A few years ago I had to hold throw the towel in (instead of ironing it) and finally admitted that I was never going to achieve domestic godess status and what was more I did't want to aspire to it and never had. With two boys and a very untidy husband how ever was I going to maintain a clean and tidy environment for us all to live in? I had realised that women and a few exceptional men can become slaves of the relentless 'housework' treadmill (funny how a man ivented that word ..thanks William Shakespeare) and spend little time doing the really important things like spending quality time with friends and family outside of the home. I think that I successfully found a way to drastically reduce the time spent tidying and cleaning and at the same time save energy used doing these boring tasks..FREE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW by following a few simple steps:
1. Get rid of fabric covered furniture. Leather or faux leather is wipeable and easy to keep clean, warm in winter and cool in summer.
2. Get rid of dirt and mite harbouring carpets, reclaimed floor boards, vinyl, laminate flooring are inexpensive, wipeable and easy to keep clean.
3. Get rid of dust collecting curtains, replace with none fabric Venetian, roller, Roman, or vertical blinds or shutters. They are wipebable and easy to keep clean! Alternatively have no curtains at all, window frosting is very popular in the Netherlands and can be purchased as a easily applied coating.
3. Get rid of wallpaper/wall coverings they are expensive time consuming to apply and soon date and need replacing. Painted walls are wipeable and easy to keep clean. (Environmentally friendly paints are available these days).
4. STOP IRONING !!! over 75% of the clothes we wear and buy today don't really need it especially if fabric conditioner is used!!
5. If you have a tumble dryer (shame on you) with a little organisation on your part and a clothes horse, washing line, pegs and plenty of coat hangers you really don't need one. You will reduce the amount of dust in your home and seriously reduce the amount of energy you use doing laundry!!! Hanging clothes straight after washing reduces ironing requirment.
6. Buy a good long handled house brush and dustpan and a mop. Vacumn cleaning will be a thing of the past and again you will save on energy.
7. Finally get rid of dust harbouring objects having to many ''things'' eat away at valuable living space and repeatedly need dusting and cleaning - rid yourself of the ''things'' you do not really need!!!
Liberation is just around the corner - with the new found spare time I have successfully completed a Master of Chemistry Degree and I am now a PhD student and research scientist involved in an environmental project which is working towards harvesting solar energy to make useful fuel feedstocks and chemicals from harmful greenhouse gases!!!
1. Get rid of fabric covered furniture. Leather or faux leather is wipeable and easy to keep clean, warm in winter and cool in summer.
2. Get rid of dirt and mite harbouring carpets, reclaimed floor boards, vinyl, laminate flooring are inexpensive, wipeable and easy to keep clean.
3. Get rid of dust collecting curtains, replace with none fabric Venetian, roller, Roman, or vertical blinds or shutters. They are wipebable and easy to keep clean! Alternatively have no curtains at all, window frosting is very popular in the Netherlands and can be purchased as a easily applied coating.
3. Get rid of wallpaper/wall coverings they are expensive time consuming to apply and soon date and need replacing. Painted walls are wipeable and easy to keep clean. (Environmentally friendly paints are available these days).
4. STOP IRONING !!! over 75% of the clothes we wear and buy today don't really need it especially if fabric conditioner is used!!
5. If you have a tumble dryer (shame on you) with a little organisation on your part and a clothes horse, washing line, pegs and plenty of coat hangers you really don't need one. You will reduce the amount of dust in your home and seriously reduce the amount of energy you use doing laundry!!! Hanging clothes straight after washing reduces ironing requirment.
6. Buy a good long handled house brush and dustpan and a mop. Vacumn cleaning will be a thing of the past and again you will save on energy.
7. Finally get rid of dust harbouring objects having to many ''things'' eat away at valuable living space and repeatedly need dusting and cleaning - rid yourself of the ''things'' you do not really need!!!
Liberation is just around the corner - with the new found spare time I have successfully completed a Master of Chemistry Degree and I am now a PhD student and research scientist involved in an environmental project which is working towards harvesting solar energy to make useful fuel feedstocks and chemicals from harmful greenhouse gases!!!
Posted 14th March in: plug out, smooth flat surfaces = less cleaning power
