Spring cleaning: Who has the time?

Officially, it's spring, though it does seem that Mother Nature begs to differ after yesterday's blustery snow squalls.

That means it's time for gleaming windows, fresh scrubbed floors and perfectly organized closets. At least in theory. (To help get you started, I recently shared some of our best cleaning tips, check them out here.)

In reality, it's hard to find the time to give your home an overhaul. It's tricky enough to just keep up on top of the things we have to do - laundry, dishes, general tidying - that working in a deep clean can feel more than a little daunting.

In fact, as I've started to tackle my own spring cleaning, I've become the queen of the unfinished project. Because, of course, one project always hinges on another. For example, I want to re-organize my closet. But that means getting the books that have been hanging out in a box in there out of the way. And to unpack those, I need to hang shelves. So, feeling all kinds of productive, I enlist a friend and start hanging shelves. But I run out of wall anchors. So, for the past three days, "Buy wall anchors" has been written in screaming letters at the top of my to-do list - and more than a week after "starting" the job, my closet is not any cleaner.

(As a bonus, I do have two shelves hung, and they're totally rocking my world.)

Experts say the way to manage these tasks is to make a list - check out Martha Stewart's here (it's a PDF) - and try to tackle just one task at a time. For example, one evening, plan to empty out your medicine cabinet rather than going over the entire bathroom with a fine tooth comb.

So, my first mistake was letting the job snowball. If I was going to tackle a task like closet cleaning, I should have focused on the closet alone, tucking that box away in a corner until the day comes when "Organize books" works its way to the top of my list - somewhere after buying, and hanging, shelves of course.

This way, you make progress in achievable chunks and, hopefully, feel inspired to actually tackle these bite-sized tasks rather than saying "I just don't have time to deep clean my kitchen tonight."

So, tonight's goal: Buy those darn wall anchors. Then revel in a job well done.

Spring cleaners, start your engines

Why not get a head start on your spring cleaning while the cold weather is keeping your trapped inside?

It's cold outside - cozy up indoors

While Snowmageddon may have been "snow-verrated", there's no denying that the temperatures have been less than tropical of late.

(SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO)

And, according to a recent Direct Energy survey, conducted by Polaris Marketing Research, less than one-third of Ontarians felt their households were prepared for extreme weather. (As an aside, I can state that 90 per cent of my wardrobe is not prepared for extreme weather.)

“By implementing a few easy changes, which don’t include wearing a snowsuit indoors, consumers can lower their energy usage now and throughout the year," says Dave Walton, Director of Home Ideas, Direct Energy. "An extreme drop in temperature doesn’t mean your bank balance should drop too due to higher energy bills."

And how are we doing at keeping bills down and staying warm at home? About 85 per cent of Ontarians bundle up during extreme cold, 56 per cent close shades and blinds to minimize heat loss and half close registers, doors and vents in rooms that are not being used.

Here are some ways to keep things comfy and cozy indoors, even when the weather outside is frightful:

1. Bundle up. Guard against chills with an extra sweater or blanket. Throw in a cup of hot chocolate and a favourite movie to make staying in even nicer.

2. Clear it. Max out your heating by keeping vents clear of rugs, drapes and furniture.

3. Use it or lose it. Shut the doors and vents in unused rooms to conserve energy, and dollars. If you have a chimney, conserve heat by closing the flue when the wood-burning fireplace isn't in use.

4. Program it. No one wants to heat an empty house all day, but no one wants to come home to freezing temps either. Install a programmable thermostat and set it to lower your home's temperature when you're away or sleeping - and raise it when you're on your way home.

5. Lock it down. Sealing leaks around doors, windows, letter boxes or keyholes with weather stripping and caulking could save up to $108 per year - and reduce indoor drafts.

6. Stay safe. To help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, keep all venting clear of snow, and install CO detectors in or outside of all bedrooms in your home. If you already have detectors, check their expiry dates (they generally last about five years) and replace if necessary.

(You can get more energy efficiency tips at www.directenergy.com)

Forget making the bed, let's start with washing it!

I must confess, I've been a little preoccupied with the bedroom lately. Whether it's decorating choices, inspirational photos and products or the simple question of whether you should make your bed daily (and, it turns out, more than half of Yourhomers - 58 per cent - do), the boudoir has certainly been on my mind.

Despite all these thoughts of bedroom decor, I never stopped to consider just how clean it is when you're slipping between the sheets.

A recent survey conducted for Sunlight laundry detergent, as part of the launch of their new Deep Clean line, found out that more than a third - 36 per cent - of Canadian women admit to going a month without changing their sheets! As a once a week (and, when I can swing it, changing out the pillowcases midweek!) washer, I can't help but cringe at the thought.

Worse yet is the thought of what's lingering in those sheets. Ninety-five per cent of the survey's respondents said they were confident their laundry was free of sweat and body oils after washing (something I'd certainly always taken for granted as fact!) but Sunlight's lab, using fluorescing agents, found sweat and body oils glowing under UV lights even after they'd been washed with other detergents. Ew. (Of course, the company's new product line is designed to target that gunge that you can't see.) 

