1 Rule to Avert Your Very Own Hoarding Horror Story

books and papers spiral

WGE Founder Jim Ireland spent over 15 years cleaning New York City apartments as a supplement to his career as a stage and screen actor. Having seen inside both the glitziest and grimiest abodes Manhattan has to offer, we asked Jim to share some of his cleaning horror stories.

This one in particular stood out.

I once arrived to clean an apartment in Midtown with another cleaner. The woman met us out in the hall to warn us that her place was “very messy”. She stood in the hallway with her door ajar as if she was hiding her home from us. When she invited us in, she squeezed through the narrow door opening, as did we, with the stunning revelation that she was not hiding her place but had hoarded so much stuff that she could barely open her front door. We literally stepped up into her apartment and were walking so high off of the floor on her “stuff” that we had to duck to get through the interior doorways. In the bedroom there was no sight of a bed, only the gradual rise and fall of a magazine mound.

Don’t live in a landfill! (Well unless you’re into that sort of thing – you know what they say about one man’s trash…)

While we’ve shared with you Jim’s 7 Second Rule for preventing messes from accumulating in the first place. However that ship has long sailed if you find yourself in a situation such as the one Jim found our friendly neighborhood hoarder in. Even if it’s not that bad, recognizing that the clutter is reaching an unacceptable level is the first step to taking action. What do you do if the problem is HOW DO I GET RID OF ALL THIS STUFF? There’s a reason (psychological, sentimental, laziness) you held onto these things in the first place, so Jim has a helpful rule to cut through the uncertainty, set down some boundaries, and make it easy to get down to getting rid of all this junk.

The 2 Year Rule: If you haven’t worn or used something this season or last season, give it to someone who will. And if you’re holding onto it because you’re thrifty, give it to a not-for-profit organization, get a receipt for it and deduct it from your taxes.

If you can’t think of someone who would make use of these things, or if they aren’t suitable for anyone else – then there’s only one appropriate action: disposal (don’t forget to recycle if that’s appropriate.) There you go – if you’re holding onto something for the mere sake that it might come in handy some day at the expense of comfort in your present living space, then either you’re delusional or you need a storage unit. Follow this rule (you don’t have to blindly terrorize yourself, a FEW exceptions are allowed) and you will find yourself de-cluttering your space, your mind, and gaining square footage you totally forgot about!

We hope the knowledge on this blog helps you treat your home with care. However, sometimes it’s great to have help – otherwise we wouldn’t be in business. Book service online today or call us at 212-684-4460 to schedule an appointment with New York City’s top tier housekeepers.

The Most Important POV For A Clean Bathroom

Bathroom Holder
Photo by hermaion from Pexels

It’s all about perspective.

“A quick cleaning trick is to take a second to sit on the john before leaving the bathroom,” WGE Founder Jim Ireland says. “That’s where people spend the most idle time in there and have a chance to see how clean your bathroom really is.”

Such a simple, but obvious trick.

Also – and this one is applicable in all rooms – if you’re a particularly tall (or short) person, try switching up your elevation with a quick crouch or climb on a chair. What looks a perfectly clean room from a scan around at your height can instantly reveal undusted surfaces or hidden debris.

We hope the knowledge on this blog helps you treat your home with care. However, sometimes it’s great to have help – otherwise we wouldn’t be in business. Book service online today or call us at 212-684-4460 to schedule an appointment with New York City’s top tier housekeepers.

This Money Saving Knowledge Will Make You a Shower Curtain Cleaning Pro

Bathroom Shower Curtain
Photo by yann maignan on Unsplash

We sat down with White Glove Elite Founder, Jim Ireland (a cleaner himself for 15 years) to discuss some lesser known cleaning tips and he was more than happy to share this gem!

My least favorite cleaning chore for the first decade of my cleaning career was cleaning shower curtains/liners. The ones with the soap scum and oftentimes black mildew at the bottom of them because my clients apparently hated to clean them as much as I did. My reason for hating this chore was because spray cleaners are not strong enough, scouring cleansers are very difficult to rinse, and it is impossible to get enough leverage to effectively use elbow grease without tearing the liner from the rings on curtain rod.

Does this familiar to anyone? YUCK.

Luckily, Jim found a solution.

I had been told to launder them, but I didn’t get great results when I had tried that UNTIL I added rags and bleach to the process: I now remove the shower liners, gather cleaning rags and white socks, place in a tumble washer and launder in hot water using half of your normal amount of detergent and one cup of bleach. If your shower curtain/liner does not come out looking like new, then you didn’t have enough rags or socks in the load.

And luckily a bit knowledge led to a happy conclusion.

This job is now – no lie – my single most favorite chore around the house.

Next time you find yourself stuck on something your dreading – sometimes a bit a knowledge, advice, or experimentation can totally change the game and alter your entire mentality. And even save you some cash. Who knew you could wash shower curtains? I was FAR too resigned to chuck them in trash – after also letting them get WAY grimier than common sense hygiene would allow – solely because I considered them disposable. Your wallet will thank you!

We hope the knowledge on this blog helps you treat your home with care. However, sometimes it’s great to have help – otherwise we wouldn’t be in business. Book service online today or call us at 212-684-4460 to schedule an appointment with New York City’s top tier housekeepers.

This Rule Will Save You Hours Around the House

Washing fork in sinkHere’s White Glove Elite’s founder Jim Ireland’s priceless 7-Second Rule: Whenever you remove an item of clothing or bring a dish to the sink, I ask myself, “Do I have seven seconds to hang this item or rinse it and put it in the dishwasher?” The answer is invariably “yes” and it saves me hours every month trying to decipher my dirty wrinkled laundry from my cleaner wrinkled laundry. And for dishes it saves me a half-hour per week by not having to soak and scrub caked-on dirty dishes.

It takes 45 days to build a new repetitive habit because that is about how long it takes for your brain to blaze a new neural pathway. While it might not be easy at first, 7 seconds here and there is very realistic to fit into your daily routine (unlike say, spending an hour at the gym, or cutting out carbs completely.) So what’s the harm in trying? Scientists have proven that small steps on the path to greater goals gives you brain a tiny hit of the neurochemical dopamine – so hey, you might start even enjoying it as well! Think BIG PICTURE!

We hope the knowledge on this blog helps you treat your home with care. However, sometimes it’s great to have help – otherwise we wouldn’t be in business. Book service online today or call us at 212-684-4460 to schedule an appointment with New York City’s top tier housekeepers.