Comments on: Heading Out on Your Own — Day 14: Establish a Simple Cleaning Routine and Stick to It

By: BBinKC

BBinKC — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:52:37 +0000

I’d add that you should always give the toilet bowl and seat a scrub and wipe down before guests arrive. This is especially true if you are having a female guest that you would like to have return again.

By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:13:50 +0000

Great breakdown. Should be required reading for anyone who lives, well, anywhere be it cave, box, foxhole, apartment, dorm, or mcmansion. There’s no need to waste away a weekend if you just spend a couple minutes a day at it.

By: Jr

Jr — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:00:27 +0000

I feel like all I end up doing is leaving lessons learned in the military, but they apply so well. As for cleaning, I am a firm believer in the morning cleanup routine, with a weekly field day (thorough scrub down). Essentially, you allow your living area to be in whatever condition you can stand it being in for the evening, but, when you prepare to leave in the morning, you pick it up, sweep, wipe down the surfaces, so it is in a condition where whoever may enter throughout the day (or with you when you return) doesn’t see an unkempt area. Then, weekly, thoroughly scrub the area, including sweeping and mopping, dusting, and disinfecting surfaces. As a side bar to Mr. McKay’s theory of splitting the duties of the full service up, I feel that compiling it to one session per week allows it to be a little more efficient and faster over the long run.
This all leaves the area tidy during the week and ensures it is a healthy environment weekly.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:42:25 +0000

One rule that has helped me a lot keeping things in order: if you leave a room (or an area of your studio/dorm), pick up at least one item and put it away where it belongs. As you’re most likely to do this quite often throughout a day you’ll have most of the tidying up done without even noticing.

By: Kieran

Kieran — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:22:05 +0000

I cannot tell you how many years it has taken me to finally get some sort of rota going.

I grew up with a mother who was fastidious about cleaning, but would never teach me what she did or expect me to do any chores myself.

For the first few years of my adult life I struggled, at University and then at my own house. When I started dating my wife things improved but even up until recently we have struggled to stay on top of cleaning. Waiting a couple of weeks and then spending the entire weekend “Blitzing” the house.

It is MUCH EASIER to do the basics such as washing up and clearing clutter regularly and then bigger tasks stretched out during the week. Take it from someone who knows.

This is a very simple guide that gives sound advice. Follow it.

By: Znorton

Znorton — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:21:41 +0000

This blog is so great for America! It gives me hope for our country, and the people therein, in a time when hope, (despite being promised by our current President) is in quite short supply.

The simple task of keeping things clean is such a virtue that so many Americans need to be informed of, instructed in, and straight up TOLD to do!

It seems so simple, but sadly, there are a multitude of people in this great country who live in filth. Thank you, AoM, for taking the time to complete the arduous, but essential, task of instructing Americans, especially us young Americans who are the FUTURE of AMERICA, in the value and the process of cleanliness!

GOD Bless America!

By: Celso

Celso — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:34:17 +0000

I live alone and have many activities besides my job. The best thing I did was to hire a maid. She comes once every two weeks, does a nice cleaning on my apartment and even irons my clothes. She only needs one morning to do everything, and all I need to do to have my place in order is to wash my clothes on the washmachine, and clean kitchen stuff when (if) I make some food.

By: Doug Tyson

Doug Tyson — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:39:48 +0000

Thanks for another great article.

An economical alternative to Clorox wipes is a spray bottle with 1 part white distilled vinegar to 3 parts water.

Between white distilled vinegar and baking soda, one can clean and disinfect just about anything from floor to ceiling.

I found this handy little site of recipes: http://www.vinegartips.com

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:27:52 +0000

Sometimes I’ll time how long it takes me to perform a specific task. Laundry is my personal bane and I always think it will take me longer to do than it actually does. In actuality, 1 load of laundry only takes me about 10 minutes to fold put away. Timing the task is my way of getting out of that mentality of “I don’t have time to do this,” because I probably do.

As to Jeremy’s comment on using Clorox disposable wipes. While we women like men with a sense of responsibility for their actions, nothing is worse then a 6 month old, bacteria ridden sponge or rag with black mold growing on it.

If a Clorox wipe is what motivates you to clean the counter, then use it. If you’re more environmentally conscious and want to use a rag — and you’re responsible to throw it in the wash ever couple of days, then great!

Just clean the dang counter!

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:01:19 +0000

Or you can do like I did: Hire a maid. Once a week, you return home and the house has magically polished itself while you’re at work. I highly recommend the expense. It frees up your evenings and weekends for socializing and networking, two activities that will return dividends.