The question of “Is it time for me to organize my closet?” is not an unusual one. In our busy lives, we tend to overlook the small things in our daily activities. These would include keeping the items in our closets in precise order. As we live our lives each day, we tend to accumulate on clothing articles, accessories and other things. In most cases, the first thing to come in mind when keeping these items is to stash it inside the closet.

However, as we keep on doing this, sooner or later we end up with a number of things lost inside or buried underneath other things. For some people, remembering each specific piece of clothing they own is possible. But then, if you ask them if they wear all of it regularly, it produces an entirely opposite answer. Nonetheless, they would still like to keep all of it.

So, if you ask, “what is the best way to organize my closet?” it is quite simple. You do not need to tear down your existing closet just to be able to make it organized. First rule is to segregate the items inside. This will help determine the items you would need to enhance your closet. Boxes and plastic bins can make excellent storage containers for seasonal and other special clothing. Hanging plastic shelves would be able to hold extra clothing while it protects it from the elements. And for accessories and small articles, a door hanging mesh organizer would serve best.

Keep these ideas in mind when you ask “how can I organize my closet?” These few simple ideas can help save you time and frustration. Get more free helpful closet tips at http://www.yourhomeisorganized.com/ClosetOrganization1.htm.

Up to now, once-a-year cleaning chores had been carried out in the spring. Through the years, I have gradually shifted many of these to the fall. It simply makes more sense.

For those who have family or friends over for Thanksgiving or winter holidays, fall is the ideal time to perform these things. It’s going to ensure you have a cleaner home and don’t wind up putting things off until the last minute. It makes all the holiday seasons a lot less nerve-racking!

The Three Big Fall Jobs

Clean The Carpets
According to carpet industry experts, you should have the carpets professionally cleaned every 6-18 months depending on the traffic in your home. If you do it once a year, fall is the ideal time. Your carpets are going to be beautiful for holiday family get-togethers and parties. The majority of carpet cleaning businesses offer a special deal in which they will come back and deal with any stain within so many months of cleaning. If you clean in the fall and one of the kids splatters cranberry sauce on the carpet at Thanksgiving, you are covered. You should also allow them to professionally vacuum the carpet prior to cleaning. They are able to eliminate much more dirt than your vacuum can.

Clean The Attic
As soon as the weather cools down, it’s actually the best time to get up in the attic and get rid of the dust and mildew! All you need to do is take a vacuum up to the attic, begin with the ceilings, and work your way down. If you have never been in the attic or simply don’t want to do this project yourself (some attics involve some unsafe maneuvering), it is possible to hire someone to do it for you. The advantage is you will increase the quality of air inside the entire house. In addition, you will also have a thoroughly clean place for storage. Make sure to use a dust mask and protective eyeglasses, especially if you have never cleaned your attic. You will produce a lot of particle clouds floating around up there! Look for damp places caused by roof leaks.

Clean The Chandeliers And Light Fixtures
The beginning of fall is the best time to clean up chandeliers, light globes, and light diffusers. Maybe you are going to have people over for the holidays, and let’s face it – that is the one time you see exactly how filthy your lights are! The easiest method to clean a chandelier is to leave it where it is. Taking apart the chandelier creates a much bigger job, and you may not know how to put it all back together again! Get yourself a step stool or a ladder and clean using a damp cloth. An additional method is by using two cotton gloves – one sprayed with window cleaner and one dry.

After that you should tackle the light globes on ceiling fans along with other fixtures. You should do a room at a time. Detach the globes carefully and allow them to soak while you’re cleaning the room. Rinse and wipe them clean and replace them after. It isn’t hard, but most of us have a lot of light fixtures. You are going to notice a change in lighting immediately. Don’t forget the porch lights!

Additional Fall Cleaning Jobs
Draperies
Read the labeling on your drapes. If they’re machine washable, wash them on gentle cycle with Woolite or any other gentle detergent and let them hang dry. If they are dry clean only, don’t take any chances, bring them in to be cleaned.

Oven and Range
You most likely do this when needed, however this is an excellent time for you to do a thorough oven cleaning, particularly if you cook and bake a lot through the holidays. Use a spray cleaner and let it sit overnight. Wipe clean in the morning. Starting with a clean oven will make it much easier to wipe the oven clean the day after Thanksgiving. Remember to take off the range and oven knobs and dials and let them soak in soapy dishwater.

