OT: What's your best housekeeping shortcut? - YouLookFab Forum

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OT: What's your best housekeeping shortcut?

April

Veteran

I'm looking for your "cheats" -- the things you wouldn't necessarily want anyone to see you doing, but that help keep your house clean when time and energy are short.

My latest favorite is this. When I'm too pressed for time to fill a bucket and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors properly, I add an old towel to the washing machine when I'm already doing laundry. A towel that has been washed and has gone through the final spin cycle but hasn't yet gone in the dryer is just the right dampness to do a decent job of cleaning the floor. I lay it on the floor, step on it, and "skate" around the kitchen and bathroom. Then I put it back in the laundry.

That may not win me any awards from Good Housekeeping, but I have a full-time job, a volunteer job, a teenager, a long-distance relationship, and a spoiled-rotten cat. I'm okay with a little cheating here and there.

Do you have any shortcuts to share?

General

34 replies

Latest reply was from April

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

I have several...

* make the husband do it
* make the kids do it
* hold my playdates at the library

Patty

Veteran

(This is a "if you want a good job you gotta do it your self post")
When we had a truck driver room mate I used to have to get into the bath tub with my running shoes and scrub the tub with a plastic scrubber under my shoe--much easier than bending down and scrubbing by hand. I don't know what the heck he did when we were away but I'm convinced he washed shovels as a side job.

Kari

Veteran

I usually swiffer (wet or dry) instead of sweeping or mopping. (I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and only have a few non-carpeted areas.)

I also sometimes fill the right side of my sink with hot soapy water, stop it up, and leave dirty dishes to soak during the day until I'm back from work and am ready to load/unload the dishwasher. (Off topic, but ever since phosphates were banned from dishwasher detergent, I practically have to handwash my dishes in the sink BEFORE running them through the dishwasher to avoid a ton of gunk on my dishes.)

bella

(website)

Veteran

We sometimes go for smelling clean instead of being really clean. Involves lots of febreze fabric freshener for the couch, cushions, small rugs instead of thoroughly vacuuming them.

Patty

Veteran

Kari--I hate the changed dishwasher detergents!!!!
But try the cheap Walmart "Great Value" brand (a box for 3 dollars in Canada!!) -- either they haven't changed the formula yet or they've got it figured out--no more gunk and cloudiness and weird film on dishes or in the dishwasher- just like old times!!

Louise

Veteran

I *never* iron. I only use a 700 spin on the machine and get things out and hung up as soon as the washing machine finishes. In winter shirts, dresses & jumpers go on coat hangers either in the garage or hanging on the mirror in the spare bedroom everything else goes on a rack over the bath, in summer it all goes out on the line in the garden. I only do at most 3/4 full loads seems to cut down on creasing. This all makes everything pretty crease free obviously not a sharp as when ironed but I can live with it x

Kari

Veteran

Patty, I don't have a WalMart nearby, but will definitely keep that in mind. That's wonderful that they figured out a solution - I hope other brands will jump on it too.

Louise, I am a non-ironer too - unless I *really* can't help it.

I'm a big fan of hanging up damp items that are supposed to be ironed in my bathroom while I'm showering to steam wrinkles away.

Kim

Veteran

I let the beagles "clean up" the food that is left on the floor after the daycare children have eaten their lunch and I'm busy getting them ready for naptime...Never a scrap of food left when I arrive back in the kitchen! LOL

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I use old dryer sheets from a freshly dried load to pick up cat hair along the stairs and in the corners along baseboards between sweeping/swiffering days. I also put a blanket on top of the couch here in our rental unit and wash it every couple weeks instead of having to get the couch cleaned.

fathenry

Veteran

Hmm, I guess my best trick is to make the bed while I'm still in it. Pull covers all the way up to my chin and then slide out the side. I also like to spray windex on the floor and run the dustmop over it in leiu of actual mopping.

The biggest timesavings thing I've done is to swap out my duvet for an actual comforter/bedspread that is all one piece. For some reason, the duvet with the comforter fitted inside of it was a hassle to smooth out and straighten every day.

