How to Clean Your White Converse {or Canvas} Shoes

I recently picked up a pair of white converse shoes at a garage sale for $2. They were filthy dirty but my 14 year old daughter insisted that I buy them so that we could match since she has a pair of her own. Who can say no to being a "twinsie" with their teen daughter? Not me, that's who. So I picked the shoes up in the hopes that I could revive them from their dingy dirty state that they were in to a clean looking white pair the way God intended. Or at least, the way Converse intended them to look.

It's hard to get a really good look at the before and after, but I think they cleaned up really nicely. In fact, I'm pretty darn impressed with myself and wanted to share my tricks with you.  It's nearly impossible to keep white shoes looking white for long, so if you own a pair of white canvas shoes, this cleaning technique may be your new go to.

I started by removing the laces in my shoes. I could buy a new pair of white laces for a few bucks but I'm cheap and I like to salvage what I have, so I decided to take my laces out and see if I could make them look new again. I ended up putting them in a small plastic bowl filled with a mixture of the same cleaning concoction that I will be telling you about. It worked great and the laces looked new again too!

I have a sink in my laundry room, but if you don't you could use a bucket. I put a quarter scoop of Oxiclean, a quarter cup of laundry detergent and a cap full of bleach into my sink filled with about a gallon of cold water. You want to use cold water so that you don't set any of your stains. I used my toothbrush to swish and mix around my cleaning mixture.

Use your toothbrush to start scrubbing. I started with the rubber around the edges

and then worked my way up to the canvas.

I scrubbed the shoe on the left and hadn't gotten to the shoe on the right yet. You could soak your shoes upside down in your cleaning bath for a bit if the stains are really set in. I actually didn't have the time to do that and think that the end result still turned out great.

I took my toothbrush and dipped it into another scoop full of my Oxiclean. I used that to scrub around the canvas on my shoes before I threw them into my washing machine. I washed the shoes on cold with a small amount of liquid bleach and a little bit of laundry detergent.

Once the shoes are washed, you don't want to dry them in your dryer, you want to let the sun do the final step of whitening them. I read that some people find that their canvas shoes turn yellow as they dry in the sun. I didn't want that, so I took paper towels, wet them down until they were moist and laid them on top of the canvas.

After a few hours, your shoes will be dry and they will look almost as good as new!

I was really impressed with the process and have no idea why I almost didn't buy this pretty sweet looking pair of Converse. I'm so glad my daughter talked me into it. Now we can be twinning!

dislaimer: this post may have affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing through them, I may receive a small commission. These small purchases help me to continue to keep writing content and creating at Holy Craft. Thank you!

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The Best Baby Laundry Tips

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the maker of OxiClean™ through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about their Versatile Stain Remover, all opinions are my own.

It's been a few years since I had a little one at home, but my sister-in-law is preparing to welcome her third baby girl in the next few weeks. Those sweet little ones are adorable but they bring with them a whole lot of laundry! Heck, even as they get bigger the laundry never slows down, but there is something sweet and special about washing little onesies and miniature size pants that your hand couldn't fit in that makes laundry sort of fun. 

In the middle of a full on kitchen remodel {and general home upheaval}, I offered to help my sister-in-law wash up some of those hand me down baby clothes for her new baby girl.  I thought that I would put together the best baby laundry tips to help you in case this is the stage of life that you are in.

1. Pick a versatile stain remover

Little ones make big stain. I like to use OxiClean™ because not only is it a tough stain fighter, it's also gentle enough for even the littlest of little clothes. I used OxiClean™ Versatile stain remover on my sister-in-laws hand-me-down load to help remove any of those tough baby stains and to refresh the clothes to make them look new again, not like they had been handed down from cousin to sister to sister to sister!

You should also pre-wash any brand new baby clothes because you don't know where they have been or what's been on them.

2. Pre-soak any stained items

Between spitting up and diaper blow outs, those baby clothes can take a beating! Sometimes you don't notice stains on clothing when you pack them away but over time in storage, those stains start to pop up and become noticeable.

I start off the laundry cycle by sorting out those items that need a little pre-soaking. I add a scoop of OxiClean™  Versatile Stain Remover to the hottest water my sink will make. And then I let the clothes soak for a few hours. 

These are the same shirts side by side. What a difference the OxiClean™ made on those stains. It totally removed them!

3. Pre-Treat stains

Pre-treat any stains that you can ahead of time. Mix OxiClean™ powder with water according to package directions and spray on to your stain until the stain is completely saturated. Rub the area together and wait up to 10 minutes. Then launder as normal.

