House chore tips...

[Audiofuzzy]

Inspired by the other thread - what are your tips to make common household chores easier to do??

I -
1. thoroughly rinse off every plate, cup, utensil etc before leaving it in the sink
2. stuff like sieve, funnel- best if cleaned immediately, or at least soak it in deep enough bowl/pot so it won't dry out, ever
3. I line out my garbage cans with multiple used shopping bags at once.
alternate the colors - it's important - or you'll get the handles confused.
this way I just grab the handles once the bag is full of garbage and presto!
the next is ready.
4. always, but always, not matter how soon you think you will use it, rinse out and thoroughly squeeze out dish-washing sponge/ rag.
never ever leave it soaked with water, even with detergent.
this way it will last a lot longer and not stink.
5. I discovered from years of experience that the best toilet cleaning stuff
is Comet with bleach

nothing, not even creamy Vim with bleach stands up to it.
Comet will take care of black mold spots and other stuff the best and longest.
A similar product is Ajax, is ok also, but both must be with bleach.

Fuzzy

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I zap my sponges in the microwave stove to keep then from them smelling and it kill the germs.

 

[Dreamer03]

My mom would say Lysol, Lysol and more Lysol

 

[ambrosia]

Being naked saves on laundry. Well I imagine it does laundry is my most hated chore.......I often wish we could all just walk around naked, and then I remember I don't really want to see some people naked so okay fine.......clothes *sigh*

 

[Dixie]

I rinse my dishes thoroughly before washing them. This makes the actual washing process very easy. I also clean things up as I walk by instead of letting it pile up. This is why my apartment stays nearly spotless at all times. Oddly, I can't say the same for my truck. I usually clean it out once a month. Because I have to use the laundromat for laundry, I try to presort laundry so that on laundry day all I have to do is grab the right basket, throw in the Tide and the Bounce and go across the street and put the laundry in. This means when we take our clothes off, jeans go in one basket, t-shirts and undies go in another basket, and towels go in the last basket. I use a color catcher so I don't sort colors out. I avoid items that have to be dry-cleaned because this is an expensive service. I clean and bleach my bathroom once a week. This includes the tub, toilet, sink, floor, and shower walls. I wash my shower curtain at least once a month. I use an over the door shoe hanger in my linen closet to put cleaning supplies. In an apartment, space has to be utilized wisely or you will have chaos. When I do dishes, I also use the "soak time" to wash down my stove and my oven as well as wiping down the table and counter tops. As a single parent, if you want any time to relax, you have to learn to multitask and combine tasks. I am a notorious spot mopper. If I see a spot on the floor, I will spot mop it with a washcloth. This makes the big mopping jobs easier. I try to mop at least once a week, no more than two weeks in between.

I know this sounds like a lot and possibly a bit obsessive-compulsive, but I just like to have a very clean house. This way I am not embarrassed if someone wants to come over on short notice.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I rinse my dishes thoroughly before washing them. This makes the actual washing process very easy. I also clean things up as I walk by instead of letting it pile up. This is why my apartment stays nearly spotless at all times. Oddly, I can't say the same for my truck. I usually clean it out once a month. Because I have to use the laundromat for laundry, I try to presort laundry so that on laundry day all I have to do is grab the right basket, throw in the Tide and the Bounce and go across the street and put the laundry in. This means when we take our clothes off, jeans go in one basket, t-shirts and undies go in another basket, and towels go in the last basket. I use a color catcher so I don't sort colors out. I avoid items that have to be dry-cleaned because this is an expensive service. I clean and bleach my bathroom once a week. This includes the tub, toilet, sink, floor, and shower walls. I wash my shower curtain at least once a month. I use an over the door shoe hanger in my linen closet to put cleaning supplies. In an apartment, space has to be utilized wisely or you will have chaos. When I do dishes, I also use the "soak time" to wash down my stove and my oven as well as wiping down the table and counter tops. As a single parent, if you want any time to relax, you have to learn to multitask and combine tasks. I am a notorious spot mopper. If I see a spot on the floor, I will spot mop it with a washcloth. This makes the big mopping jobs easier. I try to mop at least once a week, no more than two weeks in between.

I know this sounds like a lot and possibly a bit obsessive-compulsive, but I just like to have a very clean house. This way I am not embarrassed if someone wants to come over on short notice.

I once read in Dear Abby about a woman complaining about some people always coming to her house at dinner time uninvited and not taking the hint to leave. So after one dinners too many the woman took all the dishes and put them on the floor and she called her dog over and had the dog lick the plates clean then the woman said " that look clean enough" and put all the dishes away! The rude people never came back . That is one way to wash
the dishes , save money on water too. LOL!

 

[Konijnen]

I once read in Dear Abby about a woman complaining about some people always coming to her house at dinner time uninvited and not taking the hint to leave. So after one dinners too many the woman took all the dishes and put them on the floor and she called her dog over and had the dog lick the plates clean then the woman said " that look clean enough" and put all the dishes away! The rude people never came back . That is one way to wash
the dishes , save money on water too. LOL!

