Company is coming over and you are in a panic mode! Your home looks good enough to you but when special people are about to visit you can see that all is not well in your humble abode and you need to get busy cleaning. This can be a major undertaking but doesn’t need to be.
Ever gone to an open house? That house has been “staged” to appear like new and will most likely be as clean and tidy as possible, and also have only a small amount of furniture and accessories so as to appear less cluttered. No personal photos or “funky” framed art to be seen because it would detract from the home itself. Well that neat and tidy appearance can be maintained easily with a bit of planning and work. Treat your home like it’s on the market even though you’d never sell and you will keep it in open house condition from this point on.
Use good old distilled vinegar for many cleaning chores
One of the most affordable as well as most useful items you can buy for a cleaner home is distilled vinegar. It is invaluable for cleaning anything from your coffee pot to the shower head in the bathroom. A soaking in vinegar for a few hours will clean most anything chrome or plastic that has a calcium buildup. Especially in areas where the water is especially hard and contains minerals, you can easily keep faucets, drains, shower doors, and sinks shining like new with vinegar. Take that shower head that has a slower output due to becoming clogged with calcium deposits off (if possible) and submerge it for a few hours in vinegar. If it won’t come off from the pipe easily just put a plastic bag filled with vinegar over it and then soak. Wrap wash cloths or paper towels around the faucet and saturate them with vinegar and let soak a few hours, then when you wipe it clean that faucet will shine like new! Wipe down the inside of glass or plastic shower doors several times a week for a super clean appearance. You can do this while showering, and then wipe them dry with your towel after drying yourself. And don’t forget to clean your windows, inside and out, with one part vinegar to four parts water then wipe them dry with newspapers. This is an old but still very affordable and effective way to have sparkling clean windows. I always keep newspapers and vinegar in my self storage area in case I need it handy.
Keeping the basics in good repair
Inside and out our homes will have that “lived in” look, especially with children running around. Keep those door knobs, light switches, cabinet doors and latches, and toilets all in good repair. If you check these items and tighten or clean them periodically they will be less apt to break or fail. Toilets can become an embarrassment when you have guests and the ring (from that hard water) has left them discolored. Don’t wait until it becomes a major chore to clean that bowl. Use a good toilet bowl cleaner once a week and pour some vinegar into the tank two or three times a week. The tank also builds up mineral deposits and can benefit from a thorough soaking in vinegar and water. Light switches can become discolored and even loose so check them periodically. Cabinet doors and their latches may loosen with heavy use and if you simply tighten them now and then you will save time by not having to put them back on or replace. The kitchen sink is a whole cleaning chapter in itself but basic maintenance will keep it from becoming a big issue and will keep it working efficiently. A garbage disposal can be kept smelling great by disposing of some orange or lemon peelings once a week. That stainless steel sink will shine like a new one if you liberally smear a pasty combination of baking soda and water around in it, then scour and rinse clean. The same vinegar/baking soda combo will also keep sink drains running smoothly if you put a half cup of baking soda in the drain, then add a cup of vinegar. It will bubble and foam like you’ve used a strong expensive drain cleaner down there but this is safe (not only for you but also the environment) and very efficient.
Floor to wall maintenance made affordable
If you vacuum often (twice a week) you will find the carpeting will keep clean longer before requiring a professional carpet cleaner’s visit. Wipe walls when you first notice smudges or fingerprints and you won’t need to paint nearly as often. Adding wall paper to drab rooms, even if only to one wall, is an affordable way to modernize rooms. You don’t need to wax those floors (that require it) too often. Just use that vinegar mixed with water for a brilliant shine. When you do choose to wax use a wax remover first, and then add a coat of quality floor wax for a great shine that makes your kitchen or bathroom flooring look like new again. Bleach is another easy fixer for many household cleanliness issues. Use a mixture of one part bleach to five parts water and smear it over grouting in the kitchen, shower or bathroom vanity and rinse it off after a few hours. The grout will look like you’ve recently re-grouted and it cost you only pennies. That same bleach to water mixture is handy in a badly stained toilet bowl or on areas of tiled floors that have become stained.
Clean out your fridge and freezer
Keeping a clean refrigerator is not only a good idea for appearances sake but also for your family’s health. Bad things grow in that 40-45 degree environment and you must keep it clean by periodically cleaning and rinsing drawers and shelves. Use that bleach/water mixture to wipe off shelves or remove them and wash in the sink. The meat and vegetable bins or drawers can become smelly and even potentially dangerous if meat has leaked some blood or vegetables have rotted in there. This isn’t a chore that needs to be done daily but you should inspect them and clean as necessary or at least monthly. Today you can buy scented bleach so there’s no excuse if you don’t like the smell of bleach. And don’t forget to put that leftover box of baking soda in the back of your fridge to remove most odors such as onions and garlic.
Stand back and look at your home as if it’s on the market
When you think you’ve gotten your home in good repair and it looks especially nice when compared to other homes in the neighborhood, stand back and take a good look. Would you buy it? Now that you have gotten it in good condition it can be kept that way quite easily and at very little cost to you, the home owner. A bottle of vinegar, a bottle of bleach, a box of baking soda, a screwdriver, a hammer, or other items from self storage and maybe a wrench to tighten pipes are all it takes to keep your home looking like a new one you can be proud to show off.