The very idea of greasy elbows is gross

Top shelf favorite cleaning products...though not necessarily the ones I use the most often, these are the ones that I tried and seriously thought, "Wow! I wish I'd known about this sooner." Feel free to add any of your favorites to the list. I may need them, like yesterday. And yes, I know that I'm admitting to the use and possession of any number of hazardous and environmentally unfriendly chemicals. My apologies are sincere but not deep enough (yet) to change my ways.

Seriously, the best shower cleaner out there. I had to transition from a life in the desert where nothing grows to the world where mold is...well, alive.


Our car gets cleaned infrequently enough that a simple vacuum job doesn't always cut it. This stuff resurrects the most matted and muddy spots imaginable. However, I don't really think I'd use it on my carpet indoors. For that I spray a tiny spritz of Windex, scrub out the spot, and rinse with a damp cloth.



When baby clothes get stained (when food goes in or out frankly) Clorox is too strong, a stain remover like Shout isn't strong enough...so I do the unthinkable and mix them. This is the only thing I ever mix, I'm not an idiot. Anyway, I spray the stain down with Shout until it's dripping, then with water running nearby I dab Clorox over only the stain with a Q-tip until the stain fades (but this takes like two seconds and then the second it disappears I rinse the whole thing so the fabric doesn't bleach or decay under the strength of the Clorox.) Works every time.


I went to a dermatologist in college lamenting the fact that my acne REFUSED to give up despite my battle against it with fire power like ProActive, MaryKay and Noxema. Even the prescription strength peroxide creams really made it worse. Anyway, he'd been a doctor for awhile and he patted me on the hand like I was an dimwit and told me I was trying too hard. Anyway, this was his recommended soap, to wash with once a day and only once a day. Eureka! (And so cheap.)


Now I'll admit that this doesn't get used as much as I'd like. But this stuff in amazing! The story goes like this...All her life a little girl had wanted shiny copper pots hanging in my, ahem, HER kitchen. So when she was married and had a little apartment of her own her husband bought her a fun little rack to hang her pots from. Then she realized that every time she cooked with one of her pots they ceased being happy shiny objects and became instead dark bottomed eyesores with no place to hide because they were hung in plain sight on that blasted rack! Then a little fairy at the specialty cooking store tipped the young wife off that this is the strongest cleanser out there. (Years of marks and smudges and burns just melt away, it's crazy stuff.) She and her pots lived happily ever after.


And does anyone else use these? I use them for everything and mark them with a Sharpie so I don't get the bathtub one in the baby clothes scrubbing basket or the kitchen one in the floor scrubbing bucket. Anyway, they are infinitely better than the traditional sponges (which are gross but sometimes you just need a sponge) and then won't scratch because the outside is fine plastic, like a loofah for your stuff.


I'm sure my sweet daughters will read this someday with smirks on their faces when they remember how truly NOT clean our home has been at certain points of our life, like right now. But we can always raise a spray bottle to toast the possibilities of the future right? And honestly, I'm seriously outnumbered.

ALWAYS put the markers away

We have had very few incidents of crayons on the walls or pen on the furniture. The secret? Keep all the writing utinsels separated and in one place at all times. It's worth the grumbling from Chris when he can't find a pen while he's on the phone to avoid fiascos like this one with five year old Will. Obviously though, even the best laid plans go awry at times. For his face he had to suffer through a homemade facial. For furniture I like to use Mr. Clean's magic eraser (that thing is a miracle worker.)

bath time

the total and utter catastrophe of the toddler to popsicle scenario modified here into a bath-extending, photo-opting, money-saving and childhood-memory building tradition. my boys, who largely hate taking baths as many boys do, jump at the chance to have their hair washed because they know there's some cherry goodness involved. and what better way to teach a one year old the finer points of summer refreshment than to practice all winter long in the privacy of the tub? after a few popsicle sticks have built up my engineer of a four year old sticks them to the walls of the bath with bar soap. he once drafted the outline of St. Paul's Cathedral. i'm kidding.