4. Velcro any tabs

Baby clothes, swaddle blankets and bibs have Velcro that can tangle up and make quite a mess in the wash. Velcro up any of those tabs before you wash so that you can avoid any snags or tangles.

5. Don't lose baby socks

Baby feet are so cute and little and sweet and those socks that go on them are so very tiny. They can get caught up in sleeves or stuck to a blanket or towel and then never seen again. Consider putting those baby socks in a mesh bag and washing them together so that you never lose a baby sock again.

6. Hang those clothes to dry

Sun is a natural bleach, and while it's not plentiful most months in our greater Seattle area, even those cloudy overcast days will still allow you to hang up those baby clothes to dry outside. Hanging clothes to dry also helps prevent shrinkage which is important when all your baby is doing right now is growing!

There are over 101 ways to use OxiClean™ to get tough stains out, delivering value through versatility and incredible benefits vs. detergent alone. It's my go to stain fighter. I would love to hear your best baby laundry tips or maybe your best stain fighting story.  You can share them on the Dear OxiClean™ site.

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DIY Didn't I Think of This Sooner! The Easy Way to Get Rid of Dog Hair in your Car.

There are times in my life when I wonder, why the heck did I not think of this sooner! Please tell me that I'm not the only one! This literally happened to me last week when I was cleaning out my car. Our golden retriever Sophie likes to go with us in the car where ever we go. In fact, if I say let's go for a walk, she usually runs towards the car because she would rather drive anywhere than go on a walk! But, our big hairy animal sheds. A LOT. And her nice blond fur gets left on all of the dark surfaces of my nice new mini-van, so something had to give. Either the dog had to stop driving with us as co-pilot {not going to happen, look at that face}, or I would have to find out a better way to clean that stubborn dog fur out of my car. I think I found the solution and it left me wondering why I didn't think of it sooner!

Today, I took my daughter to school and let the dog tag along. The car had been vacuumed and cleaned a few days prior so the dog fur you see in the car now, is the fur that she left on our short 20 minute trip. We do have rubber floor mats, but it doesn't seem to help. The fur gets everywhere! Even getting out my vacuum cleaner, the fine dog hair grabs on to the interior carpet of the car and won't get sucked up.

Have you heard of the Furminator? The Furminator is a deshedding brush that has these fine metal teeth and a sturdy plastic handle. I decided that if it worked to help pick up extra fur on my dog so that she sheds less, then maybe it would work to pick up the fur that had already been shed.  It did!

Simply take the Furminator brush and drag it along the carpet.

Look at all that fur it picked up! I do this now before I vacuum the car out. That stubborn hair wouldn't get picked up before and now I can virtually remove any sign that our dog has been in the car with us!

It's so easy! If you have a dog that sheds you can thank me later. Go try it now though and see how much fur it picks up. You won't believe how clean your car will be!dislaimer: this post may have affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing through them, I may receive a small commission. These small purchases help me to continue to keep writing content and creating at Holy Craft. Thank you!

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How to Clean Your Jetted Tub

Let me start by saying this is a first world post answering the hard hitting needs of those of us struggling with how to clean our Jacuzzi tub, which is clearly a first world problem. I feel like there are indeed issues in this world that demand more attention than this, but alas, my home came with a jetted tub and this really is a struggle of mine and perhaps it's a struggle of yours as well.  I really thought I would love having a jetted tub and don't get me wrong it is nice to soak in. But if there is one thing I can say to people who are building trying to decide if they should splurge and get the Jacuzzi, it is don't do it! 

I never in a million years would have thought it would be as difficult as it is to keep the tub clean. After five years in our home, I think I have finally found the best way to clean your jetted tub. So if you are like me and happen to have a jetted tub in your home, read on. This little homemade cleaning solution just might be the trick you need to help you clean your tub.

So, don't get too grossed out on me, but this is my tub after I run the jets. I actually clean the jetted tub every week, the problem is that the jets have pipes that suck and hold water in them. Those pipes grow mold and holds onto soap scum that blows out the next time you turn on the jets in your tub. Pretty nasty right? Not really what you were hoping for when you decided to soak in a relaxing bath with the intent of getting clean is it.

So how do you clean those jets out so that when you run them it doesn't spew out all that nastiness?

I've found that if I use a mix of bleach {about a cup full} and 20 Mule Team Borax {if you don't have a box of this in your laundry room you better stock up yesterday. It's the best laundry booster in all of the world.} in a full tub of warm water and run the jets for about 10 minutes, it works great at getting in those pipes and flushing out the yuck.

I drain the tub and as the water is being let out of the tub I use a wash rag to clean the side and the bottom of the tub. It doesn't take long for that mold to get hard on the bottom, so make sure you are sweeping it with your rag down the drain with the water. After you clean out your tub of all the gross gunk and the water has drained, fill the tub again with warm water just above the jets.

