Live Smarter

1. Clean your LR/FM like a pro

blue yellow lr

 

1st rule of thumb, start high and work down. Otherwise you’ll be knocking dust onto surfaces you’ve already dusted. Hey, it’s bad enough having to do it once! You don’t want to have to do it twice.

 

– Feather dust ceiling fans first!

– Check and remove webs from the ceilings and upper corners.

– Feather dust the window blinds and curtains.

– Feather dust all of your silk arrangements.

– The light shades and the light bulbs should be dusted off with the feather duster. If the lampshades are very bad, you can use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum.

– All window ledges should wiped.

– Clean any window spots as needed.

 

– Feather dust all artwork on the walls. The fronts of paintings should be lightly feather dusted, or very lightly dusted with a soft dry rag.

 

– Clean any metal and painted picture frames with glass cleaner sprayed on a rag or paper towel. Clean wood frames with Pledge or Endust sprayed on a rag.

 

– Glass clean any mirrors, glass doors and glass picture fronts as needed. Sometimes you can get away with feather dusting.

 

– All furniture is dusted, wiping tops, sides, fronts and legs. My favorite choices are Pledge orange spray on wood surfaces – (NOT the oil. The oil is terrible!) or Endust on other types of surfaces. Whichever you use, spray it on the rag, not directly on the furniture. The swifter dusters are good, but they get costly – and they’re not very earth friendly.

 

They do make ‘all surface cleaners.’ You still get the best results using Regular Pledge on wood and glass cleaner on glass.

 

– If you have books, feather dust or wipe with a dry rag.

 

Now most people will remove everything, spray the top down, wipe it until its dry, then put everything back. Sounds time consuming, doesn’t it?

 

Here’s the faster way to do it…

 

If the surface is really dusty, I like to knock most of it off with a feather duster first. Keep the feather duster in your back pocket (handle in your pocket) for quick access. Everyone always makes fun of my tail.

 

If its really, really dusty, you can use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum to take the bulk of it off, then polish.

 

Keep a supply of cut up old t-shirts for dusting. About a foot square works nicely.

 

Fold your rag in quarters. Spray one side with your polish. It should be damp, not wet. Too wet and you will leave streaks.

 

Feather dust or wipe any nick-knacks with the dry side of your dust rag. Then, pick up each piece and wipe the surface with the polish side of the rag and put it back down.

 

The nick knacks are usually feather dusted. They may need to be wiped or even washed occasionally. A slightly damp rag will do nicely most of the time, unless you have a lot of build up. Also be sure to check before wiping figurines with water. Some have paints that will wipe off. I’ve done that. Be careful!

 

Once the top is done, spray the rag again, in the same spot usually will be fine until it gets too dirty. Wipe the front, sides, and legs. Move on to the next piece.

 

When the rag gets too dirty, simply refold to give yourself a clean surface.

 

It might take you a couple of times to get the hang of it.

 

One of my pet peeves is dirt in the carvings. It drives me crazy that the girls just ignore this. They are more worried about speed.

 

To clean this out – spray the polish directly into the crevice. Be careful not to get the spray on the floor. It will make the floor very slippery. You might want to put another rag on the floor under where you are working for safety.

 

I cover my fingernail with the rag to work into the grooves and corners. If you don’t have nails, you could use a cotton swab. If it won’t fit, break the swab and use the stick to gently work the dirt out.

If you have open scroll type carvings, take a corner of your rag and work it into the opening. Hold the rag on both sides and move it back and forth and around the carving to get it clean in there.

You don’t have to do this every time you clean. Do one piece every time you dust and you’ll hit every piece often enough.

Be sure to clean your TV screen and the other components. Most of the time feather dusting or Swiffer duster will do just fine. Always check manufacturer’s instructions before using any cleaner. Many require special care. The dry cloths don’t do much. There are many electronic cleaning cloths available.

You can also use a microfiber cloth with a corner dampened with a little distilled water. Using tap water can have elements that can scratch the surface so they tell me. It will void your warranty. 

Check your upholstered furniture. Check under the cushions. Vacuum up crumbs and pet hair.

Give the baseboards a quick once over with a duster. Remember, you are keeping it in your back pocket for easy access so you can keep moving. Furniture should moved once in a while and vacuumed behind – within reason. Edges should be done on a regular basis.

If you want to do a really professional looking job, the vacuuming is done with no foot prints left. This is definitely a challenge. You have to back yourself out of the room. You do get used to it.

The better job you do vacuuming, the less dust you’ll have. Make sure to do a thorough vacuum job at least once a week. Don’t rush. Take your time and let the vacuum do it’s work. The more dust you get into the vacuum, the less you’ll have on your furniture.

It sounds like a lot, but once you’ve done it a couple of times, you’ll breeze through it!

 

 

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