# Housekeeping tricks

Housekeeping is [organization](organization.md), but with more cleaning.

Cleaning is removing debris and filth from things with the three major purposes of maintaining a visual [appearance](people-image-why.md), odor control, and hygiene.

We tend to clean what we visually can see, but we do *not* clean some things that dramatically affect our [health](body-health.md):

- Floors are often filthy, especially if you have wall-to-wall carpeting.
  - In fact, it is a major health upgrade to get a tile, hardwood or panel floor and use rugs.
- Couches often have plenty of accumulation, as well as the fabric never being cleaned.
- Shower drains accumulate tremendous amounts of hair and other disgusting elements, which can sometimes plug up a bathtub.
- HVAC vents accumulate tremendous amounts of dust.
- Sink drains, especially bathroom sinks, accumulate soap residue, which builds up plenty of other filth.

Cleaning is easier if you understand how pH works:

Every chemical has an acidity or alkalinity, on a scale from 1 to 14.

- 0.0 - Hydrochloric Acid
- 0.3 - Battery Acid (Sulfuric Acid)
- 1.5-3.5 - Gastric Acid (Stomach Acid)
- 2.0-2.6 - Lemon Juice
- 2.8 - Vinegar
- 2.5-4.5 - Soft Drinks
- 3.3-3.9 - Apples
- 4.0 - Wine & Beer
- 4.2 - Orange Juice
- 4.5 - Tomatoes
- <4.9 - Acid Rain
- 5.0 - Boric Acid
- 5.0 - Black Coffee
- 5.0-5.5 - Clean Rain
- 6.1 - Aloe Vera
- 6.2 - Corn
- 6.5-8.0 - Drinking Water
- 6.7 - Milk
- 7.0 - Pure Water
- 7.2 - Tea
- 7.4 - Human Blood
- 8.0 - Sea Water
- 8.4 - Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
- 9.0 - Egg Whites
- 9.3 - Borax
- 10.0 - Laundry Detergent
- 10.2 - Milk of Magnesia
- 11.5 - Ammonia
- 12.0 - Soapy Water
- 12.4 - Lime (Calcium Hydroxide)
- 12.6 - Chlorine Bleach
- 13.5 - Lye (Soap Ingredient)
- 14.0 - Sodium Hydroxide

Acid and base combinations range from harmless neutralizing to creating fatally poisonous gases, usually as severe as the difference between the substances' pH and how quickly they mix.

- Generally, reactions' power comes from the difference in substances' pH and the speed they mix:

Acids break apart in water and form positively charged hydrogen ions.

Bases break apart in water and form negatively charged hydroxide ions.

When cleaning, try to take advantage of either acids' or bases' pH compared to what you're cleaning.

Like any other [productive task](success-4_routine.md), starting to clean is more work than continuing it, so the first 5 minutes are more difficult than the 2 hours after it.

## Optimize your cleaning

Maintaining a house isn't that hard if you know a few tricks.

Continually take the trash out to improve your overall cleanliness:

- Place extra trash bags at the bottom of the cans to change out bags quicker.
- Reuse a cereal box as a car trash can.
- Reuse a wet-wipes container or empty tissue box to hold plastic bags.
- Drill several holes in the bottom of a trash can to avoid suction when pulling the bag out.

Store the cleaning solutions together in a secure area or in a caddy:

- Use a hanging shoe rack on the inside of a closet.
- Hang a curtain rod under a sink for spray cleaners.

Prepare your cleaning supplies before you start:

- Set your cleaning supplies where you'll use them.
- Route water for buckets from the sink with a clean dustpan or pool noodle.

Clean in the right order to maximize efficiency:

- Since dust settles downward and will be pushed down from higher surfaces, clean from top to bottom.
- Dust first and vacuum last.
- Clean from left to right to not miss any areas.
- Clean the outer walls first and then the furniture in the center.
- When possible, skip vertical surfaces that haven't collected dust.

Let cleaning solutions soak on objects for them to chemically decompose the particulates.

Use a more efficient or heavier tool if you have a hard time reaching somewhere.

Use both hands to clean everything quicker.

