HERE IT IS - my **3** favorite handy-dandy household product discoveries of 2004 - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

MrsJim · 01-05-2005, 10:00 PM

(yeah like I need a parade or something.

)

This is just my list of the three household products (pretty much for cleaning which I don't get to do enough obviously...like my SISTER vacumns pretty much DAILY, but I'm lucky if I can vacumn once a week

! (See...I can't even SPELL the word!) so anyway, whatever makes it faster, easier and neater then that gets my vote...

In no particular order:

* The Swiffer Duster with the disposable fluffy paper head that everything sticks to (for the most part - sometimes I give it a little spritz of Pledge just to help out a bit...). About a year or two ago, I purchased the Swiffer floor cleaning thing - you know where you replace the soggy filth-laden disposable faux cloth and all the floor ICK goes with it...I'm happy with my pushbroom that I bought at Target about 6 years ago - I can just remove the mop head and toss it in the washer without having to touch all that ICK. But the Duster...man, that thing gets underneath the space between the DVD and the TV, shoot, it gets ALL those tiny spaces. and then you can throw it away without having to touch the ICK, since you just slide it off the plastic handle and into the trash. I liked the small one so much I just got the one with the retractable handle (which is great for nailing cobwebs in the ceiling) last week! (okay, that counts as TWO items...so I guess this list is the ***4*** most killer awesome household utensils or what have you...)

* The DISPOSABLE TOILET BRUSH!!!! Who here hates, LOATHES that nasty old toilet brush, even if it's in one of those fancy-schmancy plastic holders! (ME!!!!) So when I saw that the Comet disposable toilet brushes (there's a bunch of different brands out there) were on sale, I thought hey why not?

You clean and then you FLUSH THE DARN THING DOWN THE TOILET! Now, the brush is some cardboard with cleaners in it so it's not going to last TOO long, but it's enough to get the average toilet (or MY average toilet) clean...then you just push a button on the handle and VOILA! Gotta love it!

* Glad PRESS & SEAL wrap. Once you get used to how to tear it (it's a bit tricky - at least it was for me) this stuff was MADE for the microwave...it sticks and BETTER YET comes off 'cleaner' than plastic wrap. I just love this stuff!!

Anyone got any others to add...?

BTW this is just my personal opinion because I mean...how cool is a disposable toilet brush?!?

Jessie_777 · 01-10-2005, 01:34 PM

I have one to add

Dawn Power Dissolver. You spray it on any baked on mess and let it sit for like ten minutes and most of the time it wipes off

KandiceS · 01-10-2005, 01:52 PM

tilex mold and mildew

because we're renting and our landlord is a cheapskate there is no ventilation in our bathroom, and he used flat paint, so we've had a bit of a mold/ mildew problem in the past.

wow- you just have to spray it on and watch it disappear! no scrubbing. no wiping, nothing, spray and leave the room (it's mostly bleach though so don't wear anything nice and remove your bathmats before you spray- we found out the hard way) it lasts for a LONG time. We sprayed the entire bathroom in September 2004 and it's still clean- no mold/ mildew on our walls 4 months later! I love that stuff!!

and yes, the swiffer duster is on my list too!

kari_berry · 01-10-2005, 02:46 PM

LOVE the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

I buy a ton of them - and use them on just about everything that I can get it on! lol. I have recently found that they work wonders on my white tennis shoes.

Highly recommended!

aphil · 01-10-2005, 03:01 PM

I love the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser too! My son drew on the wall with orange crayon...and that sucker took it right off!!!

I am also a HUGE Swiffer product fan...

Another favorite of mine are the disposable dishwashing cloths with the dishwashing liquid already on them...Palmolive and Dawn both have them...they are especially great for cleaning caked on stuff or greasy pans-where you wouldn't want to wash anything else with it after getting it so filthy!

MrsJim · 01-10-2005, 06:07 PM

Aphil - you just reminded me of something else - I might have started using them prior to 2004 - those dishwasher tablets - you know with the premeasured dishwashing liquid or powder in them? I used to buy dishwasher liquid and I could never tell how much (or how little) was left in the bottle (I would have like 2 or 3 bottles turned upside down trying to get the last little bit out).

