Household tips that aren't shit.

[EIsbethTascioni]

I've been getting hugely into decluttering and keeping tidy since the new year. I've been looking on websites and in magazines for tips advice and most of it is unmitigated tripe that makes life harder rather than easier.

So I'm turning to you vipers for your non-crap tips for keeping on top of shit.

I've got three to start us off.

Clean the shower while you're in it. Gamechanger. Saves masses of time.

Storing duvet sets inside their pillow case. I was sceptical about this one but with four beds in the house it has a)made my linen cupboard tidier and b)means no more rummaging.

Using the big IKEA bags as laundry bags. They are just the right size for a load of washing in a standard machine and you can fold them up and put them away tidily instead of having plastic baskets hanging around.

Aibu to think you lot will have loads more?

Some tips I have seen. At the beginning of the year turn all the hangers in your wardrobe the opposite way round, in a years time and you've been through all the seasons, anything hanging on an opposite and therefore not used, get rid of it.

I also have vacuum bags, and rotate seasonal clothes. So each 'season' I change out the clothes in the wardrobe hang them the opposite way round and anything still opposite doesn't make it's way back into the vacuum bag.

Every time my phone goes I pick up a wipe and wipe down light switches and my blinds. Also do door handles don't notice it while you are talking.

I also keep a bottle of white vinegar by my kitchen sink for limescale. Dirt cheap. The Tesco one is 39p and comes in a plastic bottle with a spout you can squirt it through. Quick wipe of my draining board with it and all the limescale is gone.

I'm going to play the minimalist game now! See how long I can keep it going

(I am drowning in a sea of clutter and also, rather embarrassingly don't seem to have a single pearl of wisdom to offer for this thread!).

I do the tiles around my bath/shower with the vinegar regularly, too.

It's just acid, innit. but without the thickeners, perfume etc.

white vinegar in the dishwasher genius

Not sure I can add anything constructive.

I do the clean in the shower thing!

Clean as you go. Don't leave empty wrappers around the kitchen, put them in the bin immediately. Basically do this for everything. If plates are used straight into the kitchen and preferably dishwasher.

Take stuff upstairs and put it away.

Don't ignore piles or rooming of clean clothes. Do it

Have a routine. It's boring and repetitive but you don't get the hideous build up of jobs.

Get as many labour saving devices as you can afford. Window vax. Steam mop. Dishwasher. ..... I am hankering after a robotic Hoover

Get a simple sweeping brush and a dustpan and brush. Loads quicker than dragging out the hoover.

• send anyone (child usually) coming home with a half full water bottle to go and water houseplants or terrace pots...
• invest in hanging racks/hooks/ whatever in utility room and always hang things straight from tumble dryer - saves so much ironing!

Sprinkle bicarb on rugs before bed, vac up next morning, to remove doggy smells.
When washing windows indoors, a splash of white vinegar in the water, followed by drying glass with newspaper, gives a fabulous shine !
Also before bed, boiling water in kitchen sink, plug in, and add neat Zoflra, your kitchen will smell lovely, in the morning.
In wet weather, put a puppy pad inside your doorway, great at getting mud off your dogs paws, and easily discarded, no washing.

Great thread

Lidl sells pretend viakal - cheaper and just as good.

I use Milton to de stain mugs, teaspoons etc. V low risk.

Magic erasers can be bought in bulk on eBay much much cheaper, but do then have to be stored.

Chunk of dishwasher tablet, fill pan with water and bring to the boil to unstick anything burnt on.

You can usually use half a dw tablet in the dw and it will still clean fine.

Napisan is basically the same as vanish but cheaper.

Bicarbonate of soda mixed with lemon juice to barely a paste (thick) gets rid of rust stains on stainless steel.

From the word document I keep on my laptop for tips I learn on here and elsewhere:

Write on things the date bought (eg pillows) or opened (jars)
To get sticky labels off, heat with hairdryer
Empty bottom rack of dishwasher first so stuff on top doesn’t drip onto bottom
Wrap any strong smelling or leaking products before putting in fridge/bin
Dry wet shoes by stuffing w kitchen towel so shape is preserved.
Put newspaper in new shoes to stretch them
Put elastic bands on hangers to stop things sliding off
Baths/sinks: if v dirty, soak washing powder overnight
Bed linen – buy everything a size bigger esp fitted sheet
Clothes pegs – wooden ones go foosty if they’ve been wet. Buy plastic. White.
Kitchen/bathroom: plastic appliances are better than metal as they don’t go streaky/rusty
Non stick pans: Don’t use metal utensils/brillo pads. White spots can be removed with vinegar or lemon juice then re-wash.
Give yourself a deadline eg all must be done in time for TV prog starting or pretend someone’s coming round.
Don’t tickle dear, scrub!