Refrigerator and Freezer
This is the time to do a thorough job where you take everything out and clean the shelves and drawers. It won’t take long enough to worry about any food spoiling if you just get in there and do it! Use an antibacterial household cleaner and wipe down the shelves. Take the drawers out and wash them in the kitchen sink. When you’re done with these two tasks, take everything out of the freezer and put to one side of the sink. Use the same antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all surfaces. If you have ice cube trays, wash them in the top shelf of the dishwasher or let them soak in the sink.

Polish Silver
Many people just use their good silver around the holiday seasons, so this will be the ideal time to polish and shine silver serving pieces and tarnished silver flatware.
Furniture and Rugs
Move large furnishings and mop or vacuum underneath them. This particular task only has to be done once a year, so don’t break your back doing this more frequently.
Turn over area rugs and vacuum the backside. This will help get any dirt and grime that is hiding at the base of the rug fibers. Never beat an area rug to clean it. This can break down the rug backing and fibers.

Gutters
Of course, fall is the time of year your gutters get packed with leaves. Clean them with a special hose attachment that has a hooked end to get down into the gutters. Better yet, look into attaching “hoods” or “helmets” to the gutters so you won’t have to worry as much about leaves in the future!

Mrs. Clean is a House Cleaning pro.

We’ve been cleaning house since 1975, we specialize in professional cleaning services, house cleaning & stain removal tips, stain removal forum, cleaning service directory, and vacuum cleaner product reviews.

Speed Cleaning Tips – 4 Tips For More Efficiency

Who doesn’t want to clean a house in record time? With the pile of house clutter and the very limited time we have in attending the maintenance needs of our home (which of course lasts for more than two hours even when done on a daily basis), it is but wonderful to think that we could finish all necessary cleaning in a very efficient and quick way just like a professional cleaner.

So here are a few speed cleaning tips that would help you become more effective in the over-all maintenance of your home:

1. Be organized

The very first thing that baffles even some experienced house cleaners is the part of the house from where they should start with. Normally, it is best to begin from the top down. Clean the top part of your house first, starting from the back while working your way towards the center of the floor or the steps. Following this principle suggests that if you are working on all parts of your house, you must begin with ceiling first or the attic. This pattern of work will help keep you from dragging the same dirt towards the part of the house that was already cleaned.

2. Keep a schedule

Set a specific schedule for your house cleaning. Professional cleaners do not say to themselves “we will attend to your house the next time we run out of schedule”. Instead, they maintain a schedule that is well organized. So make it a point to set up a regular cleaning schedule on your most convenient time, usually during weekends.

But don’t settle with setting a schedule alone, be sure that you would stick to it and be very religious with the routines. Also, never leave a job undone or half-done. No one else would suffer but you because of the pile of unfinished works.

3. Wear the proper attire

Say goodbye to bleach-stained shirts by using a cleaning uniform will make the process more comfortable and convenient. You don’t need the glamour of nightgowns or the style of tight shirts if you have to crouch on floors and reach the trapped soil beneath your carpets. Wear something comfortable and washable attires during the entire cleaning process. Furthermore, use gloves, appropriate cleaning shoes and eye protection if needed.

4. Finish everything before moving to the next inch

If you really want to speed up the cleaning process then you must not work on one place for more than once. Be sure to attend to everything that needs cleaning before you move to the next part of the house.

You really don’t need professional intervention just to assure that your house is well maintained. All you need is to allot a few hours of your time for cleaning your house at top speed.

Despite all the hype and advertising that you see for cleaning products, it is possible to keep a clean house without stressing your budget using a variety common household ingredients. Since you are the one making these homemade cleaning products for your bathroom, you can have control of the chemicals you use.

Most of these homemade cleaning recipes are completely non-toxic, some though do have ingredients that while cheap are toxic, and should be handled with care. Below is a summary of the ingredients used in the recipes.

Non-toxic ingredients:

• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Salt
• Lemon

Toxic ingredients:

Chlorine Bleach

Bathtub

1. For General Cleaning

• 1 cup baking soda
• 3 cups water

Combine the backing soda and water to make a paste.

Rub all over the tub. Rinse well.

