Today, is a household cleaner kind of day. While I work 10+ hours on Mondays and rarely have the energy to do much except manage to get supper on the table, baths, books, and a little play, I like to imagine I have spent the day cleaning my house and try to escape the utter chaos of my family room at the end of the day! Last week I made some household cleaners to try. While I do not often purchase household cleaners, it is something I really do not like to buy. It seems they always end up on my list at the same time and make my grocery bill $15-$20 more just because I have 3-5 cleaning supplies on the list. The first thing I have learned is that vinegar is a fabulous cleaner! Let me be the first to say that I HATE the smell of vinegar. We have used it to clean our coffee pot and I think the smell of hot vinegar has singed my nose hairs into submission. The smell bothers me much less now than it used to. The first cleaner I made was a wood cleaner.
Wood Cleaner:
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1-2 drops lemon oil (I did not have lemon oil so I added some lemon juice. The juice did not kill the vinegar smell as I imagine the oil might)
Mix and place in spray bottle. Use 100% cotton cloth to dust.
** I really did like this cleaner. We eat at our dining room table every night which is wood and I have a hard time keeping it clean and shiny. This cleaner really did get it clean and left it with a nice shine (not sticky at all). I could smell the vinegar while I was cleaning, but it went away as soon as it dried. The best part of this recipe is that it is made with ingredients I almost always have on hand and they are kid-safe!! With 2 little helpers at my feet most of the time, it is reassuring to know they are not going to be harmed if mommy happens to leave the cleaner out unattended.
The second cleaner I made was an all-purpose cleaner.
All-Purpose Cleaner:
1 t. Borax
1/2 t. washing soda
2 T. vinegar
1/2 t. vegetable oil based liquid soap
2 c. very HOT water
Combine all ingredients and shake until mixed.
Did you notice that the first 2 ingredients in this cleaner are also used in the laundry soap we discussed on Day 1? While this little mixture probably cost me about 10 cents to make, it does a great job cleaning the counters and smells good with the addition of the scented liquid soap. With the washing soda and Borax, this one does need to be kept out of reach for little ones!
I borrowed a book called "Clean & Green" from a friend who is much more advanced in her saving mentality. This book is where these ideas came from, but I am sure there are plenty of other great ideas on the internet you can try if your heart desires.
One more thing: I forgot to mention that we added vinegar to our jet dry reservoir in the dishwasher and it works like a charm! Pennies compared with a couple dollars for Jet Dry!!! LOVE it!
I keep forgetting, sorry for all the additions... we also use baking soda to clean our stovetop. We have a ceramic cooktop which we cannot keep clean. We were spending tons of money on the cleaner the manufacturer sells to try to get it clean. Recently, we discovered baking soda works better and with much less effort!!! Really wanted to trade in the ceramic cooktop until we found this little trick!
Side note for Grandma Kessie: We made your noodles on Friday and made beef and noodles with them tonight for dinner tomorrow! They are fabulous!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to eat them tomorrow!
Tomorrow's topic: Splurging and indulging!
2 comments:
Hey girl. Love these "recipes"! Don't know if you've ever posted this one before.... but a friend of mine just told me that for her dishwasher soap, she just mixes equal parts of borax and washing soda and that it works awesome (using the same amount that you would normally use.... she claims it leaves her glasses clearer than any other brand.... and it's awesome when you already have those products for the laundry soap, too!)
Thanks, Deanna! We were talking about how we could extend our dishwashing detergent. One thing we have read is that washing soda should not be used on aluminum (I think because it causes discoloration), so we have thought about adding baking soda with equal parts dishwasher powder to double the life of the soap. We did add vinegar to our jet dry cycle and it works like a charm!
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