Author Topic: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain  (Read 170713 times)

galliver

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #450 on: August 03, 2017, 01:41:44 PM »
My silly question is.....my sink NEVER feels clean. How do get yours clean? How often do you clean it? What do you clean with (baking soda, something harsher)? I clean it, wipe it down every night, but would never think to actually put clean dishes in there to dry. That grosses me out. Let alone every time I see a rack for drying dishes, it looks dirty (like at my family or friend's houses), dusty, crumbs in their racks, or gunk in the corners of rack. How do you all clean the rack or is there some kind of regularity to it?

I have a small amount of counterspace (my kitchen is a fabulous original midcentury kitchen), and I suppose getting over my phobias over a clean sink and/or clean drying rack would give me back a lot of counter space.

Also, I am home all day with my kids, so our sink is used constantly. Water cups, snacks, lunch, prepping dinner, baking, etc.

Any ideas on having a clean sink? Has anyone thought of this?

Edited to add: I have a stainless steel sink.

If I started with a clean sink and washed maybe a day's worth of fresh dishes, I'll just wipe it down with the dish sponge or a rag and rinse well with water. If dishes have been sitting because I've been busy, and/or I see staining (I have a white sink so it's more frequent than when I've lived with SS sinks :'( ), or any other grossness, I'll throw on some Comet powder (and let it sit a few mins for disinfection by bleach in the Comet).

For the rack, I don't worry too much because the dishes mostly just touch the top part(s) and any grime collects in the bottom/water channels. My parents' enameled-wire rack practically doesn't get dirty (ok, it gets sticky dust and some hard water on it eventually, we do clean it, but less than I clean my plastic basket rack)...the water-draining tray underneath, however, can get a little nasty. Basically, I'll scrub the rack and any sub-rack trays, mats, etc with a brush and soap anytime they look gross, which is generally rarer than 1x/week. Hard water stains don't bother me from a cleanliness perspective if they don't come off easily, but for aesthetics I'll scrub with citric acid on occasion.

General thoughts on cleaning:
-water is great at rinsing dirt, and any germs living in that dirt, away. Often takes copious amounts to rinse and hard to as well for stationary surfaces (e.g. floor, counter). Wiping with a wet rag you might spread germs around more than you take them away.
-some types of dirt don't dissolve well in water, e.g. greasy dirt (because oil and water don't mix!). To dissolve those in water you need surfactants--chemicals found in soaps and detergents that bind to grease/dirt on one end and water on the other, allowing water to rinse away grease/dirt. Detergents (any kind of "liquid soap" like dish, hand, maybe laundry) are generally formulated to rinse away better and dissolve better in hard water.
-some types of dirt don't come away with soap and water, but you can scrub them away because they're only a surface layer on the object (e.g. burned on stuff in a pan). Baking soda is a good scrubber.
-some dirt takes an inordinate amount of scrubbing to try to get off; finding an alternative solvent (instead of water) to actually dissolve the dirt may help, and it depends on the dirt. Vinegar (acid) can be a good alternative solvent, e.g. for hard water stains. Rubbing alcohol works wonders on that sticky buildup of grease+dust on the tops of cabinets, range hoods, etc. or sometimes when getting a label off a jar. Nail polish remover (acetone) dissolves permanent marker (and also paint...so be careful).
-Soap, water, and scrubbing don't disinfect! Heat (boiling or hotter), bleach, and alcohol do a good job disinfecting. Vinegar, I think, does some. And of course there are commercial sprays (Lysol, Fantastik, 409, etc), many of which are also solvents of some kind. Most of these take a few minutes to actually work for disinfecting.
-Finally, I think it's important to remember that we aren't necessarily built for a sterile environment. Around the house, I generally figure if it looks clean, smells clean, and feels clean...it's clean, while applying common sense...so my sanitizing is basically limited to: after working with meat/eggs, anything stinky, and bathroom ~1x/week at most. Most things are resolved with soap, water, scrubbing.

SomedayStache

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #451 on: August 03, 2017, 02:10:53 PM »
You know, even my big water bath canner fits easily into both sides of my double sink. I have a tall arch-over style faucet, and I think that makes more difference in things fitting than sink size. That said, I did pick the sink and designed the counters around it...
I can fit a five gallon bucket in both sides of my double sink and the high-arching faucet easily swivels over both sides when filled with said bucket.  We got deep sinks and a very tall faucet.  Ours is also a 'low-divide' sink which I think is the best of both worlds.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #452 on: August 03, 2017, 04:40:26 PM »
Quote
The myth that you can get rid of the germs from your beloved kitchen sponge by tossing the grubby thing into the microwave has officially been busted.

A new study in the journal Scientific Reports, conducted by a team of German researchers, has found that the methods we use to clean our kitchen sponges are all relatively ineffective in reducing bacteria.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/interiors/your-clean-kitchen-sponge-has-a-dirty-little-secret/news-story/c22497b6e3aaea1f9bdd2022479c7c0e

It suggests changing sponges every week.

I use Chux cloths in the kitchen. Under my sink is a small basket of clean ones and a small basket for dirty ones. I change cloths every day or two then wash them in hot water in the washing machine.

Rural

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #453 on: August 03, 2017, 05:39:17 PM »
You know, even my big water bath canner fits easily into both sides of my double sink. I have a tall arch-over style faucet, and I think that makes more difference in things fitting than sink size. That said, I did pick the sink and designed the counters around it...
I can fit a five gallon bucket in both sides of my double sink and the high-arching faucet easily swivels over both sides when filled with said bucket.  We got deep sinks and a very tall faucet.  Ours is also a 'low-divide' sink which I think is the best of both worlds.


I did get a deep sink; I'd forgotten that. I don't know if I can fit in a five -gallon bucket (never tried), but I might. It would be close if not, and the limiting factor would be height (my canner is as large in diameter as a 5-gallon bucket). I don't think I'd like the low divide, though - I want the two sides to be separate all the way up. Glad you like yours!

BlueHouse

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #454 on: August 05, 2017, 09:49:06 AM »
If you need to rinse your dishes you are using too much soap - you just need enough for a few bubbles on the top of the washing water, and then no need to rinse.


I have been thinking about this all week.  Usually in the bathroom.  I'll stick with too much soap and lots of rinsing. 

MountainTown

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #455 on: August 05, 2017, 09:58:11 AM »
posting to follow!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #456 on: August 06, 2017, 01:30:20 PM »
When we brew beer at home, we really need to have a clean sink, as the bucket with cooked beer is standing in it. Then we clean the sink with Jif cleaning gel, a scrubbing variant, and use a dishwashing brush. This really makes it look clean and shiny. The rest of the time we don't really bother to clean it. At our cabin we use a drying rack for dishes. After drying I always wipe the dripping tray dry.

theadvicist

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #457 on: August 07, 2017, 02:57:08 AM »
Regarding a clean sink, I've never paid it much attention... it gets full of hot soapy water multiple times a day. 

That said, I do occasionally soak dishcloths in OxyClean (well, generic equivalent, natch) in my stainless steel sink. The first time I did it I was shocked by how clean and shiny my sink was around the plughole. I had never noticed until it wasn't there, but usually there is dark staining there, I assume from emptying the teapot into the sink many times a day.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #458 on: August 07, 2017, 03:04:56 PM »
We have a white porcelain sink, so it shows grime quickly. We also cook with lots of turmeric, cranberries, red onion, stuff like that, oh and drink lots of coffee, so it gets nice and colorful/icky. We clean it with softscrub every ~3rd week. If the coating was in better shape, we might do something less abrasive, but it's pretty worn, so that's the only thing that will get it clean.

I do sometimes miss having a stainless sink. Seems like it got less "slime" accumulation, even just by feel and not by appearance. Maybe we'll replace the sink when we re-do the kitchen counters... some day.

dcheesi

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #459 on: August 07, 2017, 03:14:17 PM »
It's probably been said a bazillion times already, but as someone with a new cat-allergic girlfriend, it's been a real relationship-saver: Machine-washable slipcovers for ALL upholstered furniture!

