Category: Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Washing the kitchen floor is one of the most time consuming chores you have on your cleaning list. Having to pull out a bucket and a mop means that you’ve got at least a half an hour of cleaning ahead of you. What if I showed you a faster and easier way to clean your kitchen floor? It’s a simple system that will leave your floors looking like you washed them by HAND! I call this system bucket-less mopping.  You won’t have to use a bucket or stinky mop to wash the floor. Instead, you mix up your cleaner in a spray bottle and the bottle becomes your bucket. You’ll use less water and just a fraction of the cleaner you would normally use in a bucket AND it makes cleaning your kitchen floor so fast, you may actually want to do it more often.

Here’s how it works:

Use a 16 ounce spray bottle.

Put a few drops of your favorite floor cleaner in the bottom of the bottle

Add enough water to fill it to the top.

Insert your spray nozzle into the mixture and shake.

This spray bottle is now your bucket. You have mixed your cleaner to the same water:cleaner ratio as if you were using a two gallon bucket.  It’s amazing how much water and cleaner you are saving.

And here’s the bigger secret. You’ll want to purchase a microfiber mop with removable – washable mop heads. These mop heads will clean the floor without spreading dirt. You will need two to three removable mop covers to clean your kitchen floor, depending on the size of your floor.  I have an average size kitchen and I use three covers. I could get away with two, but I like to make sure that the floor is getting really clean, so I change them often while I’m washing it.

Place all the mop head covers in the sink and cover them with plain hot water. Take the first cover and squeeze out all the excess water. You want the mop head to be damp, not wet. Put the damp cover on the end of the mop and start at the farthest corner of the kitchen. Spritz you cleaning mixture on to a small area and then wipe it with the mop. Continue to mop the floor until you feel like the mop head is getting dirty. Remove it from the end of the mop and put it directly into the washing machine. Grab another clean damp mop head and place it on the end of the mop. By doing this you are preventing cross contamination. When you rinse your sponge mop in a bucket of dirty water, you are spreading the dirt and germs back onto the floor. Bucket-less mopping prevents cross contamination.  Continue washing the floor is small segments – changing the mop cover whenever you feel it’s necessary. The other great thing about this system is that the floor will dry very quickly so you will be able to walk on it right away. This system is also great for hard wood floors since you are only using a damp cover. It’s perfect because you are only using a little bit of water which won’t do any damage to the wood floor.

Give this bucket-less mopping system a try. You will be amazed at how easy it is to wash your floors. It may be so easy that you’ll try doing it more often!

Watch the video!

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and as we finish up our last bit of yummy chocolate and enjoy our beautiful bouquet of roses, we are left with beautiful memories and a variety of stains. Maid Brigade to the rescue, with some handy cleaning tips to help remove these stains.

If you choose to remove stains naturally, without using any harsh chemicals at all, you may want to stock up on white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, baking soda, and liquid dish soap or Fels Naptha soap. These ingredients are not only cheaper to buy than standard household cleaners, they have also been proven to work again and again.

Here are a few types of stains we have all tried to conquer sometime or another, followed by easy cleaning tips to combat those stains once and for all:

