Some Cleaning Tips for your Apartment
Posted on April 9, 2007
Filed Under Apartment Living | 18 Comments
Every now and then I pick up some great tips and ideas to help give my place that clean, gleaming feel with as little stress as possible. Cleaning and keeping your apartment in tip-top guest shape can be an overwhelming thought when you are limited for time. Then, sometimes, no matter how hard you clean and try to keep your place in shape, it just gets out of shape again…
Here are a couple of tips to help you keep your place suited for visitors and keep them from going “Ewww.”
Sparkling Mirrors - I used to get so frustrated that every time I cleaned my mirror, it always ended up spotty. Turns out I was doing a major thing wrong. I was spraying the mirror directly with Windex rather than on a clean lint-free cloth. To get sparkling results in your mirror cleaning spray commercial window cleaner on a lintless cloth like an old T-shirt and wipe down the mirror. Dry immediately with another clean lintless cloth to prevent streaking. Do this once every couple of weeks and you’ll be sure to impress when your guests are glancing back at themselves.
Handle the Wobblemeister- Have a wobbly chair or table? Don’t pull the restaurant fix and shove a folded napkin or sugar packets underneath. A much better solution is to re-use old corks. Just take an old wine cork, cut a horizontal slice, and place it underneath the leg of the chair or table that is doing the wobble-wobble.
Fresh Flowers- Don’t receive flowers as often as you’d like? Let your man know he needs to pick up his game and then try extending the life of the ones you do get. A common solution for this is to make sure and cut the stem of the flower at an angle rather than straight across , but for even better results and a longer lasting flower, add a little bit of sugar and a small amount of an acidic ingredient like Sprite, which allows for better water absorption. But…you should still get on your man about stepping up his game…
I hope you take these tips and are able to use them in ways you’ve never used tips before. You better not start calling me “Martha!”
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1st APT!! Please share cheap tricks to frugal apartment living?Hey I'm moving to my first apartment and I dont have a large budget. Dont have a job yet and especially dont wanna financially flop in from of my mom.
So please share all your frugal living tips from cheap foods to decorations, cleaning products, and etc.
Thanks!
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For more tips on apartment living, check out ApartmentHomeLiving.com.
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18 Responses to “Some Cleaning Tips for your Apartment”
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NEW YUCK CITY!
It’s funny we don’t think much about it, Chicago is actually the 4th wealthiest city in the world, after:
1. Tokyo (nobody talks about it, because the Japanese are lame bitches… lol;
2. New York (among the only 2 cities worldwide with a GDP surpassing 1,1 trillion dollars, not so distant from Tokyo numberwise);
3. Los Angeles;
4. Chicago.
That’s nice
I remember the first time I went to O’Hare. I had just lost my Brazilian passport (in New York, early 2003), and had a military ID (issued in Rio de Janeiro), and the guy who was checking IDs asked if I had a passport. I was freaking out… Lol. Then his supervisor said it was OK for me to travel with my military ID. Ironically, I just lost my passport again… last night. I don’t remember putting my cell phone number on it, thus I don’t think I’ll recover it, sadly ;-(
Depending on the size of your rooms, your pace and how many hours "one day" is to you, there is nothing you cannot accomplish. Start at one end of the house, if two floors- top and back, and work your way down and forward. Use three different colored trash bags for easy identification and use one color for trash, one for donations and one for stuff that needs to be kept but cleaned. Begin by quickly purging through the stuff cluttering the room and don't linger over which bag to place it in- go with your first gut instinct! You tend to get rid of more when you are focused on purging. Once you pick up, use a cleaner like "Simple Green HD" availbable at Home Depot, et al and spray from walls on down and in, wiping everything in the room- furniture, contents, etc. until you finish with the floors. Do this for each room, working in the order above. Take the "keeper" bags, remove each item, clean and put away. At the end of the day, or first thing the next, take donations to the nearest location- Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. Do not relook through them! Try doing one load of laundry per day, or doing it in bulk. Best of luck and feel free to write back for more detailed questions!
Washing machine is easy:
Just run it at the hottest possible temperature with detergent. There are also some specialist appliance cleansers at least for dishwashers but possibly also for washing machines.
For bathroom and kitchen counters (if they are white), I recommend something with bleach. I really like cif cream with bleach– and domestos is pretty good too.
