Unconventional Ways to Clean Stuff: Take a Shower with Your Trash Can and More

Its spring time and that means spring cleaning. You wouldn't have to take a poll but I'm sure a lot of people dread cleaning out winter stuff to get ready for springtime. It's called spring cleaning because the reward is called summer fun. I've compiled a list of unconventional ways to clean stuff. Some of my ideas apply to spring cleaning but you can practice most of these methods year round. I've done all the things listed here so I know they'll work for you too.

Take a shower with your kitchen trashcan.

Yes, you read that correctly. Instead of throwing away and replacing this plastic receptacle just because it gets too dirty and whose purpose among other things has also served as a basketball goal, just take it into the shower with you. You'll be able to clean it from top to bottom and by using your own shampoo or shower gel it will make it smell better than new. It will have that new trashcan smell, if there is one. Take the lid, or backboard, and clean it too, that seems to be the nastiest part. Use your loofah and scrub away, you first, then the trashcan. The continuous warm or hot water will clean and rinse it thoroughly and you can do this each time it gets dirty enough to toss out again. This also works for bathroom trashcans; they're smaller so it won't take too much time to clean all of them at once. You can let them air dry in the tub or towel them off for immediate use. Kids can get involved too; they might play with the smaller ones and fill them up with suds a bunch of times, so show them what they need to do first.

Use the air hose at the gas station to blow out the air conditioner vents and dust from within the crevasses of your cars dashboard.

Find the free air; it seems to be the last free thing we have. I recommend wearing some eye protection or a cloth mask because dust will be flying around. If you don't have any cloth masks you can pull your shirt up over your nose like a bandito, you'll need something to cover up your nose and mouth. You don't want to be breathing in all that dust or you'll be sneezing out dirt clods. Open both doors on the driver and passenger side to create an outlet. Work from left to right or which ever way you choose. Watch for the wind if there is any; make it work for you, not against your efforts. Once you're done, check your tire pressure, you can do both in the morning since checking your tire pressure in the a.m. will give you the best accuracy. You'll probably need to vacuum the seats and floors at the car wash after you do this needed detail. I have some items you can clean at the car wash as well.

Clean your tennis/running or workout shoes at the car wash.

This can also apply to work boots. The powerful blasts of hot soap and water will make them cleaner than you remember. If you put them on your feet to clean them just make sure you wear socks that go at least to your caves, if a blast of pressured water hits your bare skin it will remove a layer quickly and painfully and you don't want that, I'm speaking from experience here. You can also clip them to the floor mat wash wall, either way works. Wax them if you want that sleek waterproof look. After washing them, you can air dry them, it will give them that clean smell once again. It might save you some money if you dread spending what it cost for new ones. You can also wash your tennis shoes in the washer but when you dry them it sounds like you're drying boulders. I need a rhythm when drying things, shoes have their own beat and it's not rhythmic at all.

You can also clean your outside trashcans at the car wash. Recently I've seen disposal companies offering those rolling carts, instead of picking up those old metal cans some of us grew up with, and getting that into your car might pose a problem. It's always good to be friends with somebody who drives a truck. If you can get your outside trashcan or rolling cart to the car wash and clean it out it will help to remove that gunk sitting on the bottom that nobody seems to have yet defined. You could clean it out with a garden hose but cold water just doesn't do the job of a power washer. You can always mix up some soap and hot water and crawl in, just have someone hold your feet.

Mix Febreze® fabric refresher with the water in your iron, it will freshen up your clothes.

If you still iron and I know this is the 21^st century and there's a dry cleaners on every corner, but this is mainly for clothes you don't have dry cleaned. Mix about 1 part water to ½ tbs of Febreze, maybe your iron doesn't hold that much water so put the Febreze in first. It won't be diluted past the concentrated amount so don't worry about that. This works great on shirts or shorts that have been boxed up or kids clothes that can go one more round. It might save you from washing them first and it will give them that clean fresh smell that's associated with springtime. You can also use your favorite store brand and it works the same. Febreze didn't pay me to write this article.

To help make your spring cleaning complete, buy some flowers and place them in a prominent place, e.g. the kitchen table, or even bathrooms, nothing says spring time like fresh flowers. After you have cleaned and gotten ready for the spring season why not bring some of that beauty inside.

You may have some more ideas on how to clean in different ways, if so; I'd love to hear them, feel free to share them with our readers.