Cleaning tips

[YellowRoseTex]

Anyone have cleaning tips to share?

I try to do a few things each day so that I am not spending one entire day cleaning. Every once in awhile I will take a day and clean from top to bottom, but most weeks I just do a little each day and it keeps the house looking nice.

[pattyaks]

Kim, I am the same way with my cleaning the house:thumbsup:The only chore I do almost every day is the :laundry:One reason being dh's work shirts. I keep telling him he needs to buy a couple more. And he says "I know":hmm:

[Kate]

My tip : Move into a one bedroom apartment. ;) I only have a small place to clean.

Other than that, do a little every day. I like to keep the Clorox wipes handy to wipe off my kitchen and bathroom counters. That helps me!

[pednurse]

I like the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers......really cuts down on the number of cleaning products I need to keep on hand. They are great for a lot of things.....I use them to clean my countertops (wonderful at removing stains----I have white countertops and it's taken off tea, KoolAid, rust, etc), my sinks, my tub & showers (great at removing hard water deposits), walls (kids are experts at dirtying up the walls!), fridge doors & handles, etc. Best product that I've ever come across for it's usefullness and performance. For weekly cleaning, I break it up during the week....may clean bathrooms one day, may vacuum and mop another. Most of my cleaning time goes into picking up after DH & kids.

[lokerspadokers]

I'm so bad at cleaning right now. I clean everything up perfectly and then once it gets messed up I get so perfectionist about it and say "why bother." I tried the "flylady" method (flylady.net) (based on baby steps and not being a perfectionist!!) and when I do it, it works great but lately I can't even start!

[jones74]

I agree on trying to break in up during the week. I try to have a schedule of what I do on different days.

Personally when I wake up to a clean house I have a better start to the day. I should say not "clean" but straightened up. Like making sure the living room floor is picked up and the sink in empty.

I also do alot of the deep cleaning when the kids are here to help :)

Carla

[stampinafwife]

I second the motions of a little each day other then laundry, that is always a daily chore, I love my swiffer wet as it keeps me from dragging out the mop as often and I tell you that new carpet flick thingy is wonders on stairs. Magic eraser is great (although i have found it to leave funny markings on my counters...almost like it takes the sheen away) anyway a little each day and while you watch your favorite program pile all the knicknacks in front of you and dust them or wash them off and in commercials put them back.

[Weiser]

My sister in law taught me to take a laundry basket into whatever room I am cleaning. As you clean that room, anything that doesn't go into that room goes into the laundry basket. That way you don't get "distracted" as you put away items in other rooms!

Love the Magic Erasers!

[jasper]

I can't miss a single day doing the laundry, my DH thinks it's an addiction :D But I keep my ensuite clean by spraying it with cleaner before I go to the pool , so when I get home to have my shower it's just a matter of rinsing. The cleaner I use doesn't smell too bad but I don't notice so much as I always have that strong chlorine smell. I also keep my folding for when I'm watching something I really love on TV, that way it doesn't feel like such a chore!!!

[Linzomama]

I try to get my cleaning done earlier in the day so that when husby gets home I'm not running around stressing him out with my cleaning. Many messes are made in the evening (dishes, husby's office clothes everywhere, etc.) But doing it in the morning seems better for our relationship. :queen: A happy home is better than a clean one... but I want it clean, too!

[txgurl]

We have somewhat hard water here, and water spots on glass shower door and metal trim are a problem.
Last year we replaced our shower and shower glass enclosure so we were looking for something to protect it this time around. We found that there is a special glass protector you can put on your glass to help bead the water up. We also go a step further by toweling off the glass and the trim after our showers. It takes 5 seconds to do this and provides us with a little stretching exercise in the morning as a bonus, plus our shower looks brand new and it is a year old now.

As far as making things easier for cleaning the home in general, I have found keep it pickey up daily and counters wiped down to help a whole lot. The laundry done daily is a big help and not as overwhelming to me.

I clean floors, bathroom and dust once a week ,so it doesn't build up and become a real chore. If done weekly it is faster and easier to do.

[MaggieSt]

Here is how I clean my house:

On my computer desktop, place a folder named "Housework"
Move "Housework"to the Recycle Bin.
Click on Empty Recycle Bin.
When "are you sure you want to delete Housework"? pops up, click YES.
Housework gone!
Also works for Annoying In-Laws, Telemarketers, and anything else you need to get rid of!

I married a pack rat so cleaning is very hard as we have too much stuff in our house and no real place to put it all. I can't begin to count the number of garbage bags of stuff I've given away or thrown out; only to have it replaced by more stuff. Hubby has even pulled stuff out of garbage bags on the street and brought it back into the house!

[IamCricket]

For me, I have a problem with dust & kitty fur. So I have the Swifter dusters in each room of the house. Last night during a commercial I jumped up & cleaned the TV with the duster & felt just a little better that all the dust was off of one thing!

[wingriderprincess]

Ya'll are good! You could teach my clients a few things. I've been cleaning houses for 18 years and my favorite tip to give you all is *Vinegar" ; white of course. It's the best for scrubbing floors and keeping counter tops amd showers spot free. Ya know those showers that the water doesn't come out right anymore? Take them down and soak them over night in vinegar. It removes toilet bowl stains too... I just dump my kitchen mop water in the toilet and let it soak while I clean the rest of the bathroom, then use the toilet brush. Bingo! Stain gone! Ok, off my :soapbox:

Did I happen to mention that I like Vinegar?

