Are you getting extra busy now that the warmer weather is here? I'm working in the yard and garden more and if I'm not careful things inside the house tend to slip. If you can relate, then you'll appreciate these easy, quick cleaning tips. It doesn't take long to get overloaded with cleaning chores, so I've found these ideas have kept me more on top of things:

Sweep your bathtub clean! Instead of just putting away that dirty broom after sweeping the floors, spray some cleaner on the sides and bottom of your bathtub, and with your broom, give the tub a good sweep down. While saving your back, you end up with a clean tub in half the time (like using a large scrubber), and have a clean broom to use again. Smart, huh?

Clean your dishes, porcelain sink and dish rag at the same time by adding 1/4 cup of bleach to a sink full of hot water. After rinsing your dishes extra well, leave the water and rag in the sink. In about an hour, your sink is sparkling clean and you have a germ free rag. Don't forget to wear rubber gloves.

Honey and syrup bottles and other sticky substances can get sticky on the lips of the bottles and if not used frequently, the caps can stick and become very hard to open. I've discovered that if you clean the lip and cap of the bottle and then spray the lip with nonstick kitchen spray, the bottle will open easily next time you want to use it.

To clean off the sticky residue from labels and stickers use a bit of cooking oil on a paper towel, rub over the sticky area and then either wipe clean or wash off.

OR, you can use lamp oil to remove sticky residue from things. I also use it to remove those annoying black/gray scuff marks from our hardwood floors (works on tile and vinyl as well).

Degrease quickly with homemade orange oil (see HOME Made Citrus Oil Cleaner!, March 30, 2012 issue of Cook'n Newsletter): Mix two teaspoons of pure orange oil with eight ounces of natural liquid hand soap in a bowl. Mix well with a spoon. Water is not used here because orange oil will not dissolve in water. Soap will aid the cleaning process more easily.

Use two tablespoons of orange oil to degrease dishes and countertops. Drip the orange oil onto to the surface you want to clean. Use a soft cloth or sponge to work the oil onto the surface. Wipe off the oil with a wet cloth.

Use a teaspoon of baking soda with your orange oil for more difficult grease removal. Baking soda is a mild, but tough (oxymoron here?) abrasive, and scrubbing this along with the orange oil solution will be very powerful in helping remove grease. Use a metal pot scrubber or clean toothbrush with stiff bristles to rub the mixture on the surface you want to clean. Wipe the area clean with a wet cloth.