With the right attitude and a little time management, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time to get some of the smaller, less time consuming chores done. Being able to get some light dusting in after work while the kids were at soccer practice, or running the vacuum cleaner through the living room area while dinner is in the oven is a nice idea, but even the best of us are not even able to accomplish this much after a long work day. Assuming we have the time and energy to do a few things in the evening to keep things neat and orderly doesn’t constitute a clean house. Most experts would say that while your home may look clean, it is not. Looking clean and surface clean are two entirely different entities. Most people don’t have time to sufficiently clean their house, let alone move all the furniture while vacuuming, or dusting all the pictures on the walls along with the endless knick knack collection. For most of us, keeping the bathroom spic and span on a daily basis can only be achieved in Lysol and Scrubbing Bubble ads.

There are many areas in the home that are not thoroughly cleaned, and who has time for it? The kitchen is one area that may appear to be clean and is one of the most unsanitary areas in the home. Lift up the stovetop burners and take a gander at all the food and grime that is hidden there. How about the range hood or the top of the refrigerator, or even the top of the kitchen cabinets? If you have kids keeping the bathroom clean and germ-free is next to impossible on a daily basis.

Of all the services that we are able to find the money for, one service that should be included in the monthly budget is hiring a maid service. Being able to have someone that comes in to do many of the chores that we do not have time for or that we hate doing is worth every penny. Hiring a maid service does not have to be expensive and most services provide you with many different plans to choose from. When you start to consider that most services provide their own cleaning supplies and are relatively inexpensive, it is easy to justify a monthly or bi-weekly service that provides you with a clean home, peace of mind and more time to spend with your family and friends.

Kids may not enjoy doing chores – really, who does – but with the right incentives, you can get your kids involved in household tidiness. It is best to start when kids are young, and even very small children can learn little tasks that contribute to the overall tidiness in a house. Toddlers can be taught that tidiness can be fun. Encourage them to put away their toys. Young siblings can make it into a game by seeing who can finish first and you can add to the game element by putting pictures on toy boxes or toy baskets so the kids can visually see where the items go. Show younger children how to toss their clothes into kid-sized hampers. Visual, colorful charts that show the children what chores they need to do, with markers that show when the chore is complete, can help reinforce that participating in household tidiness is fun.

Pre-schoolers, once they are tall enough, can make their own beds each morning. If parents set up bed making as a daily expectation for a child early on, it is more likely this chore will be carried on into teen years as well. Kids this age can also reliably put clothing away, as long as the drawers are within reach. Again, pictures on the outsides or insides of drawers can help kids determine the right place to put away their clean laundry. Elementary-age children can almost always reliably make their beds and as they get older, more tasks can be added as they help with household tidiness. Once again, depending on height, these children can empty dishwashers and put away dishes, wipe up counters in their bathrooms, hang up their own clothing, and run vacuum cleaners and sweepers. Parents are the best judges of the age-appropriateness of any chore, but it is best to leave anything that involves potentially dangerous household machinery, like a washing machine, or toxic cleaner until the child is older.

Junior high and high school kids, as they become busier with school activities and part-time jobs, may need more incentives than younger kids to do household chores. This is an excellent time to create chore lists that are tied to allowances or amounts paid per task completed. Kids this age are able to do much more safely that contributes to household tidiness, like wash and dry loads of laundry, help clean up after meals, and do deeper cleaning that involves chemicals smaller kids should not handle.

If you start young, make it fun and then later make it profitable for your kids to be involved in household tidiness, you’ll set habits that kids are more likely to follow later in life and your house will be much tidier for your efforts.

