Stinky Bins
Pour bicarb into the bottom of your bin before lining with a garbage bag to absorb those nasty bin smells as well as to absorb what my DH (Dear Husband) calls “Kitchen Bin Juice” – those drips that stink to high heaven!

Stinky Drains
Sprinkle some bicarb soda down the drain, ensuring you try to get it on the sides of the pipe. Pour down some vinegar. This will cause a huge fizz, cleaning the drains and helping remove small blockages and killing bacteria. Leave the bicarb and vinegar to do its thing overnight. In the morning pour a few cups of boiling water down the drain to finish the job.

Dusting Tips
The best way to dust is to throw away the duster. Use a small attachment on your vacuum cleaner and suck the dust into the vacuum cleaner bag. A duster just spreads the dust around in the air and it will settle again in a few hours, which I personally think is a waste of time. It is also best to dust from top to bottom – why dust down the bottom first when it will be resprinkled with any air-born dust from up higher?

Tricky Items
Do you have hard to dust items in your home where the duster can’t get in there and get all the dust out? Take the object outside, and brush over with an old baby brush. The soft bristles can get into hard to dust places and remove dust easily

Dried / Fake Flowers
Take the arrangement outside, well away from any open doors and windows. You don’t want the dirt and dust floating right inside now. Get your hair-dryer and put the setting on cool. Then blast away that dust and fluff balls.

Air Conditioning Ducts / Heater Louvres
To easily remove dirt and dust from louvers without smearing and annoying sticky dust: vacuum your louvers first to get excess dust off, then with a wet cloth, squirt a mixture of 1/2 cheap shampoo and 1/2 water onto the cloth and wipe. This will remove easily dirt and dust that has stuck on because of moisture. To prevent this sort of build up dust louvers more regularly

Cobweb Removal
For easy cobweb removal, simply cover your broom brush with old stockings or socks. Run it around the ceiling and the cobwebs stick to the material instead of your broom or duster! Chuck the old stockings or socks in the wash for more use, or in the bin if they are beyond it.

Pet Hair
To remove pet hair from furniture it best to work from top to bottom. Vacuum excess hair up, then start rubbing from top to bottom using rubber gloves that have been slightly dampened. The hair should roll up and come straight off. The best way to keep pet hair off your furniture is to give your pets their own furniture to sleep on and train them to stay off yours.

Kitty Litter
To help combat a smelly kitty litter tray, sprinkle bicarb on the bottom of the tray before pouring in the litter.

Pet Urine
Pet urine can be removed by vinegar. Simply clean up the urine spot and then soak a cloth in 100% vinegar and wipe over the area. This is excellent to prevent pets from re-marking their territory. It works well indoors and outdoors.

The average desk has 400 times more bacterial than a toilet seat. Yummy!!! To keep the bacteria down to a minimum, wipe your desks over with disinfectant/vinegar, and clean your keyboard, mouse and computer screen regularly… Otherwise don’t rest any food on there!! Vacuum your keyboard with a small attachment to suck up dust, skin, fluff and hair. Wipe over with a cloth moistened with a hand sanitizer.

Stains
To remove the yellow cigarette stains on walls, mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 litre of warm water. The length of time the house had been smoked in will determine how many times you have to go over your walls.

Smells
If you have cigarette smells in your carpet the only way it will come out is by shampooing it. To make the job a bit easier, two days before shampooing sprinkle the carpets liberally with bicarb. Then the night before vacuum it all up. You may have to go over your rooms a few times with the carpet shampoo liquid to get all the smoke smell out, depending on how much nicotine is in the carpet.

Sticky Residue
To remove sticky stuff left behind by glue and other adhesives, rub with eucalyptus oil well or white spirits.
For stubborn sticky spots, loosen up the glue by blasting it with hot air from the hair dryer, and then proceed with the eucalyptus oil/white spirits.

Sticky Labels
These are my pet hate! WHY do companies insist on super-gluing their company name on their dishes, cups, baking dishes etc etc?? When they are ripped off, half the sticker and all of the glue remains. GRRR!!

Soak a cotton ball in eucalyptus oil and soak the sticker BEFORE you remove it. Then it comes off a great deal easier than without it.

Jar Labels
Soak the jars in boiling water for 20 minutes. Remove the paper that comes off the label, leaving behind the gluey gunk mess. Rub with eucalyptus oil and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Rub with a wet cloth and it comes off straight away. Make sure you wash the jar well again, otherwise your preserves may taste like eucalyptus oil! Not a good flavour in strawberry jam!

