Cleaning tips?

Dawn - posted on 07/06/2010

I am an older mom and I found that if you break things up over the week you will come up with a schedule that is easier to maintain then the stress of your list. Like Monday and Thursday Laundry, Tuesday Bathroom, Spring cleaning 1 or twice a year when you can fit it in the day. Spring cleaning is just moving things out to clean behind them or in them. Good luck!!

Jennifer - posted on 07/05/2010

I like the vinegar and water tip!
I've been using What-Ever and 2am Miracle for quick cleans too. It leaves no residue and can be used on toys.
Laundry tip: When our dryer broke, I discovered we saved around $30 a month in energy bills simply by line-drying! You can pick up a drying rack at Walmart for around $12. Also, DON'T use fabric softener on towels. The chemicals greatly decrease their ability to absorb water - not something you look for in a towel. :) Instead, I use laundry balls - about $5 at the grocery store. They do the same thing, but are re-usable and don't add chemicals. I love how the towels turn out!
Woolite is good for handwashing. Just fill the sink with cool water and follow the instructions on the bottle. Let it soak and rinse really well.
Sorting - try to get 'like" colors together. I have a pile of white/light, red/pink/orange, blue/green, and purple/black. Most dyes are more colorfast than in years past, but occasionally you get something that "bleeds" into the water and can collect on the other clothes. (Whites and reds = pink "tighty-whities". LOL
Hope this helps. :)

Majaliwa - posted on 07/01/2010

I think my routine is really similar to Lindsey. But I'm a clean freak too - something that has been a little harder to do with two babies. The only other thing I would add is to clean / pickup daily after the kids have gone to sleep. This will keep you from having such a huge mountain of cleaning to tackle at the end of the week and will allow you to clean in peace. I refer to my boys as the moving hurricanes. They follow me everywhere and destroy as they go!

Oh - and one other tip a girlfriend gave me is to use something called 'color savers'. You can find them in the laundry aisle at the grocery store. You toss them in with your wash and they absorb colors that bleed which allows you to wash all of your clothes together. One note: it does NOT work with reds. I found that out the hard way :-)

Lindsey - posted on 07/01/2010

I clean my bathroom every saturday and use homemade cleaning products because i have a child with asthma and sensitive skin. I use a mix of vinegar and water(1/2 c vinegar, fill rest of bottle with water) that discinfects so i use it on counters, mirrors, tub and outside of toilet. Inside the toilet i use 2 cups of baking soda, scrub then flush, add 2 cups vinegar to discinfect and scrub again then flush. Floors use 1/2 bucket of steaming hot water with 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup baking soda. Careful with baking soda and vinegar mix it will foam so add slowly. I use regular wash cloths for most of cleaning, toilet use toilet brush, tub use scrub brush and floor use mop. I use vinegar and water in spray bottle for kitchen and same mop water for kitchen floor. I vacuum daily, mop every saturday and i do 1 load laundry daily. I use a high eficiency washer and dryer, do not seperate clothes and i use snuggle fabric softener but am going to try new downy dryer bar that lasts 40 dry cycles. I do not handwash anything because my washer has a handwash cycle on it so i just throw my delicates in on that cycle once a week. I do spring cleaning 2 times a year once in april and again in november. I go through all closets, cabinets and drawers in the house. I sort through everything and unless i am keeping it for sentimental reasons if i havent used it since the last spring cleaning it goes in the trash. I hope this helps. I am a very clean person in fact most people say i am a neat freak so if you have any other questions regarding cleaing or pretty much anything doesnt have to be about cleaning i will help if i can. Just send me a message with any questions you have and i will help in any way i can.