Of all of the rooms of the house, I hate cleaning the bathroom the most…or should I say I use to. I’ve been fortunate enough to not live in areas with hard water so the mess that I have is a lot less than it could be. Although, if this is your case and you have a ring around your toilet I’ve heard that if you pour a cup of bleach in the toilet bowl and let it sit overnight it should help to get rid of it. A can of Coke is supposed to do the same thing.

For my purposes, the Clorox Toilet Wand has saved me all kinds of time and trouble. I love that the little brush heads are disposable and all you have to do is push a button. I love that it doesn’t look tacky sitting in the bathroom. And I also love how affordable it is.

Before the Clorox Toilet Wand (which was my husband’s suggestion) I used Lysol Power Toilet Cleaner. I could squeeze it up under the rim of the toilet and walk away. When I came back to the bathroom later all I would have to do is flush and the inside of the toilet was clean. I have no complaints, even though my mother said she used it and her toilet broke. I don’t think I believe her on this one. Knowing her she probably found a way to mess up the easiest cleaning system on earth and is grasping for something to blame.

The Lysol Power Toilet Cleaner is a great no effort way to eliminate the chore of cleaning the toilet. The directions say to come back and scrub later, but I never did. All it ever needed was a good flush and I was off to do other things. The Clorox Toilet Wand is equally effective, but the husband likes it so much that again all I have to do is walk away and TADA! Clean toilet. My view of these fine products being equally effective is probably skewed, I know, but the end result is always the same. The Clorox website offers a $5 off coupon. It’s worth taking a look!

1. Use a banana peel to dust plants. It nourishes the leaves and takes away the dust at the same time.

2. Put a sock on your hand to dust the slats of blinds.

3. Mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil to remove rings on wood furniture. Dab a cloth into the mixture and rub with the grain of the wood.

4. To remove water marks on wood furniture, rub mayonnaise into the spot and leave it overnight. Wipe away the excess in the morning.

5. Swiffer Dusters are great for dusting the computer. It gets all of the dust off the keyboard without having to press any of the keys. Pipe cleaners are also helpful.

6. Use a dryer sheet to dust the television screen.

7. Make your own dusting cloths by using old cloths and dipping them in a mix of one cup lemon oil and 2 cups of hot water. Let them air dry and you now have something comparable to the Pledge Wipes you could buy at the store.

8. Keep a brown crayon handy to fill in noticeable scratches in wood furniture.

9. Vacuum upholstery often. Dust hides there.

10. Don’t forget ceiling fans! Dust that settled up there when you weren’t using it will fly all over the room as soon as you turn it on.

Turns out that a fabric softener sheet makes a pretty descent substitute for the Pledge wipes I purchased. I’ve been doing some looking around and I found some pretty helpful tips to aid me in my battle against dust. So allow me to share:

Brush Your Pets Regularly:
Hmm. My cat sits next to me all day everyday while I’m writing. Investing in a cat brush is probably a wise purchase for me. This would also help to cut back on some of my vacuuming.

Less is More:
I’m one of those people who in the past have literally saturated my wood furniture thinking to myself, “Well THAT”LL teach that dust a lesson!” Ok, so apparently this was the wrong attitude. Ooops. No wonder the furniture got cloudy looking. It’s actually the elbow grease that you put into it and not the amount of polish.

Removing Excess Polish:
The key to this is mineral spirits aka baby oil. Wipe your furniture clean from a previous furniture polish bombardment with baby oil and it will turn your polish induced zeal cloud into something nice again.

Getting Rid of Water Marks:
I have yet to try this, but I find myself hoping I’ll end up with a water mark on my furniture so that I can.
Rub mayonnaise onto a water mark with a clean cloth and leave it overnight. Repeat in the morning and TADA! No more mark! I’m so curious…has anyone tried this?

Homemade Furniture Polish:
¼ Heinz vinegar and a cup of olive oil mixed and shaken make great furniture polish. I used this to get glass rings out of my coffee tables. This is an extremely eco-friendly and cost effective way to maintain your wood furniture. I still like the smell of Old English or Pledge better though!

The sun is actually shining through the windows this morning. I believe it is the first time I have seen the sun since I moved to Spokane. (And if you consider that I moved from the Seattle area, I guess it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen the sun.) I stand outside, contemplate sunglasses as my eyes aren’t use to that kind of brightness, and admire how beautiful it is…And then I go in the house…and realize just how much dust has been right there under my nose this whole time. Gathering in mass numbers forming a blanket over every piece of furniture I have as if to mock me. Suddenly I wish it was cloudy again. I hate dust. It actually makes my hands itch. I don’t know if this is an allergy per se, but it does make dust that much more detestable to me.

Ok, so know that I’ve seen it, I can’t just leave it there it will drive me crazy. It may not have been so bad before I knew exactly what dust was…Dust is disgusting! Skin particles and disgusting little microfibers…dead skin flakes! I don’t have much furniture so this isn’t an all day event at least. I had chosen several methods to curb my zeal in the cleaning aisle in the store. One was the Pledge Wipes (In a lovely lemon scent) and the other was the Swiffer Duster. Armed with my “arsenal” I was prepared to tackle the dust (and polish) in record time. Here’s what I discovered:

Pledge Wipes are ok for a brief surface clean to remove the vile dust. From the time I opened the re-sealable pouch that they come in, they felt quite dry. I couldn’t say that they were necessarily the best at removing dust or even polishing. It was kind of like wiping a dry cloth over things. Most of the dust came up, but the furniture didn’t look at all polished. In the future I’ll stick with the traditional spray can of furniture polish even if for some reason the nozzle always malfunctions and leaves my hands smelling lemony fresh for a week. It’s worth it; yes, I hate dust that much.

If you’re looking for quick easy and effective however, the Swiffer Duster is awesome. Use this on your computer and keyboard and it lifts the dust right up! No harmful chemicals, so messy sprays, it’s great I really must say. My laptop looks like new (well almost) and my screen is a lot clearer now. This is definitely a worthwhile purchase.

So, while I was dusting I noticed something else (one thing always seems to lead to another): A ring on the end table cleverly hidden UNDER the coaster. I had read something the other day and had been a little curious as to whether it would work or not so I put it to the test. I mixed olive oil and vinegar in a bowl and wiped it on the table. It took about a minute and poof! No more ring! Just like that. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t smell the best, vinegar never does, but the smell dissipates and I now have a ring free end table.

With dust and rings gone for the moment, it frees up my time to do something else….hmmm….I think I’ll go outside.

I do enjoy perusing the Yahoo forums; especially the cleaning type questions. I like to offer advice and occasionally I pick up a cool new tip that I can try at home. My most recent find was a tip on how to clean up linoleum floors.

I hate my floors, but replacing them right now just isn’t an option. I sweep and Swiffer constantly, but to no avail. All I had to do was look at those floors and it left an ugly scuff on them. Every day it seemed I was down on my hands and knees with a Lysol wipe scrubbing away the days scuff marks and dirt. It was maddening.

So as I was scanning through the Yahoo questions I noticed one about constantly dirty linoleum floors. Someone recommended scrubbing the floors with ammonia and applying a coat of Pledge with Future Shine. I was intrigued. I found the Pledge with Future Shine at Wal-Mart and made sure I had ammonia handy and I was set.

