dryer, and recycled plastic bags can be wiped down with hot soapy water or treated with a disinfectant spray. Researchers also advise using each bag for only a single purpose—carrying raw meat, carrying vegetables, transporting laundry, or as a miscellaneous shopping tote.

Shower-heads
Everyone loves a shower in the morning, but no one wants to get showered with bacteria. If you haven’t cleaned your shower-head recently, though, this is what may be happening. A study at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that 30 percent of shower-heads tested positive for Mycobacterium avium, a germ that can cause lung infections, and for other various bacteria and fungi. Since some microbes may be resistant to chlorine, the best way to clean a shower-head is to soak it in a diluted vinegar solution and then scrub the deposits away with an old toothbrush. Plastic shower-heads are more prone to bacterial buildup than metal ones, so people with compromised immune systems are advised to consider switching if necessary.

Computer Keyboards
A 2008 experiment by a researcher in England found that some computer keyboards harbor five times as many bacteria than the average toilet seat—bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), E. coli, and staph. The Centers for Disease Control blamed computer-equipment contamination for a 2007 norovirus outbreak that affected more than 100 people at a Washington, D.C., and elementary school. Even private computers used at home aren’t immune to infection, considering that people are more likely to clean, take out trash, prepare food, handle pets, or use the bathroom without washing their hands when they’re at home. A good scrub after typing is the best way to avoid getting sick, but cleaning the keyboard is another good idea. First, eliminate dirt and crumbs using a vacuum cleaner or compressed-air canister, and then use a solution of diluted dish-washing detergent or isopropyl alcohol to swab down the keys with cotton balls or cotton swabs. (Make sure you disconnect the keyboard first.) While you’re at it, you might as well give the same treatment to your mouse, as well as your TV’s remote control.

Draperies
They may hang motionless, but drapes and curtains are a magnet for dust-mites, pet hair, mold, dander, and debris of all kinds. If someone in your house suffers from indoor allergies, cleaning the curtains regularly can help reduce allergen buildup. Simple panel curtains can usually be washed and dried at home and then steamed to release wrinkles. There are certain types of draperies you should take to a dry cleaner or other cleaning professional, including lace curtains, designs with embroidery or appliqué, those with pleats or complicated fabric construction, and draperies that are too big to fit into your washing machine. In between washings, experts recommend vacuuming curtains with a hose and brush attachment at least once a month to prevent debris from building up.

Trash Cans
Considering that the kitchen is usually the dirtiest spot in any house—even dirtier than the bathroom—it’s no surprise that trash cans can become laden with germs. Even if you take out the trash regularly (which I sincerely hope you do), the can itself is still coming into contact with dirt, dust, old food, raw meat, decomposing vegetables, moldy leftovers, kitty litter, and whatever else we deem to be too old, too gross, or too disgusting to keep in the house. Clean the trash cans at least twice a month to prevent the spread of germs like E. coli, salmonella, trichinosis, and simple cold and flu bugs. Small pails can go into the dishwasher;  wash large cans with hot water and a mild bleach solution or with a product designed for pet messes, which contain enzymes to break down bacteria. A hose works best, but apartment-dwellers can clean a large trashcan in the shower. (Just remember to rinse out the tub afterward.)

Doormats
Researchers at the University of Arizona found that about 96 percent of shoes carry traces of fecal bacteria on the soles. If you think about the legions of feet that have crossed your threshold, you might decide that it’s time to give the welcome mat a welcome washing. Vacuum mats with fabric tops before washing to remove dust and loose dirt; you can wash rubber-backed mats in the washing machine. The easiest way to clean any doormat is to spray it down with a garden hose or use the pressure washer at a car wash, using a small amount of soap or detergent. Allow the mat to air-dry completely before putting it back into service.

No matter how vigilant we are, we can never create a completely sterile environment. It’s normal to come into contact with some germs and bacteria—they help us digest our food, keep our immune systems on alert, and provide a whole host of beneficial services. We can’t eradicate every single microbe that crosses our paths, but given the choice between living with more or fewer bacteria, you don’t have to be a clean freak to know which to pick.

(Hallelujah chorus!!!!)

 They're sure housework won't kill you, but why take the risk?  ~Author Unknown

 Please don't feed the dust bunnies.  ~Author Unknown

 If the shelves are dusty and the pots don't shine,
it's because I have better things to do with my time.
~Author Unknown

 Dust is just a country accent. ~Author Unknown

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown 

Thank God for dirty dishes,
they have a tale to tell;
while others may go hungry,
we're eating very well. ~Author Unknown

 God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Author Unknown

I think housework is the reason most women go to the office.  ~Heloise Cruse

 My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.  ~Author Unknown

 Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller

  Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

  The trouble with living alone is that it's always your turn to do the dishes. ~Author Unknown

 My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be.  No one else cares.  Why should you? ~Erma Bombeck

 Cleanliness is next to impossible.  ~Author Unknown

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmod

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.  ~Author Unknown

My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be.  No one else cares.  Why should you? ~Erma Bombeck

If the shelves are dusty and the pots don't shine,
it's because I have better things to do with my time.
~Author Unknown

It's all in the attitude - housework is exercise.  Slim your way to a clean home! ~Linda Solegato

There is no daily chore so trivial that it cannot be made important by skipping it two days running. ~Robert Brault

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. ~Hoosier Farmer

My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors. ~Bette Midler

When it comes to housework the one thing no book of household management can ever tell you is how to begin.  Or maybe I mean why. ~Katharine Whitehorn

My second favorite household chore is ironing.  My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. ~Erma Bombeck

Nature abhors a vacuum.  And so do I.  ~Anne Gibbons

I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again.  ~Joan Rivers

Dust is just a country accent. ~Anonymous

I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on. ~Roseanne Barr

Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop-offs at tedium and counter-productivity ~Erma Bombeck

I'm eighteen years behind in my ironing. There's no use doing it now, it doesn't fit anybody I know. ~Phyllis Diller

If your house is really a mess and a stranger comes to the door greet him with, Who could have done this? we have no enemies. ~Phyllis Diller 

The worst thing about work in the house or home is that whatever you do it is destroyed, laid waste or eaten within twenty-four hours. ~Lady Hasluck

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. ~ A.A. Milne 

Invisible, repetitive, exhausting, unproductive, uncreative – these are the adjectives which most perfectly capture the nature of housework. ~ Angela Davis

No matter how many house chores you complete, there are always more to be done. ~Anonymous 

At worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived. ~Rose Macaulay

I buried a lot of my ironing in the back yard. ~Phyllis Diller 

Housekeeping is like being caught in a revolving door. ~Marcelene Cox

I would rather lie on a sofa than sweep beneath it. ~Shirley Conran