HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE

 

Many years ago on one of our many local PBS stations, they aired this British show called "How Clean is Your House". The premise of this show was to go help people with extremely dirty houses clean it up, teach them how to clean and keep it clean. 

Kim Woodburn was a  professional cleaning woman (with a fancy ponytail, pearls and feathered gloves), and then her partner was Aggie MacKenzie,  a scientist who would take samples from your surfaces, fridge and basically scare the bejeezes out of you with all the bacteria levels she would find in the filth.  They would walk through the house, more horrified by the second with every step they took and every room they went into .  Kim was fond of saying "You're a dirty one, arent you?", and "Oh Aggie. Oh Aggie. Oh Aggie!".

Sometimes their high heels would get caught in the trash piles and they would grasp onto each other and shriek.   They would spend the show doing a total deep clean, and teaching us normal people tips and tricks to keeping the house clean. There was the big reveal, a promise to never let it get that dirty ever again, and then they would follow up and see how you were doing a month or so later. 

So this is some of the stuff they had to deal with:

GAG!

But I really loved watching this show because Aggie would go through and tell you "hey this is where all the bacteria likes to collect, and this is why you need to get rid of expired food and wash your clothes " etc.  She was kind of the science behind clean. Then Kim would come in get to the nitty gritty!

Kim was a no nonsense woman who would tell you to your face that you were a dirty slob and you needed to shape up.  But she would also take the time to show you the best way, the most efficient way to clean and how to keep up with it.  She gave a lot of great tips and tricks that I still use to this day!

So here are a few of my favorite (mostly all natural) tips and tricks that I like to use!

MICROWAVE:  If your microwave is anything like mine, this tip was a lifesaver. Clean any caked on splatters and mess without scrubbing.   Take a large pyrex or microwave safe glass bowl and fill 1/2 with water.  Then take an orange and slice it up. Put the slices into the bowl of water and microwave on high for 8 minutes.  After it has finished microwaving, let it sit for another few minutes to let the steam continue to do it's thing, and giving the bowl time to cool down a little. Then you just take a damp sponge and wipe everything down. Voila!!  Some people will use just the peels, but I find that the whole orange seems to work better. you could also use lemon, but again I really like orange for this task.

FRESH DISHRAGS AND SPONGES:  I FREAKING LOVE THIS HACK. I literally do this every day. Fill one side of your sink partways (or use a small bucket) with hot water, a squirt of dishsoap and a capful of chlorine bleach.  Take your used dishrags and sponges from the day   and soak them for a few minutes, then rinse well. This helps keep your rags and sponges smelling fresh (and you dont have to replace your rags daily!)You can do this at night before bed so you will have fresh dishrags in the morning.! This works best with cloth rags and towels,  not the swedish biodegradable cellulose rags.

FRESH SMELLING DRAINS:  Have you ever had a sour smelling kitchen drain?  Maybe a bit of food got down there and is just festering?  This was a hack that they used and it works like a charm.  You just need good old fashioned baking soda and vinegar!!  You pour baking soda into the drain, really get it down in the good. Let it sit for 10 minutes (just walk away and find something else to do). You will  Then pour  some white vinegar over it.  It will sizzle, and foam and fizzle, and once that has subsided, you  then rinse really well with hot water  and odor is eliminated. no muss, no fuss. It is literally that easy!  

FRESH SMELLING CARPETS:  You will take Baking Soda and a few drops of some lavender essential oil, shake it all together and sprinkle evenly over your carpet. Let this sit for awhile(the longer the better) and then vacuum up completely. Dont like lavender?, use your favorite essential oil, or even some dried herbs as well!

GRIMY TUB?  Wet the tub and sprinkle evenly with baking soda.  Let that sit for a few minutes and then take lemon juice and scrub that tub!!  Got stubborn stains? Add a little salt for some extra grit and scrubbing power. 

WONKY SHOWERHEAD SPRAY- Ever had a calcium or lime buildup in your showerhead and you had little jets of water shooting in wonky directions?? Get that stuff cleaned out!!  Take a gallon size bag and fill with white vinegar and lemon juice.  Place around shower head so all the little holes are sitting in the mixture, tie off.  Let sit for several hours, until the deposits have broken up. good as new!

Any tips and tricks you like to use?