LOL this is one thing my dog would actually help with if I let him.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

LOL this is one thing my dog would actually help with.

My last dog who was a Standard Poodle and my hearing dog would jump on his hind legs and lick the dishes that where in the sink while I was watch TV! Finlay knew I could not hear him and got away with this for along time. Marty will do this too when he get a chance to , if I leave a plate on the coffee table , he will clean it for. Only if I could gotten Finlay to use soap too I would haa been all set , that would had been a real service dog! LOL!

 

[Konijnen]

I like to clean the kitchen sink with a shake of baking soda and a splash of vinegar. Seems to get it clean enough - but more importantly it makes an awesome volcano effect that makes me laugh.

I have yet to find a stain Baking Soda can not get rid of.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I like to clean the kitchen sink with a shake of baking soda and a splash of vinegar. Seems to get it clean enough - but more importantly it makes an awesome volcano effect that makes me laugh.

I have yet to find a stain Baking Soda can not get rid of.

I will have to try that , I do use it on my sink to get stains out.

 

[Dixie]

Well I don't have a dog, but I can probably just lick the plates myself for the same effect.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Oh, yeah, me too,
I have two large laundry baskets for right away sorting whites and dark ones, and some smaller ones for towels, red/pinks, delicates that I put between the large ones. One of top of the other. A bit awkward to use, but still worth it.

This way I have already everything sorted out for laundry.

What else I need, is 2 small separate baskets for socks only. all in good in time, in time...

Fuzzy

 

[Dixie]

If I could just get my kid into the habit of cleaning up her own room and messes when she makes them, now I could have a near spotless apartment all the time.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

If I could just get my kid into the habit of cleaning up her own room and messes when she makes them, now I could have a near spotless apartment all the time.

I once told my daughter she could not go outside and play with the girl next door until she cleaned up her bedroom. My daughter showed me her bedroom five minutes later all cleaned up. I said to my daughter " What did you do , throw everything into trash bags and put it in your closet?" My daughter was speechless, her friend said she does it all the time and get away with it. My daughter had to do the job the right way , I will have admit , it was a good try but my daughter's friend may been able to fool her mom but not me.

 

[rockin'robin]

When I was growing up, it was my job to do the dishes...(at that time we had no dishwasher)...and there was 6 of us....Pots & Pans were my worst nightmare. I hated them....so one evening, I just stuck them into the Oven, out of sight.....and ran on out to hang with my friends.

Got busted the next evening when my Mom could not find a Pot or Pan to piss in!...

 

[Dixie]

I once told my daughter she could not go outside and play with the girl next door until she cleaned up her bedroom. My daughter showed me her bedroom five minutes later all cleaned up. I said to my daughter " What did you do , throw everything into trash bags and put it in your closet?" My daughter was speechless, her friend said she does it all the time and get away with it. My daughter had to do the job the right way , I will have admit , it was a good try but my daughter's friend may been able to fool her mom but not me.

I did this when I was young and my mom dragged everything back out of the closet and made me do it right. I spent two days sorting and cleaning everything out.

My daughter has done this, she knows she is busted and instead of going to the fishing derby this Saturday, she gets to stay in her room and clean it the right way. I told her she should have no less than three trash bags full of stuff. She also has posters rolled up that she doesn't want to hang up but doesn't want to get rid of either. Poster purgatory is going to be purged to her dismay. Her old clothes and shoes that she can no longer wear will be sold in a yard sale this spring. The same goes with toys that she no longer plays with that are still in good condition and don't have pieces missing.

When I was growing up, it was my job to do the dishes...(at that time we had no dishwasher)...and there was 6 of us....Pots & Pans were my worst nightmare. I hated them....so one evening, I just stuck them into the Oven, out of sight.....and ran on out to hang with my friends.

Got busted the next evening when my Mom could not find a Pot or Pan to piss in!...

I had to do dishes too when I was young and I absolutely hated pots and pans. I had the bright idea to just hide them under my bed, because mom won't look for a pot there. The next night she went to cook she couldn't find a pot anywhere and asked where I put them. I got busted. I ended up having to do dishes every night for a month. I never tried that again.

 

[BecLak]

If I could just get my kid into the habit of cleaning up her own room and messes when she makes them, now I could have a near spotless apartment all the time.

Hi Dixie! Is it just me?, I haven't seen you around in ages. Good to see you back!

 

[BecLak]

Oh, yeah, me too,
I have two large laundry baskets for right away sorting whites and dark ones, and some smaller ones for towels, red/pinks, delicates that I put between the large ones. One of top of the other. A bit awkward to use, but still worth it.

This way I have already everything sorted out for laundry.

What else I need, is 2 small separate baskets for socks only. all in good in time, in time...

Fuzzy

I have a basket just for odd socks, there are so many lol. After the next round of laundry, they usually find their pairs.