Tips and Tricks to organizing your home
Lemons are a natural cleaner The acid in lemon juice helps cut through grease and removes dirt and rust stains. It’s especially effective when mixed with salt, which makes “an excellent scouring paste,” says Karyn Siegel-Maier, author of The Naturally Clean Home. The many uses of lemons include: Air Freshener: Combine 1/2 quart hot water [...]
Cleaning out the refrigerator Are you avoiding this project? Are you growing a specimen worthy of an award-winning science project in the back? Rest assured it will take less than an hour to have a sparkling clean refrigerator again. Since my little one spilled a liquid-filled bowl of fruit all over mine, it was the [...]
Plants need a good dusting When you’re cleaning, don’t forget about your plants. Dust on the leaves can reduce the plant’s ability to photosynthesize at an optimum rate. How do you dust a plant? You can mist smaller plants with a spray bottle. Take larger plants outdoors on a nice day and gently spray them. [...]
Maintaining a home is work Whether you are a homeowner or live in an apartment, there are big projects that need to be done once or twice a year. When was the last time you hand-scrubbed your floors or changed the batteries in your smoke detectors? After learning that it had been years since I [...]
Toothpaste isn’t just for brushing The combination of a mild abrasive and an antibacterial agent makes toothpaste a potent stain-fighter. Use regular white paste, not gel or variations made for tartar control and whitening since these have additional abrasives. 1. Acrylic accessories (like plastic desk items): Squeeze toothpaste onto a cloth and work it into [...]
Germs What I learned from the video below has been grossing me out all week. You might be surprised to find out where germs are lurking. There is a huge “ick” factor in the information. I bought new toothbrushes and put them in drawers after seeing this video, and the toilet fact had me freaked [...]
Got friends or family coming to visit? Don’t stress With a little planning you and your home will be ready without much disruption to your regular schedule. Spread out your preparations over a 5-day period. The 5-day plan 4-5 days before Get some big stuff out of the way that doesn’t have to be done [...]
Pantry cleaning It’s a DEFCOM 1 red alert in my house! Do you hear the sirens? A parental visit is on the horizon, and I have to get my house clean. Mom clean is not the same as my kid’s friend is coming over clean, you know. I guess that is what inspired the cleaning [...]
Cleaning with vinegar With my journey to find ways to live a greener life well on its way, I found myself at the grocery store investing in a few giant bottles of vinegar for cleaning. From the look the clerk gave me, I think she had a few questions but was too afraid to ask. [...]
Take a moment and travel back to your childhood. Remember the fun of the volcano science experiment? You carefully poured a box of baking soda into your paper mache volcano and impatiently anticipated the moment the vinegar would be poured in to trigger the “greatest eruption in the history of all elementary school science fairs.” [...]
