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Cleaning tips?
  • tothemoonandbacktothemoonandback
    Posts: 2,143Member
    I'm sure this exists here already, and I searched.  But in light of the "Silly Poll" discussion that @curious started, I'm wondering of those of you who keep your houses clean as a whistle can share things that you do to make the task a bit less daunting.

    I keep baby wipes in almost every room, when I use the restroom I wipe everything down at least 1x a day, it takes seconds and never gets super dirty.

    I clean my tub/shower while I'm using it (careful w/ the chemicals though!).

    I play really energetic/loud music, or whatever I'm loving at the moment.

    I 'reward' myself after tasks.. like today it was "after I do the floors (sweep/mop), I'll jump on SM for a bit", or "After I unload this dishwasher I'll sit on my ass and watch a cartoon w/ DS3".

    I keep giant 'toyboxes' (tubs) in a few rooms, large enough to dump everything into pretty quickly.  DS will help me or he risks the toys being thrown out.  Much easier than things having a "place" to put them.

    I wash my dishes as I dirty them, it sounds snarky but seriously if I don't let the food dry on them, it rinses off in seconds.

    Vinegar and water are the best spot-free and cheap cleaning spray for counters (we have granite, and it's black.. streaks are my enemy).

    I pile all the laundry on the island in the kitchen and go through it/sort it/fold it/put away while half watching a tv show or jamming to more loud music.

    Of course, I have a three year old, everything I do has to be done in spurts.  Thankfully he's getting to an age where he can entertain himself for a few minutes at a time and I can wipe a counter, rinse a fork and switch my load of laundry.

    What else?
    Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. - Marilyn Monroe
  • deviltwinsmommadeviltwinsmomma
    Posts: 2,316Member
    Turn off the lights, you can't see the mess in the dark.
    Just kidding
    I'm a bleach person, I disinfect everything with 10 parts water 1 part bleach.
    my mother used to sing me a song. It went like this: "Life is short, life is shit, and soon it will be over.
  • WickedBitchoftheEastWickedBitchoftheEast
    Posts: 912Member
    Make the bed as soon as I get out of it.

    When clothes come off, they go in hamper.

    Swiffer is awesome for quick cleanups between deep cleaning.

    A feather duster. I use it on everything, even my fake trees and plants

    I have a large wicker basket by the front door. That's where shoes go when you walk in the door.

    Dawn with bleach alternative is magic for dishes.

    One little drop of shampoo on a pouf to clean out tub while it's draining.

    Drinks without lids are not allowed off the dining table.

    Avoid massive coat/sweater/hoodie pile-up with an over the door hanger with multiple hooks.

    I water the plants while cooking.




  • 456Imamom
    Posts: 538Member
    I wash dishes while cooking. All the dirty dishes may not get washed before the food is ready, but since I'm there in the kitchen it's a lot easier to keep up with them, rather than waiting for after/DS to fall asleep... by that point I'm wiped and want to go to bed. What doesn't get washed by diner, isn't getting washed until the next day. 

    The kitchen (counter, stove, etc) get wiped down/washed every time e wash dished, or have a clean wet cloth in our hands. We have a white counter, and I'm paranoid about it getting stained. 
  • SchweddyBallsSchweddyBalls
    Posts: 3,254Member
    I have a schedule.......deep clean one room, each day of the week (m-th)..I spend no more than 30 minutes a day doing it this way AND its only 4 days a week. Then there are the dailys...vacuuming, sweeping. Dishes are washed as used and kitchen gets the wipe down every night. 
    I'm the nicest person you will ever meet, UNTIL you fuck with me or the betches I love.......
  • missmama5missmama5
    Posts: 3,658Member
    I keep Lysol wipes out for quick clean ups....wiping tables, spills, the bathroom, etc.
    My son washes the shower/tub with a clean sponge while he's in there. He loves it. I disinfect it myself once a week.
    I make beds. It keeps the rooms looking neat & put together.
    Eventually, in order to have everything stay clean, I realize I will have to kill my dh.
  • LLB
    Posts: 3,312Member
    missmama5 said:


    Eventually, in order to have everything stay clean, I realize I will have to kill my dh.



