

15 Of The Best Spring Cleaning Hacks That I've Seen In A Minute
I've got a friend who lives to clean. I'm not playing. When she's in a good mood, she wants to clean. When she is totally pissed off, she wants to clean. So, in her world, there is no need to really spring clean because she does it on the regular. Then there's me. Don't get me wrong, my place is in good shape; still, I pretty much have a cleaning day (which is either Thursday or Friday) and there are definitely a few times a year when I'll spend a good three days just going ham on my place. One of those times is during the traditional spring cleaning season. During then, there are some particular hacks that I will apply.
That's what I'm gonna share with you today. Whether you're like my girl and you clean on steroids or you're more like I am and you seasonally go off the charts, here are 15 things that can make getting your house in order so much easier, cheaper and even healthier (because they most don't contain any chemicals) to do.
1. Naturally Increase Your Laundry Smell With This DIY Epsom Salt Laundry Booster
Do you want to make your laundry smell amazingly fresh without the use of any dyes and chemicals? One of the easiest, safest, and most effective ways to do that is to apply a blend of Epsom salt and your favorite essential oil (or oils) to your machine. All you need is one cup of Epsom salt and 20-30 drops of an essential oil (depending on how potent you want your laundry to be). Combine the two ingredients in a bowl, let them air dry for a couple of minutes and then transfer everything to a mason jar. Add about a tablespoon of the homemade booster to your machine before you add laundry and start to wash. You'll wonder what took you so long to add this tip to your wash day routine.
2. Clean Your Kitchen Sinks Naturally with Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide
If it's time to give your sinks a deep cleaning, all you need to do is sprinkle some baking soda onto them and use a sponge to rub it in. Then pour some hydrogen peroxide to deeply penetrate and remove any residue. Ever wonder how to clean your iron? For the record, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide are also unstoppable in cleaning the back of irons too (and we all know that can be a headache!). Mix two-parts baking soda with one-part hydrogen peroxide.
Then heat up your iron on a low setting to soften up some of the gunk that's on it. With a wooden spatula, remove as much residue as possible. Then turn the iron off, let it cool and apply the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes and scrub the iron with a scrubbing cloth. Then rinse with cool water and repeat as often as needed.
3. Restore Wood Furniture With Olive Oil and White Vinegar (or Beer) as Homemade Cleaner
Do you have hardwood floors or some wooden furniture that has some surface scratches in it that you would like to remove? A combination of one-part olive oil and one-part white vinegar can do the trick. At the end of the day, you're just making some homemade furniture polish sans the unnecessary chemicals. You can even add a little bit of fresh lemon juice for good measure. Something else that works pretty well on wood is beer. Just pour a little bit of it on a soft rag and rub your furniture down. You might want to test this on a little corner of a table or chair first, simply because some beer is stronger than others; yet if you're looking for an easy way to make your wood shine, ale will do it.
4. Here’s How to Clean and Fluff Your Pillows
Lawd, why don't pillows ever stay white 'n fluffy? If yours are that old dingy pale yellow color, soak them in the washing machine, two at a time. Then pour a couple of capfuls of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar to your machine's drum and wash them in a light cycle. That should whiten them right on up. As far as the fluffy part goes, before throwing yours in the trash and getting another set, why not toss them into your dryer on low for about 10 minutes? Sometimes, that's all that's needed to spruce them back up a bit. Word on the street is, if you put a tennis ball into the dryer as well, it will help to pound out any lumps that your pillows may have.
5. Put Some Lemons in Your Dishwasher to Clean
Is your dishwasher giving your glasses that spotty look? Oftentimes, that's due to nothing more than calcium deposits. A simple workaround is to cut up a few slices of lemon and let them go through your next washing cycle. Your glasses should come out crystal clear if you do.
6. Use Mineral Oil to Degrease Your Stove
Is your stovetop all sticky 'n stuff? It might sound odd but the way to actually get the stuck-on oil off is to put some mineral oil on it. Literally pour a little bit of mineral oil on the area that you want to clean up, let it sit for a couple of minutes and use a cleaning rag to remove the stickiness. It tends to glide off even faster if you warm the mineral up a bit first.
7. Clean Your Dirty Cast Iron Skillet With a Coarse Salt and Potato Scrub
One of my favorite cooking items is my cast iron skillet. The only thing that sometimes drives me crazy about it is the fact that it can sometimes not be the easiest to clean. A cool hack for cleaning your cast iron skillet is to preheat your oven to around 350-400 degrees. Pour some coarse salt on the pan and then slice a potato in half so that you can rub the skillet with it. Do so in a circular motion and then rinse and pat the pan dry with some paper towels. For tips on how to season the pan following cleaning it, click here (which is where I got the hack in the first place).
