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Hello everyone!

I haven't seen one of these around here so I thought I'd start one up. I was doing laundry yesterday and had the tedious task of dealing with mass amount of dog/cat hair on my clothes. Where the dryer would normally take care of this, these clothes were hung up outside to dry. I ended up spending a couple of hours going over them with a lint brush (oh yay spring!).

I recall reading an online blog post about a 50s womans typical day. It was listed simply and one thing really stuck with me...

  • When tidying up messes around the home, grab a laundry basket and go room to room gathering what doesn't belong and then putting all of the items back to their rightful place. I like this as it makes it seem simpler and easier to handle. Less tedious.

Please share any home keeping tips (LPT!) you have!

^^^And ^^^if ^^^anyone ^^^knows ^^^of ^^^the ^^^blog ^^^post ^^^I'm ^^^talking ^^^about ^^^please ^^^let ^^^me ^^^know!


[–]Ineverforgetmytowel 6 points6 points [recovered] | Copy Link

Turn laundry day into a race against the clock. See how much food you can prep for the week, rooms you can tidy, chores you get done before the clock runs out and it's time to put the clothes in the dryer.

If you're like me and always want to be absorbing content, put on a podcast or audiobook while you work/clean-- cleaning time becomes self-care/me time!

When going from room to room, bring at least one thing with you that needs to go that way too, ex. On your way in the door, bring along the coat that was flipped over a chair and hang it up, or on your way from the bedroom to the kitchen, bring along and wrappers that need to be thrown out or water glasses that could use washing.

[–]TempestTcup 3 points3 points [recovered] | Copy Link

put on a podcast or audiobook while you work/clean

Or loud high-energy music!

We do what we call 3 Minute Miracles: jump up, set the egg timer, dash around like a mad person, and clean a much as possible in 3 minutes. Also works for the duration of commercial time on TV, etc.

[–]Ineverforgetmytowel 8 points8 points [recovered] | Copy Link

I've seen people make morning playlists that play for exactly how much time they need to get ready (so you know it's time to get out of the shower when Beyoncé starts blasting). It could be fun to have a similar cleaning playlist since most songs run in the 3 minute range give or take!

[–]jade_cat1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

That is such a clever idea! Never thought of it but might definitely try it out!

[–]SleepingBeautyWokeUpMid 30s, Married 8 Years, Together 115 points6 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

SHH: Every time you leave a room, take a moment to look around and see if there is anything in there that doesn't belong. Cup that should be in the dishwasher? Stack of magazines on the table that should be on a shelf? Etc. If you see anything, grab it as you are leaving and take it back to its proper place. Doing this has really helped me to get clutter in hand!

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Yup, never leave the room empty handed! :) Great SHH Sleeping Beauty!

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

SHH: Run the dishwasher as you're headed to bed so it's fresh in the morning :) (or in my case - always forget and go to unload in the morning and notice the start light blinking and say eff it and start it as you leave for work)

SHH: Make a dinner of leftovers on trash night so you can empty the fridge before taking the trash out

[–]Kittenkajira2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I like to empty and clean the fridge just before going to the store. It feels great to make room for all the things I'm going to buy and make.

[–]TempestTcup 3 points3 points [recovered] | Copy Link

I was doing laundry yesterday and had the tedious task of dealing with mass amount of dog/cat hair on my clothes. Where the dryer would normally take care of this, these clothes were hung up outside to dry.

After drying them outside, could you pop them in the dryer for a couple of minutes with a dryer sheet (or something anti-static) to get the hair off? Or would that defeat the purpose of air-drying?

[–]Kittenkajira2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I recently learned a tip for pet hair - while the garment is wet, put on latex or rubber gloves and rub over the item. The hair comes right off onto your gloves!

[–]Kittenkajira1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I learned the laundry basket trick years ago from The Fly Lady, so you may have read it there! Now I do the same technique but without the basket. When I was first teaching my fiancee how to organize things, I showed him that trick as well! It's such a great way to tidy up and make sure everything has a home.

Anyone know of cleaning rags/towels that will actually absorb liquids? I have a mix of old and new, and all of them seem to spread water around rather than picking it up!

[–]MrsLabRat2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Anyone know of cleaning rags/towels that will actually absorb liquids? I have a mix of old and new, and all of them seem to spread water around rather than picking it up!

Washing such items with fabric softener can decrease absorbency. I run a separate softener-free load with those and they stay absorbent compared to a few years ago when I didn't do that (some white vinegar if you have hard water can help make sure all the soap rinses out properly, which can also help). I have a stash of microfiber cloths and those industrial shop rags. Sometimes I'll use an old t-shirt, but old shirts are usually kept for projects (turned into t-shirt yarn), or as kids' smocks for messy projects.

You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.

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