Heather Solos's Blog, page 8

The Deep Clean Challenge Week 9: Your Digital Life

Welcome back! It is Week 9 of The Deep Clean Challenge. This week, we will take a deep dive into your digital life to see what needs cleaning up.

If you’re just joining us, so far, as part of The Deep Clean Challenge, we have:

Done a clutter clean upCleaned the kitchenCleaned the bedroomCleaned the bathroomCleaned the dining room/areaCleaned the entrywayCleaned out the refrigeratorWhy are we cleaning up our digital lives?

How fun is it to have an overwhelming number of notifications or hundreds (Heather. . . be honest) thousands of unread emails?

It’s not. Is it fun to have subscriptions you don’t remember withdrawn from your bank account? No. It isn’t. So, today, let’s grab our timers, work in reasonable sessions, and get that under control.

This is one of my absolute favorite weeks in The Deep Clean Challenge. I’ve been working hard to bring some peace into my life, and a lot of that has come through cleaning up these areas and establishing clear boundaries. I’m excited for this week and I hope that it makes a big difference for you, too.

Aside from Heather in May of ’22

I’m in the middle of a massive email purge. It has been a long time coming. I thought I had a workable system to stay on top of the most critical emails, and for the most part I managed to keep the stuff related to the kids’, bills, things like that under control. Things related to Home-Ec101, that’s another story. I’m going through over 10,000 emails. I could just declare bankruptcy, but there are reader questions in there and those matter to me. Each day, I’m chipping away at the pile. This isn’t a one-time, Deep Clean Challenge, it’s a systemic overhaul.

What tools do we need to clean up our digital lives?

The tools we use to access our online world: laptop, phone, or computer. That could be it, but I also find it useful to add a couple of things if you don’t already have them, I love these timers, a to-do list app (I am really liking Todoist, but your favorite may vary), and a password tool. Seriously, save yourself a lot of trouble down the line and just find one and use it. I have been using Dashlane for years, other people love Lastpass. It’s 100% worth it.

How do we get started with this week’s challenge to clean up our digital lives?

First, take a look at your home workstation. Does that need a quick clean-up? Take the coffee mugs to the dishwasher and the soda cans to the trash. Get rid of the out-of-date notes and go ahead and file those I’m-going-to-get-to-it-papers.

Feel better? I bet it does.

All of the below applies to both your phone and computer/tablet

Start with making a backup if you don’t have an external solid-state drive. It’s time to get one. This is the one I use. I actually ordered mine from Office Depot and picked it up a couple of hours later, curbside.

If you haven’t made a backup of your computer before, just search for your operating system (Windows or macOS ) and “how to back up with an external hard drive”. There are lots of tutorials (step-by-step instructions). When backing up your phone, it should back up right to the cloud.

There’s a reason I’m telling you to do this first, it’s just in case you get a little overzealous during your clean-up and get rid of something important.

Next up, security. This is why I suggested the password service. Password keepers can make life significantly easier, especially if any of your services experience a breach and you need to update ALL of your passwords.

Go through your services and make sure that none of your passwords are the same for multiple sites and are not the word password or something obvious.

While we are talking about security, remember that those fun little quizzes your friends pass around are almost always answers to security questions. Pro-Tip: When you create answers to security questions, create a set of answers that aren’t necessarily true.

We are going to massively improve your quality of life. You are going to add some boundaries.

Grab your phone, we are going to turn off some notifications.

First, create a list of VIPs. These are the only people who are allowed to interrupt you via text. You know who these people are. These are your ride-or-dies. The ones who respect your work hours, your sleep, etc. Also, your kids, their doctors, etc. You know who must be on this list. Figure out who they are and add them to your close contact list. The one that can get through your Do Not Disturb or assign them an actual notification sound. Everyone else for texts gets silent, you can check them at your leisure. This is also what voicemail is for.

Apps and Programs

Don’t use them? Uninstall.

Use them? Make sure they are up to date.

Also, check the permissions. If they shouldn’t be using your camera, microphone or location, don’t let them.

Photos, screenshots, and old memes:

Okay, this is one that I dread and need to do more often, take a deep breath, and start the purge. Just keep the best. If you actually want to make prints, if you are already an Amazon Prime member, you get free shipping and can order them right from your phone. So that makes it easy.

Subscription Services:

It’s time to take a look at all of your subscriptions and decide which ones you use and which ones you need to cancel.

Those that you don’t, figure out how to cancel. Some will unfortunately require a phone call. Remember those companies and never use them again. There’s a gym in my area that required a certified letter to cancel, I will never use them in the future.

Look through your email for receipts for annual plans and don’t let their renewals catch you by surprise.

And with the mention of email. . .

Clean up your inbox

If you aren’t reading emails from companies go ahead and hit that unsubscribe button. Please use that and don’t hit spam unless something truly is spam.

If your inbox is pretty out of control (ahem, Heather) you can often search and clear out a lot of emails at once. For example, in Gmail, if I search in:all from: old navy

That’s pretty excessive. . . I’m going to unsubscribe and then delete all, that were not worth 10% off. You can do this for any sender and it quickly knocks out a lot of junk.

And finally, the hardest of all. . .

Your friends list and who you follow

This one is for your social applications and your mental/emotional health. There are two ways to handle relationships. If the person is someone with whom you must maintain a social connection, say a family member. Hide them from your timeline or quietly unfollow them. Generally, it’s silent and they will never notice. If it’s an old high school friend that you are just keeping around because that’s what you do and they post mean-spirited or worse racist things. Block them. You are past the popularity contest of high school. Let them go. This will get easier each time you go through your list. The first cut is the deepest.

You are a product of the people you surround yourself with, online and off. Keep that bar high and you’ll rise with them. Surround yourself with people who do nothing but participate in petty drama and you’ll find your life full of the same.

Now that you’ve finished. Double-check to make sure you didn’t lose anything important. All set?

Now, go ahead and redo your backup. You don’t want to bring any of that old stuff back into your life.

Have a great week!

How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles, for Good.

Dear Home Ec 101,
I’ve been noticing this micro tiny bug that is gray with black spots, it looks identical to a ladybug, but it is not the Asian beetle. It does have wings, I know that. They’re also very tiny, sometimes you really have to strain your eye to see them. Then sometimes you can actually see one at a bigger size but never anywhere near the size of a normal ladybug.

