If only it could stay like this...

I have written on this topic before – in fact I have been on the TV demonstrating how you can salvage your fridge after a flood – but let’s hope you don’t have to go that far!

Unclutterer.com recently wrote a post which I thought was very timely – cleaning out your fridge so there is plenty of room to pop in a turkey or ham or two!  Here are some fab tips:

• Gather supplies. Two large trash bags nested one inside the other (food is heavy and a broken bag makes a huge mess) is a must. You’ll also want a bucket with fresh, warm (not hot) water and mild dish detergent with a sponge. Also, a roll of paper towels or a few clean hand towels are good to have with you to dry the shelves when you’re finished wiping them down, especially for the freezer. Finally, I recommend having a notepad and pen handy so you can create a shopping list as you work.

• Purge all food past its prime. Working from top to bottom, clear out all food from your refrigerator that is expired, rotten, and not good for eating. If you don’t know if something is edible, checkStillTasty.com. If a food is in a jar or bottle and you can’t find its expiration date, visit the company’s website. Many websites have sections where you can enter the item’s bar code and learn its shelf life information.

• Wipe it down. Give all the walls and shelves of your refrigerator a firm but gentle scrubbing. Clean up all spills, leaks, and general yuckiness that can dirty up the inside of your refrigerator.

• Organise. In addition to putting like items with like items (making it easier to retrieve foods, as well as remembering what items you have), consider employing some advanced organising techniques. Add stackable, removable shelves or under shelf baskets to better separate items. Use shelf liners to make it easier to clean up future messes and to keep round foods from rolling. If your crisper is where foods go to mold, try removing your drawers so you won’t forget about your produce (if you’re a visual processor, this may really help you). Also, learn what the recommended cooling temperatures for your food are so you know where the best place is inside your refrigerator to store each item.

To read the entire article click here: http://unclutterer.com/2011/11/14/clean-and-organize-your-refrigerator/

The things we do for the media!

I was recently featured in an article titled: “Muck and money: meet the gunge-busters” in the Sydney Morning Herald.com.au that outlined a particularly challenging job I did in the name of fame: appearing on Australia’s Today Show. I thought I would share it with you:

The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 1 july 2011 by David Wilson.

Where there’s muck, there’s money, apparently. So, instead of fixating on founding the new Scoopon or Spreets, ponder the market for people willing to get their hands dirty: people dealing with dirt, bugs and poo – dry-heave heroes often told “You couldn’t pay me to do that”.

Brisbane-based domestic organiser Kerri Rodley tackles the works: dirt, spiders and faeces. Before launching on June 30, 2009, Rodley was a marketing manager. The best part of “decluttering” is the relief of clients, she says.

Decluttering takes a huge weight off their shoulders and makes them love their home again, she says. The biggest headache is tackling “really grotty jobs”, the queen of clean says, citing spiders and pet droppings.

During one grotty assignment for the Today show she cleaned a fridge soaked in the Queensland floods, taking out all removable parts and mopping every surface and crevice with antibacterial detergent.

The “particularly rotten number from Bellbowrie” had been left stocked-up by the road for two weeks.

“The stench was so bad that myself and the crew were dry-retching right before we went to air…never again!” Rodley says.

Her messy work brings her far less money than marketing she admits. But she describes helping others make their homes into “organised stylish sanctuaries” as “a passion” and adds that the big bucks will come.

Some organisers sickened by dirty, draining hands-on work, earn six figures as trainers, speakers and authors, she says. Her tip: be compassionate and empathetic – listen and gain the clients’ trust.

Read the entire article here: Muck and Money: Meet the Gunge Busters 

Ahh, domestic bliss!

I have many couples that call me after they have just moved in together and are trying to work out their organising styles – or lack thereof!

It can be a stressful time as it is without having the added burden of fighting over who does what, or who is tidier than who. These are topics that need to be sorted (pardon the pun) before your get your new keys, so grab a pen and paper and sit down with your significant other to nut out the details.

Unclutterer.com had a similar question for a newly wedded couple with the following advice:

• What is your vision of your place together and how you will live in that home? Will your home be a place to entertain your friends and family, and how often? Will your home be a place to relax and rejuvenate after a day of school or work? How do you want things to look and what do you expect out of the space?
• What will the both of you be responsible for every day? Do you expect dirty clothes to be put into the hamper? Do you want all dirty dishes to be loaded into the dishwasher or will it be okay to have them sit in the sink? How long can a project mess be left out on a table or in a room? How will these responsibilities be met and when?
• What chores will each person will be responsible for in the home? Will you take out the garbage or will he? Will you change the kitty litter box or will he? Who will cook, clean up afterward, scrub the tub and toilet, vacuum the carpet, dust? How will these responsibilities be met and when? Divvy these chores up now to ensure that one of you won’t be carrying the full load.
• Plan for handling frustrations in the future. There will be times when one of you will be more messy than normal and this will bother the other person. How will you handle conversations about these frustrations so you don’t hurt each others’ feelings, show respect for each other, and help you find the best solution?
• Review policies. How often will you review your daily and chore responsibilities? How often will you unclutter your closets, garage and other storage spaces? Will you take on spring cleaning? If you hire someone to clean, how often will you review their services and decide if you should keep them or hire someone new?

