White wine gets out red wine.

i use frozen peas for icepacks too!

Dr. Bronner's castille soap will clean just about ANYTHING. Put a few drops in a sinkful of hot water and you can dust, mop the floors, or clean just about anything with minimal scrubbing. (And the lavender version smells good -- very clean, not too sweet.)

Best household tip I ever got was from my German MIL "Kein leerlauf". It literally means no empty walking. So if I move between the kitchen and the living room or the living room up to the bedroom, I make sure I pick up one thing to put away, put back, throw out, etc., When I go to the bathroom, I quickly wash the basin, or do the loo. One thing only, otherwise you become obsessive.
Next time I'll do the shower.
That way there's no great pile for any one time. Well that's the theory, in practise in a mad household like ours there's always a pile of stuff but this keeps it just this side of sane!

Ha! My college roommate, who lived in Germany for a year, called that picky uppy, putty downy.

Stupid links. Picky uppy, putty downy.

Having to tiptoe over and around rubble develops one's dexterity and calf muscles.

I do picky uppy, putty downy all the time. Much more fun than having to tackle one room at a time.

I, too, use frozen peas for ice packs. One time, I used my mom's frozen peas for this, only to discover that they were expensive organic peas that she was going to eat. I felt bad, but I mean, who eats frozen peas? Plus, she said my sister did the same thing when she was visiting.

My tip: clean floors make everything else look/feel cleaner. Hit the dustmop often.

Putty Downy!
IT'S AWESOME!

my tip: adding a little (like half a teaspoon) of coffee to the tomato sauce for the pasta (whil it is still cooking of course) takes the acidic edge off of the tomato

clean floors make everything else look/feel cleaner

$$$$$$

so true. it's like magic.

but I mean, who eats frozen peas?

Me! I love eating frozen peas!

we use the frozen peas thing ALL THE TIME. most recently my roommate, who developed a nagging little muscle strain from yesterday's 65+ mile road bike ride (my bf kinda hammered him into the carpet, heh!).

my household tip: along with clean floors, clean glass makes everything sparkley and the whole place feel brighter. the easiest, cheapest and safest (for pets) way to clean glass or most shiny surfaces is using either white vinegar or straight rubbing alcohol + plain coffee filters. No lint, no smudges, no aerosols, no nasty chemicals, no fingerprints.

o yea and club soda gets out an awful lot of stains (old waiter tip).

I felt bad, but I mean, who eats frozen peas?

Peas are better frozen than fresh. 'S true. I can't think of any other vegetable that I would say that about.

Pour dish soap down your toilet to undo stubborn clogs (and invest in a nice plunger with a good flange).

Here are some tips for managing dust.

A good vacuum cleaner is only as good as the cleanliness of its collection system, so read the manual, and be sure you are cleaning it properly. A woman I know enough to help her with appliances from time to time was shocked when I showed her that her $400 "bagless" vacuum was only bagless because it had a tiny 2 inch diameter foam filter and a HEPA paper outlet filter, both of which were plugged tight after 2 years of use. She thought she'd just been trying to vacuum too fast, for months.

If you do have a vacuum cleaner that collects crud in a paper bag, spring for the thicker "hypoallergenic" variants that trap finer dust. You have to change them twice as frequently, and they cost more, but they do a much better job of trapping dust, so you don't have to dust as often. Dust after you vacuum, for the simple reason that vacuuming loads the air with dust.

Change the filters in your furnace/airconditioner seasonally. As with vacuums, better filters that trap more dust are good, even if you have to change them monthly, because it is easier and more efficient to change the central filter, than it is to dust several times a week.

Clothes dryers are the #1 source of airborne dust in the average home. If you have a clothes dryer that vents to the outside, check while it is running that the vent actually works. Dryers that don't vent to the outside have much finer lint filtration mechanisms, which need to be thoroughly cleaned before each new load.

Vinegar will clean lime scale (whatever you call it that you get from hard water) on most things, especially if you can soak it a bit (you can get the white build-up off the bottom of an electric kettle, for example by boiling some vinegar water).

Are you a bad shopper who sometimes forgets to buy vital items? I've washed dishes using vinegar and baking soda as my dish "soap" and I've washed clothes by grating regular bar soap on a cheese grater for detergent, and used baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for toothpaste. Heh. Having a box of Carnation instant milk in the back of your pantry can help in dire milk emergencies (what? doesn't everyone have dire milk emergencies?)

Those Swiffer Dusters work really well, and actually make it fun to dust. I don't want to love them, because you have to replace the disposable duster cloths, but they're so fast and easy and effective - way better than a feather duster, and they make you want to dust... if you're only five years old, like I am.

