My recommendations:

Clorex bleach pen - for taking out stains on white clothes. It works great!

Fels-Napa soap - for taking out other stains. This is an inexpensive bar soap that I buy at the grocery store.

Goo Gone - this is a great product for taking off all of the sticky left from tags removed from items you buy.

I forgot to say...Cool cover!

Yay! Alesia+Paranormal=Winner of a book!

I know I can't win a book, but I am so excited about my Scrubbing Bubbles self-cleaning shower gizmo that I must share. The item hangs from the shower nozzle. When you get out of the shower, you push a button and it sprays cleaning solution round and round. You don't scrub. You don't squeegee and the shower is clean, clean, clean.

Eileen

Things that make house stuff less desperate:

Out of my three children, one is a neat freak. She things windex and pledge and a paper towel are fun. She will most definitely get a larger portion of the inheritance.

My ipod. I can put it in my ears and sing while I clean. My singing pretty much scares everyone out of my way, so I can clean without wasting time telling people to move.

I have one of those machines that you fill with water and it in turn makes it steam. I'm no longer afraid of a tipped over bottle of chocolate syrup in the fridge, I just blast it out of there.

Cat litter box liners. No, really. I love them. LOVE them.

White vinegar. The magic elixir.

Seriously, there is nothing that white vinegar and a healthy dollop of elbow grease can't clean. Plus, it's environmentally friendly!

Beth, you're sounding like the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, except it was Windex. ;)

Vanilla Fridge Cleaner spray. After you defrost the freezer you spray this stuff all over the freezer and next time the ice comes off in big chunks and mucho quicker. (can you tell freezer defrosting is not high on my housework list). Oh and it smells nice too when you clean the fridge.

>>My ipod. I can put it in my ears and sing while I clean. My singing pretty much scares everyone out of my way, so I can clean without wasting time telling people to move.<<

Oh, I am laughing SO hard!! Lauren, I think we must be related because I do the exact same thing (and probably sing much much worse!!)

Okay, this sounds so geeky. But I LOVE the Press 'n Seal wrap stuff. I mean, that old cellophane stuff never stuck to what it was supposed to stick to, right? Or am I just plastic wrap challenged? Anyway, I was at a friend's house and her husband was teasing her about how in love she was with her Press 'n Seal, and so I had to try it. And now my husband makes fund of me, too.

What on earth is that stuff made of, anyway? It's a mystery!

Well...besides a few good shots to make the chores seem less tedious :) I like to use Mean Green for almost everything! I guess it's supposed to be like Simple Green, but it sure does work wonders on the laundry...

I LOVE Spray and Wash brand Stain Stick (I love their wipes also). I have them in the bedrooms and bathrooms. I'm kind of a slob when I eat and I don't think I've ever finished a meal without dripping something on my chest (and I'm not that busty). Anyway, rub some of that stuff on the spot before you throw it in the hamper. No worrying about pretreating your family's clothes on laundry day Everyone in the family can pretreat their own spots saving clothes from becoming a laundry casualties.

Many, many years ago, in a time well-worth forgetting (at least for me) I sold a cleaning product door-to-door as the crew and I traveled across the USA. This product no longer exists but my main competition does. It's called ADVANTAGE and if you ever have a young person at your door hawking it, grab them and write a check. It is absolutely the BEST for EVERYTHING!! Ink stain on your favorite blouse? No problem. Those mirrors in the bathroom keep fogging up? Just spray a little Advantage mixed with water (ratio 1oz to 32 oz water)and not only will your mirrors not fog up they will also resist fingerprints! Works really well on windows and glass surfaces too! (I sold a case of my product to a lady in Wyoming that way...) Rust in the driveway? Mix the Advantage a little stronger and use a wire brush to get rid of those unsightly stains. While you are out there, wipe down those whitewalls on the family wagon, take that rust off the chrome bumper, and polish that oxidation right off the paint!! Pet stains are no match for Advantage either. It is cheaper to use than Windex, 409, Simple Solution, etc, because a 32 oz bottle gets diluted down to make 32 quarts of product and it is safe and non-toxic for families with kids and pets. Their newest solution is apple scented--mmmmm!

