Speed-clean your fireplace

Wait at least 24 hours after you've burned your last fire so the ashes cool thoroughly.

Minute 1: Put on an apron and lay a plastic tarp in front of the fireplace.

Minute 2: Situate yourself on a kneeling pad. Wearing rubber gloves, remove logs, tinder and the grate; set aside on the tarp. Keep burnable logs; toss badly charred logs into the trash.

Minutes 3 to 5: Sprinkle a handful of used coffee grounds on the ashes to minimize flyaways. Sweep each interior wall top to bottom with the fireplace brush. Shovel the ashes into a pan, then dump the debris into the trash.

Minute 6: Sweep each screen top to bottom with the fireplace brush.

Minutes 7 to 10: Tackle the exterior.

For brick: Spray water onto sooty areas followed by hearth cleaner. (For bricks more than 50 years old, use only water -- no hearth cleaner.) Clean with a scrub brush, spritz with water, then use a soft cloth to dry.

For marble and stone: Spray residue with water, clean with dish-washing liquid and a cloth, rinse, and dry.

Minutes 11 to 12: If the fireplace has glass doors, apply hearth cleaner to the back and front of each door, then wipe down one panel at a time, removing the cleaner before it dries.

Minutes 13 to 14: To polish tools and grates, place them on the tarp, spray with hearth cleaner, and wipe clean with paper towels.

Minute 15: Replace the grate and logs. Carefully ball up and toss the tarp. Take the trash can outside. Now draw the screens, close the doors, and kick back. But don't make a fire just yet. You should enjoy that sparkling-new fireplace for at least a few days, right?