The only glitch with the tablets is that because of Jim

I can't buy the kind that you have to unwrap separately - he didn't know that they NEEDED to be unwrapped before you stuck 'em in the dishwasher and ran a whole load of wash with no detergent. I had half the (presumably) clean dishes unloaded before discovering the soggy (but intact) tablet.

needless to say I had to RELOAD and RERUN the whole load!!

Now does anyone have a good solution for my ANT problem? (no toxic substances - we have kitties...)

celticscryer · 01-10-2005, 09:01 PM

MrsJim, if you know how the little buggers are getting in, I have the solution for you (or, if they are just massing outside, this is your answer). Sadly, it's not very friendly (insect lover's turn away now!).

Liberally sprinkle cinnamon at the enterance where they sneak in, of if this is an outdoor problem, pour around the anthill and exposed areas where you see them.

Cinnamon is toxic to the ants and will, erm, well, burn their legs off and kill them.

(Told you it wasn't friendly!)

Jessie_777 · 01-11-2005, 04:42 AM

I'll have to remember that one Celtics

aphil · 01-11-2005, 09:00 AM

MrsJim-we don't have a dishwasher now...but at our apartment before we bought our house we did-and I LOVED the little dishwashing tablets. (Can't think of the name right off either...the liquid I used to much...and the powder got everywhere-those little tablets were perfect!

I am also a big fan of Scrubbing Bubbles flushable bathroom wipes! I pull one out-wipe down the sink and countertop, then wipe down the outside parts of the toilet that doesn't get the brush-and flush it away! WEEEE!

lucky · 01-11-2005, 09:25 AM

This isn't so much a product as it is a tip. We bought our second home last year and all of the toilets and sinks had hard water stains. It drove me CRAZY because they were super clean and still looked filthy. I tried every product out there for these types of stains and nothing worked. Then, someone suggested I use a pumice stone - the same kind you use for dry skin. It was like a magic eraser. Just turn the water off and flush so that you have easy access to the ring and rub those stain right off. Hardly any elbow grease was needed at all!

almostheaven · 01-11-2005, 09:53 AM

Love 409. 409 cuts through just about anything.

Hate Swiffer. Just can't stand it. Tried a Swiffer mop and it's like mopping with fish out of water. It just wants to flop all over the floor and never go where I'm trying to aim it, and then there's the changing of the pads....ick. The chemicals they use are good, but the delivery system stinks...IMHO.

Jessie_777 · 01-11-2005, 01:12 PM

Fantasik Oxypower...my bathtub was looking kinda dingy. Not even bleach was helping. I squirted it down with fantasik and I could see the dirt sliding right down the edge of the tub.

Clorox clean-up spray..It keeps my countertops white. It even seems to get rid of those juice stains. Plus it makes me feel better knowing it's disenfecting as well.

MrsJim · 01-12-2005, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almostheaven

Hate Swiffer. Just can't stand it. Tried a Swiffer mop and it's like mopping with fish out of water. It just wants to flop all over the floor and never go where I'm trying to aim it, and then there's the changing of the pads....ick. The chemicals they use are good, but the delivery system stinks...IMHO.

I didn't care for the Swiffer mop at ALL, for the same reasons...I just don't think it did a very good job cleaning. When wet mopping is concerned, I'm old fashioned - HOT water with some Pine-Sol or Spic & Span, lots of elbow grease and a 'rope head' mop (similar to the industrial kind).

But do try the Swiffer duster. MUCH better product IMO!

almostheaven · 01-12-2005, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJim

But do try the Swiffer duster. MUCH better product IMO!

You mean I'm supposed to dust???

aphil · 01-12-2005, 12:00 PM

My MIL is a great cook, but a not so great housekeeper, and we had to stay there overnight for Christmas in a spare room. The dust was so thick...I couldn't help but write "clean me" on teh vanity in the dust.