QUICK FIXES: 10 TIPS FOR MAINTAINING YOUR HOME'S SYSTEMS AND SURFACES

You know what they say about that ounce of prevention. If you ignore the advice and overlook home maintenance, the pound of cure can set you back hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Sooner or later, a neglected roof will leak. A furnace overworked from clogged air filters will need an expensive overhaul. And that leaky window will lead to dry rot in your house’s framework and walls, necessitating a lot of expensive structural and esthetic repairs.

Most important, a well-maintained, freshly updated home is, by its very nature, safe and more comfortable. And usually more energy-efficient – which means money savings – too. Who can argue with that? Not Mrs. Clean Jeans.

GETTING STARTED: Top 10 Tips for a Well-Run Home

1 Schedule annual inspections for your home’s roof and major systems, including the furnace and air conditioner.

2 Twice each year, venture into the far corners of your attic, basement, and garage to check for signs of water leakage.

3 At the start of each season, check the outside of your home for any cracks that may have appeared.

4 Test smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors each month; change batteries yearly.

5 Clear walkways of leaves and any snow, ice, debris or algae that may make them slippery.

6 Assemble a kit of essential tools and store in a convenient place.

7 Learn to make minor repairs in your home.

8 Insulate older water heaters and leaky heat ducts to lower your energy bill.

9 Save energy in the kitchen by covering pots, opening the oven door sparingly, and using the microwave for reheating food.

10 Set the thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or lower in winter; 78 degrees or higher in summer.

Making Your Time Do Double Duty: 14 Tips

Too much to do and not enough time to do it? Chances are you can add a simple housekeeping task to whatever you’re doing at home so that every moment does double duty. Try these 14 ideas for starters.

While...

1 microwaving dinner. Wipe down kitchen walls and baseboards; manage microwave spills while waiting for your piping-hot meal to cool off a bit -- spills are a snap to wipe up before they settle and harden.

2 making coffee. Declutter your countertops; organize the kitchen shelves that house cups and glasses; sweep out stray crumbs from the food cabinet; scrub the kitchen sink clean of a day’s worth of dirt.

3 opening mail. Station yourself near a trash can or recycling bin (or both) where you can toss junk mail and envelopes; sort bills on the spot and file them for payment later.

4 cooking. Wash utensils and dishes and put them away as you go; wipe down cooktop spills as soon as they happen; arrange pots and pans for easy access; straighten up the spice rack.

5 taking out the trash. Organize the recycling bin - glass, metal and paper; brush away leaves and debris from the trash-storage area; pick up litter from the curb; check on outdoor plants and make a mental note of gardening to-dos.

6 waiting out TV commercials. Dash into the kitchen - but not for a handful of potato chips. This is the perfect time to wipe the remnants of dinner from the countertops, finish loading the dishwasher, organize the utility drawer, or do a quick sweeping of the kitchen floor.

7 waiting in the doctor’s office. Pay bills and balance your checkbook; hammer out a quick text to a friend you haven’t heard from in a while; address holiday car envelopes; review your calendar and respond to invitations.

8 waiting for the kettle to boil. Check your e-mail and write replies; visit your favorite websites, feed the dog or cat; change the cat’s litter box, water your plants and police flower pots for dead leaves or blossoms.

9 waiting for the kids to get dressed. Put away the breakfast dishes, wash the coffeepot, empty the trash, warm up the car.

10 talking on the phone. Organize the linen closet; fold and sort clothes; unload the dishwasher; dust the living room and dining room; water and groom houseplants.

11 allowing the oven cleaner to work. Clean the grime from the windowsills; clip coupons; declutter the kitchen table; weed through stacks of old newspapers, catalogs and magazines and toss discards into recycling bin.

12 waiting for repair people. Sweep and mop the kitchen floor; straighten up all the books, pictures, and various knickknacks displayed on shelves; dust all surfaces in the living room, dining room, and hallway; organize cluttered kitchen cabinets; polish the mirrors.