In my old house I had traditional couches, etc., and it was impossible to ever get all of the cat hair/dander out of them. And of course any spills, etc., could potentially doom a piece of furniture.

In my new place I made sure everything was washable (slipcovers, etc.), and it's so much easier to keep clean! And my new gf has been very comfortable, even commenting on how different the experience is from every other cat household she's spent time in.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #460 on: August 08, 2017, 04:08:11 AM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #461 on: August 08, 2017, 04:49:05 AM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

I have waist-length hair so I'm careful to keep it out of drains.

I use a drain wig in the shower (mine is a $2 version from eBay), and clear it every three weeks or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC4E1X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vvzIzbKDW8E31

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #462 on: August 08, 2017, 06:41:20 AM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

I have waist-length hair so I'm careful to keep it out of drains.

I use a drain wig in the shower (mine is a $2 version from eBay), and clear it every three weeks or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC4E1X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vvzIzbKDW8E31

Thanks, I didn't know that this thing existed. I'll look into it.

chaskavitch

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #463 on: August 08, 2017, 06:46:49 AM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

I have waist-length hair so I'm careful to keep it out of drains.

I use a drain wig in the shower (mine is a $2 version from eBay), and clear it every three weeks or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC4E1X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vvzIzbKDW8E31

That looks like an excellent invention!  My sister has super long hair and only a shower grate, so maybe I'll point her in that direction. 

I just bought a tubshroom from Amazon on prime day, and it is working out pretty well, in addition to my primary "I'm going to stick all the hair on my hands to the wall of the tub" course of action.  Unfortunately it only works if you have a drain cover/stopper that you can remove, and a drain that is the right size.

https://www.amazon.com/TubShroom-Revolutionary-Protector-Catcher-Strainer/dp/B01BYMTYBS

galliver

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #464 on: August 08, 2017, 08:50:05 AM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

I have waist-length hair so I'm careful to keep it out of drains.

I use a drain wig in the shower (mine is a $2 version from eBay), and clear it every three weeks or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC4E1X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vvzIzbKDW8E31

That looks like an excellent invention!  My sister has super long hair and only a shower grate, so maybe I'll point her in that direction. 

I just bought a tubshroom from Amazon on prime day, and it is working out pretty well, in addition to my primary "I'm going to stick all the hair on my hands to the wall of the tub" course of action.  Unfortunately it only works if you have a drain cover/stopper that you can remove, and a drain that is the right size.

https://www.amazon.com/TubShroom-Revolutionary-Protector-Catcher-Strainer/dp/B01BYMTYBS
I've been surprised by how effective the tubshroom is...catches *lots* of hair, and easy to clean out!

It might fit UNDER a large shower grate, maybe?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #465 on: August 08, 2017, 01:19:43 PM »
Our shower has a drain grate that looks like this:
https://megaflis.no/design-slukrist-n-12-borstet-stal.html

After every hair washing shower I pick up my hairs that I find on top of this drain grate. But obviously a lot of hair found it's way through the holes in the past 7 years (we have only lived there for 2 years). Yesterday I cleaned it out and that is just a disgusting job.

In our previous house we showered in the bath tube where I could put in a small round grate in the drain and catch most of my hair. Is there any way to improve the drain in our current house to prevent (half) long hairs from getting into it? Or do I need to do this job every 5 years or so? There was also a lot of other brown grim right underneath the grate that had to be brushed away. I do not want to millimeter my hair.

I have waist-length hair so I'm careful to keep it out of drains.

I use a drain wig in the shower (mine is a $2 version from eBay), and clear it every three weeks or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC4E1X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vvzIzbKDW8E31

That looks like an excellent invention!  My sister has super long hair and only a shower grate, so maybe I'll point her in that direction. 

I just bought a tubshroom from Amazon on prime day, and it is working out pretty well, in addition to my primary "I'm going to stick all the hair on my hands to the wall of the tub" course of action.  Unfortunately it only works if you have a drain cover/stopper that you can remove, and a drain that is the right size.

https://www.amazon.com/TubShroom-Revolutionary-Protector-Catcher-Strainer/dp/B01BYMTYBS
I've been surprised by how effective the tubshroom is...catches *lots* of hair, and easy to clean out!