For bathroom and kitchen drawers and shelves, you can get some lining. Either waxpaper (best if it has plastic coating on top) or plastic. At Ikea, you can get this great plastic roll for shelves and drawers that has little bumps on it, to help prevent slip.
Don't get antibacterial detergents (as they backfire) and go for good old bleach or alcohol.
After first proper clean, you should start using more environmentally friendly products.
I always wash absolutely everything from behind radiators etc. It's just very weird having someone else's dirt– you're own dirt is much easier to deal with.
3. Los Angeles: 639 billion dollars;
4. Chicago: 460 billion dollars.
According with whatever data info, I found it on Wikipedia, Chicago and Paris have the same GDP. I’m sure it can’t be the same exact number, so Paris comes out as 5th largest economy among cities worldwide.
i think we’re actually wealthier than LA right now cause LA’s unemployment rate is higher than Chicago’s & they dont have federal reserves & futures stock exchanges like we do. hollywood can only do so much for LA but right now not enough.
ha ha im betting u probably aint got no job or may be got one & not makin shit & still gotta live with mommy & daddy in NY. lol!
you could try scrubbing oxyclean or bleach, with a wire brush and if there is paint or oil stains or anything like that you could use some gas or turpentine.
What you consider "normal wear and tear" may not be considered NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR by your landlord or the state you live in. Every state is different. By the sounds of it, its kind of groady. I would start by cleaning thoroughly, like your Grandma was going to come and live there after you! Clean out the cupboards, the counter tops, stove, oven, sinks and fridge thoroughly. If the carpet is stinky and stained that is NOT normal, have it cleaned, and if its a small area, I would consider replacing it with something similar, much less expensive than the carpet and padding and installation your landlord will RIGHTFULLY be able to charge you for. While carpet doesn't last forever, 14 months is short of what I used at a standard in my rental which was 5 years. No court ever refuse me on that one! And one judge thought that was generous after I pointed out that the manufacture had a 20 year warranty (couldn't use it for commercial purposes) on the carpet that I was precluded from using, as I was paid rent and therefore a commercial enterprise. Floors need to be swept, mopped, and vacuumed, bathrooms cleaned of your skin, soap scum and deposits. Bedrooms should be broom clean and all walls should be patched where pictures were hung, some simple white tooth paste (not the gels!) and if they are showing filth, I would consider wiping them down with a simple cleaning solution of a degreaser and baking soda. Remove all belongings, garbage and so on. Taking pictures of it cleaned, inside of fridge, oven and cupboards with all the doors open and each room is worth doing as a safety measure. Make arrangements to meet with the landlord to return the keys, preferably at the apartment, where both of you can do a walk through and note any discrepancies and put them on a piece of paper that both can sign stating this was cleaned or this wasn't. Talking to your landlord like he is going to KEEP your deposit and threatening to sue BEFORE you are entitled to your deposit back (in most states a landlord has 30 days to return it to you) is just asking to have a problem. I have had tenants that made arrangements with me prior to leaving, having carpets cleaned, having me meet them at the property and asking IN ADVANCE for a refund of their deposit, as they were leaving the state and needed ir for the next place or utility deposits and I accommodated them, with notice. But anyone who approached me like one poster suggested, would have gotten my lawyers direct line and told to contact him concerning their deposit, and I would not have mailed it one day before my 30 days were up! Leaving a mess and filth behind and expecting to get your deposit back is greedy and foolish. I have had renters who, like your brother, spilled something, had the carpet cleaned, but a no go on the kool aid and we made arrangements to have the carpet replaced at a reasonable cost (I know all the places to go and I know what I had in there and I know I don't want some piece of crap substituted for my good carpet, but I am reasonable too. One tenant had a carpet guy come in, his kid had spilled orange soda and covered it with a pizza box for 3 days and the carpet guy charged him $60. Turns out, it was the same guy I had used in the past and when I contacted him about the stain he agreed to refund the $60 to the guy and I got another guy I knew who had just finished a big job and had some very nice carpet that would cover this little area come in and do it for $100, so in essence, it was only an additional $40 and we solved the problem. But had he jerked me around, and been stupid and took me for a fool, I wouldn't have called the carpet guy and I wouldn't have pressed my friend to give me carpet worth 6x the price the price of the cost, just for the carpet. So it pays to be honest and be thorough. Most landlords