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The One-Minute Cleaner Plain & Simple: 500 Tips for Cleaning Smarter, Not Harder
Hate to Clean?
Donna Smallin's best-selling book Cleaning Plain & Simple is now more accessible than ever in this abridged edition compiling 500 of her best quick tips and techniques for lightening your load - clever shortcuts to a fresh and sparkly home. The cleanliness and order you crave can be as simple as using spare moments to dust, swab, polish, or organize. *Wipe down counters often and sweep the floor every night and your kitchen will never know true grime. *Keep attractive baskets for mail and you'll never have to sweep piles of paper into a closet when company arrives. Easy solutions, instant gratification...one short minute at a time!
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Donna Smallin Kuper
16 books46 followersI am an organizing strategist, certified House Cleaning Technician and author of a dozen books on how to unclutter, organize, clean up and simplify your life. My latest release is Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness. I invite you to sign up for free organizing tips at www.unclutter.com or join my Unclutter.com Organizing Support Group on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 1, 2019
Misleading title. Thought this was about speed cleaning or time saving tips. No it's just basic cleaning how to. I ended up just skimming it because so much of it I already knew or was irrelevant.
May 12, 2023
Most interesting takeaways -
Wall cleaner - 1/2 cup of borax in 1 gallon of warm water - 1/2 tablespoon of ammonia
Wood cleaner - 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 cup of vinegar or lemon juice
Tub and tile cleaner - 1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 1/2 cup of hot water
Baking soda helps with smelly shoes
White vinegar deters ants
Nontoxic bug spray - 3oz liquid peppermint castile soap and 16 oz water - spray directly on the bugs to kill them
Wall cleaner - 1/2 cup of borax in 1 gallon of warm water - 1/2 tablespoon of ammonia
Wood cleaner - 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 cup of vinegar or lemon juice
Tub and tile cleaner - 1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 1/2 cup of hot water
Baking soda helps with smelly shoes
White vinegar deters ants
Nontoxic bug spray - 3oz liquid peppermint castile soap and 16 oz water - spray directly on the bugs to kill them
January 29, 2023
Simplistic brain dump of various tips, ma y of which are flat-out wrong, such as making a paste of baking soda and vinegar, or microwaving wet cutting boards for 5 minutes. At one point, she encourages using a mixture of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide — which is a great recipe for making paracetic acid that can burning your throat and skin.
March 26, 2019
Really excellent book
January 18, 2023
A few good tips.
March 13, 2017
Overview of the basics with a few green tips. I would skip this and just Google any specific questions you have about cleaning or de-cluttering.
March 21, 2015
Not the best book in the world, but not the worst either. I did not realize that I had already read a book on cleaning/organization by this author. As a result I spent half of the book thinking, boy this sounds familiar. If you read one book on cleaning/organizing it should be this one. If you have one book to tell you how to clean certain things, I think that this book would be a good investment. I found quite a few interesting tips and tricks that I hope to employ in the future. Cleaning is a pretty overwhelming and depressing topic, this book can help to create a better understanding of where we can get started and where our priorities should be. Frequently within this book Donna mentions that if you do not feel comfortable/safe doing something then a professional should be hired. Honestly I do not think we hear that often enough in our lives! Happy Cleaning.
November 8, 2014
This was a good, clear and easy to read book. Most of this was the basics, it seemed, with some hints/tips added to it. There were some good 'recipes' for natural cleaning, some I didn't know! Which is great when you have kids and pets! A lot of things were not just how to do it, but when and/or how often, which I really appreciated. There were definitely some good tips and tricks dealing with pets, pests, and prevention. The three Ps. ;) Some things were common (basics) but there were also quite a few extras thrown in and I took notes! Overall, a pretty good book and worth the read. Great for a starter book for someone just getting a place or when the family somehow expanded. Get your squeaky on!
Want to read
July 31, 2012Actually, I was trying to find the book by Donna Smallin "Cleaning Plain & Simple" (ISBN: 978-1-58017-607-1)...published in 2006, but I found this one, which has a 2007 publication date. The book that I was originally looking at had a lot of good sense cleaning tips. I thought it might be good to read and see what I could glean from it.
May 19, 2008
started: 5/9
finished: 5/18
This book has so many wonderful ideas in it! It has recipes for truly green cleaners that are often cheaper to make than to buy pre-made chemical cleaners. I am actually going to spend the money to purchase this book...which hasn't happened in quite some time!
finished: 5/18
This book has so many wonderful ideas in it! It has recipes for truly green cleaners that are often cheaper to make than to buy pre-made chemical cleaners. I am actually going to spend the money to purchase this book...which hasn't happened in quite some time!
May 21, 2013
Pretty basic stuff. I didn't really get any new ideas or ways of doing things, but I do feel bad about all the things I still don't get to around here. But, i am getting something done now, little by little.
August 30, 2008
A very quick read - lots of good hints and tips for making clean up a fast and somewhat easier task. We shall see.....
April 10, 2009
It looked good when I bought it but I was disappointed. Maybe I've read too many of these. It would be good if this was the only one you had though.
August 27, 2012
Not as informative as the cover suggests
November 12, 2015
I was looking for a bit more. There was nothing here that I haven't read before or that isn't common sense.
Sorry! This one disappoints.
Sorry! This one disappoints.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews