I’ve been a mom now for 11 years and there are four cleaning/household supplies I can’t live without: Dawn dish soap (blue), OxiClean, Magic Eraser, and Vinegar. I didn’t know about all of these when I first became a mom, but over the years I’ve learned how valuable they are.
Dawn dish soap (blue).
Dawn is pretty much a magic elixir that runs the gamut of uses.
1. First and foremost, I love this to…get this: clean dishes! It’s my favorite on tough cooked in crust and grease on pans.
2. It’s also really great to clean other stuff. When I have a stain on clothes or the couch, especially anything natural like dirt, soap or some sort of food, my go-to is dawn dish soap. I even use it on some carpet stains.
3. It a key ingredient in a fantastic bubble solution, especially for GIANT bubbles.
4. Recently, we learned it is a great soap to use on Poison Ivy. It soaks up the oils and removes it from the irritated skin.
OxiClean
If I can’t get a stain out with Dawn, then I bring in the big guns: OxiClean. My sister-in-law swears by the spray as a first line of attack and, then, if for some reason that doesn’t work, go for the soak with the powder. There just aren’t many stains that can withstand an OxiClean soak. Most of the spit-up stains we fought with OxiClean. Now, I’ll often throw a scoop in with a loan of laundry as a sidekick as Tide battles the sports uniform stains.
Magic Eraser
What is it that makes a Magic Eraser work? I mean, it seriously IS MAGIC!! I’ll scrub and scrub with a rag and then, finally get out a Magic Eraser…and violà! The mark comes right off.
I’m sort of embarrassed to say my favorite place to use the Magic Eraser is on the wall at the top of our stairs. Could there be a grosser place in the whole house? All the sudden one day, I can’t handle it anymore and I grab the Magic Eraser and go on the attack. The days and weeks of grubby hands smeared along the wall by the thousands of cretins that must live in my house without my knowledge leave an unimaginable amount of grime. Thankfully, in mere minutes, Magic Eraser saves the day and the wall is clean again.
I’d also complain once again that no one should ever put a white sink or counters in the kitchen. It’s THE. WORST. to keep clean but thankfully Magic Eraser saves my sanity and I’m able to keep our kitchen looking decent.
Vinegar
This item is a new one in my arsenal of must have cleaning supplies. It’s probably one of the most versatile and inexpensive items you need to have. My four favorite ways to use vinegar:
- Wood floors – mix this with water and mop. I LOVE how well this takes care of our lovely wood floors.
- One of my best friends, Sarah, really doesn’t like using chemicals on her lawn and she mixes up this environmentally-friendly weed killer using….Vinegar! Oh…and Dawn dish soap because…Dawn.
- Easter egg dying. Is there any other way to make the color vibrant and lovely?
- As a cleaner for toys (and other electronics) with leaky battery issues. Grab a small dish of vinegar and a Q-tip and clean off the rusty, gross parts where a battery has leaked (the battery terminals according to Bob Vila). Some of the grossest, clearly never-going-to-work toys have been saved by a little vinegar carefully used to clean the areas that are corroded.
WHAT ARE YOUR MUST HAVE CLEANING SUPPLIES?
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