12 Quick Cleaning Tips
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifies “products for household cleaning and maintenance products, personal care or hobbies” as sources for indoor air pollution.In this article, Indoor Air Quality, the EPA also lists “allergic skin reaction” as a potential health reaction to air pollution. The same article states that indoor air may be up to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Natural cleaning alternatives are included throughout this article so you can consider replacing some of your conventional products with the natural alternative to help improve your indoor air quality.
1. Mix one cup of baking soda with one teaspoon lemon or lime juice. Keep in a pretty container near the kitchen sink. Whenever you clean up the kitchen, put a couple of tablespoons of this mixture into the sink and use your dish rag to scrub the sink. It takes less than a minute, and you will never have to bleach or work to hard to scrub the sink again. Also, use this mixture to clean greasy pots. The baking soda gently absorbs and scrubs away the excess grease, saving time doing the dishes. The baking soda in your garbage disposal or drain trap will help to keep kitchen odors away. Baking soda in a dish is also a great room deodorizer to keep your kitchen smelling fresh and clean. A pretty dish with a slice of lemon on top of some baking soda is much prettier than a manufactured jar of abrasive powder, don’t you think?
2. Use only natural fibers and washable fabrics for curtains, rugs, and upholstery covers. This reduces formaldehyde particles in your environment as well as your ability to find the time to keep it clean. Which is easier: pop the stuff in the washer or drag it to the dry-cleaners?
3. ’10 Minutes to Clean’ works great to cut down on clutter without much effort. If you have children, this is even better. Blow a whistle and declare ’10 minutes to clean’. Have everyone go to a designated area based on his or her abilities and clean up everything that is not being used. I do this three or four times a day on the weekends to keep up with the clutter. For air freshener, try a few squirts of this natural solution: 4 ounces water, t tablespoon of vanilla extract. You can substitute any other extract for the vanilla extract. Put in a spray bottle. Shake and spray. It smells incredibly clean and is totally non-toxic. Everyone can have their own special bottle for their area, even the younger children that want to help but shouldn’t be touching conventional cleaning products.
4. If you make your own natural products, keep concoctions labeled. Make sure you keep everything labeled so you don’t have to guess at what you need. The last thing you want to do is confuse say, your glass cleaner rather than your wood polish. It is very time consuming to get the oil off the glass.
Natural lemon glass cleaner: 3 parts distilled water, 1 part white vinegar and a tablespoon of lemon extract
Natural orange wood polish: 1 part water, 1 part white vinegar, 2 tablespoons liquid vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon orange extract
5. Pick up as you go. When you are done with something, put it away. At one place I worked, the rule of thumb was that clean up starts when you start. If you keep everything done as you go along, it takes a lot less time later on. If you have enough space, keep the dishwasher open when cooking so you can rinse and drop everything in as you go to save on time cleaning up later. For short loads in the dishwasher – just run it with baking soda and a cup of vinegar. The baking soda acts as an abrasive and the vinegar kills germs.
6. Fill sink or tub rather than bucket for floor washing. You have to clean it anyway so why have to clean a bucket too? Rinse the floors with vinegar with orange and lemon floor cleaners. Just add a few gallons of water to the tub and dump in about a half cup real orange juice and a squirt of lemon juice. When you are done washing the floors, drain the tub and sprinkle with baking soda. Use your mop to scrub the bottom of the tub. Rinse the mop and the tub and you’re done two things at one time.
7. Vacuum the house every week. It takes only minutes when it is done regularly – saving you from what used to be a big time consuming chore. Regular vacuuming also helps to cut down on dust so you don’t have to dust as often.
8. Set aside 15 minutes per room to detail clean each week. If each room is detailed weekly, it stays fresh and is never a chore to clean. Vacuum under dressers, freshen linens and clean under the bed.
9. Take shoes off when entering the house. Set up a bench with slippers for each family member, swap for shoes when you come in. Most of the mess will be in one location and easy to clean up.
Shoe Deodorizer and carpet powder: Mix one cup baking soda and one teaspoon lemon juice until there are no lumps. Put in an old shaker spice container. Sprinkle some in each shoe and allow to sit overnight. No more stinky shoes. As a carpet powder, just sprinkle on carpet. Leave on the rug for at least 15 minutes and vacuum thoroughly.
10. Keep your hands full. As you walk from one room to another, look around for things that belong in the room you are going to be in next. Grab what you can and take it with you. Put everything away as you move around. This strategy is the most effective at keeping things done and your whole house clean all the time.
11. Keep a container of baking soda by the shower. When you are done your shower, before you get out, put about a half cup of baking soda on the rag and wipe down the walls and the tub with the baking soda. Baking soda is a mild abrasive that gets rid of soap scum and minerals from the water, and the high pH kills germs. Rinse the walls real quick and you’re done. No stretching, bending, reaching or inhaling chemical fumes.
12. Always dust with a damp cloth. This keeps the dust from blowing around in the air and bothering allergies and resettling on furniture. This means you dust less often. Plain water on a cotton rag is good enough. Dust and then toss the rag into the washer. It sure is cheaper than a roll of paper towels!
If you found these tips and recipes helpful, please share this article with a friend.
Resources:
Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html
Indoor Air Quality, http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