Do the same thing every time to speed up cleaning.

If you must clean for company, only clean visually apparent things:

- Clear all countertops.
- Close all open doors, drawers, and toilet seats.
- Clean the guest bathroom mirror.
- Hide dirty dishes in the oven.
- Hide the clean clothes behind a throw blanket and decorative pillows on furniture nobody will sit on.
- Gather scattered papers up and wrap them with a rubber band.

Cyclodextrin, the active chemical behind Febreze, is the only chemical available that actually *removes* odors from the air and surfaces. All others simply cover them up.

## Emergency cleaning

Even when you're *very* [organized](organization.md), you may have company when the house is a mess. This is especially true when you have [children](parenting-children.md)

First of all, don't panic, since [fear](mind-bias-fear.md) makes us procrastinate and overthink things.

The aim isn't for perfection, but instead about getting rid of the worst things and working into smaller domains from there.

- The purpose should be to clean the entire home a bit, not on a highly clean and specific domain.

Kill any distractions.

- Put away your phone and turn off your computer.
- Have all your cleaning supplies and trash bags available already to avoid an errand.
- Set your music playlist ahead of time.

Work in sprints to maintain your pace.

- Marathon cleaning can be exhausting if you're not experienced doing it, so take consistent breaks.
- Work in 20-minute bursts with 10-minute breaks, or 45-minute bursts with 15-minute breaks, and use a stopwatch if you need.
- Don't forget to eat and rehydrate on your breaks.

Make your bed first.

- This empowers you to sleep or have a break location if you need to rest.

Start with the trash.

- Go from room to room and throw out any obvious trash.
- As you fill a bag, take it out or place it next to the door if you can carry multiple bags out of your home.

Move to the dishes.

- Gather the dishes from all over the house and bring them to the kitchen.
- Start soaking them in a sink of hot, soapy water or start loading the dishwasher.

Keep aiming for what seems worst.

- If it seems the most unsightly, it likely needs cleaning.

## Saving on cleaning supplies

Cleaning doesn't have to be expensive, and you can clean most surfaces with a few pre-made solutions with a few bases:

- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Borax

Be careful mixing chlorine bleach, however, with *anything*, especially ammonia (such as in urine).

Disinfectant spray:

- Fill a spray bottle with hard liquor or undiluted vinegar.

Cleaning spray:

- Use straight vodka, either in a spray bottle or directly on a surface.
- Mix half vinegar and half water in a spray bottle.
- Mix a quart of warm water and four tablespoons of baking soda in a spray bottle.
- Mix one part bleach with ten parts water in a spray bottle.
- Mix two teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of castile soap, and two tablespoons of vinegar in a spray bottle, then top it off with warm water.
- Mix 1/2 cup vinegar, two cups hot water, a cup of washing soda, and ten drops of tea tree oil in a bottle.
- Mix two parts vinegar and one part dishwashing liquid.

Heavy cleaner:

- Mix a teaspoon of vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of borax in a container.

Cleaning paste:

- 1/4 cup of baking soda mixed with enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste.

Disinfectant wipes:

1. Place four 6-inch square soft cloth pieces entirely in a rectangular box, then press them down.
2. Mix a cup of distilled water, two tablespoons of vinegar, two tablespoons of castile soap or dish soap, ten drops of tea tree oil, and ten drops of rosemary oil thoroughly in a bowl.
3. Pour the mixture on the topmost cloth, then wait for it to percolate through.
4. To easily dispense them, sterilize a rolling pin and wrap them around it.

Stain remover fluid:

1. Mix a cup of 35% hydrogen peroxide, two cups vinegar, and five drops rose oil in a bottle.
2. It can be used as a pre-soak, but only use a tablespoon per bucket of water.

## Specific domains

[Standard maintenance routines](home-maintenance.md)

[Cleaning surfaces](home-housekeeping-surfaces.md)

[Managing odors](home-housekeeping-odors.md)

[Cleaning stains](home-housekeeping-stains.md)

[Managing pests](home-housekeeping-pests.md)

[Winter maintenance](home-housekeeping-winter.md)