apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

On the same line as the votives, I use distraction to give the illusion it's cleaner :). Turn on some music and decant a bottle of wine right before they show up, then start pouring glasses in whichever is the cleanest room.

Dudes, swiffer is the most appalling example of disposable culture I can think of. I thought AT prided itself of being green.

I throw all the clutter in a hutch, which fits an amazing amount of stuff...but nothing ever seems to make it's way out again

living in a studio, i've always used the "toss all the dirty laundry in the bathtub and close the shower curtain" trick and even the "put all the dirty dishes in the oven" trick.

but i pride myself on having a usually impeccable house. aside from all the dog hair, anyway....

(and dancingspring, i agree w/you on the Swiffer front! dont use them!!)

Oh, you swiffer haters out there...I know they're not the greenest things out there, but they do SUCH an amazing job trapping those dust particles!!!!

What else can I use that isn't spraying something (the can...how "green" is a can of Pledge?) or just blowing the dust all over the place, only for it to resettle?

There is something truely magical about Swiffers.

Oh, and the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. That's another fav.

I do try to balance out my un-green-ness by doing things such as carrying around an Envirosax (http://usa.envirosax.com/). It's small enough to fit in any of my purses, so I'm always ready to shop!!

Another Swiffer addict here. I crank up the music and sashay around my apartment, Swiffering the crap out of every surface.

I like to think I offset their evilness by commuting to work via bike (and other green things, but mainly the bike thing).

SF_Gal -- Ooh, you're gonna get crap about the Magic Erasers. Those things are not terrible for the environment, or so I hear.

I dust with those microfiber thingies that you can take the head off of and then wash. A little greener.

sorry, I meant they ARE terrible for the environment. Dunno how the "not" snuck in there.

i used to love the swiffers until i read this about the wet ones:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_swiffer_wetjet.htm

yes it is under urban legends---but have seen this info everywhere on the web---not sure i want to take the risk with my pets

I agree with the general sentiment of hiding what you can, cleaning what you can, and straightening the rest. I usually do a quick pass like that every night when I get home, because the tidier environment helps me relax. I'm by no means a neat freak, but staying on top of the worst of it on a daily basis really helps.

A green alternative to the Swiffer cloths are the Method version, made from corn and compostible: http://tinyurl.com/25usbt

SF_Gal, it's called a dust mop. They've been around to decades, and are to swiffers what sponges are to paper towels.

(I'm sorry if I come across as rude, it's just that swiffers get me so darn aggravated!)

Vacuum and feshly baked chocolate chips & walnut cookies.

That's my foolproof tricks to clean up Quick for Company.

Why?
Well:
1-vacuuming leaves "freshly" vacuumed lines on the carpet that makes my space "appears" squeaky clean, and
2-when i bake those cookies...it leaves the whole home smelling delicious. And when the aroma is calling to the stomach, what company can think of the mess when there's fresh baked goods to mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

For those in homes w/o carpet nor oven, i can't help you :-)

I just KNEW I'd catch hell from the haters...I'm talking to you dancingspring.

Yes, I've heard of a dust mop, but they don't do the job half as well. If a dust mop did the job even half as well, then done, but it does NOT. Wipe surface, dust goes flying. Gross.
Then you have a dirty dust mop. Now what? Shake it out?

I have a lot of tchotchkes, so I have a lot of dusting to do, even more so living in SF, on a busy street.

Swiffer wipe surface, dust doesn't go flying, but sticks right to the swiffer. Genius!

Oh, and I use the Method one, too. The "swiffers" I buy are really just generic versions I get at the $.99 store.

So much hatred for a little "un-green" product. If you even knew about the crazy sh*t that goes on outside of your tiny world; WAY bigger than a duster, you'd probably commit suicide. Relax and eat some tofu.

The microfibre dust mops don't send the dust flying... give them a try sometime.

swiffers don't do much if you have even one pet with fur to add to the mess on your floor. a dust mop is critical, or a broom covered in a microfiber cloth that you can remove, shake out and throw in the wash. If you REALLY love the swiffer, you can buy an orange cotton cloth at Cole Hardware and other stores that is double the size of a swiffer head. Double it up, press it into the little grooves to make it stick, clean with it, then reverse sides, clean again! When it's dirty you can shake it out and wash it. MUCH greener.

My floors aren't smooth enough to use a swiffer so I have no comment on that debate, suum cuique.

In addition to the 10 second tidy, I also like to spritz a little bit of all purpose cleaner in the air, it gives the impression that I've freshly cleaned everything. But don't worry I use Mrs. Meyers, so it's green friendly and smells so good.

I like the microfiber dust-mop I use on my floors. It works great, even with my cat's hairs . You just run it under the faucet when done. Or here's a novel idea...a damp rag. Whatever happened that?! I still use a damp rag to dust surfaces.

I honestly never have to do much "quick cleaning." I REALLY do keep a clean home all the time. At best I just have to throw one or two articles into a closet and I'm good. Dirty dishes go into the dishwasher.

Swiffer brand alternatives: Microfiber washable clothes OR the Swiffer-like cloths made by Method. They're biodegradable/compostable. We just throw them in the compost bin with the veggies.

Microfiber CLOTHS dust really really well. I use them on electronics, too. They pick up more than dust, but also get off an incredible amount of gunk when used barely moist. Even my chrome finishes come out mirror-clean without the use of any cleaning detergents. And they're versatile! You can wash dishes with them and take lint off of clothes with them. Just pop in the wash along with whatever other laundry you have, and they are good as new again!

My quick-clean tip for bathroom & kitchen: take a dry/VERY slightly damp rag and shine up all the chrome (on the sink, etc). I learned this working one summer as a maid in a motel. Your guests' eyes focus on the shiny, spot free faucet and overlook a multitude of other problems... Then close the shower curtain and put the lid down on the toilet. Voila, looks lovely.

I hate swiffers. I'm sorry, they do not clean, and anyone who thinks they do either has low standards or is fooling himself.

I'm telling you...damp paper towels. Floors, counters, table tops. Glass of wine after exertion.

Holy crap people...so much anger about these swiffers and being green?

I really think that a swiffer is the least of the worries...just think about the rest of the garbage all of you make in one day. Do you buy your morning coffee at some local coffee shop as opposed to making yourself and bringing it in a travel mug? Do you use post-its as oposed to those white boards you can just post on your fridge and wipe clean? Do you wash your dishes with sponges as opposed to using rags you can wash later on? How many times a week do you do your laundry with harmfull detergents?

YEA, MY POINT EXACTLY. Uneless your some sort of crazy fiend that never gets rid of ANYTHING, your guilty and really have nothing to say about being green because your going to be wastefull regardless.

I can't believe how much people spend on "green cleaning products"...VINEGAR IS ANTIBACTERIAL PEOPLE, plus it doesnt damage hard wood floors...We've been convinced that you need that chemical enduced aroma for your house to feel clean. Vinegar diluted with water and a mop...DONE.

I think the key to insta-tidying is sexy baskets. Get twice as many as you think you'll need from Ikea or wherever, set them up under your coffee table, bedside tables, desk, side tables, tv bench, on bookcases... everywhere. Then toss clutter in there before the visitors show up. The trick is long-term maintenance--sorting the junk out of them every once in a while so it doesn't just fill them forever.