Chewing Gum on Shoes
Stepped in gum? Never mind. Simply scrape the excess gum off and then soak a cotton ball in eucalyptus oil. Hold it over the gum and then begin to wipe it off.

Blu Tac and Chewing Gum
Lay an icebrick or an iceblock on the gum/tac and leave for a little while. The cold will change the gum/tac from being soft and gooey to hard and brittle, allowing you to pick it up easier.

Mopping
To help remove stuck on grot off the tiles when mopping, have a scourer on the floor that you kick around with you. When you see find some stubborn dirt, use your feet and scrub at it with the scourer until it lifts. It saves your back and saves the effort of scrubbing at it with the mop.

Tip submitted by Kim, Alice Springs

Better Floor Cleaner
You can use baby shampoo as a floor cleaner! Put in a squirt with some hot water and vinegar and mop away. There is no sticky residue and the vinegar kills the germs. It cleans really well. I also loved the smell! It took me back to the days when I was bathing my baby boy. Good memories while mopping… that’s a plus!
You can also use regular shampoo to clean the floors, because it is designed to remove oils from the hair, it will lift dirt and grime off the floors.

Extra tip: Baby shampoo is also a good alternative to use when something says “wash in hot soapy water” – especially if you have more sensitive skin.

Under the Fridge
For easy cleaning under the fridge, dishwasher and other heavy appliances, cover the end of a ruler with an old sock or stocking and secure with an elastic band. Then run it under the appliance to brush out the dust bunnies and escapee crumbs etc. Then dip the tip in your mop water and wipe underneath. Saves time and your back!!

Marks
Whoops! Has someone left a black mark from their shoes on your floor? No sweat! Grab an eraser from your pencil case and begin to erase that mark away.

Cracked Lino
Can’t afford brand new lino? You know that germs are lurking in there and the mop can’t get to them. Simply soften a candle in the microwave on low and then push the wax firmly into the crack. Once it has cooled and hardened it has sealed and repaired the crack, and your mop will run straight over it — no problems.

Carpet Shampooing
Did you know that you can use wool wash in place of carpet shampoo? You sure can!! I buy a 1 litre bottle of lavender scented wool wash and clean my carpets with that. It’s important that you clean AND do a rinse (run the cleaner over with shampoo and water, then water with a little vinegar) otherwise you leave a residue, which can make your carpets get dirtier faster.

Skipper says: I have found this to be a cheaper alternative to carpet shampoo.

Carpet Spot Cleaning
You can spot clean with wool wash. Add a dash of it to a bowl of water. Dip a cloth in the bowl and then rub the stain until it disappears. Then in another bowl add 1/4 vinegar and 3/4 warm water, and pour a little over the stained area. Pour enough to wet it completely, without flooding the carpet! Place and old towel over the stained spot and stand on it to absorb excess water. Then rub the carpet until it’s just damp. Try and not walk on the carpet until it’s completely dry.

Skipper says: I just tested this method out and it works really well!! And it’s so cheap!! It barely cost me anything, and I will have nice clean carpets! Thanks Chelsea for submitting this great tip!

Rust Stains
Squeeze some lemon juice on the stain, leave for a minute and then dab at the stain to lift it. Repeat until stain is gone. Do not leave lemon juice on the carpet because it also acts as a bleach.

Nail Polish
Spilt bright red nail polish on the cream carpet? Get your nail polish remover and saturate a cotton ball with it. Blot at the spilt polish until most of it has lifted. Then with a warm water, dish detergent and vinegar mix and blot at the stain until it lifts. Get some warm water and blot at the spot until it’s clean. Act immediately to avoid the stain setting in.

Venetian Blinds
How painful venetian blinds are to clean!! But there is an easier way! Remove blinds from the windows and partially fill the bathtub with warm water and a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Carefully place the blinds in the warm water and allow them to soak for 10 minutes. Pull the blind out and onto an old towel. Carefully wipe each slat with a damp cloth to remove any stubborn dirt (especially kitchen blinds). Stand the blind on one end and allow it to drain for 15 minutes. Repeat for the other side.

To keep them clean, close your blinds so the slats face downwards and remove all the dust and fluffies using a duster. This job needs to be done twice a week.

Fabric Vertical Blinds
Try the same as for venetian blinds, but if that doesn’t work then you may have to lay them down on an old sheet on the lawn and individually scrub them with a soft brush and warm soapy water.

