Can you guess where I’m going with this? It’s time for me to do my annual spring
cleaning. And as much as I like a clean
house, I don’t like being the one to clean.
But I do like Pinterest (who doesn't) and found some awesome spring cleaning hacks that
look like my cleaning odyssey may be painless, quick, and affordable. I’ve listed some of those cleaning hacks
below. I hope they prove to be useful for you, as well!
MICROWAVE
Over time your microwave can become a
splattered mess…especially if you have kids who use it regularly! The
simplest way to clean the microwave is with vinegar and lemon. Fill a
large microwaveable bowl with 1-2 cups of water, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar
and all the juice from one lemon. Microwave the liquid for about 5
minutes on HIGH, then carefully take
the HOT bowl out of the microwave and wipe clean. If your microwave is really messy, you might
want to let the bowl sit in there for a few minutes with the steam before
wiping clean.
CEILING
FAN
Keep a few older pillow cases in your
cleaning cabinet just for fans. When the fan blades need to be cleaned,
put the pillow case over each blade and wipe clean. All the dust stays
trapped so it saves the room from a mess of dust all over the floor when you’re
done! Once all the blades are clean take the dusty pillowcase outside and
shake it out, then wash it inside out.
BASEBOARDS
Baseboards can get really dirty over
time and you will eventually need to give them a good cleaning. All you
have to do is take a new or used fabric sheet and wipe each baseboard. That’s
it! The sheet cleans up all the dust and
dirt but also coats the baseboards with its anti-static residue. The best part…the dryer sheets can have
already been used in the laundry, so you’re reusing something you would have
thrown away!
SHOWER HEAD
The shower head itself is something that
is not only difficult to clean, but is often times forgotten about when
cleaning the shower. To clean your shower head with ease take a baggie with
vinegar in it and rubber band it around the shower head. Let it sit for a few
hours and then remove the baggie. The vinegar should take off or at least
loosen the dirt and grime, making it easy to clean. Be sure to run the shower
for a minute or two so that anything stuck inside that came loose goes down the
drain before using the shower.
SHOWER
DOOR
Clean your shower door as usual then use Rain-X to repel
water, water spots, and soap scum. Enjoy several weeks (maybe even months) of
soap scum free glass shower doors!
GROUT
Sprinkle baking soda on the grout. Use your finger to
make sure it covers all the grout, also wiping away excess powder. Use a
spray bottle filled with vinegar to apply it over the baking soda. Let it sit and bubble and scrub itself for a
few minutes. But not too long, or
the dirt settles back into the grout.
Using a grout brush, give it a little scrub to get the dirty
solution off the grout. Prepare for it to be muddy! Keep some water
close to quickly rinse the brush but don’t add too much water to the floor– the
grittier the solution, the less elbow grease you’ll have to put into it. Wipe up the muddy solution with rags or paper
towels and clean the area as usual.
DE-GUNK
KITCHEN CABINETS
Clean away the grease and grime!! Add 2 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons dish
soap and 1 cup white vinegar to a bowl/bucket and mix together. Scrub the cabinet with a clean cloth,
following the grain of the wood. Rinse the area clean with a sponge, and dry it
with a clean towel.
AIR
VENTS
To give the air vents a good cleaning
and sanitizing, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher. The hot water and suds will give those air
vents a VIP cleaning. …and before you
replace those vents, put a dryer sheet over the vent slats (or use a few drops
of scented oil on a cotton ball). Voila! …clean vents in a house that smells great
without the expense of candles or wax warmers!
BEST
STAIN REMOVER…EVER
Mix these ingredients (1 tbsp Dawn Dishwashing liquid, 1
tbsp white vinegar and 2 cups hot water) into a spray bottle and generously
spray on car seats, carpets, sofa, chairs, etc. Scrub with a scrub brush and
then rub with a clean towel or rag! Simple, easy, and cheap!!
OVEN
Add the following ingredients into a spray bottle: 2 oz.
Dawn Dishwashing liquid, 4 oz. lemon juice, 8 oz. white vinegar, and 10 oz. water. The
secret is to spray this solution on the surface you want to clean and let it
sit overnight (or longer). Then, just
wipe the oven clean with wet cloths. It
is important that you DO NOT use heat…just spray and wipe!
You
can find these and other Spring Cleaning Hacks on our Life Hacks board on Pinterest.
Search jbmhhfmwr!
~pmjp