When I woke up yesterday morning, the house had that awful ammonia smell that I’m not too fond of. My wonderful husband had taken on the task of the dreaded kitchen floor! The ammonia did an amazing job lifting all of the dirt that other cleaners couldn’t. In the past we had used vinegar and a green scrubby to take care of the heavy duty cleaning, but it left behind an unfortunate white chalky film on the floor. The ammonia left it perfectly clean.

Next was to apply the Pledge with Future Shine which he did with a sponge. The bottle boasts that it takes 20 minutes to dry. Do not believe this. We ended up scuffing it in several places over the next 4 hours. The “un-scuffed” parts looked beautiful…well, as beautiful as ugly linoleum CAN look. When Pledge with Future Shine begins to dry it becomes very sticky. It looks dry, but it isn’t. Socks, 5 year olds, pets, …yup, they all stick to a floor with a coating of Pledge on it.

So this meant we now needed a second coat, of course after we scrubbed away scuff marks and fur and fuzz from Spiderman house shoes. My dearest applied another coat before we went to bed and the next morning…

It still wasn’t completely dry. Sigh. I like the product, I really do, but this may be a more time consuming project than anticipated.

Aside from house shoe prints near the coffee pot and a very small hand print in the middle of the floor, it looks terrific. You would have to ask my son how a single handprint ended up there, what 5 year olds do is quite the mystery.

So, basically if you want very clean shiny linoleum floors: ammonia and Pledge with Future Shine….and no kids, cats, or coffee for at least 8 hours.

1. Spray cooking spray in plastic containers before putting tomato based products in them. This will prevent that notorious orange stain from forming.

2. Spray furniture polish on walls to prevent grease from accumulating there.

3. Line the tops of cabinets with newspaper to collect grease. Change it out periodically.

4. Crumple up newspaper and put it into plastic containers and thermoses or flasks to get rid of any lingering odors. Leave it overnight.

5. Store thermoses and flasks with sugar in them to prevent them from smelling musty.

6. Never mix ammonia and bleach, the fumes are toxic.

7. Baking soda and water make a great paste for removing coffee stains on countertops.

8. Cream of Tartar and water make a great past for getting rid of stains on porcelain.

9. Vinegar and water cut right through grease on cabinets and other surfaces.

10. Vinegar in the dishwasher will help to get rid of the film it leaves on dishes.

1. Pour Coca-Cola in the pan and put it on the stove. Bring it to a boil and take it off. The acidity in the coke will help to remove whatever’s on the pan.

2. Run hot water in it and add some dish soap. Put the pan on the stove and bring it to a boil. Take it off the stove
and let it sit until the water is cool. Wash as usual and it should come right off.

3. Sprinkle baking soda on it and scrub!

4. Run water into it and place a dryer sheet in the water. Allow it to sit overnight. In the morning it will be ready to wash.

5. Let the pan soak in hot soapy water. Be sure to use a grease cutting dish soap such as Dawn.

6. SOS Pads are perfect for this task.

7. Add water to the pan and pour in some liquid fabric softener. You only need a little bit, maybe a teaspoon and let it sit for a couple hours. It should come up easily when you wash it.

8. Especially for glass cookware, drop in several Alka-Seltzer tablets and let it soak for an hour or so.

9. Crumple up aluminum foil and use it as a scouring pad.

10. Put the pot in the freezer for a couple of hours. The gunk cleans up much easier when it’s frozen.

1. Always keep a box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors. Replace it every 30 days.

2. Put half a lemon in the dishwasher next time you run it to make dishes sparkle.

3. Put a dryer sheet in the bottom of the trash can before you put in the bag to help with bad smells.

4. Line the bottom of the crisper drawers with newspaper to keep it clean, absorb moisture, and prevent odors.

5. For tough stuck on food on pans, fill the pan with water and place a dryer sheet in it. In the morning the dryer sheet will have demagnetized the burnt food and it will be easier to clean.

6. Boiling ground cloves on the stove will help to get rid of lingering odors.

7. Soak a piece of bread in white vinegar and place it in a lunchbox overnight to get rid of any smells.

8. Nail polish remover with acetone will get rid of burn stains in the microwave and also melted plastic that may be stuck on appliances.

9. Run a sink full of hot water and add a cup of white vinegar and one tablespoon of dish soap. Soak glassware for 15 minutes to remove any hard water residue or just to make it sparkle.

10. Use mineral oil to wipe away fingerprints on stainless steel appliances.

When I moved into my current home the first thing that “needed work” that caught my eye was the kitchen sink. It’s this porcelain monstrosity that was covered in unattractive brown stains. Like someone had been pouring coffee in it every day and never cleaned it out.

As moving in was a busy time for both my husband and I who are both freelance writers and had to juggle putting the house together and working simultaneously, the sink wasn’t a huge priority, though it did gross me out a bit. I began to strategize exactly how I was going to tackle this problem. I had several great ideas. For those of you with similar issues, I encourage you to give them a try.

Idea #1:

My theory was to run water in the sink and put the plug in so the water would stay and drop in a cup of my new Clorox Bleach with Lavender and let it sit overnight. I highly doubt any stain would have survived that! Clorox has all these different scents now for bleach such as lemon, clean linen, lavender and fresh meadow. Much better than the old bleach smell.

Idea #2:

I was going to Mr. Clean Magic Eraser it to death. Really. There were moments that I just wanted to attack the darn thing with a vengeance. I use the Mr. Clean Magic eraser on it daily now and it looks awesome. Considering it’s an ugly poorly designed monstrosity of a sink.

Idea #3;

I had purchased this extra large box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and couldn’t wait to tear into it. So many uses I had learned about and was itching to put them to the test. I planned on making a paste of baking soda and water…or baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and scrubbing it till it shined.

So these were my ideas. I was going to have the shiniest kitchen sink in Spokane. Truly. As I was standing over the porcelain behemoth contemplating my exact attack method, my husband comes up from behind me with a green scrubby and the Comet Lavender Powder.

It was a frenzy of white lavender scented comet and a green scrubby blur for several minutes. I watched in awe as that horrifying brown disintegrated and the sink turned white again. It actually shined! He stood back and I could see him gleaming with pride. I was awe-stuck to say the least. And with the time that he saved me by tackling this mammoth problem I had time to do other things…like blog about it!

While my microwave is nothing fancy, it was given to me by my uncle during harder times in my life and I have yet to replace it, I still would like for it to not be disgusting. I wrote some articles recently on cleaning microwaves that have that have a burnt smell or stain and became inspired. No, I haven’t burnt anything in mine lately, but the ideas are intriguing.

Soak a paper towel in water and set it in the microwave and heat it for 3 minutes.

I guess this will create enough steam to loosen the dirt and burnt on food. Wipe the microwave out with a dry paper towel once the three minutes is up.

Simple Green works wonders!

I haven’t used Simple Green in years. I do know that if you don’t use it in a very well ventilated area the results can be catastrophic. (…remembers mold on Camaro seats…Lots of Simple Green….Long drive in the car…very lightheaded) I’m sure it’s great stuff, but I can’t ever get myself to buy it.

As usual – The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

This one doesn’t surprise me at all. I use this to clean everything.

