Yipee! A Few Spring Cleaning Tips for You~

1:29 AM

You know how it is when you come back from a trip. The first day or so is spent just catching up for the days you've been gone.

Grocery shopping.

Doing laundry.


It's that time of year again! Spring cleaning. Blech! Soooo not my favorite time of the year. But necessary none-the-less.

So since I have been spending my day playing catch-ups (and not working on the projects I mentioned in yesterday's post ) I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite spring cleaning tips. I know you're so excited you can hardly stand it - insert sarcastic eye roll here - but keep an open mind, you may just find a new tip you can use.

1. Use Spring cleaning time as a chance to change out batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (you can do the same in September around the first day of fall...or when the clocks change back.)

2. Make sure you wash down your walls...they get a lot dirtier than you think. Or, if you are like my hubby, repaint the entire interior of the house, and patch every hole with spackle...but leave the spackle there for a week so that your spouse can get sufficiently sick and tired of the polk-a-dots and will really appreciate the new paint. ;-)

3. If you like "green" cleaning products...try making your own glass cleaner by mixing vinegar and water in a spray bottle. (This works best if you use newspaper to wipe the windows rather than a rag.)

4. And here is a tip I shared a few weeks ago, but it's so good it bears repeating...if you have brown stains inside your dishwasher, they are probably due to rust. There are expensive products out there that can remove the stains, but try this first. Take some Tang powder (you know, that Orange flavored Astronaut drink) and use it just like you would use dish detergent. Run a cycle (without dishes of course...unless you want everything you eat for the next few days to taste like orange punch). You may have to repeat the cycle a couple of times, but it does remove the rust stains. REALLY....I've done it!! And actually, you don't have to use Tang. You can use any orange flavored drink mix...I actually used a generic brand and it worked just fine.

5. To remove Water Rings on wood, mix equal amounts of baking soda and plain white toothpaste (not gel) . Use a soft cloth to gently rub the mixture in a circular motion on rings.

6. Finally, do you have a budding Picaso?..in other words, do you have crayon on the walls? Mister Clean Magic Eraser rocks!!! There's a reason it's called "magic eraser".

Once your house is all sparkly and clean...you'll be a happy camper! At least that's what I keep reminding myself. :-)

Have a great day.


Nicole said...

I love me some good cleaning advice! ;)

This weekend, I fell in love with Comet Softscrub. It may not be green, but it made me SO happy because cleaning the soap scum (sick, the word just sounds filthy!) in my shower ridiculously easy!

And alcohol does a fabulous job of cleaning glass and mirrors. We used it at the cosmetics counter I worked at all of the time because it cleaned and sanitized at the same time. It has a strong smell, but I don't even smell it anymore. Probably a bad thing. :) Happy cleaning!

**Anne** said...

Spring cleaning, not such a happy thought. I dislike house cleaning intensely but find if I do one of two extra little things with my weekly clean, it helps keeps things under control. For example when I clean our ensuite, I wipe down the window sills and while the cloth is damp do the same thing in our bedroom. That way the dust and grime doesn't build up creating an enormous monthly clean of all those other places that often get neglected.
Thanks for the tips.
Anne xx

Peggy said...

Have you tried using powdered lemonade for your dishwasher? We used to it occasionally to get the dishwasher clean but I haven't done it in years.

Spring cleaning... right now that is something not even being remotely considered as we are having an addition built. Yep in three weeks we will be covered in drywall dust.... I can HARDLY wait! No seriously, no sarcasm here.. I truly am excited almost beyond words! (which is incredible according to my husband!) But once we are done there will be tons of cleaning going on.

WP said...

Ah yes, I need to get moving on the spring cleaning! Just a word of caution about Magic Erasors -- don't let your little ones clean with them as they can cause chemical burns. But yeah, they do a great job!

adventuresindinner said...

Lovely post! I found a recipe for an all purpose cleaning spray in Natural House and Home a year ago and haven't looked back.

Simply take: 3 cups of water, 1 cups vinegar, 10 drps of tea tree oil, 1 tsp. dish soap and 20 drops of lavender essential oil.

I've been using this everywhere in the house, it even does a great job on my bathrooms and I don't worry about having it around with my one year old.

Kait said...

Great cleaning tips!! I have been getting the painting itch myself. With spring comes a need to change in decor every year for me. lol My pocket book can't always handle that. So I find myself switching out things from my storage in the basement.
I hate washing all of my draps. I managed to shrink a pair last year. :(

Debra said...

I've never heard of the Tang thing before. Sounds so easy. I also LOVE my Mr Clean Eraser- I was a little leary at first but not I don't think I can live without them.

madameladauphine said...

I love the Tang idea! But, if it's good for cleaning rust stains, I'm not sure that's something I'd ever want to drink or give to my kids!! LOL!!!

Thanks for this post. It reminded me I have to start organizing my plan of attack :)

Astrid in Bristling Acres said...

Do they still make Tang??? I remember loving that as a child a (ahem) few decades ago.

What's the best way to wash the walls? That seems like a daunting task. Get a bucket of water and a rag and a ladder and go after it???

Elizabeth said...

Wonderful tips!!

Catherine said...

Thanks for the tips!

I was wondering about the tip on cleaning water rings off of wood. Is that for unfinished wood?

Those Magic Erasers are good for crayons, and "washable" marker stains, but unfortunately they don't remove ballpoint or gel pen.

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