.They’re hanging out on my nightstand and also in my oversized Sherpa blanket on my bed. First, I had thought my husband was bringing them home somehow because he works in the woods all day. But, they keep multiplying. Please help! 

Signed,
Bugged in Buffalo

It sounds like you are dealing with carpet beetles. While the adult carpet beetle is mostly harmless and doesn’t do much except create more of the actual problem, The adults are capable of biting. However, it is the carpet beetle larvae that are a giant, damage-causing pain in the butt. These tiny little creatures eat pretty much anything and are masters at hide-and-seek, making them difficult to evict.

What do carpet beetles look like?

An adult carpet beetle is typically 1/8 to 1/6 of an inch long; that’s 3 – 4 millimeters—official classification? Tiny. They are very small, winged insects and can range from grey with black spots, black with grey spots, to a mottled tan in color. Their coloring depends on the exact species of carpet beetle, we don’t like to paint with broad strokes around here, but carpet beetles are generally bad news, regardless of their species. The adults can fly and like to hang out near windows and lights. Also, all the adult carpet beetles do is wander around and create more carpet beetles. This sounds a lot like one of my relatives.

An adult female carpet beetle can lay between 20 and 100 eggs at a time and can do this up to three times in her life cycle, depending on the species. You likely will never see a carpet beetle egg, but if you are curious, they range from a 1/4 mm to 1/2 mm in size, white or cream in color, oval and spiky on one end.

When carpet beetle eggs hatch, you get larvae. The larvae are hungry little guys and will eat almost anything that isn’t synthetic. We’re talking dust, lint, hair, fur, wool, pet food, crumbs, paper, dead bugs and pretty much anything that can sift down through your carpet; they will find it delicious. Carpet beetle larvae will even eat the felt pads on a piano if you are unlucky enough to have a bad infestation.

These guys will eat you out of house and home.

Once the larvae are done eating and molting (they shed several times over a few weeks), they go dormant in pupae, sort of like a caterpillar, for a few weeks and emerge as an adult to continue this lovely circle of life. Someone cue Elton John. He’s up.

Where are carpet beetles found?

North America, Central America, Europe, North Africa, and Northern Asia. While doing the research for today, I learned that the varied carpet beetle (that’s one of the species) came to the US sometime in the 1850s.

So that’s fun.

These invasive pests can live indoors and out; they often hitch rides on plants and animals through open doors, windows, or holes in screens. So, you can do your best, but they may find their way in despite every precaution. (Don’t tell him, but it is entirely possible that they did, indeed, hitch a ride home on our friend’s husband. However, we are NOT going to point fingers here, they could have just as easily, come in the front door on their own.)

Are carpet beetles dangerous to humans?

People can be allergic to carpet beetles. So, much like cockroaches can contribute to asthma in people, carpet beetles can create allergic reactions and make some people absolutely miserable. Not only can their bites make an allergic person quite itchy, but the sharp hairs on their abdomens can also cause allergic issues.

In and of themselves, the adults are not typically harmful, but the allergic consequences can be.

Are carpet beetles harmful?

The larvae can cause hundreds to thousands of dollars of damage to property in unchecked infestations.

If a carpet beetle infestation is caught early, the damage done by the larvae may be confined to a limited range. As the insects prefer to mature in undisturbed locations, this isn’t always the case.

How do I know I have carpet beetles?

Like our friend who submitted the question, you may see adult carpet beetles bumbling around on blankets or carpeting. Adult carpet beetles may also congregate near windows or lights. They are small, so they can easily go unnoticed, at first, until there is an issue.

The larvae shed their skin several times as they grow. When cleaning, you may find those castings, most likely these castings will be wherever lint or hair tends to accumulate. The castings will be a light tan, very delicate, and up to a half-inch in length. Yes, the larvae are longer than the more compact, winged adults. It is unusual to find the reclusive larvae themselves, as much like human teenagers. They prefer to hide in the dark corners, snacking.

You may also find the damage caused by larvae. The damage will look similar to that caused by clothing moths, but unlike moth holes, which are scattered, carpet beetle larvae tend to do more concentrated damage.

Additionally, when you find castings, there won’t be any webbing nearby. Moth larvae, both the pantry and clothing variety, create webbing.

What can you do to get rid of carpet beetles?

Unfortunately, there is a lot of concentrated cleaning in your future. It is absolutely necessary to remove all food sources and vacuum thoroughly, all of the larvae’s potential hiding places. This means you will need to conduct a top-to-bottom, room-by-room, vacuum-driven eviction.

I’m very sorry. It is going to take some serious work.

The good news is that you can supplement your vacuuming with flea treatments that also treat for fabric pests (check the label).

As carpet beetles can create a lot of damage and can be very difficult to remove. Use the chemicals this time, or you may be fighting an uphill battle for a very long time.

Do not use chemicals on your bedding or clothing.

Carefully inspect and clean blankets and coats that have been stored. Run everything you can through a hot wash and dry cycle, dry clean what you can, and place items that can’t tolerate heat into the freezer (in a plastic bag) for seven days, if your freezer is at 0ºF or 72 hours if your freezer is at -20ºF.

Unlike ridding your home of fleas, bedbugs and lice, you can’t just pack items into storage bags, seal them up, and call it a day. When you do this, you’re just sending the carpet beetles on sabbatical. Remember that carpet beetles eat just about everything organic, and a lot of our synthetic stuff has collected enough dust and lint to sustain the larvae for quite some time.

When you are doing your thorough house cleaning, you must also go into your attic and into your basement, if your home has either. Check for small animal nests and get rid of those, too. Any hair, stored food, or fecal matter left in those nests can serve as a food source for your insect roommates.

Do not donate clothing or blankets that have been untreated as a means to get them out of your home. This can create a massive problem for the recipient if the items are held for any time in a receiving area.

Can professionals assist with ridding my home of carpet beetles?

Yes, pest control companies can assist with ridding your home of carpet beetles. To set expectations, for their efforts to be effective, you will still need to thoroughly clean your home. You can call, consult and create a plan of action.

