Category Archive

Cleaning

Keeping spaces nice and clean.

Cleaning + chemistry: Where do you find your reliable DIY cleaner recipes?

I’ve seen all the usual DIY eco-friendly cleaning recipes floating around the great wide Interwebs, and tried out most of them. But I’m wondering… are they all really safe? For example, I’m kind of suspicious of the baking soda, vinegar, and castile soap chemical reaction that takes place. What are some reliable resources with DIY cleaning recipes that rely on real research about the actual safety and effectiveness of the recipes?

Make your own eco-friendly home cleaner with this easy kit

I ran into this set in real life the other day and thought, “Hmm, what a great idea! My Homies may just love this.” So I found it on Amazon for ya…

Pretty-up your kitchen sink to make dishwashing more enjoyable

Our kitchen sink is awful. It only has one basin, it was disgusting when we moved in, and seems to love hanging onto water spots. We have a dishwasher but a lot of our dishes have to be hand-washed, and that’s usually my job. Since I despise washing dishes I came up with a couple ideas to make it less awful…

Defeating my most-loathed chore — putting the dishes away

ome people hate taking out the trash, for others cleaning the toilet makes them fly into a rage. My own personal household Waterloo has always been emptying the dishwasher. It wasn’t until my husband and I put all of our stuff in storage, moved across the country, and rented a temporary apartment that I had my Oh, baskets! moment: HAVE FEWER DISHES.

Vacuum out your heat ducts right now

This past spring (or the winter that would not quit here in Minnesota) we noticed that our heat seemed to not be working so well. My head immediately jumped to how to find a furnace repair person and how much that would cost. My wife suggested we try vacuuming out the ducts. A bit of internet research has shown that apparently you’re supposed to do this on a regular basis, but I had never thought to do it before. So now you know!

Use lingerie bags for washing delicates AND sweaters

I hate washing things by hand. In addition to sweaters, I think that other delicate clothing/unmentionables last longer if you wash them by hand. My first victory was moving somewhere with a washing machine that has a delicate cycle. But I was still doing multiple loads of delicate laundry since bra hooks and knit sweaters do not mix! The next victory was what I like to call a “baskets moment” or in my case, a “bags moment.” For people who apparently live under rocks like I do…

Use a dish bowl to keep your sink clear of dirty dishes

Upon discussing things you can do to keep your house habitable when you’re busy, Homie Mich introduced us to her great dish idea:

New home, old cat smell, HALP!

So my husband and I bought a house! But one thing that I noticed in this glorious house is that right when you walk into the kitchen there is this smell. We’re not sure where it’s coming from, but it’s definitely of the feline species. However, we don’t own any cats. So here’s the question: How do you remove this smell, especially when you can’t pinpoint the exact location that it’s coming from?