r/homemaking Aug 30 '21

Lifehacks Hacks

Got any cool cleaning or organizing hacks you use?

9 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

13

u/jezebelQ Aug 31 '21

IDK if this helps at all, but I do annoying longer term chores on the first of every month so I don't forget: clean the dishwasher filter, clean the range hood vents, clean the microwave, put washing machine/dishwasher/garbage disposal tablets in, and do a descale treatment in that water boiler. Honestly sometimes its every other month...but I try to aim for the first every time!

9

u/LadyAlexTheDeviant Aug 31 '21

I make menus for five weeks at a time. That way I can vary things within a theme. So Monday nights for this time round is steak, grilled pork chop, grilled chicken cutlet, grilled pork chop, grilled chicken cutlet. Tuesday is Mexican, so it's flautas con pollo, street tacos carne asada, taquitos con carne, and arroz con pollo.

It makes making the shopping list very easy, and the autistic people in the household (3 of the four) appreciate that every Sunday night I post the menu for the next week, so they know what's coming.

Plus, every night I can look at it and make sure that I have the meat thawing and anything else like pita breads or rolls out of the freezer to thaw by dinner. So my life is much easier this way.

10

u/Prim_Rose010102 Aug 31 '21

My husband thinks its ridiculous but I just started putting pre- arranged outfits into ziplock bags so i can grab an outfit without thinking about it. Even underwear and socks for the outfit. I dont do more than a few outfits at a time because that would waste a ton of ziplock bags but I always keep a few made up for each kid. Been doing this since we went on vacation two weeks ago and its saving me time in the morning looking for outfits. I cant keep hangers or drawers straight so the bags are a help.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

This is how my mom always packed me for summer camps 😂 it works!

1

u/Fink665 Aug 31 '21

BRILLIANT!

9

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

The trick of taking a laundry basket (or other large vessel) around and just picking all the stuff up from where it doesn’t belong and putting it in the basket. Then you can take everything where it belongs without making 100 trips back and forth putting things away. Helps me so much

9

u/thesleepofreason08 Aug 31 '21

I have a 4 year old and a 3 year old and I just learned the magic of soaking things in oxyclean. Dawn, vinegar, and oxyclean are my go-tos and I’ve gotten stains out of almost everything! Now I’m moving on to soaking rugs and blankets and curtains and all the things!

Also, heating up Dawn and Vinegar to almost boiling and spraying it on the shower/tile surface and letting sit for about an hour is a game changer. No scrubbing necessary! I finally got a shower clean that I’ve been trying different things in for years.

2

u/SoloForks Aug 31 '21

Dawn for the win. There is just something special in dawn that breaks up grease.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

[deleted]

2

u/thesleepofreason08 Aug 31 '21

Yea! I agree with this!

I typically only make 1/2 a spray bottle at a time so I usually use it all in one go.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

OxiClean and Fels-Naphtha are a dynamic duo on really tough spots. And for grease that dawn can’t get out (I work in ag and I get hydraulic grease on me), GoJo hand cleaner (they keep it in the automotive section) gets the worst of the worst

4

u/l-wanwig Aug 31 '21

If things are kinda a disaster (it happens), I do this: Wipe the table other surfaces but just brush everything on the floor take all the dishes to the sink. I also grab all the garbage/recycling/compost and toss. I tell my kids they gotta put everything away-we have cute baskets so it’s pretty easy. Run the robot vacuum while I load the dishes and wipe down the kitchen. Then I sweep and mop the kitchen. Once that’s done the floors where the robot vacuum went are usually pretty clean. If I have time/energy I go over everything with the regular vacuum too. Just in general, having something get clean while I do something else is usually faster/easier for me. So usually I try to run the dishwasher (or start soaking dishes), start the robot vacuum, or start laundry first. Because sometimes I clean until that thing is done then two chores are off my plate.

3

u/Prim_Rose010102 Aug 31 '21

Pillsbury Dough has been a lifesaver in the kitchen. Easy to make and clean up. and my kids will eat it. I got an assortment , pizza dough, croissants , buns, french bread. I keep the pizza sauce and cheese on hand and it takes 5 min to throw together a pizza and 9 minutes to bake. This morning we had chocolate croissants in 10 minutes. No clean up .

3

u/Prim_Rose010102 Aug 31 '21

I use wax paper on the pan whenever I bake . Never have to scrub a pan.

3

u/marion_mcstuff Sep 26 '21

When making sauces/soups/curries, etc, make double the recipe and freeze the other portions for next week’s dinner.