As I’ve mentioned about a billion times before, I’m not a fan of housework. I’m not ashamed to say that if I were rich, I’d probably pay someone to do it. It’s a thankless task that is never done. As soon as you think the place is spotless, someone wears something, eats something or pees somewhere and you have to start all over again.
Just recently, I’ve discovered a few little things that have helped to make the cleaning process a little easier, which is something we could all do with. We all know about white vinegar, lemon juice and newspaper being a great help, but the ones I use may not be so well-known. So here are a few things that could make your daily chores a bit less of a, well, chore!
1. WD40
WD40 is one of those things that most people have in the garage or shed but never think to use for cleaning. In fact, WD40 is AMAZING a getting rid of grease. Just recently, I cleaned our cooker hood using WD40 and a soft cloth and not only did it cut through the cooked-on grease with seriously minimal effort, the cooker hood came up to a beautiful shine too. In the grand scheme of things, WD40 doesn’t even smell too bad either and I can’t convey just how easy this made the whole job.
If you go to the WD40 site, there’s actually 2000+ uses for it and Husband informs me that it’s also amazing at getting waxed crayon off of painted walls!
2. Fabric Softener
This is an odd one, but I’m not a massive fan of polish or aerosols in general. I find it smells pretty rough and as is the modern way, I don’t really have a lot of true wooden furniture, mostly Ikea-tastic units that don’t actually like polish very much. I don’t know where I read this one, but instead of polish I use a tiny bit of fabric softener on a cloth instead. It smells nicer and helps you to pick up dust and remove drinks rings far better than a dry cloth. I wouldn’t recommend this if you have antiques or wooden units as it’ll dry out the wood, but for anything laminate, this is perfect.
3. Bicarbonate of Soda
This is a pretty well-known one, I think, but it’s pretty old-fashioned too so I’m not sure if it’s as well-known to my generation. We keep bicarb in the house constantly as it is so useful for so many things. We’ve used it on a saucer in the fridge to wick away any unpleasant smells, diluted in boiling water to brighten stained mugs, made into a paste and used with a toothbrush to clean tiles and the bit round the base of the taps that goes scummy. We even used it to get the smell of sick out of our memory foam mattress after Sausage did an EPIC chunder one night and no amount of cleaning product would get rid of the odour.
4. Chamois Leather
If you have a dog which is a short-haired breed, especially at this time of year, you’ll notice that those spiky little hairs are BLOODY EVERYWHERE. You can’t brush them like you can with a longer haired breed, but rubbing their coat with a slightly damp chamois leather a couple of times a week helps to get rid of all of the loose hairs and will make their coat come up a treat. Plus, if your dog is anything like our big baby, they’ll just love the fuss! (It has to be a proper chamois though, not an artificial one)
So there you go, four little tips which may make your day a bit cheaper and easier. If you have any of these little gems, let me know!
This is fab, and actually a few weeks ago i ditched all our normal cleaners and went ‘natural’, which was no mean feat as not only did i love buying cleaning products, but i’m pretty sure i had a bleach addiction. But i haven’t looked back. There is always the faint whiff of salad dressing coming from somewhere in the house and, i have to admit that cleaning now certainly works up more of a sweat. However vinegar, bicarb, and essential oils are now our staple cleaners, that have served as everything from carpet freshener to fabric softener.
I used to think that when i did a big clean that the headache i had was from scrubbing away like a loon, but i think it was all the chemicals. Still avoiding doing my oven like the plague, but with your WD40 tip, it might make it a bit more bearable. Thanks xx
Oops forgot to leave a tip…if you add vinegar to your rinse cycle it acts as a clothes softener, and deodoriser. Clothes come out incredibly fresh and great to iron.
Toothpaste is also a great stainless steel poiish, just buff off with a micro fibre cloth and don’t use too much.
Also if you want to make your own all purpose cleaner a cup of vinegar, two cups of water and about 10 drops of our have essential oil scent and away you go. i didn’t buy any new spray bottles from the shops, just used my old empty ones. The vinegar smell soon dissipates and everything just smells fresh. Some people feel that unless its a harsh, overly fragranced product it just doesn’t work. But you soon get used to the change and there are less streaks from the horrible film that commercial cleaners leave on everything! Go on give it a go! xx