Dear Home Ec 101, How do you clean ceiling fans? I’m especially wanting to know how you manage to clean them without dust bunnies falling down onto the furniture. Signed, A fan of fans Ivy says: I suppose, theoretically, if you cleaned your ceiling fans constantly that there’d never be any little bits of dust …
Ivy says: Dangit all, have a few days of confusion, sickness, meetings, and general disarray, and you wake up to what I woke up to this morning: a house that would undoubtedly earn the Home Ec 101 Seal Of Disapproval. Yes, my darling Home Eccers, while I do generally keep my home in some semblance …
Ivy says: My mom always said there’s something very spiritual about washing your windows. Her theory on this is that the windows are the eyes of your home and by washing the windows, you’re opening up those eyes to let the sun shine in. It’s a newish year, and if you’re an American, we have …
Ivy says: They say, “it’s going around” and it’s “going around and around” in my house, for sure. Winter is prime time for viruses to come on in the house and take up residence. It’s up to you to clean them away as best you can. Of course, you’re not going to be able to …
Ivy says: When I worked as a professional maid, sometimes the boss would come into a house we had just cleaned and would do what she called “the white glove test.” She’d wear a white pair of gloves and check areas we were supposed to have cleaned, and if so much as a smudge appeared …
Ivy says: Last night, there were several dishes left over after starting the dishwasher. This happens with some frequency, we use a heck of a lot of dishes in our house. Normally, I would just rinse them and set them in the sink to run the dishwasher this morning, but it occurred to me that …
Ivy says: I cleaned out my fridge yesterday, right on schedule. Some commenters asked for before and after pictures, and I’m glad to oblige! I’ll give you some tips on how I clean out my refrigerator as well. The first thing I do is fill a bucket with lukewarm water and either a cleaning product …
Ivy says: Yesterday, my mom came over because she had a little time to kill before going to work. There wasn’t any time to clean up because she called me as she turned onto my street. Thanks, mom. “Ah, Ivy,” she said, “Your home is a bastion of cleanliness.” We both laughed because, to be …
Our fabulous commenter Bramble asked: How exactly does one dust the wall? Do you dust the entire wall with a dust cloth? Do you wash it? Ivy says: This, of course, varies depending on how big your walls are and how dirty your walls are. My preferred method is to use a wool duster with …
This has been hard for me to write because I have a small house. My living room, family room, great room, or whatever you want to call it is my office, sewing room, dining room, etc. So the way I spring clean my living room wouldn’t necessarily be the same as yours. For example, I’m …