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 with equal parts baking soda and lemon juice (about a teaspoon each)

Cleaner for…

• Countertops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda to tackle countertops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don’t use on delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor).
• Cutting boards: To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.
• Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice, but don’t use with silver.
• Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth.
• Garbage disposal: Cut a lemon in half, then run both pieces through the disposal. “The lemon cleans it and makes it smell great,” says Linda Mason Hunter, a coauthor of Green Clean (Melcher Media, $17, amazon.com).
• Grout: Spilled morning coffee on your tile countertop or backsplash? Here’s how to tackle grout stains: Add lemon juice to 1 or 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (an acidic salt that acts as a natural bleaching agent) to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse.
• Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor.
• Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.
• Plastic food-storage containers: To bleach stains from tomato soup and other acidic foods on dishwasher-safe items, rub lemon juice on the spots, let dry in a sunny place, then wash as usual.

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 perfect time to clean it.

Step 1: Preparation

Line a trashcan with a new bag. Use a heavy duty lawn leaf bag if you are going to be tossing a lot of yucky stuff since it is less likely to leak. Keep the trashcan nearby to dump out things that aren’t going back in the refrigerator.

Remember some containers are recyclable, so rinse and recycle them.

Step 2: Empty out the refrigerator

Work your way down two shelves at a time so the food will stay cold. As you move items to the counter, check expiration dates and toss the old items.

Step 3: Wash the shelves

Fill the kitchen sink full of water with some dish-washing detergent. Wash off the shelves and dry them with a towel before returning them to the refrigerator.

Step 4: Wipe the inside walls

Before returning the shelves to their spots, wipe off the walls of the refrigerator to remove any splatters of food.

Step 5: Line the vegetable and meat drawers

The drawers stay cleaner if you line them with two layers of paper towels. Now if that cucumber you forgot about starts to ooze, you can just replace the paper towels so your vegetable/fruit bin is clean again.

Step 6: Organize your shelves

Put like items together. I have one shelve for yogurt and fruit that I call the “snack” shelve and one for dinner ingredients. Beverages are on the bottom. Find what works best for you and organize your refrigerator so things don’t get lost in the back.

Don’t put it off

It took me only 30 minutes to clean the refrigerated side.

I’m going to go admire the results again. I can see through the drawers!

What? Yes those are refrigerated cookies in the drawer. Shhh..you didn’t see that. They could ruin my bake sale reputation.

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. Allow the leaves to dry off in the sun before bringing them back inside.

Don’t forget plastic plants need love, too

My tomato plant

Dusting fake plants

Needless to say, my house is full of fake plants. I have plant shelves in almost every room in the house and greenery on each one.

Collect the fake greenery and place them in the bathtub/shower. Spray them off with the shower head and let them drip dry in the tub.

Don’t forget about the fake trees

The same goes for my fake trees which I lean into the tub and spray them off to keep the base dry.

They are dark green again!

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 had cleaned out the pantry, I created a schedule to assure the big projects, which tend to be put off, are done more often.

Spreading the cleaning/maintenance tasks over the course of the year is less overwhelming.

This is a work in progress, and I’m sure I will be adding to it.

Download the schedule

Excel version so you can adjust it to fit your needs: Big Project Schedule
PDF format if you want to follow my schedule: Big Project Schedule

Got other “Big Projects” to add to this list?

Feel free to add them in the comments section.

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 the scratches until they fade. Wipe off the residue with a clean cloth.

2. Acne:

Find out how to use toothpaste to fight acne here.

3. Bug bite relief:

When a bug bite has you itching, dab on some toothpaste for instant relief.

My four-year old is a mosquito magnet. Can’t wait to try this.

4. CD/DVD scratches:

Toothpaste can repair minor scratches on a CD/DVD. Put a dab on a cloth and wipe the scratches in the direction from the center hole to the edge. Make sure you get all the toothpaste off before playing it again by buffing it with a clean cloth.

A few Gamecube games were revived this way at my house.

5. Chrome fixtures:

To polish faucets and taps in the kitchen or bathroom, smear a dime-size amount of toothpaste onto them. Buff with a soft cloth until they shine.

I tried this on my shower’s chrome and it works!