1. Wash Everything- Did a smoker just sit on your bed? Have your friends been hanging out in the living room smoking? If you can launder sheets, pillow cases or slip covers, this would be the first step to removing the odor from your house.
2. Use a vacuum- Scents will stick to fabrics and carpet flooring. Make sure you vacuum as much of the odor out of the carpet before you turn to cleaning products or alternative measures. If the smell is in your car, you can go ahead and vacuum the seat cushions and the foot mats as well.
3. Vinegar- If you have a stale cigarette odor in your home put a bowl of white vinegar out all night. You might be surprised at how well it eats up the odor.
4. Baking soda- You should sprinkle baking soda liberally over any cloth covered carpet, piece of furniture, or car seat. Baking soda has long been known to eat up odors, and cigarette smoke is no exception! You should always test the baking soda on a small corner of the furniture first to make sure there are no adverse reactions to it.
5. Coffee- You can put bags of coffee grounds in various places where the stench of stale smoke is the most severe. It will help eat up part of the odor.
6. Air it all out- Immediately after a smoker has been in your home, it helps to air out the room or the vehicle by opening all doors and windows for a few hours to let the scents slowly disperse. Leaving things closed, instead, will allow the smells to sink into the fabrics very quickly.
7. Charcoal- Leaving charcoal in a container around your house is also another idea. In about a week you will notice a dramatic decrease in the cigarette odor in your home.
8. Clean Surfaces of Furniture- Smoke residue can land on tables or chairs or floors. Try to do a good deep cleaning of your furniture and floors to remove all traces of stale smoke from your home.
9. Clean Your Light Bulbs- Light bulbs, whether you know it or not, attract smoke. When you turn a light bulb on, the smoke on the outside will heat up and release odor. Wipe your light bulbs down to stop this from happening.

There are many all natural ways to combat stale cigarette odor, and get it out of your home once and for all.

• Begin… Now!
  No time better than the present. Stop wasting time! You already have a long list of things to do, why waste more time. Get up and motivate yourself into cleaning your home. It is better that you clean before Christmas and not at the last minute. You’ll have a lot less stress and do much better job. Get it over with as soon as possible this way decorating will be much easier. You may even get Inspired to rearrange furniture or polish silverware.
• Create a Checklist
  Make a list of all the things that have to be cleaned in your home, this is the best way to start. By creating a checklist you will be organized and know what has already been cleaned and what has not. It will definitely make the process much easier for you. This will help you distribute your time better. Also it will give you motivation once you check off something on your list it will give you a sense of accomplishment.
• It only takes 30min.
  Who said that you have to clean everything in your home in one day? Cleaning shouldn’t be done in a rush. You could clean something different for 30min each day. One day could clean only the bathrooms, the next day the bedrooms, then the living etc. Cleaning could be done a little at a time everyday. As long as you clean a little here and there you’re gaining on it, and when you least expect it your list will be all checked off.
• Ask for help
  This tip is for all the mothers and wives who live with their children and husbands. You have the right to ask them to help you clean the house. The children and your husband are probably on vacation for the holidays and they could be of great help. A great way that they could all contribute is by dividing chores and giving each of them something to do. Before you know it cleaning could be done in one whole day with their help.
• Make your life easier
  There’s no need to clean or organize things that you don’t want. Throw away clothes you don’t wear anymore. Give as a gift to someone items around the house that you’re not pleased with or have no use for anymore. You’re just making your life harder by cleaning or organizing stuff that you don’t want anymore. If you throw or give away what you don’t need you’ll have less to clean and cleaning will be easier!
• Enjoy it!
  Why do you keep thinking that cleaning is hard and boring? Like they say life is what you make it. So make cleaning fun for yourself. Let cleaning be something that you could enjoy while doing, after all it is the holidays. Play some music while you’re cleaning and maybe even dance a little before you’ll know you will be having a blast while cleaning. Also while you’re cleaning promise yourself a little treat to look forward to like for example a long hot bath or a night out having fun.
• Holiday Aromas
  After your home is spotless you could top it all off with scented candles. These candles will make your home smell like new and everyone who walks in will know you worked hard cleaning your home. I recommend you get cranberry scented candles those are the ones that really do the trick and bring the smell of the holidays.
• You did it!
  Congratulations! If you already cleaned your house and used these tips you have finished and are ready to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends. Your home is sparkling cleaned and smelling great to welcome your loved ones.