8. Need to Pick up Stubborn Pet Hair? Try a Carpet Rake for Pet Hair Removal
If you've got a pet that constantly sheds on your carpet and vacuuming never seems to get all of their hair up, invest in a carpet rake. The long-short of it is it's basically a broom for your carpet in the sense that it does the same job that a broom would do on your tile floors, except the rake is made out of much stronger bristles. If it's something that you'd at least want to read more on, you can check out a list of some of the top carpet rakes on the market by clicking here.
9. Pour Some Kool-Aid into Your Toilet as a DIY Toilet Scrub
Listen, don't shoot the messenger because I wouldn't be surprised in the least if you never saw Kool-Aid the same way after what I'm about to say but it's actually a really great product for scrubbing your toilet. The citric acid that's in the lemonade flavor one is so potent that you can use it to deep scrub your toilet. Just pour the packet in, let it sit for a couple of minutes, and use your toilet brush to clean as usual. Your toilet will sparkle in a way you never thought a popular drink brand could make it do.
10. Unclog and Clean Your Showerheads with Vinegar and a Ziploc Bag
Is it time to unclog your showerheads? Get yourself a Ziploc bag (one that is big enough to cover your showerhead up) and pour some white vinegar into it. Then wrap the bag around the showerhead with a rubber band and let it sit for an hour. Remove the bag, run the showerhead and you should notice that water is flowing from it better.
11. Clean Your Mattress Naturally with Baking Soda and Lavender Oil
Did you know that you can vacuum your mattress? Yep. And if you want to make it fresher, sprinkle some baking soda on it and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before you do. If there happen to be stains on your mattress, a combo of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide can get those out. Just remember that hydrogen peroxide can "bleach out" colors, so using it is best if your mattress is white.
If you simply want to deodorize your mattress, mixing one cup of baking soda with 20 drops of lavender essential oil and then putting everything into a mason jar that has a shaker lid, will make it possible for you to easily sprinkle the mixture (it'll smell amazing too!). And what if you sprinkle too much? Your mattress can pick up the extra. Just make sure to let it all sit for about 20 minutes first.
12. DIY Clean Your Microwave with Some Fresh Lemon Water
Sometimes microwaves can get a little gunky. If yours is basically at that point and you want to give it a thorough cleaning, all you need to do is squeeze 1-2 lemons worth of lemon juice and then add some water to a microwave-safe bowl. Put the bowl into the microwave and let it run on high for about three minutes. It will help to penetrate the gunk so that it's easier to wipe off.
13. Pour Windex on Your Carpet to Remove Stains
If you've got kids and you don't have any Windex in your house, let this serve as a PSA to get some as soon as possible because it's a great way to remove stains. When it comes to ones that may be on your carpet, spray some directly onto the stain and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then put a lightly colored rag over the stain and your medium-low heat iron on top of the rag. If you let the iron remain long enough, you should see some of the stain coming through the rag. If you repeat as often as necessary, most of the stain should go away.
Just remember to always keep the iron on the rag and get a new rag, if necessary. Oh, and if you've got a toddler who thinks your walls are their canvas, spraying some Windex onto their masterpieces should easily remove the crayons. As far as the carpet goes, only use the blue Windex brand if you've got nothing else. Sometimes, the ironing process can leave a hint of blue behind, if you're not careful.
14. DIY Some Homemade Lemons/Lime Slices Cubes To Clean Your Garbage Disposal
Does your garbage disposal currently smell like, well, garbage? That's what can happen when months of old food residue is stuck inside. A great hack for removing the odor is to make some DIY cubes out of lemons and lime slices. Simply cut them up into small cubes and place them into your ice trays. Then fill the trays up with white vinegar and some lemon or orange essential oil drops. Place them into the freezer for 24-36 hours. Then run some hot water down your kitchen sink for a couple of minutes, pour 1/3 cup of baking down the drain and then place a cube inside and turn the disposal on (remember to move your fingers out of the way). The citrus and vinegar of the cubes will nix the odor and the ice will help to sharpen the blades of your disposal. How cool is that?
15. How to Clean a Painting? Dust Your Paintings with Bread.
Something that I started collecting more of in my mid-late 30s was art. Sometimes paintings can get dusty. Well, here's something that's super off the chain. Rather than trying your luck by trying to dust your painting with a rag, pull out a piece of bread instead. It's gentle enough to not affect your art and yet "spongy" enough to remove the dust at the same time.
