by Mama Fox
I love cleaning. I turn on music, get in the zone and boogie my way to a clean house. I really really love a clean house.
Mondays are my cleaning days. It's my chance to recover from the laziness of the weekend since I don't do any unnecessary cleaning during our "family time." Monday morning it usually looks like a tornado (or three
) has blown through our home. So I pull out my cleaning tools and get to work.
My "tool box":
Have I soaked you enough in my "hippieness" yet? Cleaning green isn't only because yes I care about the Earth and tend to get super obsessed when I put my mind to something. I also don't want to worry about what chemicals are in my home and what my kids come in contact with. My house doesn't have to reek with bleach for me to know it's clean. My family can breathe easy here, I don't have to worry about anything Fox3 may put in his mouth or what is going into the water system. A
great resource of natural cleaning tips.
The best motivator to clean? Invite people over. Haha! That's what I did today. I emailed a friend this morning to see if her and her daughter would like to come over and the kids could splash around in the new pool. She said she would call me after nap time. So I got to work cleaning up, extra duty visitor style. Although plans fell through, my house is still clean. She'll probably be here tomorrow so that's my motivation to keep things looking nice.
I keep my house clean for myself and my family. I know I don't like sitting around in a mess and I'm sure my husband appreciates coming home and seeing everything neat and tidy. I keep things organized so we're not searching for things we need or buying multiple items because one got lost. Things don't get broken (often) and everything has its place.
Any cleaning tips you would like to share?
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Comments (11)
You sound very much like me in this aspect. Cleaning actually relaxes me (most of the time). I have my vacuum out at least once a day. We have all hardwood floors and it doesn't take much (especially with 3 kids running in from the sandbox and a 90 lb black labradoodle) for them to feel and look dirty. I am so very excited because I finally splurged and bought myself a hand vac for those quick clean ups.
That OMop thing looks very interesting. Two of my favorite 'tools' are my dry mop (picks up the dog hair well - even with nothing on it) and my steam mop. Have you ever tried a steam mop? It uses nothing but water - so no chemicals - but, since it uses steam, it sanitizes while it cleans. It dries nearly instantly and melts everything off the floors (dried jelly, orange juice...those sticky spots that you don't know (nor are you sure you want to know) where they came from.) And it takes as little effort as vacuuming does. That was my Christmas gift from my hubby this past year and I love it!
@mamamonkey - I'm going to have to check that out.That sounds really handy.
Vinegar is definitely a favorite cleaning tool of mine! Cant beat the price or how well it works! Thanks for posting the link. I will have to keep it as a favorite in case I cant figure out how to clean something!
I am glad you shared this. Everyone always uses 'cleaners' for everything. In reality, the simple, inexpensive things work the best!
The one that I have is a Bissel brand one. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't get into corner/small spaces well because of the shape of the head. I know there is an infomercial for one that has a triangular head and even an attatchement that allows you to steam carpets. I can't really 'recommend' this one as I have not used it myself, but I have thought about trying that one myself.
I agree with you about being green. I try to conservse where I can and I can't help being green... oh, wait... thats mold. Like you saying your cleaning day is Monday.... I only take a shower when it rains.... the rest of the time I just spray myself with bio degradeable febreeze.
Sorry, I just couldnt help myself,,,,,, in one of those moods today...
Really though I do agree with your post.... Each of your ideas are good ones....
ohhh man I'm so with you there on my motivation to clean! I LOVE to entertain and it's a great excuse to get a sparkling clean house.
My biggest cleaning tip? Send the kids to Grandma's (or auntie's house) for a few hours and PLUG AWAY!!
I use a spray bottle with 50 ppm bleach (1 tbsp bleach/1gallon water). It doesn't smell harsh or bleach anything out, but it makes me feel more sanitary. I use it on everything.
My biggest motivator is first, I'm nesting. Gotta get this house spotless before the baby gets here. Second, I love for my husband to come home to a clean house because he's always so pleased by it. He brags on me to his friends, who are mostly single guys. lol
Finding time to clean house when I can is wonderful!! Papa D helps most the time so that is wonderful and when A1 isnt too busy dragging EVERY SINGLE TOY he owns out of his bedroom and into our living room. But when cleaning I use alot of clorox wipes and fantastic on my counters. As far as mopping the floor goes, good ole' soap and hot water works wonders for me. When cleaning my bathroom I guess that's a different story. I use toilet bowl cleaner and when cleaning my shower I just use fantastic! I use Febreeze Air Effects to keep the smell of dirty diapers out of the air:)
It does take me forever to get motivated, but once I get going I cant stop!
Thanks for the links, I want to make the switch to non-toxic cleaning after the regular stuff is gone - this should help!
@mamafox - I would like to know what you use for laundry and stain removal. I have the hardest time with this. Oddly enough, it seems to be really bad since we moved into our house a couple years ago. I think it is the hard water, but I don't know and it is very frustrating for me.
@mamamonkey - I have Purex Free and Clear detergent and I just rub a little on stains, let it soak for a couple minutes then wash it. This usually works for stains up to 3 days old. For really tough stains the item sits outside in the sun to dry. The sun has uber stain fighting powers.