3 Products + 3 Tools + 1 Machine = All I need to greenly clean my home

We all have a super-power. For awhile, mine was washing dishes. Lately it's become cleaning my house. I'm an organizer, so sure, I do it quickly...but what makes this my "super power" is the efficient use of tools and minimal product needs. Let me share my process.

3 Products

1) Home Soap
Showers, floors (tiles, wood, linoleum), sinks, counters, refrigerators, gerbils, dishes...this soap cleans everything. Gentle enough for your pets, strong enough for your toilet.

2) Borax
In the shower if there’s a hint of mildew or soap scum, I mix a little borax in with my Home Soap and scrub it away. I also toss a half cup of Borax in with every load of laundry and sprinkle it in the bottom of the garbage can to control odors. Borax was launched in 1891 and using it makes me feel like I’m honoring my grandmothers.

3) Vinegar + Water in a Spray Bottle
I use this for windows, mirrors and chrome faucets. Keep it away from tile/grout because it’s hungry and likes to eat it. Also a good disinfectant but I don’t believe in disinfecting, I believe in good housekeeping (which makes disinfecting a non-issue).

3 Tools

4) Rubbermaid Reveal Mop
I don’t mop, I “Reveal.” Green companies have been making similar mops for awhile but this one you can find at Home Depot! Make your own detergent (mine is just Home Soap + Water...surprise!) and spray as you go. The removable head is washable and therefore reusable. It sucks up everything.

5) Flex Neck TnT Scrubber
The best tool I’ve ever used to scrub down the inside of a tub or shower. You can stand outside the tub and use the telescoping pole and save your back from breaking. Also great for spot cleaning floor stains.

6) Micro Fiber Telescoping Duster
Dusting is fun again! This tool telescopes out to 54 inches long so you can get those ceiling fan blades and tops of bookshelves. The tip also hinges (like a wrist) so you don’t have to contort you body or standing position to get things on the horizontal. As if that weren’t enough, the duster itself is reusable! Just hand wash or toss in your laundry and use it again and again.

telescoping, hinged duster

 

1 Machine

7) Vacuum Cleaner
I dream of owning a Dyson. Someday I’ll make that a reality (a girl can dream, right?). In the mean time, I just use a regular canister vac. The key to cleaning efficiently with a vacuum is to dust first and have the vacuum running in the room where you’re dusting. No matter how thirsty your micro-fiber duster is, any dusting just kicks up stuff into the air. Having the vacuum cleaner going while you dust cuts down on the spreading around factor.

That's it folks. Those are the 7 things I use to clean my home. Simple, effective tools are the keys to organized housekeeping. 

4 Amazing Resources for NYC Entrepreneurs

from bzzagent.com

I went to acting school and teaching school, not business school. For that reason people are always curious about where I learned how to start, run and maintain my business. Here are the four amazing and free resources I used (and continue to use) to learn the ropes.

New York City Business Solutions
This website is so easy to use, they have a place where you just type in what kind of business you want to open, click some boxes and answer some questions and VOILA, they give you a list of which licenses you need and links to where to find them. It’s easier than ordering from Chipotle. It was while navigating this site that I found out about my next resource...

FastTrac
FastTrac programs are basically “Entrepreneur School.” With three variations, New Venture, Growth Venture and Tech Venture you can apply for whichever program suits your needs. I applied for NewVenture in August and got accepted in October. When the program started I was given a hefty textbook/workbook and immediately immersed in a class with 30 other entrepreneurs. We were led by a fantastic team of business experts who guided us through all the details of starting a business. Did I mention this was free? Completely free?

New York State Small Business Development Center
I found them before I found FastTrac. Sometimes it’s just really nice to talk to a human instead of interface with a computer screen. I made an appointment (so easy, just call 646-312-4790) and met with someone who set me straight on some points that had been confusing. Should I become an LLC or be a sole-proprietor? Should I invest in office supplies or marketing materials first? Oh! And what if I need to talk to a lawyer...they had one on staff to guide me through the gruelling task of writing contracts. They were lovely, professional and they called and checked up with me to make sure I was still on track a few weeks after my last meeting.

