Ways To Cut Your Chores In Half – Cleaning House Faster

Doing chores can be the dread of your life sometimes. You’re not alone. Millions of people look at chores and don’t want to do them. Who does? There are several ways that you can make this a bit easier. If your goal is to cut down the time frame that you spend cleaning, then you’ll no doubt want to take a look at the tips below. These tips will help you cut your house chores in half and get moving forward with just about anything else you’d like to do.

Divide Things Up 

If you have multiple people in your home, then split things up. Try to include everyone in your family to clean up and clear things away. Divide things through the week and your chores will not seem so bad because everyone does just a little. The more in your home, the more you can get done within a relative short span of time. Helping with chores can also help with childhood development, so don’t be shy about dividing things up a bit.

Use A Kitchen Timer

No major chore should take you more than around 15 minutes. If you’re not convinced, just set up a kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Then apply it for 1 chore at a time. You’ll find that if you go this route, you’ll be able to clean with relative ease. Do this for 1 chore every day and at the end of the week, you will have done 7 major things in your home.

Don’t Do Everything At Once

One mistake that you should never make is try to do everything in one day. Don’t do everything in one day or one weekend. Instead, divide up your chores across several days, doing simple things each day. Again, within 7 days you can get a lot done fast. Don’t do everything within a short span of time, and you’ll end up with a cleaner home with no stress.

Keep Things Simple

Don’t overthink the cleaning and chores process. You’ll want to make sure that you have supplies, storage for your cleaning options, and work with products that are easy to utilize any day. Keep things simple and you’re going to find that your home will be cleaner faster. If you overthink cleaning, you’re going to end up with a messy home, and nothing fully done.

A little goes a long way. It’s simple. The best thing that you can do is to take some time, and move forward slowly. Done right, you’ll always have a clean home.

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Things To Clean Before The Holidays

The holidays are fast approaching and you’ll no doubt deal with a large number of different guests, parties, and more. Whether you are going to have someone stay a while, or just a quick visit, the holiday months warrant a great deal of attention. You don’t want your home to be in disarray, which is why you may want to look at a few things to clean before the holidays.

All Guest Rooms

If you have a second or even third bedroom, make sure that you spruce it up. Vacuum, tidy up, and even add a scented candle. You never know who will decide to visit, so you want to make sure that you dust and spruce up your guest areas.

Organize Clutter

It’s easy to let your home end up cluttered overall. You will want to organize things a bit, and try to put things away in order. Along the way, you will also want to add a few holiday decorations here and there, and store away things that you would otherwise have as décor in your home. Just a little push forward here will go a long way.

The Closets

You should definitely look at cleaning up your closets, and perhaps invest in a few totes and other options to put things away, organize, and allow a bit of cleaning to get through here. You don’t need to clean all of them up in one day, take your time, but try to go through and clear out clutter first. After you’ve done that, try to figure out what clothing you don’t wear in winter, and perhaps think about giving extra things to local charities, etc.

The Kitchen 

The kitchen is going to get a lot of traffic, especially in the holiday season. That’s why you’ll want to make sure that you clean up, dust, and ensure that all things are in proper order. Even if you just get one visitor throughout this season, you’ll thank yourself for paying a little extra attention to the kitchen and dining areas of your home.

The Entrance of Your Home

The first thing people see overall when coming over is your entryway. You’ll want to make sure that you make this a bit more comforting. Clean up, add a few decorations, and perhaps a small table that accents the décor up front. Let people feel welcome when they come into your home with relative ease.

As you look at cleaning up, you’re going to want to remember to clean out the refrigerator and the coffeemaker, as these are going to be integral parts of your entertaining through the holiday months. Don’t tackle all of this at once, take your time, and move forward with segments overall.

Holiday Cleaning Orange County

Should You Go With Power Wash or A Soft Wash Solution

A well maintained, clean home will help with longevity. It may even help avoid a break in, as criminals may not target your home if it’s continually being worked on, and cleaned up. Cleaning the exterior is a difficult thing to do if you don’t work with a soft wash or a power wash solution. The exterior of your home should get taken care of so that the curb appeal stands out. Even if you’re not planning on selling your home, it’s important to consider this solution moving forward.

Two Types of Washing

There are two major types of washing to consider. There is the soft wash and the power wash. These two refer to how water is streamed, and how heavy the pressure utilized will be. Whether you’re working on a deck or you’re working on drywall, stucco, or even vinyl siding, these options will come to mind. Which works best for your needs requires a bit of focus.

Focusing on Soft Washing 

The first type of solution is often utilized for roofing, and siding that is lightweight. This option uses pressurized water, but mixed with a detergent. The PSI is scaled down a great deal to ensure that the exterior is cleaned easily. Debris washed away from roofing, and foundation elements is important. Soft washing isn’t going to cause damage, at all. It’s mainly meant to help lift dirt, and caked on mud. It can help with sensitive areas across the exterior as well.

