More Cleaning Tricks Your Grandma Used That Still Work Today

4. Clean the counters with grapefruit

Chemical-laced sprays have no place in Grandma’s kitchen. For a sweetly scented and sparkling countertop, simply follow in her footsteps by wiping down the surface with a grapefruit sliced in half. Follow that by sprinkling with salt and rinsing with very hot water. Then, wipe down with a sponge or microfiber cloth.

5. Clean a little bit every day

Chances are Grandma had a daily cleaning schedule she stuck to — and you should, too. Even if you don’t have a lot of time to devote to your cleaning tasks, breaking down chores for the week and staying on top of things makes cleaning easier and less time-consuming. After all, who wants to spend their hard-earned days off playing catch-up on housework? Some daily tasks to tackle that will make a big impact: bed-making, dishes, sweeping, and vacuuming.

6. Use tea towels instead of paper towels

Paper towels are wasteful, and Grandma doesn’t approve of wasting anything. Linen tea towels might seem charmingly retro, but beyond that, they’re actually quite useful and have been making a real comeback.

Use them in place of paper towels to wipe down countertops, dishes, glasses, and appliances. When you’re done, throw them right in the washer and dryer. They look really cute, too, and come in tons of different patterns and styles to match any type of kitchen.

What does grandma say to dye our dingy linens with? Click “Next” to find out.