If you watch out their commercial (embedded below) you can see the UV test - which looks pretty nasty.

Other fun (if gross) laundry facts:

- Almost half - 46 per cent - of Canadian women have fished clothes out of the dirty laundry basket to wear again

- Over a quarter - 26 per cent - only wash pants, skirts or dresses when they become visibly dirty

- 14 per cent admit to wearing the same socks for several days in a row

- 31 per cent wait to wash their jeans until they're visibly dirty

- One per cent wait until underwear are visibly dirty before they are washed

I suspect that even the queen of half-assed housekeeping would not approve!

Keep your house cool, and your cooling costs down, with these tips

My summer wardrobe, and collection of fans, have been put to the test this week as the temperatures have crept up over 30 degrees (check out our Weather360 blog for all the latest on the heat wave).

While protesting that I just wasn't built for this sweltering heat, I've also been very thankful for any air conditioning I can get! But, of course, all those constantly running cooling units also strain our electrical system, and Monday's blackout, while not actually caused by the heat, was a good reminder that we need to cut back on our consumption to keep the city running smoothly.

To help limit the stress on the grid - and our bank accounts - Direct Energy suggests:

- Raise the thermostat. By using a programmable thermostat, you can raise the temperature a few degrees during the day when you're not at home and at night when the temperatures are cooler - basically, when you won't notice the change. Raising the thermostat by five degrees Celsius could save 10 per cent on your energy bill.

- Cool efficiently. Keep blinds, carpets and furniture free of the vents, so your cooling system can distribute air evenly and efficiently. And be sure to close vents in less used rooms, so you're not wasting money cooling those spaces.

- Block the sun. Close blinds and curtains on the eastern facing side of the house in the morning and western in the afternoon to help keep the sun from making your space even hotter.

- Use fans. Ceiling fans are more energy efficient than turning on the air conditioner to maximize air circulation and move the cooled or fresh air throughout the home. Ceiling fan blades should move the air downwards in the summer and upwards in the winter.

- Use energy efficient appliances. Check the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating on your A/C unit. A 13 SEER rating can deliver as much as 28 per cent more efficiency than that of an older 10 SEER model. 

- Check your windows and weather stripping. You can lose up to 30 per cent of the cooling in your home through poorly fitted windows and doors - and these days, you most certainly want to keep that cold air in! Seal up leaks with caulking and weather stripping. Sealing up just one older window can save five to 10 per cent in cooling costs. 

- Stop the vampire power drain. Electronics - such as TVs, computers and appliances - suck power when they're in standby mode or not in use. Turn them off and pull the plug, or hook them up to a power bar to make it even easier to turn them all off.

And be sure to check out our tips for getting the most out of your portable air conditioner.

The seven deadly sins of garage disorganization

I must confess to being one of those people who likes their spices alphabetized and their mail sorted and filed upon opening. But even I have trouble keeping my garage organized - it's certainly closer to this messy state than the orderly one below!

And apparently I'm not alone in this struggle. According to a recent survey by Gladiator GarageWorks, conducted online as part of the Ipsos Omnibus in February, only seven per cent of Canadians say their garage is truly organized. To put that in perspective, the majority of Canadians in the study - 76 per cent - say they've tried to whip their garages into shape.

That may be due to just how much people hate this task. More than a third - 38 per cent - of Canadians said they would rather pull weeds than tackle their garage, 16 per cent would rather do their taxes and 11 per cent would rather go to the dentist.

But while we may not want to actually do the work, we do know what we'd like to see there: dream garages include "organized oasis" - for 56 per cent of women and 33 per cent of men - a "wicked workshop", 27 per cent of men, and a "gearhead garage", 22 per cent of men.

Here's the "seven deadly sins" of garage disorganization, to help inspire and motivate (or at least entertain) you!

1. Procrastination: Almost one third (29 per cent) of Canadians are garage organizational procrastinators. Ontarians (35 per cent) and Atlantic Canadians (31 per cent) are the most likely to put off the chore, while 47 per cent of Ontarians and 56 per cent of Atlantic Canadians say they don't have the time to clean. 

2. Frustration: Almost a quarter - 25 per cent - of Canadians get annoyed and frustrated when they can't find things in their garage.

3. Abandonment: More than 20 per cent of Canadians say they use their garage as a dumping ground for unwanted items.

4. Envy: Seventeen per cent of Canadians admit to being envious of their neighbour's garage.

5. Hoarding: Seventeen per cent of Canadian males fess up to keeping so much stuff in their garage that there isn't even room for their car.

6. Despair: One in 10 Canadians have given up on having the garage of their dreams, with 35 per cent of Ontarians saying it would take more than a weekend to get theirs organized.

7. Stink: Only two per cent of Canadians admitted to finding an unidentifiable foul odour in their garage at some point (we can link ours to the garbage strike!).

Get more seasonal inspiration in our spring cleaning guide.