SCORE NYC
SCORE has been around since 1964, but it was new to me. The main service they provide is mentor-ship, setting you up with experienced business counselors who can provide sage advice in your field. Many of the counselors are retired, or semi-retired folks who have ‘made it’ in their respective field and are ready to share their wisdom. I met with a SCORE counselor who gave me great advice (and a much needed pep-talk) about how to focus my energy as a new business owner. They also provide great workshops and seminars.

Two Exciting Things in One Hour

Thing 1: 
After an inspiring and educational brunch with my friend Amanda (the genius behind Jellybean Boom) we decided it would be fun for me to contribute some of what I've learned about growing a business to her readership. I jumped on the chance and you can read the fruits of my labor here.


Thing 2: I just found out that for March's Apartment Therapy Offline Meetup the KENO brothers will be speaking. If you don't know, well, they're antique furniture appraisers...and TWINS. They know everything about American antique furniture, and they make constant appearances on my favorite show, PBS's Antiques Roadshow. What's so amazing about these two is their enthusiasm, I promise you will never see anyone get so excited about original brass pulls, Chippendale dressers or hidden drawers. I can't wait! The event is March 3rd, 6:30pm at ABC Carpet (888 Broadway).

Guest Blog Post: Organizing Manuals & Warranties

In a recent email, my aunt Eileen demystified the world of organizing manuals and warranties! I guess organizing runs in the family! I felt her email would help everyone and so I've turned it into a blog post for all of us to learn from. I made a few comments in italics. Thanks aunt Eileen!

On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Eileen wrote:

Hi – maybe you already do this, but I just did it.

     I don't do this, but I should!

We needed a new light portion for a ceiling fan and before I could order it, I needed the model number, which was on top of the fan and nearly impossible to get. But Wayne stood on a stool and pulled off the sticker.

     Nothing like some acrobatics to inspire a new organizing system!

As a result I spent a couple of days and gathered all of my appliance booklets for several places in the house. Then I made a sheet that lists the item, make, model number, serial number, when purchased, where purchased, length of warranty and whether or not the receipt is available. I probably should have also listed whether or not I registered it, the date, and whether it was on line or not.

    I think the fact that you're doing this at all earns you some major organizing points!

Then I put the sheet with all of the documentation for that item in a transparent sheet protector and put everything in 2 binders. One has the major appliances and the other has the small appliances and garage stuff, like snow blowers and lawn mowers. And then I made a Table of Contents for each binder (after searching for one for the thermostat) and a label on the outside.

Now, nothing goes in the binder unless it has a receipt attached, etc.

And I feel tons better knowing that the task is done. Most of my friends say it is on their To-Do list but they never get around to it.

  Now that you've walked us through it, I think it will be 100 times easier! THANKS!

I LOVE My Charging Station

I'm generally disappointed with most commercial charging stations I see. From ugly faux wood velvet-lined boxes with holes in the bottom, to sleek units that you wrap your cords around and hang from an outlet...they all fall way below my standards. I give kudos to some creative folks who are trying to make the charging process more fun, like this grass charging station. However, when I first saw it in person I felt it was would be difficult to remove your charging cord if you had to take it with you one day. And, you have to have a very specific "feel" to your space if you can easily weave in a sculptural, grassy piece like this. 
Lucky for me, I've found my own charging solution and I didn't need to buy anything new. As an organizer, I love to contain things. In the 50's and 60's, I think container design was at it's peak. I always go to the household goods section of a thrift store first to scan for fun containers, and that's exactly where I picked up the great vintage tea and coffee canister set that houses (yep, you guessed it) my charging station.
 

Why it works
1) It's so close to an accessible power source! This is on my kitchen counter, in the center of my apartment. It's exactly where I want my phone to be if it's charging. It's central location means that I'll hear it if it rings, and can pick it up (while charging) if I want to without having to sequester myself in some corner.

2) It's attractive! I enjoy opening it every day and extracting my little cord. When my phone is finished charging, I tuck it back inside and feel good about the way I'm using my decorative container.

 3) It makes me think! I like the juxtaposition of my modern internet-connected cell phone equipment living inside this cute, stainless steel container that was made to hold tea for a modern kitchen of the 50's.

Using vintage things to store modern conveniences is a fun way to reuse and recycle. People often ask me if my home looks like The Container Store...I love organization that much! But the truth is my soul would shrivel up if I lived somewhere that looked like the inside of a store. I go out of my way to find fun ways to achieve a calm, clutter-free atmosphere at home. Using vintage pieces is a big part of that process.

