Cleaning Made Easy, With a Twist!

This article is sponsored by SC Johnson.

I can’t believe it’s April already! It’s getting warmer here in Northern California, the perfect time for spring cleaning. Not my favorite thing to do, I’ll admit, but I love the results.

Echo Chalet

I’ve had a lot of cleaning experience in my life. Seriously. When I was a kid we had rental units at my parents resort so I learned at an early age how to clean ‘professionally.’ When Marlon’s 3 sons moved in with us, it was more than a little culture shock. Nothing could prepare me for that! But my biggest challenge with cleaning has been my debilitating back injury. The simplest things – sweeping, vacuuming – can lay me up for quite a while. I relied upon my husband for a lot of cleaning tasks. Now that he’s gone, I’m always on the lookout for products & tools that work well and make cleaning easier for me.

I have a couple of cleaning tricks today. The first is to keep a set of Get Well Soon greeting cards handy in a drawer. When unexpected guests pull up, quickly muss your hair and line the cards up on the mantel. If I’m not wearing lipstick I usually forgo the house slippers. Ok, ok, just kidding. (sort of)

I simply divide my house into 7 areas, one for each day of the week, and clean a little each day. Fifteen minutes a day spent cleaning adds up to just under 2 hours for the week. Thirty minutes adds up to 3-1/2 hours for the week.

Disclaimer: if you have children, or one of those husbands, don’t include picking up the house or laundry in your daily cleaning time. Sorry but you’ll have to stash some extra time away for those fun things.

I divvy up my house with similar rooms on the same days so I can use similar cleaning supplies. Or maybe try grouping the rooms that are close together. Try it different ways & see what works best for you.

Just remember, you won’t get every nook & cranny spotless the first week. But by the end of the month your house will probably look better than it has in quite some time. With only 15 minutes a day, by the end of the month you’ll have spent an entire day cleaning.

Of course, I realize that the house just gets dirty by the end of the month too. But wouldn’t you rather spend 15-30 minutes a day instead of one whole day of cleaning? Plus, by doing a little each day, there’s always a part of your house that is clean. Psychologically speaking, this is a little mood booster, you know?

I did this little Divide & Conquer in 15 Minutes when I was single in my 20’s, married with 3 boys in my 30’s, and now with chronic back pain in my 50’s. It’s worked in every case. There’s something about knowing I only have to ‘work’ for 15 minutes that keeps me on track. Something else that helps is having the right tools and supplies handy.

The Smart Twist™ Cleaning System has been a lifesaver for me. I’m not lugging cleaning supplies from here to there. I’m not battling with cleaners whose sprayer stops working the 3rd time I squirt it. And, I literally have three cleaners in one, easy-to-handle, lightweight sprayer. It’s a fast way to clean, and much easier on my back!

The Smart Twist™ Cleaning System is also a smart way to clean. The System uses concentrate cartridges that contain 64% less plastic than a typical spray cleaner so less plastic goes into landfills. No need to buy a new spray bottle every time you run out of cleaner. It also saves space since 3 bottles of cleaning concentrate fit into one sprayer! Smart, very smart.

The Smart Twist™ Cleaning System Starter Kits include three refill cleaner cartridges, the innovative sprayer, and retail for $24.99. There are two selections:

Kitchen/Bath Starter Kit

• Windex® Glass Cleaner
• Scrubbing Bubbles® Bathroom Cleaner
• Fantastik® Kitchen Cleaner

Living Spaces Starter Kit

• Windex® Glass Cleaner

• Pledge® Furniture and Specialty Surfaces Cleaner
• Shout® Carpet Cleaner

Refill cleaner cartridge twin packs are $7.99 each.

SC Johnson is offering free shipping on all Smart Twist™ Cleaning System orders and any purchases $24.99 and above. This offer is valid at the Smart Twist™ website.

Try my 15-30 minutes a day method for a couple of weeks and order the Smart Twist™ Cleaning System. Save yourself some time and space, for both your cabinets and our landfills! Whether you’re a maid for rental units in the mountains, or just feel like one in your own home, see if you can’t make your cleaning a little easier, with a twist.

 

Colleen

about Colleen

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