In this industry, we spend our days thinking about how to make homes beautiful. After a year and a half of living in LIC, I’m finally satisfied with my decor- so I’m now focusing on keeping the place sparkling clean.

All these shiny white things require a lot of scrubbing.

I try to buy earth-friendly cleaning products (I swear by Clorox Green Works glass cleaner and dish soap) whenever I can, but sometimes you need something a little stronger.  Anyone who has chosen white Caesarstone counters knows that strawberries, ice cream, tomato sauce and a host of other colorful comestibles leave ugly stains. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Comet Spray Gel has changed my life. Just spritz counters (or dingy bathtubs and basins), leave on a minute or two and wipe away. Magic!

Comet, it makes your teeth turn green (as the old song goes)...and your surfaces super clean.

Dark wood floors show every speck of dust, and a super-absorbent dog doesn’t help the problem.

For his first trick, Ernie will insist on being dragged through the dirt.

I love these silly slippers, which do double duty as dust mops. When you’re done puttering around the apartment/cleaning, un-Velcro the soles and throw them in the wash. I bought mine at Pearl River, but you can order them from Amazon, too.

These stylish slips do all the work, and they make great gifts for obsessive-compulsive hostesses.

Tide gives me crazy hives, but most eco-friendly detergents either don’t get the job done, or lack that fresh laundry smell. Mrs. Meyer*s makes a super-concentrated detergent (64 loads out of one little bottle!) that smells incredible and leaves clothes really fresh and clean.

I like the lavender scent, but basil, lemon verbena, baby blossom and unscented versions are worth a try, too.

Here’s a bonus tip: My uncle, a diamond cutter, says that the best jewelry cleaner is a 50-50 mix of hot water and ammonia. A soak in a small cup of the stuff leaves your rings and baubles sparkling, and at a fraction of the price of jewelry cleaner.

These are not my actual jewels.

Now, if only someone can suggest a stainless steel cleaner that actually works…