are honest and are not interested in keeping deposits from good tenants, but yes, I have run into a few who look to take advantage. Do your best to clean it nicely and be proactive, invite him over to look on your last day and ask nicely when you can expect your deposit back, and if you think you have truely done a good job, ask in advance would he consider giving you your deposit after inspecting the unit instead of making you wait. If he says no, deal with it, don't get stupid. If after the time has passed for getting your deposit back, if it still has not been sent, in my state you had to send a list of items that were charged back to the tenant and a check for the difference, if there was one within that 30 days. I usually did mine right at the 2 week mark, as thats when any painting, cleaning and work would have likely to been completed. If it was simple wear and tear, fine, they got their deposit back. But if they claimed clean carpet that was really piss soaked carpet, they got a bill for the replacement carpet and padding, if they claimed clean fridge and it was filled with maggots, I took pictures and had a cleaning crew come in and de-maggot the fridge and I would send a copy of that bill (I wasn't obligated to produce the bill, but did it as a courtesy and to keep the animosity down. I have to say, most tenants left their units clean and in order, some even better than that. I NEVER EVER kept any of their deposits, as I think they were most certainly entitled to them. If I had a good tenant, who paid on time and was reasonable, if something was little not right, I would just eat it, within reason, and return their deposit. But idiots, filth mongers and morons who thought I should pay them for leaving stinking, rotting bags of garbage, feces dried on toilets, and maggot infested fridges, did not endear themselves to me. Hope this helps you! Good luck!
Lol…
I used Wikipedia as data source for the GDP comparison between LA and Chicago. LA has a 179 billion dollars higher GDP than Chicago. It may change within a year, but not so likely. I used to travel to Chicago a lot, for business, pleasure and… well… I was in and out of love with someone there… lol… 7 years ago. I thought it was yesterday… lol.
What do you do in Chicago? What kind of work? Involved with performing arts somehow?
Clean it and take pictures before you move out
CHI-TOWN sure sounds better than the BIG ROTTEN APPLE.
My cleaning staples include, but not limited to:
Best of luck on your new life here! 
- Clorox clean up spray (for kitchen counters, stove, bathroom counters, and around toilet)
- Gallon of bleach (always handy for things like laundry, general cleaning)
- Lysol spray (doorknobs, kids toys, everything I can't bleach!)
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (crayon marks, scuff marks on floors, wax build up on floors, refrigerator, tub, outdoor plastic furniture, etc.)
- Pledge (everyday dusting wood)
- Murphy's Oil Soap (mixes with water for heavy wood cleaning like floors and staircase)
- Windex and cotton knit towl (glass, windows, doors, mirrors)
- Sno-bowl (toilet bowl)
These are my everyday cleaners. I have more that I use occasionally. I first go through with a garbage bag and pick up any wrappers and trash left around. I then take all the dishes to the sink and put any clothes laying around away. I load my dishwasher and wipe down kitchen counters and sweep up the floor. Then I move on to the bathroom and clean everything. Next I do my wood (tables, shelves, etc.)and wipe them all down. Next is the glass cleaner, then I vaccum and mop all my floors. I mop my hardwood floors with Murphy's oil soap and water mixture. I mop my kitchen and bath with a mixture of hot water, dish soap and bleach. That's pretty much it for daily clean.
Some people do one room at a time. I usually start with the trash and dishes from every room, then I do my kitchen, but after that I am all over. I go by cleaners, not rooms. If I have the pledge out, I go to every room and do all the wood. Then I use the windex and go to every room with mirrors and glass, etc. I spend maybe 1 hour a day with this routine, doing laundry after everything is clean, and it works for me. I'm 34 and within the last few years got my routine down, lol! Try different ways and find what's best for you!
That's a great idea! I would first have a talk with your apartment manager and find out what is expected to be cleaned for a full refund of deposit. This will give you an idea of what you should charge. Do some 'test' cleaning to figure out how long it takes you to do what the manager has told you. That will give you a general idea for pricing. Usually this type of cleaning is calculated in the $25-$40 per hour range, though you'll need to charge a flat fee-that is paid, at least, upfront so you don't get stiffed.
I would get a small amount of liability insurance-it will protect you against claims of damage or theft. Call a lot of insurance agencies and get quotes-the price varies. And, I would get a contract you can use for the renters. I have tons more tips and resources for you on my Squidoo lens-the link is in my profile!
Hopefully you have cleaned the place while living there. Just use those cleaning supplies.