Even a few changes can make a huge difference in your life, helping you save energy and money. But most of all, they'll help you transform your cleaning time into more moments for the things that matter most. And isn’t that kind of magical?
1. Make a Great Entrance
Each time someone enters your home, he or she tracks in dirt. Although the greatest concentrations of this dirt collect near the entryways, foot traffic can quickly spread it throughout your home. According to an EPA study, 30 to 40 percent of the undesirable chemicals in the dust inside your home is brought in from outdoors.
Adding a doormat outside makes it easier to keep dirt outside where it belongs. Go one step further and implement a shoes-off policy that starts just beyond your threshold. This will help ensure that the dirt and debris don't wind up in your carpet or rugs. With less dirt to clean up, you'll reduce the time you spend cleaning, mopping and vacuuming your floors.
2. Turn Scrubbing into Scrubbies
To get more bathroom cleaning done in less time and with less effort, forget scrubbing and let technology do the hard work for you. To get your tub and shower area clean without breaking a sweat, install a
Scrubbing Bubbles® Automatic Shower Cleaner. While the walls are still wet from your last shower, simply push the button so it coats the tub, tiles, glass doors or shower curtain—including hard-to-reach corners—with a penetrating cleaner. Then just leave it alone to work on dirt, soap scum, mold and mildew. It will clean dirty showers in days and keep clean showers free from soap scum, mold and mildew stains.
3. A Second (and Third and Fourth!) Cleaning Life
When you're done cleaning the dishes and kitchen, don’t forget the sponges and dishtowels that helped you clean! After each use, rinse and wring them out. Then let them dry completely. Sanitize them once a week by soaking them for a minute in one cup of water and two teaspoons of bleach; then rinse thoroughly with water. Or disinfect them with bleach in the washing machine following the manufacturer’s recommendations on the bleach bottle.
4. Change a Dirty Job into a Clean One
Make trash collection less of a chore. Instead of making one trip to empty all the trash cans that have trash bags, and then making another trip to replace those bags with fresh ones, you can handle both tasks in one trip. Store a few new trash bag at the bottom of each can you use. When you remove a filled trash bag, you can replace it immediately with a bag from your stash of new ones.
5. Magically Self-Sorting Socks
When the whole family has socks in the same load of laundry, trying to find matching pairs takes forever. Instead, get each family member a different color mesh laundry bag suitable for the washer and dryer. When socks need laundering, each person places both light and dark socks together in his or her own bag. No need to separate them because when you toss the bags into the washer, an added
Shout® Color Catcher® sheet will absorb any dyes in the water. When the socks are dry, return the bags to their original owners for sorting.
6. Give Bed Linens a New Shake
If you are always on the hunt for matching sheet sets or can’t remember what size the sheets are until you unfold them, try this: for smaller sheets that fit cribs or twin beds, fold both the fitted and flat sheet and place them together inside the matching pillow case. With larger sheets, place the folded fitted sheet in one pillow case and the folded flat sheet in the other. Now to keep them straight, use a simple label maker to mark shelves "twin", "queen" and "king". Place sheets away accordingly. Sweet dreams!
7. The Incredible Expanding Refrigerator
Finding space in your refrigerator and freezer is easy if you do a little maintenance before you head to the store. First check the condiments. Chances are you'll find some empty containers that can go into the recycling bin. Next, check the back of the shelves where food items get forgotten. Toss anything that's past its expiration date. In your freezer, eliminate bulky containers by freezing soups and sauces flat in
Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal. Arrange them vertically to create an organized filing system that opens up a lot more space.