6. Crayon marks:

Use paste to remove crayon marks. Clean area with a damp cloth.

7. Goggles:

Get the foggy film off goggles using some toothpaste. Buff until the plastic is clear again.

8. Iron:

Apply a dab of toothpaste and work it into the plate of a steam iron to get rid of mineral deposits. Use a clean cloth to remove residue.

9. Jewelry cleaner:

Use an old toothbrush and a dab of toothpaste to gently brush your dull jewelry. Rinse and polish with a clean cloth to bring back its shine.

Don’t use on 18k gold, pearls, or other softer jewelry as it is abrasive and could damage the surface.

10. Nail hole filler:

Use toothpaste like putty to fill small holes in the wall.

11. Piano keys:

Rub each key carefully with a damp cotton swab or cloth and a dab of toothpaste. Wipe dry and buff with a clean cloth. They will shine white again.

I tried this but didn’t notice a difference, but my keys weren’t really yellow with age. However, the piano smells minty fresh. I’m sure this works well with older pianos.

12. Rubber soles of shoes:

Clean up those scuffs with some toothpaste.

13. Stains on clothes and carpets:

Rub a little toothpaste on the stain and rinse. Some stains may take a few tries.

Doesn’t work with all fabrics.

14. Scuffed linoleum:

Scrub scuff marks with toothpaste and a dry cloth until no toothpaste residue remains.

15. Tarnished silverware:

Remove tarnish with a dab of toothpaste on a soft cloth. Rinse with water and dry with a clean cloth.

Do you have other ways to use toothpaste?

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 out.

Worst places for your health

The Today Show had Courtney Smith, Executive Editor of Prevention Magazine, on for a segment about “The Worst Places for Your Health.” See the video here.

Warning: If you are germaphobic, you might not want to know.

What will you change after seeing this video?

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 at the last minute.

• If you are lucky enough to have a guest room that isn’t being used, wash the sheets so they are freshly laundered and straighten up the room, if needed.
• Steam cleaning – If you own a steam cleaner, freshen up the main room.
• Declutter the house – Make sure everything is where it belongs.

3 days before:

Get the outside work done so you aren’t tracking dirt into a clean house.

• Mow
• Weed and trim
• Tend to flower beds, if needed

2 days before:

• Dust
• Clean windows/sliding glass doors
• Catch up the laundry
• Prepare a meal plan for the days you have company and a grocery list so it is ready to go on grocery shopping day. Don’t forget your coupons! Think about what you will be doing (like sightseeing all day) and plan quick and easy meals for those days.

1 day before:

• Clean floors – vacuum and mop
• Clean kitchen – wipe down counters and appliances and clean the sink
• Clean bathrooms – restock your soaps at the sink and in the shower/tub. Make sure you have shampoo/conditioner available for your guests in case they forgot theirs. Refill your vanity containers such as Q-Tips, cotton balls, etc.

The arrival day:

• Touch up bathrooms, if needed
• Grocery shop using your list you created days ago
• Cook a few things in advance, if you can, so you can spend your time with your guests, not in the kitchen.
• Bake a cake. Don’t you love arriving at your destination to the delicious smell of a freshly baked cake?

Enjoy your guests

By the time they arrive, you will have everything done and can relax and enjoy the time with friends/family.

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 of the pantry this week. What started out as a simple reorganization project turned out to be a huge painting ordeal.

The pantry had reached an all time low.

I can thank the kids and their constant digging in the pantry for a snack.

I’m not sure why they think the selection changes from hour to hour, but I have to assume they are hoping that a box of Pop Tarts miraculously beamed into the pantry while they were doing homework by some device that only exists in The Jetson’s cartoon.

I don’t try to understand that logic.

Empty the pantry

Remove everything from the pantry and clean off the shelves with some vinegar and water.

I realized that after 12 years of wear and tear, mine needed a new paint job as well, and I had to wait overnight for the paint to dry before continuing.

Organize the pantry

When returning the items back to your pantry, check expiration dates on everything.

Let me point out that I thought I had done this only a year ago, but it turns out I had some items that expired in 2007. Yikes!

Did you have items older than 4 years expired? Make me feel better and let me know in the comments.