2019-10-31
Cleaning doesn’t have to be as hard as we often make it. This list of 13 cleaning hacks is sure to make some of your most daunting tasks much easier. This post is sponsored by iHerb. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
People tend to think I have a perfectly clean home and that I enjoy cleaning. That seems to happen when you have a homemaking blog and talk about cleaning a lot.
The thing is I’m naturally pretty messy and I don’t enjoy cleaning any more than the next person. That is part of why I have this blog. I like to find ways to make it all easier on myself and I want to share those tips with others.
One thing that has made my life much easier is ordering a lot of my household supplies online. I live in a small town and have limited shopping options plus I don’t like to spend a lot of time in stores. Being able to have my household supplies mailed to me means one less thing on my to-do list.
I recently discovered iHerb and when I found they had all my favorite brands I decided to give it a try. I have been very impressed with my experience so far. Everything came quickly and packaged well.
With some other online stores, I’ve had items arrive broken or having spilled. That was not the case with iHerb. Things were taped and packaged in such a way to ensure they arrived safely.
I also love that they also carry supplements and other natural products I use often in my home, in fact, they carry over 30,000 natural products and ship to over 150 countries, good news for my international readers!
They also ship from climate-controlled distribution centers to ensure the quality of their products. This made me feel good about ordering essential oils from them.
The other thing that is important to me when ordering online is good customer service. Problems can happen with any business and questions often arise so you want to know you can talk to a real person. iHerb has 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week customer service and it’s in 10 different languages.
I ordered a huge box of goodies to stock up and also to be able to share some useful cleaning hacks with you. I hope you enjoy these cleaning hacks and also give iHerb a try.
Cleaning Hacks
Keep Your Carpet Smelling Fresh With Baking Soda
Baking soda is great for removing odors from just about everything, including your carpet. Skip those heavily perfumed carpet fresheners and try mixing some baking soda with a few drops of your favorite essential oils.
Sprinkle the mixture on your carpet, let it sit for 20-30 minutes and then vacuum normally. It will leave your carpet and house smelling so good.
Use Oxygen Bleach to Clean Your Greasy Exhaust Filter
Oxygen bleach is great for laundry but did you know it can clean all kinds of other things? It’s great for one of my least favorite tasks, cleaning your exhaust fan filter.
Did you know you need to clean that? If not your’s may be pretty scary. I know when we first moved into our new house ours was looking pretty rough.
It’s usually a tough job to get all that grease build up off but a simple way to do it is taking one-gallon of boiling water, 1/2 cup of Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus and letting it soak for a few minutes. If it’s really bad it may need a bit longer. Then just rinse it out with clean water and lay it flat to dry.
Use Space-Saving Products
Not sure if this is a cleaning hack or organization hack, maybe both. Buying cleaners that are concentrated and therefore are smaller can be very helpful. Not only when storing the products but also if you need to carry them room to room while cleaning.
I have a small space in our garage to store my laundry products and having a huge jug is really annoying. Plus it is stored in a cabinet above the washer and I’m short, it’s much easier to pull down a smaller bottle. That’s why I really love Method 8x Laundry Detergent. It’s also easy to carry with me to the kitchen to use for the next hack.
Degrease Your Stove with Laundry Detergent
Laundry detergent has grease fighters in it that can be really helpful in the kitchen as well. If your stove is getting a bit grease you can put just a small amount of laundry detergent in hot water and use it to degrease the stove.
Simply wipe with a clean wet rag when done scrubbing to get any remaining grease and detergent.
Use All-Purpose Spray to Clean Outdoor Furniture
I think we sometimes forget just how many uses all-purpose spray really has. It’s not only great for in the house but outside as well. It can be used to clean most outdoor furniture to help remove all the dirt and dust.
I really like Mrs. Meyer’s all-purpose spray because it has good ingredients and smells amazing.
Clean Your Toilet With Citric Acid
Citric acid is the stuff in bath bombs that makes them fizz. That fizzing action and the acidic properties also make it a great cleaner.
You can make a paste of equal parts baking soda and citric acid and a bit of water to clean your toilet. Simply scrub and flush.
Remove Wrinkles Without an Iron
I hate ironing and rarely do it. Often I will use a steamer but even that is hard when you are in a rush. For those times a wrinkle releasing spray works really well.