13 putting away groceries. Check the refrigerator for any leftovers that have been hanging around too long and toss them; arrange food in like categories; wipe down the refrigerator doors and clean out the vegetable bins; rotate older pantry items to the front.

14 taking a shower. Sprinkle cleanser on the tub or shower floor and push a sponge around with your foot while you’re waiting for your conditioner to soak in; while soaking in the tub use an old toothbrush to scrub tile grout.

Organize Your Closet - Finally!

Does it take more than a minute to locate a favorite in your closet? Do your freshly laundered or dry-cleaned clothes come off the hanger in need of pressing? Do you wear the same clothes each week, even though your closet sports an updated wardrobe?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your closet’s in dire need of a makeover.

Let’s get it started

Start by removing all the clothes and accessories from your closet and organizing them by type: shirts, pants, suits, dresses, coats, shoes, belts, and handbags.

Set aside the things you don’t wear anymore, and consider their future. Possibilities for dealing with these items include:

☂  Store winter or summer garments until the appropriate season
☂  Update seasoned clothes by having them altered.
☂  Donate the hopeless items to charity.
☂  Make some quick cash by selling less-desirables on consignment.
☂  Give soft, worn clothes new life as cleaning or car-washing rags.

What to do with the leftovers? You’ll probably find numerous wrinkled but wearable items you’d forgotten. Make a mental note to place these “aha!” items in plain view.

Now is a good time to evaluate how well past storage methods have worked till now. Too much time spent searching for the right shirt for that suit? Simple solution: Consider hanging the two pieces side by side.

Are you a mix-and-matcher-on-the-fly type? Group clothes by color (so you can quickly scan for the day’s color du jour) or by garment type, placing jackets next to shirts and pants beside shirts. Decide whether it would be easier to view your clothes by type (work clothes and weekend fun stuff), color or length. Revamp the closet accordingly.

Double your space by adding a second rod below shorter items such as shirts and folded-over trousers. Then hang more of the same there.

Alternatively, consider adding shelves for your T-shirts, sweaters, and shoes beneath hanging items. After all, when your clothing is buried in dresser drawers, it’s out of sight – and usually out of mind. What’s more, hanging a knitted or lightweight garment on a hanger can distort the shape of the fabric, requiring more frequent – and time-consuming—dry cleaning.

Dealing with the detritus What about all that extraneous junk that ends up cluttering drawers and dresser tops? Hang a mesh laundry bag in your closet for socks, stockings, handkerchiefs, and other small items. Loop belts over a hanger next to pants, or hang on hooks inside the door. Store hats or bags this way as well.

Still more stuff than room to stash or store it? It’s time to bring in reinforcements. There are plenty of inexpensive organizing tools than can help you maximize even the tightest spaces. Back-of-the-door shoe bags keep shoes off the floor and in plain sight. Also consider racks for scarves, ties, belts, hats and other accessories.

Still need options? If the basic design of your closet leaves you short a hanging rod or three, you have options: consider a new or antique freestanding armoire or wardrobe; a prefab closet kit (available at home- speciality and organizing stores) and retool the space yourself.

Or, hire a closet designer to create a system (search your local Yellow Pages under “Closets and Closet Accessories”) or do an online search for a designer near you.

CLOSET TRUTH:

Professional closet organizers generally allot one linear foot (30 cm) of hanging space for 6 suits, 8 dresses, 12 shirts or 6 pairs of pants.

Ms. Clean Jeans says  -- No hang-ups allowed!

10 RULES FOR A SUCCESSFUL SLEEPOVER

Sleepovers are quite different than slumber parties, which are to be avoided at all costs if you value peace, quiet, and a bit of sleep at night. Sleepovers, at least with nice kids (and you don’t let the non-nice ones come) can be quite pleasant, actually, so long as you follow the rules:

1 If your kid shares a room, don’t make (or even allow) the sibling share the sleepover. Put the sleepover kids in sleeping bags in the family room. The sleepover contingent won’t want to include the sibling. And there’s no reason to force the issue (or the sibling) it’s not his or her sleepover.

