Last post, I talked about my beginnings in cleaning as a Zen student. Zen instills in its students and practitioners a unique attitude toward the everyday, including the activity of cleaning. I would sum it up in this (slightly quirky) way:

Out of all the sensations and preoccupations that engage us through the day, we tend to prioritize based on the importance of certain things. Getting to work on time is more important than eating a balanced breakfast, mulling over a paper one is writing for school is more important than being aware of one's surroundings. Zen doesn't change these priorities but it brings out of the woodwork the essential equality of everything we encounter. A mote of dust has as much claim to the dignity, if you will, of being part of reality as I do. 

That doesn't mean that I stop what I'm doing for a mote of dust. But a Zen awareness changes the balance of value between foreground and background. Whatever I'm focused on is done at the same time with the awareness of the grandmotherly presence of all those little things looking lovingly over my shoulder. ​So cleaning is a way of showing respect for this greater set of presences that are always there with us in the background.

This is the first of several blog pieces to share some background about myself. 

I got my start in cleaning very soon after I moved to Minneapolis in 1982 to become a Zen student at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. Cleaning as a profession is a tradition among Zen students at Zen centers across the country. It goes with Zen's emphasis on simple attention and it allows the flexibility for a lot of meditation.

It's been many years since I've been an active Zen student but I still honor the deep appreciation of ordinary life that Zen practice instills and am grateful for the time that I spent in it.

Here’s a super simple tip that can help you with a vexing problem. Natural stone shower walls tend to be straightforward to clean but sometimes the stone has a rough surface so that any sponge or cloth that you use on it will get torn to shreds. So instead of standing there scratching your head and saving it for another day, here’s an easy solution: use a scrub brush! And use a good, nontoxic stone cleaner while you’re at it (and lots of water). I use Simple Green Stone Cleaner, available at hardware stores.

Here are a couple tips for when you purchase a shop vac if you've never bought one before. Most shop vacs have a cylindrical column sticking up in the middle of the interior where the air intake is. These come with an air filter that fits over it. But they also sell vacuum bags that attach to the interior wall at the point where the hose extends from it and wraps around the filter.

Are these necessary? The shop vac box doesn't say that they are. But why are they even available? The answer to this arcane question in shopvacology is that they are not necessary because there is already the filter but they are a damn good idea. Without them, the filter will become a dusty, gunky mess in no time and you'll have to make a cloud of dust to clean it. So do buy the vacuum bags. It will make the job a heck of a lot cleaner and easier.

Tip 2: Home Depot shop vacs, which I personally like a lot, require one simple Phillips screw driver to assemble.
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Here's a good tip for cleaning that baked on gunk on stove tops. A Brillo pad. You might thing that it scratches but in my experience it doesn't. Test a small area first though just to be sure.

Here's a simple idea I use in my cleaning that can be helpful to you if you have a large walk-in shower. To clean the walls properly you need to wash them down after spraying cleaner and scrubbing them. So, how do you do it without getting your shoes all wet? You could do it in your bare feet but that's --kind of gross. A better idea: put two plastic shower caps over your shoes and rinse away! Easy peasy.

As an environmentally-minded house cleaner I prefer solid tools that I can use day after day rather than disposable tools like microfiber duster refills and disposable gloves. But during the pandemic it's also important that I protect my clients by not taking materials from one house to the next. So in the interests of safety I have switched to disposable tools and protective gear where they are more practical for the period of the pandemic. 

Here are some tips to help you get in the habit of keeping the mess in your kitchen under control. These come from an article in a helpful blog called Apartment Therapy: ​https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/one-minute-cleaning-habits-36620716?newsletter_slot=1&utm_source=at_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11182019

Here we go:

1. Clean up that spill on the counter or stove-top right away.
2. Put your dishes in the dishwasher or wash them after each meal.
3. Wipe out your sink after you use it.
4. Keep some baking soda in your fridge to absorb the odors.

​Understandably, many people right now are seeking to limit having outsiders coming into their homes. This is a smart precaution. But a professional house cleaner who uses proper safeguards not only minimizes the risk but adds protection against the pandemic through the services provided.   
 
First, a house cleaner must wear a mask and practice social distancing. I do this always when I clean. In addition, I have a thorough regimen that minimizes the dirt I bring in from the outside: I always wear disposal gloves, shoe covers, and plastic aprons over my clothes, and I use an assigned vacuum cleaner bag for each home that I clean. I also disinfect all tools that I use in a home before coming to the next home.
 
A professionally cleaned home is a good defense against the virus. I not only do a thorough cleaning, I disinfect the major touch points in a home (and am trained to do a thorough disinfection if the client wishes it).
 
Everyone must make their own choice in something like this but I would argue that hiring a conscientious house cleaner gives you a definite advantage against the virus.

Here are a few tips for keeping your toilet bowl clean:

1. A grout brush works better than most toilet brushes because you can get under the rim more effectively. Put some cleanser (I like Bon Ami) on the wetted bristles and brush under the rim. This loosens the dirt. Brush again as you flush to wash the dirt down the toilet. You can use cleanser in the bowl too. It works as well as a toilet bowl cleaner.

2. Use a pumic stone to get mineral stains, like the one that man times rings the bowl at the water line. These things work great and don't scratch. You can find them in hardware stores or the supermarket.

3. When you flush after cleaning (and in general!), close the lid first. This prevents aerosol spray from dispersing through the room.