Many of the ones on the market have questionable ingredients but one that I trust is the one from Nellie’s. All you do is spray it and lightly pull or smooth the fabric to release the wrinkles. It’s a great time saver.
Get Rid of Fridge Odors
Even if we clean our refrigerators pretty often smells can happen. That’s where trusty baking soda comes in. You can simply stick an opened box in your fridge and let it do its thing. Or you can up the game and add a few drops of a citrus essential oil.
Clean Toys with Oxygen Bleach
Earlier I said that there are many ways to use oxygen bleach other than just laundry and here is another one. Cleaning plastic toys.
Fill a bucket with hot water and a scoop of Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus and soak them for several minutes. Then just rinse and dry.
Clean Trash Cans with Dish Tabs
Cleaning trash cans is a gross job but it needs to be done. An easier way to do the smelly job is with dish tabs. Simply fill the trash can some hot water and drop the dish tab in.
Let it sit for a while and then pour out the water. Wipe clean and then rinse and let dry.
Boil Your Dishcloths to Keep Them Smelling Fresh
Dishcloths can start to smell after a while and that smell can also mean a lot of bacteria. You can disinfect and remove odors from your dishcloths by boiling them for about 15 minutes.
Adding a scoop of Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus will help remove odors and stains. I like to throw them in the regular wash after I boil them to get them really clean.
Use Stain Remover on Rugs
This is another case of us thinking we need a special product for everything when we likely already have something that will work. If you get a stain on a rug simply use a normal laundry stain remover to clean it out.
I like the Method stain remover because it has good ingredients and a brush on the end. The brush will help you work the product into the stain. Once done just use a wet cloth to get the product off and blot with a dry towel until the stain is gone. You sometimes will need to repeat to get the stain out completely.
Make Your Home Seem Cleaner Instantly
If you hear you are having last-minute guests I recommend a quick 5 minute clean and light a candle or two. Something about a candle makes a home seem welcoming and cleaner. It also will make your home smell nice.
Just be sure to avoid candles made with paraffin wax and artificial scents, they can be irritating to the lungs. Mrs. Meyer’s has soy-based candles that use natural scents and smell great. The lavender is one of my favorites.
The Products I Used
While testing out these hacks I used a few different natural products. Some I already mentioned but I wanted to give you my full thoughts on each product, not only for these hacks but also their intended uses.
Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus– I love this product. Not only for helping keep my clothes clean but also for other cleaning tasks around the house. Nellie’s Wrinkle-B-Gone– Like I said I hate ironing so I was very happy to find this product. It won’t work on some really wrinkled items but I find it works on most of my clothes. Method Stain Remover- I love the brush on this bottle, it makes the stain remover even easier to use and it works well. Method 8x Laundry Detergent– I’ve used Method laundry detergent a lot and this works just as well but you need much less and it’s a much smaller bottle. It’s great for my small storage space. Method Power Dish Tabs- It’s nice to have tabs so I can just throw one in and be done. These ones work well and the lemon mint smells nice while the dishwasher is running. Mrs. Meyer’s Multi-Surface- Mrs. Meyer’s has become my go-to all-purpose cleaner. I used to only make my own and I still do sometimes but often I go with the time savings of buying this. Plus the seasonal scents make me very happy. Mrs. Meyer’s Soy Candle- I love these candles. They are affordable, safe, and smell good. They aren’t overwhelming but they do give off a nice scent. Full Circle Tidy Dish Cloths- I don’t use paper towels so I need a good stock of dish cloths. These are great because have loops that work well for scrubbing, plus they are 100% organic cotton. Now Foods Essential Oil– Now Foods is one of my go-to brands for essential oils. They’ve been around a long time and are very affordable. The Cheer Up Buttercup blend I got this time is one of my favorites. It’s a great uplifting citrus scent that is great for cleaning or diffusing. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda– You can never have too much baking soda around. It can be used in so many different ways. Frontier Natural Products Citric Acid- This is something else I like to buy in bulk. I use it to make bath bombs, cleaners, and so much more. It’s a great ingredient to have on hand for cleaning.
Overall all of the products I purchased from iHerb are great and I love this service. I will be ordering from them a lot more now.
Want to try iHerb as well? New Customers will get a 10% discount off their first iHerb order with no minimum purchase by clicking here.
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