We're not pointing fingers or anything, but let's just say we might have strolled into more than one apartment in our time in which the fellow in charge of cleaning was, well, clearly otherwise preoccupied.
Exhibit One might have been the kitchen sink, piled high with a good month's worth of dirty dishes, spaghetti sauce now permanently splattered to the wall, a la Jackson Pollock. Or maybe it was whatever lurked behind the bathroom door we fled from.
Fact is, plenty of males we know need help in the cleanup department. We enlisted the expert advice of Nicole Sforza, senior home editor at Real Simple magazine and a clean freak who knows her way around all the nooks, crannies and dust holes that might trip up a lesser soul. She's provided this Guys Guide to Housecleaning, headlining the top 10 tips for a spick-and-span abode. Or, as Sforza put it: "How to Minimize the Gross Factor."
1Ditch the toilet brush, dude. No really. You do not want that nasty thing festering in the holder, over there in the corner. "Minimize the concept altogether," says Sforza. Go with disposable toilet brushes (she's a fan of the Clorox Toilet-Wand). Swish and ditch. (Or ditch them altogether: Next time you find yourself in need of Alka-Seltzer, well, your toilet bowl could use two, too. Just pop 'em in the bowl, let the bubbles do their thing, and 20 minutes later, flush it all away.)
2Hide the goods. Keep a bottle of all-purpose cleaner in every room in your house, but hide it. Under the couch. Beneath the sink. You name it. Sforza loves eco-friendly What-Ever! products (www.cleanhappens.com) and swears that, unlike plenty of green cleaners, this one gets the job done. Parsley Plus (www.ecos.com) is another green cleaner Sforza loves, and don't forget plain old white vinegar in a spritz bottle.
3Cut the big-screen fixation. Do not, do not spritz any sort of cleaner on your big screen, boys. Ditto for the computer screen or any electronic gizmos that sport a dusty patina. Instead, next time you haul a load of laundry out of the dryer, grab the old dryer sheet (yes, the one that just came out of the dryer) and wipe down your screens.
4Be still my Swiffer Duster Heart. Yes, the handheld shaggy-haired wandy thingy is the next best thing to that genie in a bottle. You don't need any spray. Just swipe the duster on any surface and you'll clear the decks of dust. But beware: When the duster starts to turn a grayish color, it's time to toss it out.
5Leave it where you'll trip over it. The tile cleaner, that is. Tuck it between the shower curtain and the shower liner, so you'll remember to spritz the tile walls every time you suds up. Otherwise, your grungy shower might be a big, fat turnoff. And that's the last thing you want now, isn't it?
