Tips For Homemakers

I showed my husband my quick way to clean shoes and he loves it. Much faster than shoe polish and cheaper.

First, wipe any loose dirt or debris from your shoes. Then dip a paper towel into petroleum jelly and get a “small” dab. Rub it onto your shoes. After shining your shoes with the petroleum jelly, use a clean paper towel to give it a quick wipe down to remove any excess petroleum jelly. Use the Vaseline sparingly because you don’t want sticky shoes.

My husband keeps a small jar of Vaseline in his desk. If he forgets to clean his shoes or there is an important meeting that day, he gives his shoes a quick wipe. He can do it at his desk without even removing his shoes.

After almost 40 years of cleaning…I have my favorites.

Windex (window cleaner)…mirrors, counters, linoleum floors, carpet stains…love it, love it, love it.

Tide (clothes detergent)…I have used them all or almost. I always go back to Tide. My clothes looked cleaner and more stains are removed

Dawn (dishwashing detergent)… really cuts the grease.

Barkeeper’s Friend…instead of Comet or Ajax. It has the added benefit that it takes out that orange color on your tub or sink. If you have well water, you know what I mean.

Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner…I just like this one because it is so cheap. I just paid $l.07 for a bottle. They all seem to work pretty good.

Scrubbing Bubbles for the shower. I spray down the shower and let it sit while I clean the mirrow and sink and when I go back to the shower, I just wipe it down. Less elbow grease than a lot of the cleaners out there. Be sure and spray the cleaned area with water.

Pinesol … love that clean smell. I actually clean my lineoleum floors on my hands and knees. I put about l/4 cup of Pinesol in a bucket of maybe a half gallon of water. I use a rough scrubber … like those green retangular pads…and then I use paper towels to dry the area off. I don’t like the thought of using a mop and swishing dirty water around and letting it dry. Sometimes I squirt Windex on the floor when I have a dirty spot and throw a paper down on top of it, and scrub it with my foot. Easier on the back.

I also use a bleach spray cleaner for white counter tops in the kitchen. I am still trying various ones to find out my favorite but so far, they all seem to work well.

I love bleach, too. I spray the sides of my home with it when I see that green color on the one side. I use a string mop to do some extra cleaning on the side of the house. It pretty much disappears without scrubbing though and then I just spray water on it after I let it sit for l0 minutes or so.

While working with my sister-in-law at a motel they were managing, I realized Teenie was cleaning the stains on the carpet with Windex. You just spray it on and then paper towel the stain off. I have tried it with other window cleaners with less success. Windex kicks butt.