Cleaning | Clever Homemaking

Top 5 Ways to Clean with Lemon

January 10, 2011 Jen 3 Comments

Forget the harsh chemicals. You can clean your home by using a lemon!

Photo by Chugy

1. Clean your appliances

To clean your microwave, place a cut lemon in a bowl of water. Microwave the bowl for a couple of minutes. Remove the bowl and wipe down the inside of your microwave.
To clean your refrigerator, take the lemon you used to clean your microwave, and stick it in your refrigerator while it is still hot. (This is a great way to clean those veggie drawers!) After wiping down your microwave, wipe down your refrigerator.
To clean your disposal, place a cut lemon into the disposal and turn on.
To clean your dishwasher, use some squeezed lemon juice instead of detergent in an empty dishwasher.
To clean your ceramic stove top, spray with lemon water. For tough stains, squeeze lemon into baking soda to make an abrasive paste.

2. Remove rust, lime, or calcium deposits.

Cut a lemon in half and rub over build up area. For more abrasion, add salt to your lemon.

3. Disinfect

Add lemon-water to a spray bottle and spray non-porous household surfaces.
Add lemon to your favorite homemade cleaners.
Add lemon to your dishwasher during the rinse cycle.
Rub a lemon on cutting surfaces.

4. Remove mold and mildew.

Squeeze a lemon in to some borax to make an abrasive cleaning paste.

5. Eliminate odor

Clean surfaces that need deodorizing by spraying with a mixture of lemon water.
Add lemon to vinegar-based cleaners for a refreshing smell.

Homemade Swiffer Cloth Pattern

April 16, 2009 Jen 1 Comment

There are several patterns available on the internet for Swiffer Cloths, but the Ballband Dishcloth Reusable Swiffer Cover pattern by skullcharms is by far my favorite. It requires 2 colors cotton yarn and size 7 knitting needles. The full instructions can be found on the skullcharms blog.

How to Make Homemade Dish Scrubbies

March 12, 2009 Jen No comments

Canadian Crafter has developed a wonderful method for making homemade scrubbies. They are made of nylon and canvas yarn. You can view the full instructions on the Canadian Crafter blog.

Homemade Jewelry Cleaner Recipe

February 19, 2009 Jen 6 Comments

You can save a lot of money by preparing cleaning products at home. Homemade cleaning products are healthier for your family and the environment because they do not contain the harsh chemicals used in commercial products.

Photo by Stephen Durham

Ingredients

¼ cup of vinegar
¼ cup of ammonia
½ cup of water

Directions

Mix the ingredients together and use to clean your jewelry. For a deep cleaning, you can use a soft bristle toothbrush to gently scrub your jewelry.

Rinse jewelry with warm water and dry with a cloth.

Free Mr. Clean Mini Magic Eraser

February 05, 2009 Jen No comments

Have you discovered the magic of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers? These things are awesome. My favorite use is for cleaning plastic. Outdoor toys and toys bought second hand can become brand new again. Another great use is for cleaning your walls – crayon marks and all.

Sign up for a free Mr. Clean Mini Magic Eraser on the Mr. Clean website . Thanks, A Thrifty Mom!

Homemade Cat Litter Deodorizer Recipe

February 05, 2009 Jen

You can save a lot of money by preparing cleaning products at home. Homemade cleaning products are healthier for your family and the environment because they do not contain the harsh chemicals used in commercial products. In my opinion, they work better as well.

Ingredients

¼ cup of baking soda

Directions

Sprinkle baking soda directly into litter box with each litter change.

Maintaining a Clean House During Superbowl

January 29, 2009 Jen No comments

Hosting a superbowl party can leave your house in one of the messiest states you will see all year. By following these simple tips you can eliminate a lot of time and energy spent on the cleanup by being proactive during the party.

At set intervals throughout the evening, make a quick sweep of the room picking up any empty plates, containers, wrappers, cans, etc. You can also make a goal to do this every time you leave your seat for something; you will be up and moving anyway.

Use discount paper plates and plastic utensils. Purchase plastic cups and request everyone write their name with a permanent marker on the cup. The dinnerware is easily disposal and as soon as the night ends, you can toss the cups as well.

Place unused trash bags at the bottom of your trash can. This will make quick trash take outs even easier. If a guest decides to help out and take out the trash, they won’t have to ask where to find new bags.

Use tablecloths on more than your dining table. If you have coffee tables or end tables that will be frequently used throughout the party, cover them with vinyl tablecloths. Guest will feel comfortable setting cups down without worrying about coasters and you can swipe and wipe the vinyl at the end of the evening.

Homemade Fabric Refresher

January 15, 2009 Jen 4 Comments

You can save a lot of money by making the popular fabric refresher yourself. All you need is your favorite fabric softener and water. If you are like me, you choose your fabric softener by standing in the aisle and unscrewing every cap until you find the scent you love. Now you can have that scent eliminating odors throughout your home. Just follow this simply recipe and save!

Ingredients

Fabric Softener
Water

Directions

In a clean spray bottle, mix 1 Tbsp of your favorite fabric softener per 6 oz of water. Spray fabric evenly until slightly damp. Allow to air dry.

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant Recipe

January 08, 2009 Jen 1 Comment

You can save a lot of money by preparing cleaning products at home. Homemade cleaning products are healthier for your family and the environment because they do not contain the harsh chemicals used in commercial products. In my opinion, they work better as well.

Ingredients

1 tsp borax
1/2 tsp washing soda
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until dissolved. This mixture will store indefinitely.

Due to the acidity of lemon juice, you should not use this cleaner on natural stone. This includes granite and marble counter tops.

A spray bottle can be purchased at your average dollar store. You can also find spray bottles near the “travel” toiletry items in larger stores.

The washing soda you need is pictured here. Be careful to purchase “(Super) Washing Soda” and not a different type of “soda”.

Saving Money on Laundry: Soft Water Laundry

January 06, 2009 Jen No comments

Do you know the hardness of your tap water? It actually pays to know whether you have hard or soft water. One major benefit to soft water is it will save you on your laundry expenses. Soft water requires much less detergent and lower pretreatment amounts.

Research Your Water Hardness

There are two main ways to learn the hardness of your water.

The first is to purchase an inexpensive water test kit. These are easiest to find in a store that sells aquarium or pond supplies. In my opinion, the easiest test kit you can buy is a set of pond test strips you simply dip into the water, wait a few seconds, and read the results.
The second source of water information is from your city. Your city is required to perform annual water testing, but according to USA Today, “cities rarely release water test results”. I am very fortunate to live in a city that mails every household a copy of their annual water report. It doesn’t hurt to ask your city before purchasing your own kit. You may be able to obtain the results for free.

Interpreting Your Water Hardness Level

Water test kits are easy to read, and often the results are shown in terms of “soft” or “hard”. Water hardness from your city, however, is reported in terms of parts per million (ppm).

Soft water has a degree of hardness less than 50 ppm. Anything higher becomes hard water. Hardness above 200 pm is very hard water.

What if I have soft water?

Soft water requires less soap, shampoo, and detergent. This means you will need less than the recommended amounts. According to softwater.com, you only need to use 1/2 the recommended amount. This knowledge can cut your cleaning supply budget in half!

What if I have hard water?

Hard water can actually damage your laundry causing your clothes to turn grey or yellow and become stiff. To help alleviate the affects of hard water, you can add water conditioner to your laundry water.