Hey, don't knock it 'til you tried it, chile. Welcome to spring cleaning season, sis.
Featured imagine by Shutterstock
- 10 Home Décor Hacks To Make You Love Being At Home - xoNecole ›
- Easy Household Hacks To Improve Your Life - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
Different puzzle pieces are creating bigger pictures these days. 2024 will mark a milestone on a few different levels, including the release of my third book next June (yay!).
I am also a Professional Certified Coach. My main mission for attaining that particular goal is to use my formal credentials to help people navigate through the sometimes tumultuous waters, both on and offline, when it comes to information about marriage, sex and relationships that is oftentimes misinformation (because "coach" is a word that gets thrown around a lot, oftentimes quite poorly).
I am also still super devoted to helping to bring life into this world as a doula, marriage life coaching will always be my first love (next to writing, of course), a platform that advocates for good Black men is currently in the works and my keystrokes continue to be devoted to HEALTHY over HAPPY in the areas of holistic intimacy, spiritual evolution, purpose manifestation and self-love...because maturity teaches that it's impossible to be happy all of the time when it comes to reaching goals yet healthy is a choice that can be made on a daily basis (amen?).
If you have any PERSONAL QUESTIONS (please do not contact me with any story pitches; that is an *editorial* need), feel free to reach out at missnosipho@gmail.com. A sistah will certainly do what she can. ;)
Exclusive: KJ Smith Talks Viral Wedding With Skyh Black: ‘We Did What We Wanted To Do’
Whether it was your group chat, social media feed, or your favorite media outlet covering the spectacle, I’m pretty sure you’ve come across the viral Black wedding between actress KJ Smith (Sistas, Raising Kanan) and actor Skyh Black (All the Queen’s Men, Sistas). From their grand entrance to Jay-Z, Kayne West, and Beyoncé’s song “Lift Off” to KJ’s standout dance routine and the endless celebrity appearances, it’s an addictive TikTok scroll you can’t help but delve into.
But what many people would be surprised to know is that the couple’s original wedding plan was nothing like what it grew to be. What started as her simply scrolling through posts to get ideas eventually transformed into what the internet knows now as #TheBlackExperience. In an exclusive conversation with xoNecole, KJ walked us through her planning process, the morning of her wedding, and what she thinks of the online response.
Some women have their whole wedding planned out, from the bridal gown and venue to the bridal party and playlist. However, KJ was not one of those people. “I didn’t foresee a wedding in my future,” she reveals. “I was just gonna be the boss chick, rich auntie. I didn’t force love in my life until recently. I never had an idea of what a dream wedding would look like, it was easier for me to elope.”
KJ Smith
Photo by Stanley Babb/ Stanlo Photography
And to many people’s surprise, that was their original plan – until Skyh brought up a valid concern. He was raised by his grandmother and thought she should be at the wedding, and naturally, that led to KJ wanting her grandmother to be there as well – then her mom – and later her sister – and, you’ve gotta invite the besties too, right? From there, the guest list continued to blossom. Much like the updo and pop of color bold red lip, she wore on her special day, which was initially on her Pinterest board as a soft glam look with her hair hanging on her shoulders, KJ is okay with changing her plan if it brings her and her loved ones happiness.
So let’s get into the wedding, which took place in Malibu, CA. The first thing you should know about the celebrity couple is that they’re non-traditional. They know, and they don’t care. So, in true unconventional fashion, they shared the morning of the wedding together.
“I woke up with Skyh, we walked our dog, had black coffee, and said good morning to the people who stayed at the venue with us,” she says.
Now, it was time for hair and makeup. While she was getting glammed up, she had Black-owned McBride Sisters wine and champagne (which ties into The Black Experience theme) on deck with her mom and friends, had her besties help rework her vows, retried on every outfit (sis is very Type-A), took photos, and ended the early-celebration with prayer and meditation. It seems very non-Bridezilla, I said.
“Yeah, I was the most unbothered bride ever. Everyone was just so supportive. As entertainers, we go on red carpets all the time. We actually have a production company,” she explains. “The get-ready process was like a day at work, but with people we love the most. Being entertainers, we didn’t feel stressed at all, but my excitement was so high.”
Things moved quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to line up to walk down the aisle.
“Yeah, I was the most unbothered bride ever. Everyone was just so supportive. As entertainers, we go on red carpets all the time. We actually have a production company. The get-ready process was like a day at work, but with people we love the most. Being entertainers, we didn’t feel stressed at all, but my excitement was so high.”
