Spring Cleaning Tips

Do you ever think of cleaning your upholstery as part of Spring Cleaning?

You can pay a cleaning service to do it such as professional carpet cleaners. I've always done it myself.

First you thoroughly vacuum your couch or chair... cushions, back, sides, skirt, etc. I have a good vacuum cleaner so it is effective and doesn't just spray fine dust back into the air.

After vacuuming I take what I can fit into the washing machine and I wash it on delicate. Arm covers, pillows, afghans, cushions. I let them drip dry but not out in the sunshine (no need to stress fibers by drying in dryer and you don't want any fading by leaving it out in the sun). Other cushions (like the seating suchions) that are too big for the washer I take outside on the patio. I take a SOFT brush and some water with very little upholstery cleaner in it (no need to leave a residue). I pour it over the cushions and gently scrub with the soft brush. If there are tougher stains, then bring out the hard stuff like Mean Green for that spot (but be sure to rinse and rinse and rinse to get it off). Then I use a wet/dry vacuum to vacuum off the water. You can do this as many times as you need to but keep in mind that you don't want to distress the fabrics any more than you have to. I don't want my upholstery to pill, get rubs or stretched. The last time is with clean water to rinse any residues away. Vacuum the water out as much as possible. I use a Rainbow vacuum cleaner for this job because it has much more suction than a shop vac. Since I don't have carpets I don't have a carpet cleaner with smaller attachments.

I let everything get completely dry like a day or two with a fan blowing in the living room so that there is no mildew. Then I take the cushions outside again and spray down with Scotch Guard. This step really helps you keep your upholstery clean as spills should bead instead of soak in. Scotchguard has a terrible chemical odor so if you are sensitive then use a mask. Once it dries the odor is gone.

I regularly vacuum the cushions and under the cushions but I wash the upholstery about every 2 years. If I had children or the dogs were on it a lot, then I would do it more often. My dogs usually stay in the Master Bedroom Suite so they are rarely on the living room couch or chairs.

This is how I do it, hope my suggestion helps you.

Spring Cleaning Tips

My Dad used to work for a private school and one of his jobs was to go through all the lockers - including gym lockers - open them up and clean them out. He kept it for a certain length of time but he had to get rid of it. Most men would have thrown the stuff in the dumpster and been done with it but he is too thrifty. He would sort out everything that was use-able and give it to charity or to people he knew needed it. Many times we would spend days actually washing/drying clothes and then sorting them into general sizes and passing them out to teens and children at our church.

But what that brings to mind is how wasteful that is. Do your children leave sweaters, jackets, shoes, lunchboxes, thermoses, notebooks, etc at school? Have you noticed the black hole effect... where they leave for school wearing a coat but you never see the coat again?

I realize that children can be forgetful, it's part of being a child. But part of being a parent is teaching them how to grow up and be an adult. They need to learn how to be responsible about their belongings and they won't learn it from anyone else but you. All it may take is a time or two of Mommy or Daddy showing up after school, marching them to their locker and cleaning it out for them. They may get the idea if it embarrasses them a little. Try to make a mental note of what they are wearing when they leave in the morning and run over that when they come home in the afternoon. Remind them nicely. Tell them you will remind them 3 times and then it means you go with them to the school to get whatever it is they've "lost". You don't want to be a nag, so the 3 times rule is a good warning. Remind them nicely 3 times and then follow through. When they come home on the last day of school, their lockers should be cleaned out and their stuff brought home.

If you feel confident that you have gotten back everything you can from school, then make them help you sort out the stuff. Anything that is still use-able can be corralled and taken to charity. You and I know how many pencils and pens they can come up with. Have a good pen/pencil cup on your desk but if any of the pens and pencils still work and are use-able, wrap a handful at a time with a rubber band. Then take them to a charity. If notebooks have been used less than half, it's use-able and you can keep it for next year or give it to charity. Take coats and jackets to the cleaners (be sure to check the pockets). Have them wash any dirty socks, gym outfits, gym shoes, etc. If they are use-able but your children don't want or need them any more, give the clean clothes to charity.

*NOTE* I've heard horror stories about filthy, bug ridden clothes being given to charity. That is NOT acceptable! You should always send clean, bug free clothes to charity or throw them away yourself. That is so not fair to the workers who have to sort through your stuff! And make sure you only give away clothes in good condition. Nobody wants your paint spattered, hole ridden, ratty T-shirts!

Spring Cleaning Tips

Do you know Justin Case? I do and I bet you do too.

"I might need this, just in case."

"I'll save this, just in case."

I had a Grandmother who died in her late 60's. Going through her things we found a brand new, unused set of towels still in the original gift box and given to her on her wedding day. She'd never used them. They were too good to use. She would keep them, just in case. She died without ever using them. By the time we got to them, they were yellowed and stained with age so they were used for rags. Ole Justin Case won again!

