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One of my goals this year is to deep clean the parts of our house that don’t usually get much attention – blinds, baseboards, windows, curtains, etc. We have never hired anyone to clean out house – we (mostly me) do it all – and there are parts that I’ve completely neglected over the years.
Another one of my goals was to refresh our cleaning supplies for the year to make cleaning a little more enjoyable. And you know what makes cleaning more enjoyable? Anything that makes it easier!
Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner has been my go-to for a long time. It is made from plant derived cleaning ingredients so it’s safe to use all over the house. And it can be used on countertops, walls, tile, and hardwood floors… pretty much any non-porous surface. There are numerous scents, but this compassion flower is my favorite for everyday use, and I switch to acorn spice for fall followed by peppermint at Christmas. They all smell phenomenal – no harsh chemical smells and no strong scents – so they’re perfect for those who don’t like anything overbearing. Cleaning with products that are safe and smell amazing makes cleaning a little less painful. ;o)
When wiping
down surfaces, I always use these microfiber cleaning cloths. They’re ultra-soft, scratch-free, lint-free,
and they work WONDERS on mirrors and glass because they help cut back on
streaks. They’re safe to use on all surfaces,
they lock dust in, and they are super absorbent, cutting down on drying
time. I purchased this exact pack almost
six years ago, so they have been used a ton, and they are still in excellent
condition.
I haven’t ever
used Dawn Powerwash, but I’ve noticed that so many people use it in their
cleaning videos. It’s safe to use on every
surface, and it works miracles on grease and grime. I finally purchased some to try, and I plan
to use it on our appliances. I really
need to clean out the inside of our oven, and it’s highly touted specifically
for that.
I had never
even heard of Sprayway glass cleaner until I started following a cleaning
influencer on Instagram. She swears by it,
so I decided to try it out as I still see streaks on the mirrors sometimes when
I use Windex, even when using my microfiber cleaning cloths. This stuff is ah-mazing, y’all, and I will
never go back to Windex again. It truly
gives a streak-free shine on mirrors and windows, it smells fresh, and it doesn’t
have ammonia, which is great. It also
sprays out as a foam, so you don’t have to rush to catch the drips like you do
with Windex. It’s safe to use on
mirrors, windows, and even plasma and LCD TVs and computer screens. I plan to use this to defog the inside of my
car windshield soon, as it needs it desperately.
For dusting
surfaces, I have loved Swiffer dusters for years. Just slide one of the dusters on the wand, dust,
remove the duster, and toss. Each duster
traps all the dust in its folds, and I can dust every surface in our house using
just one duster.
And speaking of
dusting, this year I plan to dust all the blinds in our house, and I was
dreading it until I found these microfiber gloves. These things are genius, y’all! As much as I love my Swiffer Duster, it’s not
ideal for dusting blinds as it’s a little too fluffy to get in between each of
the slats. I also tried this duster that’s
made specifically for blinds, and it was just awful. It didn’t work at all, so I returned it. A microfiber cloth would be a good idea, but
again, it takes extra time and energy to maneuver it between the slats over and
over again. So, when I found these
gloves, I knew they were going to be a winner.
It seems like such an obvious solution, but it’s not anything I’ve ever
seen anyone use anywhere… I just happened to stumble upon them when I was
searching for easy ways to clean blinds.
I tested them out the other night, and these are SUCH a gamechanger, y’all. They make cleaning blinds fast and easy, and dare
I say a bit more enjoyable simply because after a million years I finally found
an easy solution? All you have to do is
put on the gloves, and then you use your fingers to clean. The gloves allow for better maneuvering, you
can get in each of the little spaces much easier, and since they’re made from
microfiber, the dust clings to them like a magnet. When you’re done, toss them in the washing
machine and dryer, and then use them again and again. I cleaned an entire set of blinds the other
night in our bedroom in just ten minutes.
Cleaning the blinds in our house is long overdue, and I’m so pumped that
I finally found a way to make it a much less painful task. These could be used for a million other things, too!
We obviously
clean the toilets regularly, but every now and then, I like to do a deep
scrubbing with this pumice stone to remove stubborn stains like hard water and
mineral deposits. These pumice stones
are gentle on toilets, and they will literally remove any stain. I’ve used this for years and it’s always so
satisfying removing stains that cannot be removed with a regular toilet bowl scrubber.
For everyday
use, I’ve always used a traditional toilet bowl scrubber + some kind of
cleaning solution like Clorox Spray, but I recently purchased the Clorox ToiletWand toilet bowl cleaner to level up my cleaning game. The entire system is right around $10, and
everyone raves about how well it works.
Each brush is preloaded with cleaner that kills 99.9% of germs. It also eliminates hard water and lime stains
twice as fast than using a toilet brush with a manual cleaner. The cleaning pads are disposable, and they
conveniently pop off into the trash, so you don’t have to have a dirty toilet scrubber
sitting around. The wand and the
scrubbers are also sleek and slim, so they get into all the hard-to-reach
places… that was the main issue I had with our old toilet brush… it was so bulky
that I could never get the upper lip of the toilet fully clean.
I’ve mentioned
this mop on my blog numerous times, and I’m still so in love with it that I’m
still using it five years after purchasing it.
The O-Cedar Spin Mop is awesome, and I actually enjoy mopping since I purchased
it. I place 1 TSP of Tide laundry
detergent powder into the bucket and then fill it halfway with super-hot water. I place the mop in the bucket and then press
the pedal to spin out most of the water and then mop the whole house with it – hardwood
floors and tile! The whole house smells
fresh like clean laundry when I’m done, and the mop heads pop right off and get
thrown into the washing machine when I’m done.
Then I use them again and again. It’s
easy to prep, easy to use, and easy to clean up afterwards. I love this thing so dang much! And I don’t have to keep any kind of floor
cleaner on hand since I just use Tide!
One thing that’s
on my list of things to do this year is to deep clean the baseboards in our
house and I’m dreading it. It’s not
something I’ve ever done in the 16 years that we’ve lived here (aside from
sweeping them off here and there while doing my regular cleaning). I need something that will allow me to clean
them without getting down on my hands and knees or bending over because I have
a sensitive neck (and occasionally lower back), and I’m not trying to injure
myself while cleaning them. Haha. I haven’t pulled the trigger on any kind of
cleaning product just yet but I’m eyeing this Baseboard Buddy, this baseboard cleaning tool, and this microfiber baseboard cleaning mop. I’m wondering which one would be the best
option? But I’m also wondering if I can
just use my O-Cedar Spin Mop to clean them?
If you have any advice on cleaning baseboards or if you have any
products you love, please let me know!
Ours are really dusty and dirty in some spots.
In addition to
all this, I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for removing tough stains. You can use them literally everywhere –
walls, bathtubs, oven doors, light switches, doors, shoes, and so much more –
and all you need is water. I always have
these on hand.
And finally,
Brian got this Angry Mama microwave cleaner for me, and it is the funniest
thing ever, but it WORKS! Just add water
and vinegar (and a squeeze of lemon juice for a fresh scent), microwave on high
for seven minutes, let stand for two minutes, and then use the remaining
mixture to scrub the inside of the microwave.
Grime comes right off, and this method works better than putting the
water and vinegar in a bowl. Angry Mama
is also top rack dishwasher safe!
And that’s it,
y’all. I’ve already gotten started on my
deep cleaning journey, but I’m thinking it will take much of the year since I’m
also cleaning out the house in addition to deep cleaning it. If you have any cleaning products that you
love, please do let me know!