KJ Smith and her bridal party
Photo by Stanley Babb/ Stanlo Photography
Since everything started with their grandmothers, the couple wanted to ensure they honored them and planned to keep an element of their wedding traditional. Although we’ve all seen the reception videos and photos online, you may have noticed visuals from the wedding itself are harder to find.
“We planned for it to be traditional, but we’re not like that, so we tried to create those moments. We jumped the broom and had a salt ceremony (where the bride and groom individually pour salt into a glass container, symbolizing their lives becoming one.) But honestly, still, nothing was traditional about it.”
She goes on to explain that her mom caught the holy ghost coming down the aisle, her glam team was on deck, and she became so nervous with excitement that she had an anxiety attack – something she struggled with for years, she explains tearfully. Her friends had to literally cheer her down the aisle because of how overwhelmed she felt until she eventually calmed down.
“Skyh was standing there with his hand on his heart; we have our own little language, and I could feel the support,” she shares.
It was surprising to hear all these emotional moments happened before the party we saw online. That is until she once again got into the backstory.
“As a Black woman actress, for so long, it was popular to be mysterious and secretive, but that’s not who I am or what I like. Plus, we both wanted to create an experience for everyone there. We are the people who always host family and friends,” she says. “Like for me, the first order of business was getting sandals for the women so they can dance all night long. We had oxtail, D'ussé, and a coffee and sativa lounge – which is part of Skyh and I’s lifestyle and routine. We wanted to bring them into our world.”
Skyh Black (L) and KJ Smith (R)
Photo by Stanley Babb/ Stanlo Photography
She went on to discuss the dance routine she did for her husband at the reception, which has taken over the internet. Apparently, that’s another thing that didn’t go according to plan. According to KJ, she had promised a performance at their joint bachelor/ bachelorette party, but her outfit got stolen from her car. So, Skyh ended up performing for her – complete with a strip tease. Still, she never forgot her promise to dance for him.
So, she hired her friend as a choreographer, learned the routine, made friends and family watch it endless times, and attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance show a few days before for a confidence boost. It ended up being a show to remember. But that wasn’t all the night offered. Lil Mo performed, and the guests received special goody bags featuring their favorite Black-owned products like journals, hair care, and more.
“We made sure everyone was taken care of all night. That kind of stuff makes us happy. I wanted everyone there to experience the joy and love I have for myself, my partner, and for them. I wanted them to feel full and whole, and they had the time of their lives,” she says.
But naturally, the internet is going to internet, and while there were countless people praising the event and applauding the newlyweds, some thought it was too over the top. I was curious to know her thoughts on some of the criticism.
“It’s cool. We did what we wanted to do. I’ve decided to share my world with people. Just how I went on social media platforms and found inspiration, I want people to do the same,” she explains. “I don’t think it's fair to my supporters not to give that out. There’s so much I wanna share with brides, specifically Black brides. I love that people are adding it to their Pinterest boards."
"I wanted everyone there to experience the joy and love I have for myself, my partner, and for them. I wanted them to feel full and whole, and they had the time of their lives."
KJ Smith
Photo by Stanley Babb/ Stanlo Photography
“I’m happy with it because we did what we wanted to do. They can do what they wanna do. Don’t be cruel, though, because you will get blocked,” she said, laughing.
The more I spoke with her, the more her sense of freedom shined through. People are always going to have their opinions, but at the end of the day, it’s you who has to live your life, and it seems like the couple realizes that and embraces that power. She also stressed the importance of not living for others and the lessons life has taught her.
“I’ve been to countless weddings, and I’ve been in countless weddings. I’m a generally older bride. So when women in my demographic get married, and you and your husband are busy working people like us, you deserve to have the one you want to have,” she shares.
“This is what we wanted to do. Our loved ones love and support us. We did so much to honor them, but we also wanted to start our own tradition, legacy, and creation. I'm not going to be pulled back into ideas of the past when I’m trying to create a future with my partner. “
If you’d like to see more of the couple, you probably won’t have to wait long. Although no content is planned yet, she admits to being an oversharer. “Me being open and transparent about my experiences lets people know it’s okay to have flaws; it makes you human, and for many years, I didn’t believe that was okay. I had pressure to be perfect, and I’d crumble every time,” she explains to xoNecole.
Now, she owns her flaws and uses them as a superpower to connect with her community and feel and express her love.
“Some people give us [Skyh and KJ] a hard time because they say we just seem too perfect. I’m like, why is that a bad thing? I love the people I love. From my man to my mama, to my friends - unabashedly. We move through time and space how we want to move. If we did it another way, we’d let ourselves and our union down.”