Justin Case is high maintenance not worth holding on to. Everything he has needs to be stored, organized, cleaned, etc. Lost and found, then lost again. Moved when you move. He's not worth holding on to. If you have a Justin Case item, it's time to re-think keeping it. Chances are, if you haven't used it in the last couple of years, you won't need it in the next couple of years. Let's say you need ole Justin Case 10 yrs from now when you are remodeling... can't you rent one, borrow one, buy one then?

Sometimes ole Justin Case is downright trash. People who keep cardboard boxes "just in case". Or someone who keeps emptied yogurt containers "just in case". These things are really trash and have no business taking up space in your nice home.

Now, don't get me wrong. If you are moving next month and know you will definitely need those cardboard boxes, then, by all means, keep them. My mother-in-law has 6 married children with a bunch of grandchildren so she's always sending leftovers home with somebody and she needs those emptied food containers. They don't sit around for years and waste her space, she uses them quickly so it makes sense for her to keep them. That way her children/grandchildren don't have to worry about getting containers back to her. These aren't Justin Case items, but, rather, "going to be used soon" items. For me, cardboard boxes and emptied food containers would be Justin Case items and I don't keep them around. I refuse to take care of ole Justin Case and waste my time with him.

So ask yourself if you really need a Justin Case.

Spring Cleaning Tips

Books need a good organizing every once in awhile. While you are spring cleaning might be a good time to do it. I tend to have books all over the house. Everywhere I sit, I have books... in the kitchen by the rocking chair, by the bed, in the bathroom, by every chair and sofa in the living room, in the study, etc. If you need a good organizing, then it might be time to round up all your books in one central room. Have some boxes on hand and go through them one by one. If they are dusty, then take a damp rag and wipe them down and let them dry before storing them.

You will have books that you no longer want or need to keep and now is the time to stack them in boxes and sell them at the yard sale or take them to a charity. DO NOT just put them in the garage or attic and forget about them. You've made a decision so follow through!

You may have books that belong to the library or someone else and it's time to put them in your staging area (by the door) to take back to the library or take back to your friend. Even if you haven't had a chance to read them, if you haven't been able to read them in the last month or two, you may never read them so take them back. Always return books you've borrowed unless your friend tells you that you can keep them. If you lose them, then it's only fair to offer to replace the book and DO IT! If you procrastinate you will forget about it and you don't want to damage your friendship over a book.

As you go through the books, sort them in a way that makes sense to you. For instance: all fiction and non-fiction; or, biographies, mysteries, romance and cook books; or, John's interests and Sarah's insterests; or, reference material and reading material; or, "So good I have to keep it" and "To Be Read";... some people even organize by color. Whatever makes sense to you. If you've decided to keep them, then organize them in a way that makes it easy for you and your family to find them.

Now decide where you want to store them. If you decide to keep your cookbook collection then it makes sense to store them in the kitchen, especially around the area where you keep your shopping list and menu planner. *Note* Keeping a cookbook collection is really a personal choice now. It's no longer necessary if you have a computer. You can look up recipes all day long on the computer so having it in print in a book that you have to store is not necessary. But, if you have a special affinity, like I do, for recipes and cookbooks AND you have a place to keep them in good order, then, by all means, keep your cookbooks.

My current TBR (To Be Read) pile is kept in bookcases in my bedroom. Stan has a TBR pile on a bookcase in his bedroom although some books migrate to the bedside table once we get started reading them.

We have builtin bookshelves in our living room and we keep some of our nicer collections there. But our attic, which is a walkup attic so it's easy to get to, is lined with bookshelves and it's where I keep the books that I don't want to part with. They are really good books or history, biographies, etc that I don't want to lose. I'm silly that way and maybe, one day, I'll break down and clear all the books out. But, as a child, I couldn't get enough books and I always had to rely on the library because we couldn't afford to buy books, especially as voracious a reader as I am and was. So being able to own books has somehow meant a lot to me. I'll never forget when we reached a time in our marriage that I could actually afford to buy books. For awhile I bought all new books through Book-Of-The-Month. But, now, I feel guilty buying brand new books at such outrageous prices so I rack up at book sales, yard sales, thrift stores, etc. But, my books are fairly organized up there. I have a section for Christian non-fiction, History, biographies, mysteries, other fiction.

If you have children, then I guarantee you've probably got a lot of children's books. Sort through them. If the children have outgrown some of their books and you aren't anticipating having another child, it's time to pass them on. If your children have already read some and they don't mean a lot to them, get rid of them. Or, even let the children offer the used books to their friends. I know my Nancy Drew collection was hard come by and I loved it and I still have it. But I read a lot and I don't even remember all the books, so if I'd owned them I would have been able to easily give them up. I literally read every single children's mystery book in my hometown library which was hundreds of books, started with the "A's" and went through the "Z's". Although I enjoyed reading them, I don't remember them and so would not have needed to keep them. I'm sure your children are the same. Maybe they have a love for the Harry Potter books or the Hardy Boys or some science fiction books but the rest could be donated to charity or passed out among their friends.

