Martha Stewart

It's no secret that Martha Stewart is a huge influence on me. I have loved watching Martha since I was in junior high. How many tweens are obsessed with Martha? But I have good reasons, she is a goddess. Nay, the leader of all domestic goddesses everywhere.

Now, not everything Martha does is practical for everyone, but for basic recipes and tips she's the queen. Her flourless chocolate cake is simple and ANYONE can make it. But this is about her cleaning tips, which anyone can use.

And I know that Martha doesn't do most of this stuff herself and her staff are the real brains behind everything, but her name is stamped on everything.

The other day, via facebook the Martha Stewart Living fan page posted dishwashing secrets. Which lead me to search through all of her homekeeping solutions.

Dude, whether you're single, married, divorced, living with roommates you need to clean, and why not clean like Martha?

And what about Martha and the single girl spirit? She was a model in the '60s, and probably read Sex and the Single Girl with a different book's jacket wrapped around it. And when she got divorced she didn't crumble, she built and empire. She went to prison and is more successful now than before her sentence. Martha Stewart is a single girl at heart, always has been, always will be.

And don't forget that single girls need to clean, too!

Preventative measures

Like most people, I hate cleaning. Unlike most people who hate cleaning, I enjoy having a clean apartment. I am not a fan of sh*t covered toilets or stoves with old crusty pancake batter glued to the surface (surprise!)

When a mess presents itself, it's best to clean them up immediately. Earlier today I had a pot of tomato sauce burp up all over my stove and the surrounding walls and a little bit on me, too. Grabbing a wet dishcloth and wiping it up immediately saved me a lot of scrubbing and possibly repainting later (hey, tomato sauce can stain!). Taking a few seconds to clean up in the moment saves a lot of work later on.

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George Carlin did a great bit about stuff, and about how we have to much of it.

Getting rid of clutter makes cleaning much easier, I promise. I'm not a Tchotchke type of person I have enough stuff that I actually use to keep on the tops of my bookshelves and dressers that I don't need useless stuff sitting around and looking cute. All this stuff does is create a place for dust to collect, seriously.

I'm a big fan of organized chaos. As in, all the plastic containers go on this shelf, but not in any real order. It's quick, it's easy, and most important, I still know where everything is and where everything goes.

While nothing takes away the need for a good deep cleaning here and there, a few good preventative measures increases the amount of time between such cleanings and makes them less invasive.

Happy scrubbing!

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers

I know that these have been out for a while, (like, a long while) but I need to sign their praises.

These freaky sponge-like things will clean all of those weird spots that you just don't know what they are. Case in point: I get this strange shadowing where my garbage can is. I don't know what it's from, exactly. I've tried everything to wash it off. Soap and hot water, Scrubbing Bubbles, window cleaner... nothing worked, except for the Magic Erasers!

You know that grey/black stuff you get on your walls where you touch them often, or your fridge, or your door. They get rid of that, too. Those nasty spots that make your house look gross, and make your parents and married friends call you a lazy single slob? They're gone, with ease!

Cleaning isn't reserved for families, we just need to clean less often ;).