Wooden Blinds
Wooden blinds can’t be cleaned like ordinary venetian blinds because they can be ruined by water. Close the blinds and run the vacuum over it to remove any loose dust. Then use a non-waxy furniture polish or furniture oil to clean.

Curtain Cleaning
Curtain cleaning is something you can’t afford to neglect. They accumulate dirt and dust. Take your curtains down and feel the fabric. If it feels brittle then it has been damaged by the sun and will need replacing. Throw them away and don’t even bother washing them. Check the label on them to check for washing instructions and follow them. Some curtains can be thrown in the washing machine, but some can’t.

If the curtains are too big for the machine, pop them in the bath and wash them in there. Walk barefooted up and down over the curtains in the bath, as this will help to squeeze the dust out.

If you vacuum your curtains regularly, it’s not necessary to wash them as often.

Windows
Use yesterday’s newspaper to clean your windows instead of paper towels. It leaves a streak and fluff-free finish, so your windows are crystal clear. Better still, the newspaper can still be recycled afterwards.

Kid’s toys need cleaning frequently. They can hold dangerous germs and allergens which could make your child sick. If your child has been unwell with a viral or bacterial infection, it is recommended you clean the toys that they play with to prevent the spread of the illness.

Plastic Toys
Plastic toys can be cleaned by rinsing them in warm soapy water and then left to drain. Disinfect by soaking for an hour in Milton if your child has been unwell.
If the toy cannot be washed and it is dirty, it’s best to throw the toy out. Most good toys can be cleaned though, so hopefully this won’t be an issue for you.

Bath Toys
Bath toys are the most unhygienic toys you can possibly have, especially the ones that have holes in them, allowing water to sit inside. Mould and bacteria love warm sheltered little homes and will breed quite happily in there. Then when your kids squirt each other or squirt bath water into their mouth, sickness can begin. To clean the bath toy, fill your bathroom sink up with very hot water and a good amount of hospital grade disinfectant or household bleach. Fill the toys with the hot water and leave to soak for an hour. Then squirt the water out, refill and squirt out again. If black comes out, this is good! It’s mould. Keep filling up and squirting until the water comes out clean. Rinse in cold water and replace in the toy bag.

It’s best to teach your kids to empty out the water from these toys before hopping out of the bath to help with keeping them clean. This job ideally should be done often to minimise bacteria and mould build-up.

Special Bears
If your kids are anything like mine, they will have a mangy looking teddy tucked under their arms during playtime. Who is the baby, who is a comforting presence at night time, and something to cuddle when upset. My son’s bear’s nose is worn out from all the kissing! My daughter’s bear has been hugged so tightly, the stuffing is all in its feet!

But sooner or later, these special mates need a jolly good bath! Pop the bear(s) in a pillow case and close by tying with a rubber band. Put wool wash in the machine and on a gentle warm cycle and Ted is on an adventure. If Ted is not machine washable, then wipe him over with a damp cloth. It’s not advisable to give your children a bear that can’t be washed because of germs that can be harboured in the fur and filling.

Ted needs a bath every 6 months or so, or more if he starts to get that manky smell.

Dust Mites in Soft Toys
If your child is allergic to dust mites then you can help combat these pesky little blighters by freezing them in their tracks… literally. Wrap Ted in a plastic bag and pop him in the freezer for 4 or 5 hours. The deep freeze may make teddy feel cold, but it kills most dust mites. A good technique for sufferers of asthma!!

It’s so annoying finding rust spots on the sink and shower floor. Pour a little lemon juice on top of the stain and allow it to sit for a while. In my case, the lemon juice lifted it after 10 minutes.

Coloured Wax Stains
When the wax has cooled and excess wax has been removed, wipe the stain with methylated spirits.

Wax Spills on Candle Holders
If possible, pour boiling water over the wax and allow it to melt, and wipe off immediately.

Squirt a small amount of clear cheap shampoo (not moisturising) and rub through the bristles. Then rinse thoroughly. I used shampoo on the rollers as well as the paintbrushes when we painted my son’s room. Cleaned them a treat!! (This was acrylic paint) This method would also be good for kids paint brushes.

Moss is a hazardous product of damp conditions and little sunlight. It can be quite slippery and can cause accidents if not dealt with. Spray 100% white vinegar on moss on paths and driveways. Spray daily until the moss dies, then scrub away with a brush.

Pour eucalyptus oil over grease stains on your driveway and let sit for a little bit. Then attack the stain with detergent and warm water. Eucalyptus is a brilliant degreaser and dissolves stubborn grease stains.