While you sort your books and clean them up, it might be that those you want to keep need to have your name and address printed in them. You can get "Ex Libris" (From The Books of) rubber stamps or bookplate stickers made:

Ex Libris
John Doe
123 Main St
Anywhere, US

Or you can use address labels or rubber stamps. If the book means something to you because of who gave it to you, make a note of who it was, the occasion, the date. I've even been known to write "book review" in the back pages or you might want to give it your personal rating on a scale of 1-10. *Note* Get rid of the books that don't make it in your top 5 on your scale! In some books, I've found additional information on the Internet and have printed that out and stapled it to the back of the book. For instance, I might read a true crime mystery that is 10 years out of date so I look up the crime and the criminals to see if they are in jail, have been put to death, were they ever found, is there any info on the main characters, pictures of the crime scene, etc. If it was famous enough to have a book written about it, then you can usually find out more info on the Internet with Google searches.

If you loan your books out and you want them back, be sure your books are clearly marked (see above paragraph). You might even do a simple library list that you keep to remind you that Jane Smith has had your book since 12/31/2009 and it's been 5 months so you might want to call her and ask for it back. Yes, Jane Smith should have brought it back to you without a phone call. Yes, it's good manners to return books promptly. But you and I know that most people don't. They honestly forget and it gets lost under a pile somewhere and they didn't mean to, but 5 mos has gone by and they still haven't returned it. Or, they may have lost it or it got damaged and they are afraid to tell you about it. Or, maybe they are ashamed that they haven't had the time to read it yet. They may have forgotten who they got it from and are waiting for you to call and remind them. A call to remind is not out of place. But be courteous, even if they aren't, and don't get bent out of shape if you've lost the book for good. Don't loan out a book that you can't afford to lose! The price of a book is never worth hard feelings, anger, irritation and grudges. If they haven't had a chance to read it, tell them you would like to have it back and maybe they can get their own copy at the library when they have time to read it. Show good manners and kindness whether they have or not.

If you attend church, like we do, you probably have had Sunday School books, workbooks, notebooks, spiritual journals, etc. I do have a plastic box in the attic where I keep these spiritual books. They contain personal stuff because you've filled out parts, answered questions, etc. Once we've completed the class or study, I pop those books in the box clearly marked "Our Spiritual Journey". I have more than one box over the years. Those represent a lot of study, time, personal experiences, spiritual growth and I can't just throw them away. I have a place to keep them and they are easy to get to so I keep them. You may decide not to keep yours because they are too personal or you don't have the room.

Do you have an old set of encyclopedias and dictionaries and other reference books? Guess what? You don't need them any more. You can Google everything and use the Internet. I know they represent a lot of money. Someone bought them at one time and probably paid by the month. But they are never used, will never be used and there is no reason for you to store them any more. Unless you have a special sentimental feeling for them, get rid of them. Even if you play Scrabble, you can look up words in the online dictionaries and hear them spoken. You have dictionaries, thesauruses, maps, and encyclopedic knowledge for the taking and it's all on that little screen without having to take up 10' of shelf space. So bye-bye big heavy books! (OK, to be honest, my parents bought us a set of encyclopedias when we were real little. We used them a little until about high school when we needed more info and spent time in the libraries. Mom & Dad really sacrificed to buy those books for us and kept them all those years in their own little bookcase. AND I STILL HAVE THEM! I can't even take my own advice. I have a place for them, the bookshelf fits in the back of my entrance hall closet. One day, I'll get rid of them. I'm just not ready to now. )

For more information on organizing books, read my posts
http://sharonscrapbook.blogspot.com/search/label/books

Spring Cleaning Tips

Did you know your computers could use a good Spring cleaning too?

*NOTE* Create a Restore point before doing anything just in case you need to go back.

* Remove all programs that you don't use and aren't needed for your computer to run. Use the Remove Program feature of Windows.

* Backup important data onto DVDS and store safely. Pictures and videos especially take up a lot of hard drive space. If you can back up onto DVDs and clearly label them and store them, you might feel comfortable removing them from your hard drive altogether to free up space. I have multiple external hard drives and I backup onto them. Then, at the end of the year, I will put the year's pictures of each person onto a DVD to give them. For instance, through the year, I keep folders for each person and drop copies of the photos into their folder. Our Grandnephew, Brett Robert, gets a 2010 folder and copies of all his photos are placed in that folder throughout the year. At the end of the year I will make a backup of that folder on a DVD and give to his mother. BUT throughout the year I make backups of everything on my computers to the external hard drives. Hard drives are mechanical devices and it's just a matter of time before they will crash and you lose everything on them. So BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP

* In Internet Explorer (browser) go to Tools, Internet Options and select the Delete button. You want to delete all temporary files.

