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The Queen of Hacks reveals her top tips to cut corners and still have a sparkling home - from how to dry your clothes faster to the best way to remove stains
Have you just got back from holiday to a house so messy you already feel like you need another break? There’s a pile of laundry bigger than Everest, flies have invaded your kitchen and you don’t yet have the willpower to investigate the strange smell coming from your fridge. It’s all quite overwhelming and, suddenly, that sun lounger feels a million miles away.
Well, you need a speedy post-holiday reset and I’m here to help. For three years, I’ve been sharing my cleaning hacks to my two million social media followers, helping them to make their homes clean, tidy and organised in the least amount of time.
I’ve always been a bit of a clean-freak. I’m that annoying person chasing after my guests to put down coasters and wipe tables. I am the Monica (from Friends) in my group of chums and have been known to greet guests at the front door with a mop in my hand.
That doesn’t mean I’ve always found cleaning enjoyable (though I do love mopping floors), nor that I’ve always found the time to do it. Before I became a home hacks and cleaning influencer, I worked in the NHS and time was in very short supply. I didn’t have the hours – or the energy – to spend cleaning my home.
So, I decided to learn tips and tricks to get on top of the mess quickly, efficiently, and with the best possible results. And you know what? It worked. My home is now my happy, tidy, clean place.
My aim is to show you how to make your home into a beautiful oasis – a place so tranquil, you almost feel like you’re still on holiday - in the shortest time possible, so you can focus on living life, and maybe even booking that next holiday.
Tanya Mukendi, the Queen of Hacks, used to work for the NHS and so knows how to make the most of her time to keep her house spotless
Loving the laundry
The post-unpacking laundry pile can feel like a marathon to sort through – not to mention those mystery stains that have appeared on your children’s clothes (ice cream? Sun cream? Who knows!) But with my laundry tips, you can tackle it speedily, effectively and, dare I say, enjoyably.
How to Brighten Yellowed Clothes
Over time, white fabrics can lose their brightness and become discoloured, yellow, dingy or dull, particularly if you’ve been in a hot country and sweating a little more than you’d like.
But it’s easy to brighten up your whites by using lemon juice as a natural laundry whitener and freshener. Add 250ml (one cup) of lemon juice to the detergent compartment in your washing machine along with your detergent and wash as usual. For an extra brightening boost, make the most of the summer while you can and hang your laundry in the sun for natural bleaching.
My mum’s miracle stain remover
I don’t know about you, but I always come back from holiday with stains on my clothes – sorbet dribble (check), after-sun spillage (check) - but I’ve got the perfect solution to easily get rid of any stain – even the tough ones such as grass, blood, grease, food and armpit stains. I’ve been using this recipe for a while now, and it’s a game-changer.
Ingredients:
150g (three-quarters of a cup) baking soda
60ml (one-quarter of a cup) washing-up liquid
60ml (one-quarter of a cup) hydrogen peroxide (you can find this in the first aid or cleaning supplies section of the pharmacy or supermarket – wear gloves when you’re handling it and keep it away from pets and children).
Method: Mix the baking soda, washing-up liquid and hydrogen peroxide in a small glass jar (the mixture should be thick).
Apply a small amount of directly to the stained area of the clothes, and using your fingers or an old toothbrush, work the solution into the fabric. Let it sit for ten minutes before washing the garment as you normally would. Store the solution in a dark cabinet or an opaque, light-excluding container because hydrogen peroxide loses effectiveness when exposed to light.
Why not try adding vodka to your washes to naturally eliminate odours that cling to clothes?
Freshen clothes with vodka
Did you know that vodka works as a natural deodoriser? The alcohol in it helps to eliminate odours by breaking down the bacteria that causes them. You can keep a spray bottle filled with affordable vodka and use it to freshen up your clothes before cleaning to make your washes as effective as possible.
Dry clothes faster with a towel
If you’ve got millions of loads to put on, you don’t want to be waiting forever for them to dry. To speed up the drying process, add a clean, dry towel to the dryer with your wet clothes.
The towel will absorb some of the moisture and help circulate the hot air, resulting in faster and more efficient drying.
Keep trainers crease-free
After clocking up 30,000 steps a day on that sight-seeing holiday that was supposed to be relaxing, your trainers may be looking a little worse for wear.
To eliminate creases and wrinkles from the toe of your trainers, stuff them with newspaper or old socks from the heel to the toe to help maintain their shape. Then lay a damp towel or cloth over the crease and iron it using the lowest temperature setting, checking the crease at intervals to avoid damaging the shoe.
Once the crease is gone, stop ironing but keep the shoes stuffed until they cool.
But don’t do this to suede trainers or shoes. To clean suede, start with a dry toothbrush and gently brush away any dirt or grit from the surface of the shoe. Follow up with a rubber eraser and work back and forth on any marks. For stubborn stains, use a clean, dry cloth dipped lightly in white vinegar or rubbing alcohol to work them out.
Wash pillows without de-puffing them
Don’t you love hotel pillows: clean, crisp and oh so fluffy. Well, with my cleaning tips you can make your own pillows feel five stars.
To keep the washing machine balanced and your pillows fluffy, it’s best to wash them in pairs.
