HOWEVER, I had established a pretty good routine while they were in school, so those two weeks really threw me off track. So now that they are back, it is time to get back into it and get stuff done!!
I am spending my day (after getting work done) cleaning and organizing. Man these kids can make a mess being in the house for long periods of time! So to help you do the same, here are some more of my favorite cleaning tips and tricks!
1. Have pets? Have furniture? Then you most likely have pet hair ON your furniture. Try using a pair of rubber gloves (get them a little damp first) and gather up all of the pet hair on your furniture. Works like a magnet!
2. Use distilled white vinegar to clean hard water off of your sink faucets etc. Use an old toothbrush to help with the scrubbing.
3. Speaking of white vinegar....have you ever thrown a load of laundry in the washer and then forgot all about it until the next day?? Then you know the smell I am referring to. For some reason, I can rewash the clothes and the smell comes out but the towels are impossible to get the smell out. Try this trick courtesy of classyclutter.net.... Wash your load of towels on the hot cycle and add 1 cup of vinegar to the load. Do not use detergent or anything (especially bleach – that can be super dangerous!)… just hot water and the vinegar. Let the washer do it’s job. Then, if you still smell a little bit, rewash with just hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. I did not need to do this step but if your towels are bad, you might want to. Again, no detergent, just baking soda and hot water. Got it?
When your towels are done, throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet. I use the Febreeze Bounce dryer sheets and now my towels come out smelling super clean and fresh!
This also works well on clothing, like stinky wet swimsuits that were left sopping wet out of the pool! Just be sure to be careful with the hot water and mixing colors. You don’t want the colors to bleed so do them separately or with very like colors.
4. My kids seem to grow out of their clothes so fast sometimes. Instead of going through closets and drawers once in a while, keep a cardboard box in your laundry room. When sorting clothes after the dryer, simply watch for ones that no longer fit and toss them into the cardboard box. When it is full, it is time for a donation!
