We love getting together with friends and family. But for many of us the housekeeping chores that accompany the entertaining can be physically exhausting and painful, leaving us bedraggled before we have a chance to enjoy the company we are cleaning for.

The staff at Dynamic-Living.com has been gathering some ideas and tools that will help you maintain your home, using less time and personal energy.

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Consider a different approach to cleaning: You don't have to do it all at once.

• For regular household maintenance, maybe do one room a day or one wash load a day. Dust one day, vacuum the next. Over the course of two weeks you should be able to cover every room, some more than once and allow for a day of rest before beginning again. If you must skip a day, don't double up the task, just begin where you left off.

• If you have a big task to complete, like cleaning out a storage area that has become unwieldy, tackle small pieces at a time. For example, remove two items for disposal each time you go into the area. Make it a game and you will see the improvement in no time at all.

• Plan time for resting. Start the effort and stop to rest before you are too tired and achy to continue. It is easier to handle physical exertion if you alternate physical tasks with quieter activity, like doing bills or answering emails.

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Consider different tools: Picking things up from the floor and stretching to reach into corners are made easier by using cleaning tools with longer handles.

• Try a broom and 'theater style' dustpan to pick up spills rather than the shorter handled brush and pan.

• Use a sponge on a stick, a common tool for bathing, to reach into shower or bathtub corners.

• Extension handle mops for ceilings and squeegees with telescoping handles for windows let you reach higher with much less effort.

• Instead of bending over, use a reacher to pick up socks and other debris from the floor, under the bed, behind the chair.

Trade in your old vacuum for a newer, lighter version.

• The new vacuums are made from plastic rather than metals and are much lighter. They can be half the weight of the older models and much easier to push or pull.

• For an even lighter alternative, keep a rechargeable hand vacuum or stick broom around to handle smaller areas or stairs.

• There's a hands-free alternative for vacuuming. We tested the Roomba, a small robotic vacuum that will wander around a room all by itself collecting dust bunnies and dirt. While terrific for maintenance, we found it still required a substantial amount of human intervention when it came to electric cords and carpet fringes.

A relatively new area of cleaning tools includes the disposables. You can save considerable time and effort using dusters with static cling sheets, mops with attached spray bottles and disposable sheets, and pre-moistened cleaning sheets for cleaning kitchen counters and bathrooms. We found that these tools saved lots of time and let us say goodbye to heavy pails of water that had to be filled, lifted, lugged and emptied.

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Consider different methods:

• Keep the cleaning tools handy. Have your cleaning materials in each bathroom or on every floor so you don't have to collect them together when you are ready to clean. It may be a little more expensive initially, but you aren't using more products just because you have duplicates.

• Rather than carrying them, store your small cleaning aids in an apron, keeping the weight distributed and your hands free. You can also use a small portable shopping cart to store the cleaning tools and move them from room to room.

• Can you do the task from a seated position? For example, you can vacuum while sitting on a Rollator or sit on the bed to sort and fold clean laundry. You can dust or organize a nightstand while seated too.

• While this may seem odd when you're about to do the physical activity of cleaning, don't forget to take a few moments to stretch and warm up your muscles before you begin. This brief activity will reward you with more energy for the task and less pain when you are done.

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Consider ways to make your home more manageable:

• If you reduce the overall clutter in your home, there will be less dusting, less stuff to move and fewer safety hazards. It may be time to reconsider whether you really want to be saving so many possessions. Give away some mementos to family members, box up some of your collectibles for a yard sale or donate unneeded furnishings to charitable organizations.

• Can the task be delegated? If you share the home with others, perhaps they can assume some of the responsibilities. The task may not be done exactly as you would do it, but if it leaves you with more energy for something pleasurable, it is worth it.

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If you can use some of these new tools and think about different ways to approach the tasks you've done the same way for years, you won't have to exhaust yourself getting ready for company. Remember that visitors are there to see you, not a perfectly clean home!

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© Copyright 2004 Dynamic Living, Inc.
Dynamic Living Newsletter may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission from the editor must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this newsletter.

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