Answer 1 - No. And, my partner seems to think since I'm not working right now, it's alright to act like a total slob and leave crap everywhere for me to clean up during the day.
Answer 2 - I'm a clean freak, almost to the point of being clinically OCD on the subject....
I use grabbers to pick up a multitude of things off the floor, or to get down/put up lighter stuff on shelves up higher. I have 2 different kinds and between them, they'll pick up just about
anything.
I keep a little rolling desk chair in the kitchen, so I can roll around the house if my feet aren't cooperating. A lot of times, I'll grab a trash bag and roll through the house with my grabber, picking up trash that's been left on desks or tables, then go back and put it in the can. That saves me steps and repeated trips from room to room.
I have extra long handles on my broom and mop, which makes it easier to use them without having to lean or hunch over. It doesn't seem like it should help, but for some reason extending the handle by about
10-12 inches helps me out a lot. My broom and mop are both about
4 inches taller than I am.
I have 2 large dustpans I found at a farm supply store that's on the end of a handle, so I don't have to bend to sweep up dirt piles.
I have a rolling mop bucket with a ringer, and I put a piece of PVC pipe on the ringer handle to extend it higher so I don't have to bend to ring out the mop. I use environmentally safe cleaning products (usually vinegar or grapefruit seed extract) in the mop bucket, so when I need to change the water, I just roll the bucket out into the yard and kick it over, then roll it back inside and refill it with the sink sprayer.
I have a shop vac hang-up central vacuum unit, so I don't haul a whole vacuum around the house. I just take the hose and attachments around the house, which is very light and it sucks things out of corners, cracks, and crevices really well. It also sucks up cobwebs and dust from the ceiling and tops of door moldings really well. There's a ceiling fan attachment for vacuums that works really well too. I actually tend to vacuum a lot more than I sweep, because it's easier for me.
I put a small wooden platform under my trash can, so I don't have to bend over to flip the lid
open, push the trash down in the can, or fix the bag when it slides off. That also makes it easier to empty the full bags out, because I can grab the edges, then pull it off the platform toward me, then the can slides off on to the floor.
We have one bath with a tub and a second bath with a standing shower. I use a Mr. Clean Magic Reach to clean the walls of the bath tub/shower. I found the Magic reach pads to be too expensive, so I sewed up some terry cloth covers that I use once and then throw in the washer. I keep an extra large sponge mop, with an extended handle. just to use in the bottoms of the tub/shower.
I put a piece of small PVC pipe on the end of the toilet brush, to extend the handle so that I don't have to bend over the toilet while I clean it. I use the Magic Reach to clean the toilet tank, because all the sides are flat. I haven't figured out a way to wipe the curves around the outside of the toilet bowl, so I still have to bend down and wipe that down. I use the extended handle toilet brush to scrub the cracks around the base of the toilet and the floor, though, and then wipe up the excess solution with the Magic Reach.
I also use the Mr. Clean Magic Reach to wash windows. Just have to be sure to change the terry cloth cover, so the ammonia in the windex doesn't mix with the clorox from the bathrooms. Bad news, there!
I use a regular, dry Swiffer dust mop that I also sewed terry cloth covers for to dust my cabinet doors. I spray the pledge on the terry cloth, then wipe the flat cabinets and woodwork with it. If you stuff plastic grocery store bags under the terry cloth (between the cloth and the flat part of the Swiffer) it makes it flexible enough to dust curves and fancy moldings, too. (I've tried the fluffy Swiffer dusters and they work well too, but I'm too cheap to keep paying for the replacements.)
I bought a bunch of the plastic summertime dishes from Walmart when they went on clearance for 25-50 cents each and we use those most of the time, so I can load the bottom dishwasher rack with my grabbers and not worry about
breaking anything I happen to drop in the process. I also set the silverware basket on the counter and load all the utensils into it before I put it back in the rack. I buy those Cascade jet packs for dishwasher soap, so I can put them in the soap container and close it with my grabbers, too.
For laundry - I have a top loading washer, but front loading dryer. I line rolling hampers with plastic bags and when the hamper gets half full, I push the top of the bag down and put another one in, so the bags don't get too heavy for me. When I get the laundry downstairs, I pull the bags out one by one and dump them on the table. I sort the clothes by loads, then put each load into a plastic bag and set them on the top of the dryer. That makes it easy to just slide the bag toward the washer,
open it, and dump the load in. For the most part, I'm able to get the laundry out of the washer without too much trouble, but I use my grabbers to get anything that gets away from me.
To get the clothes into the dryer - I took one of those pieces of plastic that you put inside of trash bags to hold them
open while you fill it with leaves. I put it in the door hole of the dryer and when I drop the clothes down it, they slide through into the dryer, without me having to bend down to throw them in. If something needs shove to get all the way in or to get them back out, I use one of those 3-prong "mini-rakes" for gardening. I extended the handle slightly and covered the prongs with plastic caps so nothing gets torn. I prop the clothes hamper against the door and use the little rake to pull the clothes out into it. After 2 loads, it goes back upstairs and gets dumped on the bed for folding. I hang all shirts and pants, all undergarments go in the top dresser drawers, sheets and towels go on top shelves in the closet.
I haven't figured out any way to make changing litter boxes any easier, though, so that task still just sucks. LOL!
I can't/don't do all of those things every day - like merry, I pick a few things to do each day. I've found if I can do little bits to keep up with things, I do well. If I let it get out of hand, there's hell to pay! At the very least, I pick up the empty drink cans/junk food wrappers; dishes go to the kitchen and into the dishwasher; and the hairball tumbleweeds from the animals either get swept up or sucked up. Then, I pick a couple of "hard" things to do each week - usually some laundry and one other "hard' thing that can be stand to be done once a month.
Post Edited (BionicWoman) : 8/12/2009 9:01:01 AM (GMT-6)