Housekeeping Mom Tips

[Anonymous]

When I bought my flatware, the sales person suggested not using citrus scented products in the dishwasher, as they can lead to rust on stainless steel items over time. Most dishwashers are metal inside now too - I wonder if using the lemon kool aid might cause a problem with that. Seems like a fairly acidic product.

I'm a crumby housekeeper, and I may be very different than the OP, but cleaning the inside of my cleaning machines (dish and clothes washers) seems very low on the priority list! I feel like those areas get cleaned each time they are run in the normal course of washing the dishes and the clothes. I've never heard of doing a separate cleaning routine for them. But, as I said, I'm not much of a housekeeper.

I like the tip to put a set of clean bedsheets into a pillowcase.

When I wash sheets, I try to do it early enough in the day so I can put the same sheets back on the bed. That means no folding.

[Anonymous]

To get rid of bad odor in the garbage disposal, I fill the sink with cold water, ice cubes, and baking soda then run the garbage disposal until it all drains down. It works wonders for us (DH almost never turns on the disposal, so we have this problem all too often).

I also use vinegar to clean my front loader & get rid of the mildew smell of towels.

For laundry, I've become a total 'sunshine' fanatic. I place the stained clothes in the brightest sun spot I can find and it works miracles. I also use a lot of white vinegar on laundry stains.

I love mister clean magic eraser too. Wonder product.

[Anonymous]

Not really a specific tip, but I always make sure that, if nothing else, I do these 3 things in a day: empty and reload/run the dishwasher (no dishes in sink at bedtime). at least start one load of laundry or finish the load from the day before. Be sure kids have put their laundry in their baskets. Sort the mail. Just these 3 things keep me from being a lump.

[Anonymous]

we just bought a bigger toy-box--- living room looks SO MUCH BETTER now! I also try to wipe out the bathroom sinks and wipe down the toilet seats with Lysol wipes every few days.

[Anonymous]

I like routines, like the pp suggested leaving baby wipes on the kids sink so they wipe down each time they brush teeth. Any more tips like this? I need my housekeeping (and kids) on autopilot or it just doesn't happen.

What are your 'routines'?

[Anonymous]

Kaboom is my friend. My bathrooms sparkle. Borax is my other friend. We make a great team. Borax in the washer gets out smells & stains and is also safe for colors.
Swiffer dry mop to clean up hair on bathroom floors or else it just gets chased in circle.
I line the oven bottom with foil. When it gets dirty, just toss. Saves time, energy and elbow grease.

[Anonymous]

Stupid question here from someone who is just learning that vinegar can be a cleaning product...do you all just use white vinegar for these things? Like the cheapo store brand? Doesn't the strong smell of vinegar stick around forever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stupid question here from someone who is just learning that vinegar can be a cleaning product...do you all just use white vinegar for these things? Like the cheapo store brand? Doesn't the strong smell of vinegar stick around forever?

Yes, the pussy douche smell lasts forever.

[Anonymous]

PP:Klassy! Looks like you need a new hobby.

[Anonymous]

For those who want to be on autopilot, I really agree with number seven on pp's list: at my nanny's suggestion, we keep all our toys in samllish binw sorted by category, and we all make sure to have the kids clean up when they're done playing. My two year old twins clean up their own mess! I was amazed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stupid question here from someone who is just learning that vinegar can be a cleaning product...do you all just use white vinegar for these things? Like the cheapo store brand? Doesn't the strong smell of vinegar stick around forever?

No, vinegar (like isopropyl alcohol) doesn't smell once it dries/is rinsed away/is removed. It's like magic, because it takes the other odors with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really a specific tip, but I always make sure that, if nothing else, I do these 3 things in a day: empty and reload/run the dishwasher (no dishes in sink at bedtime). at least start one load of laundry or finish the load from the day before. Be sure kids have put their laundry in their baskets. Sort the mail. Just these 3 things keep me from being a lump.

Love the part about 'stop being a lump.' Love these ideas. I grew up in a house where cleaning was not a priority, so oddly enough, when I do a good deep clean/project (3x a week), I feel so proud of myself. I know, it's sad.

I try to pick up everyday, wipe down, disinfect,etc and then pick one 'mini project' to complete every two or three days. It could be straightening the linen closet, sorting and purging small areas, etc.

As far as tips go, one i learned is to plan meals out ahead of time and write them down...seems like such a duh! thing to do, but that has really helped the 4-6 craziness of dinner, baths and schedules.

[Anonymous]

Make 'crazy times' easier by doing as much as you can before things get 'crazy'. I.e I set my coffee pot up the night before. I make as much of the lunches as I can the night before (I have 2 sets of lunch boxes so I get it started the day before while one set is being used). I make baby milk bottles for the next morning and night during nap times. I at least check to make sure we have enough clean appropriate clothes/sports uniforms for whatever is needed the next day. I make a list of the phone numbers I will need to make calls the next day while kids are in bed so I don't get bogged down hunting for a number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like routines, like the pp suggested leaving baby wipes on the kids sink so they wipe down each time they brush teeth. Any more tips like this? I need my housekeeping (and kids) on autopilot or it just doesn't happen.

What are your 'routines'?

DH and I set the kitchen timer for 10min each night and clean the house as quickly as we can for those 10min. My house is always very clean, it is amazing what this will accomplish if you do it each night. The houscleaners do a deep clean every 2 weeks. Once we implemented this, we NEVER had to spend weekends doing marathon cleanings.

This is the only way I can manage having a clean house and two FT working parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like routines, like the pp suggested leaving baby wipes on the kids sink so they wipe down each time they brush teeth. Any more tips like this? I need my housekeeping (and kids) on autopilot or it just doesn't happen.

What are your 'routines'?

DH and I set the kitchen timer for 10min each night and clean the house as quickly as we can for those 10min. My house is always very clean, it is amazing what this will accomplish if you do it each night. The houscleaners do a deep clean every 2 weeks. Once we implemented this, we NEVER had to spend weekends doing marathon cleanings.

This is the only way I can manage having a clean house and two FT working parents.

What do you mean by "clean" ? Pick up/straighten or actually 'clean'? Do you decide ahead of time what needs doing? i.e You take the upstairs bath, I'll get the kitchen floor. Do you wait for the kids to be asleep?