Written by Angela, Guest Post
At Hidden Treasures, we’ve been talking about starting the New Year out clean. {And by ‘clean’ I don’t mean drug free, although that would be really fantastic!!!}
No, seriously, there’s no better way to start the year out then with a clean house and a clean body! So, I figured I’d just carry the theme over and share these thought here on day2day joys too! Here are some things that I use, or will one day, that help me keep my house clean. These are all time/work/sanity saving things.You know things all of us need more of!!
1. Plexi Glass along the wall behind your kitchen sink, counters and stove will save you tons of time and grief when things like tomato sauce and olive oil decide to jump out of your skillet and onto the walls! It should come right off without too much scrubbing and you won’t have to worry about replacing the border, or repainting the walls as soon. See there, saves money too!
2. Satin Gloss Paint on doors and walls will help with all those little finger prints! They come right off with a bit of warm water and soap.
3. Plastic Mattress Protectors have saved me hours!! All you have to do if a child gets sick, wets the bed, or decides to pet a fish on their bed {don’t ask!}, is strip off the sheets and disinfect the mattress protector. And no more dust mites, germs or allergens either!! They are also great if you happen to live in an area that’s bad for fleas or lice as they won’t be able to get into your mattresses. But do be sure to get the BPA free protectors.
4. Natural Cleaning Supplies are a big help. You won’t have to worry about letting the kids help you clean, which means you’ll have more help. And, you won’t have to spend as much money on all the store bought chemicals.
5. Tooth Brush Covers are a great way to stop a few germs. Without going into great detail, I’ll just say that there are germs that naturally float around a bathroom – most of which we don’t really need to smear on our teeth.
6. Homemade Detergents are a fabulous way to save money and clean your home. I make all of my laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, dryer sheets and fabric softener. Saves tones of money and cleans just as well, not to mention the health benefits that go along with it.
7. Dishwashers are a great way to sanitize lots of things. Please don’t use harsh chemicals when sanitizing baby things! You can use vinegar, or just let the water and heat do it’s job.
8. Zip Lock Bags can be found in almost any size you could possibly need. You can use the big ones to organize seasonal clothing, or just to store clean blankets away so they don’t get dusty or come unfolded in the top of the closet.
9. Self Cleaning Ovens are fantastic because they, not only clean themselves, but they clean other things too!! I throw my stainless steal cookie sheets in the oven and set it to clean and all that baked burnt on stuff will come right off!
10. Last, but certainly NOT LEAST is my favorite thing of all!! My Rainbow Vacuum!! That thing is awesome! I can clean walls, woodwork, corner, pillows, furniture, blankets, and even the cat! Seriously! I don’t have a cat, but it does get all the lose hairs off, I’ve seen it done myself. And that’s not all, you don’t have a bag to deal with, nor do you have to store all that dirt in your home. As soon as you vacuum it up, you throw it out, out of the house! Love it!
What are some ways you are keeping clean this year?
Angela was raised a Military Brat. She is married to a pastor and mother to 4 children and 2 in heaven. Understanding how hard life can be and desiring to love other ladies, Angela took on blogging.You can join Angela at Hidden Treasures where she blogs about the Christian life, children, whole foods, saving money and time, and living a natural life the way God intended.
Angela was raised a Military Brat. She is married to a pastor and mother to 4 children and 2 in heaven. Understanding how hard life can be and desiring to love other ladies, Angela took on blogging.You can join Angela at Hidden Treasures where she blogs about the Christian life, children, whole foods, saving money and time, and living a natural life the way God intended.
*Linked to: Women Living Well, Homemaking Linkup, Titus 2sdays, Works for Me, Simple Lives Thursday, Homestead Barn Hop
About Rachel
I can’t imagine life before kid’s mattress pad covers, especially with ones who still have trouble waking up in the night. 🙂
Great post Angela! I started using your free gift for the new year to help me stay on track and not get behind on housework. So far it’s going great! Thanks for your helpful tips! 🙂
Brandy
http://www.livingwaterhealthandwellness.com
Great post, Angela! 🙂
Hello, Anna! I just looked up your blog. I love it! Are you on facebook?? I’d love to follow you there. 🙂
Thank you, Brandy and Jill! I saw your comments after I posted my own. I’m glad you like that schedule Brandy, although I must say, my husband did all of that for me. Now, he asks me every day if I accomplished this or that {whatever he remembers being on that particular day}!! LOL Hopefully he forgets what he typed soon! =D I can’t get away with anything now! lol
Great list! I have a simple baby step recipe for dishwashing powder – Love myo!
Blessings
http://bit.ly/yRqK0U
I want a Rainbow – but I have this problem….I’m cheap. LOL So, I have a kicking awesome Shark instead. 🙂
We got ours for $200.00 It was 10 years old, but it works great! I love it! And $200.00 is less than you’d pay for a few others I can think of. I love it!!
Wonderful post, Angela! I’ve never thought about the plexiglass behind the kitchen sink but that would definitely help things at my house!
Thank you! I don’t have plexi glass up now, but if we buy the house we’ve been looking at I will have it! =)
I think this is a great list Angela! We love the mattress pads, especially when my kids had accidents when they were transitioning from diapers to underwear.
I agree with Jenn, plexi-glass is an awesome idea! And I want a Rainbow vacuum like Stacy! (guess we have to save for it) 🙂
LOL, we have a $30 Bissell vacuum from WM. Maybe one day… The satin gloss paint is SO TRUE! We live in an apartment and they put flat paint (WHY?!?!) in the dining room. The walls are terrible, but I can’t clean them very well; the dirt just smudges. Yuck!
We got ours Rainbow for $200.00 which is very inexpensive!! It was ten years old, but it works great! I’m thankful for it. I vacuum our house at least 3 or times a week, so I was blowing through vacuums like a wild woman and my husband got tired of it. =)
I LOVE my non-saftey cap cleaning supplies. I was just teaching my daughter how to clean the grout the other day and commented to her that if they were the ones bought at the store she would not be helping me.
We’ve also been teaching the kids to CLOSE the toilet before they flush! YUCK!
We have mattress protectors (basically a huge zip loc bag), but I also use one of those eggs cartons and a mattress pad – so I started laying down a couple old towels where any accidents would take place. That way all I am washing is the sheet and towels. I learned this early when our first had a few overflows!