Tips & Tricks From Followers

Today I’m sharing a lot of the tips & tricks that I received from you lovely people in Instagram Stories!

Some of the links on my website are affiliate links. That simply means that if you purchase items through my links, I may receive a small commission from the company at no cost to you.

Obviously, you should do your own research before blindly following any of these suggestions! Consider this my disclaimer: I’m not responsible for anything that you choose to do with this information – just sharing the wealth of the community!

Cleaning Tips & Tricks

Kitchen Cleaning

Change the fridge water filter regularly (if you don’t, water could leak onto coils in the motor).

Simple Green cuts through grease. Zep brand products work as well (industrial grade).

Bar Keepers Friend removes oxidation residue from metal mixing bowls.

Orange Glow is amazing on Stainless Steel.

Wash the filter in your dishwasher! *Most, not all, are removable. Check your owner’s manual.

Pink stuff or Bar Keepers Friend: amazing for getting burned bits off of enameled cast iron.

To clean your microwave: microwave a wet sponge, a cup of vinegar, or a glass of water. Then wipe clean!

Use kosher salt to clean a cast iron skillet or grill pan.

Use a sharp razor blade on a glass stovetop.

After the dishwasher cycle is ended, open the dishwasher door, drape a terry kitchen towel over the door, then close it. The towel will absorb all steam and leave dishes totally dry.

Put microwave hood filters in the dishwasher to clean. *Wash them alone – you don’t want that grease on your dishes!

Dawn powerwash works well for baked-on junk or stains on counters. *Make sure you rinse.

Don’t wash your nonstick pans in the dishwasher – that breaks down the coating making it no longer nonstick.

Bar Keepers Friend is great for cleaning, sticker removal, brass polish, etc.

Lemon oil gets sticky stuff and fish smells off of hands and sink.

Dishwasher tabs clean pretty much everything!

Instead of using the soap dispenser, put your dishwasher tab in the bottom of the dishwasher (not near the coil).

Soft Scrub All Purpose cleaner removes any scratches and stains on white quartz countertops.

Vacuum your fridge coils regularly!

A few drops of olive oil rubbed into stainless steel appliances keep hand prints away. *Rub in the direction of the grain.

Bathroom Cleaning

To remove soap scum from your shower glass, use DRY paper towels – no liquid needed.

To remove hard water buildup from glass shower doors, use a scrubby, vinegar/water spray, and a dryer sheet.

General Cleaning

Lint rollers are the greatest thing for cleaning lampshades!

Use the main vacuum on your sofa instead of using a smaller handheld attachment.

Cut sponges in thirds and fourths so you can toss them as needed with less waste.

Vacuum your oven weekly.

Ammonia, alcohol, and vinegar are the best cleaning solution. Use equal parts of each. *Don’t mix with other cleaners.

Scrub glass windows with wadded-up foil.

Suck up a cup of washing powder when you start a new vacuum bag – your vacuum and room will smell amazing.

Hairspray dissolves marker stains from the tabletops. *As always, test in an inconspicuous place.

Bleach and powdered tide for the win – it will clean almost everything!

Use a pumice stone and water on porcelain stains.

Spray sunscreen can remove permanent marker marks from walls.

Follower Favorite Cleaning Follows

@brunchwithbabs

@gocleanco

@vanesa_amaro_

Laundry Tips & Tricks

General Laundry Tips

Pick one day a week to do laundry (choose the day you’re home the most). Do all of the laundry, then close the “laundromat” for the week!

Place all laundry in the washing machine in lingerie bags. This saves wear and tear and your clothes will last longer.

To steam wrinkled clothes, put a wet washcloth or towel in the dryer with the clothes – this turns your dryer into a steam dryer.

Saliva gets small blood stains out of white fabric.

Place clothes in the washing machine in a circle and not a big pile (donut with a hole in it as you would with an agitator) so they wash correctly.

Eco-Friendly Laundry Alternatives

Dryer balls instead of dryer sheets.

Vinegar instead of fabric softener (in a 1:1 ratio).

Baking soda and vinegar to soften and deep-clean laundry.

Laundry Machine Maintenance

Clean your washing machine!

Don’t use fabric softener.

Use no more than 2-3 tbsp of detergent.

Oven Cleaning Tips & Tricks

The whole collection of tips & tricks began when I shared that I was cleaning my oven (with the self-cleaning feature), and then was overwhelmed with DMs that said that this feature could ruin my oven. So let’s start there.

From what I learned: the self-cleaning feature on ovens heats to an extreme temperature for an extended amount of time. You guys have experienced this feature ruin your ovens by frying the electronic elements, oven coil, shattering the glass door, or ruining adjacent cabinets. On the other hand, many of you actually love the feature and use it semi-regularly with no negative side effects. The main thing that stood out to me was that these people generally have older ovens.

So use the feature at your own risk, but what other ways are there to clean an oven? What should we use? Here are the suggestions I got (and there are a LOT).

Prevention

Line the bottom of your oven with an oven bottom liner or foil *You can’t use these with all ovens – check your owner’s manual.

Vacuum the oven weekly (and especially before cleaning to remove loose crumbs).

Spray Easy Off overnight anytime there is a spot, then wipe well – don’t let it get gross. *Cover your floors and cabinets – Easy Off will ruin the finishes.

Don’t spray oven cleaner near a hot oven bulb – the oven needs to be completely cool.