Power Washing Solutions

In contrast to soft washing, consider power washing solutions. Power washing is as it sounds, it uses higher levels of PSI to hit walls, roofing and more. The power of the washer here is going to cause damage to lighter surfaces, and can peel off paint and more. It’s imperative to understand that this is going to be heavy duty, and meant for homes that haven’t been cleaned often. This helps for decks, and more.

Which Is Better? 

Here’s the thing, these are both good ideas. However, you should focus on soft washing if you have recently power washed, or you want to work with a lighter touch. Power washers can be great for concrete, and solid exteriors that are tough to clean. Which is better is truly up to your needs. Ask a professional about which they recommend, and how they will work on elements overall. This will help you get the right job, which will be “better” in terms of power and soft washing solutions.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Could Be The Answer To Allergies

There are quite a few people that are allergic to chemical creations that are used to clean clothing. Your laundry detergent today is one that is mixed with a lot of different things in place. These cleaning solutions may be harmless for most people, but there are some that can have skin reactions due to the chemical makeup. If you or someone in your family has sensitive skin, it’s imperative to look into how to clear things up and perhaps the answer is to look into homemade laundry detergent.
Anyone can make detergent, it’s just a matter of finding the right ingredients and ensuring that the soap is not mixed with irritants. This may seem like a daunting task at first glance, but the following rundown of options can help you create your own options and avoid irritating sensitive skin, no doubt.

Inexpensive Mixed Solution 

One of the best things that you can do is look for cheap options that can clean your clothes with ease. This option is going to help you out greatly. For this solution you’ll need a box of Borax, washing soda, oxyclean, Zote bar soap, baking soda, and Purex fabric softener. All of these things will need to get mixed together and it will create a powerful detergent for you. However, the big issue here is the bar soaps. You’ll want to pass them through a cheese grater before you mix them into the dry mixture. Mixed altogether, you’ll get a good scent, and a good cleaning solution.

A Different Take On Detergent 

Another solution that you will want to consider mixes a bit of wet ingredients with dry options. You’ll want to pick up super washing soda, borax, and castile soap, which will net you 2 gallons overall. Mix three quarters of a cup of castile soap, half a cup of washing soda, and half a cup of borax together into an inch of water and mix, then add 2 gallons of water into the mix and stir. Once you have this all blended, simply pour it into a bottle and you have your soap.

These are just two ideas that you can pursue when it comes to laundry soap, however, there are many other routes that you can take. You can even create bath laundry bombs out of vinegar, washing soda, fels-naptha, Epsom salt, and hydrogen peroxide. This is a bit more involved, but it gives you a lot of creative elements to play with in order to avoid skin irritation from commercially produced detergents.

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Epsom Salt Tricks You Will No Doubt Want To Use Today

Epsom salt isn’t just for soaking your feet and body when sore. It’s something that will surprise you often. If you aren’t aware of the amazing things that you can do with this stuff, then the following is going to shock you. This is a solution that will help you not only end muscle soreness, but will help you with a great deal of things in and around your house.

For Your Garden 

Mix just a teaspoon of this option with a gallon of water, and then water your plants. That’s right, just water your plants and you’ll find that this can react with the growing process of your garden. Your garden will bloom with larger produce than ever before. It’s an easy element for watering and feeding plants, creating an incredible element.

Clean Your Bathroom 

Use liquid soap and Epsom salt together, and then use it as a cleaning element in your bathroom and around your kitchen. You’ll find that the mixture will clean with relative ease. Grout and tubs can be scrubbed with absolute ease thanks to this solution. The two elements work wonders, and will provide a stellar solution to clean your bathroom.

Slug Combatant 

If your garden has a lot of slugs, you’ll no doubt want to fix the issue. Now, here’s the thing, don’t just start finding slugs and pouring this on them. That’s cruel. Instead, spray this around your garden and grassy areas where you may think that they are moving through, and they’ll go away. You won’t have to worry about them ever again.

Clean Up Pans and More

If you’re looking for a good way to clean up pots and pans, you’ll want to once again utilize Epsom salts. This is an easy mix to utilize with just a quarter tablespoon, water, and a sponge or scouring pad. These elements together will help you get food and stuck on elements off of your pots with relative ease. It’s simply an easy way to get things brand new every time you wash.

Cleaning Up Your Washing Machine

If your washing machine starts to smell, or if you find that it’s not working well, then you will need to run a cycle with Epsom salt. Use hot water, and the salt. It will clean up the areas of your tub, and will clean everything out with relative ease.

These options are just many solutions that you will no doubt want to explore. They will help you see how just a little Epsom salt can give you a world of benefits. Next time you’re sore, soak in this, but remember, there’s so much more to explore here.

