33 Tips That Make Your Home A Cleaner Place
While advancements in technology have made life easier in many ways, we sometimes still manage to make things much more complicated than they need to be. Here are 33 fantastic ways to keep your house in tip-top condition without wearing yourself out or spending a fortune on cleaning products.
1. Clean Your Silverware
Line a dish with aluminum foil and add some salt and boiling water. Leave your silverware to soak for 30 minutes and then rinse it off — it'll be sparkling clean.
2. Shower Head
You barely have to lift a finger to clean your shower head. Just add distilled vinegar to a plastic bag and tie it around your shower head. Let the head soak overnight and all those pesky mineral deposits will be obliterated. Remove the bag in the morning and wipe off any remnants with a sponge.
3. Water Spots
Annoying spots will disappear if you wipe the liquid away with a towel right away and dry the surface with a hair dryer.
4. Ceiling Fan
Try using a bed sheet or pillowcase to wipe away dust and capture it right away.
5. Stain Removal
Combat hard-to-remove stains with diluted alcohol in a spray bottle. Let the liquid soak in and then rub it out with a sponge. Make sure to brush any residue away with a bristle brush.
6. Mattress Disinfectant
Vodka makes for a great disinfectant. Fill a spray bottle with the clear alcohol and add a drop of essential oil if you choose. This potent mixture is the perfect mix to rid your bed of mites and other pests.
7. Grill
Use an onion to clean your grill if it's still hot. Next time you grill, your dinner will pick up a tasty, subtle onion aroma.
8. Bathtub Rings
Sprinkle some salt on any rings left on your tub walls and then rub them away with half a grapefruit.
9. Blender
Blenders can practically clean themselves! Fill your blender with water and a splash of dish soap and turn it on. You'll be stunned by the squeaky-clean result.
10. Limescale Deposits
Limescale is no match for vinegar.
11. Electric Grinders
Coffee grinders need to be cleaned every once and a while. Try putting a piece of crusty bread in and give it a whirl — it nearly cleans itself.
12. Wooden Blinds
Put a sock on your hand and dip it in a bowl filled with a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar. Then wipe off each individual slat.
13. Lipstick Stains
Spray hairspray on the spot, leave for 10 minutes, then dab with a wet towel and toss it into the washing machine — that is all it takes!
14. Baking Dishes
All you need to get rid of stubborn spots on your bakeware is a bit of aluminum foil and some dish soap.
15. Toilet Bowl
It may look pretty gross, but it’s super effective: try cleaning your toilet with a splash of Coca-Cola.
16. Grease Stains
Apply chalk to greasy fingerprints and then rub the chalk away — goodbye grease!
17. Toilet Odor
Old jam jars filled with vinegar are great for eliminating odors. Poke a few holes in the top of the jar and then place it in the tank of your toilet. You'll be cleaning the toilet with every single flush.
18. Scrubbing The Shower
Attach a scrubber to the end of a cordless drill and set to work on any shower scum; it'll be sparkling in no time at all!
19. Drain Cleaner
Put four Alka-Seltzer tabs in a cup and add some distilled vinegar. Pour the mixture down the drain and wait 10 minutes before rinsing the pipes with boiling water. Your sink will drain like new.
20. Sanitize Sponges
Pop old sponges in the microwave to disinfect them.
21. Fill A Cleaning Bucket
It's so annoying when you want to fill a bucket, but it won't fit under the faucet. Try using a dust pan to help transfer water into the bucket. It works great and looks pretty cool too!
22. Clean Up Vomit
If you're unfortunate enough to have to deal with vomit on your carpet, just sprinkle some baking soda on it and leave it overnight. Vacuum it all up the next day and you should be good to go.
23. Scrub Your Deck
Attach a garden hose to a broom and scrub away.
24. Carpet Stains
Wet a towel with a 2:1 mixture of water and vinegar. Lay the towel over the spot and then press an iron to the towel for 30 seconds. Hopefully, your stain will be long gone.
25. Clean Your Microwave
Microwaves can get super dirty. Try putting lemon halves in a glass filled with water and give it a zap. The aroma will permeate throughout and you'll just have to wipe it down afterwards.
26. Burnt Spots On Pans
To remove stubborn burnt spots, fill your pan with water and a cup of vinegar. Heat the stove until the liquid starts to simmer and then pour it out. Wipe the bottom of the pan with a sponge and it should shine like new.
27. Headlights
It sounds crazy, but toothpaste is great for making your headlights shine like new.
28. Oven
Leave half a cup of ammonia inside the oven overnight, but don't turn it on. In the morning simply wipe it down and it should shine once more.
29. Dry Damp Shoes
If you got caught in the rain and are left with damp shoes, try stuffing them full of rice or newspapers, both of which absorb moisture.
30. Dishwasher
Run your empty dishwasher first with vinegar and then with baking soda and the machine will sparkle afterwards.
31. Leather Polish
Polish your leather furniture with shoe polish to help it keep its timeless elegance intact.
32. Cooking Oil
Get rid of spattered grease above the stove by wiping it off with clean, fresh oil — crazy, right?
33. Glass Shards
A slice of bread may be the best way to collect fallen glass shards without cutting any fingers.
Some of these tricks have completely transformed my relationship with cleaning. If you want to read more tricks like these, check out this book.