CADDY BEHAVIOR

Call me a snob, but I can't stand dirty people! Just because you can't afford a maid doesn't mean it's okay to leave your house in the morning before your bed is made! The other day while standing in our kitchen gossiping about our neighbors filthy, unorganized back porch, I noticed a trail of ants heading to a pile of muck on our counter tops. How could that be? My favorite accessory is a Swiffer, my cologne is lemon-scented Lysol, I keep handy wipes in my car, my vacuum is never off and my contributions alone keep companies like Clorox, Pledge and Tide in business. Me, dirty?

MAKE A CLEAN BREAK:

I believe if you take the time to put systems in place once, it's easy to keep the clean ball rolling.. For example, place laundry baskets in your bathroom (one for dry cleaning, one for light colored clothes, one for dark), organize your linen closets and label shelves for appropriate sized sheets or by room..top shelf is Bobby's room, middle is Marsha's room, etc. Once you do it and show your kids/spouse/other personalities how it's done, chances are it will be easier to stay on top of the mess! Afraid that our last guests left our house gossiping about what a mess it was, I put on dark sunglasses and headed to Wal-Mart in shame. I picked up some of my favorite cleaning supplies and a handy plastic caddy (easy to carry and keep track of supplies), headed home and dealt with our dirty secret. My favorite item.."Bar Keepers Friend" as it removes stains from pots, pans and teacups!

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Ten minutes

COST: $25 for all cleaners and plastic caddy from Wal-Mart

STRESS LEVEL: Clean conscience: LOW