2. To Remove Rust Spots or Mineral Stains

Pour about 1 inch of vinegar or lemon juice into the tub and let soak for about 5 minutes. Rinse and scrub with cleaning powder and a sponge. Rinse well.

Clogged Drain

3. Maintenance

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 – 4 quarts cold water

Pour the baking soda down the drain. Next pour the vinegar down the drain. Cover the drain for a few minutes. Take the cover of and pour the water down the drain.

4. Getting Rid of Grease

• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 Kettle of boiling water

Pour the salt and baking soda down the drain, followed by the boiling water to melt the grease.

Faucets

5. Removing Soap or Stain Buildup

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vinegar

Dissolve the salt in the vinegar to make a solution.

Dip the sponge into the solution and rub it into the buildup on the faucet. Rinse well and buff dry with a soft clean cloth.

6. Removing Hard to Clean Stains

Soak a cloth in undiluted vinegar. Wrap it around the faucet for 10 minutes. Remove the cloth and wipe faucet with a damp cloth.

Grout

7. General Cleaning

• 1 cup vinegar
• 4 cups water

(For very dirty grout)

• 1/4 cup chlorine bleach
• 6 Cups water

Combine the vinegar with the water or Combine the chlorine bleach with the water.

Scrub the grout with a toothbrush or nail brush dipped in the solution.

8. Stained Grout on Ceramic Tiles

• 1/4 cup chlorine bleach
• 4 cups water

Combine the vinegar with the water or Combine the chlorine bleach with the water.

Scrub the grout with a toothbrush or nail brush dipped in the solution.

Shower Head

9. Plastic Shower Heads

Soak shower head in equal amounts of hot water and vinegar for at least half an hour. Rinse well.

10. Other Types of Shower Heads

• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 4 cups water

Combine the vinegar with the water in a saucepan, put shower head in and boil for 15 minutes. Rinse well.

These homemade cleaning products really work well and as you see don’t cost much. I hope you enjoy  using them.

I have one more recipe for the bathroom, a deodorizer that will keep the bathroom smelling fresh all the time.

Wintergreen Deodorizer

Put a few  drops of wintergreen oil on a ball of cotton wool. Place the ball of cotton wool in a dish (out of sight). This should last for months.

This author likes to find ways to economize by making homemade products. You can see more D-I-Y homemade cleaning products, or you may also be interested other types of homemade products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Penny_Scott

Many of us carry around planners. Unfortunately, only about one in twenty uses it effectively. For many of us it is more effective as a doorstop than as a calendar. Therefore, I feel compelled to write out these simple, easy to follow instructions for the EFFECTIVE use of a planner. For those of you who prefer electronic devices, skip to the last paragraph.

What are the components of an effective planner? Four things are absolutely necessary. They are:

- Month Tabs For The Entire Year

- Daily Pages For Two Months

- A Page Finder To Mark Today

- A Future-Planning Calendar

The most popular size is 8.5″ x 5.5″ (preferred by 80% of users). The month tabs should be two pages each so you actually have enough room to write. The daily pages need to consist of two pages for each day. One side is divided into two columns – one for to-do’s and one broken down into hours for appointments. The other page is simply lined for you to make notes of things that will happen that day or did happen that day. The last page(s) in any planner should be “things beyond the scope of this book” so you will have a place to record ANYTHING, no matter how far into the future it extends.

Your planner needs to be the one-stop-shop for everything you have ever promised anybody that you would do. This includes promises to co-workers, clients, family, friends and even yourself. Yes, you will be mixing business and personal, but you are not schizophrenic – you have one life so have one planner.

Write EVERYTHING down, not just “really” important things, not just business things and not just what is convenient. Write down EVERYTHING! The most significant things to write down are your interrupted interruptions. What is an interrupted interruption? Here is an example – you are talking on the phone with Stanley and he asks you to email him directions. “I’d be happy to” you say, hang up the phone, turn to your computer and begin to send Stanley the directions. Suddenly Josephine bursts into your office screeching, ” Mrs. Peabody is in the lobby and we can’t find her file!” Instantly, Stanley is forgotten and Mrs. Peabody now demands all of your attention. If you remember your forgot Stanley’s directions it ill be on the drive home that night, or when you sit straight up in bed at 3 AM. The moral? ALWAYS take a second to jot down “Stanley directions” on today’s to-do section before turning to the Peabody crisis.

