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Posted 4/10/2009 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
I have today off from school because of the holiday weekend and I remembered that I used to take these "free" days to get some major project around the house done or begin some serious spring cleaning.  I haven't done anything like that in years because I become so exhausted that I am useless for the next day or two.  I am very thankful for all of the new gadgets and products that making some of these chores easier.

One of my newest easy way to do something is cleaning the tub and shower.  Mr. Clean has a Magic Eraser with bubbles for cleaning the bathroom.  It looks like a sponge.  I keep it in my shower.  Once I am done with my personal business, I take the magic eraser and wipe down the walls and tub.  I do this with the shower still on.  That way I am cleaning but have the benefit of the warm water on my body.  I suppose there is a little extra benefit from some of the stretching that naturally happens while cleaning. Then I rinse off and am good to go.

I was curious if anyone had other simple ideas to get through chores?

NanaNan

Post Edited By Moderator (Sherrine) : 4/10/2009 9:11:59 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/10/2009 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Nana,

Glad to hear about that as I never buy new things and this sounds like a winner for me. My husband will not clean the shower when he is through and in Florida you have to, Maybe he would use the sponge LOL..

As for tips this is a great subject and got me to thinking about ways I can be more "energy" efficient. I do keep a bowl of hot soapy water when I am prepping and toss utensil right in. I fold things right out of the dryer to avoid that horrible chore of ironing. If you pull early and hang things to finish they are great. Organization is key for we Fibromites. Put everything right back where it belongs to end searching and frustration. I have never been so organized in my life and what a huge difference.

I am going to think on this more,:)

Patsie
Posted 4/10/2009 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Patsie,

Yes! I do the dryer thing, too. My laundrey room is small enough that I was able to put a shower curtain rod up right across the room over the dryer. I keep clothes hangers there, take the clothes right our of the dryer and hang them up right there.

I like your soapy bowl idea! So simple!

NanaNa
Posted 4/10/2009 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
In line with Patsie's idea, I wash pots and pans as soon as I plate the food.  It is so much easier because they are still warm and the food is still soft.  Every once in a while I'll have to soak a pan but then it's easy to clean after dinner.  That's my daughter's job!  Yea!

 

I use easy tools like the long-handled Swiffer dusters and the Shark vacuum for my tile floors.  That's so much easier on the back than the sweeping motion for me. 

 

For my shower I use Clorox Clean-Up.  You don't even have to scrub.  Spray it on and go back about 15 minutes later and rinse it off.  It works great!  I do keep a squeegee in my shower and use it on the glass before I leave the shower stall.  I don't get the water marks then and it only takes under a minute to do that. 

 

I bought what I call an old ladies' cart...you know the wire carts that you pull behind you.  They fold up flat and I keep mine in the garage.  I have used that cart a million times.  I've used it to haul things down to the water when going to the beach, I put gardening tools in it and roll it around the yard, when doing spring planting I can put the plants in there and roll it to the gardens.  It just makes life a little bit easier for me and I don't have to make several trips because of this cart.  I bought mine at Sears about 30 years ago and it's still going strong!

 

That's all my foggy brain can come up with right now.  Oh, NanaNan, I gave you a subject line so  you will get more responses.

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/10/2009 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Thank You Sherrine,  as soon as I hit the submit button I realized tht I hadn't filled in the subject line.  I often forget to send attachments in e-mails, too! (sigh)
Posted 4/10/2009 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
Some GREAT ideas ladies! I think I'm gonna try the magic eraser sponge. I have a shower stall thats all tile, I hate it, not enough venilation. I use the shower caddy from scrubbing bubbles, which helps keep the ick down longer. Sherrine, I too do the squeegee.

Thanx.....:-)
Posted 4/10/2009 6:35 PM (GMT 0)

Good topic NanaNan!!

Yuck.. cleaning!!!  Anytime we can come up with a way to make cleaning chores easier is great!!  Love the Magic Eraser idea.. I'm putting one of them in my shower as soon as I get done w/ this post.  Brilliant!!!

I have a laundry closet (not a room), its SO small I can hardly fit the clothes in it.  But it's right next to the kitchen table.. so I use the table to fold stuff when it comes out of the dryer.  That way I HAVE to look at it and it gets put away..RIGHT AWAY!!  LOL.. the clean clothes work great in sopping up anything that I didn't see spilled on the kitchen table though.. (yes, it's happened, so I do a better job of wiping the table off now too.. DUH!!)