How to keep carpet beetles out of my home?Keep grains and pet food in tightly sealed containers.Dust, sweep, and vacuum regularly. (Use the printable chore schedule to stay on a routine. If it has been a while, I highly suggest joining The Deep Clean Challenge)Launder or dry clean stored blankets and clothing occasionally.Shake out any plants or flowers brought in from outside.Repair screens regularly.Shake laundry that has been hanging to dry before folding and bringing it in.Don’t panic at the sight of one adult carpet beetle as the occasional hitchhiker will make it inside despite all precautions. Do pay attention and step up 1 – 6 if you see more.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Further research:

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn....https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/digital-diagnostics/insects-and-arthropods/dermestid-carpet-beetles/index.html?Forwared=entoweb.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/carpetbeetles.htmhttps://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef601

Deep Clean Week 8: The Refrigerator, Freezer, and Beyond?

Welcome to week eight of The Deep Clean Challenge, Congratulations, we’re done with the more public areas and are going to get down to the nitty-gritty.

This series is a way to refresh your home in manageable steps without any daylong cleaning marathons that ruin your day off. This week we are tackling your refrigerator(s) and freezer(s). Some of us suburbanites are lucky enough to have either a garage or basement fridge or freezer.

If you’re just joining us, so far, we have:

Done a clutter clean upCleaned the kitchenCleaned the bedroomCleaned the bathroomCleaned living room/family roomCleaned the dining room/areaCleaned the entryway

Heather grew up in a military family and my dad introduced us to the concept of “field day” quite young and they hated it.

When we heard “field day” we knew we were in for an entire day of drudgery. The projects in this series are not that. There are 14 weeks in total and if you don’t quite finish a project on the first run-through, in the two hours max we want you to spend. Don’t Sweat It. Just hit it on the rinse and repeat. (There will be a sign-up on Week 14).

You can run through the series as many times as you want. It’ll just loop, sending you a reminder every Saturday morning at 8:00 am Eastern, of that week’s project. Easy peasy.

This is one of those posts that it took me longer to write than it will for you to do the chore unless you have a LOT of ice built up in your freezer.

If you have helpers, delegate the dishware and recyclables cleanout. You don’t need the helpers right up in your business while you’re squinting at expiration dates and deciding if you actually are ever going to use that jar of capers. (Hint: If it’s been there for six months and you only used them for one recipe, no you aren’t).

Why are we cleaning the refrigerator?

It is good to get a regular reset. It gives us a good reminder of what we have on hand, what we are using, what needs to be used quickly, and what not to buy again.

Also, Heather experimented with an ADHD fridge reset from TikTok about a year ago and has found it to be extremely helpful for her and her family. In brief, this involves placing most condiments in the drawers and using clear bins to sort and hold produce in plain view, front and center. There are much more satisfying versions of fridge resets on TikTok, but this is one version, with the food they usually, actually eat.

What tools do we need to clean the refrigerator?

This week’s are a little different, so pay close attention.

A bucket or container with warm, barely soapy waterA cooler (to hold freezer items while you work)GlovesA small scrub brush or an old toothbrushA hairdryer and an extension cordclean, dry rags or paper towelsYour trusty vacuum, soft bristle brush and yes, the crevice toola small paper cup filled 3/4 with watera coinchlorine bleach depending on what you have to clean upHow do we get started?

Now, you should have clear counters and a clean table because we tackled those in previous weeks. If not, make sure you have space to temporarily set your items as you work. Make sure there are zones: The keep zone and a get rid of zone.

How long should cleaning the refrigerator take?

If your refrigerator and freezer are jam-packed and frost-ridden, it may take you the full two hours this time. I’m sorry. The good news is that, if you do hit the rinse and repeat at the end of The Deep Clean Challenge the next round should be a quick sort and wipe.

Top to Bottom

While cleaning your fridge, this rule is more important than usual because the stuff you knock from the top will cling to the shelving and sides of your fridge due to the condensation that is going to be building up as you work with the door open.

Starting at the topmost shelf, remove each item. Look at it and make a judgment on whether it is something that will need to be kept or gotten rid of and place it in the appropriate zone.

If the shelf is removable, take it out to clean it thoroughly and wipe down the top of the refrigerator and the walls.

Dry the shelf and replace only the items that you are keeping. Before putting each item back, wipe the bottom of the containers. There’s a good chance that they are not the cleanest, especially if there has been something sticky spilled at any point and you have teenagers whose mantra seems to be, “Well, I didn’t spill it, so why should I clean it up?” or is that just me?

Work your way down, until you are on the floor of the refrigerator and make sure to wash out any drawers with warm soapy water. Remove the drawers and wash behind them. This is where the brushes may come in handy. All kinds of funk can build up back there and it can get very sticky and gross in a hurry.

Tip: Placing a couple of dry paper towels in the bottom of each drawer can make your next refrigerator clean-up a little easier.

Close the door.

Deal with the get rid ofs before moving on to the freezer. You do not want to have to deal with a pile of all of the get-rid-ofs from everything you sort today.

If your refrigerator has a power cool setting, use that when you are done with the freezer portion of your clean-up. If you have a standalone refrigerator, vacuum the coils and wipe down the appliance.

The Freezer

If the freezer has more than a quarter-inch of frost or ice on the shelves and walls, it is time to defrost the appliance. If it does not, you don’t have to deal with the ice melting portion of this show. Please just follow the rest of the instructions.

Unplug the freezer.

Now, we are going to follow the same process as the refrigerator only we are going to work more quickly and remove all of the times instead of clearing and replacing shelf by shelf because the freezer needs to warm up enough to clear the ice.

As with the fridge, you have two zones, the keep and get rid of zone. This time, the keep zone is your cooler, if you do not have a cooler, pack the keep items as closely as possible in your keep zone so they don’t thaw quickly. As for the get rid of items, dispose of those immediately and properly before they begin to leak condensation or other fluids.*

Once the freezer is empty, take a look is the layer of frost or ice still too thick to wipe down the walls? If so. go grab a hairdryer and an extension cord. You do not want to have the cord lying anywhere near where water may pool and an extension cord can help you with this. Use a chair to keep the cord from lying on the ground. Watch where you stand. Do not stand in a puddle. Use the hairdryer to melt any thick chunks of ice quickly.

