A few tips and tricks for less-abled housekeeping.

I've been meaning to write about a few tips I've picked up this year.
I used to spend a day a week cleaning house, starting in the kitchen, ending in the bedroom. these days I can't do that, but I have found that I can keep things reasonably clean in the kitchen by working a bit at a time, all the time.
One of the best tools is my container of Clorox wipes.
I used to get the cleaning sponge, and use a container with water/cleaner, then rinse and dry the counter tops, stove, fridge, etc. It involved a lot of running back and forth to the sink, bending, and getting fresh wash water.
Now every day as I wait for my coffee to brew, or my meal to cook in the microwave, I grab my container of clorox wipes and concentrate on cleaning part of the kitchen. Nothing is completely done in one day, but over all, the kitchen looks loads and loads better.
After cleaning all the surfaces, in turn, once, the next time through took much less time and effort. I can now wipe the counter down completely and get started on another part of the kitchen in one session.
If I cook that day, I of course clean a bit as I go, and the last thing I do that night before bed is wipe down the counter top to be certain I didn't miss anything.
I'm hoping to find a broom and mop I can use from my stool without bending too much. The floor is not at all as nice as the rest of the kitchen :-}

Another tip that Oscar came up with is a solution to the plague of fleas we've had this summer.
Using diatomaceous earth and neem powder we have waged war and achieved a sort of Maginot line in the house, but every time Kit goes outside, she brings in more. We put repellent on her every day, but there are some persistent buggers we need to keep on top of.
I was lamenting that I couldn't bathe her her every three days (the fleas' reproductive cycle) and that Oscar already had so much to do, when he said it was a shame we couldn't vacuum her.
But we can! Kit is a terrific dog who will put up with just about anything, and has no fear of the vacuum noise at all. In fact, she liked the vacuum 'scratching' her itchy spots as we used it. Of course we put diatomaceous earth in the vacuum container first, to kill the fleas once they are captured, and there are a few that escape, but it's MUCH easier than giving Kit a bath every three days.