Most of my house has carpeting and I have a very long haired sheddy dog.  I use a hard brissled broom to losen up the hair that embeds itself along the floorboard.  It really makes a big difference!!

Take care..

Posted 4/10/2009 7:06 PM (GMT 0)

This is not a cleaning tip but a laundry tip.  Seveal years ago I bought a large steamer for clothes-instead of ironing most things.  I use on anything that doesnt come out of the dryer wrinkle free.  Works great on my husband's polo shirts, can do one in 1 minute.   I don't use my iron except for a very few things.

Puppylover

Posted 4/10/2009 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
Oh is this my topic ! LOL

I have come up with so many ways to get jobs done -

Swiffers were made for fibro peeps, I swear !

Damp well wrung out cloth on the end of a brrom gets baseboard dust and cobwebs - ceiling fans as well as vents .

Magic Erasers - the BEST - all that scrubbing walls - forget it !

I have white cabinets and a mechanic hubby.......and lots of lil white sponges ! hehe

 

Posted 4/10/2009 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
Oh - and for when the pots do get left on the stove - (gee, wonder who that could be? who me? yeah - more than I care to admit with a family of 5)

Put water in the dirty pan - boil the water - voila - sticky crud should be mostly unstuck for easy cleaning. Just let it simmer off-

 

Posted 4/10/2009 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have simmered the junk of off pans, too. I add a little dishliquid to the water, too.
Posted 4/10/2009 10:00 PM (GMT 0)
When I used to babysit, I would get the kids involved 3-5 yrs old. I'd get an old pair of mis-matched socks and give one to each kiddo, spray a tiny bit of just plain water on each sock and have them dust end tables, the coffee table and book case. I'd keep them away from the breakables on higher shelves but it helped keep me from having to stoop and bend to dust myself LOL And now that they're older their mother is thankful because I taught them that cleaning can be fun. My 4 y/o son loves to dust and sweep, hopefully I can keep him interested until he's old enough and big enough to do the dishes.
Posted 4/11/2009 9:47 AM (GMT 0)
Desperation is not the mother of invention... Exhaustion is.

With being a household of only two and my washer and dryer being across the hall from my bedroom, I tend to use my washer as the darks laundry hamper. When it gets full I run it.

The other thing that has proven useful is in the microwave. If the DBF explodes something and it doesn't get cleaned up, I'm left with dried on mess. I grab my big glass measuring cup, fill it with water and nuke it for about 3 mins. When it's done the steam has loosened and softened everything enough that it's easily wiped out.
Posted 4/11/2009 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Great idea for the microwave! I didn't know that one!

When my granddaughter was about 3 and 4, she loved to play Princess. We would play and I would be the Evil StepMother and she would be Cinderella. She would do any dusting and sweeping that I asked! Unfortunately, now that she is older (6!) she has caught on and now works only for money.

NanaNan
Posted 4/11/2009 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
I've learned to use the disinfectant wipes that resemple baby wipes. Wiping things down goes pretty quick and with almost no effort. Wipe and toss.
Posted 4/11/2009 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the great ideas everyone! I had not heard about a lot of these. I'd say my biggest cleaning help comes from the wonderful lady who comes in every two weeks to clean. She does the hard stuff and I keep the rest of everything picked up. I always make sure I put the dishes in the dishwasher away before she comes or she will empty it for me and I cannot find anything!!

But in between time, I love the magic eraser, too. and the swiffer! And I have the microwave trouble at work because I share office with a sloppy 23 year old man who cooks things in the microwave and leaves the mess splattered all over. When I tell him to clean up he does a half sort of wipe of the mess. Will have to try that steam trick!
Hugs,
Sue
Posted 4/13/2009 5:05 PM (GMT 0)

Oh, just remembered: I don't fold my bath towels.  Just wash, dry and hang back up in the bathroom.  Last night I felt so tired and heavy limbed that I just crammed the extra towel in the closet! 

Sometimes, if it is a tiring day, I just dump all the silverware from the dish washer into the drawer.  I figure that it will get all used in a week and back in the dish washer and I can put it away properly next time.

One last thing that worked when my kids were teenagers.  We had a lost and found.  There is a little wet bar in the family room an I put a laundry basket in there.  Anytime I cleaned house and the kids left their stuff around, I  just gathered it up and put it in the laundry basket (lost and found).  This helped eliminate clutter and kept me from either having to look at their stuff laying around or put it away in various places in the house.  they didn't want their stuff in the lost and found cuz shoes went in there and everything, so they picked up after themselves a little better too. You could have a lost and found in your laundry room or garage or some place convenient.

Sue

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