A gatta is a short Buddhist prayer to say before an activity. This one I adapted from a gatta for cleaning one's hands:

Picking up my duster, I clean my heart and mind.
Cleaning my heart and mind, I clean the world for others.

You could adapt it to activities that you do if you like. It's a nice centering ritual.

Here is a useful set of cleaning tips that can help if you have ADHD. These ideas will help organize the tasks so that they don't feel overwhelming. Even if you don't have ADHD but would like some ideas so that the cleaning is more manageable and "bite-size," these suggestions might be for you. www.apartmenttherapy.com/adhd-cleaning-routine-tips-36991822 

COVID, as we know, is primarily spread through the air. It is also possible to become infected by touching a surface with the virus on it, but this is a rare way to catch the illness. Still, it is a good idea to disinfect the most active surfaces that get touched in your home. These are called touchpoints. The most used ones are door-knobs, handles, and light switches, particularly in bathrooms and the kitchen. For a more extensive disinfection you would include surfaces like sinks, toilets, baths, countertops and the door knobs on your entry/exist doors. As part of my basic routine, I do disinfect the main touch points in the bathrooms and kitchen as well as other surfaces (sink, tub, toilet) in the bathrooms.

Here's a simple tip for when some unthinking person tracks mud onto your carpetting. After it dries, take a scrub brush and brush it out. Most should come up. Voila!

Here are some ways to keep your bathroom looking good between regular cleanings.

1. Have a squeegee in the shower stall. After each shower, squeegee the walls and the tub, then have a designated towel to wipe over the chrome.

2. Use the same towel to wipe up the sink after use--porcelain and chrome.

3. Use some toilet tissue to wipe up the rim of the toilet bowl after use. And every few times, use a toilet brush to get the bowl.

These take just a moment but keep your bathroom looking good a lot longer.

House cleaning services in the U.S. have been growing rapidly in the last few years. The pandemic has spurred this growth. It is expected to reach $40 billion in revenue by 2025.  Most cleaning services are provided by independents.  www.getonedesk.com/cleaning-stats

Here are a few quick cleaning ideas to help prep for the holidays.

1) If you don't have time to do a thorough cleaning, focus on the main areas where guests will be (like livingroom, diningroom, kitchen and bathrooms). 

2) Focus on floors--they make the most impression.

3) Use a designated room like an office to toss the clutter if you don't have time to deal with it.

4) Use scents, like essential oil sticks, to give your home a festive, homey feel.

Happy holidays!

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When winter comes, your house won't get the airing out that it does in warm weather with the windows open. So here are a few ideas to prep for your more air-tight home.

1) Wash out and disinfect all garbage, trash, and recycling receptacles.

2) Wash your shower curtain and/or liner to get that mold off it (or replace it).

3) Good time to do a heavier dusting since dust tends to build up more in winter (check those filters!). Dust ceiling fans, under couches, and behind the fridge for starters. 

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Here are some tips to prepare for a cleaner winter:

1) Make sure you have mats, inside and out by each outside door. Also a good idea to use slippers. Have extra pairs for guests.

2) Wash your windows. Use newspaper and a glass cleaner. This will cheer things up for the dark days ahead.

3) Change your filters (vents, furnace, stove fan). This will help keep the air in your home cleaner.

​Forward winter!

Several years ago I discovered microfibers, which are an amazing technology where the a cloth locks in the dirt and germs it comes in contact with to be released through rinsing. This allows for highly sanitary and efficient cleaning. It made my cleaning routine easier and faster. In time, however, I learned how the very tiny, barely visible, plastic filaments in microfiber products  breakdown and have become a serious environmental problem in oceans and even in our drinking supply. So I've decided that it's best to go back to older ways of cleaning.

It's been hard to 'kick the habit' and it's taking some time to work out effective methods that work as well. But I've been experimenting and am in the process now of converting.

​--My small contribution to our oceans.