By Rosemary Sadez Friedmann
Scripps Howard News Service
Did you ever think that your computer, iPhone or Android phone could help you clean house? Well, they can. There are technological wizards out there who have dreamed up ways to help you conquer the dismal chore of housecleaning by helping you with organization and maintenance.
Working parents decided to design a “divide-and-conquer” approach to keeping the house clean. They planned a program that breaks down chores into bite-sized tasks that are to be accomplished one at a time — actually, one a day. In other words, bite-size chores.
How does this work? There is a rotating checklist that guides you so you go through all the chores, then start again. But remember: It is one chore a day. So what does this have to do with technology? For schedule, go to any search engine and type in “Clean Freak Cleaning Schedule.” There you will find the explanation of the program and how to download it onto your Apple iPhone for only 99 cents. The information to follow will then be on your iPhone for you to add, delete or move from task to task as you go through the chores.
Do you have an Android phone? Then “Organizing Your Home” is your answer. For only $1.19, you will be totally organized, or so say the promoters of this download. The program gives you practical tips and techniques for ridding all the rooms in your home of unneeded clutter. This program is organized in a room-by-room manner.
Then there is the “House Maintenance Schedule” that is free for Android phone download. This is a calendar application where you log dates of routine maintenance. There are reminders of due dates and the next maintenance that is needed. Tasks in this program include: flushing water heater and inspecting fire extinguishers.
, changing oil for the mower, cleaning lint from dryers.
, cleaning or replacing water filters, and changing smoke-detector batteries. These are organized into six-month, three-month and monthly logs.
So there you have it — housecleaning via technology. If you are interested, you can get more information through Appitalism.com.
(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of “Mystery of Color.” For design inquiries, write to Rosemary at DsgnQuest@aol.com.)
SHNS

The Associated Press
04/11/11 11:21