General Home Cleaning

This is great general housekeeping advice that friends pass along to one another. Just general, good-to-know stuff about keeping house.

Phone cases: we know them, we love them, we use them. Phone cases are basically accessories these days, you can get them with all kinds of graphics, keychains, sparkles, and I don’t know what else. But for those of us who want a no-frills phone case, a clear case...
Cleaning the bathroom is nobody's favorite job. Unfortunately, it's a room in your home you definitely don't want to neglect when it comes to cleaning. I've written so many articles on bathroom cleaning in the past, like 5 Habits for a Cleaner Bathroom.  But what I haven't done yet, is...
Do you worry guests will notice all that dirt buildup and dead bugs and other really gross things lurking in the tracks in your window sills? Or do you move your children’s toys off the window sills for fear they’ll get dirty? Then this article is for you. Stick...
Folks who own an oven (i.e., everyone) should be cleaning it. But how often should you clean your oven? And how do you clean an oven anyway? Surprisingly, I don’t have any articles on this yet… until now.  If you have a self-cleaning oven, stop right there. Do not follow...
I’ve written so many articles on cleaning the bathroom because everyone has a bathroom, cleaning the bathroom can be a big job, and there are a lot of components that need to be dealt with and cleaned in the bathroom. If you’re looking for general bathroom cleaning tips, check...
Wood burning fireplaces are lovely. They're so cozy on a wintery day or even during chilly fall and spring. I know in Toronto right now (where I live) while it's technically spring the weather calls for a good fire.  The downside to wood fires is that they are soooo messy....
Chad and I bought our house in 2018, and it was, to put it nicely, a fixer-upper. Right away, we did fixer-up, at least the upstairs. And may I just say it looks fabulous. However, the basement we put off for a couple of years, until this past summer.  Our...
Way back in 2017, I wrote an article on vacuuming shag rugs and small rugs, but now it’s 2022, and time for an update. If you’re dealing with a stain or a shag rug with a pet odor problem, read 6 Products for Effectively Removing Carpet and Upholstery Stains (and Pet...
Are you plagued by wrinkled clothes!? OK, that’s a little dramatic. But seriously, we’ve all had that experience of pulling an item of clothing out of a closet or drawer and realizing it’s too wrinkled to wear. And let me be the first to say, it totally blows when...
Picture this: you come home from a long day, so you run a nice hot shower, step inside, and pull the shower curtain closed behind you. But what are those gray dots on your shower curtain? Mold–yuck!  Mold and mildew on your shower curtain can spoil a nice shower, and...
Sometimes when we clean we find ourselves going on autopilot, and that's fine because, as we all know, cleaning can be so boring. So sometimes you've got to shake it up and approach a room with fresh eyes, saying, "What am I missing here?". In this article, we're going...
I know that cleaning the bathroom is one of the least enjoyable places in a home to clean. I get it, I'm right there with you. But over the years, I have picked up some tips that I want to share with you. Hopefully, these will allow you to...
After 14 years of being in the cleaning game, I must admit that I still don't like cleaning the bathroom. Despite this, I have found some bathroom cleaning secrets that have helped me master the job. Here are a few little time savers that make a big difference in...
We all know about B.O right? Well, today I'd like to talk about the lesser-known H.O; house odors. It's something that you've probably experienced walking into someone else's home before, but we often become nose-blind to our own house odors. In this article, I want to talk to you...
A big part of the cleaning process comes down to organizing. It's something I often struggle with, especially when it comes to clothing. When I moved into my new house, our closet was way smaller than our previous one. We no longer had a walk-in and our new home...
When a bathroom is dirty, it takes every fiber of my being to motivate myself to clean it. You see, I love a clean bathroom, love getting ready in there, doing my business in there, zoning out in there, but I find it hard to clean. It's icky, stinky,...