Just like with the refrigerator, work from top to bottom and wipe out any drawers. Any reddish stains can be tackled with a paper towel soaked in chlorine bleach and set on the stain (use the gloves to handle the paper towel, not your bare hands, please). Remove the paper towel, dry the freezer thoroughly and quickly replace all of the items.

Plug the appliance back in and set the freezer on its coldest setting. (If it has a power freeze setting, use that).

If you are finishing up a refrigerator freezer combo, vacuum the coils and don’t forget to turn on the power cool setting for the refrigerator, if your appliance has that option. If you’re just cleaning a stand-alone freezer, just vacuum the coils and wipe down the appliance.

Now, what were that paper cup and coin about?

In your freezer(s) set the paper cup filled 3/4 of the way with water and wait for it to freeze. Place the coin on top of the ice. If you ever go out of town, when you come home, check the cup. If the coin is not resting on top, you know there has been a power outage long enough for it to affect your freezer. If it is only covered by a film of water, the food is safe, but if it is at the bottom, your food is not safe and needs to be disposed of.

This tip is especially useful as we head into hurricane season.

On that happy note, see you next week!

*Home-Ec 101 is not responsible for what you choose to keep in your deep freezer. You cannot just assume mystery items are venison and scrub the floor thoroughly with chlorine bleach. That is not plausible deniability. You do need to know and vet your roommates and Air BnB guests. This is not legal advice, it is satire.

Help, how do I get rid of drain flies?

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I have three window wells in my finished basement. I am forever finding tiny black dead flies. I have sprayed and thrown gallons of bleach and ammonia down the window wells I found something like yellow cocoons in the window wells that I think they have built.  There were several in each well. I knocked them down and covered them with bleach.  No help. Lately, I have found a couple of dozen dead on the kitchen floor. The minute you touch them, they fall apart. Could you tell me what they are and what I need to do to get rid of them?

Signed,

Shoo-Fly

Dear Shoo-Fly,

Please tell me gallons of water, and a lot of time came after the use of bleach and before the ammonia was used in the same drain. This tactic could have had tragic consequences.

I have good news, and I have bad news. First, what you are dealing with is a nuisance pest known as drain flies or drain moths. Yes, they are gross, but they don’t spread disease. The flies are not responsible for the cocoons. Without knowing where you live, I would consider spiders the likely culprit for the cocoons, and they probably moved in once they heard about the drain fly buffet in the window well. I would leave them alone until you get the drain flies under control, which could take a while.

Another cocoon builder to consider, if you found them with grass or straw, is a type of wasp that eats stink bugs. If you’ve ever dealt with stink bugs, you’d probably roll out the welcome mat for this insect.

The bad news is that the drain flies will likely be challenging to clear up fully in your situation. You’ll need to address the issue on several fronts and decide if it is worth the bother or not.

The drain fly lifecycle is semi-aquatic; the larvae live in the organic matter that builds up inside the drains. Outdoor drains, such as the ones that are probably in your window well, can become partially or fully clogged with organic matter like grass, dirt, and other bugs. This organic matter, plus the water that will pool due to the clog, creates the perfect drain fly nursery. You may as well be playing Barry White and offering wine.

Later the spiders and wasps heard about the party and decided to crash.

All would be well and ignorable if they didn’t find a way into your basement and the rest of the house. Job one is to figure out where bugs can squeeze into your home and fix those gaps.

Once you have stopped the invasion, it is time to tackle the indoor issue.

Some of your window well friends spread their tiny wings and moved in. Many basements have a floor drain(s) or a laundry sink. Both of these tend to get ignored until they become a problem. Chlorine bleach is not a good solution as it doesn’t take care of the organic matter. As your drain fly colony expands, they seek new territory and are moving on to your kitchen and, sooner or later, any drain in your house.

While I’m not a fan of using heavy-duty drain cleaners as the first solution for a clogged drain, you’re an exception. To fully conquer the indoor issue, you must clean every drain in your home on the same day. Work from the top floor to the basement. You need to use the tactic, or you’ll spend a very long time chasing the little buggers from drain to drain, eventually using more chemicals than if you’d tackled it correctly the first time. You need to clean your indoor drains thoroughly, and many of them won’t be easily accessible due to being partially underground. I’d suggest other methods if you were writing to me about a slow drain. This is an insect infestation and entirely different.
Go ahead and get the Draino. If this approach really bothers you, plant a tree when you’re done.

Finally, consider cleaning the drains in your window wells so they can’t find a new way in. If you don’t have actual drains, you have water pooling and stagnating in the bottom of the well. You’ll need to address this before it begins seeping into your basement.

Good luck!

Send your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Klass, Carolyn. “Drain Flies or Moth Flies.” Insect Diagnostic Lab Factsheet. Cornell University, Revised Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. .

“The BugGuide.” The BugGuide.University of Iowa Entomology Department, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. . Various entries searching for cocoons

Welcome Home! The Deep Clean Challenge Week 7

Welcome back to The Deep Clean Challenge. This week we are cleaning the entryway to your home. Depending on how your home is set up, this could be your front door, you may use a side door or the backdoor. This is not as much about a guest’s first impression of your home as it is about yours. We want you to feel welcomed when you arrive.

If you’re just joining us, so far, as part of The Deep Clean Challenge, we have:

Done a clutter clean upCleaned the kitchenCleaned the bedroomCleaned the bathroomCleaned living room/family roomCleaned the dining room/areaWhy are we cleaning the entryway?

It’s just nice to come home to an inviting, functional space.

What will we be cleaning in the entryway?

The interior and exterior of the door, any windows and window coverings, any furniture in the immediate vicinity, any light fixtures, doormats, and flooring.

What tools do we need to clean the entryway?A vacuum with a soft bristle attachment and a crevice tool if there is carpetingWindow cleaner and paper towels or newspaperIf you have wood furniture polish and an applicator (rag) or paste waxA stepladder or sturdy chairA screwdriver if needed to clean the light fixtureDilute degreaserIf you have allergies, a maskBroom/Mop/Dustpan/FoxtailHow do we get started with this week’s challenge to clean the entryway?

Before Saturday, take a good look at your entryway. Is there a place that turns into a dumping ground? What is getting dropped there? Mail? Keys? School bags? Work items? Pet leashes? Dog waste bags?

