My friend Kim was talking today on Facebook how she was doing her spring cleaning, and that gave me the inspiration to tackle two projects today — and both took less than 30 minutes. Tonight it was under the kitchen sink.
Now I keep a neat cabinet there, but I was still amazed at the dirt, gunk and nearly empty products I had when I cleared the cabinet. That was the first step. Next was to spray the cabinet bottom with everyday cleaner and just let it soak for about 10 minutes. Let the product work for you is my motto.

While the cabinet soaked, I consolidated nearly empty Windex with another one, and cleared out some cleaning products that were all gone or no longer useful (I had a bottle of furniture spray under there with no sprayer — what the heck was I thinking?!?)

Fifteen minutes later, the cupboard was sparkling. Before returning the items (in an orderly fashion) I sprayed the back of the cabinet with ant spray ’cause you know those buggers are coming.

A couple tips:

Like I said, I was surprised how dirty it was under there. I had probably cleaned it last about 6 months ago, but there were still rings on the base, as well as miscellaneous items that missed the trash can. But 15 minutes later, it was clean as a whistle — an easy 15 minute spring cleaning task.

To wind up the task (and while the cabinet spray was soaking), I gave the kitchen sink and faucet a good scrubbing, including running an old toothbrush along the edge of the sink and around the faucet to get any old gunk. A quick rinse and it was clean, too. … But, from the photo, I now see I need to touch up the window.

For more spring cleaning tips, just search “spring cleaning” on the Home page.

Next to a root canal, people dread cleaning the refrigerator. But it doesn’t have to be a nightmare if you break it into steps.

The thought of taking everything out of the fridge, tossing the science experiments, cleaning, and then putting everything back makes most people say, “No thanks,” but it doesn’t have to be so bad.

Don’t take everything out of the fridge, just one shelf at a time. Throw out the disgusting items. Pair down the storage of other items (you don’t need to keep the lasagna dish in there; parcel the leftovers into Tupperware). Clean the shelf with window cleaner or whatever (I don’t buy that “soapy water” cleaning tip the fridge manufacturer tells you to use.) Then put the items back. Boom — you are done in less than 10 minutes!

I just looked in our 25-cubic, side-by-side fridge, and there are 13 different areas — from the veggie bin, to the meat drawer, to the shelves on the door, to the main storage area. Can you imagine doing this in one day? No wonder people would rather have a root canal! But by breaking it down to two areas at a time once a week, you will have a super clean fridge in a less than a month-and-a-half!

But when is the best time to start tackling the task?

Again, don’t do the whole fridge in one fell swoop, but easily you will have two nearly empty areas. Much better to do it now, rather than having to move numerous items after you shop.

You can save time in the future, too, with a strategy for the veggie/meat drawers.

Using this hint, if you let a wayward vegetable turn into a science experiment, you just toss out the paper towels and don’t have to scrub the bin clean again.

Now that you have a clean refrigerator, I have one more suggestion.

Toss the extras and clean the container. Better to do it now, than clean the mold later.

Follow these hints, and soon your fridge will be picture perfect!

I think people set them up for failure in hoping, wishing or even praying for a clean home. That’s because they believe it’s all or nothing. “I either spend all afternoon cleaning, or it’s a mess.” Not true!

And here is my confession — I have no “cleaning day.” I never spend hours scrubbing, dusting, etc., but I perpetually get compliments on how neat and clean our home appears.

Now I am not talking that you can eat off the floor or won’t find a speck of dust on my blinds, but I never feel like I need to apologize how the house appears when someone stops by (or to myself when I wake up).

My secrets? Glad you asked.

Hope these suggestions help. You can do it. Just remember a little every day adds up to a lot in a week and beyond!

I know a lot of people have yet to jump on the couponing bandwagon (even though it is easy with sites, such as Couponmom and saves a lot of money), but anyone can benefit from the new wonder — E-coupons.

Look at this haul from tonight, including two gallons of milk, two Coffeemates, four boxes of Cherrios, Olay lotion, potatoes, carrots, cheese slices, snacks, a frozen pizza and even a frozen dinner entree. $85 in groceries for … $29! That’s a $55 savings!

I used my standard strategies, which is to combine store specials, with store coupons, with manufacturer coupons (both newspaper and Internet). But I started adding in one more saving strategy — E-coupons tied directly to your store club card.

