Tag Archives: cleaning

Little Dirty Secrets

There are many little hidden traps throughout your house that easily get neglected. As I chase three kids around the house and see a dust bunny here, crumbs there, laundry over yonder, I begin to realize some things simply need to be cleaned that are forgotten about for quite some time. Trying to keep the basics cleaned, you realize the deep cleaning is always sitting on the back burner.

dirty little secrets

Thanks to: 4littlefergusons.wordpress.com

Here is a list of those little traps that we overlook on a too regular basis:

  • Dishwasher
  • Washing Machine
  • Bathtub
  • Humidifier
  • Coffee Pot
  • Door handles/light switches
  • TV remotes
  • Computer mouse and keyboard

These all get used on a regular basis but how often do we take the time to clean them. Just as a dishwasher and washing machine clean our clothes or dishes, they need to be cleaned themselves. A load here and there doesn’t do the trick. Make sure you wipe around the edges of the dishwasher to remove any mold or mildew that builds up. On the inside place an Affresh cleaner to make your dishwasher sparkling clean again. Same goes for your washing machine, you need to clean it once a month as well to keep clothes smelling clean and not that sweaty, mildew smell as if you left your laundry sitting wet for too long. It can often be from lack of cleaning your washing machine.

Affresh-300x300

Many of us have little kiddos running around needing a bath on a daily basis. Do you ever see the pink residue begin to form in your tub? That’s disgusting mildew that needs to be removed. Soap and water tend to reside in the bottom of the tub once you drain your bath. It sits there and builds up leaving a film all across the bottom, side and waistline of your tub.

bath tub

Humidifiers are often overlooked on a too frequent basis. I try and clean my humidifier once a month and still find mold. I will be purchasing a new humidifier as our current one isn’t easily accessible leaving certain spots with a mold residue that cannot be reached with a scrub brush. Making sure you clean them regularly and use a mold-be-gone for them as well. They have these in the isle where you by Vicks Vapor Steam.

Humidifier

Coffee pots- Though you may clean the actual pot where your coffee sits, don’t forget the back of the pot when you first fill it with water to brew your delicious coffee. Some coffee pots are clear in the back where you fill it up with water and others are not. I have had both and the clear ones help you spot mildew as it first starts to grow. Dark backs keep you blind to what is growing back there. Almost all coffee pots have a self clean button that alerts you when your pot needs to be cleaned, but my experience with the clear back is the self clean alert isn’t soon enough. Every couple of weeks you should run a pot of water and vinegar (equal parts) through your pot to help give a deep natural clean. Than simply wipe it down.

coffee pot

How often do you touch a door handle or light switch? Probably a hundred times a day give or take. How often do you clean your light switch or door handles? In our household I try and keep up on it, but it’s something that gets over looked too often. Germs get spread, dirty paws from my little man, sticky food, so on and so forth always get touched. Take a wash cloth with vinegar and water and wipe down really well. Or, if some of you don’t prefer the natural way, take Lysol or a preferred cleaner and walk around and clean every door handle and light switch.

door handle

Most of us probably have a TV remote, keyboard or mouse from the computer that gets touched on an ever so frequent basis. I know we do! This is a trap that gets no attention and breeds germs and dust. Take a moment to clean your household hidden treasures and wipe them clean.

tv remoteTake a minute to not only clean these hidden germs, but to take pride in your own and keep it clean!

 

Clean Microwaves

To all of you “old” folk who don’t go out anymore on New Years Eve let alone stay up till midnight, we have now become dear friends. I am on the same page as you and enjoy my sleep and a happy baby in the morning for going to bed on time. :) So happy new years eve and I hope you all have a safe holiday!

Now with that said:

We were welcomed home last night to our clean, cold house after being gone for 10 days. There is always a sweet comfort returning home even when you have had the best of times away. Your own bed, pillow, shower, and kitchen can be a place of sweet release.

Upon entering home, our house was a chilly 62 degrees. While the heat was rapidly rising to a balmy 71 degrees we began to settle in and find some snacks within our empty fridge. Cooper raced around the house in glorious bliss as he found all of his little toys scattered around yet left in the same spot he had placed them prior to leaving.

It was a bitter sweet moment coming home while we had enjoyed our 10 days at my parents house in Central Washington. It is always an escape from reality yet a busy time as well. I must say this Christmas was by far the best Christmas I believe we’ve had. Something about coming back to the meaning of what Christmas is all about, serving the homeless and poverty stricken Christmas dinner and spending time with family was exactly what made our Christmas in 2013 the best yet. This was the first year we took time our of our Christmas day to serve dinner at my parents church to those in need. It was the most humbling experience. The 135 plus families we served dinner to and donated gift, clothing and blankets to was exactly what created the best Christmas to date.

Anyway, after returning home last night, I think I forgot to mention that my husband had been sick all day with a nasty stomach bug. The unfortunate thing was we exposed the entire family to this nasty bug, had a 5 hour drive ahead of us with a sick man and a busy little baby with things to do and toys to play with. The rambunctious little man along with the sleepy giant in the passenger seat made the drive quiet long. Luckily we didn’t have to return by a particular time frame; we took our time and stopped now and again along the way.

This morning was our day of relaxation and hoping to gain as much sleep as possible to prevent any more sickies in the house. (IE my son and myself) I believe we helped accomplish this task when all three of us didn’t awake until 9:15 this morning…..New Years Eve. It was glorious. No alarm clock or baby waking us up. It was sweet bliss.

I headed to the kitchen feeling completely refreshed, coffee brewed and baby diaper changed. My husband allowed for my morning to be literally AMAZING! These little things blessed my day immensely; I was grateful. I scoured the fridge tossing out plenty of containers filled with food growing something unappetizing on it. There was quite the stench filling my kitchen sink disposal with this wretched aroma. I began deep cleaning my kitchen and fridge and was feeling so accomplished by this one room. I knew the remainder of the house needed a good wash down as well but it had to wait; one room at a time. I cleaned the cupboard faces, oven, stovetop and scrapped the edges to get any grim and grit away. I proceeded to clean cupboards and countertops until I felt completely satisfied. I ended my kitchen duties with cleaning the microwave. The microwave can be a daunting task as food debris cakes on allowing for deep finger scrubbing which no one enjoys. While I am always amazed at the task at hand, I always seem to put it off as long as possible. This one little tip I will share with you will change microwave cleaning for decades to come….. :)

Tip of the day: Spotless Microwave

In a shallow glass container add 1/2 cups water and 3-4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Heat in the microwave for 1:30 allowing the container to completely cool before removing.

Wipe away the grim and gunk with a washcloth.

The vinegar loosens up the food entirely allowing for a swift wipe away. It is incredible how well it works and how immaculate this appliance becomes.

No more scrubbing and ruined nails and finger tips. :)

image

New years eve drink of choice: Lemon Ginger Yogi tea

Happy New Years Eve!!!