Could an inexpensive purchase fix the issue? A pretty bowl to catch your keys? A hook to hang a bag or purse? A mail sorter? A small trashcan/recycling bin to ensure junk mail is immediately dealt with?

If you can set yourself up to replace your current habits instead of just trying to change them, you may have better success keeping the entryway clean and functional.

How long should cleaning the entryway take?

Do you have a lot of organizing to do? Is there a lot of mud that has been tracked in that needs to be dealt with? In general, the entryway is one of the less time-consuming zones of the house, but that doesn’t mean the project can’t balloon. Remember that The Deep Clean Challenge is not meant to be an all-day grind. Set a timer, set your expectations and have another go on the rinse and repeat, if necessary.

Let’s get started with cleaning the entryway.

Have you texted your friend/accountability partner? Do you have your music or podcasts loaded and ready to go? Timer set? Let’s go!

As usual, we are going to use our top to bottom, left to right, dry to wet approach. Allergies? Mask on.

Start with knocking down any cobwebs. Is there a light fixture? Let’s get that cleaned up.

Are there any out-of-place items that need to be put away? When you were planning on how you were going to keep this area clean going forward, did you buy any hooks or other items that need to be hung? Now would be a good time to hang them.

Clean any windows and window coverings.

Dust and then clean any smudges. When you look for smudges, pay attention to the switch plates, trim around waist and shoulder height, and scuff marks.

Time to get low.

Take any doormats or runners outside and shake them. Now, clean the baseboards. If the area is carpeted, use your vacuum’s crevice tool along the edge.

Clean the flooring. Sweep and mop if the flooring is hard; vacuum thoroughly if the area is carpeted.

Replace the rugs.

But wait, there’s more!

Open the door and head out.. Don’t worry, we’re not out here to make friends..

Look Up.

Knock down any cobwebs.

Grab your rag and degreaser and remove all the smudges you can.

Shake out your door mat. Vacuum if you’re an apartment dweller with interior entrances.

Sweep the area.

How Do I Reduce Lint in My Laundry?

Dear Home-Ec 101,
My husband wears a lot of black shirts. Lately, I’ve noticed that his shirts are covered in fuzz and lint. We’ve never really had this problem before. Is the lint coming from my washer or my dryer? Is there anything I can do to reduce the lint? Is there any way I can convince him to use a lint brush before going outside?
Signed,
Fuzzball

Dear Fuzzball:

Is there any chance you recently bought towels, a blanket, or were gifted a deliciously soft and fuzzy robe (see the picture below)? These are known lint offenders. Some never stop shedding lint and will always be a source of annoyance. The robe got tossed. It was SO FLUFFY, but… it was unbelievable how much lint it could create.

Did you know there is more to sorting laundry than just separating lights and darks?

There are a few other levels of laundry wrangling. For example, if there are only one or two people in a household, it may be difficult to get granular in your laundry separation without wasting water and energy. In that case, separate as much as make sense.

Whenever it’s possible, try to keep these items separate.

Lint Producing ItemsLint Collecting Items

Towels

Chenille

Sweat Shirts

Fleece

Felt

Sweaters

Many Brand New Clothing Articles*

Synthetic Fabrics

Corduroy

Knits

*New items should be washed separately at least twice to shed lint and ensure they no longer bleed dye.

If you don’t keep your lint producers separate from your lint collectors, this may be the result:

Do not let this happen to you. Stupid, lovely robe.

Heavy weight items can also shred the threads of light weight items causing them to break and — wait for it — create lint.

More ways to keep lint in check:

Always, always, always check pockets for stray tissue and paper. Once paper shreds in the washer or dryer, it will take a couple of loads to get rid of the damage. If you have a high-efficiency machine, check the drain filter and ensure it’s not clogged with the remnants.

Cleaning the drain filter may involve a bucket and can be a slimy ordeal if you don’t do this regularly. You have been warned. Check your manual (Google your model #, I know you didn’t keep it, either.)

Make sure you are using the proper amount of detergent for the size of your load and the hardness of your water.

Detergent molecules surround dirt and lint and suspend the particles in the wash water. If there isn’t enough detergent to keep the particles in suspension, they will be deposited on your clothing. 

Have you ever rinsed a clothing item in a white sink and seen the grey stuff that clings to the porcelain and has to be rinsed away? It’s the same concept; only the stuff is landing back on your clothing. This is often the source of the “dingy” grey look with white garments. Once it gets dried on, it’s hard to remove.

If you have cold groundwater where you live, i.e., if the water is less than 60°F, don’t use powdered detergent. Temperature is a big factor in solubility, and water that cold may not dissolve all of the detergents. There are workarounds, you could pre-dissolve your detergent in a cup of hot water, but that’s really starting to sound like a lot of effort, and we’re trying to make your life easier, right? Switch to liquid.

Front loading and high-efficiency washer owners, pay attention: Click the picture for more tips!

It is imperative not to overload your clothes washer. If the clothing can’t tumble freely, water can’t flow very well, and lint will be deposited back onto the fabric during the wash cycle.

This is not your washer’s fault. Instead, it is what we call operator error. Tech support refers to these situations with the acronym PEBCAK: Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard. There are other variations on that acronym, but they all come down to it not being the machine’s fault.

You are also right in suspecting that the lint could come from your dryer. There are a couple of possibilities if this is the case. The first is that no one has been emptying the lint trap regularly. Check this and clean it thoroughly. If you use fabric softener, take it to a sink and make sure water can easily pour through the mesh. If it can’t, use a soft bristled brush and some dish detergent and give it a gentle scrub until the water flows freely.

The second cause is a kinked or clogged dryer hose/vent. Gently pull your dryer away from the wall and detach it at both ends from your wall and your dryer. Be careful; if it rips, you’ll need to replace it. Also, ensure it is free of clogs.

I have heard of using an ELECTRIC (not gas-powered) leaf blower to clear the lint from the vent (the hole in the wall to the outside), but I think this is a case where I would call in a professional. (At least for my house, as it’s not a straight shot and seems like it could cause some harm if it were a thick clog)

As far as getting your husband to use a lint brush? You’re on your own.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

How Can I Make My Towels Smell Better Without Scented Detergents?

Dear Home Ec 101,

My husband and daughter have allergies and I am sensitive to certain scents, so when our beloved Tide began to irritate my daughter’s skin and their perfume seemed to get stronger with every bottle, we switched to a Free and Gentle detergent with no dyes or scents.

