Is there an easy way to find out when to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect tenses?

Preterite is usually for completed actions done in the past like played or began. It can only happen once. Typical phrases that let you know its preterite are ayer, una vez, anoche, la semana pasada.

Where as imperfect is ongoing or continuous actions. They typically have used to in front of the verb or the verb ending in -ing in english such as "He was speaking. (El hablaba.) Typical phrases in this tense include siempre, generalmente, toda la semana.

Ithink los discos compactos.

If "maid" is the name of the person  use this ( you can change the name if you want or if you needed.)maid usa una tina de agua con jabon para limpiar los espejos de su cuarto, a la vez que hace su cama y acomoda sus zapatos y tenis en su lugar. maid usa unos guantos para protegerse del cloro ya que limpiara el ba~o y lo quiere dejar super limpio.