Thursday, May 21, 2015

Let's Clean!

 OK, I admit, I like to clean.
I don't really like to clean like a madwoman every time we have a showing.
But I like it when our home is clean.
I like leaving it like that.
This is one thing I will enjoy when my kiddos leave home
A clean house.
(Oh, gosh, I'll miss everything else!)
OK,  maybe not everything! (click the link)
My cousin Jana and I, when we were young, used to talk about
how we'd make our beds and want it to stay that way all day. 
I'm the same way today.
So in a perfect world, I'm a neat freak.
But I have kids, and they are not.  (neat freaks)
I've just found these past couple months of massive cleaning 
some really awesome products.
I'm going to start with this Orange Glow wood polish product.
It smells really nice when using and brings all wood back to life.
I love it!
I ended up polishing all our cupboards, doors, dressers, coffee/end tables,
anything wood!
 Look how the cupboards shine!
A friend stopped over to pick up her girls and noticed our doors!
She said, "Wow, these doors are really nice!"
I'd just shined them up!
 This stuff!! 
Found at Wal-mart!
I admit, I never even knew there was a "polish"
I've tried Murphy's Oil Soap among other "wood floor cleaners"
but none shined it up.
Well, duh!
 Here is "BEFORE"
 Here is "AFTER"
This is 3 coats
Wish I knew about this stuff like years ago!!
I asked online and my friend Dwija sugested this Holloway House product.
She said it was AWESOME and it is.
Several others
gave some great suggestions, but Wal-mart had this one,
so this is what I tried!

 With 4 house showings and an open house these past 9 days,
I am loving the Swifter Sweeper, with the extra spendy sheets.
Such a quick way to mop up while the kids are waiting outside to leave.
 Now this was amazing!!
We painted almost everything, but some things we did not.
Like our closet.
It had marks on it's white walls, some, I think were there when we moved in!
(almost 8 years ago)
I scrubbed with these cool little things and all marks came off!
We have 2 white rooms, I painted a couple years ago,
our school room and the toyroom.
Basically they still looked good, except a few scuffs and marks.
Used this Magic Eraser and BOOM!! 
Gone.
White and Clean!

I have to at least give an "honorable mention" to these next 2 products
because they make a home selling cleaning fanatic's life so much easier!
Bleach Wipes....I love you.
Seriously, for quick cleaning toilet seats...counters, door knobs,
ANYTHING! 





 Windex, how I love you too!
You clean my windows, patio doors, glass top coffee table,
the outside of my microwave....my mirrors...and you do it so quickly.
I only wish you could clean my Stainless Steel appliances.
 That's OK, I have this product.
I got it at Wal-mart.
This is kind of a spray foam kind of product,
I spray it on and polish it in the grain of the steel, til it's shiny and
fingerprint free.
Yes, I use it a lot.
I noticed this in my images when looking for an image of the polish.
I wonder if it does as good of a job?
Might have to try it out!
Now, I know these products all have fragances and will probably give us cancer.
But good ol' vinegar
 (which is what I usually use for our floors and more)
just doesn't smell that great. 
One more product, though not a "cleaning product"
I think it's a  house seller.
We've been baking these at a lower temp,
turning the oven off right before we leave,
and letting them stay in the oven while we are gone.
Heavenly smell.
If you like brownies that is.
And they make a great treat for when we come home!
I can't believe I'm going to say this,
I am getting a little tired of brownies though.
But
that heavenly smell will hopefully
make someone think,
"Yes!  I want to live here because it reminds me of home!"


18 comments:

  1. These are great ideas!! I am NOT A NEAT freak either. Never make the beds.

    The thing is...I will clean and the kids will help...and then...it gets destroyed again. All that work!

    I would rather be outside. Tis my life with a messy house. Oh well.

    I do use some of those products and nothing natural here also!

    Your place really looks good!

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    1. I have found out through this cleaning almost every day thing, that the house really should be cleaned like every 4 days...not weekly like we usually do!

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  2. This post was so timely for me - our open House is Sunday!!!

