Clean Freaks Unite!

Do you have a problem sleeping if there are socks on your floor? Do you find yourself scouring The Container Store for that perfect bin for aforementioned baby socks? Do you have a vacuum cleaner habit that could rival the bill that congress just passed? Do you secretly dust your friends coffee table when they are in the kitchen refilling your wine glass? If you answered yes to any of these questions, do I have the book for you! "The Queen of Clean's Complete Cleaning Guide"by Linda Cobb gives you ideas on how to clean everything from hardwood floors to tang in the toilet. I must give credit to my cousin Leanne for turning me on to this. You see, she is from the obsessive compulsive Johnson side of my family tree. We Johnson's are nothing if not a clean people. We change our sheets at 5 pm every Sunday. We vacuum several times a week. We would never think of using a mere paper towel to dust our shelves. I'm sure she did not notice the way my lip twitched when she told me about this book. I'm equally sure that she had no idea that this bad boy was going to feed my habit for weeks, even months to come. Things I have already used in this book: how to get crayons off the wall - pg. 154, how to get red wine out of carpet - pg. 72, how to get hard water stains off your glass shower - pg. 93 and many, many, many more. Most of her cleaning ideas are natural or low chemical. You can pretty much clean anything with club soda, white vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda (except crayons on the wall). I also really love that I don't have a cabinet full of a chemical cocktail that Luke or Kara might decide to chug-a-lug someday. Linda Cobb has several books on cleaning and you know that I have more than one, but for the bang for your buck and the extra sections on seasonal cleaning and organizing, this is my quick hit for a cleaning high. Momma happy.

BUDGET LIVING: Half Price Books usually has a copy or two of Linda Cobb's books. You'll save a few bucks by getting it that way, though, for the life of me, I can't understand anyone willingly giving this book up to sale. You will have to pry mine from my cold, dead hands.