Got any (housekeeping) cleaning tips to share?

I don’t know if this is well known, or not, but I use window cleaner on my kitchen & bathroom fixtures (like the faucets) because it makes them look extra shiny.

@ANef_is_Enuf Your faucet cleaning method reminded me; I added a tip about it. Thanks!
What is window cleaner exactly?
Is it like Glassex, the blue stuff?
Edit: I see. Thank you ⇊, @Anef_is_Enuf.

@rebbel yes.

You can also use vinegar with water to clean kitchen counter tops.

If you use a shower curtain, close it after showering to facilitate drainage and minimize mold accumulation.

Put a bowl of water with a cut up lemon in it in your microwave for 3 minutes. The ‘stuff’ in there will wipe off easily.

@faye

Good idea- that’s totally less toxic than using conventional oven cleaner.

Mine is not so much a cleaning tip as it is a cleaning-avoidance tip (that’s important in my world!). Whenever I’m doing anything that is likely to leave a large debris field—peeling vegetables, creating a floral arrangement, any project that has lots of moving parts), I’ll spead newspaper all over the surface on which I’m working. When I’m finished, I simply roll up the newspaper and toss. I rarely have much cleaning to do on the tabletop or counter on which I worked. Don’t have newspaper???? Get a hefty supply of the protective wrapping paper used at many department and craft stores or use old magazines.

If nobody in the house wants to do it, hire somebody.

We have a bathroom with no exhaust fan, so after a while the steam from the shower makes mold grow on the ceiling. It grosses me out so much even to type that To clean it, I fill a mop bucket with warm water and all-purpose cleaner, then mop the ceiling. I just have to make sure I don’t stand under the area I’m mopping!

Oh, yes, I remove everything from the bathroom first so nothing gets dripped on!

And while I’m in there, I mop the walls, the shower, the tub, and the floor. Wipe down the sink and toilet, let it dry, put everything back. Quickest way I’ve found yet to clean the whole place, top to bottom, all in one go.

Also, I love the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for all kind of cleaning up, especially in the kitchen. That thing really is magical! I was so amazed the first time I got one because it actually worked like the commercial said it would! Anyway, it’s great for cleaning the kitchen cabinets and appliances.

A wet tooth brush dipped in baking soda will detail just about anything grody, and never ever scratch it, even plastic. It will rinse off without residue with warm water and a rag to dry. I use it to clean the front of my dishwasher, my toaster, handles, etc.

I also clean my bathtub after I used it. The soap scum is still wet and soft, and if I sprinkle baking soda on the rag, and rub it around the tub, the job is finished quickly. Dry it out with a towel, and you are done. Any baking soda left over will just soften the water in your next bath.

@snowberry ooh, I like that.
@MissAustin magic erasers are also good for soap scum in tubs & showers. They are great!

At one point in time I was managing two large apartment complexes & at the time I was a single Mother with a teenage son & two preteen daughters – so I was constantly short of cash. So when I ended up with several empty apartments & with just one employee who cleaned empty apartments, I opted to clean some of these empty apartments myself. You would not believe just how filthy some people will leave an apartment. It was a toss-up which was worse, the kitchens or the bathrooms. These apartments had plastic tub & shower enclosures, and I found that oven cleaner (Easy Off) could be sprayed over the surface of the tubs/enclosures & would clean them to a shine! So I could use this product in both the kitchens & the bathrooms & it greatly increased the speed with which I could clean apartments.

Mineral oil (baby oil) to clean black and chrome kitchen appliances, leaves no streaks and they look like new. And it smells good too.

There’s some ancient wisdom that I took from a Zits cartoon, actually. This particular cartoon depicts the teenager’s room with three piles of clothes on the floor. They each have a flag, that reads, “Clean,” “Dirty,” or “Could Go Either Way.” I’ve actually implemented this in my room-cleaning regime: I have a cardboard box where I dump the articles of clothing that aren’t clean enough to go back in the dresser, but can still be worn. It keeps my floor nice and tidy!

Start at the highest point and work you way down with the following exceptions: Clean out the fireplace first. Dust after you use the vacuum.

Clean at the brightest part of the day so you can clearly see everything.

My husband told me how he was taught to clean his room when he was small. First make the bed. Then pick up everything on the floor and anything else that’s out of place and dump it on the bed. Dust and wipe down everything and vacuum. Then put all the stuff on the bed away. I tried it with our kids and it works surprisingly well.

Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide are two things I would not do without in my cleaning supplies.

I got much more milage out of mattresses. Leaky diapers, ‘accidents’ during potty training times can be dealt with with baking soda. Strip the bed and blot up what you can with a clean dry towel. Put baking soda in a flour sifter and spread that stuff in a thick layer over the urine spot and leave for the day. Vacuum it off before it’s time to put the little one to bed at night and it will have absorbed the urine and deodorised the smell. Anything that might really smell, like spit up, can be neutralised a similar way, but spray a solution of hydrogen peroxide on it to get it quite wet, then blot and repeat for as many times as you think it needs. Then, do the baking soda trick to absorb it all up.

Got baked on oil on your oven trays and oven? Scrub with a baking soda paste and that stuck on tacky oil gunk will come right up.

I clean the shower while I’m in it, nekid. It’s faster and more thorough. (sorry for the mental image)

One thing I invented in New Zealand: To keep shower doors and wall tiles easier to clean, when they are new or after they have been thoroughly cleaned, put car sealant wax on them. The water will just bead right off and it really minimises the scale and water spots. Don’t put the car wax on the bathroom or floor. That would just be stupid.

Stick half a lemon down your waste disposal to get rid of sink-stink.

A little lemon oil on your duster makes your house smell delicious.

This stuff is amazing. It’s a tiny bottle, so I save it for the impossible stains, and the ones on really nice clothes. Seems to work on everything from blood to grass and oil. http://www.solutions.com/jump.jsp?itemID=13264&itemType=PRODUCT

Baby-bottle sterilising fluid will get rid of tea and coffee stains from cups and ceramic teapots – but you can’t use it on metal.

We had a rental car for a few weeks while ours was in the shop. Hubby scraped the fender on the side of the garage door, putting a streak of white paint on it about 5 inches long. I dipped a wet finger in some baking soda, and rubbed away on the spot. 5 minutes later there was no more white paint on the car.

This means we won’t have to pay the rental agency to do the same thing for a hefty charge!

GO BAKING SODA!

Hire a good maid.