If you are anything like me, you spend a good chunk of your day trying to keep the house clean. I’ve only got one child and a husband… I feel for you ladies with more. When it comes to cleaning, I keep things simple. Sterile is not on my to-do list, but short of that I’ve got you covered with a few tricks to speed up your chore list.
- Clean greasy cabinets with a hot sponge. Grease is my number one enemy in the kitchen. My family does a lot of home frying (French fries, chicken strips, corn dogs… you name it) so we end up with the stove, vent-hood, and cabinets covered in grease. To get everything squeaky clean again first spray everything down with a cleaner containing orange oil (about $4). While that sits toss your sponge or rag in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until good and hot. Using gloves wipe down everything with the hot sponge. I don’t know why, but it works better than the most expensive grease cleaners I’ve tried.
- Scum-proof your shower with Rain-X. Hit up the auto-parts section of almost any store and pick up a water repellant like Rain-X. Follow the directions on the bottle and apply to clean glass shower doors and tile. The water will bead off instead of sitting and causing all that hard build up. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers work wonders for the initial cleaning.
- Dishwasher wonders. My dishwasher and washing machine get one heck of a work out every week and that leads to a lot of buildup and mildew. For the dishwasher add a ½ cup of plain white vinegar straight into the dishwasher—if you can put it in the detergent cup even better. Run on a full cycle a viola! For the washing machine add 2 cups of bleach and fill with hot water, run the pre-wash cycle and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Repeat with 2 cups of white vinegar and you will be fully scum and mildew free. I usually run one more small cycle just so the clothes don’t smell like vinegar for the first wash. Do once a month.
- Lemons in the Microwave. To get rid of the smell and loosed any splatters in the microwave cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a small bowl of water. Add the lemon halves to the water and place in the microwave for 5 minutes. The lemon will cut any smell, and the steam will loosen any spatters. Wipe with a damp cloth and move on.
- Toilet secrets. Effervescent tablets for dentures or antacid (the kind that dissolve and bubble in water) will effectively clean your toilet. Drop 2 in and let them sit for about 20 minutes while you clean the rest of the bathroom, then run over with a toilet brush and flush it all away. Cuts through rust rings and mineral deposits.
- Cut lime deposits on faucets with vinegar. It is a good thing white vinegar is so cheap because I go through gallons, you can use it for almost anything. If you have thick lime buildup on your faucets or shower fixtures take an old rag and soak it in vinegar. Wrap it around the faucet and secure with a hair tie or clip and let sit for an hour. Take the rag off and wipe the faucet clean. For lighter cleaning used water and vinegar in a 1-1 ratio in a spray bottle.
- Wall art… If your child has used the walls as their personal canvas try using hairspray. Mist marker artworks with hairspray and wipe clean immediately. For crayon grab a tooth brush (I keep cheap ones for this and jewelry cleaning) and scrub with toothpaste, or use baking soda and a damp cloth to gently scrub away.
- Scuff marks. Some scuff marks can be really stubborn, grab a tennis ball and use it to wipe marks off of tile, vinyl, wood, and even painted walls. It works, if you have a dog you probably have a few anyway, and it won’t harm the finishes.
- Ring around the collar. My husband is a welder and is always covered in some kind of soot, then has a bad habit of putting on a button up shirt… The resulting ring around the collar resists most typical laundry treatments. Grab some white chalk and rub thoroughly, the chalk will pull out the grease then you can launder as usual. Works on most grease stains.
- Quick pick up. Best tip I ever got for keeping a tidy house. Never walk out of a room without something in your hands. There is always something to put up, if you’re heading to or past the room it belongs in grab it and put it up on the way. Once you get into this habit you will be amazed how much less clutter there is in any one room.
These tips are some of the ones that get me through my chores list the fastest, if you have any others I’d love to hear them!