Nail polish remover?

I read a lot about this in forums, but it has to be the kind with acetone in it. I suppose the real key here is acetone, but most people don’t have that just lying around the house. Nail polish remover is much easier to find. Ventilate the area VERY WELL. Don’t be me with Simple Green.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

I read somewhere to put some in a coffee cup filled halfway full of water with a couple tablespoons of baking soda. Set the cup in a bowl (to catch whatever boils over) and nuke it for a few minutes. This will help to loosen tough stuck on food particles.

As I write this I’m thinking about my own microwave…I’ll let you know how it turns out.

1. Treat sweat stains with white vinegar before washing.

2. Place aluminum foil under the ironing board cover to optimize your ironing.

3. Add coffee to the rinse water in the washing machine to make faded black clothes darker.

4. Run the washing machine with only vinegar using hot water to clean it periodically.

5. With new dark clothes, wash them in cold water with salt. This will help them to retain their color.

6. If colors bled in the wash, rewash them with color safe bleach before drying them.

7. Put a tennis ball in the dryer to help fluff clothes.

8. Rub sunscreen on a whiteout stain until it is gone before washing.

9. Use shampoo on soiled shirt collars before washing.

10. For clothes with glitter, spray the glitter with hairspray and turn the shirt inside out before washing.

I once had a friend that I hated going to her house and would constantly come up with excuses for her to come over to mine. She was a nice person, but was also the biggest slob I have ever known. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not that prissy, but when you can smell someone’s house from their driveway, there’s a problem.

I know it’s hard to find the motivation to clean. Sometimes I get tired too and would rather just let it sit until tomorrow. But tomorrow easily becomes the next day, and the next day until before you know it….

Cleaning is an ongoing process. Dust never goes away and stays away. You can’t wear the same clothes every day so laundry accumulates…(Well, I guess you could, but ew!). And trash piles up before you even realize it. It’s an ongoing battle. Don’t let the house win!

Create a system that works for you:

Some things need to be done daily and others weekly. Set a certain day for weekly chores and stick to it! You could make every Monday “sheet washing day” or “bathroom cleaning day”. Make a note for yourself if you have to. By setting aside a set day for those things, you can relax the rest of the week not wondering if you need to take care of it.

Do a little bit every day:

The more you do now, the less you will have to do later. Instead of leaving cups and trash in the living room, make it a point to get these things to the kitchen. One cup will easily become several cups if you don’t and then you’ll have a mess to clean up later. Avoid messes!! Don’t make housecleaning any harder than it needs to be!

Choose your favorites:

Find the cleaning items that work the best for you and make sure you have them on hand. There’s a lot to choose from out there and some work better than others. Always keep vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide on hand. You don’t have to spend a whole lot on expensive name brands to have a clean house.

Rock out!!

I keep up with the house throughout the week so when it comes time to “clean the house” it isn’t all that bad. Still, I put in some of my favorite music and wear my “comfy clothes”. This makes it much easier to get into a groove. Sometimes I turn on the TV for background noise, but usually I like just music. It makes the process much more enjoyable as a dance with the Swiffer and hope no one sees me!

Pride:

If someone were to drop by unexpectedly right now, what would they see? A home is going to look lived in, that’s just how it goes. If you stay on top of the housework, all you may need to do if you know someone is on their way over is vacuum and toss some stuff in drawers. I always believed that my friend had no pride when it came to these things. Your home is an expression of you. There is a difference between clutter and filth. I too have had clutter; it’s easy to clean up. But filth on the other hand is an entirely different story. Filth can make you and your family sick. Never let it get to that point. Your cat will thank you!

I previously posted about the many amazing uses for WD-40. I was so amazed by the ideas that I found that I decided to test one of the theories myself. I like to try to put on my makeup while my husband is in the shower, but the ventilation in our bathroom isn’t the greatest and yet even though common sense tells me to wait and do it later or do it in a different room, I still don’t listen. I like the conversation, so I put on a little foundation, wipe the mirror, put on a little more, wipe the mirror and so forth.

The idea that WD-40 could prevent the mirror from fogging up was too good to be true. Literally. About 15 minutes before the shower was turned on I Spray the mirror down and rubbed it in with a cloth. I was all set. (Or so I thought.) The mirror not only fogged up, but was a big smudgy mess (Is “smudgy” even a word?) Anyways, we tested the mirror theory every different way possible by using a small hand held mirror and a pot of boiling water. We tried putting it on before the steam and after. We tried rubbing it in and simply spraying it on. All with the same result: a messed up mirror.

After my WD-40 blunder, my mirror looked awful so I went to the kitchen and grabbed the paper towels and the vinegar. The vinegar took it off immediately. Now my mirror is amazingly clean. So clean that now I can see every little detail when I’m doing my makeup…like every little blemish in great detail…Maybe the WD-40 wasn’t so bad after all.

My mother’s house over time has become like a cattery for wayward kitties. As of recently she had about 8 of them…I lose count all the time. Two of her fuzzy little friends boasted a rather disgusting problem. For some reason, for these two, Eli and Pippin, using the facilities was simply too much to ask. Or perhaps they saw the entire house as “the facilities” but either way my mother was losing her mind.

She had told me of this problem many times over the phone and I’d make recommendations that she never would follow…like giving the cats away. I LOVE cats, don’t get me wrong, but enough is enough. My mother on the other hand won’t even vacuum if one of her many cats is asleep. She doesn’t like to wake them up. You don’t have to tell me how odd my mother is…I’ve decided that I find it charming and whimsical…(Don’t knock my coping mechanism)

By the time I moved across the state to Spokane she was complaining about Eli and Pippin on a daily basis. I remember thinking to myself that her house must absolutely reek. Cat urine is one of the most pungent odors on earth. This was the first time that my husband was to meet my eccentric mother and the thought of taking him into an antique filled cat box was just a little horrifying. To my surprise as we stepped in the door, there was no odor at all. None. You wouldn’t even know she had cats, let alone two that are so destructive. I scratched my head in wonder and being just as blunt as all of the other members of my family asked her how she did it.
The answer was simple: Urine Gone.

My dad loves to buy things he sees on TV. I remember when Oxy Clean came out. I was invited to their house for a demonstration and even smiled as they Oxy Cleaned everything from dishes to shoes. I ended up buying some of my own and cleaned up a lot of my own stains…perhaps with a lot less zeal than those two had, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Urine Gone essentially eats up the enzymes and obliterates the urine. It also gets rid of any other organic matter stain. It’s pet safe and household friendly. She swears by it. And by seeing the state of her house, I can’t argue. It really DOES get rid of not only the stain, but the smell as well. The website boasts that it keeps them from marking the same spot. I can’t really say that that was the case for Mom, but the urine odor was certainly not a problem.

Eli and Pippin after several years of free reign finally pushed Mom over the edge and now have new homes. She still keeps a bottle of Urine Gone under her sink, but the days of carrying it everywhere she went are over.

The first time I saw a friend of mine running through her house with a little white sponge I mocked her look of determination and thought she was crazy. The stain in particular she was trying to attack was a scuff on the wall that no one seemed to be able to remove. It held its ground in sheer defiance as effortless scrubbing had commenced and we had all but given up on it. As a matter of fact we decided it was charming, rather than irritating. It was like wall art, …free wall art. It was in a place that couldn’t be covered up without looking suspicious so the consensus was just to live with it…until that day. The wall now devoid of free wall art, she looked at me with an accomplished smile. Hmmm, the possibilities.