Cleaning Methods

Create a baking soda and water paste, apply and let it sit overnight, then clean with lemon juice or vinegar. Wipe with water. Alternatively, use the baking soda paste, heat to 375 for an hour then wipe.
But this doesn’t work for everyone. Another follower wrote that you should never use the “baking soda” oven clean method – you’ll be picking chunks of it out of your oven forever

Use a Bissell steamshot to clean the oven.

Use a dishwashing tablet and warm water with a scrubby sponge.

Place soaked paper towels in the bottom and let sit for half an hour before cleaning the oven.

Try a pumice stone for tough stains.

Boil a pot of lemon and water (or just water) in the oven for a few minutes to let the oven get “steamy”, and then wipe.

Spray Easy Off and place saran wrap over everything. Let soak for 1 hour and then use an oven-safe scraper – it wipes right off!

Use Scrub Daddy Power Paste + Scrub Mommy (find here)

In a cold oven, place a bowl of ammonia on a rack overnight. Wipe clean in the morning.

Use Norwex oven cleaner (find here).

Cleaning Oven Racks

Take out the racks when using self-cleaner on the oven – they can warp.

Soak oven racks in hot hot water & dawn in the tub. Layer dryer sheets on top. You might need to scrub them if they’re really dirty. *Put a towel down on the bottom of the tub first or you’ll scratch it up.

You can also soak racks/grates in hot water with dishwasher tabs. *If you’re using cast iron, it needs to be re-seasoned after cleaning.

Cleaning Oven Door

You can remove the oven door to clean it – be careful with the glass!

Clean the door with glass stove top cleaner and use a razor blade to scrape stubborn spots (like this, but you don’t need to be fancy).

Use Pink Stuff for oven doors (find here)

Cooking Tips & Tricks

Making a recipe that calls for spices to be put in and then removed later? Put those spices in a tea ball for easy removal! No need to fish around for bay leaves!

Making French Toast? Toast your bread before dipping it in the egg mix!

Tin foil – the sides are different sheens for different uses: the dull side is non-stick.

Buy a whole chicken and boil it in a crockpot to make easy shredded chicken as well as chicken broth. *While we’re discussing chicken broth – freezing cubes of this in ice trays will allow you to have portions frozen neatly for whatever amount you want!

Use a pizza steel for making homemade pizza – it makes the best crust!

The flame on a gas stove should be blue. If it’s orange, make sure you don’t have a humidifier running.

We’ve all ruined our leftover containers with spaghetti stains – coat plastic bowls with a light coating of oil, and tomato sauce won’t stain them. P.S. These aren’t ugly at all if you want something pretty and functional!

Buy frozen garlic bread, toast it, and use it as sub sandwich bread for leftover pork roast.

To make thin cheese slices for sandwiches, use a vegetable peeler!

Cut a cake into squares not triangles to make more pieces.

Cooking with cast iron adds iron to your diet.

Put a bit of pineapple juice in fruit salad, and none of the fruits will turn color or change the taste.

Have wilting greens that you can’t eat fast enough? Toss them in the freezer. Once frozen, crush them and add them to soup/pasta/smoothies/etc.

Need to store half of an avocado? Put it in water in the fridge.

Buy rock-hard avocados, then put them next to bananas for 24 hours. They’ll be perfectly ripe! You can store them in the refrigerator for four weeks.

Life Tips & Tricks

Eat cheese. Queso to be specific. Cheese = endorphins

Coconut oil will remove bandaids on kids – it makes them slide right off.

It’s 5:00 somewhere.

Fill up the gas tank of your car only halfway as it takes more fuel to move a car with the extra weight of a full gas tank.

Sleep in your gym clothes so that you’re ready immediately in the morning.

Keep a bottle of champagne in the cupboard for celebrating!

Who wants to wake up feeling groggy? Use a sleep calculator when setting your alarm so you wake up at the right point of your sleep cycle!

We’ve all been duped – make sure to verify tips with manufacturers/experts before trusting TikTok or randos!

Make the most of your wax melts – put the wax warmer in the freezer and the wax will pop out.

Always take the nap.

Keep your car clean(ish) and organized. If you have an accident, everything can become a projectile. And also everyone will see your ish.

Gumption is honestly the best.

Tired of hearing microwave sounds? Hold down the #2 on your microwave and it will silence the beeps.

DIY Tips & Tricks

To remove wallpaper, spray with diluted fabric softener.

To get latex paint off of fabric, try aerosol hairspray!

Use Pink Stuff to remove the leftover grout from tiles.

Organization Tips & Tricks

Keep your socks in a bucket wherever you keep your shoes! I’ve seen this work really well – especially if your bedrooms are on a 2nd floor, or if you have small kids!

Fold your fitted and top sheets into the matching pillowcases so your sets stay together – it makes a neat little packet!

Put baskets in your pull-out drawers to keep things from falling all over the place.

The fake drawers underneath your sink can be made functional with a kit (like this one) – and then it’s perfect storage for the not-so-pretty kitchen item!

Make a paste of oil and baking soda to remove glue from labels on glass jars.

Get drawer organizers for your kitchen drawers – life-changing.

Put the same type of silverware together in the dishwasher – it makes it faster to unload!

Pet Tips & Tricks

This tip falls under both pets and home maintenance: If you have a large dog, bathe them outside during the summer! That way they aren’t shedding in the bathtub (hair + drain = bad).

If your pup had a stinky situation with a skunk, take them outside. Coat them with baking soda. Brush it out, repeat, then wet the pup down and use blue dawn.

Did You Know?

The number on your toaster is time – not toasty-ness level!

Most newer dishwashers have an adjustable top rack that moves up and down.

The bottom drawer underneath your oven is a warming drawer – not storage!

The End

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