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    1. Woo Hoo!! SO you are selling now too? Fun times, isn't it?

      I need to update myself on your blog!

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  3. Ok, here is a post I really can relate to! I myself, am not a neat freak, but when we had showings, I kind of turned into one. One place that is really good to look into for cleaning products is Home Depot. They have all the products that general stores (like Target and Wal-Mart) don't carry. They even have a cleaner that gets marks off the walls that the Eraser can't get off (like permanent marker). My kids had drawn all sorts of little pictures on our sun room walls with permanent marker and nothing would get them off. I used that cleaner and it took some scrubbing, but I got it off!

    I also found cleaning solutions to every problem we had in the house, like refinishing our bathtub, and cleaning our grout. I wish I could think of some specific names but that was a year ago! Anyway, just browse around in their cleaning section one day; it's amazing what they have.

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    1. I found an amazing cleaning section at Menards...just like the Home Depot you describe. (although, our Home Depot up here does not have a great cleaning supply row like you describe, I looked)

      Wal-mart had the same products though that I originally found at Menards and they were a lot cheaper!

      The amazing thing I found for tubs and showers (scum) was Borax!! Cheap, just rub the powder on the soap scum add a little water or wet wash rag and it came off really easy! (a little elbow grease though I suppose!)

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  4. That brownies trick is brilliant and on the plus side, you get to have brownies. I will look for that Orange Glo product. I use that white eraser stuff too, it is very versatile and marks magically disappear.

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    Replies
    1. Yes! The kids are loving brownies after every showing!

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  5. The clean! I can smell it from here and I love it. The look and the smell of clean is wonderful. That, and brownies. ;) I'll have to remember to grab the Orange Glo and try it out. Several of the others are already favs of mine. Now, IF I ever get the wood laminate floors or similar on my main floor to replace the linoleum I am despising, I will definitely remember your suggestions for the polish. Clearly, with kids in the house for another lot-of-years, I'd need it.
    Thanks for the product suggestions. I'll keep praying for just the right buyer for your wonderful home.

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    1. Thanks so much Sarah! I knew you' d like a clean smelling post! Ha!

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  6. Wondering how it went!!!!!
    I use...are you ready?... Vinegar!
    Vinegar and water for almost everything!!!!!!
    Except for toilet bowl cleaner and shower scrubbing bubbles. : )
    And brownies... Try Gieradelli or how ever you spell it.
    And add an extra egg.
    Listen to me...being so bossy and all!
    Night!!!! : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I use vinegar too, but only for my floors (when I'm not trying to sell a house) It's the right price, that's for sure!

      Gieradelli...I'll have to try those, because you said so! (and an extra egg!)
      I have the Betty Crocker one memorized.


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  7. The last six cleaning products? Love! Weinman also makes a fantastic granite cleaner/ polish. FYI in case your next house has granite.

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    1. Thanks, yes, most of the homes we are looking at have granite...nice to know there's a polish for it. When we were in Texas, the condo had granite, and no matter how much I wiped the counters, it looked filmy...greasy...I'm sure the polish helps with that?

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  8. Wow your home looks and smells great! I know you will sell it soon!

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  9. It looks like whatever products you are using are definitely working. Your house looks amazing. to get our floors that shiny it takes me a few hours of scrubbing on my hands an knees. A mop does not work. That is the problem with have 5 children under the age of 10 in one house. We basically live in filth.

    Frank George @ Dutch Hollow Supplies

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  10. I love to know what other people use in their homes and what they think of it. I used everything that I had grown up with for a while and then I moved and I could not find a few of the products. I switched over to one company and fell in love and now I like to add items.

    German Zollinger @ Total Clean Equip

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  11. These are some very special and neat ideas to try at home. Thank you for the blog ideas and also the best list of products to use for the home, much appreciated. Hope the house sells during the open days. Those can be really good to show off the house. My wife is a realtor and does open houses alot.

    Rudy Swanson @ Haaker Equipment Company

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Thank you so much for stopping and commenting!