Today I completed my COVID vaccination regimen with the Pfizer vaccine. Being 65 I was on the first call list and was contacted a few weeks ago by a clinic to make an appointment. Though I have a 95% chance now of not having the virus, I will continue to wear a high-quality mask (and gloves and boot covers) when I clean to be safe and because it's recommended.

So you have made your sponge available and have decided that you want to wipe off your countertops after each time you prepare food but you never do, and the crumbs and grease grow and grow... Simple aid for this situation: clear your counter tops of everything you can. Put items on top of your refrigerator or inside cabinets. Now when you come to wipe it's a very simple operation and will take no time or energy at all! 

Here is a very practical set of simple tips to help keep your kitchen cleaner and more orderly on an ongoing basis. It was sent by my former realtor, Chris Gemlo, who I heartily recommend. He gave me great advice and helped me sell my condo in a few weeks in a poor market a few years back.  

newsletter.homeactions.net/archive/full_article/16274/11579638/4639216/116031

One of the principles of efficient cleaning is to tailor your effort to where it's needed. Sometimes breaking down a task into it's parts helps accomplish this. Take cleaning steel sinks as an example. The really gunked up stuff tends to be on the bottom with the sides more a matter of spatters. So it's easier and quicker to use cleanser on the bottom (I like Bon Ami) and use a spray cleaner for the sides. Rinse and wipe. Easy peasy!

When you're cleaning the oven, what's the best way to get those pesky oven racks. One way is to leave the racks in as you spray the oven with oven cleaner. This will get the top of the rack spindles cleaner but may take repeated attempts, and the undersides of the spindles will not get clean this way.

Here is a more thorough method is to take the racks out. Leave the racks in for as long as you are spraying the oven. But when that is completed, take them out and use a soft wire brush to get the gunk that remains on the spindles. Test an area, but a wire brush should not damage the chrome. 

Here's a site that has a lot of useful information about waxing your old wood pieces. The lead article talks about using beeswax for the task. 

​https://www.sandbergantiques.com/post/you-know-those-collectibles-you-got-from-your-grandmother-well-they-might-be-worth-something

Here's a clever technique for dusting artificial flower arrangements. Take some salt (not Kosher salt) and put it in a large bag. Put the artificial flowers in the bag, tie up the bag and give it some shakes. The salt will wipe off the dust without hurting the flowers!

Happy new year! This is a time when we like to clear out old files and perhaps other accumulations from the year. Here is an organizing tip to start the year off right. One problem many people have is that the amount of mail and other miscellaneous information that comes into one's home is too much to deal with at the time so it starts creating little piles that get bigger and bigger as the year progresses. One antidote is to have bins in the areas where you typically toss your unread mail and other kinds of information and put those items that you aren't ready to read yet but don't want to throw away into them. On 12/31/21, go through the bins and then toss things out that you're now ready to. Chances are that will be most of what you've collected!

COVID is spread primarily through the air as we all know. The virus does live on surfaces for a short time but expert opinion is that the chances of contacting it from a surface are very slim. Nonetheless it is recommended that surfaces be periodically disinfected as a 'just in case' measure. 

So here are some easy tips. Have some disinfecting wipes and some spray disinfectant on hand in the bathroom and kitchen, the two most important places to disinfect. 7th Generation makes a nontoxic version of both products. Once a week clean the high touch areas of these rooms  the wipes are good for handles, doorknobs, and light switches in both rooms. The spray is good for the tub, sink, and toilet in the bathroom and countertops and sink in the kitchen. If you're motivated, you can also get the door knobs, handles, and light switched through out the house.

At year's end, I would like to wish my blog readers and cleaning customers a joyful holiday season and best wishes for the new year. This has been such a difficult year for many of us. I hope that the coming year will give you ease and plenty to celebrate!