#leavingthenest #cleaninghouse — Pic: Africa Studio (via Shutterstock)

Sick of cleaning before you start?

I hear you loud and clear! Who likes cleaning? Not me, anyway. Save time, effort and money with these tips.

Also check out heaps more useful info showing what you need to do, plus to save you money and time, in simple steps to clean your house, plus print these handy cleaning checklists and cleaning roster to easily work out who does what, when.

Bathroom cleaning tips

Cut down your shower scrubbing by keeping a spray bottle of vinegar in the shower. Just ask people to spray it around a bit when they’ve finished showering, especially on grimy bits. It’ll keep the dirt in check like a store-bought shower spray so it’s easier to scrub anything off at the end of the week (or whenever you get to it…).

If you have to clean the shower on your own, do it while you’re in there (or you could do it with someone…you’ll save water).

Toilets: use leftover cola as a toilet cleaner (no joke, that’s why it’s GREAT for teeth. Haha.); leave it overnight then scrub it with vinegar, bicarb and/or eucalyptus to finish it off so it’s sparkling…well, clean, anyway.

Wash your shower curtain in a cup of vinegar plus a cup of bleach (but only if bleach is ok to use in your washing machine – check the instructions first, look it up online or even phone the manufacturer — better than destroying your machine), along with some white towels and a normal amount of washing powder or laundry liquid. Hang the shower curtain back up after washing and it’ll straighten out in a few days and be as good as new.

Put a bin in the bathroom – better than people leaving gross stuff like pads or condoms lying around or clogging up the toilet.

#cleanhouse #leavingthenest — Pic: Christian Delbert (via Shutterstock)

Kitchen cleaning tips

Yep, again, try to wash up as you go, or at least chuck things in to soak as you finish with them. It’s so much easier to do than letting it all pile up until it’s stuck on, or even worse, a hotbed of maggots (and it happens so fast in Summer, especially with meat or dairy).

Try these handy hints to make cleaning a breeze!

Leave an open empty bottle of vanilla essence in the fridge, or wipe the fridge out with a few drops of vanilla to remove smells

Soak tricky pots overnight in salt and/or detergent and water.
Clean the microwave: boil a cup of water until steaming then wipe over (add lemon juice to the water if you like).
Spray the inside of your oven with vinegar then throw on bicarb and wait for the bubbling to stop. Wipe it off. This works on pretty much anything festy – pots, bathrooms, stinky sinks (just pour a kettle full of boiling water down afterwards), bongs (hey, that got your attention!).
Put a clean tea towel in the fridge crisper to stop slimy water (and change and wash it sometimes).

Don’t use metal on non-stick unless it is specified as ok – you’ll ruin the coating and make it hard to clean and cook with.

Buy scrubbing cloths and scourers that don’t scratch non-stick.

Other useful tips

Use cloves in wardrobes and drawers to deter moths and silverfish.

Maggot prevention?

To stop maggots in your garbage, stop flies getting in.

Use a bin with a tight-fitting lid and, if necessary, give it a spray with vinegar, and/or a hot water rinse, then sprinkle with eucalyptus oil if you can be bothered (it does make it smell much better) – the rumour is that mothballs deter the little buggers, so you could also try putting a few in the base of the bin.

Maggot cure!

If the maggots are in your bin already, rinse them out with a kettle full of boiling water (I know, not nice, but neither are maggots in your bin).

If they’re wriggling around somewhere you can’t do this, like on carpet or something, you can use a beer trap – just put a dish full of beer next to them and they’ll climb in and drown happy. (This tip also works for slugs and snails in the garden. Seems everything likes a beer on a hot day.)

Got cat litter?

Frankly, it’s pretty foul in the bathroom, and disgusting in the kitchen, as it doesn’t take long to smell baaad.

If you have a cat and it uses litter, make sure you clean it each day or your housemates will soon tire of it (at least remove the solids and any obvious wee patches) plus keep it outside-ish or in the laundry or somewhere away from food and personal grooming.

Cleaning made easy

Ok, so cleaning is not exciting. But unless you want to live in a dump overrun by cockroaches, maggots and mice, it has to get done.