This has helped with skin irritations immensely. However, now that we’ve been using it for a while, I’ve noticed our towels never smell “fresh”, even when they are straight from the dryer. It isn’t the typical musty or moldy smell you might get when leaving them in the washer too long and not truly stinky but just not nice.

How can I make my towels smell better without resorting to perfumey detergents or dryer sheets?
Signed,
Breathless in Bel-Air

Dear Breathless in Bel-Air,

You are in luck. What you seem to be experiencing is a simple case of detergent build-up.

Some of the molecules in detergent have an interesting property, part of the molecule loves water, and part of it loves oil. This allows the molecules to surround tiny dirt and oil particles and bring them into the wash water. The problem is that there has to be enough water in the washing machine to have all of these molecules in the water and not clinging to the fabric. If these molecules are clinging to the towels, they aren’t getting washed down the drain. These molecules tend to trap odors. The solution? Get rid of the excess detergent.

How to make your towels smell better

Gather a few of your towels at a time and wash in the hottest water available with either Borax or vinegar.

Vinegar lowers the pH of water, making it slightly more acidic, and making it easier for the detergent molecules to go into the solution.

Borax works on the same principle but on the basic or high pH side. If you use both simultaneously, they tend to balance each other out, and you make some salt, which wastes a little money and time. When you do this, look for suds.

If the water is sudsy and you didn’t add any detergent, you should repeat the process.

It’s very easy to get detergent buildup in areas with hard water, you need to have just enough detergent in the washer to surround all of the minerals in the water and enough to remove the soil, but too much and you’re back to not having fresh towels.

Another source of towel funk? Mildew

Make sure your towels are completely dry before they are folded and put away. Please note that fully dry doesn’t mean leaving them in there on high well past the point of being dry. Over-drying causes premature wear and uses excess energy. Neither of these is good for the environment or your budget.

How to prevent smelly towels.

In the future, use the least amount of laundry detergent possible. Don’t overload the washer. There needs to be room for the towels and clothing to move freely so that the material can be thoroughly rinsed. Taking these precautionary steps will help reduce the chance of detergent redepositing on your towels.

Click the picture for more tips!

*Note* Apparel should not be over-dried; this causes premature wear.

Finally, pay attention to where you store your towels. If it’s under a sink or in a small closet, dampness may be an issue.

Consider a product like DampRid to control the humidity, and use an old-fashioned sachet with your favorite, non-irritating scents to add a pleasant odor.

I have pretty severe allergies, and I’ve found that orange peels, cloves, vanilla, or natural cinnamon tend not to bother me. It’s their synthetic counterparts that set off the sneeze machine.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Dining In?: The Deep Clean Challenge Week 6, the Dining Room

Welcome to Week 6 of The Deep Clean Challenge. Today we are going to conquer the dining room.

How does The Deep Clean Challenge Work?

Each week’s challenge is announced on our Facebook page each Wednesday morning. This gives you time to plan your strategy and get any tools or supplies you may not have on hand for this week’s project. When Saturday rolls around, you are ready to start. (If Saturday doesn’t work for you, move it to a day that does). We know about shift work.

So far, we have:

Cleared ClutterCleaned the KitchenCleaned the BedroomScrubbed the BathroomCleaned the Living Room

If you have been with us since the beginning, are you seeing progress? How does it feel?

Is the printable weekly chore schedule helping you to stay on track? Is that manageable for you?

To keep the language simple, we will refer to the area we are cleaning this week as the dining room. Please note that we understand that not every home has a specific space for eating. Sometimes it’s more of an idea of an area, such as when you live in a studio apartment or a home with an “open concept.”

Why are we cleaning the dining room?

The goal for today is to clean the space that contains your table and chairs. If you do not have a table and chairs, focus on the area where you consume most of your meals, whether your bed, desk, couch, coffee table, standing over the sink, or sitting in your car. Everyone does what they must, and you might as well eat in a place that is as pleasant as possible.

Life is what it is.

We don’t need any perceived guilt or shame when trying to eat—something we all have to do multiple times a day, every day.

Having a space to eat our food in peace matters. We can give ourselves that…to a point. We understand that other factors can intrude on mealtimes that aren’t peaceful. Jobs, kids, pets, other family members.,

We’re helping you control what you can.

What tools do we need to clean the dining room?A vacuum with a soft bristle attachment and an edge tool if you have carpetingWindow cleaner and paper towels or newspaperIf you have wood furniture polish and an applicator (rag) or potentially paste waxA stepladder or sturdy chairA spare sheetA screwdriver—maybeAppropriate floor cleaner if you have tile or hardwoodDilute degreaserA mask -it’s another dusty oneWhat will be cleaned in the dining room?

We’re looking to get rid of any clutter, fan/light fixtures, the windows & coverings, walls, furniture, and floors.

How do we get started with this week’s challenge to clean the dining room?

Dining rooms can be a distraction minefield. They often have doom piles of mail, things to be filed, and items dumped on that large horizontal surface (most of us call it a table) instead of getting put away.

Putting those things away can cause us to lose track of our main task, cleaning the dining room. Getting caught up in figuring out how the paperwork needs to be handled can be distracting too. Before diving in, come up with a plan. Will you be dealing with these items during the cleaning process or at another time? Will you be doing a quick sort (trash, trash, keep) or keep it all to go through later?

There are no right or wrong answers. You need to know what you will do and how you will keep yourself on task after you get started. It may help to know that we will work on paperwork and your digital life (things like bills fall under that).

While planning your strategy, remember that you can set timers to keep you on task for periods and allow yourself a set amount of the challenge to focus on the STUFF before putting it away and cleaning. There’s always the rinse and repeat at the end to come back around and do another deep clean. Whatever you choose. You’ve got this.

Strategy chosen? Good. Do you have an accountability partner notified? Podcasts or music ready to go? Excellent.

How long should cleaning the dining room take?

Every week with this question. It depends. For the challenge, no more than two hours. Please put down your mops and dust rags and go outside and play. We really wish we could provide a specific answer. How high were the doom piles? Oh, you didn’t have any, and you have no knick-knacks and dust every day. It will take you very little time, indeed. For the rest of us, it might take a bit longer.

