Household Cleaning Tips

I'm forever running into little domestic cleaning problems and wish I had a handy resource for the easiest, cheapest and most convenient ways to solve them so I've decided to put together a list of some of the best one's I've picked up along the way. I'm sure i won't be able to remember them all to begin with so I will add to the list over time and if you have any requests or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to help. If the list starts getting a little cluttered after a while I'll break it up into subcategories but for the moment, here we go..........

• Stubborn stains on mugs/plates etc. - Use a small piece of wet oasis (the foam used for flower arranging) its soft but gritty and will remove the worst stains with just water and very little elbow grease. I've never used it on anything other than coffee stained mugs or plates but I'm sure it could be used to clean lots of other things also.
• How to was pillows and keep them fluffy - throw a couple of tennis balls into the washing machine and also into the dryer while washing/dying the pillows. As the washer/dryer spins the balls get thrown around inside the drum and constantly fluff the pillows never letting the filling settle and clump together.
• Cleaning the inside of your microwave - take a cup half filled with water, squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the cup, place the cup into the microwave and turn it on for 4/5 mins. When the microwave beeps remove the cup and wipe away the dirt with a damp cloth. Simple.
  
• Spilt cooking oil - if you've ever spilled a whole bottle of cooking oil you'll know its messy. The best way to deal with it is to cover the oil with salt. The salt absorbs all the oil, scrape up the alt using two pieces of cardboard then you have an easy mopping job to remove the remaining residue.
• Window Cleanig the cheap, streak free and eco-fiendly way. - Vinegar and old newspapers, believe it or not this will leave your windows cleaner than any commercially available cleaning product. Por some vinegar onto your old newspaper and clean your windows, its that easy. No streaks, no chemicals.