The summer vacation at my grandparents’ is fixed in my memory: my twin sister and I share a double bed, neither of us allowed to cross the invisible center line. We were undoubtedly a handful, but these getaways were pure magic.
My grandmother was no master in the kitchen – you only need to see her thick pastries to know why – but what she lacked in cooking skills, she made up for in homemaking. Decades later, her no-nonsense cleaning tips are still ones I rely on today.
Keep cleaning simple
What stands out in my memory is that she didn’t have a cupboard overflowing with cleaning solution. She relied on a few essentials to keep her house clean from top to bottom. I think she would be horrified if she could see my cleaning stash of products to remove stains, blast mold and keep my windows sparkling.
Latest Videos FromTom the guide
But, I am slowly changing the way I clean, and starting to introduce more natural methods into my routine. I often use baking soda and vinegar to clean my sink drain, and it’s surprising how useful lemons can be for cleaning limescale and keeping pests out of your home.
The old-fashioned cleaning hack I remember most is how my grandmother used old newspaper. After my grandparents finished reading the morning paper over their toast and marmalade, my grandmother never threw it away – she set it aside as her secret weapon for spotless glass and surfaces.
Getting a physical newspaper is a bit more complicated these days, as many of us read the news online. But even though I don’t have a daily delivery like my grandparents, I still buy a weekend paper – and I hang on to it instead of putting it straight in the recycling.
As well as being handy with my grandma’s cleaning routine, newspaper is also useful outside, and it works as an excellent barrier to stop weeds in your garden.
How my grandma used newspaper to clean her windows
Back then, my grandma used to gather a newspaper, a spray bottle and some white vinegar before cleaning her windows.
She started by mixing a solution of one part white vinegar to three parts water and pouring it into the spray bottle. Then, giving the bottle a gentle swish to mix the solution, she sprayed it directly onto the glass.
Next, she took sections of her newspaper and crumpled them into balls, used them in circular motions on her windows, and buffed until the solution disappeared.
Top tip
To stop the cleaning solution from drying before it reached it, she would work on small areas at a time.
I do have one word of caution though. My grandmother simply used black and white newspaper. Today’s papers are full of colored pages and glossy inks that can leave dark spots. So, for best results, stick to using plain black and white pages if you can.
The advantage of using newspaper to clean your windows
The combination of white vinegar and newspaper is an inexpensive way to clean glass surfaces; the newspaper is free, and white vinegar is much cheaper than off-the-shelf cleaning solutions.
Newspaper is also super absorbent, and it helps remove both the cleaning spray and stains for a streak-free finish.
You might think you need to use a whole stack of newspaper for this cleaning hack, but in reality you only need a few sheets, as the paper absorbs a fair amount of liquid before it starts to tear and fall apart.
follow Tom’s Guide to Google News in the add us as a preferred source to get our latest news, analysis and reviews in your feeds.