Flowers Full Sun

The chores was what we called them when I was little. My mother and father were very precise in what the chores were and who was to do them. I was only small so it was my job to fetch small amounts of water from the spring tap in the meadow. The house always had fresh spring water in the jugs

My mother had a maid who came one day a week and helped do the chores 2 willing women could do better than one. My daddy was out all day surveying and drawing his plans for the lakeside cabin. His trusty builder Will Webster took against the plans as he did not hold with drawings - you mostly just got it right the second time.

Where cleaning was concerned, which was all the rest of the chores, it certainly helped to get them right first time or they'd take forever.

It was against that background I grew up with all sorts of tips on cleaning so it's not forever. Here are some of them for you to enjoy.

1 - Tip get the difference Between cleaning and just tidying. Tidying was always the one I rebelled at. I only enjoyed the process of the chores where cleaning was involved. Tidying was a dead end job because moving things from one place to another never satisfied my mum.

Cleaning was another matter. The real test - was I good enough to be able to wash the dishes standing on a chair ? Drying them was OK but too much like tidying. When I was promoted to washer upper I was very proud.

Ever since I have always loved cleaning - especially as a team. Tidying happens at the same time so it seems pointless separating them at all. When they happen together that's when it's more fun. so the tip is - they are one and the same.

2 - Who's Space is it Anyway? A tip is to recognise who's space it is and honour that. The space belongs to the stewards of that space. In my case it was my mothers and everyone was welcome. She and my father loved visitors and enjoyed many. If it is not yours you can still contribute to the cleaning though.

She kept the house ready for visitors - we could have a guest any time and it was disrespectful to show them into a dusty parlour. Tip feeling all hospitable when you clean something adds pleasure to the mix.

Tip - In cases of flatshare, to allocate spaces to each person so they can care for it personally though It's everyone's space - That is in the communal areas, Another tip is to set that context at the time of accepting the space as yours. When I realised this for myself my shared apartments became harmonious as a norm.

3 - The damp White cloth and Other Tools

Tip - take a tray to carry all the objects that are on a surface you want to clean . It makes things amazingly faster. You wipe all the dirt off a nice clear surface with a damp cloth then another tip - it is more fun to put the objects back artistically.

My favorite tip is to use an absorbent white cloth so you can monitor if it is clean enough and where the dirt is.

I tear up old sheets and towels and stack them> This is a satisfying clean. Beats a paper cloth for absorbency. Clean dish wiping cloths daily are a must. they go in the washing for the next time.

Tip - re-explore the good old proper mop and bucket. Make sure you wash out the cotton mop then try using just water with some soda crystals. You can add a drop of essential oil to it for a subtle lingering waft. Tip. Use the mop every day and just feel the difference. Make a habit to just give a quick wipe around. Paper mops and oily ones just don't work so well.

Vacuum cleaners are a matter of taste but it's right what they say about the ones that blow the dust around. Not good. Paper and cloth don't contain those dust mites. Fancy modern ones keep them contained.

Tip - dry steam cleaners are cheap and worth the money. They are hard work because you have to wipe of the dirt they loosen fast before it hardens again. However they are brilliant for corners. They kill of a lot of nasty lurking microbes.

Tip - A spray around with more water is fun and fast. The хэнд pumps are mostly poor and boring to use. Invest in a good garden one with a fine spray mister. You can spray on all sorts of things which microbes find offensive - like more nice smells. The don't like frankensense or Myrrh that's for sure. A drop of oil in the mister on walls discourages micro critters. this is more effective than chemical fresheners.

Tip Water is a good cleaner with some additions where there's a build-up of crusty dirt.

oSoda crystals are a great cleaner that discourages mold and cuts through grease.

oSugar soap is another amazing cleaner that competes with expensive ones. These cleaners are environmentally friendly and awfully cheap.

o You can get powerful disinfectant with a decent smell. You only need a drop in the water. There's one which really does smell like flowershops.

Other tools are the dustpan and brush. Tip There's nothing like the ones with long handles. These tools make it altogether a more dignified affair - picking up the sweepings that is.

4 - Shining the Home What we call housework is called shining in many cultures. A shiny surface is a smoother one and does not hide any dust mites. Did you ever see a blow up of one of those creatures? And they pass poison so not welcome in my home.

Polish comes into its own to make a house look welcoming and also posh. Tip is to get beeswax mixed with a little paraffin oil and an old fashioned yellow duster. The wax feeds the wood and it goes a long way and smells nicer than the emulsions that cost much more.

