clean house

Systems analysis. So weighty. So professional. So mysterious. Yet nothing can streamline an organized home like a well-crafted set of household systems. Today, we focus on laundry and clothing systems. What do they do? How do you develop them? What benefits will establishing laundry and clothing systems give to you and your family?

Chances are, you already have these systems in place. After all, a system is just a set of organized items, decisions or actions, designed to work together to achieve a common end. In terms of an organized home, a clothing system, for example, would be a set of related decisions, actions or items, designed to work together to supply family members with an adequate supply of clean, well-fitting and appropriate clothes.

However, there are systems, and there are systems. In a disorganized home, systems springs up unassisted. There's no thought or planning underlying them, so they don't work particularly well. Most of the time, the steps of the system are only instituted when things break down: there are no clean clothes, so someone does the wash. Yes, clothing gets clean, eventually--but there's tremendous waste of time, money, resources and family harmony built into haphazard systems.

Does this scenario describe your household's laundry system? Read more »

A cleaning apron? What, me?

Yes, you! Forget those '50's images of housewifely frou-frou and ruffles: a cleaning apron has a place in the modern home manager's toolkit.

A cleaning apron speeds cleaning chores. Spray bottles of cleaning solution hang ready for use. Apron pockets lined with plastic bags corral bits of trash. Cleaning tools live at the tips of the cleaner's fingers.

Stockpile a stack of cleaning cloths in one pocket, a cleaning sponge in another. With a cleaning apron, supplies, tools and materials are literally close to hand.

The pros know! Professional cleaners swear by cleaning aprons. Savvy home managers purchase cleaning aprons from mail order houses and janitorial supply stores to get the professional. edge on house cleaning.

But there's a small problem. Commercial cleaning aprons don't always accommodate real-world bodies. Designed flat for a straight and slender figure, these aprons sometimes buckle or shift when tied over feminine curves. Skinny string waistbands bite or sag under the weight of cleaning supplies.

Add the cost! Commercially available cleaning aprons run about $20, and don't forget the shipping, handling and sales tax. For many home managers, cleaning aprons may seem out of reach, for more than one reason.

We've got the solution: our Clean Sweep Apron. Designed by a woman for women, it features a generous apron. gathered to fall gently over womanly figures. An interfaced, wider waistband closes with adjustable Velcro brand hook-and-loop tape for instant comfort. Make it up in white cotton twill, and bleac. stains away in the washing machine.