Run the jets for about 10 more minutes. This time you will be amazed that all of that gunk is cleaned out of the pipes! This little cleaning hack will keep your jetted tub running clean for a few months.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!dislaimer: this post may have affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing through them, I may receive a small commission. These small purchases help me to continue to keep writing content and creating at Holy Craft. Thank you!

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Lazy Cleaning Tricks for a Spotless Home

I like a clean home. I feel overwhelmed with clutter and messes. I just don't love to clean my house. I know there are people out there who love to scrub every surface, to spend their free time sorting and organizing every closet and cabinet. I'm just not one of them. 

I was hoping that as my kids got older that maybe I could put them to work doing the stuff I don't like to do, but to be honest, they really aren't that great at cleaning either. Don't get me wrong, they are super great at making messes, but the cleaning up part is their downfall. 

After nearly 20 years of having a home of my own to clean, I've got some lazy cleaning tricks up my sleeve and I'm spilling the secrets today on how you can have a spotless home the lazy way.

Last year, I started working part time outside of the home. Sure, I blog and spend a good chunk of my "free time" {honestly, I don't really know what free time is...I think it's hiding with the unicorns in lala land} writing and maintaining my blog, but with a kid with one foot out the door and onto college, I needed to bring in some income, so I started subbing in my kids school district a few days a week. Nothing like being away from home for eight hours to remind yourself that you really do take care of a whole lot of stuff around the house.  The transition was rough, I'm not going to lie. Everyone thought that I would continue to do all the mundane tasks that I was doing before {apparently clean underwear is important} but with fewer hours in the day. The adorable people that lived here used to tell me that they were out of deodorant and then it would magically appear that afternoon when they got home. Well, that didn't happen once I started working. I had far too much to catch up on when I was home and their lack of personal hygiene items was none of my concern.I did the bulk of the housework and cleaning and people started to notice my lack of attention to our home when the dog fur started rolling around like tumbleweeds in the desert. I told my husband that if I was going to continue to work outside of the home, I either needed a cleaning lady {which really cancelled out the money I was making working} or some help around the house.  So, he went to Costco and bought me a Roomba. Rosie the Roomba is my favorite lazy cleaning trick. Sure it's a chunk of change to drop out of pocket, but I never know how much of a difference just having clean floors makes. Rosie is programmed to go off every morning when we leave and when we get home, the floors are nice and clean. My husband taught our youngest son how to clean Rosie's brushes and wheels {a must especially with the amount of dog hair from our big furry dog} and so once a week or so, Owen does a little Rosie maintenance. I used to vacuum every single day because of the messes three kids and a dog bring to a home, but now, I am only using my big vacuum once a week. I'm saving at least four hours each week! 

When we were first married, we lived in apartments just outside of campus. They had this not so lovely white linoleum that showed every piece of dirt. I scrubbed that linoleum several times a week. This lazy cleaning trick is all about materials. Once we moved into our first home we had hardwood floors in most of our downstairs. Those floors don't show a thing! Our current home has these hand scraped wood floors that hide even more. So while it's not super economical, I have found that just by having a different floor covering, I have saved hundreds of hours cleaning. I steam mop our floors once a month and that's only when I remember.

Sure, I spot clean them, but the floors really don't need cleaned more often. It's not like we are eating off of them! I love my HomeRight Steam Machine plus. My kids think this steam cleaner is a toy so they often fight over using it to clean with. The blue part of the steamer pops off to make a handheld steamer that I can use to clean just about any surface. I use it to deep clean a few times a year. If I am feeling super ambitious, I use to to steam just about any surface including pillows, the counter tops, the blinds and other hard to reach areas. The steam does the hard part of the cleaning, I just follow it up by wiping the area down. Let the machine do the work! Talk about lazy! I hear they are discontinuing this product, so if you want to order it, do it soon or you are going to miss out.

I don't use a lot of chemicals in my house. I use vinegar for cleaning most things. Remember those adorable kids I told you that live here? Well, they are pros at making messes. They eat a lot and they make a lot of their own food. All three of them have mastered the microwave. I hate opening up the microwave and finding splattered food all over, but it happens. And when it does, I put a small bowl of vinegar in the microwave and cook it on high for a few minutes. The steam cleans on all that baked on crud and I can easily wipe it off. What took hours of scrubbing before, takes seconds.