(By the way, you will know the young person is from Advantage because they are always black, well-groomed, and professional. The guy who owns the company only hires kids from the inner city and sends them for training to give them a better chance in life. A good cause to support, if nothing else, but the product is FANTASTIC!!)

Oh yeah--and since I am into the public service announcement mode, let me just warn those of you with pets to NOT use the Swiffer Jet products. The cleaning solution uses a chemical that is also used in anti-freeze and can be toxic to pets, especially cats since they lick their feet. One of my tortoise lists told me about this, so I like to pass it on to others also.

Anyway. I also like those plastic Saran Wrap Quick Covers. They are great for covering up a bowl of leftovers quickly with out struggling with the plastic wrap, which has always been a challenge for me! And the large ones can be used for a shower cap in a pinch--nice when something has more than one use!! *grin*

I have another one!

Have Cowboy build more shelves! He put a new little shelf unit in the study and got all the cr*p off the kitchen counter! I'm in heaven!

Eileen

Ok, I'm casting my vote for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser here, ok? Do you all hear me? This thing is FABULOUS. It's a white spongy thing that looks like an eraser. I use it on my walls, my counters, well, anywhere that has a stain that won't seem to budge.
But the beauty of it is that the two littlest ones think it's so cool that they always want to clean with it.
Now THAT is worth the price of the thing 10 times over!!

Okay, I have to agree on the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. That thing is amazing.

But I have to 'fess up. The only thing that makes my household less desperate... is a person. Lisa. She comes once every two weeks and saves us from living in squalor. Before Lisa, for many years, it was Kathy. Once I heard my daughter (who was 3 at the time) trying to explain to her 1-1/2-year-old brother what a vacuum was, "You know, it's that machine that 'Kathys' use when they go to people's houses to clean. It's loud and she pushes it around the floor."

Ok, I hate to admit this but my husband had made my clean up easier.
He installed my central vac system. He also installed a kickplate thing in my kitchen island so I can just sweep up debris, turn in on with my foot and it sucks it up into the central vac.
He ordered bins for the closet shelves for small toys.
He put shelves in my office, our son's room and his bathroom.
He also fixes my car and any appliance in the house.
BTW, I use ziploc bags for my sons outfits when he goes to camp. A shirt, shorts, underwear and socks will fit in each bag and his clothes aren't scattered all over his tent. Yeah, I got laughed at first but a lot of parents are doing it now.

Terri, do you rent your husband out?! *wink* I would give anything (practically) for a handy husband! Mine is great for laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc, but give him a screwdriver and not so much!

Terri, I do the same thing with ziploc bags! I swear, my MIL thought I was insane a few years ago. I took all six kids to their house for a visit, and I had enough clothes for every day, all bagged up. It made things SO much easier. All I had to do was toss a bag at them every morning. I was assured that their outfits would match, and that they would be clean. Sometimes, I think that I should do this with every laundry load, just to ensure the same things happen daily. But then again, my MIL lives at least 4 states from me, so who am I really trying to impress?

You know, the only thing that's really made cleaning easier is a whole new kitchen. And I expect that the urge to keep it clean will, sadly, eventually wear off. But in the meantime, I, too, love my Swiffer vac and Swiffer WetJet for quick clean-ups of the floor.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It takes off EVERYTHING.

A seriously anal bill binder...I should take pictures, no one would believe me

I SO want that Swiffer quik flik or whatever the heck it's called

SPAMALOT soundtrack. Nothing like cleaning to "You Won't Succeed on Broadway, If You Don't Have Any Jews"

Ostritch Feather Duster...SO much fun

Fabuloso, boy that stuff smells good!

Where can I buy Fels Naptha bar soap?????????