To read more go to: http://unclutterer.com/2011/03/18/ask-unclutterer-conversation-topics-to-discuss-before-moving-in-with-someone/

Minus the food, it could be a keeper

This morning I had the honour of appearing on The Today Show, speaking on a very unpleasant topic: trying to recover and repair flood damaged furniture. Many homes and offices around Queensland are now facing this very dilemma – do I throw it out or can it be salvaged?

I demonstrated cleaning and safety techniques on a particularly funky fridge – and I don’t mean it was cute or trendy. It was probably one of the most unpleasant tasks I have ever had to do – and I had to do it on live morning television!

Here are some tips I recommended on the show if you are thinking of reclaiming your refrigerator from being thrown out onto the street.

1. Do not attempt to turn on the fridge unless thoroughly inspected by an electrician or fridge mechanic first. They will check all wiring, compressors and gas levels.
2. Look after your health – make sure you are kitted up with gloves, long sleeve clothes, face masks, covered shoes and even goggles – bacteria can get you from many angles!
3. Have plenty of garbage bags ready for any food that was left in the fridge – you will want it disposed of very quickly and effectively as the stench is very nasty.
4. Exterior: Wash the mud off the outside of the refrigerator, paying particular attention to the seals around the door (use a toothbrush) with warm, soapy water; rinse and wipe dry.
5. Scuffs and stains can be removed by rubbing with non-abrasive tooth-paste, grease spills will come off with a little lemon juice and water.
6. Interior: Remove all removable parts and wash these in hot soapy water (dishwashing detergent is fine but make sure antibacterial for germs in the mud).
7. Rinse in warm water and let dry (air drying is best).
8. Using a soft sponge, wipe down all surfaces with a sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar (this helps with smell). Or use commercial cleaning product recommended for food storage use.
9. Again, pay particular attention to door seals, the door racks and other compartments where bacteria could be hiding.
10. Rinse with a sponge or dishcloth and clean warm water.
11. Dry all surfaces with a clean towel or cloth.
12. Use vanilla essence on a soft cloth to wipe out fridge when dry to help with odours and store an open packet of bicarbonate soda for continued odour control.
13. Fill up the fridge once again with fresh tasty food!

Mud may be good for the feet but...

When I was out and about yesterday delivering food to those hit by the floods and the volunteers who were helping them, the thing that hit me most was not only the smell, but the sludge that was covering every square inch of ground.

Once we have our houses back into a liveable condition and have possessions moved back in (those that survived) the next step is to try to get the yards back into shape.

The following article was in the Brisbane Courier Mail last week and it has some fantastic tips for getting sodden and mud covered lawns and gardens back on the mend. Just being back out in the garden and seeing the mud disappear will be great therapy for many.

The garden might be waterlogged but there are still things you can do around the yard in this weather, says Courier-Mail gardening columnist Colin Campbell.

“It’s a good idea to keep off the ground (when possible) when it’s really wet, because just walking on it can affect the soil structure,” he said.

“An exception is to mow the lawn if it dries out sufficiently. You don’t want the grass to get too long because that encourages weeds. With the ground so soft, spending an hour pulling out weeds will be time well spent. There is not point trying to poison them. The other problems with the ground being so wet is that you don’t need much wind to blow over trees because their root systems don’t have a lot to hold on to.

“This rain has undoubtedly helped increase the number of worms in the soil. But there are also going to be a lot more lawn grubs around.”

Helpful tips:

Boil some rice and sprinkle it across your lawn. It will encourage the birds to come down to eat the lawn grubs.

Feed your garden plants with a sprinkling of animal manure, blood and bone or some other organic fertiliser. More rain will dissolved this fertiliser into the soil.

Prune vegetation that is obstructing pathways.

Note the really wet areas of your property and plan gravel beds, agricultural pipes and other drainage strategies for later.

With pavers becoming slimy and dangerous after so much moisture, cleaning guru Shannon Lush as a good tip for cleaning away algae.

“Get some copper sulphate crystals from your pool shop and put two tablespoons into a bucket of water. Sweep this solution over the moss, algae-blackened areas and within 24 hours they will be gone,” she said.

A few of the essentials...

The Queen of Clean in Australia, Shannon Lush, has heaps of tips for recovering flood damaged items and cleaning after flood inundation. ABC Brisbane has a great post on helping you to save some things you may have thought were lost.

Cleaning walls

Use a wet broom first – a dry broom will scratch your walls.

Don’t use bleach for cleaning – Shannon suggests using a teaspoon of Lavender Oil and a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid per litre of water in a spray bottle and mist over the muddy wall.

Use a soft kitchen broom and wrap the broom head in pantyhose to clean after you’ve applied the mist.

For mouldy walls – Use 1/4 teaspoon of Oil of Cloves per one litre of water in a spray bottle (no stronger).

Mist it over the mouldy areas or anything that smells mouldy or musty.

Muddy and wet carpets

*NB* Clean your walls first

Carpets do not necessarily need to be thrown out.

Get as much mud off them using plenty of water and dry them out as much as possible.

Then use a carpet steam cleaner you can hire from the supermarket.

Firstly run the machine over the carpet with nothing in it to suck up excess mud and moisture.

The run it over again using Shannon’s solution which is half the manufacturer’s cleaner plus 2 tablespoons of each of the following – bi-carb of soda, white vinegar, methylated spirits and 2 teaspoons of each of the following glycerine and eucalyptus oil.

Then run it over again with nothing in the machine.

Read more tips on cleaning mould, documents, books & photos, and computer: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/01/15/3113625.htm?site=brisbane

Tomorrow: Getting the garden back into shape.