1. Chocolate. Blot off excess chocolate. With a small eye dropper, apply diluted white vinegar to the stain. Rinse the spot with cold water.
2. Coffee and Tea. Make a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Scrub onto stain with a small toothbrush. Rinse.
3. Red Wine. Pour a mix of liquid dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and cold water onto stain. Blot. Rinse. For stains on upholstery, blot stain with a microfiber cloth to gather up excess liquid. Pour a little white wine or club soda on the stain. Blot dry.
4. Flower Pollen. Never rub pollen with a cloth or with your hand. This only pushes the pollen into the fabric more. If the pollen seems to be only on the surface, it can still be removed easily. Shake out clothing to remove as much pollen as possible. Alternatively, you can use a piece of tape and gently lift up as much of the pollen as possible with the sticky side of the tape. Gently, rinse stained area with cold water from the back of the clothing. Next soak stained garment for 30 minutes in an enzymatic detergent mixed in cold water. Launder as usual.
5. Pen Ink. Rubbing alcohol is great for removing ink from clothing. Just remember to let the alcohol set for about half an hour. If rubbing alcohol doesn’t work, try denatured alcohol.
6. Permanent Magic Marker. If the marker reads permanent, it is just that – permanent! You can try dabbing some concentrated orange cleaner on the stain, letting it sit overnight. The next day, rinse the garment. To lighten marker stains, brush some toothpaste on the stain.
7. Lipstick. Rub castile or Fels Naptha soap into the stain and let it sit overnight. The next morning, wash as usual.
8. Underarm stains. The stain is actually wax from deodorant. So place a white paper towel both on top of the shirt and on the ironing board to protect the ironing board. Set your iron to medium heat and iron the area. The wax melts into the paper towel and the stain disappears (See general cleaning tips, below, about heat and stains. If the garment has been laundered before the stain was removed, you will not be able to fully remove the stain.)
9. Pet accidents and odors. If you are an animal lover, then you should keep Nature’s Miracle (enzyme) nearby! Pour enough enzyme product on the spot to saturate the padding. Then rinse with a ½ cup white vinegar per quart of water then again with plain water. Vinegar also helps neutralize odors.
10. Candle wax on carpet. If candle wax has dripped onto your carpet, let the wax cool before attempting to remove it. Once the wax has hardened, take a dull knife and scrape away all the excess wax that you can. Remove stubborn wax droppings by covering them with a paper bag and iron on medium heat, pressing the bag down gently. The remaining wax will be transferred off your carpet and on to the paper bag.

General cleaning tips for removing stains:

• Give your product time to work. Dab on your cleaner and give the product time to dissolve the residue eliminating all the rubbing and scrubbing.
• Try and remove the stain as soon as you can. The longer a spill sets the worse the stain.
• Rinse the cleaner out of fabrics and carpeting by dabbing on a mixture of 2 cups water and ¼ cup white vinegar, then repeating with plain water.
• Heat sets stains. So avoid the use of hot water to remove stains and definitely don't put stained garments in the dryer until you have removed the stain.
• Be sure to place a clean white cloth under the fabric you are removing the stain from, in order to prevent the stain from spreading to another surface.

Holidays and special occasions may come and go, but stains can live forever, unless we clean them properly.

Hopefully these cleaning tips will help you look forward to holidays, armed with the knowledge you need to eliminate pesky stains that often come with the celebration.

Essential oils boost the cleaning power of your green cleaning products, but with fresh, safe fragrances.

Picture this… after a hard day at work and a stressful ride home, you are finally home. You open the front door to a pleasant smell of cinnamon. You enter your kitchen and smell a refreshing clean scent of pine, cedar wood, and sage. As you walk down the hallway, you smell an inviting scent of peppermint. You finally reach your destination, your relaxing bedroom, filled with a healthy calming lavender smell.

Air fresheners? Guess again. They are all healthy organic essential oils.

When I clean my home, I use as many natural ingredients as I can, because I know first-hand the harmful effects traditional cleaning products can have on my health. As consumers we’ve been trained through years of TV and magazine ads that a cleaning smelling home is actually a clean home. But you can’t smell clean! The synthetic fragrances in traditional cleaning products actually do nothing to improve the product’s performance. Meanwhile they can cause all sorts of health problems, ranging from a mild headache to behavioral disorders to organ damage! But unlike synthetic chemicals, essential oils actually do clean and provide a pleasing, safe scent to signal “clean”. Truly clean J

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are natural distilled liquids found in certain plants. These concentrated liquids, or essential oils, are extracted by steaming or cold pressing raw plant material. Essential oils not only make your home and your cleaning products smell wonderful, they are packed with a variety of antiseptic and antibacterial properties that can help you keep your home and your family toxic-free. There are a variety of plants and herbs that come in aromatic essential oil form. Look for the pure, undiluted oils free from extra additives or dilutants.