Use a delicate cycle and normal laundry detergent, adding white vinegar to the detergent drawer to help deodorise and freshen. After washing, air-dry pillows or put them in the dryer with a couple of tennis balls covered in old socks. These will stop your pillows from clumping unevenly and keep them fluffy and comfortable.
Exfoliate your laundry
Who doesn’t love hotel sheets, towels and robes? And I have an easy trick to make your products at home feel just as soft (if you didn’t sneak the hotel bathrobe in your suitcase that is).
Over time, these items tend to accumulate residue from detergent, fabric softener, minerals in hard water and body oils. This build-up can cause them to look dull and fade.
‘Laundry stripping’ is like exfoliation for your clothes. It can also help lift stubborn stains and brighten fabrics, making them look like new again.
Start by sorting your laundry according to colour and fabric type.
Then fill a large bucket or bathtub with hot water, 300g (one-and-a-quarter cups) of soda crystals (get them from any supermarket) and 600g (two-and-a-half cups) of laundry powder. Stir the mixture until the powders are dissolved.
Add your laundry to the bucket or bathtub and make sure they are fully submerged in the water. Let them soak for several hours or overnight.
After soaking, drain the water and rinse your clothes thoroughly with clean water. During the laundry-stripping process, the water often turns dark or murky, revealing what has been lurking in your linens and other ‘clean’ items. It’s both a little gross and oddly satisfying.
Next, wash everything in the washing machine with 125ml (half-a-cup) of white vinegar. This will help remove any remaining residue and brighten them. Dry as usual and enjoy the fresh, clean feeling of your hotel-standard laundry.
How to pimp your fridge
You want your fridge to be clean and fresh and to instantly banish any odours emanating from those chicken breasts you forgot to throw away before you went to the airport. It’s tempting to grab the best-smelling kitchen cleaner you can find and spray it all over your fridge until it smells like lemons or strawberries or whatever your favourite scent is.
It can be tempting to buy bottled products when removing the stink of an old fridge, but these options often taint fresh food that later gets stored within
But that’s a big no. I had to learn the hard way never to do this. Once, I cleaned my fridge using a commercial cleaner, and my food tasted terrible because it was contaminated with chemicals. It was a miracle I didn’t get sick.
Avoid chemicals altogether with my completely safe, home-made fridge spray.
Ingredients:
60ml (one-quarter of a cup) vinegar
170ml (three-quarters of a cup) warm water
One tablespoon of vanilla extract
Method: Pour the vinegar, warm water and vanilla extract into a 250ml glass spray bottle, give it a good shake and it’s ready to go. The best part? The spray is made from all-natural ingredients that you may already have in your cupboard.
And to truly banish any odours, use a simmer pot
To make the kitchen smell lovely, and rid it of any lingering smells, try a simmer pot. Fill a saucepan with 500ml (two cups) of water and add your favourite spices, herbs and fruit, such as sliced oranges, apples, ginger, cloves, cranberries, rosemary, vanilla and more. Bring the ingredients to the boil, then reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer to fill your home with a beautiful aroma. Keep an eye on it and add water as needed.
It’s a great habit to have a simmer pot on a few times a week after cooking. Get creative with the ingredients and have fun with it. Here is one of my favourite simmer pot ‘recipes’:
Ingredients:
500ml (two cups) water
Peel of one lemon (or one sliced lemon)
Six sprigs of dried or fresh lavender
Two sprigs of rosemary
Or, to get your whole house smelling fresh, use my ‘scented candle’ coffee bean cheat. Pour some coffee beans into a glass container or bowl and place a tealight candle in the centre of them, pushing it down slightly so that it’s surrounded by the beans. Then, light the candle and let the heat fill your room with the scent of the coffee beans.
Use plain coffee beans or give hazelnut or French vanilla a try for a scrumptious smell that will make your whole house smell like a cappuccino.
Top tip: Put an open box of baking soda in the fridge to help absorb odours and keep the fridge smelling fresh between cleans.
And here’s how to arrange your fridge so you don’t forget about any pesky going off items:
1. Use fridge containers. It’s a simple idea, but it really works. While most fridges come with drawers for fruit and vegetables, using more containers means you group items together – all the sauces, all the spreads, all the dips and so on – and they don’t get lost in the general melee at the back.
2. Line the shelves with fridge liners or mats. You can cut them down to size and remove them for washing and soaking. Liners keep your shelves clean and provide added protection from spills and leaks.
3. Arrange by date. To ensure that you consume items before they expire, place items with the earliest expiry date at the front and items with later dates at the back.
Rid the fruit bowl of summer pests
A fruit fly infestation is a common problem in summer, particularly if you’ve been away from your house. To get rid of them, first discard their food source (whatever they’re hovering over) and then try this trap, which works like a charm.
Fill a small bowl or glass with vinegar (any vinegar works) and washing up liquid. Cover it with cling film and poke tiny holes in the top with a toothpick. Flies are attracted to vinegar and, once they crawl inside the holes, they won’t be able to escape.
Hack Your Home by Tanya Mukendi is out on August 29
Adapted from Hack Your Home by Tanya Mukendi (Thorsons, £14.99) is out on August 29. © Tanya Mukendi 2024. To order a copy for £13.49 (offer valid to 06/09/24; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937