2 Plan an alternate activity for the left-out sibling. If you can arrange a playdate or sleepover for him, too, great! If not, plan an evening’s activity such as a family movie, that will keep him with you, out of the way of the sleepover kids.

3 Plan ahead. Give your child some good host guidelines before the guests arrive, such as whether or not TV is okay, how long they can watch, and an appropriate lights-out time. (You’ll notice I didn’t say bedtime. We have lots of sleepovers at my house.) Remind your kid that solitary pursuits, such as computer games, prevent interaction instead of encouraging it. Suggest board games or outdoor play instead.

4 Give first-time guests a lay-of-the-land home tour. You don’t want a 3 a.m. visitor in search of the bathroom.

5 Make sure guests know your house rules and follow them. This should include notice as to where in the home (such as Mom and/or Dad’s room) is off limits to visitors.

6 Make contact with the parents. You’ll need to know where to reach them (cell phones, restaurant number) that evening, overnight, and in the morning. Find out if the child has any food or pet allergies you should be aware of. If you’re planning a movie night, ask what rating of film the child is permitted to view. Set a pick-up time now. Clear any plans you have to go out and leave the kids with a babysitter with the guests parents before they drop her off.

7 Keep the parent’s phone numbers handy.

8 Stay within earshot of the kids.

9 Let the kids know when you’re going to bed and that you expect them to dial down the activity accordingly. This is the time to reconfirm your previously chosen lights-out time.

10 Prepare a really cool—or hot—treat. Bake gooey chocolate-chunk cookies or order an extra-cheesy pizza. Do whatever it takes to make your home the place kids want to go for serious fun.

CLEAN UP YOUR (COMPUTER) ACT

The computer gets just as dirty as anything else in the house. We do everything at our computers. We eat, we drink, we file our fingernails. Occasionally, we will dust the monitor/screen. And sometimes, if we’re very, very good, we will wipe off the keys.

Stop! I know what you’re thinking! “What’s the big deal? Just spray it with a window cleaner, right?”

Wrong, computer killer. Never spray anything directly onto the monitor or screen. Some spray will go through vents onto the circuit boards. And circuit boards are very finicky about being dropped in on by any liquid, especially strong cleaners.

Here’s the scoop. Try this safer method instead:

THE MONITOR

1 Turn off the computer. Don’t just power down; turn it off at the switch.

2 Gently wipe the plastic casing with a cloth dampened with water and just a bit of dishwashing detergent.

3 Spray glass cleaner onto a lint-free cloth and then gently wipe the screen.

4 Never touch the back of the monitor.

THE MOUSE

Every time you roll the mouse, you are rolling grease, dirt, and gunk into its innards. About once a month, you need to clean it to keep it rolling along. Here’s how:

1 Unplug the mouse from the computer. If yours is wireless, to to step 2.

2 Open the back/underside and remove the ball.

3 Clean the ball with a damp cloth, and let air dry.

4 Gently clean the inside with a cotton swab moistened with rubbing alcohol.

5 Blow in compressed air to dry.

THE KEYBOARD

Science can’t explain it, but soft drinks, crumbs, and coffee are undeniably attracted to computer keyboards. Put them and a kid or three in proximity, and they’re bound to interact messily sooner or later. Here’s how to clean up the inevitable mess when it happens:

1 Unplug the keyboard.

2 If liquid is spilled, turn the keyboard over and let it drain and dry for at least 24 hours. If the spill was a sticky drink--a cola or a latte, perhaps --try prying the small key caps off the kkeyboard with a flat-head screwdriver to get better access to the mess.

3 Take a picture of the keyboard layout, or make a quick sketch of it before you remove any keys so you can put them back where you found them. Don’t remove the spacebar, the Enter key, or other large key caps, however.

4 Gently clean the keyboard with a wet cotton swab. Gently pry off really grimy gunk with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.

5 Rinse the key caps thoroughly, and them to air-dry.

6 Replace the key caps.

7 Let everything dry for at least 24 hours before plugging the keyboard back in.