Why are essential oils great cleaning products?

1. Certain essential oils have disinfectant and anti-bacterial properties that help remove bacteria and virus germs.
2. Essential oils can get rid of mold and mildew.
3. Dust mites are a thing of the past thanks to the properties these oils possess.
4. Essential oils help remove unpleasant, stale odors from your home, leaving the air refreshingly clean.
5. Essential oils provide the pleasing scent you expect from a clean home, without hidden health risks.

So, essential oils are essential green cleaning products! You can pick and choose which fragrances you want to clean with and never have to worry about them giving off harmful fumes.

To clean as effectively as possible in the least amount of time, learn the properties of each essential oil you use. I'll share the special properties of my favorites, below.

Top 5 Essential Oils for Green Cleaning Products:

Lemon essential oil is antiseptic, antimicrobial and antibacterial. It can also boost your mood! This particular oil cuts through grease and grime and helps remove stains and brightens clothes. The lemony smell pairs nicely with thyme and basil.

Peppermint essential oil is a powerful revitalizing, stimulating antiseptic. Peppermint essential oil kills dust mites in the bedroom and sanitizes in the bathroom and kitchen. This oil helps increase mental performance and alertness that it can actually help give you the energy you need to clean! Combine this great smelling oil with rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus or lemon for an even fresher smelling home.

Tea tree essential oil – an antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic – is great to use in the bathroom because it helps remove mold and mildew. The smell of tea tree oil also deters insects. Combine this strong smelling essential oil with lavender and orange for a powerful non-toxic green cleaning product.

Eucalyptus essential oil is the perfect oil to help kill those unwanted dust mites from your mattress. Try cleaning your mattress with baking powder and a few drops of this pure smelling eucalyptus essential oil.

Sweet Orange, another great smelling antibacterial, antiseptic and antifungal, has amazing degreasing properties. This citrus smelling oil is perfect for cleaning cutting boards and countertops that were exposed to raw meats. Another citrus smelling favorite of mine is grapefruit essential oil, which also contains antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Lavender essential oil is very popular, probably because it has an extremely powerful relaxation effect on our nervous system. As a green cleaning product lavender offers a variety of benefits, such as antiviral, antifungal, and antiseptic properties that are perfect for cleaning your home and keeping it smelling pleasant.

Keep in mind that essential oils are NOT the same as synthetic oils, which contain fragrance or perfumes. An easy test to find out if your essential oil is pure is to add a drop of the essential oil on a piece of construction paper. If the oil evaporates, it is pure. Always remember to store your oils in a dark bottle, away from light and heat for optimal performance in your green cleaning products.

Essential oils offer powerful cleaning properties yet are safe for people, pets and the planet.

As families prepare for fall weather and trick-or-treating, who wants to clean and disinfect their home? To help make your cleaning and disinfecting go smoothly and quickly this Fall, use these three healthy, non-toxic and green ingredients to make your home shine and keep your family germ-free!

1. Apple cider vinegar is a non-toxic, odor-absorbing, antibacterial alternative to harsh cleaning chemicals. Apple Cider Vinegar also knocks out cooking smells and musky odors from your home.

For a great multi-purpose cleaner, mix one part apple cider vinegar with one part water. Mix. Pour into a spray bottle. Spray and then wipe with a microfiber cloth. Your home will smell like fresh apples from the farm!

To keep your furry friends flea-free, dilute one part apple cider vinegar with one part water. Rub the mixture into your pets’ fur and work it into their skin to repel the fleas. Always remember to check with your vet FIRST to make sure it is safe for your pet.

2. Hydrogen peroxide 3% is one of the best natural disinfectants you can find. Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees, stating that they have approved hydrogen peroxide as a sanitizer.

Grab an empty spray bottle and add a 50/50 solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. Start cleaning  from top to bottom, left to right! Hydrogen peroxide mixed with water can be used all around the home. Use it in the bathroom to clean mold from the shower. Use it in the laundry to clean and sanitize your clothes. Use it on floors, countertops and walls.