Dream Closet Part 3

This blog entry is a continuation of a blog swap I've been working on with EZ Architecture. See the first part HERE

 Step 4: Research and Implementation

With the purging and sorting steps complete, it became crystal clear that the organizing materials being used in the closet were actually a part of the problem. The drawer unit that held my purses was clunky, too deep and it was difficult to see the purses as they were layered one on top of the other. The hanging shoe cubbies were helpful in theory, but in practice they were too small for many of my shoes (I wear a size 10-I’m tall!). Hsiang brought to my attention that while the upper shelf was the right size to hold the luggage, that having such big items stored up high gave the closet a claustrophobic-feel, and the illusion that they might fall down on my head at any moment. Finally, the floor space felt cramped and ill-used with all the boots (that didn’t fit in the shoe cubbies) piled on top of one another.

In researching some storage upgrades, I came across a remarkable shoe caddy: The Container Store’s 22 Compartment Eco-Fabric Shoe Bag. It is an extremely efficient design where the shoes tilt down (maximizing space and allowing you to see the shoes) and the entire unit revolves so you can access it from both sides. Two of these units could replace the five hanging shoe cubbies that were currently in use.

Despite some initial misgivings I decided to rid the closet of the Elfa drawer unit that I had brought with me from my last 4 apartments. Those mesh basket units always seem like such a good idea but they never really look that great. After purging the purses it was clear I didn’t need that much storage for bags. I only had three to four bags I used regularly anyway. I decided installing hooks on the walls to hold the purses would make them more accessible and more attractive than a new piece of organizing furniture could.

Finally, while I felt like the upper shelf was still the perfect place to store the large rolling luggage bags that I use infrequently, I did want to soften their appearance to lighten up the feel of the interior of the closet. Hsiang had mentioned a curtain or panel to hide them from view, and armed with that idea I tried two different fabrics on a tension rod. I settled with a blue fish pattern I found in my scrap sewing supplies.

As an organizer my focus is creating efficient attractive spaces as affordably as possible. My goal is always to return to the initial assessment and see if we’ve solved the problems brought up when we first looked critically at the closet.  Those initial problems in the previous post were about accessibility (it was hard to find and remove shoes and bags) and a cramped feeling when looking at the items. We dealt with all of these things with just a few changes and some purging.

Project wrap up:

Time: 6 hrs

Cost: $65  ($35 under budget!)

Finished product: A shoe/purse/luggage closet that is airy, easy to navigate and where everything is quickly accessible.

What’s next? Now that we’ve solved the initial, basic organizing problems Hsiang will approach the upgraded closet with an eye for enhancing beauty. This is where we get to take the leap from an organized and functional closet to a Dream Closet!

Stay tuned!

Electronics Recycling 101; Give me your slow, your unchargeable, your out of date...

In a bizarre but informative paragraph on the NYC.gov website they say that New Yorkers will be allowed to throw their electronics (minus rechargeable batteries) in the trash until 2015. At which time, should we try to toss our electronics in the garbage, they will magically ricochet back out and a holographic elf will appear reminding us that NOW, now that it's 2015 we must recycle our electronics. Ok, that second part I made up, but really, why wait until 2015?

Here are 3 resources for easy (free shipping! they send you the box! they pay you!) ways to recycle your old electronics:


1) YouRenew.com

• Offered me $19 for my old cell phone
• Free shipping
• Wipes out personal info from your device
• Donate to AmericanForests.org (or) CarbonFund.org (your choice) for every item of yours that they take
• Credit Card/Account not necessary to be paid
• Recycles items that cannot be reused
• Green certified site

2) Gazelle.com

• Offered me $7 for my old cell phone
• Free shipping if your item qualifies
• Wipes out personal info from your device
• Recycles items that cannot be reused
• Green certified site

3) BuyMyTronics.com

• Offered me $6 for my old cell phone
• Free shipping if your item is of value
• Wipes out personal info from your device
• Recycles items that cannot be reused
• Takes broken items
• Site runs on wind power and has a cute icon
• Green certified site

More great resources
Tekserve EWaste Recycling event - Bring it, they'll deal with it on October 9th 2010!! (thanks Ashley!)
NY Stuff Exchange - NYC's give, sell, buy, rent, and repair website.
NYC WasteLess Event Calendar - Find the next recycling event in your area