It might fit UNDER a large shower grate, maybe?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Well, my drain looks very different from inside and this things wouldn't fit there. This thing is made for a typical bathtube drain.

galliver

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #466 on: August 08, 2017, 02:43:47 PM »
Why not just have a counter top draining rack? We use this one:


We did have one (a stainless steel version), but this year made the decision to get rid of it... now just lay a dish towel down next to the sink. 

What I have in mind is something like this:
http://99percentinvisible.org/article/finnish-dishes-simple-nordic-design-beats-dishwashers-drying-racks/

See, my worry is that inadequate airflow and cleaning options would mean the cupboard would get funky and warped. Admittedly, I'm in a higher humidity area than many, but that would be my personal hesitation. Particularly if the wood of the cupboard itself got warped (sides/door), that's really awful because it would be quite expensive to replace.

My current kitchen setup doesn't allow this, but in my last two homes, I solved this by having just a wire rack over the sink, attached to the bottoms of the cabinets on either side, rather than an entire cabinet. So there was airflow all around. Of course, since there were no doors, you could see all the dishes drying up there, but that never bothered me. I think seeing them was actually a constant reminder to put the damn things away, whereas hiding them behind a door might have made it too easy to leave them there forever!

The dish-drying discussion made me realize how much one more roll-up rack would improve my life (by drying dishes FASTER) and while I was adding it on Amazon I found this: https://www.amazon.com/NEX-Stainless-Nonslip-Adjustable-Chopstick/dp/B01HUJKNCI/ There are a few models for (slightly) different sizes, numbers of tiers, etc. Might work for anyone who'd like an over-sink drying rack/cupboard but can't install one for whatever reason? (I'd consider one myself but I'm hoping to be out of this apartment in a few months and maybe have a dishwasher at the next place! So I'm just wishing I could get one 3 years retroactively...)

Lews Therin

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #467 on: August 08, 2017, 02:45:53 PM »
Seems a little excessive to my eyes. I just looked at my thrift store until a foldable bamboo one appeared. They are in the 20-80$ range new dpending on the fancyness of the store.

Poundwise

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #468 on: August 09, 2017, 07:01:23 AM »
It is true that MMM thrift would suggest that it would be easy to build such a rack oneself out of wood or a using a standard wire closet shelf, especially if one had cabinets flanking the sink.  I personally don't like to see the dishes out, but that is just form, not function.

YogiKitti

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #469 on: August 09, 2017, 09:40:36 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #470 on: August 09, 2017, 12:01:04 PM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

Sounds like a good idea. When we went on vacation for 3 weeks, last year 4 weeks, we just put all our plants outside and hoped for a suitable amount of rain. It worked well both times. ;-)
Your idea is neater.

Primm

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #471 on: August 09, 2017, 09:07:28 PM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

You can also buy something like this. It screws onto the top of a bottle and turns it into an automatic waterer. Cheaper and you can adjust the volume (by using a bigger bottle!) for longer trips.

koshtra

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #472 on: August 09, 2017, 09:40:20 PM »
What a fun and useful thread! Thanks, all.

My big thing, now that I'm nearly sixty and can be as crotchety as I like, is that anything that needs special handling goes right out the door. No more dishes that have to be hand-washed because they're delicate, or funny shaped, or can't endure hot water. No clothes that can't stand the regular washer cycle. No fragile anything anywhere. Any time I start cleaning and run into something that holds me up because it needs to be dealt with in some special way -- I give it a baleful look and resolve to get rid of it. If it can't be cleaned quickly in the ways I already clean things, I don't want it, no matter how pretty or trendy or supposedly convenient it is.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #473 on: August 10, 2017, 01:28:58 AM »
What a fun and useful thread! Thanks, all.

My big thing, now that I'm nearly sixty and can be as crotchety as I like, is that anything that needs special handling goes right out the door. No more dishes that have to be hand-washed because they're delicate, or funny shaped, or can't endure hot water. No clothes that can't stand the regular washer cycle. No fragile anything anywhere. Any time I start cleaning and run into something that holds me up because it needs to be dealt with in some special way -- I give it a baleful look and resolve to get rid of it. If it can't be cleaned quickly in the ways I already clean things, I don't want it, no matter how pretty or trendy or supposedly convenient it is.