3. Essential oils are a great addition to non-scented, green cleaning products and homemade, natural cleaning recipes. Made by cold pressing or steaming raw plant material, essential oils are the biodegradable, liquid essence of the plant. Essential oils are filled with powerful antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties, all of which can get and keep a home real clean. Essential oils can purify, disinfect and remove stains. Many of them are antibacterial and antimicrobial.

Use essential oils in your homemade cleaning products alone or mix a few different oils together. Some oils that seem to complement each other are lavender and rosemary, tea tree and orange, peppermint and tea tree, and grapefruit, lemon, and lavender.

Some of my favorite essential oils for sanitizing and disinfecting:

Lavender, filled with antiviral, bactericidal, fungicidal, and antiseptic properties, is my “go to” essential oil for evening cleaning. It’s a great smelling relaxer to add to your nighttime cleaning solutions.

Lemon, this citrus mood lifter also has antimicrobial, antiseptic, and bactericidal properties. Lemon brightens colors and removes stains and also cuts through grease and grime.

Peppermint essential oil is a revitalizing and stimulating oil. It’s minty scent not only wakes you up, but it is an antibacterial AND a natural pest deterrent.

Tea tree oil is a powerful cleaning oil with antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, bactericidal, and insecticidal properties. It is the perfect oil to add to your homemade bathroom and kitchen cleaning solutions. It is the perfect essential oil for the upcoming fall flu season!

Orange essential oil is a refreshing oil with antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. It is a degreaser and also helps to remove Salmonella and E. Coli from kitchen items like cutting boards and countertops. Add a few drops to a spray bottle filled with water and clean away!

Essential oils are found in health food stores. Be sure to look for pure, undiluted or organic essential oils.

When disinfecting your home, don’t forget to clean first! Most germs attach to dirt but dirt can reduce the effectiveness of many disinfectants and sanitizers. Thoroughly clean all countertops and surfaces before sanitizing or disinfecting. If your cleaning regime only calls for one step, be sure to use a cleaning solution with sanitizing or disinfecting ingredients. Be sure to follow all cleaning instructions on store bought cleaners regarding proper dilution, dwell time, application and rinsing, so your sanitizing and disinfecting works.

About ten years ago I decided to change my lifestyle into a greener, more eco-friendly way of life. I thought it was going to be one of the toughest things to do but it wasn’t. Of course, after the first few days, when “change” is at its toughest, it was difficult at times, but after a few weeks, the transition of going green was one of the healthiest things I did for myself, my family and our environment.

Becoming green isn’t just a New Year’s Resolution that comes and goes, it is a permanent lifestyle change. You can start out small by sorting and recycling your cardboard, aluminum, glass and plastic into separate bins. Once your recycling becomes a daily habit, add another change, for example, water conservation into your routine. There are so many things to choose from, all depending on how environmentally conscious you want to be. Where should you start this wonderful change? How about on your phone!

The newest wave in 2015 for the environmentally conscious person are apps on your phone that will help consumers make environmentally-friendly decisions. For example, www.thinkdirtyapp.com compares ingredients in beauty and cosmetic products. While shopping, just scan the barcode to see if any of the product’s ingredients are known carcinogens, neurotoxins, or hormone disruptors.

How about finding info on where to buy the most sustainably grown vegetables? www.shft.com/foodtripping can do just that! Food Tripping is a GPS based app that points you towards the local farmer’s markets, cafes and juice bars.

Then there’s www.irecycle.com, an app that shows places where you can properly dispose household items like cell phones, grills, and paints.

In 2015, why not make your home a smart home? This year’s latest trends makes being green a lot easier at home. Smart thermostats will automatically adjust the climate in the home to save energy and can be controlled remotely from your phone. Remote controlled windows will soon be able to shut out heat on demand. Electric meters and appliances like refrigerators will be connected to the internet to help track how much energy is being used in the home every day. Having a smart home is useful in developing more efficient habits while reducing energy bills.