When doing the picky uppy putty downy, you'll make lots of trips to the kitchen... pick up a nice big glass of water for yourself while you're at it. Picky uppy putty downy can help keep you hydrated!

Taz super-secret awesome tip: You know what's great for cleaning the horrible awful greasy grimy gunk, like you get on top of your range hood, or on the top of a kitchen ceiling fan? The horrid stuff? Glycerin. Regular, full strength liquid glycerin. I just cleaned my stove hood with it today in about 10 or 15 minutes - just glycerin on paper towels, and so far I haven't tried anything that works so well at dissolving the gummy mess. Wipe up afterwards with a regular kitchen cleaner, or vinegar and water or something. I came up with this on my own, and don't know what others use for this, but all my regular commercial, heavy-duty serious cleaning products don't do squat for that stuff.

Have a wood screw that doesn't bite in anymore and spins? First easy fix is to clip a few toothpicks to the length of the hole, put them in the hole round the screw and it will hold. Second longer term fix is to drill into the hole with a 1/4 inch drill bit and plug the hole with a length of 1/4" dowel. Glue in with wood glue and when dry, screw into the dowel.

Squirt some liquid dish soap into your counter sponge (if you keep one by the sink like me), rinse and squeeze it out, leaving lots of soap still in it, and the sponge will never get sour.

A splash of mouthwash on the ol' toothbrush keeps that clean and fresh, too.

And if your shoes are smelly, leave dryer sheets in 'em overnight for a fresh step.

Wet tobacco takes the sting out of a beesting and plain vinegar does the same for sunburn.

Drink a pint of guinness as you nurse your baby in the evenings and everyone will be happier.

Lemon juice and cigarette ashes scrubbed in take white rings off furniture.

Never spill bongwater on a white shag rug but if you do you can dye the rest of it brown with tea.

- Always put citrus rinds down the garbage disposal, and feel free to empty the stale ice bucket in there at the same time.

- Getting a lot of dust on your Tv screen or monitor? Clean the screen, then rub it with a used dryer sheet before you throw the sheet away.

- Sit down to pee.

- Clean the shower while showering about once a week.

- Never use tea to hide a bongwater stain. Use more bongwater.

Lemon juice and cigarette ashes scrubbed in take white rings off furniture.

Never spill bongwater on a white shag rug but if you do you can dye the rest of it brown with tea.

*is imagining the morning after a big party in which these methods were discovered*

To open a sealed envelope: Put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, then slide a knife under the flap. It can then be resealed later.

Candles last longer when placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours before burning.

Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away. Take other half, slice, and add to your beer.

Unclog a drain: Drop three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run hot water.

I put citrus peels in the garbage disposal also.

If my microwave gets crudy, I cut a lemon in half, place in a bowl of water, and nuke for 4 minutes. The steam loosens dried bits, and the lemon freshens.

It's rare, but when I fry chicken or hamburgers on the stove top, I place a damp towel sprinkled with floor cleaner or all-puropose cleaner at the bottom of the stove, under my feet. It prevents a greasy floor. When the cooking is done, I do a quick shimmy around the kitchen with the towel.

I clean wood blinds with an old sock on the hand.

Pull your duvet down to the foot of the bed each morning and let the bed air a bit before you make the bed.

I wash my windows with a baking soda and ammonia diluted in a bucket of water. Follow up with a squeegee. So shiny!

Have a wood screw that doesn't bite in anymore and spins? First easy fix is to clip a few toothpicks to the length of the hole, put them in the hole round the screw and it will hold.
Matches will actually work better, because they are thicker and don't splinter apart as much. If you're desperate, a very tightly rolled piece of paper will also do the trick.

Frozen peas do make excellent ice packs and are regularly recommended by medical types as a cheap item that is re-useable, available in most homes and can be eaten afterwards! Frozen peas are a staple in my cooking and, as a bonus, taste great when eaten frozen straight from the packet!

Not only is the minimalist look tre chic, it reduces your housework time by an amazing degree - a huge amount of time is spent cleaning around things (not to mention cleaning the things themselves).

Squirt some liquid dish soap into your counter sponge (if you keep one by the sink like me), rinse and squeeze it out, leaving lots of soap still in it, and the sponge will never get sour.

Indeed. Cept I can't keep our sponge by the sink anymore, as our cat seems to think it's for him to run around the house with and then shred into a thousand little sponges.

Unclog a drain: Drop three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run hot water.

Really? Will this work for my tub, which is eternally clogged and slow-running?

I use generic Windex to clean up grease in the kitchen. I think it's the ammonia that cuts the grease, but having it in a squirt bottle makes it very convenient.