If you will be conscientious about good record keeping, forsaking the illusion that you still have a reliable memory, forsaking the post-it-note habit, and forsaking the piles-of-things-to-do-later system, your productivity will go up and your stress will go down. 95% of the papers on your desk, the post-it’s on your monitor and the pink phone call slips can go straight into the trash. 95% of them are simply reminders. You don’t actually need the paper, you just need the reminder. When you write down what you need to do and when you need to do it, 95% of all that clutter goes directly into the trash/recycle bin. Admit it, that system isn’t working anyway!

Your goal, just like a busy Air Traffic Controller managing hundreds of planes a day, is to have one single radar screen to watch. Not post-its, piles and memory. The average business person has eight different systems for keeping track of what they need to do and where they need to go. How many do you have? Interestingly, this simple paper system was invented by Benjamin Franklin over 200 years ago because he was having trouble keeping track of it all. Ben’s was the best system then and it is still the best system today.

Now, some of you are wondering about those snazzy electronic devices. Studies have shown that it requires more time and more discipline to maintain an electronic system than it does a paper system. Also, at this time, 60% of people who switch to electronic systems eventually switch back to paper. There may come a time when electronic is faster and easier than paper, it’s just not today. I don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS choose the faster and easier method!

Liz Davenport is the author of “Order from Chaos: A 6 Step Plan for Organizing Yourself, Your Office & Your Life” published by Random House and available at http://www.OrderFromChaos.com. Liz has been named New Mexico’s Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year by the SBA. Subscribe to her business blog at http://www.OrganizingSecretsByLiz.com.

Over the years, people and especially families can really accumulate a lot of STUFF. In time, we outgrow that stuff, or it breaks, or it gets replaced by a newer, sleeker model.

Whatever the case, many individuals and families find that even after the best garage or yard sale, even after all the Craigslist listings, pawnshops, and trying to pass it on to friends, family members, or poor college students…there is still a lot of junk leftover.

Here are some summer and spring cleaning tips for junk removal.

1. Junk removal companies will make the big projects small for you
Junk removal companies take all the hassle and headache away from that last bit of cleanup after a big sale or cleaning sweep. Got big pieces of furniture that didn’t sell or are broken? No problem. A big smelly fridge that you don’t want to deal with and couldn’t lift by yourself anyway? Easy! After raking the leaves and cutting the branches, have you had enough of getting poked and gouged? Let them handle it. Junk companies will take it all, from appliances and old furniture to yard waste and garbage, even debris from a big demolition job at your construction company. You already did the important work. Have someone else take care of the dirty work.

2. Don’t be put off by thinking you’ll have to wait around for the job to be done
You can often get same-day or next-day service to haul away your stuff. You could be sitting free and pretty and completely finished within hours – no more muss or fuss, for you. It’s time to put your feet up and have a nice relaxing cool beverage.

3. Don’t bother trying to get it all organized
No need to put in the extra mileage to get all the junk looking neat and pretty and in the proper categories. Worry about that for the stuff you’re keeping. They’ll take it however it is, in whatever disarray they find it. It’s just going on a truck, after all!

4. Try to get an estimate of price over the phone or by email
Some companies can offer you a good estimate of the cost it will be to haul away the stuff you need taken away based on the description of the items, volume and size of what you have. This way you’ll know if junk removal is a good option for you and can eliminate immediately any doubt in your mind or anxiety over having to find and borrow a truck, go to the landfill, et cetera.

5. If you have hazardous waste materials, be sure to ask first if they can take it
Often times it is difficult or even illegal for junk removal companies to collect or transport hazardous or biomedical items. Some such items which can be questionable are batteries, paint cans, gas or oil containers and other chemicals.

6. You don’t have to haul all your junk all the way out to the curb by yourself
Just leave the items are you are having taken away wherever they are and the company you hire should come and pick it all up, package it and haul it for you. You shouldn’t have to do a thing, which makes the whole process really very easy.

If you use these tips for waste, junk removal and furniture removal, your spring or summer cleaning will be a snap.

Andy West is a writer on a variety of topics including junk removal. If you’re in the Toronto area be sure to visit IAmJunk.com for your junk removal needs.