I have decide to make Sundays a day for short and simple posts that is quick to read and simple to follow. I will call them Simply Sunday I hope you enjoy the concept.

This post poses a series of simple questions for you to ponder but the solution is up to you.

1. Do you like dusting?
2. Which room in your home requires the most dusting?
3. What is it about this room the creates the necessity to dust so much?
4. What would you rather 1.) that this room needs less dusting or 2.) to keep all the things in this room that require dusting?

At this point I would suggest you go to this room and carefully scrutinise the items  collecting dust and decide should they stay of should they go.

This room in my house is the lounge room. It is slowly improving on the dusting scale but there is a ways to go yet to get it to the point where I will be satisfied with it’s level of simplicity.

ITEM 311 OF 365 LESS THINGS

This bag is a duplicate due to poor organisation when can happen it you don’t plan ahead when moving house.

5 things I am grateful for today

1. Sleeping in.
2. Enough of a break in the rain to take a morning walk.
3. Catching up with friends even if only briefly.
4. Getting to the end of the day and realising that I had been more useful that I thought – I went for a long walk, baked a cake, did a load of washing, made lunch and dinner, did some grocery shopping, tidied up, did some ironing and visited Liam twice.
5. My little girl is coming tonight and will be able to spend the week visiting her little brother.

Before we get into the practical side of today’s post I just want to make a comment about germs. I am not a “germaphobe” by any stretch of the imagination. I believe you don’t build up any immunity to them unless you are exposed to them. In fact I think that chemical companies thrive on putting the germ fear into people with their ridiculous advertising campaigns (don’t even get me started on that rant). I use microfibre cloths because I like to effectively clean my house without using too many chemicals. The fact that they do such a good job of eliminating such a high percentage of germs is just a bonus.

Now back to my usage of microfribre cloths/mitts…

Microwave Oven – Damp MF cloth

• wet your MF cloth and wring it out so it is damp
• place the damp MF cloth in the centre of the microwave oven turntable
• Set the oven for about 30 seconds on high (1000watt models) and press start.
• The object is to heat the cloth just enough to cause the moister in it to steam up your microwave oven. (It doesn’t take long. You may need to experiment here to get the right timing; more or less depending on the power of your microwave.)
• Once the 30 sec + is done leave the steaming cloth to do the work for about 5 minutes. DO NOT open the door.
• Once the 5 minutes are up open the microwave and wipe it out with the now warm cloth. The steam should have softened any stuck on food from all surfaces and it should wipe away easily.

Floors – Microfibre Mop (I use a Sabco mop but I am sure there are plenty of other good brands)

• vacuum the floor (I vacuum all floors hard or carpet in my opinion nothing does a better job)
• Dampen the mop pad
• Mop away to your hearts content

I only rinse my mop once to do my entire shiny white tiled floor. You may need more of less depending on size and whether you have kids, pets etc. The mop I use has a scourer attached for those stubborn spots.

Eye glasses – Nearly all prescription eyeglasses come with their own case and MF cleaning cloth.  Sometimes I use eyeglass cleaning solution but most of the time I use the steam from my breath.

Computer/Television screens – MF cloth water spray bottle

• Fold the MF cloth to fit in your hand
• spray a fine mist of water on one side of the cloth
• gently wipe the screen
• now gently wipe the screen with the dry side of the cloth
• NEVER spray the water directly onto the computer/television screens

Face cleaner/Exfoliator – MF cloth and water

• Check out this web site for some great info on this item. I don’t endorse this product and have never used it. It was just the first choice I found when I Googled microfibre exfoliator. It had so much information I thought they deserved the credit for it.

Dishes –I must confess I use a dishwasher for the bulk of my dishes but for those I wish to clean in a hurry I use a small damp MC cloth to wipe them clean and a larger more absorbent cloth to dry them with. I use this method for all of my good chef knives because they shouldn’t be put in the dishwasher.