The best news is now the stores are adding E-coupons available on their web sites! So before the shop, I stopped by my store’s site (Vons.com), added its E-coupons onto my Club card, and then went on over to Shortcuts.com, Cellfire.com and P&G.com for Proctor and Gamble savings. The best part is I never needed to leave the store’s web site — the links were right there under “coupons.” Now this is no-brainer savings!

To use them is nothing. Slide your card at checkout, and the savings is automatically deducted (usually noted as “Manufacturer E coupon”). The store makes it easy to remember what you loaded, by offering a printable shopping list on its web site.

Just with e-coupons (which take nothing to load), I saved $6.05. Adding them with regular coupons and the rebate, and my total coupon savings was $32.61 — more than what I spent!

But when you combine E-coupons with and/or store specials, store coupons and paper and Internet coupons, you can net some dang good deals!

How about these steals tonight:

When I cleaned houses, I bought a great book called, “Speed Cleaning,” and from it I learned the fastest way to clean a toilet.

Sure, not a glamorous job, but it can be done quick and easy — and there is a method! It works, too — honestly, I just timed myself in the powder room, and it took 2 minutes flat.

This post underscores that there are ways to make cleaning faster and simpler. I always thought I was good until I read the “Speed Cleaning” book — and that’s when I learned you can make all the tasks more efficient.

So let’s start with the toilet:

Step 1: Gather necessary materials — toilet bowl cleaner or cleanser, toilet brush, two paper towels (still attached), and a spray cleaner.

Step 2: Remove items from the top of the toilet (if any).

Step 3: Lift lid and seat. Pour toilet bowl cleaner or cleanser into bowl. Scrub with toilet brush. Flush toilet and rinse brush in the swirling water.

Step 4: Working backward, spray rim, then underside of seat, then top of seat, then underside of lid, then lid, then flat area behind lid and then top of toilet with cleaner. You should end up with the toilet totally closed once done spraying. (Now, remember, you don’t need to douse with cleaner — you’re just making more work for yourself — just a light spray will do.)

Step. 5: Working forward, clean top of toilet, then handle, touch up back from overspray, and then clean top of lid. Clean flat area behind lid. Flip cloth. Clean inside of lid, seat, underside of seat, and then rim. Flush paper towels or toss.

If you have particularly messy bathroom users, you may need to use one more towel to clean base of toilet and outer bowl, but we don’t have to so often. (Thank the Lord.)

And that’s it! You just learned how to speed clean a toilet. Tell your friends!

One more tip: Want to know how to unclog a toilet without a plunger, etc.? Check out this post from the past.

Happy flushing!

Sometimes a spring cleaning idea comes out of the blue, and that was the case late this afternoon. My partner Art had used the kitchen sponge to clean the sink after washing a chicken — cut to blood curdling, “Noooo” from me, keeping in mind this post.

It went into the trash (but thankfully, it was time to replace it anyway). I knew I had a new one under the sink, but I knew it was also in the back of the cabinet. So, I figured, “I’ve got to take everything out to get to that sponge, so I might as well clean under the kitchen cabinet at the same time.” Fifteen minutes later, the cupboard was sparkling.

I removed all the items — cleaners, trash can, etc. Wiped down the bottom of the cabinet with an all purpose cleaner (and I was surprised how dirty it was!) I sprayed some Raid at the rear of the cabinet, anticipating ants as the weather grew warmer. Then just replaced all the items.

A couple tips:

Like I said, I was surprised how dirty it was under there. I had probably cleaned it last about 6 months ago, but there were still rings on the base, as well as miscellaneous items that missed the trash can. But 15 minutes later, it was clean as a whistle — an easy 15 minute Spring cleaning task.

This week, many of my blog pals were posting photos of their front doors, and that brought to mind, “How clean is your front porch?”

I can tell you this morning, mine looked like the Munsters had moved in — dust, dirt and cobwebs on the bistro set near the front door. It’s not surprising, because anyone with a garage normally enters their home through it. But it’s the front porch that the public sees — it’s your face to the outside world. So, is yours dirty?

The situation is quickly resolved — easily in 30 minutes or less. Just remove the front door mat (replace if needed) or shake it out. Then, take your garden hose, and wash down everything — the door, the threshhold, the eaves and the front porch light.