A very good advice. I have adapted this idea for clothes. I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them. Although I still don't put woolen shirts in the tumble dry. I like using woolen undershirts and they just always shrink in the dryer.
Unfortunately we still have a bunch of nice wine glasses that are always standing on the kitchen counter near the dishwasher, because they should not be put into there and because we don't like handwashing. So they can be standing there for a long time. Maybe I should start adopting your strategy, ruining them in the dishwasher and then buy more solid glasses.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #474 on: August 10, 2017, 02:09:45 AM »
That's my policy too (officially since reading Don Aslett!) with a few exceptions:
- Two good kitchen knives
- Wooden chopping boards (though I do put them through if they've had raw meat on them)
- Woollen jumpers and other garments which don't touch the skin

I've ruined the odd thing but the hassle saved for everything else ever was worth the cost!

YogiKitti

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #475 on: August 10, 2017, 09:27:08 AM »
I have a wood cutting board that's designed for the dishwasher, so that's nice. I don't have an issue with cross contamination though.

For the laundry policy, I also included not doing a load of reds. I either have a load of white or everything else. If the middle ground colors can't keep their colors (besides the first wash) then they aren't worth my time.

galliver

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #476 on: August 10, 2017, 10:40:38 AM »
What a fun and useful thread! Thanks, all.

My big thing, now that I'm nearly sixty and can be as crotchety as I like, is that anything that needs special handling goes right out the door. No more dishes that have to be hand-washed because they're delicate, or funny shaped, or can't endure hot water. No clothes that can't stand the regular washer cycle. No fragile anything anywhere. Any time I start cleaning and run into something that holds me up because it needs to be dealt with in some special way -- I give it a baleful look and resolve to get rid of it. If it can't be cleaned quickly in the ways I already clean things, I don't want it, no matter how pretty or trendy or supposedly convenient it is.

A very good advice. I have adapted this idea for clothes. I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them. Although I still don't put woolen shirts in the tumble dry. I like using woolen undershirts and they just always shrink in the dryer.
Unfortunately we still have a bunch of nice wine glasses that are always standing on the kitchen counter near the dishwasher, because they should not be put into there and because we don't like handwashing. So they can be standing there for a long time. Maybe I should start adopting your strategy, ruining them in the dishwasher and then buy more solid glasses.
My parents used to have this problem (with middle-tier Reidels), but their most recent place has a dishwasher with stemware holders, so eventually they caved and started putting them in. I don't think they've lost as many glasses to washing as to dad's crushing grip since then! I also think there are probably affordable aftermarket plastic doodads available for dishwashers without this feature.

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GreenSheep

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #477 on: August 10, 2017, 11:45:33 AM »
I have a friend who calls her dishwasher the Darwinator. Meaning that if something can't survive the dishwasher, it wasn't meant to survive at all. She throws everything in there, including wine glasses, and if they don't make it out... oh well. On the Mustachian side of things, she has learned not to buy things that probably won't survive the Darwinator.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #478 on: August 10, 2017, 11:46:32 AM »
I have a wood cutting board that's designed for the dishwasher, so that's nice. I don't have an issue with cross contamination though.

For the laundry policy, I also included not doing a load of reds. I either have a load of white or everything else. If the middle ground colors can't keep their colors (besides the first wash) then they aren't worth my time.

I recently started doing this. Reds just go in with the dark colors. So I have delicates, whites/linens, and everything else. So much easier. Partially necessitated because our new washer is SO MUCH BIGGER than our old one. It *can* do tiny loads (HE top load, smart sense, all that), but now that I *can* do a couple loads per week, it's wonderful. I used to be so confused about people who only did 1-2 loads of laundry per week... I was doing like eight... forgot to factor in that my washing machine was 27 years old and had less that 1/4 the capacity, LOL. Plus I always had to underfill or it would get off balance. Now I am happily a ~3 loads per week person =)

shelivesthedream

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #479 on: August 10, 2017, 01:58:59 PM »
I have a friend who calls her dishwasher the Darwinator. Meaning that if something can't survive the dishwasher, it wasn't meant to survive at all. She throws everything in there, including wine glasses, and if they don't make it out... oh well. On the Mustachian side of things, she has learned not to buy things that probably won't survive the Darwinator.