* Once you've removed old programs and backed up data, you are ready to defragment your hard drive. This should help speed things up. Go to your "Help And Support" and look for the defragmenter. Once it gets started, it can take a long time if you haven't done it in awhile. I have mine set up to do every week so it doesn't take so long.

* Now you are ready to set up an organized file system on your computer. Within the My Documents folder, create folders that help you keep everything organized. I have a Pictures folder but within that folder I have folders for each person and yearly sub folders. I don't just dump everything in My Documents because I have over 70,000 photos alone and I would never be able to find what I'm looking for having to sift through all those files. That would be like having a room in your house and you just threw everything in and walked away. Think what a mess it would be to find anything! If you haven't done this before, it's going to take some time to move everything to the right folders but it's well worth the time.

* Take a photo of the wiring on the back of the computer. If you feel comfortable with taking the back off your desktop computer, remove the casing or back and gently vacuum out the dust. You would be amazed at how dusty electronics can be. It's usually a simple enough procedure to take the back off. It may just clip on and off or have some easy thumb screws. Once you've vacuumed it out, put the casing back on and wipe down your computer with a damp rag. Clean the keyboard with said damp rag. If it's really bad, you can replace it or try turning it upside down and using the sprayer on your kitchen sink and gently spray plain water on it. Leave it upside down on a towel to dry. Clean your mouse. Wipe down your monitor with plain damp rag. Be sure to clean underneath all your equipment and then you are ready to attach your cables and plug it back up. Use the photo to help you put things back in the right position.

* It's always a good idea to label your cables and label them on both ends. For instance: "Cable modem wall end", "Cable modem, modem end", "Printer", "Printer computer end", etc. Try to organize your cables as much as you can and then try to hide them as much as possible.

Now your computer is in good shape for the year!

Spring Cleaning Tips

Now is the time to clean out your coat closet. You need to empty the pockets of your coats and take the coats to the cleaners. I have a fox fur jacket and I need to take it to be cleaned, a tear repaired and then put in storage. Put all the gloves, hats and scarves in plastic boxes so they will stay dust free. If you need to, have a box for each person so that you can keep it separated. Purge anything that is torn, too dirty or is missing a match. Wipe down the coat closet shelf and don't forget those doors, especially the vented bifolds. Whew they get dusty! While it's empty (with the coats being cleaned), it's a good time to paint it if needed. Try different colored coat hangers for each person. Color coding came sometimes be very helpful. For instance you could use black hangers for hubby, white for you, blue for Jr. and pink for Missy.

Spring Cleaning

This week I started my Spring Cleaning. I have to wait this late into the season because of the yellow oak pollen that coats everything. It's useless to do anything with that going on. Once it calms down and we have a good rain, then I'm ready to get started. I used to do my Spring cleaning all by myself but I can't any more. Stan would help me in our last house but now that we are back in town (last 5 yrs) I've paid teenagers to help me. Sometimes it's a friend from church or one of my nephews. Since Luke is in Iraq and Hannah is living with us, she's graciously offered to help and I'm paying her.

Stan and I did the outside and windows last Saturday. Today, Hannah and I did the dining room. I have way too many dishes. I like them, what can I say!?! I have vintage sets for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Christmas and that doesn't count all the other things I have bought in piece meal. I have had to stop buying it because I can't keep up with it all. So no new pieces in about 5 yrs. But, once a year, I try to go through the 4 china cabinets I have and wash every piece, dust the shelves and polish the silver. Then we washed the walls and cleaned the crystal chandelier.

Poor Hannah and I were shuffling back and forth bringing the china and crystal to the kitchen sink. We took turns washing and drying and then taking it back to the cabinets. With breaks, it took us 4 hours. I got really tired and I didn't do nearly the physical that she did. So, when we were finished, she went shopping and cleaned up her rooms and was chipper as a little bird. I went and snuggled with my dogs, read a little and slept through the afternoon. It's embarrassing to be this stiff, achey and tired. But I'm so thankful it's done!

Tomorrow Lee and Hannah are going to help me in the living room. It shouldn't take so long with both of them and there isn't nearly all the washing to do. I have to wash the curtains, wash the doo dads, vacuum the furniture real good, pull everything out from the walls and wash the walls and floors and then put everything back. The bookshelves and their contents will be the most time consuming thing. Depending on how good we do, we may do the Entrance Hall too.

For those of you who are into your Spring Cleaning, I have lists of all the rooms and the things you need to do to thoroughly clean them along with some other cleaning tips. I have posted them on previous posts so here is the link:

http://sharonscrapbook.blogspot.com/search/label/Spring%20cleaning