Here’s how to make it faster and easier.

Clean as you go, and try to keep cleaning stuff in each room where it’s needed – e.g. fill the sink up before you cook and soak dirty dishes so they’re easier to wash later; wipe benches and tables as you go; and spray and brush the toilet if it needs it.
Make a cleaning roster for the stuff you need to do with your housemates or in turns. Print one out here
Turn the music up loud and get into it.
Use it for exercise – it’s cheap and easy and can give you a good workout.

The alternative?

Whack a few slugs in the bathroom and let them eat the slime?

Wait till the cockroaches tidy up the kitchen?

Watch the maggots gobble the mess while they multiply?

Yick.

3 cheap cleaning products to do it all

You’ll need supplies to clean, but, surprisingly, three products – white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and eucalyptus oil – will basically do everything except your clothes and dishes.

cleaning, cheap cleaning, — Cheap, effective cleaning multi-taskers

This is really cheap (cleaning vinegar is a couple of bucks for a few litres – get it and bicarb in the cleaning aisle at the supermarket) and means your house has less nasty chemicals.

General cleaning tips

Vinegar (or lemon juice) alone or diluted, works on pretty much any hard surface in the kitchen, bathroom or living areas.
Dilute vinegar in a spray bottle (from discount stores) for a surface spray.
For stubborn dirt, spray on vinegar then throw on bicarb and watch it bubble. Wipe it away after it stops reacting.
Bicarb soda works well as a paste when mixed with a bit of water – use it to really scrub dirt off, like on dirty stovetops.
A few drops of eucalyptus oil (or peppermint, tea tree or any essential oil really) on a mop dipped in boiled water will freshen floors plus deter ants. Also use it to clean toilets (the oil, not the mop, eeew).
Eucalyptus oil also removes stains – rub it into the stain then wash normally.
Clove oil (from pharmacies) kills mould spores, so put a few drops into a spray bottle of water and use it for areas that get mouldy, or to spray onto soft-furnishings like lounges or curtains.
An empty, open bottle of essential oil in your car or bathroom works well as an air-freshener.

HINT: Low on undies? Clean some in the shower.

My friend (yep, a he…) once said there are four ways to wear underwear: standard, back-to-front, inside out and inside out/back-to-front.

Hmmm…what about commando?

Jobs to do

So you’ve got cleaning products – what’s next? Print the main cleaning tasks checklist for a rundown.

Basically, there’s:

Washing, folding and putting away clothes (unless you’re a naturist…that is, you don’t do clothes).
Dishes to do (or a dishwasher to stack and unstack) and table-tops to wipe.
Garbage, recycling and green waste to chuck out.
Floors.
Bathrooms.
Random extras like cleaning air conditioning vents (who knew?), wiping down dirty walls and windows and washing the shower curtain if you have one.

Do the main tasks regularly so they don’t pile up – it’s harder to get dirt off if you leave it (I know this from experience, sadly).

Laundry tips

Those tricks your Mum and Dad never told you (or, frankly, who could be bothered to listen) only seem important once you’ve shrunk your favourite top or dyed your undies pink.

Check out my laundry tips checklist for a rundown of how to keep your clothes in good shape.

Who does what?

Of course, when you clean, and how often, will vary depending whether you live in a house or apartment, how often you’re home, what appliances you have, and how many of you there are. FYI: lots of flatmates isn’t easier – there’s also lots more mess. Do a bit each day though, and you’ll stay on top of it; if you let the mess pile up your house quickly turns into a hoarders’ episode.

Work out how you’ll do it in your house. Will you do the big jobs together or take turns? Once you’re on the same page as a household, make a roster and stick it on the fridge to remind you all. You could divide the jobs so everyone has a few daily and weekly chores, or whatever suits you.

Print this cleaning roster and fill it in the way it works for your household.

HINT: FYI, if you leave a coffee cup for a few days the leftovers will turn into a gross, stinky, skinned custard then go mouldy – and festy finds like this are, quite frankly, a real turn-off for visitors (especially ones you’re hoping to get close to).

Tag: Easy cleaning

More Cleaning Tips (For Bathroom, Kitchen, Maggots Etc.)