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has now become a household staple like milk or bread or seasons of Ghost Hunters on DVD..(I know, I’m odd). The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is the perfect tool for removing ambiguous scuffs and stains. The counter underneath the coffee pot is once again clean and shiny as though a person who WASN’T clumsy lived here. Thomas Trains no longer leave lasting impressions on the walls when the Island of Sodor is taken over by aliens, and shoes worn on the linoleum floors isn’t the disaster it use to be. I read somewhere in a forum that The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can even remove paint from cars if you aren’t careful.

The Mr. Clean website recommends that you use them for food stuck on plates, grease stains, bathroom surfaces, and microwaves, but the creative person with a kid or pet in the house can surely find numerous benefits from these handy little devices. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser only needs to be dampened to work its magic and it disintegrates as it’s used, so no yucky sponge laying around until someone thinks to throw it away. I used The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser when I moved into my new home recently to tackle mysterious scuffs on white windowsills and it worked like a charm. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is one more item in my cleaning arsenal that shouldn’t be underestimated.

WD-40 has got to be one of the most versatile products on the face of the planet. Everything from removing black scuffs off of floors to keeping pigeons off of balconies. WD-40 hit the shelves in stores in 1958 as a water displacement product, ironically not many people today know it as that at all, but for the many many other things it does.

Squeaky hinges are probably one of its best known uses, but that’s barely scratching the surface. I’ve heard that people spray it on their own joints to relieve physical pain from arthritis. I’m not going to vouch for this one; it just seems a bit odd…and gross (I bet THAT smells nice…). It seems to make sense to put it on metal objects and joints, but not our own. Scissors for example can be kept working smoothly with just a little spray of WD-40. Of all of the different uses I have read about for WD-40 I have made a brief list of those I found to be clever, interesting, or humorous.

· Spraying WD-40 on the bathroom mirror will keep it from fogging up.
· WD-40 protects the statue of Liberty from the elements.
· WD-40 Keeps flies off of cows.
· Spraying WD-40 onto tomato stained clothing and scrubbing will lift the stain. (Hmm…perhaps I can now un-ban Spaghettios…)
· Spraying WD-40 onto bait attracts fish.
· WD-40 removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

With so many uses for WD-40 both inside and outside of the house, no wonder it’s been around for so long. Now if only WD-40 could make it Friday…

While talking to the teller at the bank the other day my son did what I have harped on him NOT to do so many times in the past. DON’T PUT YOUR MOUTH ON THINGS!! Yet he continues to do it as if the entire world was a gingerbread house just waiting to be tasted. It makes me sick. Truly. When he was about 2 he found something in a Burger King Play Land in the area with all of the plastic balls and before I could run the length of the room to stop him, he’d consumed it. I was stricken by both horror and nausea simultaneously as the thought of eating a 2 year old piece of candy or used Band-Aid filled my head. I shrieked, like most new young mothers would do, picked him up, demanded he open his mouth…just in case, and gagged some more. We then went home.

I read recently that only about 1 percent of germs can be harmful, but knowing my luck that will be the 1 percent that my lovely son decides to lick off the cashiers counter at the gas station. I am not a “germophobe” but some things are just beyond disgusting. My son, now 5, STILL wants to put everything in his mouth, I get a little irritated. It’s getting to the point where I am going to have to be forced to carry a container of Lysol Wipes on my person and wipe down every surface that my son even casts a glance at. I visited the Lysol website and where they talk about the 10 Dirtiest Sites in the Home, felt myself on the verge of panic as I’m sure my son has kissed 7 out of 10 of those. You would think he’d get sick of listening to me shriek, but no. (The other 3 he can’t reach)

Lysol Wipes have become a regular item on the grocery list. As I’m writing this now I just know my little messy terror is wiping away the toothpaste he somehow managed to get on the back of the toilet, the walls, and the table near the sink. One Lysol Wipe has the cleaning and disinfecting power to put my mind at ease….Unless he decides to taste the old toothpaste first, he should be ok.

With so many Lysol products available on the market and online a true “germophobe” can have as much piece of mind as needed. The Neutra Air Freshmatic Sprays and Sanitizing Sprays kill bacteria in the air and keep the air fresher. Lysol All Purpose Cleaners are great on almost every surface imaginable. With disinfectants for everything from floors up, I foresee myself purchasing a lot more Lysol in my future as I continue to live my days one “GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!!” and several Lysol Wipes at a time.

I love Febreze. In my house Febreze is the Holy Grail for fixing odd smells. And between a large fluffy cat and a five year old son I frequently run into things that make my nose cringe. After doing some research for an article I wrote on how to remove cat fur off furniture I discovered yet another use for my favorite “change the scent of whatever went wrong” liquid in a bottle and that’s cleaning up loose fur! Another excuse to Febreeze everything I own? I’m all over that.

I’m going to say this and no one will ever believe it unless they actually get the pleasure (I say pleasure, but my husband might disagree) of meeting Sassanach. Sassanach loses enough fur in a day to make three or four new cats with. Cat fur is a constant battle for me…or it was anyway.

So here’s how it works; Spray Febreze all over the area that has fur on it (carpets, furniture, drapes, etc) Use a rubber glove and make circular motions on the surface and the fur will actually come up in your hand. I used a latex glove because it was all I had handy and my husband used his bare hands and that worked too. I couldn’t believe it. For tougher spots we enlisted the help of her cat brush and that also worked wonders. You need to spray enough Febreze to lightly soak the area, one area at a time. Did I mention how great my carpet smelled afterwards?

Febreze has so many new scents lately. I keep a can of the Febreze Air Effects (Spring & Renewal) in the car and the original scent in the house. The Febreze NOTICEables has made Sassanach’s litter box area a virtual flower garden and if my son keeps getting tracking in dirt and whatever else he’s tracked into his room his room is going to be a flower garden too. Thank you Febreze!

Oh! I noticed the Febreze site offers coupons! You can get $30 worth of savings on not only Febreze, but Dawn and Mr. Clean as well. Definitely worth looking into.

Pour a cup of bleach or vinegar…(not both) onto the washing machine and run the cycle. When it fills up with water, turn it off and let the water and bleach mingle for awhile; about an hour should do. This will help to break down any of the film that may have built up in there. Areas with hard water may be particularly prone to this. Turn the washer back on and let it finish the cycle.

Most people don’t do laundry every day. A dryer sheet in the laundry basket can help to keep dirty laundry from smelling less than pleasant until it’s laundry day. Bounce dryer sheets are so useful. Put them in between the cushions of the couch to keep your furniture smelling fresh.

Baskets are a great way to look more organized than you really are. I use baskets in my bathroom to compensate for limited space. I have a basket for my hair ties, baskets for soaps and shower items, and baskets for miscellaneous things I can’t find another place for. It’s easy to clean up when all I have to do is toss things in baskets!

Keep Lysol Brand Sanitizing Wipes handy in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Lysol Wipes are great for cleaning off counters, cutting through grease splatters on the stove, and spot cleaning the bathroom sink. I keep some in the car as well.