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Feature image by Stanley Babb/ Stanlo Photography
Ready To Try Queening? Everything To Know About The Sex Position That Centers Your Pleasure
In my opinion, oral sex is the best type of sex. In the words of my favorite female R&B group, “You gotta go downtown, that’s the way to my love...” But if you want to enhance your oral sex experience, you gotta try face-sitting.
Face-sitting has been making its rounds again on the interwebs, however, it’s been around since the 1800s. During that time, it became increasingly popular for “upper-class women” to enjoy sexual gratification from men and avoid pregnancy all at the same damn time.
What Is Queening or Face-Sitting?
Face-sitting is just what it says, sitting on your partner’s face. We're talking genital-to-face contact here. We're talking delightfully, smothering intimate oral sex. Face-sitting can be a deeply fulfilling experience for both partners since it allows them to develop incredible intimacy and closeness. Because of its throne metaphor, face-sitting is sometimes called queening. In comparison to traditional penetrative intercourse, face sitting can lead to orgasms that are much more frequent for cisgender women. This makes total sense since it’s been scientifically proven that direct clitoral stimulation boosts intense orgasms.
The only couple I trust when it comes to learning how to “face-sit” correctly are sex experts Dee H. Black and Laydee Vee of DVPassion. When I found out they actually teach a “face-sitting” class at Exxxotica a while back, I had to interview them.
Laydee Vee believes sitting makes people of all sizes feel comfortable praising their partner. Through breath play and smothering, participants learn how to enhance communication. The top person gives instructions to their partner below, which can make them feel dominant, powerful, and in control, whereas bottom partners may feel empowered and submissive.
Queening 101: The Most Ideal Sex Positions For Face-Sitting
Women sometimes hesitate to try face-sitting for fear of hurting their partner or being too heavy. Personally, I subscribe to the philosophy, "If they die, they die!" If they gotta go, why not go in between my legs? However, to build confidence, Laydee Vee suggests looking within. “Confidence starts with you. If you’re nervous, your partner may sense it, causing harm. Once you feel comfortable, you can experiment with different positions to find the one that works best for you.”
Once you become more comfortable, face-sitting can be even more enjoyable for you and your partner. A good position to try and build your confidence is the classic reverse cowgirl position, with your partner lying on their back and you straddling their face while facing their feet. By adding a pillow, the bottom partner can lean back more and add pressure to the vulva to intensify the face-sitting experience.
In addition to using a pillow while in the facesitting position, the bottom partner can also use other sex toys. For example, he or she can use a butt plug or a dildo to feel enjoyable. You can also engage in face sitting while you're on your knees or in a squat with a pillow for support if you want to take things to the next level. You'll experience more sensations and pressure as a result of this.
A personal favorite from Laydee Vee and Dee Black’s workshop is “The Queening Position,” where the person on top sits on the bottom’s face like a chair. For those of you that love anal play, this can be a really intense way to get it. You can also get up close to the anus and stimulate it with your mouth and tongue. If you are feeling adventurous, you can also try stroking the anus with your fingers.
Another advantage of face-sitting over other positions is that it can be used for threesomes and group sex. The top can, for instance, use their hands or a sex toy to satisfy others while simultaneously getting pleasured through genital stimulation from the bottom. The bottom, on the other hand, can also experience genital pleasure from others or even penetration while engaging in oral sex with the top.
Face-Sitting: How To Enjoy The Queening Position Comfortably & Safely
Although a number of people can enjoy the act of face-sitting, it is a very risky and potentially dangerous practice. It is possible to hurt your partner if you aren’t careful, hence why communication is key. As with any sexual act, it's important to talk with your partner ahead of time about their comfort level with face-sitting, as well as any potential boundaries or concerns they may have. In many cases, it may be helpful to start with a more gentle, exploratory approach, such as placing your partner's face between your thighs without bearing down too heavily.
Many things can be done to make face-sitting more comfortable for those who are hesitant about it. The first thing that you should do is get a good understanding of anatomy and the position. You might also want to discuss what kind of stimulation you're looking for in a face-sitting session with your partner.
A queening chair, a chair with a hole in the seat big enough for a mouth and part of the face to fit through, is another option I suggested. After lying on their back, the person on the bottom slides under the chair, allowing them to perform oral sex on the person sitting on top. Lastly, it's a good idea to have a signal with your partner for when they need a break. This can be as simple as tapping on their thigh or butt, but it's a great way to avoid having the session become too intense for them.
With a little bit of communication, experimentation, and attention to safety and pleasure, face-sitting can be a wonderfully intimate and satisfying addition to your sexual repertoire. So go forth with confidence and enjoy all the exciting new sensations this position can offer!
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Featured image by LightFieldStudios/Getty Images