Hello there, I hope everyone had a great weekend! We mostly spent this weekend inside as the weather was so cold. But that did not stop us from tackling several home projects while we were stuck inside! I am super excited to share them with you once they are fully complete.

At the start of the new week, I like to begin my cleaning routine. As part of the cleaning and organization blog series for this month, I thought it would be useful to share some one my favorite cleaning tips and tricks. I have been following these for quite a while now and have found them to be truly quite useful and hope that you will too!

Keep a Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning can get to be a little overwhelming if you don't keep up with it.  I used to be one that waiting until everything got a little chaotic and messy before I would tackle the issue. But once I found this cleaning schedule, I knew it was something that I was going to have to implement so that I would be able to keep up with it with a few short daily tasks and not have to waste an entire day(or days) trying to do everything at once.  Make sure you check out this link from Good Housekeeping to get a complete list of the cleaning schedule. Try to hit as many on the list but don't stress if you are not able to get to all of them, simply make sure you start the following with those items so that way you can make sure they are at least tackled every couple of days.  

How to Deep Clean a Gas Stove

Do you hate to clean your gas stove? I sure you do! It is one of my most dreaded tasks and it is probably one that I should be doing a lot more often.  That is, until I found this tip from Courtenay from Creeklinehouse.com. Not only does she show you how to remove all the pieces from the stove so that you can ensure to clean every nook and cranny but also shows you the best way, in my opinion, to remove grease and streaks from the burners. Rubbing alcohol! I couldn't believe it when I read it because I had been struggling with this for so long so I immediately had to try it.  And it works! I am so happy that I found this post that I just had to share it with you all.  

How to Deep Clean your Kitchen Cabinets

If you have issues with greasy kitchen cabinets, this next tip is for you.  Debbie Williams from eHow.com shows you how to tackle cleaning the cabinets three different ways depending on the level of dirtiness. I have a gas stove and the cabinets on either side of the stove that always seem to get a small film of grease.  If left without cleaning, it can really get nasty and possibly damage your cabinets.  I have found that the strategy that Debbie lays out really works and is able to get the film of grease off easily without damaging the cabinet. YAY for a non greasy cabinet!

How to Clean your Microwave...the easy way!

Another appliance that is really not fun to clean is the microwave.  It always seems like it is going to be a simple task but it always takes me forever scrubbing old food splatter that has now caked on.  Cleaning it with lemon and water is the easiest way to clean the microwave.  I simply take a microwavable measuring cup, fill it about 1/2 cup of water and squeeze the juice of one lemon.  Pop it in the microwave and turn it on high for about 4-5 minutes, making sure the water boils.  Then let sit in the microwave for 4-5 minutes without opening the door.  This will allow for any food debris to soften.  Use a rag to wipe clean.  If you have stubborn spots, dip your rag in some of the lemon water and scrub the area until it wipes clean.  So easy and no harsh chemicals are used! If you are interested in learning more uses for cleaning with lemon around your home, check this post out!

Removing Hard Water Stains

Living in Florida, we struggle with hard water stains and they are a PAIN to get off.  This next tip from Ashley from Cuteasafox.com and it is so simple! If you have issues with hard water stains in your bathroom faucet, simply wrap the faucet with vinegar soaked paper towels for 30-60 minutes and watch it do its magic.  I can attest that this one works awesome and I try to do this at least once a week in our bathrooms to keep those hard water stains off!

Do you have any favorite tips and tricks to keep your home clean?  Leave me a comment below!