Cleaning Tips

I thought it might be fun to share cleaning tips with one another. You can include products that you just can't live without, your cleaning routine, or anything that might help us save time on this never ending chore. A house is a living thing after all.

Things I can't live without:
1. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It is a miracle worker. I use it on walls and even on my stove. I love watching the black marks disappear. It truly is "magic."

2. My Swiffer and Swiffer Vacuum. They truly work better than a broom. My house is 70% wood floors, 20% linoleum, and 10% carpet so, they get used often. The one drawback that I have found is the refills are a bit pricey and they get used quickly here. That and I feel bad to add more to the landfills every time that I throw one away. I have come up with a solution though. I did my own experiment. At the Dollar Tree they have microfiber cloths for a buck. They fit perfectly on the Swiffer and work well. When I'm done I just toss it in the wash.

3. The Microfiber cloths. They are cheap and work great. They are great for dry dusting the house and the car. Just remember not to use fabric softener on them. It lessens their effectiveness. Oh, and I found microfiber at the fabric store so, you could buy a yard of it, cut it, finish the edges, and viola your own creation.

4. My steam mop. Many hugs and kisses to my Dad and Step Mom for this one. It is AWESOME! I am a germ freak. I'm a nurse, what can I say. I am also a mom and worry about everything being clean enough. The mop is wonderful. No bucket to haul through the house. I love listening to the steam hiss when you're cleaning. You can just see the floor getting sanitized. Just like the microfiber cloths the pads for the steam mop are washable. No refills to buy so you can mop your floor.

My Cleaning Routine:
I don't want to spend all my time cleaning. I also, don't want to devote a whole day of the week to cleaning. That's depressing. I have too many other things that I want to be doing. So, what I have come up with for me is to do 1-2 things per day. For example, Monday I dust the whole house. So, then I can check dusting off my list for the whole week! Some people clean room by room and that works for them but, I don't want to drag out the same cleaners every day. I would rather accomplish the task through the whole house. Another great thing about this is I'm only devoting up to 30 minutes a day to cleaning. Then, I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. There are 2 things that I do routinely every night. 1. I pick up all the toys or anything that is laying around and put it where it belongs. 2. We do the dishes. By doing these 2 things I feel like I start every day fresh. I don't like waking up to a sink full of smelly, dirty dishes. It makes me feel like I have to play catch up from the day before.

Hope you find this helpful and I can't wait to hear your ideas.

~Tabitha~