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Keeping our new house clean

I know I keep saying that I hate cleaning, but now that we are in our new house, I have more motivation.  Firstly this house is way nicer than our old house, from the colour of the walls (that we chose of course) to the high ceilings and better lighting, I just enjoy being in the house more than ever before.  And I know how much effort went into getting it this nice so I don't want to see it getting dusty and dirty.  Permaculture principle "produce no waste" suggests that timely maintenance prevents wasteful rework and big jobs to fix things that could have taken very little time if they were done earlier.  This helps me to prioritise small cleaning jobs before they turn into big ones.


eight acres: using ENJO products to clean our new house



One new thing that we have tried since moving is the ENJO range of cleaning products (affiliate link).  You won't find ENJO in your supermarket, its sold by independent consultants, and also available online (I get a small commission if you use my links). ENJO's chemical-free, all-natural fibre cleaning products eliminate the need for chemical-based cleaners.  This saves you money in the longer term (cleaning products are expensive!) and you get to avoid the toxins as well.  The best part is that the ENJO system is very easy to use and you get great results from very little effort, overall, this is my kind of cleaning!

I'm not just writing this post to get you to use my affiliate links, I have found myself in several conversations lately talking about these products because I really like them (and its really not like me to want to talk about cleaning), and recently a friend also asked for more information, so I wanted to share what I like about ENJO and if you're interested, please do use my links...

The FloorCleaner
One of the main reasons I started looking at ENJO was that I wanted ideas for caring for our new hardwood floor boards.  I didn't want to be pulling a noisy vacuum cleaner around the house and I didn't want to be trying to sweep the floors either.  Our floor supplier recommended a natural soap product that we are supposed to use to mop the floor, and it is expensive, so I wanted to make that last as well.  ENJO floor care options are a revolution.  You buy the floorcleaner and then different fibres to suit different floors.  I got the dust floor fibre for general purpose sweeping, the fussy floor fibre for mopping our hardwood floors and the matt fibre for the tiles in our bathroom and laundry.  With the "mopping" you just use water to spray the fibre and the floor, so there's no mop bucket to drag around, it dries really quickly and works perfectly.  The actually floorcleaner is very ergonomic (once I watched some youtube and learnt how to use it) and best of all, it swivels to easily dust under the bed and under our lounge chairs, so I know I got all the dust (having just moved out of our old house, I have seen how much dust ends up under furniture!).


eight acres: using ENJO products to clean our new house


In the bathroom
Our bathroom is full of shiny surfaces and I was looking for a way to keep these clean and streak-free with minimal effort.  The ENJO bathroom range has been perfect for this.  I got the glass cleaner and we use that after a shower to quickly clean the glass shower screen and tiles around the shower (also great for windows).  Then use the microfibre "bathroom miracle" to dry off without leaving streaks, I find microfibre cloths are really good for cleaning shiny surfaces.  This is also great for the bathroom mirror and vanity in conjunction with the "bathroom mini" cloth.  My only issue is that the white has turned to a kind of ugly grey, I wish the cloths were nicer colours as I need to leave them hanging up to dry.


eight acres: using ENJO products to clean our new house



In the kitchen
Again, we have shiny surfaces in our kitchen, lots of stainless steel, and I didn't want to see streaks and smudges.  The ENJO kitchen range features more micofibre clothes, which have been perfect for cleaning the kitchen using water only.


eight acres: using ENJO products to clean our new house


Dusting
I hate dusting because I feel like I just move the dust around.  Being in the country, we always have dust, from our dirt driveway and our fireplace.  Fortunately, there are also ENJO dusting products, and I have the dusting mitt, which makes it pretty quick to whip around most of the ledges and surfaces to pick up the dust in the microfibre instead of just moving it around.  And I've just ordered the swivel duster to get into the hard to reach places as well.

You can use my links to access the ENJO website and I'll get a small commission for referring you.  When you buy through the website, you can also select your local consultant and they will get some commission from the sale too, so I recommend that you find out who your local consultant is, they are really helpful at showing you how the products work and figuring out what you need.  (Janelle Patch is the consultant for South Burnett and she has been very helpful)

ENJO products may seem expensive at first, but they are good quality and last for a long time and you don't have to buy any chemical cleaners.  I feel that they are a good investment in looking after our house and our health over the long term.

Have you used ENJO (or similar) for chemical-free cleaning?  What are you tips and tricks for quick and effective cleaning?


Comments

  1. Environmental impact of microfibres ???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I know. As always, it is a compromise. Cleaning this way reduces cleaning chemicals (like detergents, bleach, whatever is in glass cleaner etc) and disposables (wipes, papertowels, mop heads etc), but every time I wash the cloths, they will loose some microfibres into the septic tank (which eventually gets pumped out and taken to the local sewage treatment plant). As I do still own clothes with synthetic fibres, I would say overall I generate more microfibres just from washing clothes, although I do take your point that we should be aiming to reduce the amount of synthetic fibres to be washed. I will add that I also continue to use cloths make from cutting up old towels (cotton) instead of papertowels and that has been an ongoing success. On balance, for me, I think this is the best system, but might not work for other people.

      Delete
  2. I'm not a fan of dusting either. When I do though, I use an old cotton nappy, with a dab of eucalyptus oil. It cleans my wooden furniture perfectly, and smells gorgeous. :)

    ReplyDelete

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