Freshen the Carpets WHILE You Vacuum

Want a nice fresh scent added to your carpet while vacuuming? Here are a few tips on how to achieve it...

• Add a fabric softener sheet the bag or cannister of your vacuum cleaner.
• Add a few drops of natural essential oil or even a spray of perfume to the vacuum cleaner bag or cannister! Yes, people might look at you funny if they see you spraying your vacuum with perfume, but just ignore them. They're probably judgmental types anyway.
• Sprinkle some baking soda liberally on the carpets before you vacuum, and then let the baking soda sit and do its natural odor removing work for about fifteen minutes or so. When you vacuum as usual you'll suck away dirt and muck - and a lot of nasty pet or smoke odors!

Maybe You Don't Need a New Vacuum - Tips to Care for your Vacuum Cleaner

Vacuum Cleaners - How to Care for Your Vacuum Cleaner - Repairs and Tips

Is that old sucker not cleaning like it once did? Maybe you don't need a new vacuum cleaner - maybe your vacuum just needs a little care, concern and attention! Here are a few handy tips to rejuvenate that old vacuum and get it working like new again...

1. Clean off the beater bars - Threads, hairs, pet fur and all sorts of interesting things can wind themselves around the beater bars at the bottom of your vacuum cleaner, meaning it doesn't work like it should. Ensuring that the vacuum is unplugged, use a skewer, scissors or oversized tweezers to loosen these threads and hairs and remove them. The beater bars are pretty self explanatory - they agitate the carpet fibers and remove it so the vacuum can suck up the dirt, so it's important that these are functioning.


2. To Bag or Not to Bag - If your vacuum is a bagged variety, then it needs to be replaced when full with a new, fresh and clean vacuum bag. If (like me) you prefer bagless vacuum cleaners, then just make sure you empty out the cannister before using the vacuum. A full cannister means your vacuum just can't suck in any more dirt!


3. Filtering It Out - Many modern vacuums come complete with some pretty amazing filters to filter out allergens and dust - a great thing for families who have allergies. But, for optimal effectiveness, you need to clean and/or replace these filters. Check your vacuum's instructions guide to see how often this needs to be done.

You can do other DIY repairs on vacuums if you find that your vaccum really isn't working properly, but you know what - I don't suggest it. If after doing these three steps you still find that the vacuum doesn't suck like it should (haha) then take it to a professional to see if it needs real repair work done.

Otherwise, these simple tips should make your vacuum work far better - maybe as good as new again!

More On Vacuuming Tips and Hints:

• Using baking soda while vacuuming to pick up more pet hair: http://happyslob.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-you-hairy-little-beast-you.html


• Using the vacuum to clean screen doors http://happyslob.blogspot.com/2006/09/cleaning-screen-doors-easy-solution.html


• Clean lampshades with the vacuum cleaner http://happyslob.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html


• Results on our mini-quiz: "How often do YOU vacuum?" http://happyslob.blogspot.com/2006/10/happy-slob-quiz-o-day-how-often-do-you.html

Piles and Piles of Books - Reducing Book Clutter

Now this is one subject I completely and fully understand! For the past 10-15 years I've become quite a book collector. I have books on travel, tons of great novels, cookbooks, photography books, old textbooks, books on writing...and the list goes on (and on and on and on, to be perfectly honest.)

If you love books, you'll understand this predicament. So -- add to your Weekly Clean for All list: "Book decluttering!" Yes, the exclamation point is probably necessary in this case. As you do with all your decluttering chores, make separate piles:

• Books to Keep
• Books to Give Away (to charities, friends, whomever. Remember that nice books make beautiful gifts -- and you won't have to spend an additional penny!)
• Books to Sell

Ah ha, yes you read that last bullet correctly - you can SELL your books and make a nice little chunk of change! I did some research on selling books online, and came up with a number of ideas for you, on how to turn a pile of books you no longer need into a little much-needed padding for your wallet!

1. Sell books on eBay - This is the old standby, and years ago I used to do this when I needed a little extra moola! You'll get an especially good end price, of course, if your book is in demand, or a rare edition.
2. cash4books.net - An online book store that buys your books. It seems to have a fairly good reputation - if anyone has firsthand experience, please post a comment.
3. eCampus.com - An online campus bookstore that buys back used textbooks. You can make a lot of money if you have textbooks that are in demand. So if you have scholarly friends, offer to help them with decluttering THEIR books and then split the profits. :)
4. Sell books closer to home - Within a ten block radius of my home I likely have at least 2 or 3 used book stores. Go in and talk to the owner and see what kind of deal you can get for your old books.
5. Last but not least - garage sales. You won't make a lot of money selling your books at a garage sale, but at least you'll get rid of the clutter. Most people seem to pile those books into a box and label them at either a buck or a quarter a piece. Hey, at least your books will find a good home, and someone else will read and enjoy them.

Back to the Decluttering:

Take one area at a time to declutter your piles of books. For instance, if your Focus Room cleaning area today is the den, then take a few minutes to work on one or two bookshelves, separating the books into the categories listed above (sell/give away/keep). You'll be surprised that a few minutes of work, done often, can really reduce book - and all other types of - clutter! Happy decluttering to you, slobbos!