When it comes to food, growing your own is very beneficial. Attend a seed swapping event to see what it’s all about. Get used to brazing, curing, fermenting, and brewing your foods. Learn to compost all leftovers.

We all know that using solar panels is a better way to heat our homes, and driving hybrid vehicles are better for the environment. To help decrease the amount of waste created each day, here are some things to consider:

Conserve water when washing dishes, brushing teeth or shaving. Pre-soak dishes to reduce the amount of water spent on scrubbing the tough spots clean. Check for toilet leaks by placing a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If the color ends up in the bowl, replace the flip valve on the inside of the toilet. Turn off lights when not in use.

Always use reusable bags.

Buy a household plant to improve air quality and remove toxic indoor chemicals like trichloroethylene, benzene and formaldehyde.

Stop buying bottled water.

Buy local and eat organic.

Plant a tree.

Ride your bike more.

Collect Rainwater.

Make your own natural household cleaners.

Go Paperless.

Become an advocate.

Be a voice. Many famous celebrities lend their time and effort to causes that make this world a better place. Businesses pay attention to these causes and most of the time respond with safer, more eco-friendly products. Those businesses that don’t respond positively can be encouraged to do the right thing by not buying their products. A good consumer boycott is the best and swiftest way to get companies to change. We all can make a difference in what happens to the planet.

Some days are busier than others, and on those days, although I have every intention to clean my home as planned, I tend to push the cleaning task aside.  This is when all those “quick cleaning tips” I have learned along the way come in handy.

For instance, multitasking, doing two things at once, makes tidying time go quicker.  When watching TV, I am either folding laundry, going through school papers, sorting mail, updating my calendar, or cutting out coupons.  When I am on the phone, I am sweeping or picking up “stray” items around the kitchen and dining room and putting them away.   In a half hour show or a ten minute phone call, I can accomplish quick de-cluttering chores that help make my home look tidy.

Every home also has their “hot spots,” you know, those spots in the home that seem to attract piles of all sorts of things.  The hot spots in my home are the dining room table and the kitchen counter.  Everything from backpacks, snacks and school memos, to newspapers, mail, and magazines, seem to pile up daily and quickly.  For me, tackling the hot spots in my home first eases a lot of stress throughout the evening.

Organizing these areas first cuts down on my clutter and gives me some much needed room to prepare and serve dinner. Stopping clutter at the front door is a major step in keeping my home clean.  Shoes, jackets, lunch boxes, gym bags, donated bags of “hand-me-downs,” headsets, cell phones, you name it, wind up near the front door.  To tackle this mess and keep it at bay, I placed a coat rack in the entry way directly by the front door for back packs, hoodies and jackets that are used each day.  I also mounted a plastic shoe rack inside the front entry closet door for shoes, sneakers, hats and gloves.  These two items alone help keep my entryway neat and all the items needed daily are easy accessible.

Every night I do a “five-minute sweep” through each room before I go to bed.  I take a laundry basket and go through each room of the house, placing anything in the basket that doesn’t belong in that room and putting away the items that do belong in that room.  The five-minute sweep doesn’t take long to do at all.  When my laundry basket is empty, I go to bed with the house looking tidy.

Sometimes lack of cleaning time means taking shortcuts which help make the most of your time.  For example, if you see fingerprints on the front window, just grab a damp microfiber cloth and wipe off the fingerprints instead of cleaning the entire window.  Grab a dry microfiber cloth and just dust the furniture that is readily seen, like the accent pieces in the entryway and the living room.  Vacuum only the high traffic areas when cleaning time is limited.  Grab your paint brush or your lint roller to get the dust off lampshades and blinds quickly. Only clean the things that are dirty.  If you are following a cleaning schedule and today’s task is to clean the refrigerator, inspect the refrigerator first.  If it doesn’t need cleaning, then skip it.  Cut yourself some slack.  Maybe you did such a great job cleaning the fridge last time that it doesn’t need to be cleaned yet.  When cleaning time is short, only clean what needs to be cleaned.

