Saturday, October 11, 2008
Everyone has shortcuts… How to get from here to there. How to get the “stain du jour” out of your toddler’s favorite shirt. How to whip up a fab dessert in like 5 seconds.
I, however, have very few of those shortcuts. I’m not a great cook. I can’t find my way out of a paper bag. If you took one look at my kids, you’d know that, if it doesn’t come out with Shout and cussing, it isn’t coming out of their clothes.
There is one thing that I am good at, though. That, my friend, is cleaning. I am a borderline compulsive cleaner. In the spirit of “shortcuts,” I’ll fill you in on a few of my favorites that I have picked up. Many of these are recent, as I am now mommy to a 2 year old!
· If you are a parent to a little kid, or spend any time at all with little kids, you’ll see that their bath toys are NASTY after awhile. This is from my good friend, Erin. Put all of them in the washing machine. The rubber ducks and squeaker fish in my house get especially disgusting. They go into the washing machine, on hot, with about 1-2 cups of bleach, with the other soap-scum-covered ickiness. Presto! Happy ducks and fish, once again. Thanks, BoB!
· This one is on many websites. Does your husband have that talent of making the microwave gross? I hate spraying cleaner into it, because I always think it makes my food taste like chemicals. I add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate to a mug of water and microwave it for 3 minutes. **IT WILL BE HOT WHEN YOU PULL THE MUG OUT! BE CAREFUL!** Wipe down everything with a clean rag. Your food won’t smell/taste like chemicals.
· The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is the answer to all the scary crayon marks on your walls. Jack has recently discovered that crayons are not only tasty, but also fun to draw with. Sadly, he loves to draw on everything. A little warm water on your MCME, and you’re good to go. Just keep it away from the kids and pets, as the chemicals are not tasty.
If you don’t have kids, then you’re going to look at the previous few things and say, “so what?” If you have kids, you’re going to say, “Ah ha!” to at least one of those (I hope).
This post was written for The Parents Blogger Network, and sponsored by Ore-Ida. They have new “Steam and Mash Potatoes.” I might have to bust out my newly cleaned microwave and give those a try. I’m all about getting the end result without the hard work!
I, however, have very few of those shortcuts. I’m not a great cook. I can’t find my way out of a paper bag. If you took one look at my kids, you’d know that, if it doesn’t come out with Shout and cussing, it isn’t coming out of their clothes.
There is one thing that I am good at, though. That, my friend, is cleaning. I am a borderline compulsive cleaner. In the spirit of “shortcuts,” I’ll fill you in on a few of my favorites that I have picked up. Many of these are recent, as I am now mommy to a 2 year old!
· If you are a parent to a little kid, or spend any time at all with little kids, you’ll see that their bath toys are NASTY after awhile. This is from my good friend, Erin. Put all of them in the washing machine. The rubber ducks and squeaker fish in my house get especially disgusting. They go into the washing machine, on hot, with about 1-2 cups of bleach, with the other soap-scum-covered ickiness. Presto! Happy ducks and fish, once again. Thanks, BoB!
· This one is on many websites. Does your husband have that talent of making the microwave gross? I hate spraying cleaner into it, because I always think it makes my food taste like chemicals. I add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate to a mug of water and microwave it for 3 minutes. **IT WILL BE HOT WHEN YOU PULL THE MUG OUT! BE CAREFUL!** Wipe down everything with a clean rag. Your food won’t smell/taste like chemicals.
· The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is the answer to all the scary crayon marks on your walls. Jack has recently discovered that crayons are not only tasty, but also fun to draw with. Sadly, he loves to draw on everything. A little warm water on your MCME, and you’re good to go. Just keep it away from the kids and pets, as the chemicals are not tasty.
If you don’t have kids, then you’re going to look at the previous few things and say, “so what?” If you have kids, you’re going to say, “Ah ha!” to at least one of those (I hope).
This post was written for The Parents Blogger Network, and sponsored by Ore-Ida. They have new “Steam and Mash Potatoes.” I might have to bust out my newly cleaned microwave and give those a try. I’m all about getting the end result without the hard work!