Baking Soda is the master at eliminating odors. Arm and Hammer baking soda and water form a paste that can mend a broad plethora of things. Mix the two together into a past like consistency and:

· Apply it to bee stings to help with the pain or itching
· Alleviate pain from sunburns
· Polish your old silverware with it. Apply it to the silverware and let it dry. Wipe it away with a soft cloth.
· Clean the entire bathroom

The coffee was bad, very bad. I can’t blame Maxwell House or my Hamilton Beach Brew Station. Nope, just me and my own laziness for not cleaning it out for awhile. The Brew Station keeps coffee fresher longer than regular coffee pots so I have a tendency to keep coffee in it longer and more often. Eventually I’m going to try all of these recommendations for uses of vinegar, but one thing at a time. Today was one of many to come. I filled the part where the water goes on the Brew Station with Vinegar and turned it on. I really did figure that my kitchen was going to smell a lot worse. The vinegar smell wasn’t overwhelming. I ran the vinegar through once and plain water through it twice. I also took out the basket that the grounds go in and washed it thoroughly with soapy water. No more bad coffee. I have also heard that if you start the coffee pot and then turn it off, the vinegar can sit in the internal workings of the coffee pot and clean it more thoroughly. Maybe next time for me, this seemed to work just fine. Another concern of mine was that my first cup of coffee in my newly clean pot would taste like vinegar and that didn’t happen either. I’ll be doing this on a more routine basis.

I can’t stand ants. They get into everything and you never find just one ant; where there’s one ant, there’s a thousand more you haven’t seen yet. I have been fighting ants for years in all parts of the country. I remember being a teenager and attacking ants with household cleaners in the house I was babysitting at. I don’t recommend this, it only killed a few, but I felt the need to spray them with something. Instead, I now have some tips that will actually work, (because Windex doesn’t).

· Sprinkle aspartame around areas where ants like to hang out, they don’t care for the stuff and it will keep them away.

· Sprinkle polenta or semolina around the outside of your house or in your garden. Apparently they can’t digest it and when they take it back to their nest and share, it wipes them all out.

· Curry powder or cayenne pepper is another flavor they don’t seem to care for. Sprinkle this around your plants to keep ants out of them.

· Molasses, yeast, and sugar combined and dropped into little containers or bottle caps to set around your garden will keep them from coming back. Sugar draws them in, molasses makes them stay, and yeast kills them.

· Mix a cup of warm water with 2 tablespoons of borax, and a half cup of sugar. Dip cotton balls into it and set them in areas where ants like to cause problems. Borax is a great natural ant remedy.

· Cloves are another terrific ant deterrent. Set them in areas where ants are coming in from.

I’m really not a big fan of spiders. I could more easily deal with finding a snake in my house than a spider. They just look shifty. When my mother called me yesterday complaining about spiders in her house I went on a quest to find ways to get rid of them beyond the obvious (call an exterminator). I found several remedies that I’ll be trying in my own home this year.

Prevention Tips:

· Dust your windowsills and doorframes with Lemon Pledge. Apparently spiders don’t care for the smell.

· I found a recommendation for hedge apples of all things. Supposedly it come off an Osage orange tree and can only be found in Oklahoma and Texas (which does me no good living in Washington). This “fruit of folklore” is said to repel all kinds of insects just by cutting it in half and keeping it in your house.

· Spiders love Ivy. If you have any near your home, you may want to consider getting rid of it.

· A drop of peppermint or lavender oil in a spray bottle with water is said to repel spiders. Spray the areas where spiders are often seen. (I may spray my whole house just in case!)

· Sprinkle borax around the entryways where spiders are getting in.

Also:

· Ladybugs do NOT eat spiders. They do eat a broad variety of other insects, but not spiders. Spiders eat them so don’t bother.

· People claim that cats are great for getting rid of spiders. My cat is afraid of spiders.

When I was younger my parents moved us to Georgia. We lived on a dirt road across from a large field. Coming from California, this was a quite the culture shock. Suddenly there was a whole new world opened up to us. The thunder storms and different atmosphere was enough to keep us entertained for a short while…and then it started.

I heard my mother scream; LOUD. This wasn’t her usual “oh, a bug scared me” scream, (My mother by the way is afraid of everything). This was a genuine, blood curdling, “the world as we know it is ending” kind of scream. Most children would jump if they heard their mother scream in such a way. Not us. My two sisters and I were so used to this that we exchanged looks of “it YOUR turn to check on Mom. Not mine!” In a matter of seconds, I lost the furrowed brow, unspoken argument and before I could get up to go “check” on Mom I was knocked back down to the couch by a stampede of very scared cats.

My mother always had at least 7 or 8 cats at any given time during my childhood. At that moment they were all burred up, stiff bottle brush tailed, crazy eyed and meowing as they ran from the kitchen with Mom screaming “GET BACK HERE!” It took less than seconds and the furry blur was gone. But that wasn’t the best part. Behind the pack of frenzied cats came one small mouse chasing them; All of them.

I found my mother on a chair in the kitchen. I thought this type of thing only happened in cartoons. Sigh. It took me a good 10 minutes to get Mom off the chair. It took another 10 to keep my younger sisters from hyperventilating from laughter.

My Dad went and purchased mouse traps when he got home and I remember lying in bed at night and hearing the snapping of mouse traps. I hated that.

As an adult I have learned that there is a much easier way than mouse traps, which I know work, but I still hate them. So here’s what I suggest to prevent mice from getting in places you don’t want them: Bounce Dryer Sheets!

Weird, huh? A good friend of mine used to use them in her RV to keep mice out. Apparently stuffing Bounce Dryer Sheets into cracks and crevices will keep mice away. And while I do think mice are cute, I certainly don’t want them in the house so it looks like I will be investing in a few more dryer sheets this year.

Ha! I should tell my mom. She’ll probably wallpaper her house with them.

Other Options:

Peppermint or peppermint oil: mice don’t care for the smell. Plant some near your doors or along the side of the house. Wipe doors and areas where mice could come in with peppermint oil.

Used kitty litter:…um, I don’t want to set this around my house, but it scares mice away too.

Steel wool in places that mice can enter through: mice have a tough time chewing through it.

I have completely given up on the “just get a cat” theory. My cat is terrified of mice. Go figure.

It would have been nice if someone had told me that the house flies in Spokane are the size of golf carts…well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but still! It would have been nice to know before I was ambushed in the kitchen tonight by two of them. (Ok, well “ambushed” might also be a bit of an exaggeration as well.) They flew dizzying circles around me just out of my reach and would occasionally dive down like they were gunning for me! My husband said I looked pretty “cute” (which basically means it was cute for him, but really to anybody else who might be walking by: I looked ridiculous) as I leapt in the air with a little yellow piece of cardboard in a very “threatening” manor. Sigh. I hate flies.

So, here’s what I learned today and tomorrow I will be doing something about these HUGE flies.
Take a Ziploc bag and put water in it, about halfway full and hang it over doors and entry ways. Not sure why it works, but I hear it works well. I guess the light reflecting off the water confuses them and they’ll leave!! I’m so excited to try this!

Place Lavender in the windows to repel flies, they hate the smell.