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Choosing The Right Roof Cleaning Company

Your roof takes a lot of abuse. You may not even think about it, but it’s true. Year after year your roofing takes a pounding from the elements. From rain to hail to snow to the heat, over time you will find that things start to break down. This is the nature of things, and it’s hard to deal with for many people, especially when repair is needed. One way to ensure that you are not dealing with early decay is to look at hiring a good roof cleaning company. A good company will not only increase the longevity of your roofing, they will help clean up spots that could cause problems down the line, and of course, give you a bit of peace of mind.

How Do These Companies Work? 

Roof cleaning is not relegated to just one type of process. You’ll find that roofing companies that clean utilize high pressure water, as well as sweepers to clean off debris, dirt, leaves, and more. They can also clean gutters and make sure that everything is working properly. These companies can also help with minor repairs. These repairs are easy to manage and will help you get the most out of your home’s roof. Sometimes, just a simple repair is necessary to move forward.

Picking The Right Company 

In order to select the right company, make sure that you look to see whether they have any reviews. Look for reviews online, as well as credentials with local organizations. Look to see if they are licensed, bonded, and perhaps listed with the BBB in your area. The more you look into any company, the better you are going to get information on the company you want to hire.

Speak to the company, and ask about an estimate. Most good companies are going to give you an easy estimate that’s free, and will help you understand the work that you may need. Honest companies will also tell you whether you need major clean up or something simple. Ask for the cost in writing so that you can comparison shop.

Take Your Time

As you look into hiring a good company, make sure that you take your time. Shop around, see who has been in your community for some time, and you’ll no doubt get the right people in your corner. Just one test run with a company will tell you whether or not you’ve made the right decision. It’s that simple.

Pressure Washing Your Roof Orange County

New Lock or New Key – Figuring Out Which Way To Go

Locks and keys are things that people take for granted often. There are two sides to this, obviously, as you’ll want to either go forward with one or the other. But when do you go with each? When it is best to get a new key made versus changing the locks that of course come with a new key themselves? That’s something that can be broken down into a few different segments. Regardless of where you live, or where you’re at, you’re going to want to consider several elements in regards to these solutions.

Replacing Locks or Key For Major Life Events

There are several reasons why you will want to change locks or keys, especially if you’re concerned with your safety. As you look into the changes that you will make in life, you’re going to want to break down the following reasons why replacing locks makes sense when you make these moves forward.

The New House

You’ve made it! You have purchased a new home and you’re moving in. One of the main things that you should do is simple, change the locks. You never know who lived there before, and whether or not they kept their keys, and are going to come back and take your things. Always get a new set of locks and keys when you buy a new home and move in. You can always get away with changing keys, but in most cases, changing out the whole lock system makes sense.

After A Robbery

If your home is broken into, you will want to look into changing the locks. This is especially true if someone has broken down the door, or has broken in even though you had a lock in place. It’s important to not only get a new door, but also get new locks, keys, and added security measures across vulnerable areas of your home. Changing keys is good, but why not make sure that you have an upgrade overall.

Upgrading Locks For Modernity

For those that are looking at home security, upgrading locks can be a good thing. Sure, changing keys, and upgrading elements across different areas is good, but locks are important as well. There’s several new innovations that have come to locks, and you can definitely get some interesting updates by simply upgrading locks, adding deadbolts and more.

Losing Keys

If you’ve lost your keys, then by all means get a key replacement. This is something that is not so much about safety, as it is for your own needs. Whatever the case is here, losing keys is frustrating, and doesn’t require new locks, just a simple replacement or duplicate.

When in doubt, always look at changing keys first, but for added security and safety, change out locks and upgrade things to ensure you and your family is safe overall.

Boston Locksmith Experts

Exploring Digital Locks and What They Do

One of the most interesting of upgrades you may not think twice about is simple, a lock. That thing that you open to get into certain doors, the thing that protects many large companies, and much more seems common enough, but it’s not. There’s been innovations placed within lock components, and you’re going to find that there are a lot of interesting solutions that you can explore when it comes to digital locking mechanisms. If you’re not sure about these upgrades, then consider a few simple highlights of what’s going on in home security, and locks.

Several Types Abound

There are different types of digital locks. When you think about this, you may think that there is only one or two, but that’s not the case. You will find that there are several types of digital locking systems. The major one that you may think about is the button combination solution. That’s where you enter in a number or numerical combination to move forward with opening up a door.

Keyless Entry Systems

Keyless entry is the norm for a vehicle. Many modern cars today allow you to open the doors and drive without a key. This is thanks to remote signal locking elements. These use a remote to move forward with, and help with moving forward with easy transitions. You can open up doors, lock them, and gain access to many areas by just pushing a button.