I'm adopting the Darwinator! Brilliant!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #480 on: August 10, 2017, 07:31:00 PM »
I have a friend who calls her dishwasher the Darwinator. Meaning that if something can't survive the dishwasher, it wasn't meant to survive at all. She throws everything in there, including wine glasses, and if they don't make it out... oh well. On the Mustachian side of things, she has learned not to buy things that probably won't survive the Darwinator.

I'm adopting the Darwinator! Brilliant!

Me too!

This thread has made me realise that there are entire housework struggles that I've managed to avoid by virtue of the fact that I don't own red clothes and don't drink wine.

I bought a new egg flip yesterday (old one split in half after eight years) and was excited because it's one piece of moulded plastic with no fake metal trim that will flake off in the dishwasher and no weird holes to catch water.

JanF

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #481 on: August 10, 2017, 07:55:30 PM »
for glass shower doors, use a squeegee on it after every shower. I never have issues with soap scum.

Quote
I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them.

What do you do about bras?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #482 on: August 10, 2017, 07:57:37 PM »
for glass shower doors, use a squeegee on it after every shower. I never have issues with soap scum.

Quote
I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them.

What do you do about bras?

Personally, I do mesh lingerie bags (on delicate setting) and then hang them to dry. It seems like it's the dryer that murders them the most, not washing.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #483 on: August 10, 2017, 09:04:07 PM »
Quote
I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them.

What do you do about bras?

Personally, I do mesh lingerie bags (on delicate setting) and then hang them to dry. It seems like it's the dryer that murders them the most, not washing.

Yep, bras, knits and a couple of light work tops go in mesh bags. I don't use the dryer for anything, so it's all line-dried.

I peg jeans and a few other things inside out to prevent them from fading and deteriorating in the sun.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #484 on: August 11, 2017, 01:12:47 AM »
Quote
I just wash clothes in the washing machine no matter what. If they don't survive, I get rid of them.

What do you do about bras?

Personally, I do mesh lingerie bags (on delicate setting) and then hang them to dry. It seems like it's the dryer that murders them the most, not washing.

Yep, bras, knits and a couple of light work tops go in mesh bags. I don't use the dryer for anything, so it's all line-dried.

I peg jeans and a few other things inside out to prevent them from fading and deteriorating in the sun.

I also use the mesh bags, but that is also to protect the washing machine. If one of the braces would fall out, which it once did, that can ruin your washing machine. I put bras in the tumble dry. There is only one that once broke and where a brace started to fall out. It guess it was badly sewn. I hang my laundry to dry outside in the summer half year.

misshathaway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #485 on: August 11, 2017, 07:21:50 AM »
I have a friend who calls her dishwasher the Darwinator. Meaning that if something can't survive the dishwasher, it wasn't meant to survive at all. She throws everything in there, including wine glasses, and if they don't make it out... oh well.

Laugh of the day.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #486 on: August 11, 2017, 08:23:30 AM »
Over on PBK maine's cheap style thread, someone asked about living room storage and small space organization, and I thought it might be useful here as well. https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/pbkmaine's-cheap-style/msg1655963/#msg1655963

totoro

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #487 on: August 11, 2017, 09:57:52 AM »
I have done a lot of kitchen reorganization and I find these lazy-susan type things good for oil/condiments and other things that don't need refrigeration: https://www.amazon.com/lazy-susans/b?ie=UTF8&node=3744181

Also, I really like having a spice drawer.  I just bought these bottles, filled them with bulk buy spices and what I had, and labelled the lids with a sharpie and put them in alphabetical order: http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/glass-spice-jar-3-oz-0423199p.html

Super easy to find everything and easy to keep in order. I find it is way better than trying to organize a bunch of different size spice containers in the cupboard.

