smartcleaning

little and often for the win!

I once had a girlfriend who nagged me to get rid of my 'builders radio' from the kitchen. If not quite as bad as the one on the left it was certainly a bit paint-splattered and a bit grotty. It worked perfectly so why would I get rid of it? Because was apparently out-of-place in the otherwise immaculate countertop. So what I did instead is employ the technique of little and often. Every time I was in the kitchen from then on, waiting for the kettle to boil or the toast to pop, I would give it a bit of a wipe. It wasn't as easy in those days before wetwipes were commonplace but I used kitchen towels and fingernails and rubbing to slowly but surely get rid of all the paintsplatters and marks and to polish the chrome bits. After a while the gf noticed. "What did you do? She exclaimed. "How did you get it like that? It looks brand new..." etc. She hadn't seen me cleaning the radio, nor had it radically changed overnight but one day the transformation hit her.

I have the same approach with cleaning my car. I have a mini car hoover in th back which attaches to the cigarette lighter and whenever I'm waiting for someone or want some time outside I'll take it out and vacuum the front foot wells and centre console. This way the car never gets too dirty and always remains presentable. Also this regular cleaning prevents dirt getting deep into the carpet fibres. I have wetwipes in the car as well of course for keeping the hard surfaces spic and span. Both mini-vac and cleaining with wetwipes takes a few seconds or minutes. These are good habits to get into, they are easy and take little or no willpower. Similarly I will sometimes fill a spare washing-up bowl with some hot water and a capful of carwash and go and sponge the vehicle down. Again this isn't a full wash wax and polish but enough to keep it presentable and goes with my always ready philosophy