I've never had a mug stained by tea or coffee and my mugs are at least 15 years old. Perhaps it's because I don't have a dishwasher.

I agree with the bed linen in the pillow case thing.

Keep a packing list inside your suit case 99% of the stuff you need to pack is the same every time.
Repack your toiletries bag when you come back from holiday, you'll thank yourself for it.

Tesco value cream cleaner smells just the same as ceramic hob cleaner, does the same job without scratching the hob and is a fraction of the price.

Also works really well on white painted walls and doorframes to get grubby children's fingerprints off.

Stock the showerhead in a glass of lemonade overnight. Descales it.

After you clean the shower use a window squeegee to dry it, and the window. It keeps down damp in the bathroom.

You can easily remove stains from mugs and teapots with O2 laundry bleach. Put them in the sink, add a level teaspoon, top up with boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. And its eco friendly.

Line your bin with 3-4 bin liner bags, to save the empty bin situation you inevitably find yourself in, as you're just about to sling something gross into it.
When you're down to the last bin liner, repeat.

Tidy up kitchen: dishwasher loaded and on, surfaces wiped, table cleaned, floors wiped/mopped each night before you go to bed to avoid the depressing (and by then probably crusty) task the following morning.

Do your ironing in front of telly/Netflix - good way to catch up on programmes.

Best piece of advice: never hurry, never stop. This is so appropriate when it comes to housework. Miss a load of washing one day, and it feels like you're catching up for months on end.

Have a schedule. I have a list of highly exciting things I do on the 1st of each month e.g. worm dog, test smoke alarms, and other things I do on the 1st of each quarter e.g turn mattress. It's liberating because I don't have to try to remember them or think about them at other times.

I also swear by the app Remember The Milk - it sends me reminders for birthdays etc

www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Cotton-String-Shopping-Re-usable/dp/B01DXXC6C0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485038324&sr=8-1&keywords=string+bag&tag=mumsnetforum-21

These on your coat hooks - in winter for hats and gloves, in summer for hats and suncream - you can see what you need and they expand.

Microfibre cloths wth water will clean most things from stains on clothing to upholstery.

Any cleaner with bleach on your ceramic sink, and tiles, grouting.

Spray bleach it on vinyl floors, leave for ten minutes and clean with a microfiber flat mop - I use this your vinyl will look like it did when it was first laid.

keep a basket in every room, put all the clutter in there and sort at another time never
I do the 15 min rule, every hour at home awake I will tidy or sort blah blah for 15 mins. It's really easy oh its 7pm ill tidy til 7:15 then cup of tea and watch tv... oh its 8pm ill have a gin..oh its 9pm il have a wine...ahhhhhh nice tidy house

I don't let certain stuff over certain thresholds.

Post and junk mail does not leave the hallway. Most of it's shit and doesn't even leave the porch, it stays out for the recycling. The rest can be dealt with in the hall but no further.

Nothing on kitchen counters. It all has its place so there's no reason to.

No crap, cheap toys. Smile, accept, wait for kids to forget, buh-bye.

This thread is good. I'd use bicarb and vinegar rather than bleach (!) for cups.

Really sticky burn-on bits on a pan that really won't come off: put it on a low heat full of soap and water. As it simmers the sticky bits will come off, and it's quicker than soaking for days.

Line the crisper drawer on the fridge with kitchen roll - soaks up moisture and things go off less easily, meaning less cleaning in general.

If you wipe a spill with kitchen roll, finish it off on the skirting boards (you can rinse and ring them out, FWIW). I never remember to clean skirting boards but I have guilt from using kitchen roll, so the two even out.

If you've a radiator in the kitchen, put a clean tea towel on top, and when you wash glasses, put them upside down straight onto that. They dry so fast you don't get water marks. (This is only useful if, like us, you don't have a big enough draining board to leave everything to drip-dry at once).

If you do a wash late in the evening, hang thin clothes on hangers off the back of the door - they won't need ironing unless you're super-fussy.

Oh - and, if you have wood furniture with a standard varnish, and you get water stains, mix equal parts oil and vinegar, rub it in, polish off with a dry cloth. It's pretty good.

Buy a fold up shopping bag with a clip and attach it to your car keys. That way you always having a shopping bag with you.

I have four washing baskets: white/black/light colour/dark colour.
Saves ages

I buy black socks in batches for each person who wears them, so DH had one type, DD has another, I have another. Saves time as I'm only sorting out per person not lots of different ones.
I recycle at the end of each school year and buy new.