I am glad to here that many do not clean their gardens to bare dirt. Exposed dirt also means less of the natural soil fauna that keeps it healthy. By this I mean the natural and beneficial soil organisms, micro-organisms, fungi, bacteria, worms, and yes, even insects. Leaving your soils "au natural" goes a long way in preventing other problems that might otherwise crop up, like compact soil, too high or too low pH, correct water retention, poor water conservation and soil baking. Of course, there are times when real cleaning is wise. It is always a good idea to remove diseased or insect infested refuse that would serve as inoculum the following season. And certain plants, like bearded iris and most true alpines, complain terribly if mulched with organic materials. So as you might expect, my mulches are never completely remove. But I do usually remove dead material from the garden plants themselves. And I must admit that, temporarily, I even remove most of the mulch in gardens that I do significant replanting.

aocat--it's probably similar to the lemon/water recipe for cleaning the microwave. I use 3 1/2 cups water + 1/2 cup lemon juice in a 2 cup measuring cup. Place in microwave and run it on high for 3-5 minutes. Leave door closed for another 3-5 minutes after. Then open the door and wipe everything down. The steam generated from the water & lemon juice softens any dried on debris and it wipes right off. In the oven, I would think you'd put the water/lemon juice mixture in a glass oven-safe baking dish and turn the oven on until the water gets hot & it steams up a bit--if you have a proof setting, that may work as well. Turn the oven off and allow it to sit with the door closed for ~5-10 minutes, then wipe clean. If you have a microwave, I would think it would work just as well (and save electricity) to get the water/lemon juice mixture hot in the microwave first, then place it in the oven. While you're waiting on the oven, you could wipe the microwave down. Hope this helps!

My hardwood floors are probably filthy, but look really good. I have them throughout the first floor. I sweep them daily, and run the occasional Swiffer WetJet on the kitchen portion of the floor in front of the sink, dishwasher and stove. I have tried a lot of things when mopping, and found that I prefer to use hot, HOT water and a damp rag mop once a month to get them really clean. I often have to refill the water, as it is black during this cleaning. Should probably do it more often, but I don't have the time.

2. Protect Oven: The excessive debris building up on the bottom of appliance can be prevented by the oven liners and washed and reused time and again. This is begging for trouble when those liners melt. I don't know of a single oven manufacturer that doesn't say, "Don't use liners!". You can see some of the threads here for more on the problems they create. Also, for #4, randomly pouring drano et al is foolish, wasteful, and not good for the environment. Keeping a plunger available for if you have a problem and using common sense like not pouring hot fat down the sink are both better ways to avoid clogged drains. But working methodically to avoid going back over where you were is a good recommendation.