    @missmama5 make sure you take him outside first! Otherwise he'll just be making another mess. :-p
  • missmama5missmama5
    Posts: 3,658Member
    @llb lmao! Good point #
  • gramalibbygramalibby
    Posts: 2,641Member
    Yawn , I retired so as little as I can do . That's why I purged myself of stuff . Really though dishes sweeping laundry bathroom and yes Clorox n water
  • junglezoo
    Posts: 248Member
    @tothemoonandback wow seems like you have things under control. You wanna come to clean my house? :)
    I'm going to the zoo zoo zoo. You can come too too too....
  • meandmy243meandmy243
    Posts: 6,356Member
    I need a maid... im in the process of training df to just do it instead of bitch about it.. help is needed when i spend my waking hours taking care of every little detail of life with 2 hyper active attached to my ass 6 yr olds and a cat and dog who are attached as well.. add the df and i never get a momments peace.. at 8pm i put the kids to bed and lock the animals up and veg til the kiddos are asleep then i clean and cook df and mines dinner.. i can then go to bed..
    mom of wild children
    going to the chapel 7/5/2014
  • meandmy243meandmy243
    Posts: 6,356Member
    Oh i love hot water/ peroxide/ baking soda/ and dawn mix... it removes almost anything.. so far i havent bleached anything with it either..
    mom of wild children
    going to the chapel 7/5/2014
  • tothemoonandbacktothemoonandback
    Posts: 2,143Member
    lol @junglezoo, I'm not under control in ALL areas of my life, but this is one that I can tackle a midst the usual chaos :)
    Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. - Marilyn Monroe
  • BeerWenchBeerWench
    Posts: 2,820Member
    Babyoil and coffee filter for polishing stainless steel :)
    :¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•** She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten**•-:¦:-•:*'""*:• -:¦:-
  • Dragonbabyx3Dragonbabyx3
    Posts: 1,137Member
    ........... Any time any of you catch the cleaning bug- you are more than welcome to over to my house and clean :D 

    Vinegar and water clean just about EVERYTHING. 

    First thing in the morning: Wake up, pee, make coffee, while coffee is brewing put a load of clothes in the washing machine and start it, get kids clothes together if they wernt ready the night before, debate on making breakfast, feed the animals, make my coffee, and get on scarymommy.  Half the time I forget to move the load of clothes from washer to dryer.. but I get an A for effort... right?
  • 456Imamom
    Posts: 538Member
    Not that I've ever done it myself as an adult, but if you have silver (my mom has a ton from our grandparents) the easiest way to polish it is to put tin foil in the bottom of the bath tub (or anything deep enough), pour warm water with washing soda (sodium carbonate) into the tub, place the silver in the tub and make sure that the silver is touching the tin foil AND covered by the water... wait a little while and voila! sparkling silver (it may need a rinse and rub dry) without scrubbing or getting tarnish on your hands.  
    As a teen it was my job to polish silver, man was I happy to find out the a reduction chemical reaction was so much easier! 
  • undercoverbanana
    Posts: 7,743Member
    While you are cooking and prepping, clean as you go so you dont have a massive mess. Pick up everybodys shit and put in in their rooms to deal with. Each kid has one kind of socks that dont look like anybody else's. (this kids socks have yellow toes. That kids socks have grey toes) so matching isn't such a pain in the ass. If you have pets, buy furniture that closely matches them. (I did that. I had this massive Russian blue that shed ungodly amounts of hair. I couldn't keep up with it. I got a couch and loveseat that matched him!)
    i'm nekkid.
  • NotleppopNotleppop
    Posts: 130Member
    Where I live we can't put anything like bleach or anything anti bacterial down the drain, so I use my steam mop for pretty much everything. And if I can't use my steam mop I just use vinegar or tea tree oil.

    Putting a little baby oil on a sponge and wiping down the shower before I hop in helps to stop the glass going cloudy and soap residue from sticking to the tiles...

    Adding a cup of white vinegar to the final rinse when you are washing towels makes them extra fluffy when they are dry.

    “If your kid needs a role model and you ain't it, you're both fucked.”
    ― George Carlin, Brain Droppings
  • JenInHeels
    Posts: 101Member
    @tothemoonandback - what is your vinegar/water ration?  Do you know if it disinfects?  Sounds much cheaper than clorox wipes!
  • KrabbyKay
    Posts: 2,421Member
    This is what I do too, load of clothes in first thing. Then Swiffer and/or vacuum. After kids DH out the door, feed dogs & cats, mop (if needed). Dust every other day. Bed made when DH gets up (by me, not by him, he does this pull the covers up thing...GAH!). Go about the house and pick shit up. Upstairs floors are one day, downstairs floor is a different day. Daily Clorox wipes the bathrooms, weekly bleach/scrub/tubs.
    If I keep the filth down to a dull roar, it doesn't get so overwhelming. IDK what I would do if I had to work every day, though. The fam keeps it decent when I'm gone on the weekend, dishes in dishwasher, floors swept, shit picked up.
  • tothemoonandbacktothemoonandback
    Posts: 2,143Member
    @jeninheels, yes its a disinfectant. I mix it 50/50.its stinky for a second but works great!
    Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. - Marilyn Monroe
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