Unless you have a fleet of housekeepers like Joan Crawford, even the most well-kept homes have areas where filth inevitably accumulates. Doors are often overlooked. While germaphobes have made wiping the door knob de rigueur, the door itself retains its unsightly grime. The best part of cleaning your door is that it is super easy. For most doors, a good wipe down with a surface-appropriate cleaner produces gleaming like-new results. You’ll be surprised how much funk you dislodge during this oddly gratifying tidy moment. 
there’s a ring around it
there’s a layer of dust on it
there’s a pube
there are water spots
it hasn’t been washed between visitors
it’s smelly in the pits
it’s growing slime
After some healthy snowfall, I stayed in today and spent several hours organizing. As much as staring at a heap of clutter induces anxiety, cleaning up the mess feels equally, if not more, stress relieving.
Today I focused on the office. To the extent I can, I try and go paperless, for the trees and to reduce the management of physical paperwork. However, one cannot transact all biz electronically. Set up a home filing system so you have a place to put the records that must be kept. 
Deal with paper as it comes in by sorting it into categories for recycling, shredding, requiring action, and filing. Invest in a filing cabinet. Document storage furniture can be pricey new, but there are always an abundance of options on craigslist and 2nd hand stores that are more economical. If you do want to spring for a new one, these from CB2 are pretty enjoyable.
I can’t hear the word “swab” without immediately thinking of Patty Chase instructing Angela on how to extract her zit. “Just the word, swab.” God I love that show, but this is not another MSCL post. Nope, today I extol the virtues of the alcohol swab. 
So simple: a small alcohol saturated pad that cleans the tiniest grimiest places without leaving a residue. Some of you immediately recoil because the sight of a swab packet sends you straight to vaccination land. Relax, nobody is going to give you a tetanus booster okay? Though your ass probably needs one. 
I’m talking absterge the cell, sterilize the remote, polish the Kindle. These little squares are marvelous for de-gunking your favorite electronics. Your laptop keyboard is crying for a cleaning. For some of you, every time you pull out the air duster you end up on a Demi Moore Detour. I’ve been to that party. 
These handy, inexpensive little packets of joy are great for travel too. Sanitize the remote in your hotel room. Get the wax out of your ears. Alcohol swabs make refreshing ear cleaners. Use them to disinfect your manicure tools, eye lash curler, and tweezers. Really, the applications are endless. Throw a few in your bag and wonder how you ever survived in this filthy world without them. 
Last week when my friend Lisa came over to go through my giveaways she commented that my cast-offs where always “especially soft.”
I do enjoy extra soft textiles, and I achieve the broken-in feel with a double helping of softener. 
Going against tradition, I add the liquid softener with the detergent and booster while the washer is filling. I always start with a little bit of hot water in the load to help dissolve the soap and dilute the softener. I don’t ever use the separate softener channel which usually just gunks up over time. 
Ya’ll knew it was coming, here are a few of my best packing and moving tips. First things first, before you bring in a single box, clean your new place from top to bottom or pay someone else to clean it. Please don’t move into another’s filth. Sanitize the space and clear the energy. Burn a sage bundle bitch.
5) Moving yourself? Get a bigger truck than you think you will need. Extra space is a luxury. Pick too small a truck and find yourself stressfully sacrifice-sorting as you load cargo to the gills. If renting a truck, spring for the insurance.
4) Speaking of sorting, before you ever get to the truck, mercilessly cut from your collection. Give your friends first dibs, and send the rest to charity. At least the most useless 25% of your shit needs to go. After giving friends a bunch of free stuff you won’t feel so bad asking them to help you help carry the sofa. 
3) Most major retailers give away boxes for free. That’s no big secret. So don’t skimp on purchasing accessories and packing supplies. Paper, wrap, specialty boxes; get what you need to properly prepare your belongings to survive the journey. The cost of proper packing supplies pales in comparison to the heartache of opening a box upon arrival and finding a fractured heirloom. Get a variety of box sizes, and don’t pack them so heavy you can’t carry them up and down stairs. Protect yourself with proper planning. 
2) Take care of valuables yourself. Handle special or sentimental items personally or risk possible destruction. No one will handle your most precious baubles as tenderly.
1) Get plenty of sleep and take time to eat. Once you arrive to your new home unpack as quickly and completely as possible. Don’t stop working on your new home until everything has a special place. If you just shove things in drawers and closets without care the place will remain an unorganized mess. Arrange everything carefully from the start and maintain a tidy home with ease.
As I prepare for this move, I am appalled by the number of partially used beauty products on my shelves. I usually do really well until I get 75% through the product, then I tend to move on to a new one and lose interest in the original before I get to the bottom of the jar.
Disgusted with this wasteful habit, I vow to finish this hodge-podge collection of halflings before I purchase anything new. I’ll throw out any potion outdated or past its prime, but otherwise it is time to steward the responsibility of the investment through to its natural conclusion.
Great news folks, my master plan worked, and now I’m moving into a sweet new place in a matter of days. 
Gonna go meet the owner tomorrow and sign an intensely negotiated lease. Even though my current landlord occasionally behaves like a hag, I met with her face-to-face and gave her proper written notice, respect, and gratitude. No matter how much I wish to flee, I can’t leave a mess physically or psychologically. My mama taught me right ya’ll. So now, it’s onwards and upwards. 
Instead of working myself ragged this move, I’m going to hire a team of professional cleaners to help with the transition from old space to new. I’ll clean quite a bit myself too, but this time I want support. Even though it’s a ton of work, don’t you love a good move? New season, new energy, new space. Happy Summer. 
Not all laundry gimmicks turn out to be such great inventions or additions to the traditional routine. Remember the dumbass Downy Ball?
Shout Color Catchers really work to prevent laundry disasters. The novel product effectively captures color bleed before it transfers to other fabrics in the wash. I’ve had a great deal of success washing highly-pigmented fabrics with the single-use sheets. 
The newest version includes a shot of Oxi Booster in a Color Catcher pouch. Truthfully, I haven’t noticed a measurable difference with the addition of the Oxi Booster, but I had a coupon so I tried it. In the future, I will return to the original version which is a better value. 
Throw a sheet in with any new clothes, or if you feel a little nervous about a mixed load. Shout Color Catchers definitely warrant a spot on your laundry room shelf. Make room for these legit laundry helpers by throwing last decade’s Downy Ball in the recycling bin. 
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