Using the proper cleaning tools can definitely cut a few minutes off of your cleaning time.  Microfiber cloths and mops work wonders, wet or dry.  A combination of vinegar and warm water can clean windows, mirrors, and countertops.  Baking soda can absorb odors in the fridge, and, combined with water, baking soda can also be used to clean the inside of the fridge. When it comes to cleaning, teach yourself short cuts and learn to do more in half the time.

De-cluttering and Home Organization have an impact on overall well-being, as explored in this cool infographic.

According to some experts, about 80% of clutter in the home is the result of disorganization, not the lack of space. This is why decluttering and organizing are so important.

Throughout the years, my house has served as a home for my family, a gym, an office, a hotel for out of state guests, a catering hall for parties, and a local meeting place for all my children’s friends. As stressful as things get, I wouldn’t change one minute of my chaotic world. I have learned to keep my sanity by mastering the art of home organization.

Recently, my daughter had to interview me for a school project about organizing. She asked me four questions which I thought were quite interesting. Below are the questions and my responses to each:

The one area in my life that is always messy is…my walk-in closet. The rest of my home is pretty clean but I tend to move all the house clutter into my closet because it is the place that none of my house guests see! When the clutter begins to build up to the point where I cannot walk into the closet, I have no choice but to sort through the stuff.

I am usually most motivated to declutter when… I have a busy week or I have something to look forward to. I love to start off my week with a sharp mind and an uncluttered feeling. It helps keep my stress level low when I am organized. In fact, every Sunday night, I clean out my purse and my work bag, and I sort through my emails and delete all the junk emails. I am also motivated to declutter when I feel overwhelmed. I seem to work and think better in a cleaner environment.

The one thing I have thrown away and never regretted throwing away is… books, old clothes and stacks of papers. It’s amazing how fast all of these things pile up in my home, especially when there are five people living there! Donating used books and clothes and getting rid of stacks of papers gives me peace of mind.

The one thing I threw out but wish I could get back is… nothing! Once I decide to get rid of something I usually stick with my decision.

I have to admit, I was very interested to hear the responses from some of the other people my daughter interviewed. What are your responses to these questions? Send your comments to us!

In the “cleaning world,” the month of March is when pre-spring cleaning usually happens. This is when we shake off the cold winter season, roll up our sleeves and open up the windows. Pre-spring cleaning is the time to de-clutter, to get rid of the old, used, unwanted items and make room for some new ones. It is a time for getting “order” back into your life and your home. After all, order in the home is a major contributor to inner calmness, and we want to be calm going into next month’s deep spring cleaning!

De-cluttering, re-organizing, achieving order, or whatever it may be, allows you to regain control of your “stuff” and your life. For some of us, this is an easy task to do. For others, it is quite difficult. And as much as we all want to keep our home in a reasonable order, some of us can’t let go of the myths associated with de-cluttering which makes our work harder than it needs to be.

Why not begin to de-clutter your home once and for all by throwing out all those excuses for hanging onto unneeded items and untrue myths of de-cluttering! Read on for more explanations of myths:

Myth 1. I get overwhelmed just thinking of organizing. While these thoughts might be true, you might be amazed at what you can do in just five minutes. While waiting for food in the microwave, you can organize a kitchen drawer. While drawing a bath you can empty some shelves in the medicine cabinet. These small acts of de-cluttering count towards your final goal of an orderly home and a happier you.

Myth 2. I have to keep my old phones, tablets, ipads and computers because someone will steal my personal information off of them. This has been a myth of mine for a while. The truth is, you can look in the manual of your electronic device for instructions on how to perform a factory reset. This factory reset ultimately reformats the hard drive which blocks all access to any data previously stored.

