The Secret To a Clean House

how to keep a clean house

Dear Home Ec 101, How do you keep a clean house? Signed, N00b in Newford Heather says: The short answer? You put crap away. If every person in every home simply put things where they belonged, keeping a clean house would only be a matter of dealing with dirt. Unfortunately the universe tends toward entropy, …

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Making Cleaning With Kids More Fun: Cleaning Ninjas

Ivy says: My kids were joking recently that we had cleaning ninjas in our house. I had cleaned the kitchen while they were at school and they thought some cleaning ninjas had miraculously come by to clean it up. From there was born a fun way to clean house with the kids: the cleaning ninja …

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Toilet Cleaning 101: A Brush-Up Course

A dear commenter named Amy asked this: I searched the site and could not find exactly how a toilet cleaning is done. Besides the obvious – Outside first: top, sides, bottom then  Inside: scrub.  I have read you can use toilet bowl cleaner, diluted to clean the whole toilet. One must wear gloves of course. …

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Dirty Walls! Flat Paint! What’s A Girl To Do?

Hi Ladies,I have a quick question about washing my apartment walls. I desperately need to get my security deposit back, and they look nasty. Normally, I’d just use some soapy water and dig right in, but my landlords used cheap, lousy, thin flat white paint. I’m afraid that my washing will ruin the surface. I …

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Teaching Moment: Getting The Kids To Help Clean

Ivy says: One of the most frequent questions I get is “How do you get your kids to help clean?” Short on the heels of that question is “How do you get kids to do a good job when cleaning?” Now, my kids aren’t the best cleaning helpers EVER, but they do help and they …

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Getting Started: The Great Bathroom Cleansing Ritual

Ivy says: Getting your house back in shape absolutely requires that you clean the bathroom. Let me tell you, you could have mounds of laundry piled everywhere and a spotless bathroom and I totally wouldn’t think you’re gross. But make me use a dirty bathroom and I’ll take pictures and post them here on Home …

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