Lisa

Veteran

I'm in the kitchen cooking, my hands are wet, or dirty, I grab a paper towel. Then before throwing it into the trash I spray (whatever spray I am going to clean with, Windex, degreaser, etc) and wipe an offending area, maybe the counter? Maybe the toaster? Top of the fridge, the stove, garbage can? The preventative maintenance keeps the kitchen clean and I really use up my paper towels before throwing them out. I've been known to wander into a nearby room if the kitchen is already clean too. TV's are always getting black, yuck!

I'm also a fan of the chlorox wipes, and have very small floor space not covered with a rug. With our wintery weather and my no shoe in house rule, only the patch of floor by the front door gets dirty and wet. I will grab a wipe and clean up the dirty puddles on the floor. Otherwise that light floor would be black in between more formal moppings!

If company is coming and I have 5 minutes to clean:
-Wipe down the sink and mirror in the guest bathroom, every one uses the bathroom as a visitor
-Put all items that started to pile on the table in the bedroom on the floor away from the door, out of sight out of mind.
-Wipe down the kitchen counter.

I figure those are the highest profile areas, if they look clean you probably aren't gong to start checking the top of my entertainment center or something.

afterism

I use microfibre cloths to clean my bath/shower recess. Jump in, turn the water on & wipe away. Deals with mold, soap scum and anything else that might be an issue. When I am done I just rinse the cloth out and put it back in the bathroom cupboard until next time.

It also helps to let plenty of air into your wet areas so they can dry out. Doing this means i only do the bath every monthish.

I also use microfibre on my windows and mirrors as it leaves no streaks. Damp cloth follwed by a dry one.

I tend to keep my home quite free of trinkets, figurines etc. This makes surfaces easy to wipe down and it always looks tidier. I don't have them because I don't like them but the lack of visual clutter means my home generally looks tidy.

This also extends to kitchen appliances on benches. I have atoaster & a microwave on my bench tops. If I need something else it gets pulled out, used & put away.

I can take my house from dishes all over the kitchen, laundry not done for days & floors in need of vacuuming to a respectable state in an hour or 2 but I prefer to do stuff everyday.

Theresa

(website)

Veteran

GREAT thread ladies! Getting all this stuff under control is one of my current goals

My favourite tip at the moment is this:

After I've washed the sheets, I fold them all up, and then put the fitted & flat sheet, and any extra pillow cases, inside the pillowcase and pop them on my linen shelf. So now when I go to remake the beds, I just have to grab the pillowcase, and everything I need is inside it ready to go! No more rummaging through the linen to find all the matching bits and pieces.

The only thing I really despise doing in my house is the washing up - if my landlord told me he was going to install a dishwasher I would be the happiest woman on earth! (Lots of cooking every day + lack of dishwasher = big mess in my kitchen and me stomping around grumpy and procrastinating!)

afterism

Theresa, I do the sheets thing as well. I also only have 2 sets of sheets for each bed.

I try & limit duvet/doona numbers as well. If I don't like it I'm not going to put it on the bed so why keep it?

I prefer to donate items like that.

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

I hate having to dedicate chunks of time to tasks like putting away dried dishes, putting laundry away, tidying my room. Instead I force myself to do a set number of items every time I walk into the room e.g. every time I go into the kitchen I put away 2 dishes. If there's alot to be done, I up the number. Means it happens slowly, but it does happen!

Niki Lea

Veteran

For the bathroom, I sometimes clean the sink, toilet, etc., while my little one is having her bath. It's a kill two birds with one stone strategy.

In the kitchen, I always keep a big pyrex bowl on the counter that I toss veggie/fruit scraps and my coffee grinds in throughout the day. After dinner everyday the contents go out into the compost and the bowl gets washed. It really cuts down on the smell from our kitchen garbage and reduces the amount we throw out.

Kyle

Veteran

I take 10 or 15 minutes in the morning before I leave for work (whenever I can) and make the bed, straighten up/put away "stuff," load any dishes in the dishwasher, fold up blankets that have been used on the couch, and wipe down the countertops. I don't like coming home to a messy house, and this keeps things from snowballing so I can stay on top of it. I'm a big proponent of pick up as you go.

Maya

Veteran

My biggest time saver is to enjoy being a little messy! Not filthy, mind you...but I am not averse to a little clutter. An overly neat and clean home disturbs me.

mamaKate

Veteran

I am with MPJ and Maya here: find someone else to do it, or ignore it! My threat: if I find it cluttering up the house, I will throw it out!

