Clean My Space Quotes

“HANDY HABIT: Stopping Stains from Sticking. Keep a bottle of stain solution in your dining room to handle spills on rugs as they happen. Begin by blotting the stain well with several pieces of paper towel, then apply the stain product to the rug. Pat it in, and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse well with cool water to remove suds, and repeat as necessary until the stain disappears. Pat dry with a clean cloth.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“For any mysterious sticky bits on your glass, dab with rubbing alcohol and wipe clean with a paper towel.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“instead of haphazardly circling with your wiping, mixing clean with dirty, use the most efficient motion when cleaning all horizontal and vertical surfaces, the S-pattern. Grab your cloth and begin by starting at the top corner and moving over to the other, then slightly down and back to the opposite side, zigzagging over new areas until you get down to the bottom corner. This is one of the most crucial cleaning moves you need to know! It is more elbow-grease efficient and ensures you cover every inch of a surface without redepositing dirt anywhere.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“You’ll work clockwise around the room three times as follows: wave 1, tidying and organizing, i.e., putting things that are out of place back where they belong; wave 2, cleaning, or dusting, washing, and drying all surfaces except the floors; and wave 3, floors (plus finishing touches).”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“It is important that they are cleaned and cared for properly to ensure they’ll last use after use. To clean them, first rinse the cloth well to remove excess debris. Machine wash them only with other microfiber cloths (they will pick up particles from regular laundry), using gentle, bleach-free laundry detergent and cool water on a regular cycle, or hand wash with dish soap in warm water and rinse thoroughly. Don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets with these cloths; they will clog the fibers and render the cloth ineffective. It is best to hang them to dry or place in the dryer on low heat.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“General-purpose or terry: Perfect for general-purpose cleaning, such as dusting, wiping, etc. Get a few, to avoid cross-contamination. I recommend five of these. Plush: Perfect for buffing surfaces to a streak-free shine. Stash one with you when cleaning for this purpose. Have two on hand. Flat-weave: Used for glass cleaning and delicate, soft surfaces such as flat-screen TVs and electronics. I use one or two for a home cleaning. Waffle-weave: Heavy-duty drying towels designed to replace dish towels. A pair of these is perfect in the kitchen.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“High-dusting tool: Guess what? Not only did you make your own cleaning products, but now you’re going to make your own cleaning tool! Sure, you can buy a high duster, but why spend the money? Instead, drape a general-purpose microfiber cloth over the end of a mop pole or broom handle, then secure it with an elastic, so that it looks like a little ghost. Voilà! You have a duster for getting cobwebs against the ceiling, dust caught in grooves in your moldings; flip it upside down, and you have a low duster for your baseboards.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“You’ll notice that I use these ingredients again and again in lots of different formulations, so it’s a good idea to just keep them in the house. 3% hydrogen peroxide (what you get in the brown bottle): a whitener, stain-remover, and chlorine bleach alternative. Borax: Borax, or sodium borate, is a naturally occurring mineral. While it is not as gentle as baking soda, it mixes well with lemon, vinegar, and water for cleaning purposes and does clean quite well when used properly. See here (bathroom) for my favorite Borax trick. Cornstarch: Used in glass cleaner; super soft, provides the most gentle abrasion, and wipes off streak-free. Cream of tartar: Can remove stains when combined with vinegar or lemon juice. Rubbing alcohol: A quick-drying agent for some of my recipes and a dissolver of oil and grease. It is also known to disinfect. White vinegar: Can be used as a deodorizer, degreaser, stainless-steel cleaner, glass cleaner, and it does away with soap scum and limescale. Lemon can do almost anything that vinegar does, but there are practical reasons why I recommend vinegar, not least of all the ridiculousness of having to juice a bunch of lemons before cleaning. You can always sub in lemon juice for vinegar if you want to, but be aware that a product with lemon juice in it will go rancid, where vinegar will not, so any big batch meant to last for a while should contain vinegar. Remember, you can always amp up your vinegar game with 6 percent or 10 percent acidity.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“Here are some simple household applications for baking soda; don’t be surprised when I mention it throughout the book! Carpets: Sprinkle on carpets and let sit for 30 minutes to absorb odors and lift out dirt, then vacuum it up. Trash cans/recycling bins: Sprinkle some in the can or bin if it smells, leave for 20 minutes, then wipe clean with a wet cloth. Kitchen: For caked-on food on pots, pans, the oven door, or cooktop, create a paste of equal parts dish soap and baking soda, then add a few sprinkles of water until it’s got a nice, pudding-like consistency. Apply with a damp, soft sponge and let sit on the surface for about 20 minutes, then wipe off (easily!) with a wet sponge. Rinse well and buff dry with a cloth. Walls: Sprinkle a little on a cloth slightly dampened with water, and use it to erase marks on the wall (yep, an eraser-style sponge substitute). Wipe the wall clean with a dry cloth. Sinks: Works great to remove stains from sinks—sprinkle it in and scrub well with a soapy sponge and hot water. Buff with a dry cloth to achieve that high-polish shine. The results are amazing!”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVER (to be mixed up fresh every time, then discarded afterward) 2 parts hydrogen peroxide 1 part dish soap Mix together in a small bowl and apply with a toothbrush or cloth. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse with water and blot up excess. Repeat if necessary.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“Although I am all about clean, you will notice that I don’t recommend antibacterial products that claim to obliterate germs on contact. In my research, I have consulted epidemiologists at the CDC, chemists, doctors, and other cleaning professionals, and I have discovered that none recommend the goal of trying to kill germs on every surface all the time.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“The Top-to-Bottom routines are designed to keep your space cleaner longer, because you’re going to be doing things the right way. They walk you through each and every task required to properly clean a particular space in your home, start to finish.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“The Express routines are designed to give you the key points to hit when you don’t have much time but you want to lightly clean for maximum impact. They can help build your confidence in cleaning if you don’t have much experience; they’re the gateway drug of cleaning. But let me be clear: an Express Clean is a surface clean at best. These cleans are perfect for pre-guest arrivals and quick midweek tidy-ups but do not replace full cleanings. Express Cleans focus on tidying and fixing any cleaning faux pas.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“I synthesize the correct products for the job (the P), the best tools (T), and, finally, the techniques (the other T). I teach my staff any time they enter a room to think: PTT. Do I have the Products I need? Do I have the Tools? After that, it’s all about Technique.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day

“Your whole house does not need to be cleaned all the time. We don’t have the time for it, and we’re better off trading in what little spare time we do have to do the things that make us happy. So, in step one, you find the Most Important Areas, or MIAs, in your home and make those your most regular cleaning focus.”
― Melissa Maker, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day