This is one of the first hints I gave to my clients selling a home, because it’s the first thing the public sees as they wait to go inside — your friends and neighbors are just the same. Make it a good first impression.

Personally, I have always loved having some sort of decoration on the front door — be it a wreath, a charming wall hanging, etc. But have you looked at yours lately? Time to wash it, too.

When I lived in condos for 10 years, it wasn’t possible to hose down the front, but I could sweep, swat down cobwebs, and even take a bucket of soapy water and wash down the handrails to my second floor unit (who wants dirty hands as they walk up the stairs to your home?).

So, I just wanted to plant a bug in your ear — now that winter is gone, make sure you are putting your best face forward to the public.

And, wouldn’t you know, as soon as I finished, our new next-door neighbor came by. And I knew I made a good first impression.

Re-visiting a post from a year ago, but it fits so well with our spring cleaning theme (plus I am pooped from work today). But I am gonna squeeze this in tomorrow. By the way, I was true ProHo this evening — still managed to whip up some of this great chili recipe and it was all the quicker ’cause I had froze pre-cooked ground beef with onions two weeks ago for just such a dinner emergency, as noted in this post. So, yes, I may be lazy tonight, but I gave you links to four great tips!)

We’ve all heard that guests like to look in the medicine cabinet. But even if not, today we have a 10-15-minute clutter control/cleaning tips in this staple of the bath as part of our
“One week to a cleaner bathroom” theme.

Let it be know, I preach what I say, and just did ours in the master bath (pictured at left). I hadn’t done it in a year, so it was time — and I’ve got houseguests coming!

This is an easy-peasy task that you can do in 10-15 minutes tops. Grab a grocery bag for trash, roll of paper towels, glass cleaner, and a general purpose cleaner. You’re ready to roll!

Here’s the order to a clean medicine cabinet:

That’s it!

If you’re storing daily toiletrie items here, it’s time to revisit “One Week to a Cleaner Bathroom” posts (just click the link for the first one). At any rate, at least you now have a clean and orderly medicine cabinet.

I know conventional wisdom is that spring cleaning is when you strip a room and clean from top to bottom, but I really think it comes down to a little bit at a time and re-organizing for another year.
Sure, it’s important to do some neglected chores (I need to wash the tile on the hearth, dust cobwebs, clean the blinds, etc.), but with 15 minutes to spare, I can accomplish one task — and that’s a drawer.

The other day I did our junk drawer, which actually is the drawer we live out of. You know it, the drawer that has the pens, the notepads, the car keys, the sunglasses (it is California, after all) and basic items for my business (my lock box key, my MLS code fob and business cards). About four years ago, I invested in these modular organizers at Lowes, and they are wonderful, but still the drawer gets overloaded.

So a few days ago, I took 15 minutes and cleared out the kaka that accumulated over a year. It was amazing, and now here is the result! Ta-da!

So, the suggestion today is instead of tackling those projects that seem overwhelming, take 15 minutes and do a drawer. That’s all.

You will enjoy such a sense of accomplishment that it will make the bigger tasks so much easier. I think everyone needs to look behind them and say, “Yeah, I did that, and now I can get this done.” We all need a sense of encouragement and accomplishment.

So, in 15 minutes what can you do today? I am going to do the drawer packed with printed out recipes — and I might just get to that fireplace hearth today!

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but with just one stone at a time.

I finished cleaning the house today, and started overwhelming myself with all the tasks I want to accomplish with spring cleaning. Then, I reminded myself, “It didn’t get that way overnight, and it’s not going to get cleaned overnight.”

So I changed my thinking, and asked myself, “What can I do in 15 minutes?” So, today, I went through my sock drawer, and tossed a bunch of stretched out socks that I had kept for years (15 minutes). I went in my closet and arranged the clothes I wear all the time, and tossed out a shirt I have no intention of ever wearing again (15 minutes). I then went to my partner’s closet, re-folded the clothes that had been messed up, and straightened everything (15 minutes).

Instead of being exhausted by taking on too big a job, I got a sense of accomplishment by completing three simple tasks in less than an hour.

You’re soon going to see all kinds of online and newspaper articles about spring cleaning, but break it down to manageable steps, and you will be so much happier — and have a sense of accomplishment (like I do) at the end of the day.