I was just thinking about all the wisdom we have passed down to us from our families. How to get stains out of anything (my mom taught me to use Lestoil) how to fold towels, how to clean a cast iron woodstove, etc. And everyone has different ideas on these things. What is your best household tip? It can be something you thought of yourself, or something you learned from someone else!

I love this question! I am constantly asked by my sisters-in-law, "How do you keep your house so neat all the time?" This comes from women who think washing dishes is an optional activity. My answer? KEEP IT UP DAILY! If you keep things picked up, the bed made, the kitchen and baths tidy (wipe out the sinks, put away your junk, fresh towels) and the trash taken out, your house will always look tidy. Take a few minutes each day and nothing becomes overwhelming. I know it's not rocket science, but it works!

White vinegar in the dishwasher rinse cycle will remove spots on dishes and keep your dishwasher clean.

Dump and run ice down the garbage disposal to sharpen the blades.

2 words.......Magic Eraser.


Also vinegar and water removes carpet stains and is a great window cleaner.

My current best tip is to keep a dust buster in the bathroom. After blow drying your hair a quick vacuum with the little dust buster keeps the bathroom floor looking nice and it only takes about three seconds. A pet peeve of mine is hair on a bathroom floor.

my gallon jug of white vineagar! and the supersized container of baking soda...

one handy tip..if you have a deep sink make sure the faucet has a screw-on feature for garden hose...more than once we've hooked the hose up to it and saved trudging out in the snow, for unexpected uses...

Microfiber on glass. No more streaks.

Steam machine.
The ultimate antibacterial cleaner.
With Simple Green the ultimate cleaner of anything non-porous or electrical.

M, do you put Simple Green in your steam cleaner?

I like those "zipper" style sandwich bags for keeping small like items (screws/ fastners/ washers etc) together. They're also a great way to keep electronics cables (like ipod items) together. If I ever need to grab something messy and don't have gloves handy, I grab a grocery plastic bag and use it for a disposable or recycleable glove.

Husband will use the dishwasher (minus dishes) to wash his caps.

keep up daily tasks that take minutes: keep a clean sink, vac floors, make the beds

I use dishsoap and water in place of some cleaners and it works great and is cheap, and I don't need to store different chemicals. For example, I scrub the kitchen sink, and the stove and vent with dishsoap, & wash my granite . (For bathrooms, I believe stronger chemicals are better)

Daily airing of the house. I throw bedroom windows open in the morning while making the bed, whatever the weather. And open other windows when I get home from work, just for a couple of minutes at least to get fresh air in the house. No air fresheners, sprays and candles needed.

Take all rugs and bedding out on the deck at least once a month and give everything a good shake / beating and leave them on the deck chairs for a bit. Again, nice fresh smell in the house and dust is greatly reduced.

Clear Ammonia!!! You can lay paper towels on your stove top and pour a bit of ammonia on them and cover the whole stove top in plastic wrap and let it set overnight. Cleaning is a snap!

Also, put a cup of ammonia in a trash bag and put your oven racks in it and set it outside in the sun for a couple of hours. Makes them easy to clean.

If you burn a pap or casserole real bad, pour a tablespoon of ammonia in the pan (NO WATER!) and put the lid on it... next day, you can practically wipe it clean with a sponge.

Just be really careful, the fumes are horrendous!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sjf:
my gallon jug of white vineagar! and the supersized container of baking soda...

ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, magic eraser..on everything except painted surfaces. If you still have formica countertops, wash them down with the magic eraser..you will be utterly amazed at how dirty they were and how new looking they will be!

Use hairspray to take out ink stains in most anything

Use hydrogen peroxide to getout blood stains

Plan meals ahead - buy only what is needed and stick to the plan. Saves time and money and frustration of trying to figure out what to make. Make enough to freeze for easy reheats on busy days

Wipe out refrigerator weekly prior to loading up with groceries. Always clean this way.

Wipe down the shower with a squeegee after EVERY shower. Really cuts down on the cleaning and water spots.

Put timer on for clothes in the dryer (can't hear the buzzer) so they don't get wrinkled. Saves time on ironing.

Wash the dryer vent with soap and water and dry well once a month -- this helps tremendously with the air flow and your clothes will dry faster with a cleaned vent. Clean the vent going outside 2-3 times a year, too.

quote:

Originally posted by Just Plain Jan:
...Just be really careful, the fumes are horrendous!

That's because ammonia is basically TOXIC!!!

But I will THIRD the super large baking soda and jugs of vinegar as my best household tips...and I prefer the vinegars that state they are indeed grain based and even more so Spectrum Organic Vinegar for my cleaning as I find it's odor much less strong than the others...I was lucky to buy a ton of bottles for about $1 each at a store clearancing it out earlier this year.

My favorite thing I picked up in lieu of drain cleaners which are quite the nasty substance to keep around your home....is to use baking soda, vinegar and boiling water to remove clogs. I have used both adding a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda to a large pot of boiling water and dumping down sink or tub drains....to putting the baking soda above the drain, dumping a cup of vinegar on top to start the fizzing and following up with the boiling water...I tend to think this way works best as it starts to work on the build up while your water is boiling....

