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1. Soak Your
Dishes
This is an oldie but goodie that you may have
already learned from your grandparents, who ultimately soaked their dishes
before commercial dishwashing detergent was available. What you will need is a
deep-dish bin that is sized to fit inside of your kitchen sink. Start off with
a half cup of bleach OR ammonia (never, ever, ever mix the two though) and then fill the dish bin halfway to the top
with hot soapy water. Keep your dishes in the dish-bin so that they can
pre-soak prior to being washed. This hack will help to prevent vermin from
being attracted to food kept out in your kitchen, while also making dishwashing
a more convenient task.
2. Use a Shoe Tree
Floors can become gritty and rugs get filthy when
you wear your shoes indoors and track dirt everywhere. This will lead to you
needing to sweep, mop, and vacuum several times a week. To keep the flooring in
your home a lot cleaner, put a shoe tree at the front entrance of your home.
Visitors will know that they need to remove their footwear upon entry and
getting ready to leave your home will be easier when you have your shoes near
the front door. This cleaning hack will definitely reduce the time you spend
scrubbing the floors.
3. Clean With
White Vinegar
Plenty of household goods can be good for cleaning,
but none are as great at cleaning multiple surfaces as white vinegar. The
substance can be quite pungent when you first open the bottle, but after you
wipe down countertops or clean the mirrors and the vinegar dries there will be
absolutely no odor. Since white vinegar is cheap, it is a great substitute for
commercially sold household cleaners. If anyone in your home has allergies to
chemicals, white vinegar is your best option.
4. Scrub With
Baking Soda
Once dirt and leftover food gets dried up and
stuck to a surface, you usually have to use lots of elbow grease to get rid of
it. Abrasive sponges can work well, but you also risk damaging delicate
surfaces. That’s why you should opt for baking soda for all your tough
scrubbing jobs. Get baking soda that is grittier than it is powdery and you
will have smooth, shiny, sanitized surfaces without doing any harm to the
environment.
5. Infuse with
Essential Oils
Scented candles make homes smell great and air
fresheners can help to reduce bad odors, but both options come at a cost.
Aerosol sprays are known for depleting the ozone layer and scented candles are
a little on the expensive side, especially if you buy the more eco-friendly soy versions. You can get hundreds of different varieties of
essential oils that are potent, fresh smelling, and long-lasting. Use them to create homemade infusers or add a small
amount of essential oils to water and use a spray bottle to make your home
smell heavenly. If you have pets, make sure you research which essential oils are safe for your pets.
6. The Chore Chart
If you are working hard to clean a home that is
inhabited by several generations, then you need to make use of a chore chart.
There won’t be any guessing or arguing about who’s responsible for cleaning when you use a chore chart with a seven-day cleaning cycle. Divvy up tasks
so that everyone is tasked with cleaning something different each day. This
will stave off boredom as well as prevent you from having to do the bulk of the
household cleaning.
7. Air Dry Your
Clothes
Even if you don’t have a clothesline in your
backyard, you can likely line dry most of your clothes and make laundry a much
simpler task. There are laundry racks that can be set up indoors, which will enable you to dry your sheets, jeans,
socks, and t-shirts within a couple of hours. The reason that you really want
to line dry your clothes is so that you have more time to focus on other
household chores. In addition, you can just keep putting your clothes in the
wash cycle rather than having to keep up with the time spent filling the washer
and the dryer. Plus, line drying is more energy efficient and easier on clothing. The lint that comes out of the lint trap? That's fibers from your clothing.
8. Look for Messes
No mess accumulates without time. It’s when you
see a pile of laundry growing on the bedroom floor and you chose to walk past
it rather than take care of it right away, that causes a serious mess to
develop. When you spill spaghetti sauce on the kitchen countertop and don’t
immediately wipe it up, your kitchen is likely to get super messy. So actively clean as you go and look to see if you missed a spot.
9. Use the Power
of Steam
This cleaning hack really only works in the
bathroom, but it is still a lifesaver. Just before you go clean up your
bathroom, turn the shower on the hottest setting and let it run for a few
minutes. To not waste water, you could place a bucket in the tub to collect the water and use it for something else. Be sure to close the door first as you want the steam to fill up the
room. By the time the steam starts dissipating, all of the caked-on grime will
be loosened up, making it much simpler for you to spray, wipe, and go. There are steam cleaners that would be more efficient if you choose to clean with steam often.
If you wait until your home is a mess to start
cleaning it up, you will probably never finish the job. Actively work on
keeping your house tidier by going from room to room and seeing how you can set
a standard. Get rid of the junk, create house rules, and always clean up after
yourself.
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