I now use mason jars to organize baking supplies in the cupboard the had the spices.  I have a wire stand thing that allows me to fit more in the cupboard kind of like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Copco-Non-Skid-Cabinet-Organizer-10-Inch/dp/B0036OQU4C/ref=pd_sbs_79_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0036OQU4C&pd_rd_r=D24MPVR8XAPCPZ9EV86D&pd_rd_w=iSfDe&pd_rd_wg=e5B04&psc=1&refRID=D24MPVR8XAPCPZ9EV86D

I have found that spending the time up front to organize the kitchen makes it easier to manage for everyone.  My fridge is still pretty disorganized so I'll probably try to tackle that next. 

rockstache

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #488 on: August 11, 2017, 10:05:53 AM »
I love this thread. SO many great ideas!

Goldielocks

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #489 on: August 11, 2017, 10:06:02 AM »
Totoro -- you reminded me of one thing I changed a couple of years ago...

I now store my spices in the spice drawer in alphabetical order.  This saves a lot of time when cooking, and I am more likely to use them (or a variety) now.

Easier to clean?  hmmm,,,,   easier to put away?, for certain.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #490 on: August 11, 2017, 01:16:10 PM »
Totoro -- you reminded me of one thing I changed a couple of years ago...

I now store my spices in the spice drawer in alphabetical order.  This saves a lot of time when cooking, and I am more likely to use them (or a variety) now.

Easier to clean?  hmmm,,,,   easier to put away?, for certain.

I did this too some time ago. It has been an improvement. But today I was looking for "grillkrydder", which I wanted to put on fried potatoes, but now it was called "potetkrydder". Took me some time to find. :-)

theadvicist

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #491 on: August 15, 2017, 07:01:14 AM »
Well, I never knew I was meant to do a 'red' wash! I do whites and... the rest. I do ruminate for far too long over striped items though!

I agree that tumble drying, rather than washing, is what ruins bras. I have some that are older than I should probably admit, but still doing their job well. The heat ruins the elastic, which really is key.

GreenSheep

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #492 on: August 16, 2017, 10:07:18 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

We have a few of these, and they're great! My husband recently discovered that empty wine bottles work well, too. Well, empty of wine, refilled with water! (We used to get boxed wine, but after we moved, we discovered a grocery outlet store that sells wine for as low as $3/bottle, and it's good!) We use them around the yard in places where we haven't set up drip irrigation yet, and they last for about a week. The globes are obviously prettier, though, so we use those in the house.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #493 on: August 16, 2017, 10:12:35 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

We have a few of these, and they're great! My husband recently discovered that empty wine bottles work well, too. Well, empty of wine, refilled with water! (We used to get boxed wine, but after we moved, we discovered a grocery outlet store that sells wine for as low as $3/bottle, and it's good!) We use them around the yard in places where we haven't set up drip irrigation yet, and they last for about a week. The globes are obviously prettier, though, so we use those in the house.

I'm so glad you mentioned this. Adding this to my container peppers and tomatoes, which are a constant battle to water this summer. For the first time in my life in Oregon, I'm fighting *too much* drainage! Poor things are miserable.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #494 on: August 17, 2017, 01:08:00 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

We have a few of these, and they're great! My husband recently discovered that empty wine bottles work well, too. Well, empty of wine, refilled with water! (We used to get boxed wine, but after we moved, we discovered a grocery outlet store that sells wine for as low as $3/bottle, and it's good!) We use them around the yard in places where we haven't set up drip irrigation yet, and they last for about a week. The globes are obviously prettier, though, so we use those in the house.

I supposed you'll need to recork the bottles and make a small hole in the cork? Or how else would a wine bottle work?

misshathaway

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #495 on: August 17, 2017, 07:39:52 AM »
Well, I never knew I was meant to do a 'red' wash! I do whites and... the rest. I do ruminate for far too long over striped items though!

I agree that tumble drying, rather than washing, is what ruins bras. I have some that are older than I should probably admit, but still doing their job well. The heat ruins the elastic, which really is key.