Myth 3. I might need that item sometime in the future. I don’t know anyone who didn’t use this excuse at least once in their life! Limit yourself to a few storage bins of things you want to hold on to. Be honest with yourself on what you think you may need because, chances are, if you haven’t used those items in the past year, you probably won’t use them at all. Donate items and give someone else a chance to cherish them like you did!

Myth 4. I like to collect things. Ask yourself, am I collecting or hoarding? A collector usually doesn’t stash items in garbage bags under beds, or stores stacks of items in basements. A collector usually collects items and stores them in a logical order, usually showing them off for all to see.

Myth 5. I like to keep items that remind me of the past. Ahh, momentos. We all have those items that put a smile on our face when we pull them out. But ask yourself, in reality, do you really need to keep all the items, or can you narrow it down to just a few? You can always take a picture of each momento and keep the pictures in a display book. This way you can cherish and share your memories with others on a daily basis. Remember, mementos work best when they’re carefully chosen, and when they don’t take up much room!

Cleaning and de-cluttering can be looked at as ways to practice living in the present moment. Do you have any de-cluttering myths you would like to share?

Stains. No matter how hard we try to avoid them, they seem to show up in our lives one way or another! Take lipstick for example. I love wearing lipstick. Lipstick comes in a variety of colors and brightens up my face instantly. But sometimes my favorite lipsticks leave the worst stains on my clothes. How can I remove these annoying lipstick stains? Naturally, of course!

The majority of lipsticks are made from oil, wax, and pigment, which means there are three different stains that need to be removed before the spot of lipstick is completely gone from the fabric. Removing nude or lightly-pigmented lipstick takes just a few steps, but darker colors, like red, brown, and hot pink, may need a more intense process.

If you are lucky enough to tackle the problem right away, soap and water dabbed on can usually do the trick of removing the stains. Older stains might require a little more work. Dabbing the stain with small circular motions is better than scrubbing because scrubbing sets the stain even deeper. If soap doesn’t do the trick right away, further measures are needed.

First, try and remove as much wax and oil as you can by blotting with a clean, damp paper towel or cloth.

Next, try one of these wonderful tips:

• Dab the stained area with a cotton ball saturated with rubbing alcohol. Dab the fabric repeatedly until the stains come out. Remember not to rub the stain so it doesn’t spread.
• Dab the area with some petroleum jelly. After, apply a couple drops of white vinegar and rinse with cool water.

Rubbing alcohol and petroleum jelly work the same way by binding to the lipstick’s pigmentation and oils which loosens them from the fabric and make them easier to wash away.

• Aerosol hairspray is another option that lifts stains out of cotton and synthetic fabrics. Spray the hairspray at a close range, then blot with cold water. For silk fabrics, spray hairspray on stain, place a piece of tape over the stain then rip the tape off quickly. The lipstick separates itself from the fabric and sticks to the tape. If there is still some stain left, sprinkle some talcum powder on the stain and tap the stain with your finger. Shake off excess powder and repeat if necessary.

• Remove stains off your white fabrics by soaking them in vinegar. The vinegar breaks down the stain components and loosens them. Just soak the item in vinegar for a few minutes and launder normally. Hang dry.
• Lemon juice or lemon wedges rubbed onto the stain can also break down and remove lipstick stains. Dab repeatedly and launder as usual. Hang dry.
• Because shaving cream is aerated soap, apply a quarter-sized amount of white shaving cream to stain. Wait about 15 minutes and dab stain with a damp cloth. Next, rinse with water or club soda.
• If baking soda is your thing, scoop a spoonful of baking soda onto the stain and gently scrub the baking soda into the stain using an old toothbrush. Add a little more baking soda and a few drops of vinegar onto the spot and watch it foam. Lightly scrub spot with a toothbrush until the stain disappears. Launder as usual.
• Massage some white toothpaste into the lipstick stain. Rinse with cool water. Repeat if necessary.

Be sure to wash the fabric within a few hours after pre-treating the stain. Follow the garment’s regular laundering instructions.