The Fingerprint Locking Element

One of the most appealing solutions that you are going to enjoy is that of fingerprint locks. That’s right, the future is here. You can put your thumbprint or fingerprint on a scanner and have a door open up for you with relative ease. This new tech is going to be the norm in a short period of time, that’s for sure.

The Quick Benefits of Using A Digital Lock

There are a lot of different reasons why you would want to use a digital lock. Amidst the many options include the following quick list of options:

• Security – digital options are immensely secure, especially if you’re going to use the fingerprint scanner. You are the only person that has your fingerprint, so safety is a simple thing to gain peace of mind about.
  
• Many Styles – as mentioned above, there are several styles to consider. There’s a great selection of options to explore and all of them have their own benefits.
  
• For The Elderly – for those with arthritis, the elderly, and people that want safety, without keys, these digital lock solutions work out well. 

At the end of the day, digital locking systems are not going to go away. They may very well be the new standard that is looming in the near future. Until then, the above will give you a few highlights as to what you can buy in terms of digital locks today.

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Drapery Solutions For Complex and Obtuse Windows

Windows don’t come with just one shape, or one size. There’s a lot of different designs, frames, glass types and much more. There’s even custom shapes, patterns, and different ways that architects and designers come up with visual displays. If you have windows that are outside of the “standard” frameset, you’re not stuck when it comes to drapes and window coverings. There’s a lot of different options that you will want to explore, including the following solutions.

The Wall of Windows

Whether you’re in a high rise, or you’ve purchased a home with a second or even third story, you may have a wall of windows that let you see out, and let a lot of light in. If you have this in place, you are not going to be able to just fill up the space with blinds. The best option here is to go with drapes that are connected on a track, and are powered by remote. High end hotels have this in place, with a discrete track at the ceiling and comes together to bring in shade. With remote control access, you can have the track go across a curve or just a straight line, it’s up to you. The style and fabric of the drape can also be changed up, so consider that as you look to purchase this for your overall needs.

Large Bay Windows

Bay windows can pose a problem because of the size, shape, and wrap around design that they create. If you have large bay windows, your goal is to cover everything, with a certain design point. To make this a bit easier, look at having curved tracks, or perhaps hinged rods to allow for a custom drape solution to hang with ease. Mounting rods is the easy part, picking out the right drapes will be the big thing. You want to work with a single solution rather than several rods that are linked, as that could cause visual issues, as well as more holes in your framing.

Angled Windows and Slanted Openings

Some of the most compelling windows usually have angles in them. Angled windows, or slanted windows can be difficult to cover up since most drapes and rods hang straight down. That could leave a triangular shaped opening at one point, or you could cover unnecessary areas along your wall and windows. To make this a bit easier to manage, consider using medallions. Medallions are standalone options that can help hold the drapes in place. However, what you want to do here is stagger them at an angle so that your drapes hang alongside the slants of the window openings. Done right, the drapes will hang at just the right angle to make things look good, and shield the sunlight as well.

When you’re looking at covering up windows, make absolutely sure that you think outside of the box. You can be very creative when it comes to covering up your windows, just give it a little bit of time.

San Diego Drapery Experts

Cleaning Tinted Windows The Right Way

Tinted windows aren’t just made that way. Most tinted options have a film that is placed directly on the glass to give them a darker shade. This is a good thing. The downside to this is simple, you will need to clean the windows properly. You cannot just start cleaning because the film is going to end up bubbling, peeling, and causing problems. With that in mind, you will want to avoid getting your newly tinted windows for at least a month. The film that is placed on your vehicle needs to bond 100%, otherwise you will run into issues.

Before you get started with cleaning, make sure that you speak to the installer that helps you out here. You’re going to want to ask them if they have a proprietary solution that is for the brand of film they are using. If they do not have one, then don’t worry about it, and focus on the following steps to help you out.

Gather Your Tools

The first thing that you need to do is get your supplies ready. You will need a spray bottle, some lint-free towels, soap (dish soap works), water, and a squeegee. These are simple tools that you can find just about anywhere, and it will be absolutely easy to work with once you have these in place. It’s important to avoid harsh chemicals, which is why they weren’t included in this tool list.

Dust Your Windows First

Before you get started with the water, and soap, make sure that you dust your tinted windows. You want to dust them with the towels. You want to ensure that you are taking away any large dust particles and debris. These could cause scratches on the glass, and cause problems down the line. It may seem small, but it’s a big issue. Once you pass through a dry test, spray your dish soap and water and let any leftover particles run down the window.

Washing The Windows

Once you’ve dusted, and gone through a quick rinse process, go ahead and move forward with washing. You’ll want to spray your solution on the window and then wipe it off with a soft squeegee, and that’s it. You want to do this slowly, and without a great deal of pressure. Remember, you don’t want to scratch your tint. Then simply dry the window with your towels, and that’s it. This doesn’t take a great deal of work; you just have to be patient.

Window Cleaning in Orange County