Auntie’s Systems Flow

It’s me, your very own eccentric germ freak who doesn’t like clogged systems. As I close windows more often to keep warm air inside, I decided to share some household tips to keep your home fresher and operating more efficiently.

Send your cutting boards with your range fan cover on a trip through the dishwasher. Mineral oil your boards afterward.


Rather than use a toilet brush to scrape your porcelain bowl, use a long-handled dish brush that you can buy at Dollar Tree. The bristles are in the right places. Opt not to use the brush on dishes later.

After you run your toothbrush through the dishwasher, keep it cleaner by attaching a pinchy clothespin atop a glass and set the brush between the pin’s legs to dry it quicker and not lean it against a germy surface.

Put vinegar in the fabric softener and/or bleach dispensers in your washer when you start a load. Clothes end up softer.

Fill your washtub with the right amount of laundry detergent and hot water. Soak and thoroughly scrub pillows. Send pillows through your washer's spin cycle, then place on a drying rack or other vented surface in the sun, which acts as a natural antiseptic. Do a final hot fluff in the dryer.

Reuse plastic bottles to squirt bleach water and/or vinegar through a hole you’ve poked through its cover.

Wrap your yardstick with an old sock. Secure with a couple rubber bands. Moisten with some Murphy Oil Soap and water, and wipe under your fridge and range. Keep the yardstick under your fridge for an occasional dusting.


If your comforters are too large for your washer, take them outside and shake ferociously (a person on each side works well). Lay on a clean surface in the sun for the day—where birds won't perch above.

I use a lot of vinegar and don’t like to waste those jugs, so I carefully cut the top off, retaining the gallon jug’s handle. Uses:
• store newspaper and grocery bags
• scoop water with it
• fill with compostable leftovers
• place labeled electronics cords and cables inside one
• keep one under your sink to contain stuff that usually floats around down there
• carry in your yard and put plucked weeds in it
• fill with soapy water and wash your dog's feet after hiking [see auntieeartha.blogspot.com/2008/11/sniff-sniff.html]

When you drain your hot tub, use a canister-type shampooer to pull the last few gallons out.

Spray peppermint water around the house to keep the air perky.

Remember to snort your snout in private and thoroughly wash your paws.

Wear socks in the house to keep foot sweat off the carpet, presuming we don’t wear shoes in our houses.

Stay healthy, my dear friends!

(Dawn, now do you know why I’m not married? Plus I just shampooed my garage floor with Murphy Oil Soap and bleach. Smells yummyful!)