Clean Without Lifting A Finger
Tools to Help You Clean Your House Without Lifting a Finger
IS IT STILL A DUST “BUNNY”? CLEAN WITHOUT LIFTING A FINGER
I’m just curious. Is it still a dust bunny when there are cobwebs, a piece of cereal and a dead beetle attached to it? Dust “bunny” evokes a sweet, cuddly image and this thing that I found behind my couch is anything but. It’s just another joy that you get to experience when cleaning.
Another favorite of mine is discovering that my children have vacuumed up a sock or an action figure or anything that gives the vacuum a bad case of indigestion. I generally figure it out after I’ve run the vacuum over about half the carpet before realizing that it’s not picking up anything. When I go to investigate, turning the machine upside down and peering at its backside, I begin to pull out treasure after treasure like the magician with the twelve-foot scarf.
I also love running the garbage disposal only to find that a spoon has been dropped in it. Half my spoons have scratchy edges from taking a spin in the garbage disposal. I can’t clean the kitchen without getting the belly of my shirt wet, and I will always find a sticky spot within half-an-hour of mopping the floor.
Why do we do it? Obviously that dust bunny has had no trouble living independently for months so I have to wonder why I bother trying to clean at all. Cleaning is a task that never ends and my house is never actually clean. When I’m ready to throw in the towel I watch an episode of “Hoarders” and I don’t have to wonder any more. I clean my house so that I don’t have sleep on my counter in a sleeping bag because my bed has disappeared under a pile of junk. Extreme motivation? Maybe, but it works.
Still, it shouldn’t be so hard to keep our house clean and thanks to some snazzy innovations, it’s getting easier—and it couldn’t come sooner because the dust bunnies are multiplying. Here’s a few cleaning innovations I use to keep my sanity and still be able to walk barefoot in the house.
- BOBI PET ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANER: Bobi is a round, red-faced member of our family now. When my kids want to be funny he’s referred to by the name booby. You can name him (or her) whatever you want because he will vacuum your room with the touch of a button, at a fraction of the price you pay for his big brother, Roomba, and he won’t get stuck on top of your thick rugs. I wish someone had paid me to review this bad-boy vacuum because I’d have two by now. Seriously—nothing but love for him. He’s easy to empty, and to maintain.
- STEAM IS YOUR FRIEND: Steam mops are a beautiful, sparkly thing that make you stop regretting that you didn’t train your boys to pee sitting down. All that hot water energetically obliterates germs and the soft mop head doesn’t leave streaks or drips—get your kids to do it for you and you have true automation. I’ve owned a couple different brands and have been happy with both. Find one that speaks to you and watch it shine. Check out a couple of my picks below.
- DOWNY UNSTOPPABLES.. It took me a while to hop on board the “scents in your laundry” train. I thought that laundry soap was plenty fragrant, but then I got a pool gained a stinky towel problem (get it, Gained? I crack myself up.) Downy Unstoppables worked so well at keeping towels smelling fresh (instead of like chlorine or dust) that I started washing my sheets with them. Now, even if it’s weeks between guests my sheets are always ready and smell divine.
- FEBREZE IN WASH LAUNDRY ODOR ELIMINATOR: Not all laundry should be scented, but you don’t want it to be stinky either. My friend, Liz, turned me on to this laundry heavy hitter. A capful in the wash eliminates that funky smell that seems to stick to swimming suits and workout clothing. Now I can up-dog, down-dog without having to wear a nose plug.
- BISSELL SPINWAVE POWERED HARD FLOOR MOP: This one is on my wish list. I’ve been milking my old “flip-it” model for a while, and I’m anxious for the upgrade. I love the look of this because it reminds me of the floor scrubber the High School Janitor wrangled through the halls, and tiled kitchens must be scrubbed. Let me know if you have one and what you think in the comments below.
