Meeting Jolie Kerr
Dreams do come true! I had the pleasure of meeting one of my biggest inspirations, Jolie Kerr, last night. Jolie writes a column for Jezebel and Deadspin called "Ask a Clean Person" where she...well, it's pretty obvious. I headed out to Brooklyn for the launch of her book "My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag ... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha" and made it my business to stick my nose in her face. "Jolie! I'm one of your biggest fans. I'm Tidy Tova!" I even met her MOM (who, by the way, does not take full credit for Jolie's cleaning knowledge). Anyway, Jolie is awesome - she's a cleaning guru, super outgoing and really hilarious. This woman can tell you how to get any stain out of any anything (and she's not afraid to talk about it). Here are a couple of things that I learned during the Q&A session with Jolie:
1) White vinegar is a magic potion and basically a cure-all. Salt stains on your shoes? White vinegar. Stench in your room? White vinegar. She swears by it.
2) No one washes their pillows nearly enough. Yes. You should be washing your pillows. Like, in a laundry machine. The care tag will give you specific directions for getting those fluffers nice and clean.
3) Unseasoned meat tenderizer removes blood stains. Add water to it to create a paste and then let it sit on the stain for about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and then wash. So weird but I'm excited to try this one out.
4) Nail polish is toxic and there's most probably no non-toxic way to remove it if it spills all over your bathroom floor.
Jolie hates cats. She rivals Martha. She's one of the best clean people I know so go buy her book. You won't be let down.