Welcome to day 8 of the challenge! If you’ve missed any of the challenge so far, that’s ok – you can catch up anytime. You can access the master list of all the challenges in this post here.
If you aren’t already signed up for this challenge, you can do so here: http://eepurl.com/EkqPz
It’s completely free to join and some advantages of being part of the email “group” is that you’ll be first to get notified of the new challenges, printables and there will be some bonus tips that will be in your emails only.
Today we are going to focus on cleaning so I have compiled a list of some great tips that I have found very helpful and they are very frugal too! Yay!
How to clean blinds:
Ugh, this has always been my nemesis. Thankfully in the house we are in now we don’t have blinds! Woo! We have pleated and cordless shades. They are wonderful! They still need to be vacuumed or lightly dusted but they are way easier than the venetian blinds that I’ve had in every other place I’ve lived in.
- If you have fabric blinds/window coverings like I do, vacuum them with the small brush attachment – and vacuum to the side, not up and down. If they are really dirty, you can take them to a dry cleaner.
- Don’t use plastic dusters, try to find a lambs wool duster and use that
- If you have wood blinds, make sure you don’t get them too wet. It’s ok to wipe them with a damp cloth but nothing too wet.
- Use vinegar! (I will soon have a full post on the many many ways you can use vinegar). Simply put a cotton glove or sock on your hand, dip the end into vinegar and rub your fingers across each slat.
- Dust your blinds each week. This will make things much easier and you can avoid doing those time consuming major cleans.
- Rub a dryer sheet onto each side of the blinds. This will cut down the amount of dust that clings to the blind. Oh yeah!
How to Clean Stainless Steel
- Most of the time stainless steel will come clean with just a little bit of warm water and a soft cloth. You can add a little bit of dish soap in there if you’d like.
- Always completely dry them afterwards otherwise you may get water spots.
- Vinegar! Again, this stuff is amazing. Put some white vinegar in a spray bottle and simply spray your stainless steel pots or appliances. Wipe clean with a soft cloth.
How to Clean Windows and Mirrors Without Getting the Streaks
- Make your own low cost cleaning solution! Take one bucket of warm water, add a tsp of dish detergent and half a cup of white vinegar. (there’s that vinegar again!). Use a sponge to wash the entire window then use a squeegee to get as much water off as possible. The finishing touch? Newspaper. I know this sounds weird but it really does work! I used to work at some retail stores with huge windows and this is how we cleaned them – every single day. Crumple the newspaper up and get rid of the remaining water. It should leave the window beautiful and streak free.
How to Get Rid of Soap Scum From the Shower/Tub
- Use this mixture: 1 part white vinegar to 1 park dish detergent (Dawn is recommended as working great with this). Heat the vinegar up in the microwave or a saucepan until hot. Pour it into a spray bottle and add the soap. Give it a quick shake then spray down your shower. You can use this on other things as well, like sinks, appliances, etc. Spray, Scrub and rinse. You can also let it sit for a couple hours or overnight for really tough messes.