Speaking of cleaning chemicals, I keep all of my cleaning items together in a bucket. That way I have everything that I need in one place. I just grab for it and go. It has a roll of paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, vinegar in a spray bottle, Pledge and some disinfecting wipes.Can we stop for two seconds and talk about my love of Pledge? I started using it years ago on my stainless steel since the stainless steel cleaner was so expensive.  It's so much cheaper and it does double duty, so it's a must have in my mind. Just be careful of over spray on hardwood floors. It makes them more slippery than snot!Another lazy housekeeper trick is to have products that do more than one thing. I only want to keep around cleaning products that are going to cut my time cleaning and searching or switching from one product to another just isn't cutting my time. Again, another reason why the steam machine has made the cut. I want to hear how you cut your time cleaning. Any tips you can share with me? disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. I may have received compensation or free product from one or more item. Trust me though, I never write about something I don't love. 

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Natural granite cleaner

About seven years ago, my husband and I upgraded the old counter tops in the kitchen in our first house from large stone tiles to slab granite.

It was a change that I had been wanting to do for years and we were so happy with the result!

It's sort of funny, that the exact same granite we picked at our old house, is the same granite that the builders and previous homeowners selected for our new house.

I cook nearly every meal at home, and I love having a functional kitchen that makes it easier to prepare and cook our meals. 

In fact, the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in our home {especially with three kids in the house, one of which is a teenager!}, so it gets not only a lot of use, but it sees it's fair share of messes!

I am determined to send my kids off into the world knowing how to cook and prepare food for themselves, but that learning process, isn't for the faint of heart!

We've had our fair share of egg shells in dough and more flour on the counter top than in the bowl!  But they are learning.

I've watched enough house hunting shows and read enough entertaining magazines to know that most parties and events usually occur {or end up} with people gathering in the kitchen.

The holidays are just around the corner and I know we will be entertaining, but I'm always looking for easy ways to go from messy to festive in a matter of minutes.

Even though I may have been cooking all day, I don't want my kitchen to look like I don't know how to clean my house! And I don't want to sweat it when my kids are practicing their cooking skills and making messes food.

One of the things I learned when I was a newbie granite counter top owner is that not all cleaners are acceptable for stone surfaces. I don't want to be using harsh chemicals that will scratch my surfaces or remove the protective coating.

I buy a spray bottle at the dollar store, fill it halfway with vinegar and halfway with water and a few drops of essential oils.

All you need to do is spray it down

and wipe it off.

Your stone surfaces will go from messy to gleaming! You can even see the shiny reflection and I didn't even have to scrub or polish!

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Homemade all purpose cleaner

This post brought to you by Real Simple, All You and Southern Living. All opinions are 100% mine

I'm not a big fan of using harsh chemicals to clean my home.

Not only are they expensive, they are also hard on the environment and on the people

{and pets} living in your home.

I've been making my own household cleaners for years now.

I find that white vinegar is the best cleaner for just about anything and everything and it's dirt cheap!

I made my own laundry detergent for about a year, 

but when I broke my expensive food processor while making a batch, 

I didn't see the cost effectiveness and took a bit of a break.

However, after reading an article from the pages of All You, on the Walmart website

I was inspired to whip up a batch of my very favorite all purpose cleaner

and I wanted to share with you my secret cleaner that I use on everything from my stainless steel appliances to my travertine tile.

You will need:

equal parts white vinegar and water

4-5 drops of your favorite dish soap

6-8 drops of your favorite essential oil {optional but it makes everything smell better!} 

and an empty spray bottle

Mix all of your ingredients together and give it a good shake.

I use a microfiber cloth to wipe off my surfaces.

For some reason our microwave is a magnet for fingerprints!

It drives me nuts so I am always wiping it down.

This homemade all purpose cleaner is perfect for cleaning the outside and the inside of your appliances.

Can you see the fingerprints on my microwave before?

All gone!

 The Walmart website is now featuring tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration from the pages of Hub that will help keep you organized, save you money and get ready for spring!  

You can find inspiration from magazines that we all love, like All You, Real Simple and Southern Living.

You will even find a $1 coupon so that you can pick up your favorite magazine title next time you are in Walmart.

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Homemade carpet deodorizer

We have a dog and three kids

but I don't want my house to smell like I have a dog and three stinky kids!

So I make my own homemade carpet deodorizer that I use once a month when I vacuum.

It's so easy!

I'm excited to show you how.

I pour baking soda into a bowl and add about 5-6 drops of fragrance to the baking soda.

Mix the two together.

I sprinkle the baking soda on to the carpet,

especially on the high traffic areas and those that the dog likes to sleep on,

and then vacuum it up!

If my kids are home, this is their favorite part.

They love making a mom approved mess!

Easy as that!The house smells nice and fresh!

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