Genius Hacks for Spring Cleaning
You can’t put it off much longer – the dreaded spring clean is happening all over America with people brandishing mops and squeegees, scrubbing with bubbles and grime removers. It’s time! And to make the task a tiny bit easier, here are a few vodka, baking soda and high-rated product suggestions to hack your way to squeaky, smell-good clean!
Vodka Rocks!
We don’t mean on-the-rocks, we mean with its high alcohol content, and lack of smell — vodka rocks as a disinfecting cleaner. Since you’re not tasting it, just grab the cheap stuff on the bottom-shelf of the liquor store and use it for these cleaning hacks from Taste of Home.
Linen spray: Mix a half-cup of vodka, one-and-a-half cups of water and about 30 drops of your favorite essential oil into a spray bottle. Spritz your bed linens or your closets when things need freshening up.
Disinfect the mattress: Strip the sheets and pour a shot or two of vodka into a spray bottle and spray your mattress. This is great for the guest room between house guests, or on your own mattress every few months.
Remove sweaty scents: Underarm odors on shirts will be vaporized by vodka. Fill a spray bottle with four-parts water to one-part vodka; spray both sides of the underarm areas, and let sit overnight — then throw it in the washing machine. This also works on dry-clean-only clothes between trips to the cleaners.
Wash away mildew: If you’ve ever left a load of laundry in the washer and then remember once it’s mildewed, you know how hard it is to get rid of THAT aroma. Just pour a half-cup of vodka into the washer and run it again—the smell will be gone!
Baking Soda – No Baking Required
Baking soda can absorb odors. Not all odors – it depends on the source — but it does neutralize acidic compounds very easily.
Fabric-covered furniture: Put some baking soda in a salt shaker and sprinkle it on the furniture you want to freshen up. Give it time to neutralize as many odor-causing particles as possible. After an hour or so (for really bad smells, leave the baking soda on overnight) vacuum it up. This miracle powder will absorb stinky smells and freshen up most fabrics.
Smelly Fingers: Been chopping something overpowering? The smell of garlic or fish can linger on your fingers long after the food is barely a memory. To avoid smelly fingers, scrub your wet hands with baking soda (as if it were soap), then rinse in warm water. Your hands will smell fresh (and feel softer, too). 
Burned Pots: If you’ve ever left something on the stove until your nose told you it was time to turn the burner off – you likely ended up with a blackened pot. Want your pot back? You can salvage it by pouring half-cup of baking soda in the pan and filling it a quarter of the way with water. Bring it to a boil and then let it sit overnight. By morning you’ll be able to remove any black remnants with ease.
For more amazing uses for baking soda, check out the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s tips here.
Best-Reviewed Cleaning Products
You’ll see the usual suspects on this Readers Digest list of best-reviewed cleaning products from Amazon, but we found a few obscure and magical items you may not have tried.
Pet Carpet Cleaner: Tackle stains with the Hoover PowerDash Complete Carpet Cleaner that features twice the cleaning power of the leading lightweight carpet cleaner. The “power-spin” pet brush cleans high-traffic areas, while the antimicrobial protection keeps the brush free from odors and bacteria.
Microfiber Mop Slippers: Perfect for wood and tile floors, these microfiber slippers make dust-mopping your floors as easy as walking around your house! The fluffy “fingers” on the soles of these slippers pick up pet hair, dust bunnies and dirt.
Spankin’ Clean in Crystal Valley
One of the best things about moving into a brand new home in the master-planned community of Crystal Valley, is being surrounded by nature, inviting a bit of it into your own front and backyards! Explore all the beautiful models and move-in ready homes from Richmond American Homes, Kauffman Homes and D.R. Horton – ranch and two-story designs, priced from the $300s. You’ll find the nearby amenities plus nearby shopping, entertainment and recreation, just about everything you need.
