Tips and Tricks

http://www.pinkpistachio.com/green-cleaning/

Baking Soda: Deodorizes, scours, cleans
Distilled Vinegar: kills 99% bacteria, 80% viruses, cuts grease
Citrus: acidity is antibacterial and anti-fungal, bleaches and removes stains
Soap (plant based): cleans and cuts grease

Simple Recipes
All Purpose Cleaner: 1 T Baking soda; 1/2 t. dish soap, 2 T vinegar
Combine in a spray bottle. Let rest. Fill remainder with warm water. Add 1 T fresh orange/lemon juice.

All Purpose Cleaner (variation): 2 cups water, 1 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup lemon juice
Combine in spray bottle and shake.

Toilet: 1/4 c baking soda, 1 cup vinegar. Pour into toilet. Let sit 15 minutes. Scrub and flush.

Bath Tub/Shower: combine baking soda and a squirt of dish soap and vinegar to form a thick paste.
Use half a grapefruit, orange, lemon or sponge. Apply paste and clean in circular motion. Squeeze fruit slightly while cleaning and rinse with warm water.

Soap Scum
Heat up some vinegar (I used a cup of vinegar and nuked it for 2 minutes). Then pour it in your spray bottle, add an equal amount of blue Dawn (the website comments were pretty specific about getting the blue kind), shake gently, and voila!

Again, that's a one to one ratio of white vinegar to blue Dawn. I measured out a cup of each originally, but only used about half of my bottle. So next time I'll just do a half cup of each. The whole point is that the white vinegar is heated up, and while I haven't used it with it being room temperature and don't know if it'd work just as well, I'd rather just make it fresh each time. Especially if it's going to give me super clean results. ~http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/2012/01/dawn-vinegar-soap-scum-killa.html

Glass: combine 1/3 cup vinegar and 3/4 cup distilled water in a spray bottle. Spray surface and whip clean with newspaper in circular motion. Use a chalkboard eraser to remove streaks.
Tip: Clean windows on a cloudy day to prevent the sun from drying cleaner off of glass too quickly.

Wood Polish: Combine juice of 1 lemon, 1 T olive oil, 1 T water in a jar. Shake vigorously until oil is combined. Using a soft cloth apply polish to wood surface in a circular motion and rub thoroughly.

Stainless Steel: Mix 1 T cream of Tartar with a few drops of water. Rub into appliance/surface with a sponge. Wipe clean with damp paper towel.

Cut floor grease:
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon liquid dish soap
1/4 cup washing soda
2 gallons tap water, very warm
Directions:
1 .Place all the ingredients into a bucket and mix well until sudsy.
2 Mop the area with the solution.
3 Not recommended for waxed floors--it may make the wax gunky.

Shine Glassware and Aluminum Pots
sink
hottest water from the tap
dish soap
2 cups white vinegar
dish towel or 2
Directions
Put the stopper in the drain of your sink and add your items to be cleaned. If they all won’t fit don’t worry. You can use this same batch over and over as long as the water stays hot.
Add the vinegar and a few big squirts of dish soap into the sink while your hot water is running. Fill until your dishes are covered.
Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Take each one out one at a time. Using your dish towel rub until they start to shine:)

Shine sink with baby oil (apply on dry sink with paper towel)

Carpet Stains: Fill a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 handful of baking soda. Shake it up and spray on carpet stains, upholstery stains, and clothing stains

Homemade Disinfectant
Hydrogen Peroxide
10-15 drops of essential oil (optional--for scent)
Spray bottle (dark bottle that peroxide is sold in)

Room Deodorizer
Use a hammer and and a nail to poke holes in the lid of a small canning jar. (The heart is a nice touch, but clearly not necessary)

Fill the jar about 1/4 full with baking soda
Add 6-8 drops of lavender essential oil

Put lid on and place in any spot that could use some freshening. Every once in a while, give the jar a gentle shake to boost it's air freshening power.

Miracle Stain Remover
Make It: Fill your basin with warm water then add one scoop each of Oxi-Clean, Clorox 2 and powdered dishwashing detergent. Give it a swirl and mix until the powders dissolve and bubbles form. Place the stained garment into the mixture, being sure the stain is submerged. Let soak for about 2 hours.

For tougher stains, let it soak overnight. Remove the clothing to behold the miracle! Normally I will throw the garment into the wash, but you could simply rinse and dry it. This formula is also safe for colors as well.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/33-meticulous-cleaning-tricks-for-the-ocd-person-i

1. binder clip as a sponge stand
   
2. Microwave non-metallic sponge on high for 2 minutes to kill bacteria
   
3. Remember to clean your washing machine - http://www.somewhatsimple.com/how-to-clean-your-washing-machine/
   
4. A few drops of water and cream of tartar to clean appliances
   
5. how to clean the inside of the toaster
   
6. Clean sink drain with baking soda, toothbrush and citrus peels http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-yo-2-136771
   
7. a Q-tip dipped in white vinegar to clean window tracks
   
8. Iron over salt to clean iron surface http://www.fiberosity.com/?p=277
   
9. Clean mattress with lavender oil and baking soda http://www.aswegrowblog.com/2012/03/cleaning-your-mattress-naturally.html
   
10. Clean baseboards with dryer sheets
    
11. Stain removal = Dawn dish soap (Blue) and Hydrogen Peroxide. http://www.aswegrowblog.com/2012/03/unbeatable-secret-formula-to-cleaning.html
    
12. Use iron and old towel to remove stains from carpet
    
13. Dust before you vacuum
    
14. Clean candle with pantyhose
    
15. Clean lightbulbs...unscrew and wipe with microfiber cloth
    
16. Rub faucet with wax paper
    
17. Cut off a piece of magic eraser and drop in toilet to remove toilet ring (leave overnight)
    
18. Keep a Scotch Brite dishwand in the shower filled with 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 dishwashing detergent, to clean shower walls
    
19. Put two caps full of vanilla extract in a coffee cup, then place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. Within twenty minutes the whole house smells like Heaven
    
20. Use a bagel to clean paintings
    
21. Clean blinds with an old sock
    
22. Fill tub a couple inches with the hottest water possible before cleaning bathroom. Heating up the bathroom 10 degrees above the normal air temperature "doubles the effectiveness" of alkaline cleansers. It's a trick hotel staffers use. Let disinfectants sit for at least 5-7 minutes, and always rinse off cleaners to prevent build-up.
    
23. Cut a hole in a cloth napkin to make dust covers for coats and vests.
    
24. Electrical appliances are a pain to clean, and you can't just dunk the whole thing in soapy water. Prevent disgusting drips and messes by either covering the insides of the grill with foil, or wrapping the item you want to grill in foil.
    
25. Use WD-40 to erase scuff marks on floors.
    
26. To remove lime and iron from the dishwasher Pour a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid into the detergent cup of your dishwasher.
    
27. Hanging brooms and mops to prevent mildew and bending
    
28. Use a Solution of 1/2 Coconut Oil and 1/2 Baking Soda to Remove Sticky Residues
    

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Use rubberband to aid removing stripped screw

Heat masking tape to avoid tearing and many more tips at this site.

Bread tag to mark the end on masking tape

When you are done using the roll of tape, fold the last quarter inch down and stick it back onto itself. This will create a little tab that can easily be found so you don't have to waste time searching for the end of the tape.

Use finial to make a doorstop.