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The dust bunnies in the corners are starting to stare back at you, and you need to take a running jump onto your bed to make it over the mountain of dirty clothes.

You forget what color the floor in the kitchen was originally under all of the dirt, and you have gotten into the habit of eating dinner straight out of the pan because all of the plates have caked on grime.

You know that you need to clean the house, but you never get to the task because cleaning is so boring!

Cleaning the house is certainly not as exciting as horseback riding down the beach, skydiving, or going to a music festival, but it doesn’t have to be the most un-enjoyable thing in the world either.

If you can make cleaning a bit more fun and entertaining, perhaps you won’t put it off for so long?

Also, if you are having fun when cleaning you will work quicker and be less distracted, so that your house will be sparkling clean sooner and you can get on with the more exciting things in life.

Here are some tips for spicing up your cleaning routine:

• Set up an open garbage can or recycling bin across the room as a basketball hoop, and see how many scraps of junk mail, food wrappers, and other junk you can toss into can without missing. Try to break your own record!
• Break the task into small jobs and reward yourself after you finish each one. For example, if you wash all of the dishes on the kitchen counter you can enjoy a chocolate, or if you organize your entire closet you can go out to a movie.
• Try to beat the clock! Give yourself a deadline for finishing each task and try to get through it as efficiently as you can. The faster and more focused you are, the sooner you are finished and the more free time you have.
• Try a new cleaning product. For example, did you know that there are cleaning slippers with scrubbers on the bottom for washing the floor with your feet? These sorts of unusual and quirky cleaning implements will turn your household chores into a fun game.
• Crank up your favorite tunes and do a little dance as you clean. It will put you in a happy and productive mood.

Make cleaning more fun, and before you know it your home will look fantastic!

That wasn’t so bad, was it?

The weekend is finally here and you are exhausted from a busy week. You are looking forward to sleeping late and lounging around the house, enjoying your day off. However, the sink-full of dirty dishes is staring you in the face, the shower is in desperate need of a scrub, and the dust creatures under the couch are starting to growl at you. Oh well, looks like another Sunday will be spent cleaning the house again!

So many of us are so busy during the week that we leave our housework until our day off when we finally have time to commit several hours to giving the home a good clean. However, there is a clever trick to remember that will help you keep your home clean throughout the week and reduce the amount of time you have to spend scrubbing and dusting on your precious days off.

The Five Minute Tidy

The Five Minute Tidy is the idea of taking advantage of any small burst of time within your day, even if it is only five minutes, to clean or tidy something in your home. There are many moments throughout our day to day lives when we are waiting around for a minute or two, whether it is for our dinner to heat up in the microwave, for the computer to boot up, or between commercial breaks during our favourite show. If you can take advantage of these small moments, you can keep your house tidy through a serious of many short cleaning sessions rather than one big one on the weekend.

You can do a five minute tidy in any room, but here are some ideas for the kitchen and the bathroom, two of the most daunting rooms to clean!

Five Minute Kitchen Tidy Ideas

Waiting for the popcorn to pop? You can:

• Wipe down all counters and surfaces.
• Clean the food from the oven elements.
• Sweep the kitchen floor.
• Open up the fridge and throw away anything that has expired.
• Wash and put away a few dishes.

Five Minute Bathroom Tidy Ideas

Waiting for your bath to run? You can:

• Wipe the toothpaste stains from the sink.
• Clean the bathroom mirror.
• Organize the bathroom cabinet.
• Scrub the toilet.
• If you are taking a shower, you can even take a bottle of shower cleaner with you and give it a spray as you are getting out!

If you can get in the habit of doing a five minute tidy whenever you find a spare moment, when the weekend rolls around you will discover that you won’t need to spend your entire day off cleaning because everything will already be done!

What do you get when you dissolve sodium carbonate into a carbon-dioxide-rich solution?

The answer is a simple household product that can be not only used in your favorite cooking recipe but can also be used to clean many different things in your home. 

Using baking soda to clean will also save you a lot of money, because it is much less expensive than brand name cleaning products especially when purchased in bulk. It is also non-toxic and so is a lot healthier for your family and your environment. 

Here are five things that you can clean with simple and easy to use baking soda:

1. Freshen Up Your Smelly Dog

Has Fido gone for a walk in the rain and perfumed your entire house with that lovely “wet-dog” smell? Baking soda will fix it! Just sprinkle some baking soda on the dog’s fur and gently brush it out and the baking soda will quickly clean and absorb the odour. 

2. Make Your Car Shine

To keep your car looking sparkling and brand new, you can make a light paste with water and baking soda and apply it with a soft rag. With a circular motion, use the rag to gently remove bird droppings and bug stains. Let the mixture set for approximately five minutes, and then wipe it clean with a wet rag.  

3. Get Rid of Greasy Stains

Don’t throw away that shirt just because you got grease on it! Try creating a paste with baking soda and water and leaving it on the stain for a while before placing it in the wash. You can also try adding a bit of baking soda into the washing machine. 

4. Scrub Down Your Lawn Furniture

When summer rolls around and you want to bring out your patio table and chairs for a warm weather barbeque, you want them looking their best and not covered in grime from your shed. Mix ¼ cup into one quart of warm water, and use this mixture to scrub your outdoor furniture until it is ready for summer!

5. Give your Child’s Toys a Bath

Don’t forget to clean your child’s toys, as little ones often place them in their mouths making them an easy carrier for germs. Submerging them in a mixture of ¼ cup baking soda in one quart of warm water and then rinsing them with clear water will do the trick!

These are just five of the hundreds of ways that you can use baking soda to clean!

Do you know of any others you can add to the list?  Please share!

What do you get when you dissolve sodium carbonate into a carbon-dioxide-rich solution?

The answer is a simple household product that can be not only used in your favourite cooking recipe but can also be used to clean many different things in your home. 

Using baking soda to clean will also save you a lot of money, because it is much less expensive than brand name cleaning products especially when purchased in bulk. It is also non-toxic and so is a lot healthier for your family and your environment. 

Here are five things that you can clean with simple and easy to use baking soda:

1. Freshen Up Your Smelly Dog

Has Fido gone for a walk in the rain and perfumed your entire house with that lovely “wet-dog” smell? Baking soda will fix it! Just sprinkle some baking soda on the dog’s fur and gently brush it out and the baking soda will quickly clean and absorb the odour. 

2. Make Your Car Shine

To keep your car looking sparkling and brand new, you can make a light paste with water and baking soda and apply it with a soft rag. With a circular motion, use the rag to gently remove bird droppings and bug stains. Let the mixture set for approximately five minutes, and then wipe it clean with a wet rag.  

3. Get Rid of Greasy Stains

Don’t throw away that shirt just because you got grease on it! Try creating a paste with baking soda and water and leaving it on the stain for a while before placing it in the wash. You can also try adding a bit of baking soda into the washing machine. 

4. Scrub Down Your Lawn Furniture

When summer rolls around and you want to bring out your patio table and chairs for a warm weather barbeque, you want them looking their best and not covered in grime from your shed. Mix ¼ cup into one quart of warm water, and use this mixture to scrub your outdoor furniture until it is ready for summer!

5. Give your Child’s Toys a Bath

Don’t forget to clean your child’s toys, as little ones often place them in their mouths making them an easy carrier for germs. Submerging them in a mixture of ¼ cup baking soda in one quart of warm water and then rinsing them with clear water will do the trick!

These are just five of the hundreds of ways that you can use baking soda to clean!