Spring Cleaning!

Here is a tip for cleaning blinds.
Put warm water and a little liquid detergent in the bathtub.
Take down blinds one section at a time and dip and swish them around in the tub.
If they are grimy, use a soft brush to scrub lightly.
You can rinse them under a spray or shower, shake off excess water, and hang to drip dry.
Maybe do one room at a time, or one window a day until all are clean.
I put a little ammonia in the water to cut the dirt.

The easiest way ever to clean your oven is with water and baking soda. Simply wet the inside of your oven with water, then sprinkle on a good amount of baking soda. There should be enough water that the baking soda kinda clumps up a bit and looks soaked. Let that all sit in your oven overnight then simply wipe it off the next day with a clean rag. (it is THAT easy I swear!) Good luck!

Hi A.,

You are so smart to get started now! Moving day will be haere before you know it. Congrats on your new place!

As for the cleaning, if you really hate it, could you hire a money-hungry kid/teen/unemployed person to do it for you? I visited a church recently where the teens were being "auctioned " so to speak--people were bidding to get their services for yard work, babysitting, cleaning, etc and the money went for the youth mission trip coming up this summer.

Or maybe you could barter with another mom--she does your blinds and oven, you wax her floors, rototill her garden, or bake her 2 loaves of bread a week for a month, or.....the possibilities are endless!

Good luck

K. Z.

For the blinds, the vacuum attachment works well for dust and swiffer "blind cleaner fingers" also works well and could be wet if needed. Easy off for the oven. Tip for the future, there are silicon sheets that you can lay at the bottom of the oven (electric) which make cleanup a lot easier. Use vinegar and water around the seal. Enjoy your new house and family!

For heavy duty cleaning: I take the blinds down and put them in the bathtub, cover with water and a little Mr Clean. Wipe over them, rinse, take out and Stand up on a towel so the water drains. You still have to dry each slat to make sure there are no water marks, but you can do this after you hang them back up.

For the oven, vacuum out the crusty crumbs, use the spray on stuff and wipe off. Wear gloves and put newspaper down in front of it.

IMMACU-10!! Use it for EVERYTHING from floors to laundry and NO CHEMICALS!!! Enzyme based. The only thing else you'll need is some type of disinfectant. GREAT STUFF! Can't buy in stores, but depending on where you are, I should be able to hook you up with product if you want. Runs $20 for a quart bottle that you dilute based on what you're using it for. I only have to buy it about twice a year.

try blinds in the tub with dish washing powder let it soak for a couple hours and rinse off.

I soak my blinds in the tub with some cleaner and then use the shower to rinse the dirt away. the hose works too. as for your oven combine the two methods listed on the back of most oven cleaners, preheat the oven to whatever it says and then still let it sit over night it'll wipe right out the next day.

Hi A.! I always do my blinds outside on a day that has a few clouds and a little wind. I soak them with the hose and use a scrub brush and cleanser with some bleach in it (check for color fastness first. If the color will fade, just use any cleanser you feel comfortable with). Then I rinse both sides and hang to dry. After 15 minutes, I softly wipe them with an old towel (both sides) and let them finish drying outside. I agree with the idea of the heating of the oven and letting it sit overnight, but if the spills still don't come up, try an SOS pad and degreaser. Let the degreaster sit for about 10-15 minutes and the use the SOS pad sparingly, trying not to scratch the oven surface. This method works every time. Good Luck! C.

those swiffer duster things work wonders on the blinds. and you can find a generic form of them at most dollar stores if you want to save some money too.

Congrats on moving! What I did with my metal blinds was to take them down and put them in the bathtub with soapy water. Then I would scrub them and wrap them in a towel, take them outside and hang them on our fence. I would spray them with the hose and let them hang to dry. I think that a baby pool would work too to avoid moving wet soapy blinds through the house. Good luck!

hi A., like Martha said -- I clean mini blinds in the bathtub. I use a product from Shaklee called
Basic H. It's a concentrated green cleaner that has many uses. I use a product called Scour Off for my oven -- also green and safe on your skin, no fumes. you can check out my website at www.shaklee.net/dianeturner/getclean I've been a rep for Shaklee Corp for 20 yrs......Happy Mother's Day