Poll results: Home Renovation Tax Credit

A whopping three-quarters of Yourhomers took advantage of the Home Renovation Tax Credit before it expired on Feb. 1. The remaining 25 per cent said they didn't jump on renovation projects before the deadline - but many of these voters may be renters who, sadly, didn't qualify for the credit.

Now, the new race is on to complete major projects before July 1, when the HST kicks in. Read the full story.

This week's poll is a little bit more fun - I want to know who you'd bet on in an arm-wrestling match between TV personalities Ty Pennington and Mike Holmes!

Pennington says he thinks he'd win because he's got a lot of strength in his tendons - read the full story, then Cast your vote in the front-page poll.

And, if you need some non-Olympics related reading (though, please do check out the amazing Podium blog), here are a few highlights for this long weekend:

- A romance story with a real estate twist

- Colin and Justin do a budget kitchen makeover

- Glen Peloso shares his eco-decorating tips

- Learn about the Dream Home - and how its modular make-up could spur a new way of constructing homes

What's your cleaning routine?

One of the biggest shocks in my move from a four-room apartment (including the kitchen) to a three bedroom semi, other than actually having all that space and the time to unpack, is the sheer quantity of cleaning required to keep it looking all sparkly and organized.

Now, of course, we already know that cleaning is sexy. And, January was Get Organized month (check out our tips for purging, whipping your closet into shape in 10 minutes, busting clutter, getting organized, and how to overcome common clutter issues), so many of us at least sought to tackle that common resolution.

But now that we're into February, the real challenge is keeping it up.

After a few too many pre-brunch cleaning frenzies, I resolved to be a better housekeeper in 2010.

It turns out the only way I can keep up is to break up all those tasks into chunks and stick to a schedule: tidy on Monday, dust Tuesday, tackle the floors on Wednesday and Thursday, and do the kitchen and bathroom Friday or Saturday morning (unless I find time earlier in the week). And, on a daily basis, keep up with the dishes, make the bed, and other routine tasks.

The good news is that now I'm always a few minutes away from being able to entertain guests, and I no longer am faced with those daunting, hours-long cleaning marathons on weekends. I'm even multi-tasking, like dusting and sweeping while on the phone, which means I'm actually working my way through my seemingly never-ending to-do list.

The bad news: It's week three, and I'm already bored with my routine. I know that by cranking the tunes and doing these chores regularly, it actually does cut down on the amount of time I need to spend cleaning each week. But staying motivated is another trick entirely!

So, I'm asking you to please share your cleaning routines and tips to help me keep my resolution!

And, for a little inspiration - and reassurance that you're really not doing so bad - check out our tips from How Clean is Your House.

Making over the bathroom (finally)

My bathroom has been bugging me for a while. The baby blue is just so not my style, and the misaligned, peeling flooring leaves a lot to be desired. Plus it's very, very small. But, overall, it was functional, so I tried to ignore it for as long as possible.

The nail in the coffin came during our knob and tube rewiring, when we had to patch the wall. I figured if I was going to need to re-paint anyway, it might as well be a shade I liked. 

And so, last weekend, with only a day left for those Home Renovation Tax Credit purchases, I picked up some paint - with the delightful name of "Anonymous" - and new flooring.

After an hour of scrubbing, pulling down the icky medicine cabinet over the toilet, taping and other painting prep, I was totally ready for the first (and mercifully, what turned out to be the only!) coat of my paint and primer combo.

Then, it was time for a fresh coat of white for the wainscotting and trim - I had no idea how discoloured it was until I started with the paint brush!

Finally, for less than $100 in paint and about nine hours of painting, I had a fresh, clean looking bathroom!

Still to come is my new flooring, installing a towel bar and some shelving to replace the old medicine cabinet and finding a new, snazzier light fixture for above the sink, as well as a new shower curtain.

But, even with at least another weekend's worth of work to do, I'm thrilled with the results. It feels more sophisticated, more complete (painting the radiator to match the wainscotting made a big difference) and more like my own space!

Reader question: Can you tile over an existing floor?

Q: I would like to change the tile floor in my kitchen, and extend the tiled area to a hallway. I was advised that it is possible to "tile over tile" in the kitchen, and to build up the floor under the new area to be tiled. Is this a good idea?

- Louise

A: I checked with my friends at Lakeshore Home Maintenance (you can follow them on Twitter, too), and they say this isn't an easy yes or no situation.

It can be done, but not in every instance. An existing tile floor can be tiled over so long as it's stable.

How do you know if it's stable? Any signs of cracking tiles or broken grout means it's a no go. If you tile over an unstable floor, you'll end up having the same issues again with your new tiles.

If you're looking to tile over other flooring types, it too needs to be in good condition. Squeaks in the floor are a sign it needs to be stabilized before tiling.

And, if you are considering tiling over existing flooring, it's important to remember that you're adding upwards of half an inch to that floor - creating a step up into the kitchen, or the need to build up the adjoining floors.

In this case, building up the hall floor so it's level to the kitchen would mean a "step down" to rooms off the hallway, as their unchanged floors would be at least half-an-inch lower.

Hope that helps!