Let’s get started with cleaning the dining room.

Before we start our usual top to bottom, left to right, dry to wet routine, let’s go ahead and remove everything from the horizontal surfaces, using the strategy you created above.

We’ll wait.

Clean the fan and light fixture(s)

Start by spreading your sheet under the light fixture or fan, and then clean the fan and/or light fixture.

I love this video by Dr. Bertice Berry. She is a wonderful storyteller, and I think about this one every time I clean a fan or light fixture in my home.

Dust builds up slowly, and we don’t notice it slowly dimming the light in our home. Take the extra time today and when you are done, take a moment to appreciate the light.

Knock down cobwebs and clean the walls

Start with a quick dust and then look carefully. If you live in a home with only grown people, the walls might not need anything more. If, however, you have small children, you may need to address smudges and food spatters. If your walls are flat paint, be careful.

Clean curtains or window coverings

Will you be removing the curtains/drapes or just vacuuming? Whichever you choose, now is the time. Go ahead and wash the windows while you are here. Really get into the nooks and crannies, if you can.

Dust and polish any tall furniture

At this point in our cleaning adventure, we’re looking at china cabinets, shelving units, bookcases, etc. Give them a good dusting, and polish, if warranted. Work your way, from left to right around the room to keep yourself on track.

Clean the table and chairs

Cleaning a dining room table and chairs can get pretty involved. We have a post on how to clean a very grimy table and another on how to remove milk splatters. The soft bristle attachment on your vacuum will get most of the crumbs on most dining room chairs, canned air can get most of the rest and determination and gentle prodding with a toothpick can get the last bits. (Why do we insist on having things that are so obnoxious to clean?)

If you have microfiber covers on stools, that’s especially fun to clean.

Clean, dust, and polish low furniture

If you have any buffets or other short furniture in your dining room, now is the time to go ahead and give that a good once over.

You guessed it, it’s now time for everyone’s favorite part:

Baseboards and flooring

Work around the dining room, use the soft bristle attachment of your vacuum and swap that out with the crevice tool if your room is carpeted to give the baseboards a good once over. If the baseboards are really grimy, the degreaser will work, as will dilute powdered Tide (assuming the baseboards are white; if the dining room baseboards are wood, stick to the degreaser).

Once your baseboards are done, it is time to clean the flooring, according to the material you have. If it is carpeting, vacuum it thoroughly. Give it a good thorough mopping if you have wood, tile or linoleum. Just remember to only use a damp mop on the hardwood.

Put away all of your tools and celebrate another job well done.

Weekly Menu

We may live in three homes and have three very different lives, but we’re family by choice.

Each week we will be updating this post with our weekly menu plans.

You can learn a little more about our lives below the weekly plans, by clicking the Continue Reading button just below the three menus. Remember, these are plans and plans change. Sometimes life alters those plans. Would you like a printable to help with your menu planning?

Weekly Menu for Heather, Lisa, and Amanda: Heather’s Menu

This week’s goal:
We pulled an audible and completely changed our Easter Menu, last week and those leftovers will be featured heavily this week. Instead of cooking a ham, I smoked two pork butts (shoulders, it’s a regionalism) and served it with pasta salad, a tomato salad, and, at the request of my oldest, green bean casserole.

All three girls have very bad colds or the flu (negative tests) thank goodness. We will be taking it easy this week to recover.

I am really looking forward to this weekend, as we will have company—assuming the whole everyone is better, thing, of course

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Pasta Salad

3. Baked Potatoes with Pulled Pork, Green Beans

3. Breakfast Skillets– these will rely heavily on some zucchini and mushrooms I picked up at that produce stand this weekend

4. Chicken Curry, Rice, Okra
5. Tuna melts, side salads
6. Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread, Collard Greens

Lisa’s Menu

This week I have a lot long work days and I’m looking forward to simple meals that are quick to prepare.

Croque monsieur with salad (French hot ham and cheese sandwiches)Spaghetti and Meatballs (Using frozen meatballs)Dolsot Bibimbap and assorted banchan (takeout) (Korean rice bowls and side dishes)Roast chicken with string beans and garlic mashed potatoesShrimp and GritsAmanda’s Menu

We will be meeting up with our college student for dinner once this week. This is something we started doing in the fall and it has helped ease the transition.

Roast Beef, Smoked Sausage, and Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Green Beans,Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake with SaladThai Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps and RiceBBQ Chicken Tacos, Sweet Potatoe Home Fries, Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic GlazeHomemade PizzaWhat do our households look like?

Heather is married with six children, two are preschoolers, and four are teenagers. Three of the teenagers are there full-time, one is there mainly on weekends during school, but much more whenever school is not in session. Family nights out are generally cost-prohibitive and saved for special occasions. We are working hard to eliminate takeout, a habit that developed when Heather’s depression flared for most of ’21.

Lisa is married with a child starting law school in the fall of 23. She is also a medical caregiver for a family member.

Amanda is a single parent. She has two children, one in college.

What are our current menu plan challenges?Multiple schedulesBusiness travelNeurodivergenciesEmpty nestLarge familyChanging tastes due to medicationBurnoutFood intolerancesDepression/anxiety

All of these things affect not only what we choose to cook, but whether or not we have the energy or wherewithal (executive function) to make what we chose. We are no longer young adults, but we do remember those years well. Home-Ec 101 was started, in part, by that overwhelming 4:00 pm dread of not knowing what to make that was a result of not having learned the lifeskills as kids.

We’re here to help.

We’ve got an entire series on menu planning. A free printable to plan your menu and shopping list and plenty of beginner to intermediate-friendly recipes to get you going. Also, Heather is fantastic at Iron Chef, Pantry Clean-Out Edition.

As promised, here’s your menu planning printable. We hope it makes your planning and grocery shopping a little bit easier.

Lived In Living Room? Deep Clean Challenge Week 5

It may be called a den, but it doesn’t have to look like bears live here. – Heather, to her kids, too often

Welcome to the Deep clean Challenge Week 5. Just joining us? So far, we have:

Cleared ClutterCleaned the KitchenCleaned the BedroomScrubbed the Bathroom

Are you seeing progress? Let us know in the comments.

How does The Deep Clean Challenge Work?

