WFMW- 50 Cleaning Tips!

This week's Works For Me Wednesday's theme is cleaning tips! I know the first person that pops into your head when you think of cleaning tips is me! Amazingly I have a small arsenal of cleaning tips that I never quite put into action. It's safe to say that if I ever did get up off the couch I would have the cleanest house in America. Soooo, that's why I stay put. I don't want my kids getting sick everywhere they go since their immune systems would be so fragile from my germ free house. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it... mmmmkay!?

Most of these tips came from my 'old lady bible' (Women's Day Magazine) and from this awesome book How To Clean Your Home Fast.

Here we go!

1. Clean your dishwasher by setting a bowl filled with 2 cups of vinegar in the bottom rack and running a complete cycle.
2. Shake some salt on a greasy pan before washing to help absorb the grease.
3. Running a sticky iron over salt on a brown bag will remove the gunk.
4. Make a cheap all purpose cleaner with 1 part vinegar and one part water.
5. A water and baking soda paste will clean anything from stoneware to chrome.

6. 2 parts lemon juice to 1 part olive oil makes a great wood polish!
7. Pet your dog with a rubber glove to remove hair painlessly.
8. 'Pre-wash' dried on or greasy dishes by spraying them with 12 ozs of water and 1/4 of vinegar . Let them sit for a few minutes and the food should slide right off.
9. Clean the gunk out of the trim of cabinets with a toothpick.
10. Scrub your tub or shower with an inside out grocery bag after spraying with a cleaner. The ink can transfer if you use the outside.

11. Filling a sink with pinesol will make your house smell like you've been cleaning for hours.
12. Keep a bottle of oxyclean under the sink for stain pretreating on fabrics, or even on Jello or Koolaid on the countertop.
13. Keep an emergency stain kit in the laundry room stocked with white clothes, pretreater sprays, shaving cream for grease, hydrogen peroxide for ketchup and blood, and rubbing alcohol for pen.
14. Clean stove burners and knobs with an old toothbrush.
15. Clean top to bottom, and left to right.

16. Invest in microfiber towels. They work wet or dry, with little to no cleaner help.
17. Make a 'sparkle kit' with just the essentials. A multipurpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a toilet bowl cleaner, paper towels, a few cleaning cloths, a magic eraser, small duster and some gloves. I carry mine from room to room and hardly ever need to track down cleaners.
18. Empty the trash from your car while your gas is pumping.
19. Keep baby wipes in the car for spills and sticky kids.
20. Keep sink sponges in a cute dish to hide them.

21. 'Paint' detergent on a stain with a chunky paintbrush and let it sit overnight for a cheap stain remover.
22. Two tennis balls in the dryer can help eliminate static and soften fabrics,
23. Making beds does wonders for a room.
24. Fold laundry or pick up clutter while talking on the phone.
25. Keep an empty decorative basket in every room that can be an emergency clutter collector when company is on their way.

26. Baby wipes clean suede wonderfully and leave no residue.
27. Keep unruly wrapping paper rolls in a tall wastebasket.
28. Keep extra pillows, sheets and blankets inside luggage to keep them out of the way and dust free.
29. Drain bath toys in a lingerie bag hung from the shower head.
30. Rub chrome fixtures with wax paper after cleaning to prevent water spots and smudges.

31. Arm small children with a cloth dipped in warm soapy water. They'll love to help and will find lots of low dirty spots you may have missed.
32. Every few months spray your bathroom ceiling with a 1 to 1 solution of hydrogen peroxide and water. It will keep the mildew away.
33. Use vinegar to remove sticky hooks from painted walls, or price tags from glass.
34. Cover a broom with a cloth to dust walls and ceilings.
35. Fold towels to half their width, then in thirds so they'll be ready to hang on the towel bar.

36. Sprinkle baking soda on pets' bed, wait 15 minutes, then vacuum to remove odors.
37. Make your own spray starch with 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 pint cold water.
38. Toss a wet towel into the dryer a few minutes before the end of the cycle to kill static.
39. Clean an oven with a paste of baking soda, salt and hot water. Scrub with steel wool.
40. Steam clean a microwave with 2 tablespoons baking soda in 1 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes, then wipe walls clean.

41. Clean furniture with 1/4 cup dish soap or laundry detergent and 1 cup warm water.
42. Sprinkle dry cornstarch on carpet, wait 30 minutes and vacuum to remove smells.
43. Dust bookshelves with a soft shaving brush.
44. Fill nail holes with 3 parts baking soda and 1 part Elmer's glue.
45. Sterilize a day sponge in the microwave for 30 seconds, or a wet sponge for 60 seconds.

46. Clean mirrors lint free with glass spray and a coffee filter.
47. Add a dab of perfume to (cooled!) lightbulbs to spread the aroma.
48. Drop denture cleaning tablets into the toilet overnight.
49. Stick scented dryer sheets in shoes to freshen them
50. Ignore all these tips and hire a maid! :P Since I don't have a maid I just have to make ignoring these tips work for me!