Tag: cleaning

Diwali Decoration

How to Get a Sparkling Clean Home This Diwali in 30 Minutes a Day

Out with the old, in with the new. Isn’t that what Diwali is about? The festive season also sends many households into a cleaning frenzy. This was all new to me until I saw an adorable North Indian family that lived downstairs turn the house upside down over a week of Diwali cleaning: that’s where I learned about this ritual and even though we don’t do clean as rigorously during Diwali, the habit has stayed with me over the years. All the cleaning was quite stressful on the women with everything from fans to spoons getting a shine. when I first began to clean, I didn’t have a method to it. I just did whatever I felt like cleaning, sometimes for hours over the weekend that got exhausting. Soon, I realized that just doing one task a day over several days meant a spick and span home. There are deep…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Pest Control: How To Get Rid of Cockroaches From Your Kitchen

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Roaches. Those creepy little things that give you goosebumps anytime you spot them. I wonder why they were created in the first place. Nothing makes me squirm as much as these dirty little things. They are not only creepy to look at, but quite unhygienic and hazardous health wise to have in a home. The tricky question is how do you exterminate roaches? The answer is : Pest Control. How often have you switched on the kitchen lights in the middle of the night to find the creepy little dirty insects moving about freely? Do you tip-toe into your bathroom like a detective carefully inspecting the corners behind the door before stepping inside? I doubt I would be so scared of any other creature on Earth..cockroaches make me shriek loud enough for the whole building to hear. That makes me take a lot of preventive steps to keep the pest…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Eight Ways to Get a Sparkling Bathroom

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The easiest way to clean bathroom wall and floors tiles, faucets and taps without elbow grease. Use the right products.

LIFESTYLE

Siemens Dishwasher Review: Is it useful for Indian dishes?

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A review of Siemens dishwasher and if it is useful for Indian dishes and kadais

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Day 5: Let’s make the windows squeaky clean!

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The favorite feature of my current home: floor-to-ceiling windows and wall-to-wall glass windows. This ~ translates to a flood of natural light. But, that also means tough deep cleaning once in a while. it’s quite a task to keep the shine on large glass windows. They looked the best the day professionals from MyBlueBottle cleaned the windows. Within weeks, dust and grime formed a layer on the tracks and the shine became muddy. I took it upon myself to periodically clean all the windows to keep the shine on until the next time they are deep cleaned.. What you’ll need to clean the tracks: Vaccum Old socks A sprayer filled with equal parts vinegar + water + two drops of liquid soap Old toothbrush Microfiber Old cloth How to clean the tracks: Loosen the dirt with a tooth brush first. Vacuum the tracks with a crevice attachment. I use an…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Day 4: Surface clean fans, switchboards, light fixtures, and doors.

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Some of the most dustiest places in a home are above our heads – places that are out of normal sight and reach. Ready to look upward? All the surfaces over your heads will get a shine! If you can spare a little over 30 minutes, it will be wonderful. What you’ll need: collect your supplies I’m getting a little inventive with this one after having tried a number of cleaning methods to see what fits best: A bucket to hold your cleaning essentials. 2 to 3 old pillow covers. Colin or any other surface cleaner. Microfiber cloth. Ladder. A pollution mask to cover your face and safety googles. A cloth to wrap your head Vacuum. Wipes How-to: If your house is a duplex, I prefer starting from the top floor and then going down. But, the choice is yours. If it is a single floor, start from the bed…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Day 3: Clean the guest bed room closet

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How did the past two days of cleaning go? Were you able to take out 30 minutes from the day to go through the sorting and purging? Today, we deal with the last of the closets in the house – the guest bed room. This is where I usually stash the bed linen, long coats, jackets, extra towels, and the other racks are often empty for guests when they come. With winter a few weeks away, that is if we have one this year in Bangalore, it’s a good time to air the blankets and comforters in the October sun and put them back. This room was a breeze, wasn’t it. Leaving you with a picture of our guest bed room..

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Day 1: Clean master bedroom closet

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Ready for Day 1 of the 30-minute Diwali cleaning challenge? Today, we start with the master bedroom closet. Closets can be a pleasure to watch the day they are cleaned and a nightmare on days when they resemble a dump yard. Depending on how many clothes you have, how big your closet is and when was the last time you cleaned, this activity can either take 30 minutes or longer. If you can’t get to it all today, attend to the messiest part today; the rest will be a breeze. What you’ll need: Cleaning materials: A small cleaning bucket to carry around the cleaning stuff. A microfiber mitt or an old vest. Some cleaning solution like Colin or just plain water. Shelf liners. Vacuum cleaner if it is a sliding wardrobe. One huge plastic bag to give away items in good condition. One huge plastic bag to trash items of…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

1 Awesome Cleaning Habit to Keep Your House Clutter Free

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Wondering if I missed a digit in the headline? Should it have been 10 cleaning habits or 11? No, you read it right. This one habit I came across in a list a few days ago has transformed my life for the better, and it’s only right that I share it with you all. I subscribed to Elle Decor’s feed on Facebook and often find their cleaning/organizing lists useful. One such list was titled 11 daily habits to keep a house clean and tidy. The title piqued my interest. Now, I am not a cleaning fanatic and you are less likely to find my house super organized any time of the day. No, there are no clothes lying on the floor, unmade beds, unclean toilets, clothes waiting to be folded, untrimmed grass in the garden, trash waiting to be taken out, or dirty vessels in the sink – none of…

CLEANING & ORGANIZING

Cleaning tip: How to sparkle your bathroom faucets with one ingredient

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Hard water. Lime scales. That’s the hard fact. Be it in Bangalore, or anywhere in India. More often than not, the task or obsession of keeping the taps sparkling clean falls on me. House helps are not obsessed about it. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a clean bathroom. Over the years, I have learnt one secret and one ingredient that works wonders. Ready to know? The best part is it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. That one ingredient is LEMON. Any citrus fruit works but lemon works best. Our fridge is always stocked with lemons as lemonade is an essential part of dinner. The father-son duo make it a ritual and enjoy making a glass for themselves with whatever ingredient they fancy that night. And it gets creative, too with mint, basil.. :) Ok, so over to the bathrooms. If you are not in the mood for some…