I'll be honest here. I wish my house were cleaner. I love a clean house, but with three boys and two dogs, things just seem to get dirty awfully fast. Oh, well. I'd rather have a dirty house full of boys and dogs than an clean empty house. Still, I love to find cleaning tips that make my job as homemaker a little easier, don't you?
For little mopping jobs, did you know you can simply dampen a rag an tuck it firmly into a Swiffer-type mop? Those little grippers are made to hold disposable electrostatic dust cloths, of course, but any rag will be held firmly in place by the grippers. Simply center the rag under the mop head
and push the sides firmly into the grippers.
Now you can easily clean up little messes on your floor, and you can simply throw the rag into the wash when you're finished.
You probably already know that microfiber cloths are great for cleaning granite countertops. They leave far fewer streaks than regular dish cloths. Every now and then, though, you might want to make your granite countertops extra-shiny. Did you know that you can use aerosol furniture polish to accomplish this? Just look at the counter on my kitchen island:
I achieved that shine almost effortlessly by spraying on furniture polish and wiping it off with a clean cloth. Worked like a charm!
Do you have any household cleaning tricks? Please leave a comment and share your good ideas with me!
*I'm linking to Beckie's "Great Ideas" party!
**Disclosure: I have no affiliation with Swiffer or any other household cleaning products. I am simply passing on a couple of techniques that have served me well in cleaning my own house.**
I put paper towels on a Swiffer and spray with Invisible Glass to clean my windows that are in hard places for me to reach.
ReplyDeleteI knew that furniture polish will shine up granite. :) Did you know it removes make up stains in your solid surface, Corian type bathroom sinks/counters??
ReplyDeleteI also like that when cleaning the oven, I fill the bathtub up before I clean the bathroom and soak my oven racks in vinegar and hot water. After soaking, they clean up so easily.
Last one, a neighbor told me that a mix of vinegar and liquid dish detergent and water makes for a great bathroom cleaner. Works great for cleaning those showers without the caustic chemicals.
Awesome tip regarding the granite. I don't have granite, but I have several friends who do!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has 3 boys and I'm pretty sure her granite hasn't shined like yours for more than 3 minutes before one of her little guys has slapped a sandwich on there or a 1000 little fingerprints appear everywhere!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about shining granite, but I plan to try it tomorrow.
Thanks!
Richella is your granite sealed? We haven't sealed ours yet. I wonder if it makes a difference with the furniture polish? That's a neat tip for the floors.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Linda
YES! I do that too, with my Swiffer thing. Those pad things got to be REALLY expensive!
ReplyDeleteMy best tip is to shine your bathroom/kitchen faucets with Windex. Works like a charm.
ALSO, if you have stuck on food in a saucepan, crock pot, etc., put liquid dishwashing liquid and water in it and bring to a boil on the stove top and allow to cool. It makes it much easier to get off stuck on food.
Wish I could use your tip for grantite, but I don't have any. I'll pass the tip along to my mom though.
Piggy backing on your swiffer tip...I also have a spray bottle filled with water so that if my rag becomes too dry, I simply turn it over & give it a few sprays or sometimes I just spray the floor. That way I don't have to remove the rag & re-wet it.
ReplyDeleteI also sweep my floor into a corner & then vacuum it up with my dustbuster :)
Other than having my mom come over, my best quick cleaning tip is to keep Lysol Disinfecting Wipes in your bathroom vanity. Every time I go into one of the bathrooms, especially if it's to pick up towels little ones have dropped on the floor, I get one out and wipe down the toilet and another one for the sink. It keeps the germs away and you're covered if someone shows up unexpectedly.
ReplyDeleteThe Shark products are very handy as well. We use the vacuum for any food under the table (no dogs to help there!) and then steam mop the kitchen and the hardwoods with vinegar and water. At least then I know the floor is sanitized.
My other tip is to get your kids involved. My 3 1/2 year old twins are obsessed with vacuuming so I let them go at it - one gets the kitchen, the other gets the living room, etc. My daughter prides herself on being "Lint Girl" - she cleans the lint trap on the dryer after each use and also uses the brush to clean into the lint trap holder (I do the outside regularly). My son, meanwhile, is in charge of gathering all the trash in the house and putting it out, along with the recyclables which all the kids participate in. Now, if I could only get them to pick up their toys...
I LOVE this idea!! I buy the Costco package of microfiber towels and use them on my floors, but usually just use them on my hands and knees! I am going to dig out my old swiffer! And the best part is this way I can let the littles help!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great idea!
And thank you for your sweet comment! I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!!
I make my own cleaning products because I don't like having all those chemicals on my surfaces and in the air. I love micro fiber cloths! They work so well and you can re-use and re-use them!
ReplyDeletei use automotive window cleaner for cleaning windows and mirrors. works great and is very inexpensive.
ReplyDeleteI have cut up old sweat pants to use as my reusable swiffer pads! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThat swiffer suggestion may have just changed my life. You are so clever!
ReplyDeleteI have been using old cloths with my swifter for a couple of years now. I have a bottle of water with Pin Sol mixed in that I spray on the cloth for cleaning my kitchen floors.
ReplyDeleteI like your swiffer replacement idea - eco friendly because you're not tossing out the cloth rags. I cut chamois cloths slightly bigger than swiffer pads and this works for me. Also, I dampen microfiber towels to dust, picks up dust better than anything else, and no chemicals are used.
ReplyDeleteThank you. You just saved me some $$! Never thought to use things other than the swifter pads. Love it!
ReplyDelete(visiting from Beckie's great ideas party)
First of all I have kitchen island envy. I want granite so bad. Second of all I love those microfiber towels. I swear they are good for everything.
ReplyDeleteLove the roman shade. Did you have someone make it? I have a 74"wide by 46 inches long window in my kitchen. IT is huge and I can not find "pretty" fabric roman shades to fit. Please help.
ReplyDeleteFor information on the Roman shade, check out my post right over there in "Popular Posts." I made it myself!
ReplyDeleteNice Kitchen decor. I simply love your blog. janitorial services los angeles have been cleaning for us for a year and we are very impressed with the efficiency, reliability and quality of the service provided both by the staff and the management.
ReplyDeleteI tried the furniture polish on the counter and it came up beautifully. Then I tried it on my stainless steel appliances and it came out so much better than the stainless steel cleaners. Doing the happy dance right now.
ReplyDeleteI put paper towels on my swifter and dust my walls....yes I said dust my walls. I live in Las Vegas and the walls are textured so dust does get trapped. One paper towel per room and it is amazing at the dust that gets picked up by the swifter - and it reaches the ceiling. Love it!
ReplyDeleteBaking soda, baking soda, baking soda. I use it on so many things. Crayon on the wall. Take a damp cloth dip it in some baking soda and rub. A little pressure might be needed but not much. Helps in your laundry get odors out and doess some whitening too. Cook top baked on food. Again a damp cloth and dip it and rub away. You don't have to worry about scrathing it either. Pots and pans too. Olivie oil on you counter. Sprinkle some baking soda on it. Be generous and it will draw the oil out. Might take a few times to get it all bbut just think, it's not toxic and won't hurt the kiddie or harm your food.
ReplyDeleteFYI for non toxic productsccheck out Melaleuca on line. You may use Brooke Haidamakka as the presenter or contact name.. they have great products and you can feel good about not using harmful chemicals around your family.
Love it.
ReplyDelete