For those that know (and love me), they know that cleaning is not the tops of my list of things to do. Don’t get me wrong – the house is neat, dishes are done and “public” rooms are usually ready for company. The dust bunnies under the coach or in some of the other rooms know that they are safe most of the time. So for me “cleaning made easy” would involve someone coming in at least 2 times a month to clean the house from top to bottom.
I haven’t reached that point yet BUT am looking forward to the day it happens. In the meantime, I found this awesome chart on Pinterest that helps me to get things done in a short amount of time.
Seems easy enough, right? I have calendar blocked 45-minutes Monday through Friday to get things done. It works. Now remember it is just hubby and I in the house so it is a little bit easier than those of you who have kids. You may need to block a little bit more time to get these things done but I would say no more than 1 hour.
This next tip is courtesy of hubby. Hubby had surgery last week on his hand – minor in the big picture of things. His hand was wrapped and dry skin appeared under the wrap. Well, he scratched and got some blood on the ace bandage that was protecting his incision. He asked if there was anything that he could do to get the blood off since he had 4 more days to wear it. I couldn’t think of anything so off to bed I went. The next morning he says “look I got it clean”. I was shocked BUT I was even more surprised when he told me what he did. He got the tip from You Tube….
Spray a small amount of WD-40 on the spot. Let it soak in for about 1 minute. Then take 2 or 3 drops of white cider vinegar (so it doesn’t discolor anything) an apply it over the WD-40. Let sit for about 30 seconds. Then he took a clean paper towel with just a little bit of water and rubbed. It disappeared. He took a second paper towel with some dish detergent on it to make sure the WD-40 was gone. So in about 3 minutes the blood was gone! According to the You Tube video it will work on all fabrics.
Here are some more uses for cleaning with vinegar:
Clean Windows – Make your own window-cleaner with two tablespoons of white vinegar with six and a half pints of water, and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.
Freshen Up Laundry – Toss a capful of white vinegar into the machine on washing day. Your colours will come out bolder and your whites whiter. Got grass stains? Make a mixture of 80 ml white vinegar and 160 ml water. Apply the solution to the stain and blot with a clean cloth. Repeat this process until you’ve removed as much green as possible, and then wash as usual.
Clean Carpets – Battle carpet stains like wine with a mix of vinegar and warm water. Rinse thoroughly.
Dissolve Stubborn Glue – Have trouble getting that annoying sticky label residue off a product or accidentally glued something together? Try using vinegar as a solvent to dissolve many common adhesives. Vinegar is also good at cutting through grease.
Quick and easy, right? What is your best tip for removing stubborn stains from clothing or carpets? Share them with us.
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 