AJ

Veteran

When I wake up in the morning, I usually have to go to the bathroom, but I fix my bed first so that way I do it fast and it gets done. LOL!

On grocery shopping days, I quickly wipe down the fridge since it's mostly empty by then and with the food sitting in the bags, I need to wipe quick and get it done. Hmmm...there seems to be a time urgency trick to all my tips. Hee-hee!

I'm trying to train myself to associate two things together so that it becomes automatic and I don't even have to remind myself anymore. For instance, empyting out the dishwasher seemed like such a pain to me. Now, I eat breakfast standing at the kitchen island and as I'm chewing, I empty a bit out of the dishwasher. Then I take a couple of bites and empty out some more, etc. By the time I'm done with breakfast, the dishes are all put away. My mind is usually occupied with planning out my day as I'm doing all this and so this doesn't even seem like a big deal to me anymore.

Sally

Veteran

I find not having a lot of stuff is a big time saver. When we moved into this place, I just unpacked what we needed and left the rest in the garage. Some day I'm going to get rid of it.

Lynne

Veteran

shoes off inside saves a LOT of cleaning - i have 3 children and they are in and out all day!

Habits - a time and a place - work for me. In the morning, I unpack the dishwasher while I'm boiling the kettle etc. On Fridays I fill the car with fuel and take it through the carwash if neccessary. If there is a time when a chore gets done it seems less arduous, and I know I don't have to worry about it at other times. make sense?

Also, I ask 'will it take more than 2 minutes'? If I can do it in under 2 minutes (and most things I can) then I try to do it then and there.

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

Afterism - great point about the duvet covers. I sense a clear out coming on...

Ljubica

I do Louise's thing - spinning my loundry on 800 and air drying instead og ironing.
This is a great thread, a lot of things are very applicable ;).

Debora

Veteran

April, the thought of tiny, little you skating around the kitchen on wet towels made me laugh out loud!

No great ideas here. I mostly, like Kyle, take a few minutes every morning to make the beds, clear the counter tops, and pick up clutter. Then once a week (or so), I'll do a good cleaning, scrub, and dust. It's amazing how just making the beds and restoring order will make such a difference.

Also, love Clorox wipes here for a quick spruce up of the bathrooms!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Ha! I do the skate on the towel thing in our kitchen too. We have three dogs, two of which are black, and our kitchen and hallway floors are white tile (gah! Can't wait to get rid of it when we do our kitchen remodel!). That floor shows everything.

So, I would say if you reallly want to save time on cleaning, don't have pets! Also, I think the larger the house, the harder it is to keep it clean -- which brings me to our cleaning "cheat"...

After we moved from a 800sf house to a 2600sf house, my husband convinced me to let him hire someone to come clean once a week. She does a great job, she's only here for 3-4 hrs a week, and even when my stepsons are here, I no longer feel like I can't keep up with the state of the house when I get busy with the rest of my life. Plus, I no longer have to clean 2.5 bathrooms, and bathrooms are my absolute least favorite part of cleaning! I really resisted this for a long time, because I have trouble with the idea of paying someone to do work that I am capable of doing myself! My husband likes to point out that we're helping someone else make a living, since this is a small luxury we can afford.

Dusty

(website)

I do the hang things up right out of the dryer thing, too, but if I forget or something gets wrinkled after it's been through the dryer I throw it back in for a few minutes with a damp towel and then hang it right up.

Oh, and I put a little bowl of water in the microwave and run it on high for a minute or two to get it boiling. That steams up the inside of the microwave and then I can just wipe it down easily.

Lynne

Veteran

it's not exactly a shortcut, more a "I feel smug about doing this"...

last week I knew I was meeting a friend in a coffee shop next door to a laundromat...SO I stripped all 5 beds, and loaded 2 huge machines full of washing before my coffee date. I popped in and transferred them all to a huge dryer while I crossed the road to a supermarket and stocked up on some groc. I folded all the warm linen on the lovely big table they have in the laundromat, and arrived home before lunch....with clean, folded linen, groc, and having caught up with my buddy.

April

Veteran

Wow, thank you all for sharing your tips! Some of these made me smile with recognition ("making the bed" while still in it -- check!) and some were great ideas that I will tuck away and use.

We're all just doing the best we can, right?

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