The Lost Art of House Cleaning: House Cleaning

Who knew?
It all starts with a plan. If you’ve never cooked before, a counter full of great ingredients, a knife, a pan and stove will likely yield mixed results. Edible perhaps, but great? Not likely. I never thought about house cleaning that way until I read Jan Dougherty’s super book.We just bought a new house and after having been frustrated to the point of tears over our last place, I was determined to get a plan this time. As it happened, my “Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook,” got packed up with most of our other books and lies somewhere in a box in the storage unit. At first I was dismayed, and then I decided to find another – less weighty – book to help me until those boxes were unpacked and I found the book again.Sorry Martha, but I’m glad you weren’t available. Jan’s book certainly includes how to clean certain items, but unlike Martha’s book, there is a clear blueprint as to HOW. I can’t imagine tackling housecleaning any other way now.Some of the best features of this book:A road map that in no uncertain terms, gives you a method to clean your home – really clean it – with as little fuss and unnecessary steps as possible.A list of three products that will clean every item in your house that are easily accessible and inexpensive and why and how these products do what they do so well.A small inventory of items to do the cleaning with the above mentioned products.I have never been so happy to clean my house. I see the results immediately. I spend way less time than I ever dreamed possible keeping a shiny, clean home. As an example – I now mop my kitchen floor every night after the dishes are done. It’s not in the book, and it might not be on anyone else’s daily to-do list. But I can manage it in under two minutes, so why not? I have all the materials to do it right at hand, and I know my kitchen floor is as clean as the counters, dishes and sink.One of the best things about the book is that with this system, even if you are interrupted, you always know where you left off and what’s left to finish. And you can’t help but do it correctly because it’s so well thought out.Some other reviewers are a little put off by Jan’s use of acronyms, but this is totally in keeping with her style … why type the whole phrase when two or three letters convey the message … work quickly and efficiently and get the task done. She heartily encourages a reward of a lovely beverage after you’re finished, and you can sit, relax and enjoy a home that you just cleaned to perfection. Might not seem like a big deal to some, but if you’re like me, you know exactly what I’m talking about.I can’t recommend this book highly enough for those who are stymied by this seemingly simple task. If you’ve already got a sparkling home, you probably don’t need it. But Jan mentions that even new hires to her professional cleaning company who think they know all there is to know about housecleaning are soon happily converted to her system. How this for perks? Jan makes up a team to clean a house for the first time so that everything – ceiling fans to floor vents – are totally clean in four hours. They start at eight a.m. and are rewarded with a delicious lunch just after noon. Talk about motivation! Thank you Jan! You are a gem!

Amusing and Extremely Useful
This book pleasantly surprised me. Jan is old school and her methods make a lot of sense. For those of us who grew up with neat freak moms who didn’t want us helping and just wanted us out of the way- this book sheds a lot of light on how to do basic cleaning and maintenance and the right order to do it in.I found her advice on dividing up rooms into “slices” very helpful. For perfectionists, knowing that there’s a way to divide a large job up and that it doesn’t all need to be done in one fell swoop- let’s just say that its a relief. We all have finite energy and focusing ability. Jan’s method makes sense, it’s clear cut, and simple.I left off one star because the book needs to be edited. There were quite a few typos (Swiffer brand products were referred to as Swifters and Swiffers intermittently). I found that a little distracting. Jan also uses the term “girls” to refer to her cleaning team. And there are some mentions of men flinging pee and some assumptions that men are not tidy and women are. If you’re sensitive about that kind of thing you might be offended. I found it amusing because Jan is older than me and she sounds like my grandmother.One last piece of advice- I bought the Kindle version. I regret not getting it in paper form. This book is a reference, and you will want it with you while you work and to refer to her photos. You can screenshot the materials list in the back of the book to take shopping though, which I appreciated.This book is a good value and I like Jan. She’s funny and motivating.

I’m not a huge fan of cleaning, but I love a clean house. To some degree, I suspect I’m fixated on things being clean and neat, hating any stains, spills, messes, or other deviations from the norm. Keeping things clean when it’s just one person is quite easy; add in a family and four big dogs, and things get out of hand easily. Why is it adult kids can open a bag of milk, spill big drops on the floor, yet fail to clean them up? Or manage to put stains on carpets in their rooms in the most unusual places? Or why dogs insist on carrying mouthfulls of food from room to room while they chew? All this means in the end is a mess that needs cleaning. If a quick vacuum was all that was required, I wouldn’t care, but often I’m faced with stains on carpets, tiles, clothes, furniture, curtains and pretty much everything else that I don’t really know how to tackle.That’s where Dougherty’s book comes in. This is not a big volume, but it is extremely useful. The book is well written and easy to read, either start to finish or as needed to handle specific issues. The book starts with a look at the tools and products you should have available, then goes through details on how to tackle each kind of issue. There’s lots of solid advice about what you can do with what you have, when to buy something to handle a particular mess, and when to call in the pros. Need specifics on how to clean ceiling fans, microwave oven roof, or glass top ranges? It’s all here, easily found, read, and followed. There’s not a lot of wasted words here, nor useless information: this is a bible on cleaning, and its the best book of its type I’ve seen. I’ve read it through in a day and a half, but keep referring to it when unusual messes appear.If a clean house is your goal, there’s a methodology proposed here for keeping things in shape, but more than that, there’s the advice on how to tackle various messes. So far, there’s been nothing that has stumped me with this book available. Highly recommended.

ich liebe diese altmodischen aber doch sehr praktischen tips. es ist für menschen, die grundlegend über reinlichkeit und haushaltespflege bescheid wissen wollen. allerdings bisher nur auf englich