What are your best house cleaning tips and secrets?
Question:I have a walking/crawling infant, two rowdy cats and a husband. It seems my house is always in disarry, though I try to keep it tidy. I'm really not looking for advice, more than this is just for fun. So, Y! Answerers, what are your best kept secrets, tips and strategies to a pristine home?
Answers:
oh visit the Flylady.
www.flylady.com
she sends out e-mail reminders and has wonderful cleaning lists
use lime to tackle grease.
LOL LOL fab question!!
Go read FlyLadys site - that will get you on the right track.
Good luck - its not easy!!
do a little bit of cleaning every morning: this way your day is free.example: load washing machine before bed...start as soon as you get up.
You can use Nature's Miracle for natural waste, like pee/poo, blood, throw up, grass stains, ect. You can use the Mr.Clean Magic Eraser for surfaces with just a bunch of gunk, like pen markings, food spills, dirty walls, ect. Both work like a charm!
Don't ever wait until "later" to pick something up. If you do, things will just continue to pile up. I take every opportunity to clean as I go through the house. You can chase a crawling infant down and dust table tops or items as your going. Husband's that don't help need a good swift kick. It's his house too. But then I have been lucky and my husband has always pitched in. With 8 kids, he has had to, or I would still be cleaning up things from 30 years ago.
Every evening, I come home to a place that's trashed by a man and two dogs. I play a mental game with myself by saying that I only have "X" amount of minutes to make this room presentable.
I also like to play the "How much can I clean before someone comes over?" or the ever-popular around my place - "How much can I clean and look pissy about it and finally give the impression that I'm tired of cleaning up after his lazy butt?" game :)
With your situation, nap times would be best to clean (quietly) around the baby. As for the cats, can you lock them up in a room while you clean the rest of the place? And does your husband help at all? I never nag him about it except for once a month, and then when he complains that he's busy, I pull out the "OH COME ON, I ask for your help once a month!" card and then he helps :)
I've also noticed that incence and candles help a ton in just making the place "homeier."
Have hubby pitch in, teach the baby to pick toys up and throw them in the toy box, make it a race or game so the baby will have a great time doing it, the older he/she gets, the more it will become a habit and your life will get much easier. Also, take care of things right away - file it, fix it, or toss it. Good luck, I know this is a challenging stage in a family's life.
eHow
How to do just about everything
pick up before bedtime every night and get the stuff at least back in the right room
use cheap shaving cream to clean the tub and sink and tile and marble
My home is far from pristine! But I've noticed that if I clean/straighten the biggest thing in each room, the place looks so much cleaner. I clear the clutter off of the counters in the kitchen, do the dishes, and clear the table in the dining area. I fix the pillows on the sofa (they're always falling), fluff the pillows, and fold the afgan in the living room. I make the bed and arrange the pillows in the bathroom, and clean the counter and sink in the bathroom. I also have a swiffer vaccuum, which is no good for serious cleaning but great if there's a few things you need to get up. Fifteen minutes later, my place is ready for company.
I do most of my cleaning at night when my husband is getting the kids ready for bed.. I have a 1yr./3 yr old... I clean/mop kitchen floor- unload/load dishwasher etc...
I have toys stashed everywhere! In laundry baskets the kids help me pick up toys before bath time.
I use baking soda at night on the carpets and then I vacuum it up in the morning.. Cleans/deoderises 12lbs at Bj's is under $5 and I use it elsewhere.
I do a load of laundry at night and put it in the dryer in the morning...
I vacuum everyday to keep dust down
I vacuum my dog once a week !!
Be organized!! When we have dinner we clean as we cook, get coffee ready for the morning(pot has timer), wash our dishes as soon as we finish and then hubby and I put away leftovers and wash the cookwear right away. This saves time for me to be away from the kitchen. Also, the child is just about the age (now that he/she is walking) to learn how to pick up toys and put them away. Use the reward system and the child will be more willing to help. Start teaching now and save yourself the hassle later. If you have one of those push along floor sweepers your little one would have loads of fun pushing it around the house helping mommy.
Good luck and remember BE ORGANIZED!
send the kids and cats to a close relative and get the husband to do some cleaning!
Vinegar is your best friend, for practically every cleaning function.
Also works as one Helluva-drain-cleaner:
Pour a liberal amount of Baking soda down your drain, then follow it up with a cup or two of vinegar... allow it to foam up for a few minutes, then flush with hot Water for about 5 minutes...
Drains'll be runnning free n clear in no time, without expensive drain-unclogging concoctions.
I asked a similar question a while back and one of the answers was get a power washer. Start in the upstairs let the water flow all the way down to the basement and let the sump pump drain it all out. Be sure to open the windows so it doesn't get moldy! lol Good luck.
I use simple green for cleaning the floors, counters, toilets...since it is non toxic it is safe for the kitties...(whom I have 3 unruly ones), and it is safe for babies.
