The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (Full Version)

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OneJohn410 -> The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/15/2008 1:18:53 AM)

Ladies and moms and grandmoms,
My house is not a pigsty. It does not have charm, personality, or a lot of that H&G tv-look either. It's not fashionable, and it's striving to be functional.

I've read some great stuff on how to clean, and here's these homemade cleaners you can make yourself, and wow! What a wonderful bunch of info! What I'm intrigued about is some practical ways of applying that. I don't want to learn all everyone's secrets, yet maybe there's one thing that helps make housecleaning more simpliefied to you? Also, what might be fetching to include in a yard sale, and what is definitely fit to be trashed.

Thanks so much!
OneJohn410



car2ner -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/15/2008 7:46:05 AM)

Stained clothes, toss out. Beat up furniture, toss out. In decent shape but not used for a year or two, sell or give away.

Two tips, cull you possessions. Often the problem is too much stuff and too few places to put it.
After that, always put things not put them down for later.



Szaftoo -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/15/2008 9:11:34 AM)

Most cleaning tips are obvious, however, I have two that work for me.

"Don't put it down, put it away". If you put things where they go the first time, you have saved a step and there is no clutter.

Also, let the cleaners work for you. I spray my various cleaners on what I want to clean and then go to something else for ten minutes. When I come back I simply wipe up and it done.

People buy anything in yard sales, even things that don't work or are broken.



Grace-N-Mercy -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/15/2008 10:44:43 PM)

Clutter is easy to accumulate. When I moved into this apartment, I culled a LOT of stuff and it made it oh-so-livable! It's easy for clutter to accumulate so here's something I found very helpful: www.freecycle.org. Find a group in your area and put it on the list... people list things they need and you can list things you'd like to find a home for. The purpose is to keep items out of the landfills.

Also, a lot of HGTV decorating can be accomplished through finding treasures at yard sales, thrift shops, Goodwill, friends, etc. I'm saving for a house right now, so my current place isn't all that fashionable either, but it's amazing how things just come together over time.

The easiest way to clean is to clean as you go. Wipe the sink after every use. Pick up little bits of fluff you find on the floor. It just takes a few moments this way, but all day if you do it all at once.



OneJohn410 -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/15/2008 11:57:08 PM)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
What about the nice clean surface that you want to keep clean, but that begs to have stuff put on it? What in the world do I do with this? Oh! I'll put it here where I just cleaned. There are locations that refuse to stay cleared off- because they are... available, and looking unused? This is one of life's great mysteries to me, how quickly somewhere I've cleaned can go back to square one. Just put a page note on it that says "NO!"?

I'm cluttered for sure.

Please keep on with the wonderful ideas.

OneJohn410



Grace-N-Mercy -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/16/2008 12:16:16 AM)

[:)] Reminds me of something my mom used to say... "a place for everything and everything in its place". If we put things in their place then, theoretically, there's nothing to put on our nice, clean surfaces. [:D] For instance, right now on my computer desk lies a Bible, sermon notes from this morning, and a pen... I have a place for each of these items and just as soon as I finish typing, they'll be put away.



Roberta_ -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/18/2008 4:13:54 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: OneJohn410

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
What about the nice clean surface that you want to keep clean, but that begs to have stuff put on it? What in the world do I do with this? Oh! I'll put it here where I just cleaned. There are locations that refuse to stay cleared off- because they are... available, and looking unused? This is one of life's great mysteries to me, how quickly somewhere I've cleaned can go back to square one. Just put a page note on it that says "NO!"?

I'm cluttered for sure.

Please keep on with the wonderful ideas.

OneJohn410


Ooohhhh, you have a case of FSS- Flat Surface Syndrome. It's hard to get over, but with some proper self-discipline, you'll beat that virus in no time!! It takes willpower. You do have to "just say no!"