The week’s challenge is announced on our Facebook page each Wednesday morning. This gives you time to plan your strategy and get any tools you may not have on hand for this week’s project. When Saturday rolls around, you are ready to start. (If Saturday doesn’t work for you, move it to a day that does).

Why are we cleaning the living room/family room this week?

We’ve already cleaned the two main private areas we spend most of our time and the public area that may significantly affect your day-to-day mood (that’s the kitchen), so now, it’s time to start with other more public areas of the home.

What will be cleaned in the living room/family room?

We’re aiming to hit all of the main parts, but we’re not doing the chimney if you have a fireplace. Also, if you have a great room situation, mentally divide this room and figure out where your dining area is. We will hit the dining area in the future. If you took out a wall to “open the space,” imagine it’s back, just for this exercise.

What is our goal in cleaning the living room/family room?

We’re not trying to pass a white glove test. We’re trying to create a space that is pleasant to be in.

We want to walk through the room without experiencing the sheer delight of stepping on an unseen Lego or having to shove aside last week’s dishes to eat while watching TV.

Please do not misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with a good Netflix or Hulu binge; I’m waiting for the kids to go to bed so I can finish up Season 2 of The Great. We just want to be able to do this without any guilt distracting us from this joy. Clutter is morally neutral. We just want to make sure you’re happy in your living space.

That is the goal when we are cleaning the living/family room.

What tools and cleaning supplies do we need to clean the bedroom?

It’s nearly the same as last week, except for the linen spray and allergy barriers:

garbage bagsbus tubs/binsrubber glovesragsdegreaserglass cleanerpaper towelsvacuumsoft bristle attachmentstepladderfoxtail or soft bristle brushbroom and dustpanleather cleaner, if you have leather furniturefurniture polishNice to have/get:well-fitted KN-95 mask*canned airnew lightbulbs, if any are outCord keepers/organizersA spare chargerMaybe a spare sheetHow do we get started with this week’s challenge to clean the living/family room?

Do you have everything you need? An accountability partner? Music, podcast, or other audio entertainment? Timers?

Then you are all set.

How long should cleaning the bedroom take?

This question again? We’ve been over this; it varies.

How large is your room? How much stuff do you have? How dusty is it? Are you like Heather’s dad? Do you have a million of those tiny houses that need to be dusted with a paintbrush? It might take you a while, and you might not make it through in our two-hour time limit. That’s okay. You can continue working on it each week as it comes around in the weekly chore schedule.

At the end of the challenge, you can also hit rinse and repeat and have another chance.

Let’s Clean that Living Room!

Gather your supplies, and don’t forget to grab your mask if you’re part of the allergy crew. If looking at the room as a whole is overwhelming, look at last week’s tips for the neurodivergent community and divide the room into sections to make the chore more manageable.

Your first task is to turn off the ceiling fan if you have one. While that is slowing, look for all things that do not belong. These things include:

dirty laundryclean laundrytrashschool stuffdirty dishesitems from other roomsshoeswork stuff

You get the idea. Your job is to gather those up and put them away UNLESS you tend to clean down the rabbit trail. If this is the case, gather it up and set it just outside the room. You will deal with it AFTER the living room is clean.

Grab your broom and knock down any cobwebs from the corner.

Clean the ceiling fan.

Clean the fan. If you have items, you do not want dust to fall on below the fan, spread a sheet on the floor or over the items. Don’t forget the light fixture and check which way the blades spin when the fan is on. If you are in a warm season, the fan should be turning counter-clockwise.

Clean the overhead light fixture if you do not have a ceiling fan.

If the glass light covering is especially grimy, you can either set it to soak or run it through the dishwasher (don’t if the glass is frosted).

Clean the windows and window coverings.

Are you just vacuuming the curtains/drapes or taking them down for a wash or a trip to the cleaner? There is no wrong answer. If you vacuum the drapes, use the soft bristle attachment, but be sure the attachment is clean, so you don’t leave any smudges on light-colored fabrics.

Clean any shelves, mantles, media cabinets, and elevated, horizontal surfaces.

How you dust and polish will be determined by the type of material used. Some laminated furniture just needs a wipe with a damp rag, some will need to be dusted and polished to preserve their luster.

Don’t forget to dust your television and speakers.

If you got that can of air, now is when you’ll use it. Look for where the dust has gathered on the electrical equipment near any vents and use the canned air to gently blow it away from (not into) the vents.

While you are looking at the electronics, do you have a place in this room where you tend to charge your devices? Could that use a little love/cord organization? Why don’t you tend to that?

Clean all the chairs and sofa(s).

Grab your vacuum. We’re going deep. Remove any removable parts and give the whole piece a good once over with the vacuum, unless it is leather. If the item is leather, just vacuum any non-leather parts. Then use the appropriate leather cleaner on the rest of the item.

How much change did you find? We find so much less than we used to now that we’ve moved away from cash.

Clean the walls.

How you do this will depend on the type of paint you have. If your walls are matte, flat, or eggshell paint, these finishes don’t handle washing well. You’ll want only to use a barely damp rag with very dilute vinegar. If you have semi-gloss, this paint is much more tolerant of washing, and you can usually use your favorite diluted degreaser.

However, we have reached the portion of our show where we recite our motto.

We solemnly swear to always read the label, never mix chemicals without research, fight the man, test in an inconspicuous area, and hide the evidence.

Wash the windows.

If it’s been a while, you may really notice a difference in how much brighter the sunlight is.

Have you noticed that we’ve gone top to bottom? We’re just about to the floor now. But, it’s time for everyone’s least favorite part of the show… baseboards. Grab a rag and some gloves. If you have white baseboards, I have found that diluted powdered Tide works really well. Tide has brighteners in it that make whites whiter and since your baseboards are white, they’ll look a lot better. Is it cheating?

Who cares.

While you are making this trek around the room, save yourself a step and drag the vacuum with you (and use it). Have the crevice tool attached and get that annoying bit either between the carpet and the baseboard or where the quarter round and floor meet that tends to collect everything. It’ll make your next-to-last step easier.

Vacuum or sweep and mop.

This is a thorough, company is coming vacuuming/sweeping/mopping.

Once this is done, it is time to put away all of your tools, make sure your curtains are rehung, if you took them down. Reassemble your light fixture and call it a day.

Well done, my friend. Well done.