Also using vinegar followed by a spray of hyd peroxide to disinfect surfaces....INSTEAD of chlorine...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GreenAlice,

When washing windowes, use ammonia and hot water,one rag to wash, one to dry and one to polish, when the "dry rag" gets to wet, use the polish rag to dry and a clean rag to polish. If your water gets cool, but is still clean enough to use,heat on the stove.If you are washing both the inside and our side of the window, wash and dry in different directions. IE. Wash the inside from top to bottom and the outside from side to side.That way, if there are streaks on the window, you know which side of the window you need to rewash. Also wash the windows on a cloudy day, because the glass will be cool and will not dry from the "heat of the sun" before you get a chance to dry them.If you have screens on your windows wash them before you put them on ( or lower them) that way, whatever dust dirt is in(on) the screens will not get on your windows when it rains. The same thing goes if you have a house that still has "storm windows" that need to be hung in the fall.Wash them before you hang them. If you have a 2 level house that needs to have storm windowes put on, instead of carring the storm windows/ screens u[ a ladder to put in place,take peice of strong rope, long enough to reach from the ground to the top level of the house, put a strong hook on the end of the rope, have someone stand in the window on the second level, hook the storm,screen on the rope and have the second person in the window pull the screen/storm widow up and put in place. If you have a garbage disposal, once a week, throw some lemon peels down the drain and grind them up to keep it sweet smelling, grind some ice cubes once or twice a month to help sharpen the blades. When you dust, use a damp cloth(picks up the dust better) and dust from the top to the bottom.All ways empty the vacume cleaner bag every time before you vacume, that avoids(sp) "spewing " dust back into the air. When you change the vacume bag, put a few drops of lemmon oil(or your faviort light scent) on the bag.As you vacume, the scent will be dispersed in the room. If you still have clothes that need to be ironed and you don't have time to do it "right now", sprinkle them, roll them up and put them in the freezer. That way they will say damp, with out mildewing or drying out. Also, somehow, "frozen" clothes are easier to iron and you can iron a peice at a time as needed.
If you have a stainless steel sink, use alchole(sp?) to clean it rather then cleanser that could scratch the stainless. If you have copper bottom pots and want to keep them shiney(sp?), sprinkle some salt on the bottom and then use 1/2 of a lemmom to "scrub" them clean.
If you do a lot of frying or browning on your stove, find a metal "sheild"(not sure they still make them, mine is a "hundrad years old) to prevent the "spaters) from going all over the stove.This one is a "pain in the neck) but line the drip pans under your stove with foil, makes them easier to clean. If you can't do that, when it is time to do a "major" clean up of your stove, remove the drip pans and put them in a leak proof bag with some amonia and set them outside( avoid the fumes stinking up the kitchen) to soak for a couple of hours. The "crude" will losen up and just wash away. Also, (only for an electric oven) put a dish of amonia in the oven over night, the fumes will help to lossen all the "junk" and make it easy to just wipe away.(DO NOT USE IN A GAS OVEN AS THE FUMES MIGHT EXPLOID(sp?)from the pilot light.)Rather then do a "major" spring and fall house cleaning, "Deep clean" one room a week or month,clean the closets out in that room, remove and clean the drapes, shampoo all the furniture and rugs,clean out all the dresser drawers,ect.When you do this, set up three boxes or bins marked, keep, throw out, donate. Replace the "keep" things, throw out the throw out box(DO NOT GO THRU THIS BOX OR RETHINK WHAT IS IN THE BOX OR THE "DONATE" BOX.) and take the donate box to whatever place that you donate things to. When you go to cleanup your house, take a basket of some sort with you, put everthing that you pickup that does not belong in "that" room in the basket. As you go from room to romm put away the things from the "basket" that belong in that room,if at the end of the day, you still have "stuff" in the basket, either it does not belong in the house or it would not be missed if thrown out.Or, if you are not sure about an item, put it where you "think" it might belong and then, in 3 or 6 months,rethink the item and then decide what to do with it.
HTH,
msmarymac2

I have a Euro glass shower enclosure... and well water. Lime and scale have been an issue and I've tried everything, Lime-A-Way, vinegar, you name it. The solution to this problem is Mineral Oil, such as Baby Oil. I wipe it on dry glass with a paper towel and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then I wipe it off until clear. It's like magic and will sheet water for several days (depending on use). Try it!

White vinegar in rinse cycle of washing machine. You do not smell vinegar!!

Sugar cubes for cleaning flat top stoves.

They get off the stuck on gunk without scratching the glass!

I'm with Green Alice ammonia is so TOXIC, I 'd rather lower my standers than expose anyone to it. Vinger & baking soda will clean anything as good as a toxic substance like ammonia, why do you think it smells so bad!

But my tip is about cleaning micorwaves. Put in a 2 cup measureing cup full of water, spilling a little on all the spots. Then heat till water is boiling. Take it out & close the door fast, pour enough water in a tea cup & put the measuring cup back in the micorwave fast & just leave it there with the door closed. Make you a cup of tea and relax will drinking it. When done wipe out the micorwave with a clean cleaning rag & you are done. The water melts all the stuff, so you can just wipe it up. If there is still some stubborn stuff left, redo the water treatment again.

ammonia water for cleaning my floors!!!! I love it....it doesn't leave a film either....and it's cheap!!! When using the ammonia to clean the oven racks, etc - i will do that outside, so when i open it up - the fumes go into the air - and of course, i don't have my face on the side i'm opening up

Baking soda
Washing soda
Borax
Fels-Naptha (or other laundry bar)
vinigar
peroxide
rubbing alcohol

olive oil & lemon for wood

if you have these things on hand you will not need ANY household cleaners... including comercial laundry tetergent & softener!

They are cheap and easy to keep at the ready.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rachel_G,

I mix a paste of baking soda and water to clean the hairspray build up off of my bathroom floor.
Scrub the floor with a magic eraser,then take a damp towel to wipe off any baking soda residue. I do this quite often. Nothing worse than having wet feet sticking to a hairspray coated floor!