:p

[CrystalCleer]

Someone mentioned the flylady method - I did that before. And the same for me, when I did it it worked well, but sticking with it is another story.
I think my method works best, kick the kids out and the house stays clean, LOL.

[spasmo]

Here is my cleaning strategy... the one hour readiness plan. We don't let the house get any dirtier than we can clean in one hour. We live about an hour away from our friends and family (and would most likely have that much warning that someone is coming over).

I do have a tip for de-dog hairing furniture... I put on a laytex glove and rub the furniture down. It works for me.

[Tracy]

I try to do a little everyday. AND I delegate to the kids. It helps me and it teached them responsibility. And I too like the Erasers. I was just telling my dad about them the other day. I use a lot of them.

[CrystalCleer]

Oh the ERASERS - those things are AWESOME - best thing since sliced bread, LOL

[crunchies0313]

I like the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers......really cuts down on the number of cleaning products I need to keep on hand.

Definetly agree. I actually use the Target brand, they are cheaper and do the same thing. I was totally amazed at what the little thing could clean. Bathrooms, kitchens, cars, EVERYWHERE! Mr. Clean is my hero!

[YellowRoseTex]

I love the erasers! They are wonderful! They work wonders on my white kitchen cabinets.

I have another tip for cleaning. Don't have *white* cabinets installed in your kitchen. ;)

[pednurse]

Kim......have to agree with you there. We have white cabinets and white countertops in the kitchen and all 3 bathrooms. The erasers are the only way I keep my sanity with keeping those clean!

[spasmo]

Kim and Vicki... I agree with both of you, and I would add dont have white grout either. I like darker grout because it is much more forgiving!

[Noelle]

I generally only clean when it gets so bad I can't open my door enough to get in. My mum loves that! Occasionally I get these burning urges to thoroughly clean my room, and for some reason these always come at about 11 pm. It leads to a sleepy girl in history class the next day.

Being always on the go, my favorite cleaning tools are a vaccuum cleaner and a bottle of Febreeze. Quick but satisfying.

[Mori]

I love the disposable cleaning cloths for the bathroom, just wipe clean sink, counter top, toilet, mirrors & then toss. I buy them at the dollar store.

[Arkiegirl]

So is the swiffer flick carpet thing a good thing???? I use the swiffer mop thing,that helps alot for those quick moppings or spills...KIDS are always spilling koolaid and I just pop that lil mop out squirt some cleaner on it and poof ,wipe it away.

[spasmo]

The Tide stain pen is pretty cool. It got mustard out of a white shirt this weekend and I was amazed!

[ashanti1922]

I do it late at night. everyone is sleep and I dont have to worry about anyone going behind me and messing up.

My house stays cluttered.

[Kim308pl]

I clean my kitchen almost daily. I have to have a clean kitchen. The other things I do as needed. We have to vacuum daily because our dog sheds...real bad. Wonder if those new carpert stickly or flick things would work wonders ont he dog hair. It hurts to vacuum, so I can always do it.

I have a 3 years old and well I just can't keep everything clean all the time. I have had to learn that as I used to be a very tight clean freak. So bad I even had to pantry in ABC order and according to product, canned, boxed, etc.

I also use the clorax wipes as well as the amgic eraser those are just great.right now my home looks a mess, but it is basically toys on the floor and then those little catch all areas.

Kim

[Beachgirl]

Thanks for the tip on target brand erasers, I love those things but Mr Clean is so expensive.

I'm a messy person by nature, and I married another messy person. Not dirty, just messy. The kitchen counter often ends up as our dropping off point, and I am forever picking up my DH's clothes from various chairs. We fortunately do not have many drop in guests, so when it's time to clean DH is right in there vacuuming, mopping, emptying the trash.

I would love for him to do laundry, but after a finding some of my favorite items have shrunk, or turned different colors, I usually do it. Or have him wash only his clothes. :)

[annarose]

But I keep my ensuite clean by spraying it with cleaner before I go to the pool , so when I get home to have my shower it's just a matter of rinsing.

:)Let me see if I got you right. Are you trying to say swimsuit for ensuite? I never heard of spraying down a swimsuit before going swimming.

I like flylady for cleaning tips. I like the idea of having certain days of the week for certain chores. That seems to help me get in the mood. Like if today is Wednesday, I must be vacuuming.

[Beachgirl]

I found a trick for getting DH to clean quite by accident. I was in a time crunch and couldn't get everything done and I found that if I ask him, he doesnt remember so I wrote it down on a dry erase board along with a love note.

I write it down and would just be happy if one item a day is done, but When I have done that he moves thru that list at amazing speed!:superman2

I never nag and I don't have expectations on how he does it or what the results will be.
I hate being nagged and critiqued, it fosters resentments to build. :nobashing

[LadyG]

Jasper my husband says I have to addictions--laundry and writing. He can't stand me washing all of the time but with five people in the house clothes pile up fast.
Weiser taking a laundry basket into every room seems like a good idea. I will be cleaning the living room and see something that belongs in another room. I stop and take it where it belongs and get distracted cleaning something in the room the item belongs in. Needless to say I have mini projects all over the house.