816-lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 29, 1993
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
UTiTZ (Lancaster Co.) Is
cleaning a frustrating, time con
suming job in your home?
If so, you definitely need the
advice of Miss Priss, a cleaning
expert Although she nms a clean
ing business, she does not want
more cleaning jobs. What she does
want to do is to share professional
tips to make your job easier.
Miss Priss, who is really Priscil
la Hodecker of Lititz, and her hus
band Terry have two sons and two
daughters, ranging in ages from 17
to 25.
‘T love to clean,” she said. She
believes that you, too, will murmur
those words if you follow her
cleaning advice. “When you have
order, you feel better,” she said.
“People do not realize how much
work they make for themselves
because they allow clutter to
accumulate.”
Dejunk
“Many people have an over
weight house. If they thin it out,
they feel better.” she said.
To make cleaning easier, it is
necessary to de-junk. Miss Priss
suggests that you set aside a day to
dejunk. Sort through stacks and
drawers and dispose of items in
one of four boxes labeled: junk,
charity, sort, and emotional with
drawal. The emotional withdrawal
box is for items that you don’t need
but really cannot part with at that
time. Put the items in a box, stack it
in a closet, and six months later
throw it away without looking in
the box.
“It’s a constant effort to keep
your home free of clutter,” Miss
Priss said. “Keep your eyes open to
getting rid of clutter before it is
overwhelming. Pitch junk mail the
day that it arrives."
A house with basic order is more
inviting than a house in disarray.
Extra touches such as fresh cut
flowers and the aroma of some
thing baking in the oven makes the
home seem more appealing.
Windows
If you’re perplexed trying to
decipher what really is die best
window cleaner to use, your prob
lems are over. Throw them all
away and get a bucket of plain
water, add a drop of dishwashing
detergent. Dip a sponge lightly
into the water solution and quickly
Miss Priss uses a lamb’s wool cluster because lambswool has a slightly el
charge that attracts dust and cobwebs.
Cleaning Tips From Miss Priss
wipe across window area, just
enough to wet glass. Take a squee
gee blade, tilt the squeegee with
the bottom away from the glass
and pull across top and then from
top to bottom and across bottom of
window. Presto! A sparkling win
dow without streaks! If you have
high windows, add an extension
handle to the squeegee. Do not
purchase a cheap squeegee from
the grocery store or you will not be
pleased with the results. Miss
Prisss recommends the Ettore
brand.
Walls
Stop dipping a used rag into the
same bucket of dirty water. Get
two buckets. Fill one with water
and general purpose cleaner. Let
the other bucket empty. Dip
sponge into water and wipe on
walls, starting at the top and going
back and forth. Squeeze out
sponge in empty container. Dip in
water again and wash wall.
Always squeeze out the dirty water
in the same container. That way
the water with the general purpose
cleaner will stay clean for the
walls. Wipe wall with a dry terry
towel, folded in quarters so that
eight different sides can be used.
Dusting
Use a Lambswool duster for
mini-blinds, windowsills, door
frames and to remove cobwebs
from room comers. Lambswool
attracts dust much better than
feather or cloth dusters because
lambswool has a slightly electrical
charge.
Vinyl Floors
Dust mop regularly with a
treated dust mop. To clean. Miss
Priss prefers to work on her hands
and knees.
“You can see dirt that you could
not see otherwise,” she said.
“Remember anything horizontal
collects dirt so before you wash the
floor, wash the baseboards.”
Waxed floors are easier to keep
clean, but if you have a build-up of
old wax it should first be removed.
To strip old wax, apply mixture
of one part ammonia to one-half
part water. Apply liberally to about
a 10-foot-square area. Let the solu
tion set five to 10 minutes to dis
solve old wax. The secret is to let
the water and ammonia mixture do
the work. After wax has loosened,
scrub vigorously with a scrub
Proper cleaning supplies make Miss Prlss’s cleaning Job easier and enjoyable. She
often takes fresh flowers to her clients because those extra decorating touches
makes a home appear more* Inviting.
brush. Squeegee the din into a
plastic dustpan and dump into an
empty bucket
When stripped, rinse the floor
with a mixture of 1 cup vinegar in
the rinse water and then with plain
water. Let the floor dry completely
before waxing.
Apply a thin coat of floor wax;
let dry completely and apply two
more thin coats to traffic areas.
Damp mop using two buckets:
one to apply the cleaning solution
and another in which to dispose of
the dirty water.
Bathrooms
Use a pumice stone to remove
water rings in the commode. Clean
commodes on a weekly basis with
an acid toilet bowl cleaner, you
will have little trouble with water
rings.
Use spray bottle with disinfec
tant to clean washbowl, tub. show
er, and tile. A cleaner that removes
soap scum should be used and a
cotton cloth used to buff the
faucets.
Dirtiest spots in the house
The telephone and door knobs
are the dirtiest spots in mosthouse
s, according to Miss Priss. Clean
these on a weekly basis. Keep a
constant lookout for fingeiprints at
door jams and wipe with a damp
cloth.
Maintain
Miss Priss is alarmed by the
waste that many families allow
because they do* not take proper
care of items. She believes that one
should buy the best they can afford
and take care of it.
As an example of carlessness,
Miss Priss said that too many cou
ples buy an expensive sofa and
then delay having their cat
declawed, which quickly results in
a ruined sofa.
“How differently would you
care for an item if you knew that
you could never replace it?” she
asks.
She advises: read labels, don’t
be wasteful, give away items that
are still in good repair but no lon
ger in use. Maintain what you
have.
She believes that homes are not
cared for the way they were in for
mer days because too many
women’s hearts are not in the
home. She thinks this is a reflec
tion of women not spending as
much time at home.
Cleaning professionals
While, in some ways, this is a
-jyc Contest
Kelly Snyder, of the Conrad
Weiscr FFA Chapter, has been
selected as the national fourth
place winner for her entry in the
FFA New Horizons “Up with
Agriculture” writing contest.
Kelly has been awarded $2OO
and will be presented with a certi
ficate at the Pensylvpnia State
FFA Convention.
Kelly wants to become an
elementary teacher. She said, “I
want to make the excitement of
agriculture come alive for young
people. It is important for them to
realize what agriculture is and
everything it involves.”
negative of society, it also pro
vides an opportunity for many
women to operate their own clean
ing business. Miss Priss has these
words of advice for those who
clean for others: be efficient, have
an eye for detail, be thorough,
always do a little bit more than is
expiected, be completely trustwor
thy if you break something,
always be upfront and tell your
client
Miss Priss believes that a home
that smells clean, looks cleaner.
She prefers to use a bit of Pine Sol
or lemon cleaner to impart that
freshly clean aura.
People who clean for others
should develop an eye for dirt.
Miss Priss advises. She wears an
apron with pockets when she
cleans. She always carries a scis
sors so that she can snip threads
hanging from upholstery. A grout
brush or a toothbrush should be
included to clean crevices that can
not be reached otherwise. A 100
potent cotton cloth is used to buff
faucets and other surfaces because
residue left behind collects more
dust and dirt
Miss Priss credits her cleaning j
expertise to Don Aslett, who holds -j
national teaching seminars and has i
written several books on
Miss Priss offers an entertaining ;
program based on Aslett's video,j
“Is there Life After Housework?” |
For more information, call Miss
Priss at (717) 626-6802.
HAPPENINGS
Kolly Snyder