Cleaning for Peace of Mind & Weight Loss

There are countless benefits for keeping a clean house which I won't bother to list here. You can Google "benefits of cleaning your house" and find most of them. What surprises me most about my search results is that the leading search results don't even mention the physical workout involved and the impact of that on one's health.  Scrolling down, I eventually found one that mentions surprising benefits of burning calories, controlling anger management, and reducing stress. WOW. That's more than I bargained for!

Having shed almost 25 lbs. two years ago, I maintained my weight until the start of this summer and since then have gained almost 10 pounds. (Who doesn't love pasta?) When I finally weighed myself, my red flag went up quickly and I'm on track to shed that weight which I worked SO hard to lose!  Since the hot Florida summer keeps me from walking in the mornings where, even at 7am it is 80-something degrees, I am grateful that my weekly cleaning schedule keeps me in a good workout mode.  When the weather finally shifts, my aerobic capacity will be ready to easily tackle daily walks.

If weightloss is a goal for you, consider what cleaning house for 2 or 3 hours can do for your body once or twice weekly.  My workout goes for 3 to 4 hours with a 15 minute break. I perspire up a storm and keep the electrolyte water going in to prevent muscle cramping from too much water loss.  When I finish, I lie down flat on my yoga mat and just rest. Then I stretch and wiggle for awhile.  That little interlude on my mat has benefits all its own.

I cannot wait for the summer heat to dissipate so I can return to hoofing the streets!

• Surprising Benefits of Cleaning House
• Yoga Recommended After a Workout
• Housing Cleaning Workout

Cleaning tools - Floor cleaning made easy

The days of scrubbing floors on my knees are over, unless it’s a very small bathroom and I’m already down there cleaning the toilet base. I think the scrub brush and elbow grease were needed before today’s cleaning chemicals were created. But I don’t use those chemicals or a scrub brush. I use steam when I need to fight grime. I am getting ahead of myself here because floors need to be prepared before deep cleaning. Here are the tools that help me clean floors. 

Vacuum cleaners are a must for anyone with a carpeted home. When I started writing about this piece of equipment, I became self righteous and felt compelled to dedicate a post on the subject of vacuum cleaners. Before they were invented (or people could afford them), people used rug beaters on big rugs hung outside. But I’m not THAT old. We used to just shake them out on the back stoop. I still do that because, today, not all rugs will accept vacuuming, especially fluffy bath mats and rag mats.  To save on having to clean hair that gets wrapped around the "beater bar", I instead use the wand accessory with a small brush to pick up excessive hair, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms.

Shaking out rugs brings back memories of my mom, Queen Aurora, as she shook them out in the fresh air. Today it seems like an old fashioned thing to do but I honestly enjoy breathing some fresh air outside in the midst of a day cleaning inside. The contrast between the two is a pleasant shock to the body. Our bodies are important tools used for cleaning and this physical workout of stooping, stretching and sprawling is good for the body. Your body may require some yoga before or after your cleaning session. That too is good for the body. Hey, it’s the only one you’ve got… and your house needs cleaning on a regular basis.

Now I might shock you. I prefer to use a swiffer on floors, instead of a vacuum cleaner,

whenever possible. This tool is lightweight and you can move from room to room without having to find an electrical outlet. It’s much more relaxing because it is quiet, I have more control, and it works just as fast--if not faster-- than the vacuum. Swiffers get into spaces that most vacuum cleaners cannot reach. Under the bed. Under the coffee table. Between the chair legs. A swiffer tool has disposable swiffer cloths, another great invention. I use both sides of the swiffer cloth and I buy the less expensive, generic brand. So much dirt is invisible to the naked eye. You will be shocked how much dirt a swiffer collects and how often you need to change them in just one or two rooms.

Swiffering a floor is never enough though. Its role is to show you just how dirty a floor is. It

prepares a floor to be washed. I use washable mop heads to clean tile floors, and I own two of them. While one is drying, I always have another available to use at a client's home. Thankfully, modern day mops are no longer heavy and they provide leverage and strength that you may not have in your hands. I prefer to use a mop on shower walls and inside the tub. It takes less elbow grease than doing it all by hand and I can stand up and use my hips for strength. A mop helps with rinsing too. Then poof! The mop head goes right into the laundry.

Got grime or small children? A steam mop sanitizes surfaces it cleans and it uses distilled

water which won’t leave any residue behind. I sometimes use my steam mop instead of a regular mop when I’m just not feeling as energetic. Steam tends to loosen up ground in dirt, especially within textured tiles. It isn't meant to clean grout by itself. That's a future post. My steam mop came with attachments of different shapes including one that funnels heavy steam to kill mold and mildew. It doesn’t remove the stains but it kills the fungi. More on cleaning mildew stains in yet another future post. I use my steam mop mostly on tile and sometimes on my real hardwood (timber) floors.

On my next post I’ll start sharing good old fashioned cleaning products that I use.

• How to steam clean your home
• Floor mopping 101
• The case against jute rugs

Cleaning tools - Beat those germs with simple protection

Thankfully, my cleaning calendar has helped me to relax and not feel rushed. With the right tools, cleaning is more of an enjoyment than something to be endured. I also listen to music which is a wonderful “tool” to accompany the physical workout I get from cleaning. Beyond the physical demands, I do struggle with using disposable cleaning tools while prolific growth of landfills besieges our country. We are still not recycling our waste adequately. But I continue to work on natural solutions for my cleaning routine.  I don’t use paper towels to clean glass or wash counter tops so I help to save the environment. Then I do laundry to clean my work towels, using up precious water as a resource. It’s an environmental dilemma, for sure. If you know of a cost effective biodegradable tool I can use, I am open to suggestions. But I digress. Here are a few of my cleaning tools, beginning with those that protect me from germs.

Gloves are important and necessary to avoid contact with any products you are using, keep your hands dry, and protect you from germs that you could absorb or spread. I sometimes use rubber gloves at home instead of disposables. I try to work quickly before my hands start to sweat; otherwise, I feel compelled to rinse them out and go through the drying process, inside and out. It’s a time sucker but necessary to prevent mold. I live in Florida, headquarters for mold and mildew. When I have no choice but to clean and reverse the gloves, I use a ¼ inch dowel that can reach into the glove fingers and push. When I clean for others, I use disposable, non-latex food prep gloves as they are time savers, less expensive than other disposables, and they fit nicely. I change gloves between bathrooms and, of course, for the kitchen.