Plant marigolds, basil, and mint in the garden to keep flies away from the house.

Pine boughs, orange peels, and cloves are also said to be good repellents.

Make sure the trash is taken out regularly! Flies are attracted to it. Keep the trash can away from the house so they don’t get tempted while scavenging for a snack to invite themselves in.

Ok…so here’s MY question; how can something that literally eats crap be so picky about smells? Oh well, if it works it works, I won’t complain!

My cat will not go to the bathroom unless she thinks she is alone. Sassanach will sit outside of her litter box and wait for several minutes until she can be sure that there is no one around and then she quickly gets in, does her thing and jumps out. It’s really quite amusing. Today I accidently walked into the room while she was in her box and she leapt out as soon as she saw me, litter flying everywhere and gave me this look that could only say “I wasn’t in there! Me? Whatever.” In the 13 years that I have been living with Sassanach, I think I’ve only seen her go into her cat box twice.

I’m fortunate. Sass has never gone outside of her litter box. She covers it up and there’s rarely ever any odor. I don’t worry too much. In the past, I have been around other cats that make me so much more appreciative of my little orange companion.

If pet odors become a problem, here’s a few ways to help:

· For pets that completely disregard their designated bathroom facility and soil carpet instead, blot the area with a paper towel to absorb as much as you can, unless it is poo and blotting will only make things worse! You know what to do with that. Once the most of it is picked up or blotted up, use a vinegar and water solution to clean it up. This will help with the stain and freshen the area to eliminate the odor.

· Urine Gone is actually pretty effective stuff! Follow the directions on the bottle and it works quite well. I know because my mother walker around her house for two years with a bottle of it permanently attached to her left hand. Very sad.

· Arm and Hammer makes a multi-cat cat litter and it works very well. Air fresheners are always a good idea, put one of the sticky ones on the box and it’ll last for several months.

· Wet dogs never smell good. Keep a towel handy for when your dog goes out to use the bathroom on a rainy day. Muddy paws wreak havoc on floors.

· Febreze the furniture regularly. You can also Febreze the carpets and drapes as well.

· I once went on a tangent and bought three of those Glade Plugins for my apartment. Bad idea. One of these is plenty strong enough to fill a room. Three is well…three is awful. Don’t do that. But one situated near the kitty box will work wonders!

1. Hydrogen peroxide is great for removing all kinds of stains; blood particularly. Mix equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and stains are history.

2. Ink stains are easily removed with hairspray. You can use this on everything from walls to leather.

3. A teaspoon of ammonia with a half a cup of warm water works great for getting rid of tomato based stains.

4. Soak a lipstick stain in milk for 30 minutes before laundering the item or garment.

5. Cut a lemon in half to and rub it on a mold or mildew stain before setting it outside in the sunshine. This method also works for rust stains.

6. Spray a light coat of WD-40 on a grease stain and let it sit a few minutes before washing.

7. For sap on clothing, rub the sticky stain with isopropyl alcohol and it will disappear.

8. WD-40 works well in removing adhesive residue.

9. Club Soda or Sprite work very well in removing different types of carpet stains.

10. Rub a potato on dirt stains on clothing and let it sit overnight. Launder the garment in the morning.

Though I haven’t tried any of these techniques, I hear that they work quite well for removing minor burns on fabric.

Rubbing lemon on the scorched area and setting it outside in the sunshine will help to get rid of it.

Borax and warm water, I hear great things about 20 Mule Team Borax. Sprinkle it on the burn and scrub gently with a cloth or sponge.

Scrub the stain with white vinegar.

Soak the burned area in cold water. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come out right away. Let it soak up to 24 hours.

Soak a cloth in hydrogen peroxide and put it on the burn. Carefully iron over cloth to lift the burn.

If you’re raising a “little artist” who sees walls as canvas, these tips may come in handy!

Wd-40 is supposed to be great for removing stains, such as markers, on walls. Spray it on and wipe the ink…or crayon away. You could even try letting it sit on the marks for a few minutes before wiping.

I keep reading about the awesome power of toothpaste in removing stains, but have yet to try it. Make sure it’s the regular white paste kind; gel will only make a bigger mess. Put some on and old toothbrush and scrub the “artwork” away.

Hairspray is a great way to remove ink, not so sure about crayon. I’ve been fortunate enough that my son has never been that interested in his crayons and hasn’t “decorated” his bedroom walls. Spray the hairspray on and wipe with a soft clean cloth.

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are perfect for this task. Just be careful, I’ve heard that sometimes they can take the paint off walls.

Tragically I too have been the victim of rogue pieces of chewed and poorly placed gum. It’s really not too funny when you think you’re a cool teenage girl with sassy Capri pants…and then you find out you have gum on your butt…not cool. As I have come to find out it’s an easier fix than I thought.

Crack an egg in a bowl and separate the yolk. Dip an old toothbrush in the egg white and scrub the gum with it. Let it sit for 15 minutes and launder as usual. Tada! No more gum.

If the party was great, but the mess is greater here’s a few ways to help handle PPS (Post Party Stress):

Trash bags are awesome. Have many of them handy, you will need them! Hit every room of the house and pick up any and all trash. Take any bottles and cups with liquid to the sink so you can pour stuff out and discard the cans, bottles, etc.

Get rid of anything that may begin to smell bad. If you plan on cleaning up some of the mess now and cleaning the rest in the morning it’s a good idea to clean up anything perishable that may begin to reek. Any leftover food or drinks might be enticing for bugs and other unwanted pests so be sure to at least get rid of that. You’ll thank yourself in the morning.

When cleaning broken glass, which is inevitable after most parties, pick up as much of the big pieces as you can by hand or sweep them up. You can use the vacuum cleaner for the smaller pieces. There will almost always be some remaining shards that the vacuum cleaner or broom may miss so it helps to sprinkle some water on the area and blot with a paper towel to remove the smaller finer pieces.

Tackle spills immediately. Keep paper towels handy to blot up excess liquid and it may not be a bad idea to keep some club soda or Sprite handy to help avoid a stain.

Remove all trash from the floor before you vacuum. Clogging up the vacuum cleaner isn’t going to speed this process up. A clean floor will make the whole room look a lot cleaner.
Load the dishwasher if you’re lucky enough to have one. If not, pile dishes in the sink to be washed and tackle them last.

Take out the trash after it’s all been collected and open up the doors and windows to air the place out. Febreze the furniture and if it’s really bad, sprinkle baking soda all over the furniture to help absorb any lingering odors such as cigarette smoke. Leave the baking soda on the furniture while you do other things and vacuum it up later.

Party Type Stain Removal Methods:

· Beer Stains – Mix 1/3 cup vinegar and 2/3 cup water and saturate the stain. Scrub with a clean cloth.

· Vomit Stains – (One of the most unpleasant party stain of all..) Remove the vomit from the floor and cover the stained area with baking soda. This serves three purposes: It absorbs the smell, absorbs the moisture, and it’s more pleasant to look at baking soda than vomit. You’re going to want to air out the room quick! The smell of vomit is probably going to make other people vomit too and then you have a much bigger mess than you started with. Leave the baking soda alone for 15 minutes and vacuum it up. Make a mixture of 2 cups of warm water, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and one tablespoon of white vinegar. Use a sponge or cloth to gently scrub this into the carpet and use clear water to rinse it out.

