Illinois Valley House Cleaning Services | IV Clean Team, Inc.

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Gearing Up For Spring Cleaning

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Gearing Up For Spring CleaningSpring cleaning is here, and you’re probably not looking forward to it. It’s time consuming and life doesn’t stop because you’ve got dust bunnies to annihilate. When you can barely wake up in the morning, it’s difficult to spend hours on cleaning your house. You need a little push and pick-me-up before you embark on this epic cleaning journey.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Before you tackle the spring cleaning, make sure you’re well rested. You may only get six hours of sleep or less during the week, but if you’re going to do a major physical activity that’s going to last the whole day, then try to go for 8, but not much more. You’ll wake up with more energy and a little extra pep in your step. The job is still going to be difficult, but you’re heading into it with a good attitude and energy.

Eat a Good Breakfast

You’re going to need some fuel to burn while you’re running up and down the stairs with a vacuum cleaner. A good hearty breakfast filled with protein and a few carbs will keep you going until lunch. When I say a “good breakfast,” I don’t mean sugary cereal or pop tarts. I’m talking about eggs, sausage, fruit and orange juice. You know, real food. You need something that’s going to stay with you for a while and not just get burned up in the first hour or so.

Carbohydrates like bread and bagels will give you that initial burst of energy and the fruits and protein will let you keep that up for several hours. If you start feeling low on energy, then grab some peanuts or pecans for a snack.

Rock Your Cleaning World

When you work out or go to the gym to exercise, do you listen to music? Of course you do. It not only helps you pass the time, but also pumps you up to do the exercise. When you’re ready to start spring cleaning, grab your cell phone (or your Walkman if you’re old school) and crank up the dance party, hard rock or whatever music turns you into a cleaning machine. The hours will fly bye and you might even have fun. I think we’ve all had that moment when the vacuum or the duster becomes a microphone. We’ve all belted out Bon Jovi while cleaning, there’s no shame in it.

If you’re still unable to get yourself motivated for spring cleaning, then contact Illinois Valley Clean team Inc. and let us do it for you. Enjoy your spring and let us do all the hard work.

When Cleaning Out Your Home, Start With What You Can See

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La Salle Peru Home CleaningI think we all have that one cartoon closet in our home. It’s the one so filled with stuff that when you open it everything falls out into a pile like in cartoons. It’s understandable why you might want to start with that closet or some other area, but when cleaning out and decluttering, start with what you can see.

What is the Visibility Rule?

We have a tendency to make the areas of our life that we can’t see a little more chaotic than what’s visible. It’s the junk drawers, the closets and the thing that under the bed that we often think about decluttering first. The Visibility Rule throws that out the window and tells you to work on what you can see and save the invisible for last. You leave the closets and the drawers aloneand focus on your desk, counters, garage, etc.

Why You Start With What You See

When you spend all day working on a closet or other invisible clutter, you shut the door and nothing has changed. You know that the area is clean and organized, but since it’s behind a door neither you nor your family will see any difference. You’ll walk by that door every day and know that it’s clean behind it, but where’s that sense of accomplishment? It’s important to that you see what you accomplished as that will spur you on to continue. If you take the time to clean and declutter a book shelf, then you might want to keep going and declutter a desk. They say seeing is believing, so start with what you can see.

Yes, It Really Matters

You may be cautious about our advice and believe that you’ll feel just as great taking care of that cartoon closet as you would something visible. It’s great if that’s true for you, but it won’t be for the vast majority of people. People need to see a change in their environment or else they won’t feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with doing a good job. It can be disconcerting to spend hours working on a closet, close the door and look behind you to see nothing different.

IV Clean Team Inc. is the Illinois Valley’s leading home cleaner and can help you with your cleaning needs. Contact us today and set up an appointment.

How To Clean Electronics

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Cleaning electronicsElectronics are a permanent part of our lives from the video game console that doubles as our entertainment hub to the computers that we spend way too much time working at. The nature of electronics make them magnets for dust and because of their frailty need special cleaning techniques.

Game Consoles and DVD Players

If you can get the kids off the Xbox long enough to clean it, you’ll see plenty of dust on it. Depending on the machine, there may be buttons and knobs that can make it difficult to clean. Don’t spray any cleaners on it as that may damage it. Instead, get out your vacuum cleaners and attach the soft brush head. Use that to get all the nooks and crannies of dust from the machine without disturbing the wiring, etc.

Cell Phones

Don’t you hate it when you look down at your cell phone and it’s a mess of dust and fingerprints? While we treasure our phones, we also toss them in purses and pockets without thinking. The cases we use for protection are notorious for trapping dust and all that finger swiping is bound to leave a nice oily residue. The first thing to do is take off the case and use a cloth or cotton swab to clean out the crevices of the casing. Use an electronics wipe or cloth recommended by the cell phone company to wipe down the screen and the rest of the phone. Do not spray cleaner or water onto the phone.

Keyboards

Keyboards come in two varieties: keyboards with space between the keys and those that don’t. Many times laptop keyboards won’t have space between the keys for dust to get trapped. For these, use a cotton swab to get the dust. The ones with space can use a cloth over the keys and high pressure canned air to remove dust between and under the keys.

Televisions

Today’s televisions can be 60-inches or more and that’s a lot of dust build up. There are large microfiber cloths or wand dusters that will make short work of even the largest television screen.

Perhaps the most important aspect of cleaning electronics is not to get them wet. While some manufacturers may allow the use of alcohol wipes, it’s best to keep them dry. Electronics are sensitive to water and few drops in the wrong place could ruin it.

If you’d love someone to come to your house and do the cleaning for you, contact IV Clean Team Inc. today.

Do I Need To Clean Window Tracks?

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window track cleaningIt’s that time of year again when you start thinking about spring cleaning.  You’ll clean almost every aspect of their home from sweeping under furniture to getting dust off ceiling fans. You’ll even clean the windows and get them sparkling so the spring and summer sun can enter, but few will remember the window tracks. Is it important to clean the window track? Yes, it is.

Clogging Up a Window Track

Odds are the window tracks have never been cleaned in the years you have lived in the home. It’s just not something people think about. In this day and age of high efficiency heating and cooling, windows aren’t open as much as they used to be. Over time, the tracks can get stuffed with everything from dirt and mold to insects and spider webs. You may notice the window getting more difficult to open and close as all that contamination gums up the works for your window. Dirt plus moisture equals mud, so humid days could spell disaster for your window.

Fresh Air Made Dirty

One of the main reasons to open windows is to let in fresh air and make the house a little less stuffy. How many people have sat in front of an open window and just enjoyed the fresh spring wind air as it mingled with fresh cut grass and spring’s natural scents to create a smell straight from heaven. When years of dirt, mold and desiccated insect husks build up, you might notice the spring air doesn’t smell so fresh. In fact, all that contamination can lead to allergies and congestion.

How to Clean Your Window Track

The first step is to put a clean towel on the floor in front of the window. You don’t want anything in there falling onto your floor. Take out the screens and use a vacuum to collect any loose dirt and insect bodies. If it’s been a while, then it could look like an insect graveyard, so be prepared. Dip a sponge in warm soapy water and clean the tracks thoroughly. Use a scrub brush to get any stubborn dirt and repeat with the sponge until clean. Once everything is done, take a clean towel and dry everything. You spent all that time cleaning, and don’t want mold to grow because you forgot to dry.

Windows can be a pain to clean, but it’s necessary. If you’re not in the mood for cleaning or don’t have the time, then call Illinois Valley Clean Team or get a free quote.

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