Cleaning walls – MF cloth and water spary bottle

• spray a light list of water on any dirty stops
• wipe over with the MF cloth

As Odette pointed out in her comment on this page;  Mr. Clean Magic Erasers made from microporous foam are the best things for spot cleaning walls. They act like super fine sandpaper and can remove crayon, magic marker, grease etc with ease.

How Microfibre Works

Don’t be fooled by the smoothness of microfibre. You will notice when you wipe a MF cloth against a dirty surface you can feel the resistance caused by the grit and grime. That is the microfibre doing it’s job attaching itself to the foreign objects on the surface. Keep wiping and when the cloth moves smoothly across the surface you know the job is done. The little fibres get into every tiny fissure to give you a fabulous clean.

Cleaning your MF cloths and mitts

I usually accumulate dirty clothes over a week and then wash them separately from my other laundry. If you don’t want to do this make sure you wash your MF cloths and mitts in a laundry lint bag otherwise they will fill up with lint and be useless for dusting and cleaning glass.

I sometimes dry my MF clothes in the dryer this seems to fluff up the fibres and add an electrostatic charge making them better at attracting and holding dust. (Thanks for reminding me to add that Odette) Once again I do this separate from my other loads as to not introduce lint from other fabrics.

Value for money

I find that I can usually get at least two years out of each cloth. When you consider how many less expensive and less effective cleaning clothes, paper towel and chemicals  you would get through in that time I think it would work out to be very good value for money.

Buying microfibre cleaning products

As you can see from the few links I have included these mitts/cloths come in all thicknesses and sizes. Usually the packaging will tell you what particular cleaning job they are designed for. I am lucky that my husband jets off to the USA periodically and the only thing I ask him to bring back is a supply of Mf cloths from Target. I am sure there are a lot of other retailers and manufactures out there but I will let you investigate that for yourself as every place is different. Enjo are a party plan company who have some great products but like I said before at 3 x the price I am not convinced that they are any better than other brands especially not 3 x better. Enjo does however do very good demonstrations on how and why to use their products.

*Deanna kindly reminded me to tell you that if you buy MF cloths at taget (in the US) get them from the automotive department. There are so many sizes and thicknesses to choose from and they are a lot cheaper there than in the household cleaning section. Vroom is the brand to look for.

I personally have on hand…

• 2 outdoor mitts (sabco Aust.)
• 2 bathroom mitts (sabco Aust.)
• 2 glass/chrome cleaning mitts (sabco Aust.)
• 2 face mitts
• several 11 inch clothes for dishes (vroom brand from Target USA)
• several 13 inch clothes for dusting/surface cleaning (vroom brand from Target USA)
• several 15 inch clothes for wiping dishes (vroom brand from Target USA)
• several eyeglass clothes
• 1 mop (sabco Aust.)

There is also a rather large stash of extras hidden away in the kitchen cupboard just in case my husband stops taking trips to America. These are definitely only likely to leave my home through natural progression decluttering.

I hope I have given you plenty of information to get you started with microfibre cleaning. Just remember I am not an expert and it is best to do your own research to determine how to use these products and if they are right for your needs. There is an abundance of information on the net. To start with check out Wikipedia for the initial rundown on how they are made and work.

REMEMBER: Rub gently when using microfibre clothes or you will flatten the fibres and they will be less effective.

ITEM 279 0F 365 LESS THINGS

The soccer shirt with it’s pink words that I mentioned on Day 273. I am glad to see the back of that guilt trip.

5 things I am grateful for today

1. Email – it is much cheaper and faster than snail mail.
2. Warm days coupled with cool evenings – such a wonderful combination.
3. Daylight savings – now there is enough light in the evening to go for walks with my husband again.
4. A nice chat with my son – it is not always easy to get a civilized conversation out of a nineteen year old male.
5. Freecycle – it is a great source of guilt relief

Following on from Betty Jo’s guest post from yesterday I simply googled “alternative cleaning products” and below I have included some of the interesting sites I found. I have also included a site seemingly from an opponent of the home formulated cleaning products movement just to balance things out.