· Wine Stains on Carpet – Mix a tablespoon of Dawn dish soap with a cup of hydrogen peroxide and blot the stain until it is gone.

· Other Carpet Stains – Keep vinegar and water handy in a spray bottle in equal portions to tackle any other stains that may occur.

· Upholstery Stains- Keep hydrogen peroxide handy. Be sure to test it on an inconspicuous area of the upholstery first to test for colorfastness.

With all of this buzz about the Swine Flu, I wrote an article last night about how to disinfect your home. As this flu seems to be spreading pretty quickly, I also wanted to put out there some ways to disinfect YOU as well. What makes this so much scarier than Bird Flu or any of the other flu’s that have gone around is that it’s spreading so quickly all over the world and people are dying. There is a medication that apparently seems to be working on curing this flu strain, but there is no vaccine to prevent it. Avoiding this is going to have to be up to us as individuals to keep ourselves and our families safe.

Carry Hand Sanitizer:
I was never one to freak out about touching door handles and such, but I may think twice now. This virus could be anywhere and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs and shouldn’t be underestimated. It may be a good time to make sure you pick up some Germ X at the store and keep it with you for awhile.

Avoid Touching Things:
I know you can’t avoid touching literally everything, but things that you can avoid while out in public, do. Use a tissue for door handles, do not touch toilet handles, and keep your distance from people as best you can.

Bleach Is Your Friend:
If you’re out of the house in crowded public areas, your clothes can be picking up and bringing home all kinds of germs. Wash your clothes in bleach or color safe bleach. Clorox offers coupons at www.clorox.com. Take advantage of this! Don’t let dirty laundry sit for too long, the sooner you can get those germs out of the house, the better.

Invest in Dial Antibacterial Soap:
Wash your hands often and teach your kids to do the same. Kids are notorious for picking up germs and bringing them home. You may just want to make them take a bath when they come home from school!

Carry Tissue:
A box of Kleenex or two might be worth investing in right now. This will help to open doors in public areas and for covering your mouth if you need to cough.

Sanitizer Wipes Are Awesome:
My mother is one of those people that won’t push a cart around a grocery store without first using a sanitizer wipe on the handle. This isn’t a bad idea right now at all. Lysol Wipes or Clorox Wipes are going to come in handy both inside and outside the home. Keep some in your car for just such occasions!

The symptoms of Swine Flu aren’t too different than any other flu. This unfortunately makes it harder to point out. For the time being, it’s best to just avoid anyone who is coughing, or even just looks sick. Keep your distance for awhile. Perhaps a courtesy nod instead of a handshake and a little bit more distance between you and the person next in line at the bank or grocery store might be a good course of action. Load up on vitamin C, I’ve never seen this to work miracles, but every little bit helps now.

If you or someone you know is displaying the following symptoms, please see a doctor immediately.

In Children:
· Fast breathing
· Fever (& rash)
· Bluish tint to skin
· Cough and flu like symptoms
· Sluggishness and irritability

In Adults:
· Dizziness and/or confusion
· Severe vomiting
· Breathing troubles
· Pain and/or pressure in the chest or stomach

Oh! And apparently you can’t get it from eating pork. Just make sure it’s cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Again, I wish you and your families the best in avoiding this. Be safe everybody!

With all of this talk about Swine Flu, I find that it actually does make me a little nervous. I shrugged at the thought of Bird Flu, and laughed in the face of Mad Cow Disease. I developed this I don’t care attitude from my mother who is afraid of absolutely everything. When Mad Cow Disease was first announced on the news, my mother quit eating beef for the better part of a decade. When Bird Flu hit the scene, her incessant worrying took a firmer hold and she considered becoming vegetarian. Perhaps those might have been considered reasonable courses of action at the time, but when she called me exclaiming that there were radioactive toxic miniature deer loose on the streets of her small town (She saw it on the news!) all credibility to her worrying flew out the window along with any composure she had left.

This Swine Flu actually has me a bit worried. Not in the sense of being like my mother who has more than likely already boarded up her house and is peering out at her cats from the safety of underneath her bed, but just a little worried and feeling the need to do something rather than to just ignore or laugh at this one.

So I guess all we can do at this point is prepare. The White House says there is no reason to panic yet, but it’s better to play it safe…when it comes time to panic it’s already too late.

So here’s a few ways to help keep you and your family feel a little safer. I wish that there were better ways to just avoid it all together, but this is at least a start.

Use lots of bleach. Bleach is great for killing germs around the house. It may not be a bad idea to periodically wash your dishes in a weak bleach solution. Wipe down the stove and kitchen with bleach as well. Why take any chances. Bleach the bathroom as well.

I recently purchased a bottle of Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Spray. I’ll be using this a lot now. I like this because it’s safe to use around kids and pets (of which I have both). Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Spray claims to kill 99.9% of germs and that’s a percentage I can be happy with. The Clorox website at http://www.clorox.com/?WT.srch=1 offers coupons and sanitizing advice.

Lysol Disinfecting Wipes are a great way to clean up or wipe areas without spreading germs around with sponges or dish towels. I keep a bottle in the kitchen and in the bathroom for a quick wipe down when needed.

Stock up on hand sanitizers and antibacterial soap for hand washing. Get the family in the habit of washing their hands more often.

Avoid close contact with people outside the house. The signs and symptoms that have been reported to be common of Swine Flu are fever and coughing. You may not be able to tell if somebody walking by you at the grocery store has a fever, but steer clear of people coughing. Now is a good time to talk to your kids about germs and the importance of avoiding them.

The CDC has a webpage that talks about preventing the flu and even has a tab to click on talking about Swine Flu. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm It might be a good time to brush up on the basics of flu prevention.
These tips won’t guarantee anything, but it may help s
ome. I hope that you and your family stay healthy and safe during these scary times and whish you the best of luck.

It’s getting harder and harder for me in the vacuum cleaner war with my family, “The Self Proclaimed Dyson Spokespeople”, especially when I have a Eureka Boss Capture.

Sigh.

The Eureka Boss Capture boasts an Easy-Empty Dust Cup, (which I am fond of. I don’t care for bags.) a Telescopic Self-Cleaning Duster, HEPA Filtration, Dual Powered Edge Cleaners, and a Comfort Grip Covered Handle.

All in all I’d have to say that it’s pretty standard for a bagless upright vacuum cleaner. It cleans the few rugs that I have and rarely gives me trouble. Be careful though, if you don’t stay on top of cleaning it out, it clogs fairly easily. After you remove the canister, be sure to reach up and make sure there’s no lingering fuzzies trapped up there. This is what can cause you problems later.

I imagine if your cat isn’t nearly as fluffy as mine, it would be fine for picking up pet hair, but tragically Sassanach is probably the fluffiest cat on the planet and I’m really not sure what vacuum cleaner could stand up to that….Probably a Dyson. I hope my mother never reads this.

I have been hard pressed to find anything less than great reviews about the Dyson DC17 Animal Cyclone Upright Vacuum cleaner. With its trademarked Level 3 Root Cyclone technology and low reach floor tool there is no chance for lingering pet hair…(hmm, this may end my excessive Febrezing the carpet days). With a fingertip brush control, it can lift the brushes off the floor to avoid sucking up small rugs that people like myself always seem to do!