The shine also repels small insects who apparently dislike the smell of lavender and rosemary which we like. You can still buy good lavender wax - home mixed gives a harder shine.

5 - What's wrong with a bit of dirt? There is a lot wrong nowadays because things have changed in balance of power between germs or microbes and humans. Resistant bugs are everywhere and health is diminishing generally with bad chests, hearts, bowels and the blood itself. Our immune systems can equally adapt but they need all the help they can get. This help comes in cleaning and giving microbes no places where they can breed in peace.

The resurgence of hostile and parasitic microbes is due to over ingesting antibiotics and while the balance is restored it can be helped by making their lives one upheaval after another. It's hard to breed in the middle of what amounts to them as one 'hurricane' after another - not to mention the avalanche in the shower..

Another reason why parasitic bacteria suck is because they invariably smell bad into the bargain. A tip on this is to use no added perfume for a week and then get someone who has been absent for a week to tell you what the household smells like as a first impression after they enter the home. This may sound odd because we are unaccustomed to using our sense of smell. However it does work.

Tip for Cushions, Pillows and Duvets. I was told this by a professional who runs a chain of cleaning shops. You place the items in the freezer for 24 hours which kills off most bacteria. Then you place it in a stout plastic bag and suck out the air with a vacuum nozzle until the bag and contents feel like a tight hard ball and the engine starts to strain.

Take the bag outside if you can and let the items fill with fresh air. Mist them with silver and lavender water. When they are aired they then feel wonderful to sit on or snuggle in.

6 - Work Out a System

Tip - sometimes it helps to play the 'General' in a battle with over zealous microbes. It's 'scoot' time. It's 'get out of here". Your weapons are energy and elbow grease.

Look I know we are all-microbe ourselves. We are just a bunch of cells and energy. It's just that some microbes are cool and others really do suck. They deplete their hosts of energy and slow them down to get the breeding cycle in. They literally feed off our power and give our immune systems a bashing and make us feel really apathetic - wanting to take days off work. They proactively cause depression and disease.

That was a best case scenario. People die. More are dying from resistant and opportunist microbe attacks than is viable. One would think they were overdoing it killing off their hosts. But do we actually encourage them?

Doubtless things are way off balance because of our intervention with messing about with genes and dna. The only way we can correct the balance is to be vigilant - we all have to tell them 'scoot. Back off".

They just gotta go. They say that we can never win. They have been here for thousands of billions of years before us and so does that give them rights to kill us off? I don't buy that. They will find somewhere else to breed other than in our dwelling places and hospitals I say. Dry steam and freezing and fragrant essences they find unacceptable - so use them.

Tip - clear all the surfaces first, wipe them down then clean the floor. then put back the artifacts and useful objects carefully. use a squeegee for glass and polish it with newspaper or a very dry clean cotton cloth.

Tip - Decorate a little. Try a bunch of flowers or a candle, incense or a little wind chime by an open window all help raise the feeling of having been creative rather than just 'doing the chores'.

7 - Admit it - What You Want is a Compliment

I know I throw myself into the clean up game with more gusto when it's for someone else. The habit of constant cleaning - real time sort of - as you go makes for a swell place to be in. Back to my mummy's hospitality again. The best compliment is a smile of welcome. We all love 'em. The tip is that time flies and your energy rises when you imagine giving a welcome to someone special while you are cleaning.

8 - Now Enjoy and keep it.

Tip - See your space as a flowing space like clouds. When you try to keep it you will soon find that 'keeping' as such is out of the question. People come in and out, particles are shifted all around. You only get anxious and over houseproud which is no way to enjoy your space.

Tip - I have one way that really helps to keep it nice: Stand back and let it be. Let YOU be as well. A clean space is a lovely place - so take some time to enjoy the fruits of your labours.

the best way to give back to the planet is to take care of your own space first. it does represent your mood of the time and show everyone where you are at. The final tip is to make a rule - an agreement with yourself to leave a space better than when you first entered it.

This can mean taking out the tea cups when you leave the room, washing them and putting them away, taking the rubbish out when the bag is full. Replacing the roll on the toilet roll holder, hanging up a coat - or leaving a warm smile behind you as you go.

Then imagine everyone does this - maybe only once a day- how it can transform the energy everywhere.

By Jackie Mackay - Cleaning the start of giving something back to the planet today. Some tips to make cleaning more enjoyable and less expensive.

Jackie is author of a new course / book on how to communicate. [perfect8/Blog]. What's this got to do with cleaning? Think of cleaning up family relationships with excellent communication. It's enough maybe that they are both very practical subjects and show the diversity of jackie's expertise.