There’s no longer a need for each surface of your home to have its own special cleaner. Get back to the basics with soap and water! Soap and water can actually take care of cleaning dishes, window screens, hand-washable silk materials, most hard-surfaces, floors, stainless steel sinks/appliances, and porcelain fixtures.

Many people who choose wood or vinyl flooring often buy rugs to decorate the living area, bathroom floors, and sometimes even bedside to keep their feet a bit warmer in the mornings when crawling out of bed. If you choose to spend good money on a rug, you need to know how to properly take care of it. There are three simple rules for taking care of your rug.

Most food stains can be cleaned by spraying shaving cream over the stain and letting it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with a vinegar and water solution. For more stubborn food stains, pull out some brake cleaner.

The first step to loving your carpet is to wear socks or slippers around the house. You will also need to vacuum regularly and avoid using liquid shampoos on your carpet. To learn why, keep reading…

There will be a day (if you’re not there already) when you, as a parent, will be too busy for housekeeping. There’s a simple organizing trick that works for housekeeping when you’re just too busy but still want your home looking tidy.

From asphalt, gravel, and leaves from the outdoors to car oil and fuel from your vehicle, the garage is a pretty dirty place! It’s up to you how often you maintain a clean garage. It could be a monthly sweep or seasonal overhaul. Bottom line - it needs cleaned.

While your family is boasting over 4th of July parades, bonfires and fireworks, you might be silently praying that they’ll all agree to go somewhere public rather than invite over your friends and family on the 4th. Holiday housekeeping is the easiest cleaning you’ll ever do because you don’t have to do all of it!

Let’s start with the bathmat. For fuzzy cloth bath mats, you can use a mild detergent and wash it in the washing machine (double check the tag). After a cycle in the dryer (low heat) you can brush it lightly to regain fluff.

Why does the grime in a bathroom seem to stick worse than in any other room? Over the next two weeks I’ll show you how to conquer the ring around the bathtub, the stuck-on toothpaste, and that toilet nastiness.

While I fully believe in taking a couple of days off during the week, you may or may not be the type of person who can handle what happens to your home when you’re not in control of the clutter for those two days. So what do you do? What do you do when laziness strikes and the clutter gets out of control?