With the push of a button, the canister empties from the bottom and greatly reduces the chance of the dust and debris that you just sucked up from getting back into the air. Great for people with allergies. The Dyson DC17 has a 35 foot cord so there is plenty of reach without having to switch outlets all the time. Add that to the Quick-draw Telescope Reach wand and that’s 51 feet of leeway!

The only thing even remotely negative I have found about the DC17 is that it is difficult to fit under furniture. I suppose if you used the wand under everything you wouldn’t have to worry about it, but when it’s lying flat, it’s about a foot tall.

The Dyson Online Store sells the DC17 for $549.99, but Amazon has it for $439.99. I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about Dyson and everyone says it’s worth the price. I guess they’re right, I mean how many unhappy Dyson customers have you ever seen? (If you are one, let me know so I can retaliate to my mother’s incessant ramblings about the greatness of Dyson!)

I was far from amused when I watched my mother spend so much money on a vacuum cleaner several years ago. I told her to go buy a normal vacuum cleaner and use the money for other things, but she was already hooked. I have to hand it to the sales guy in the Sears department with his unbridled confidence and his overzealous “let’s rip it out of the box and demonstrate” approach. I hadn’t seen such a look of pride and amazement on her face since I graduated high school. There was no stopping her now and she smiled all the way home over her new purchase where she proceeded to vacuum EVERYTHING.

Her crazy purchase was a Dyson DC14 Animal Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner. The Dyson DC14 uses Root Cyclone Technology to effectively suck up what your old vacuum cleaner left behind, according to my grandmother who could now easily be a Dyson representative. She performed her own home demonstration to my grandfather by having him vacuum the living room with their old vacuum cleaner and then having him vacuum with their new Dyson DC14 that my mother inspired her to buy. I can just imagine the two of them sitting there in awe as she put it, “It picked up all of the dirt that the old one didn’t. It was amazing!”

I can’t call either of them these days without them giving me a product review on their Dyson DC14. They talk to me now like I am a lesser being as I humbly defend my pretty green bagless Eureka and my hardwood floors.

The Dyson DC14, like all Dyson Vacuum cleaners is perfect for the allergy sufferers of the world. The dust is emptied from the bottom of the canister so it doesn’t go back into the air. It boasts an ergonomically correct carrying handle, onboard tool storage, and has a height adjustable handle. The Dyson DC14 also is great for cleaning high reach places with its high reach wand and is convenient for stairs.

I was going to list the pros and cons here, but I was pretty hard pressed to find anybody who isn’t touting this vacuum cleaners greatness. The only drawback to these vacuum cleaners is repairing them. When my mom’s Dyson stopped working, I thought surely her heart would too. She was frantic. Finally she found the only shop in all of Spokane that fixes Dyson vacuum cleaners and paid a hefty bill for it. Her beloved vacuum cleaner is home now, safe and well.

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Put a spoonful of butter on it and put in the oven at about 250 degrees. The whole house will smell like you just baked something wonderful.

2. Put dryer sheets in between the cushions of the couch so whenever someone sits down it will release a fresh clean smell.

3. Put a piece of charcoal in with the flowers in a vase to prevent that stale smell.

4. Febreze upholstery regularly.

5. Put lemon rinds or orange rinds in the garbage disposal and turn it on to eliminate odors.

6. Pour bleach down the drains to clean them out and prevent bad smells from coming up.

7. Remove smells in clothing by pouring a cup of white vinegar in the washing machine during the rinse cycle.

8. Put dryer sheets in shoes to get rid of lingering odors.

9. Sprinkle baking soda on the furniture that the dog has been on and vacuum it up in about 20 minutes to get rid of doggy smells.

10. Place a dish of baking soda in the bathroom to absorb odors.

I got a great tip today! And thank you so much Linda for it! I made fish the other night and managed to fill my house with an unpleasant vanilla lemony fish smell. It was gone by morning, but it made for an unpleasant evening! I tried the lemons in water and well…not good.
Linda recommends boiling ground cloves to dissipate the smell. So genius! I will definitely be using this one in the future!

I had read that cutting up a lemon and boiling it in water on the stove is supposed to neutralize the fishy smell after cooking fish, so I decided to put it to the test. Albertsons had a sale on halibut for 7.99 a pound and I simply couldn’t pass that up! It was wonderful, but the smell afterwards wasn’t. I immediately remembered that I had wanted to test this theory and you know what?

It didn’t work.

And after my husband lit the vanilla scented candle on the table, the whole house smelled like lemony vanilla fish.

So, basically I don’t recommend it…or the vanilla candle.

Here are some suggestions that may actually work and I will be trying next time I am brave enough to make fish in a small house (or Albertsons has another amazing seafood sale).

· Wiping down the kitchen with lavender oil.

· Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar with a little bit of butter on a foil lined cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Set the oven for 250 and leave it for an hour. (I like this idea!)

· Little green air freshener trees? Really? Someone let me know about this one, I just can’t see me hanging these all over the kitchen or house.

· An open container of vinegar or a dish of baking soda will absorb the odor.

Most problem smells have a tendency to originate in the kitchen…(Unless of course if you have kids or pets..) Here are a few helpful tips to keep kitchen odors at bay.

Plastic containers are porous and tend to collects smells of food past and not let go..Put a crumpled up piece of newspaper in it and close the lid. Check on it daily and replace the newspaper if necessary. It should be fine by the next day.

If one of your cupboards has become damp and smells less than fresh, set a shallow box with kitty litter in it to absorb the smell. …Just don’t let the cat find it or you have worse odor problems!

Set a box of baking soda in the refrigerator and discard after 30 days. Arm and Hammer Baking Soda makes these handy boxes with removable front and back panels so air can flow through. I got mine for about .79 at Walmart.

If the freezer develops that stale smell remove all of the food and defrost it. Wipe it out after all of the ice is removed with baking soda and water. Place a cut up onion in a bowl and leave it to sit overnight. When you take out the onion, it may even help to leave the freezer door open for awhile to air out before turning it back on.

Line the crisper drawers with newspaper to absorb any odors.

Boil a lemon in water on the stove. The steam is great for neutralizing unpleasant smells like fish.

Put a piece of charcoal in the water of your flower vase to keep the water from getting that stale smell.

Put a piece of white bread that has been soaked in vinegar overnight into a frequently used lunch box and leave it overnight.

If cutting up garlic leaves your hands smelling funny, squeeze lemon juice onto them with a little table salt and rub them together to eliminate the odor.

If your microwave reeks of burned gourmet microwave meal gone wrong or burnt popcorn, there are some easy ways to get the odor out.

Cut up a lemon and place it in a bowl of water. Cook the lemons in the microwave for about 3 minutes and let them sit there overnight. In the morning, the smell should be gone.

Put 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds in a coffee cup and fill it halfway up with water. Heat it in the microwave for a few minutes. It helps to set the coffee cup in a bowl to catch any water and grounds that boil over. Wipe out the microwave afterwards with a dry cloth.

Pour vanilla extract in a bowl and heat it for about 2 minutes. When it’s cool, throw it out.

Set an open box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in there overnight and close the door. The baking soda will absorb the odors.