Monday, June 22, 2009

Make Do Swiffer

I posted this for Make Do Monday, but it's also fabulous for Works For Me Wednesday! So I'm linking to it as well. Works for Me Wednesday has several hundred folks participating, all giving their great tips on what works for them with housework, family get togethers, dinners, kids snacks, toy purchases, making gift baskets - whatever! This week Kristen at We are That Family is talking about her best tips for traveling with kids. It's quite a list! So go take a look.

I've been totally out of Make Do ideas for the past few weeks, but yesterday my sister sent me an email with her Make Do (complete with pictures!) Thanks Alison!!

The whole idea around Make Do Mondays is...as Ann Kroeker says on her blog, "...we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got. It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity."


First off, I'll start off with a cropped close up of my darling niece, Stella. I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving...oh be still my heart, I miss this child. She's sporting some lovely beads!

Here is what Alison sent...The story goes that I like to Swiffer but the pads, wet or dry, are so expensive and I think they don't go as far as they should. The wet dry out too quickly and the dry get covered up so fast it is annoying, but I love getting under furniture with the wand. So here is my solution when I'm feeling desperate.


I use disposable wipes you can buy in the huge rolls for about $4-5 (75 ct). Sure they may be a bit smaller, but they do the job and are cheap! Then, for dusting, I put a washable dust cloth on the Swiffer head and spray some dusting polish on it. Works pretty well. I think it is a pretty creative way to get around the expense.
Alison

Kristin here...I have to say, you might not want to use furniture polish on floors as it can make them very very slick. Test a small area first, if you do decide to try that method. (Actually, if you are just putting a little on the cloth it probably won't make the floor super slick, it probably just helps to attract the dust bunnies. I would highly discourage spraying the polish on the floor.)

You can also use a spray bottle and spritz the floor with water and go over them with that microfiber cloth and the floors will clean right up. This is how I wash my floors.




It looks like she got a lot of dirt off of her floor. The cloth goes in the wash and the disposable wipe in the trash.

I think Stella thinks mom needs to make another pass with the disposable cloths. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by my place for Make Do Monday, if you have a chance go on over and check out what others are doing for Make Do Mondays. I hope this little trick will help you clean house and keep more dollars in your pocket!

And now that it's Wednesday, check out Works for me Wednesday participants!

Have a fabulous week!
Kristin

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't have a Swiffer, but I have a flat-head mop thing that I bought years ago with washable, removeable cloth bonnets. I'm trying to decide if I could do something similar to these solutions, even though the mop head is much, much wider than a Swiffer.

This is what I like about Make-Do Mondays--you get me thinking about how I can apply your solution to my situation in my own make-do way.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Genny said...

Love the idea of make-do Monday!

Thanks for your sweet words. It was so great to hear from you!

I'll be back!

Genny

Sharinskishe said...

Wonderful, wonderful and you are lucky!

Lucky that your sis came up with a Make-Do that you could post!! I love it when family helps, my dad and my kids have come to my rescue before. Sure makes Mondays easier some weeks.

I lost my Swiffer when we moved and I haven't replaced it yet. But before the move, I found that the cheap dishcloths and washcloths bundles from Wal-mart would fit just fine and so I started using them. I could then Swiff and toss in the washer. I just used water most of the time in the wet cleaning, with a wash every now and then.

(I really need to think my floor cleaning though, my knees are getting sore. I have also Gerry-rigged a cloth onto my straw broom and washed my floor that way. But I still have to get on my knees to get into the corners! lol.....)

Thanks for this post and sharing your thoughts and advice. Have a great week!

Robin said...

Oh wow...what a super idea!
I love it when I come across blogs with money saving tips.....even better if they are easily obtained items. I have a Swiffer mop and I have both disposabl and washable cloths. Cool! Thanks! :-D

Have a beautiful day.

oh and as Arnold would say.....I'll be back.....

AlisonArtisan said...

Kristin, it is true you have to be careful with the polish on hardwood. I have slipped before. But I mostly use this method for under the couch and some of the dresser-like pieces in my home. I rarely Swiffer the floors in general. Too many kid crumbs for that. I'm glad you all liked the idea. Hope it works for you!
Alison

Terri said...

very neat idea and I have the same swiffer. will have to try it.

Moore Minutes said...

You're so creative! This is perfect! I will be doing this FOR SURE. Thank you.