Yup. I have some work bras that I coddled with line drying. They were fine until I retired and streamlined everything including wash. Since going through the dryer the stressed seams are starting to fray. After they die, it will be sports bras all the time. BECAUSE NOW I CAN!

Re: easier cleaning
Recently I started upgrading my cleaning tools, which has increased efficiency. For example I switched out an ancient steam mop for a new OXO bucket and manual mop with replaceable mop heads. Turns out, washing the kitchen floor with ammonia/water and plain water rinsing after, causes the floor to stay cleaner longer than with the steam mop.

GreenSheep

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #496 on: August 17, 2017, 07:51:52 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

We have a few of these, and they're great! My husband recently discovered that empty wine bottles work well, too. Well, empty of wine, refilled with water! (We used to get boxed wine, but after we moved, we discovered a grocery outlet store that sells wine for as low as $3/bottle, and it's good!) We use them around the yard in places where we haven't set up drip irrigation yet, and they last for about a week. The globes are obviously prettier, though, so we use those in the house.

I supposed you'll need to recork the bottles and make a small hole in the cork? Or how else would a wine bottle work?

I asked my husband something similar when he first showed me the upside-down wine bottles in the dirt... isn't the hole too big? Doesn't the water all just drain out at once? He said no, you just have to press the wine bottle firmly into the dirt, so the dirt goes into the narrow part of the bottle and holds most of the water in.

Cranky

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #497 on: August 17, 2017, 08:24:54 AM »
In regards to making your home easier to maintain, I have a few aqua globes and they make it easier to keep my plants watered. If you don't know what they are, they are glass globes that you fill with water and stick in your plants and they will be watered for about 1-2 weeks.

I got them because I was having issues over watering some of my finicky plants and the plants are now thriving with the aqua globes. It doesn't work well for plants that like dry soil though.

I'm going to start asking for these for birthdays and holidays. They will easily cut down the time I spend each day water plants and when we go out of town we don't worry about those plants dying.

We have a few of these, and they're great! My husband recently discovered that empty wine bottles work well, too. Well, empty of wine, refilled with water! (We used to get boxed wine, but after we moved, we discovered a grocery outlet store that sells wine for as low as $3/bottle, and it's good!) We use them around the yard in places where we haven't set up drip irrigation yet, and they last for about a week. The globes are obviously prettier, though, so we use those in the house.

I supposed you'll need to recork the bottles and make a small hole in the cork? Or how else would a wine bottle work?

I asked my husband something similar when he first showed me the upside-down wine bottles in the dirt... isn't the hole too big? Doesn't the water all just drain out at once? He said no, you just have to press the wine bottle firmly into the dirt, so the dirt goes into the narrow part of the bottle and holds most of the water in.

I've seen people use 2 liter bottles this way.

FYI - Family Dollar often has the pretty glass Aqua Globes, or an indistinguishable knock off - for $1 each in their gardening aisle.

theadvicist

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #498 on: August 18, 2017, 03:38:35 AM »
For anyone in the UK, aquaglobe type things are on special at Aldi this week.

DeltaBond

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Re: Advice for making your home interior easier to clean and maintain
« Reply #499 on: August 21, 2017, 06:24:07 AM »
I've done the whole minimalism thing for the past few years, and our home is much easier to deal with now than before.  There are so many good tips on here, and I want to add a few.

We are starting to make end tables that just attach to the wall, with no legs, like a floating table... not so big that it can't stay up, but with no legs, it is easier to clean the floor.

We are installing sconce lights in all the rooms, where you can just flip a switch on the wall and not have cords all over the place collecting dust.  Even the bedrooms.

My husband cleaned the bathrooms this weekend... his way... and it took him 5 min and the tub was gleaming and the toilets had NO hard water stains.  I couldn't do this if I tried, not with anything.  He grinned and said he used his muriatic acid.  He got a jug of it at the hardware store for something else, and knew that it would work for the tub and toilets.

We have a car squeegie we use on windows, with water and dawn.

I also feel that my home doesn't have to be spotless every day of the year.  How clean does your home really NEED to be?  I mainly just don't want junk to look junky and get in my way. lol