Sites with recipes & tips for alternative household cleaners

• http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm
• http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
• http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4672/Cleaning-Products–A-healthy-alternative-for-self-and-planet/
• http://environmentallysafecleaningproducts.net/

The alternative view to alternative household cleaners

• http://www.aboutcleaningproducts.com/alternatives.php

That will be quite enough reading for you for one day so I will sign off right here and leave you to it.

ITEM 254 OF 365 LESS THINGS

An example of how things perish when left unused for a long time. Elastic is particularly susceptible to this.

Hi everyone,

How did you all go with the Use It Up challenge? I am quite happy with my efforts, not only because I got rid of a few things but it also encouraged me to do a bit of craft.  I was excited about getting through as many “left over bits” as possible. My plan is to keep going with the challenge for myself until I have depleted a lot more of my craft supplies and a few more toiletry products.

Here is the list of things I used up…

• A box of adhesive tabs (craft supply)
• The last of a roll of Terrificly Tacky Tape (craft supply)
• The last of a tube of craft glue
• A bottle of shower cleaner
• A small bottle of body wash
• The last of a bottle of UnDo photo cleaner
• A sample bottle of face cleanser
• The last of a jar of hair sculpting paste
• A bottle of metal cleaner

There were only two items that I used slightly differently from their intended purpose. I used the shower spray  for cleaning the kitchen bench tops and the toilet as well as the shower. I had bought the metal cleaner to polish up a silver tea set. Then I decided I didn’t want to keep doing that painful task for the rest of my life and gave the tea set away. I used the rest of it to clean my stainless steel kitchen sink and my ceramic cook top.

Now I am curious to know what you all managed to Use Up over the last two weeks. Please send in those comments I am expecting big results.

ITEM 171 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Today’s offering is of course the items from the Use It Up challenge. I got a little over zealous and threw away the first couple of containers but then remembered to keep the rest.

I received a lot of comments on Tuesday regarding the Use It UP challenge it seems there are lot of readers out there who can relate to this topic.

We have already discovered alternative uses for two products..

• Mouthwash can be used for several different things according to The Frugal Duchess.
• Shampoo can be put in your liquid soap container and used as a hand cleaner according to Patricia in her comment. I suppose you could also use it as a body wash like my son does when he washes his hair.

I also have a post from back on day 77 with my take on multipurpose uses for cleaning products.

So now, not only would I like your feedback on what you used up but also any creative, out of the box methods utilised to achieve your objectives. I would say Willow, who has some nasty mouthwash, may end up with some clean computer screens and a sparkling white toilet if she uses the advice from The Frugal Duchess.

ITEM 161 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Today’s item is a pile of  books of my husbands. He is still doing a champion job of decluttering his stuff.

How many of you have all the following cleaning products cluttering up that space in the laundry cupboard,  under the kitchen sink or in the garage.

Microfibre Cloth & Water
• Window Cleaner
• Car Wash
• Floor Cleaner

Toilet Cleaner
• Drain Cleaner
• Mould Spray
• Bleach

Cream Cleanser
• Metal Cleaner
• Stove Top Cleaner

All Purpose Spray
• Shower Cleaner

Carpet Spot Cleaner
• Pre-Wash Spray

In my experience you only need the four products hi-lighted to do most of the cleaning jobs around the home. Toilet cleaner with bleach will do the job of all of the products in the same group.  Carpet spot cleaner will double as a pre-wash spray when doing the laundry and in my experience will do it better. Water will do the job of window cleaner, car wash and floor cleaner when used with the right micro-fibre cleaning cloth/mitt. All of the products in the cream cleaser group with do much the same job as one another and the multi-purpose spray will cover most of the other jobs that need doing around the home. Micro fibre really is the key to a clean home not chemicals. So cut down on the chemical, it not only save space it save money as well.

Today’s item is another pair of shoes that haven’t been worn in the last three years.