Home Cleaning

If you live in a small space, you know that it’s tough to keep it clean from day to day. Smaller spaces just seem to collect more unwanted clutter, dirt and dust! Why is that? Well if you’re a clean freak like me, take a look at some of these tips to keep your small space sparkling every day… 1. Declutter. This is rule number one for a reason! If you don’t love or use an item—why do you still have it? Ditch the clutter and free up space.

I can get a little ambitious when the weekend comes around sometimes (all the time). It’s easy to say yes to events and parties (or dream about hosting my own), create DIY project lists a mile long, think I’ll finally have time to deep clean every corner of my house and plan on organizing my closet to boot. What I do to avoid weekend burnout? Try and use my home, as it is, as a recharging retreat, so that when Monday rolls around I’m more energized than exhausted.

We’re always on the hunt for the latest and greatest (and easiest) cleaning tools, so when our Apartment Therapy Office Manager Nelly came into work the other day raving about a project that transformed her dingy, rental bathroom grout, our ears perked right up. No doubt it has to do with the fact that she’s expecting, but Nelly’s been doing all sorts of nesting lately.

I’m not usually one for New Year’s resolutions, but I am always interested in rejuvenating my space, work and life in the New Year. January is a great month for cleaning up problem areas, whether they are physical problem areas in your home, or work and financial issues. Here are a few of our top tips for simple tasks to help get your new year get off to a great start! 1. Declutter your desk or work area and go through important papers. Tax time is coming!

Is it completely germophobic to be cleaning your kids’ stuffed toys every month? Of course, I’m asking for a friend of mine (wink)! I completely understand that our kids need to grow their immune system by being exposed to various degrees of bacteria, still, I can’t look at these toys and remain calm. It makes me cringe. Just like that tiny chalk mark the teacher used to forget to erase on the board back in school. Ok, there goes my free-spirit reputation!

All it took was two episodes of “Hoarders” and I knew that the next morning I was going to…had to…go downstairs to clean out our apartment basement storage area. Hidden downstairs was a slowly expanding Jenga pile of boxes, the majority of them empty, but all kept under the presumption I’d need them later for moving or resale. It was time to get serious and clean house for 2012…The biggest source of empty boxes were for electronics and appliances.

White risers can do a lot to brighten a staircase, as evidenced in the entryway above. However, like white floors, pretty and bright doesn’t always equal maintenance-free…but it doesn’t have to equal nightmare either. Here’s how to make them work. I recently completed the risers in our entry hall, and I can tell you first hand that like most painting projects, preparation and the right paint is everything.

Q: Maybe someone can help me with this tragedy? This is my beloved Superflat exhibit print poster. Eight years ago I got it mounted, but when I moved to NY I didn’t ship it out and stored it in my parents’ basement. Now I’ve moved back and discovered they had a flood one year and this poor print got some water damage. Is there any way I can remove the stains without damaging the print? I was thinking of a Mr.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Use regular DISH SOAP!! It has the ability to be gentle on your paint brushes while removing the sticky, slick paint behind.

Cleaning Stainless Steel Sinks has always been a pet peeve. Once it was discovered how clean and shiny they REALLY could be, the OCD about keeping them that clean….hasn’t stopped. And why not when it’s so simple to do? Click through the jump to check out how to use common household items to clean even the dirtiest sink naturally and in under 5 minutes. Stainless Steel sinks always seem to deceive you.

We were recently sent this bit of info by our father, who revelled at the opportunity to contribute to the blog. It’s a great little story about the invention of WD-40, which, it turns out, was never intended for lubrication at all and has, as its basic ingredient, nothing other than fish oil!“I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup.