Here are some really damn helpful tips for you!
Be sure to swing back by, no doubt new tips will be added. And hey, if you've got some hot ones, do let me know and I'll add them to the list!
FYI, the product links in these tips are affiliate links to a variety pack of different sites. Mwah, thanks! Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info!
Bugs:
￮ Ants around the house? Use Terro Liquid Bait Traps indoors and diatomaceous earth outdoors. The latter is pet safe and all-natural. Both work near instantly and diatomaceous earth works on loads of other bugs as well (ticks, roaches, and many more)!
￮ Mosquitoes got you down? No worries, get yourself set up with Thermacell. It's scent-free and lasts several hours and toooottaaallly works.
￮ Mosquitoes still a pest? I know, I hear you. These mosquito coils work wonders too.
￮ Oh, gnats and fruit flies, amiright?! Holy hell those things are annoying. Clean your drains by sprinkling some baking soda down them, then pour in some vinegar. After, cover your kitchen sink drains with silicone tub stoppers when not in use. You'll notice a huge, major, drastic reduction in bugs.
Cleaning:
￮ To sparkle up your grout, sprinkle on some baking soda, spray a few sprays of hydrogen peroxide, scrub with a toothbrush or scrubber, rinse, and voila, sparkly clean grout!
￮ To sparkle up your kitchen cabinets, mix some TSP substitute powder in a spray bottle with some water, spray onto anything greasy then wipe off with a clean rag. Grease is gone with no effort!
￮ To clean burnt-on crud on baking sheets or pots and pans, try some Bar Keeper's Friend. Sprinkle it on, a little bit of light scrubbing, and most should come right up!
￮ To remove black silverware marks from plates, use Bar Keeper's Friend and a scrubby pad.
￮ My go-to silver polish? Wright's.
￮ Murky glass in your shower? Warm up some vinegar and mix in the same amount of blue dish soap like Dawn (a 50/50 mix), spray it on the glass, let it sit for a few minutes. A light scrubbing and a rinse later, clear as day! Don't let it sit too long, vinegar dissolves and etches grout.
￮ Smelly dishwasher or washing machine? For the dishwasher, find that filter, remove it, and give it good soapy cleaning. For either machine, run a load empty using vinegar as the detergent. For the dishwasher, pour some in a cup and set it on the top rack right side up. Although, I'm hearing now that vinegar damages the interior rubber parts....to be continued.
Clutter:
Cleaning:
￮ To sparkle up your grout, sprinkle on some baking soda, spray a few sprays of hydrogen peroxide, scrub with a toothbrush or scrubber, rinse, and voila, sparkly clean grout!
￮ To sparkle up your kitchen cabinets, mix some TSP substitute powder in a spray bottle with some water, spray onto anything greasy then wipe off with a clean rag. Grease is gone with no effort!
￮ To clean burnt-on crud on baking sheets or pots and pans, try some Bar Keeper's Friend. Sprinkle it on, a little bit of light scrubbing, and most should come right up!
￮ To remove black silverware marks from plates, use Bar Keeper's Friend and a scrubby pad.
￮ My go-to silver polish? Wright's.
￮ Murky glass in your shower? Warm up some vinegar and mix in the same amount of blue dish soap like Dawn (a 50/50 mix), spray it on the glass, let it sit for a few minutes. A light scrubbing and a rinse later, clear as day! Don't let it sit too long, vinegar dissolves and etches grout.
￮ Smelly dishwasher or washing machine? For the dishwasher, find that filter, remove it, and give it good soapy cleaning. For either machine, run a load empty using vinegar as the detergent. For the dishwasher, pour some in a cup and set it on the top rack right side up. Although, I'm hearing now that vinegar damages the interior rubber parts....to be continued.
￮ Dried paint stuck on your plastic laundry tub? No problem, use some rubbing alcohol and a scrubby pad or brush.
￮ To keep your hardwood floors in tip-top shape, avoid using oil soaps as they build up and dull the finish over time. Instead, pick up a mop with reusable microfiber covers, some hardwood floor cleaner, and a spray bottle. Spray the cleaner on, wipe off with the mop, fast and easy! You can use the same mop to dry to dust the floors!
￮ Make this homemade glass cleaner -- it's cheap, it's easy, and daaaammnn, it really really works! Into a spray bottle add 1 cup (237 ml) water and 1 cup white vinegar. Mix, spray, wipe, tada!
￮ Looking to cut back on store-bought cleaners in general? Try some dish soap watered down in a spray bottle and a sponge instead. Handles a good majority of household cleaning tasks with ease, cuts down on plastic waste, and saves you money!
￮ Got tree sap on your windows outside? No problem! Use some acetone on a rag and it will wipe right up.
￮ Pet fur all over your belongings? I know that feeling! Get this gizmo, I swear, it truly works and it's a total game-changer!
￮ Went and stained your clothes doing all this hard work? Zote soap gets out an amazing number of stains, it's shocking.
￮ Too, Crocodile Cloths are amazing for woodworking, painting, and clean up. Highly recommend.
Clutter:
￮ One of the best ways to address clutter is to clear out the cluttered area completely, clean it thoroughly, then separate the items into keep, sell, donate and handle those three tasks immediately. Put back the keepers tidily and organized. Take the donate out right away and off to the donation location as soon as possible.
￮ Customizing storage in your most cluttered locations is the key to success. See what needs organizing and find or make storage solutions specifically around those items. You'll find customizing keeps that clutter completely at bay.
Garden:
￮ Looking to kill a tree or shrub stump? Drill a few holes in it, sprinkle in some Epsom salt, water the salt, and in no time the stump will be dead.
￮ Similarly, Epsom salt can be used as a fertilizer or a killer -- do your research first!
￮ To kill off anything, sprinkle with regular table salt and water. This will leave your soil barren for a while though and is an equal opportunity killer (it'll kill everything around it). Do this sparingly as it can be damaging to wildlife and waterways.
General:
￮ Vinegar dissolves grout -- use it to clean up tile after grouting but avoid using it on grout itself any time after.
Painting/Wall Treatments:
￮ Done painting for the day but still have more to do? Stick your paint roller in a plastic grocery bag and roll it tight. Tuck your paint tray in a plastic garbage bag. Slide your paintbrush into a plastic bag and roll it up. The next day everything will be raring to go and you'll only clean up once!
￮ Looking to kill a tree or shrub stump? Drill a few holes in it, sprinkle in some Epsom salt, water the salt, and in no time the stump will be dead.
￮ Similarly, Epsom salt can be used as a fertilizer or a killer -- do your research first!
￮ To kill off anything, sprinkle with regular table salt and water. This will leave your soil barren for a while though and is an equal opportunity killer (it'll kill everything around it). Do this sparingly as it can be damaging to wildlife and waterways.
General:
￮ Vinegar dissolves grout -- use it to clean up tile after grouting but avoid using it on grout itself any time after.
Painting/Wall Treatments:
￮ Done painting for the day but still have more to do? Stick your paint roller in a plastic grocery bag and roll it tight. Tuck your paint tray in a plastic garbage bag. Slide your paintbrush into a plastic bag and roll it up. The next day everything will be raring to go and you'll only clean up once!
￮ Getting in on some wallpaper? Yay! Do your future self (or future homeowner people) a huge favor and use an adhesive primer first. Doing so makes removal a super simple snap and you'll never fear wallpaper again!
￮ Looking for the easiest possible way to test paint samples on your wall? Look no further than peel and stick samples from Samplize that are made with the actual paint, ship overnight, are mess-free, and so super easy.
￮ Looking to paint a room but funds feel tight? No worries! Check out the mis-mix section of your local paint department and find awesome paint for a mere fraction of the retail price!
Any project:
￮ Don’t forget, if you don’t have the tools to do any of these projects I offer you, you can rent tools at your local home improvement store or borrow from a friend. If you’re in Chicago, become a member of the Chicago Tool Library.
￮ Don’t forget, if you don’t have the tools to do any of these projects I offer you, you can rent tools at your local home improvement store or borrow from a friend. If you’re in Chicago, become a member of the Chicago Tool Library.
I’d just like to add a tip when painting! I use the ‘press and seal’ wrap to line the tray, cover the top of the paint can while working and even wrapping the brushes and rollers. Once I’m done, remove the wrap and very little cleanup needed! Works so well! Thanks for your great tips!
ReplyDeleteTerrific tips, thank you very much! Indeed, sometimes I line my roller tray with plastic or foil and most definitely, it works! Thanks for taking the time to share!
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