Desperate Housewives of ILX

Tiny shorts on men make the wearer look like a cockney 9-year-old from all those b/w 'look at these interwar smallfry with rickets playing stickball in the gutter' photo essays. Beware.

I have fulfilled today's 'make some calls and set up features' allocation and due to issues with my hair, which has never been longer in my life, I look forward to spending the rest of my day chasing around the hair equivalent of rodent-sized dust bunnies. But first I need to go and get the best coffee in London.

don't dust bunnies always mystify you? it's like how did they get it together to get it together like that

i know - but these shorts aren't that SHORT, per se, they are just small in the waist

have fun at the coffee shop!

suzy, i am going to be thrilled when you get a poodle, there is a tiny black one who lives in the next street and harry (my dog) and i adore her, she is swift and a genius.

London is insane for household dust and I have a big studio that's filled with it. I HATE IT.

I know that rescue dogs are supposed to be the adoption option for all right-thinking people, but I prefer the whole bonding-with-a-puppy thing. That said, poodle rescue sites do exist and I look at them, because I might consider a rescue less than a year old. Unfortunately, I doubt they'd accept me because they're run out in the provinces and expect dogs to go to flats and houses with gardens, so *shrug*.

how do we feel about painting? i am scared of it. i need to do my bathroom and my bedroom. i guess the most annoying part is like having to move everything.

You could buy some cheap plastic shower curtains at the dollar store to use as dropcloths and to cover furniture? I've done that. Worked pretty well.

not a bad idea. i guess i could get the bathroom done in one day.

Have you painted before?

no :| ryan has, though - he's good at it

it's just that he hasn't gotten it started and it's been a while, so i'm feeling antsy

ned, i wish i could make you a cup of tea!

― j lol (surm), Monday, June 6, 2011 2:50 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

I never did get to make myself one. Usual drama once the kids were home - "I don't want to go to Brownies!" "I am BORED!" "Life is crap!"...

If it wasn't for kids my house would be super spotless though. I love it when it's all done. And hate it when I see Trifle Jnr. eating a pastry WITHOUT A PLATE five minutes later. Will they never learn!?

We are about to paint the hallway. That will be traumatic.

"and laurel: i'm totally with you re mops. what is even the point of them, unless you use them literally every day, before the grime can get trampled into the floor."
get swiffer wet

I DID! that thing was useless. i still had to go back over it with a scrubbing brush or my damn fingernail to scratch off the stuck-on bits of food (i make a goddamn mess when i cook).

I got the kind of mop that spray cleaner forward and then you mop - its ok but my daughter always demands to use it whenever I get it out so I don tbother - true you need a swiffer supplementer to get the gnarlybits but still use two items and get the job done- i just use the wrong end of the swiffer

the only way to get floors really clean is to scrub them on h+k but then again i probably have... unreasonable... standards when it comes to cleanliness. i wash our walls/cupboard doors a couple of times a month

I hate the swiffer wet -- it doesn't pick anything up, it just smears the dirt around.

update!

bb&b's hamper selection was dismal and full of wicker (ew), so i got this amazing bath mat: http://genuinemicrodry.com/bath_mats.html

this morning, it was as if i stepped out of the shower onto a cloud! i want to see if they have something like this for the kitchen, to stand on while i wash dishes for ever and ever :(

re swiffer: you need to vacuum regularly, and use swiffer to get dust/hair on occasion. scrub your floors once in a while and use a swiffer wet for touch ups.

swiffers are a complete waste. Hands and knees and pinesol.

see, tza, i don't think you understood just how much food i get all over the kitchen floor when i cook... it's A LOT.

jesus, lamp - twice a month?!? you win this thread.

swiffers are useful for touching up. just don't think they can replace a broom/mop/vacuum forever.

If I get angry enough to do the full clean I start from the top of the cupboards and work my way down until all the dust and schmutz from countertops and sills hits the floor. Next, I wipe those clean. Then I go behind the fridge and oven for the full floor sweep and still need to do the scrubbing of the floor on h&k to get rid of stepped-in bits of garlic (the worst) or whatever. DREADING THIS.

I like wicker. It reminds me of my grandma's house.
Then again, I dream of living in a house that looks like this someday, with someone who periodically comes in to clean it for me.

http://i2.bookcdn.com/data/Photos/LargePhoto2/64/6498/6498851/The-Greenbrier-photos-Room.JPEG

(that is the Greenbrier, resort for rich people/secret govt nuclear fallout shelter)

swiffers are a complete waste. Hands and knees and pinesol.

^^ this dude knows whats up

i will sometimes use the swiper wet wipes for things like our kitchen cupboards and countertops when im feeling lazy. theyre also p good when you have tile floors that are sorta sticky/grimy, but i dont bother with the mop i just use the wipes on h+k

haha j- as a present for finishing my master's i got a dyson... although our place is kinda a mess atm we had ppl over last night and theres a bunch of champagne flutes & glasses sitting on the counter atm...

lysol has these dual wipes now - one side smooth, the other is scratchy. it is a dream for getting stuck on things off my stove! and then the smooth side for a final wipe. they also work really well for when you drop something (say a green leaf) on the floor and don't notice and then later it's stuck.

lol this thread is sorta terrible for me i have a strange love of talking abt cleaning/how clean my apt is/cleaning products...

i use pinesol for everything...grease on my hands...pinesol.

this is really inspiring me to get clean. tonight is going to be CRAZY laundry night. we have SO much to do. maybe after that's tackled, the rest of the place won't seem so intimidating?

I stand by the swiffer - you are not using it right! you are cursed!

The ammonia worked miracles yesterday, btw. I used to love 409 for degreasing but I think I've converted. Ammonia is cheaper and plentiful and the fumes, while still present, feel less...corrosive.

It might even replace Pinesol/Lestoil for me.

just dont mix it with certain things or you die.

it seems my floor never shines when cleaned, just look more dull but there are not dirty marks - mop and glo time?

I am waiting eagerly for this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFUQZO

Mop and Glo is great. Anyone try those new Kitchen Magic Erasers? Heavenly for stove top stains.

love those

yeah they are amazing. i also love the Kaboom products...who else uses the bleach tablets in their toilets?

I always thought mops are dud - you just moisten and move around the yuk - we need a fully rinsable floor

i just got a boner.
http://www.kaboomkaboom.com/products-scrub-free.shtml

what about 2,000 flushes!

I am a fan of Kaboom's cleaning powers, but I think it gave me a rash on my face! That shit is so toxic and strong smelling.

magic erasers are a+++

yeah i had a kaboom cleaner that made my lungs really hurt

this one: http://www.kaboomkaboom.com/products-foam-tastic.shtml

YES. I thought it was punishment for hating to scrub slime off of the shower :-/

I LOVE the swifer wet jet!!

T I almost bought that bath mat last week but didn't and now I wish I had! :(

I like things clean but I'm the laziest housekeeper ever. I send the Roomba to clean the crap off the kitchen floors and then Swifer them.

does the roomba work?

fancy pants.

I love the damn thing.

lavender scented bleach is good.