Since you mentioned homemade cleaners, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the wonderful uses of vinegar and baking soda. They can be combined or used separately for a variety of cleaning tasks. You can use cheap vegetable oil for dusting. A little bit of hairspray will remove most inks from cloth.



woodwind228 -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/21/2008 9:44:40 PM)

I use both homemade cleaners and commercial ones, depending on application. I make my own window cleaner and general cleaner, and am considering making furniture polish. I already make my own soap (the real stuff, not melt-and-pour) so I've been meaning to make some that's on the caustic side to use as laundry detergent. Oh, and you can make a linen spray with water and lavender essential oil. Spray on before ironing. Sometimes I just spray it in the room to smell good.

If you have an aromatherapy diffuser, or even one of those cheap electric potpourri burners, you could put essential oils in there. You could use different blends for different things - something that calms, something that is antibacterial, etc. Might be a good way to freshen the air without using synthetic stuff.

I've also heard you could wad up some aluminum foil and throw in the dryer. It's supposed to work like a fabric softener. I haven't tried that yet. Baking soda absorbs odor (carpet, fridge, freezer...). And if you have a stain on the floor, there was a lady I knew that swore by making a baking soda "paste" to put on the carpet stain and vacuum up when dry. I haven't tried that either.

I've got FSS too, I guess. There's this one counter............



Harvie -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/22/2008 1:12:49 AM)

Containers. Baskets. Boxes.

Have ONE specific place to put your mail until its sorted.

Have ONE specific basket for stuff you want to put down as soon as you come in (keys, change, phone, etc.)

Get some baskets or containers and place ONE of them on your available flat surface, then anything you want to "dump' MUST go in the basket ... or it must get put away. It really does help ... and works well for bathroom counters and dresser tops, too.



Roberta_ -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/22/2008 1:19:45 AM)

Great idea Harvie!



OneJohn410 -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/28/2008 2:36:49 AM)

More great advice. Thank you all! Harvie, I'm keeping your husband in thoughts and prayers during this time.

OneJohn410



ebony101 -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (6/28/2008 6:46:52 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Harvie

Containers. Baskets. Boxes.

Have ONE specific place to put your mail until its sorted.

Have ONE specific basket for stuff you want to put down as soon as you come in (keys, change, phone, etc.)

Get some baskets or containers and place ONE of them on your available flat surface, then anything you want to "dump' MUST go in the basket ... or it must get put away. It really does help ... and works well for bathroom counters and dresser tops, too.




What a wonderful idea, as soon as I get the flat surface cleared I'll put a basket on it. Thanx Harvie! [;)]



OneJohn410 -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (7/2/2008 1:13:41 AM)

So, that's it? Just a little homemade cleansers, a place for everything and everything in its place, and some baskets and that's it! Wow!

Y'all are holding back on me. I know. There's secrets a guy should never know about housecleaning.

I've heard it's possible to train one's pet to collect things that appear out of place and put them in the right place. For instance, a dog picks up dirty clothes and drops it in a basket- or gets things that look out of place, drag them out, and present them in the middle of the floor or bring them to the owner.

Now that one is beyond my comprehension.

Thanks for any other thoughts on this. Really, a lot of it has to do with willpower.

OneJohn410



car2ner -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (7/2/2008 7:24:06 AM)

I couldn't teach my dogs to put their own toys away never mind my things. Yet, they were really good at getting their toys out of their basket when they wanted to play. I did have my pooch bring her toy in from the yard the other day. But they don't carry dirty socks without a really disgruntled look.



Grace-N-Mercy -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (7/2/2008 7:46:57 AM)

There's no huge secret about it... it just takes daily work to keep things in shape. Clean as you go.

So how is your place looking now that you've had all this advice?



Harvie -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (7/3/2008 2:02:39 AM)

I think we need pictures!

:: giggle ::



car2ner -> RE: The sign outside read welcome to my pigsty (or it should have) (7/3/2008 8:20:18 AM)

Some men thrive on problem and puzzle solving. Rethink of it as a logic problem, or if you are a gamer, a quest... turn it into a mind game to add some fun to the task.



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