Cleaning Hacks for the Holiday Season

Jingle All the Way

The holidays are such a fun time of year, but let’s be honest…they’re a lot of work. From getting out, putting up all the decorations and entertaining to cleaning up, shopping and wrapping, etc., it’s a wonder we can say it’s the most wonderful time of year. Yet, with all the sparkle and celebration, the holidays remain a time of year we all look forward to. 

The holidays are meant to be enjoyed with family and friends! Not cleaning and wearing ourselves out preparing, especially with cleaning products that can be dangerous to our health. When it’s all said and done, we won’t remember all of the hustle and bustle, anyway. What if there were a few hacks you could use to make things easier? That’s where we come in. The Lemi Shine team wants to arm you with a few cleaning hacks that will make your holiday season a bit healthier and brighter. So put away the rubber gloves and let’s get started!

Holiday Cleaning Hack #1: Give Yourself the Gift on Non-Toxic Cleaners

You won’t need rubber gloves if you use citric acid based cleaners that work quickly and effectively to clean your home from top to bottom. Lemi Shine has a full line of household cleaners that will make your home sparkly clean without harmful fumes or harsh chemicals. From your potty to your appliances and everything in between, you can use our citric extract-based cleaners to do the hard work for you.

Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s look at the research.

The Environmental Working Group says our indoor air may be 2-5X more polluted than the outdoor air. Why? You guessed it, household chemicals, many of which are found in conventional cleaning products we thought were okay because our parents used them or their manufacturers spent millions in advertising to convince us. We would say “read the labels” to prove our point, but you won’t find ingredients listed on most of these products. Unlike food labeling, household cleaning product manufacturers are not required to list their ingredients on their packaging. They can, however, make all sorts of claims about their effectiveness and being “green.” 

There’s actually a term for making green claims that can’t be backed up by science. It’s called “greenwashing.” According to the Corporate Finance Institute, “Greenwashing is where a firm spends time and money advertising and marketing that their goods or services are environmentally friendly (when in fact, they are not!).” They go on to cite a report from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing that found in the U.S. and Canada alone, 2,219 products were making 4,996 green claims and of them, over 98% were guilty of greenwashing. Remarkable.

The American Lung Association says, “Many cleaning supplies or household products can irritate the eyes and throat, or cause headaches and other health problems, including cancer. Some products release dangerous chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Other harmful ingredients include ammonia and bleach.”

Project TENDR, a group of leading scientists, health professionals and children’s and environmental advocates, found a link between chemicals found in household products and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and attention-deficit disorders and the Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics believes many of these chemicals are threatening healthy human reproduction.

We could go on and on, but it’s the holidays and we don’t want to be a Grinch. The point is, conventional cleaners can be detrimental to the health of your family, your pets, and your guests. Choose brands, like Lemi Shine, that offer safer ingredients that work just as well or better than conventional products that harness the power of ingredients like citric extracts, for instance. Need more reassurance on cleaning effectiveness? Citric gives you the great cleaning and is ALSO safer. Unsure of which ones to choose? Look for the Safer Choice label that means the EPA has thoroughly evaluated the product and approved it as a safer product.

Holiday Cleaning Hack #2: Take Care of Your Appliances 

Okay, tending to a household appliance during the holidays may sound like a little much, but stay with us for a minute. You invested in your appliances at one point to help you clean, right? If your appliances aren’t working as they should, however, that means you’re likely working more than you should. But if you take care of your appliances, they will clean better and have a longer life than if you neglect them.

We aren’t talking about servicing your appliances. No, this is much simpler. Just keep them clean. Really, it’s that easy! If you think about it, your dishwasher is supposed to make your dishes squeaky clean without leaving any residue, but if you don’t use the right detergent and rinse aid, you’re going to get spotty glasses that will then need to be hand wiped. No one has that kind of time.

But, if you use a citric extract-based detergent, rinse aid, and dishwasher cleaner that remove hard water deposits from your dishwasher’s spray arms, for instance, you’ll get a better clean. The softened water will also ensure your glasses are spotless. You do less because your dishwasher is doing more of what it was meant to do.

Same thing goes for your washing machine. 85% of us live in parts of the country where there is hard water. That just means there are minerals like calcium and limestone in the water. Those minerals don’t hurt us, but they aren’t good for our water-dependent appliances and they leave residue on the items we put into those appliances. The minerals also make our detergents less effective. Citric extract-based detergents, however, naturally soften hard water so the soap can clean better and keep the appliance in better condition. You’ll have cleaner items that require less of your time rewashing.

Holiday Cleaning Hack #3: Stock Up on Products

We’ll credit this one to Reader’s Digest as they list this as one of their top cleaning hacks. Yes, it sounds great to have one cleaner to do all the work for you, but if you use the right products for the job, you’ll spend less time and effort cleaning. We suggest purchasing a carry bin or basket where you can keep all of your cleaning products together and take them with you from room to room. Of course, you want to use products that are non-toxic. You don’t want to clean your home and pollute the air at the same time. Again, look for that Safer Choice label so you don’t have to worry about what’s in your cleaners. 

Here are the basics of what you will need for virtually any job:

• All-purpose surface cleaner. This one product will cover many surfaces throughout the house – especially kitchen and bathroom counters, tables, high chairs, and other surfaces. 
• Glass cleaner. Glass cleaners have a different formula than all-purpose or general cleaners to avoid streaks. Use it on glass, mirrors and chrome faucets. Customers rave about the fantastic, ammonia-free, fresh lemon scent! 
• Antibacterial cleaner. You’ll want this to tackle germ-collecting surfaces like toilet handles and seats, faucet handles, fridge handles, doorknobs and even kitchen counters.
• Toilet bowl cleaner. This goes without saying, but your toilet bowls need extra cleaning power, so use a product specifically made for the potty. 
• Shower and tile cleaner. Your showers and tubs get a lot of use and can quickly become gross with soap scum and hard water deposits. A shower and tile cleaner will contain the ingredients you need to easily get rid of it without requiring a lot of elbow grease.
• Mold and mildew remover. It’s a good idea to spray mold and mildew remover on your shower and tub grout and caulk lines on a regular basis to prevent or remove the growth before it becomes a bigger chore.

With your home holiday-ready, you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor without feeling like you really labored. By using safer products that do the heavy lifting for you, you will feel better about your clean, non-toxic home and can enjoy the holidays just a little more.