I use a dryer sheet to clean the tv's since it helps repel the dust...
And newspaper to wash the windows without streaks.
Molly Maids twice a week
Children doing their chores and making them pick up behind themselves
Me straightening up as we go along and putting things back in place after we are done with them.
flylady.com
i break up my cleaning throughout the week instead of doing everything on one day. wed, i will dust, sunday is for mopping floors, saturday is laundry. doing it this way doesn't make me feel like i'm cleaning for so long, although i like to clean
I have a 7 year old, a 7 month old, a husband, and two cats as well. The easiest way I have found is to make out a list every morning. Then I put stars on the things that are most important. I also clean as I go. If I am headed to the bathroom I pick up a few items to take to the bedrooms. Pick up as you go basically. When it comes to the bathroom and kitchen I do all the cleaning when the baby is in bed for his nap.Other than that I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to keep the place livable.
hi,
I keep a mental list of what things i have to do. Basically i had divided time and days for it. For example In week days I do only laundry ( i put clothes and set timer for machine), fold clothes while watching serial, and in morning i just put the scattered things back to place. This keep my home arranged.
On Saturday I vacuum clean the house, and do some shopping which is stress buster for me :-).
On Sunday I do ironing. And I also clean Almira's once every 3 months so thats for Sunday.
This routine keep my home arranged, clean and It doesn't make my schedule hectic.
Hope it will help you
I alternate what areas I vaccuum; One day carpetting, the other day ceramic tiles. I alternate laundry too; one day folding and putting away, the next ironing clothes that need to be. The system works well enough for me. :)
Spilt candle wax can be easily cleaned up by placing a paper towel of the dried wax and ironing it out.
Steam for heavily wrinkled items.
hang the clothes on hangers and place on shower rack and turn on shower on hot water and let the steam fill room. In about 10mins or so the wrinkles are gone.
Also try throwing the clothes in the dryer to remove wrinkles.
general bathroom cleaner is the same as any other cleaner.
use it everywhere.
Rubbing alcohol is good as a disinfectant and counter top, window and overall cleaner. Just open windows to air out the fumes. lol
Vac go out? Try sweeping up the dirt by wrapping the broom bristles with Duct tape facing outward so when you sweep the floor it catches everything.
I avoid doing it all at once. Do just a little at a time. For example I spray the shower down just before I take a shower.
I have specific days for laundry. And laundry waits till the designated days. But when it comes I just do it.
I gave up on all the fancy, bulky deep cleaning vacuums. A light inexpensive one get used much more often and it was only $25 at Walmart.
I like to get early to do some of my household chores. This works for laundry or cleaning the kitchen. Everyone complains when I vacuum at 5 in the morning!
And have a plan for dinner. When its suddenly 5:30 and I haven't thought about what we are having, it becomes chaos. But I now also keep some pre made meals so even that is not as bad as it once was.
Running the dishwasher once a day whether or not it is full may waste some energy but it has made emptying it much easier - and part of the routine.
All this leads to a reasonably clean home. If you really want pristine, you may need to hire a maid. And with two toddlers you could probably use it!
Good Luck!
Blast the tunes,
And work work work,
Even hard work beats out talent.
With an infant, 2 cats and husband...
You won't have a pristine home..at least not without having a mental breakdown. Give it up and just settle for getting the toys off the floor before your husband gets home from work!
Just some good old fashion elbow grease.The harder U try, the more clean it'll become.
Vinegar, baking powder & pinesol are all cheap and clean everything from floors, carpet to clothing. Spray bottles mixed with equal parts of vinegar and water are great for getting pet smells out of carpets and furniture (I have 4 cats)- a cup of vinegar or baking soda to any load of laundry helps them come out cleaner and smelling fresher. See Heloise Hints for more vinegar tips.
Storage ottomans are great everywhere- in the office to keep stray cat toys hidden. In the living room to hide magazines or cd's or game parts (dice, cards, etc.)... In the bathroom to hide shampoo or toilet paper... In the kids room for toys or art supplies... And while they're hiding stuff, you can sit on them or use them as side tables.
Throw junk mail away IMMEDIATELY- as soon as you grab the mail- seperate the junk and toss it. Don't set it down on the coffee table or dining table and "go through it later"- just toss it. That way it doesn't accumulate.
When I get off work on Fridays, I come home and eat then head to the store to buy groceries for the week. When I get back, I wash the clothes, wash dishes, place the toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet, sprinkle Comet in the tub and sink, use the sanitation wipes on the kitchen counter and table and other kitchen surfaces and vacuum. In the meantime, the clothes are in the dryer and I'm ready to clean the bathroom, then I mop the kitchen and bathroom. Then I have the entire weekend to myself. Part of which is spent preparing breakfast for the week ahead to be microwaved later along with other preparations for dinner.
By the way I'm a man and I would encourage your husband to pitch in.
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