Clean Slate: Deep Spring Cleaning

Clean Slate: Deep Spring Cleaning

Spring has just begun.  For many that means time to throw open the windows and blow the funk off of the place a little.  Typically this includes some deep cleaning.  No matter how neat and tidy you are, things can use some extra attention occasionally.  In the kitchen, particularly, food finds its way into places that might not be part of your daily cleaning routine.
If you are like me, you need a little direction to keep you focused.  This could help1


PDF version
What to use:

• Dust mop (preferably with a long handle)
• Step-ladder
• Cleaning cloths
• Small bucket with handle
• Sponges
• Vacuum with attachment
• All-purpose cleanser, dishsoap, or mild cleanser of choice
• Oven Cleaner
• Glass cleaner
• Microfiber cloths
• Shelf or cabinet liner and drawer dividers
• Broom and mop or towel
• Baking soda solution for fridge/freezer
• A broom stick with an old sock for under the stove and fridge

Finally, don't let yourself become overwhelmed.  Only take on what you can manage and plan according to the time you have.  Be sure to factor in your REAL level of commitment.  Don't be ashamed to hire someone for the really tough stuff or tasks you just don't want to do

The Homemade Brown Sugar Scrub

The Homemade Brown Sugar Scrub

This is one of my favorite brown sugar scrub recipes simply because of how quick and easy it is to make and how great it exfoliates my sensitive skin, leaving it silky smooth.  I prefer brown sugar scrubs over white cane sugar scrubs most of the time due to the sensitivity of my skin and the smell of brown sugar is much better in my opinion.  There are many varieties to this basic recipe and you can play with it until you get the sugar scrub just right for your skin type.

Ingredients You Will Want For Your Brown Sugar Scrub

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Sweetened Almond Oil (Don't have any? Try this one)
• 1 tsp Vitamin E (I cut open a couple Vitamin E liquid gel caps)
• 1/2-1 tsp Vanilla Extract

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Optional Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

• The amount of almond oil you use will depend on your personal preference and skin type, experiment with more or less oil until you get your perfect mix.
• You can substitute the almond oil for pure sesame oil (not roasted). extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil or any other oil you like that is suitable for the skin.  I prefer almond oil due to the many benefits of almond oil on the skin.
• In place of the vanilla extract you can use your favorite essential oil or fragrance oil.  Or if you are in a pinch you can leave it out altogether as it's mainly included for added aroma.
• The Vitamin E is also not a necessity but it adds some skin nourishment to the brown sugar scrub.
• You can add a little honey for extra moisturizing on dry skin.

Homemade Baby Wipes

Homemade Baby Wipes

I found this on another site and thought it was a great idea! As a bonus to making your own, is that it saves a lot of money.  When i start having kids of my own, this is one of the things I will plan to attempt to keep up on to save us some money! 

Ingredients:

1 roll Bounty Select-A-Size paper towels

1 1/2 tablespoons baby bath

1 tablespoon baby oil

2 cups water

Start with 1 roll of Bounty Select-A-Size paper towels.  They really need to be Bounty.  I use off brand paper towels for general use, but I tried them once as wipes and they fall apart and don't clean baby bottoms nearly as well as Bounty. 

 Pull the wrapper off and place on a cutting board.

 Using a sharp non-serated knife, cut the roll in half.

They will look like this.  Keep one and put the other one away for next time. 

You need a container to place the wipes in that is big enough to fit the paper towels.  The cover also needs to seal well so they don't dry out.  I found this one at Target.  It's a ClickClack 2.9 quart. 

Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of baby wash.

Then 1 Tablespoon of baby oil.  Add both to the container

Add 2 cups of water to the container.

Mix together

Place the roll of paper towl in the container.  I place the cut side down.

Place the cover on the container and turn the container upside down.  Keep it upside down until the paper towels are soaked through.

Open the container.  Pull the cardboard center out of the paper towels.

This is how they look!

Check this site!

http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/

 Neat site for a bunch of random crap!

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

To make this yummy and thrifty popcorn all you need is:

• 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
• 2 tsp Olive oil, or other healthy oil. (teaspoons)
• 1/4 salt (optional)
• one lunch sack size brown paper bag

In the paper bag, add the popcorn, pour the oil over the popcorn in the bag. Next add the salt, and fold over the top of the bag at least twice. Shake the bag to coat the popcorn. Place the bag on a paper plate, or napkin. Cook on high for 2-3 mins, or until there is a 2-3 second pause as the popcorn popping is slowing down.
Carefully pull out, and pour into a bowl… and enjoy healthy and thrifty Do It Your self popcorn in a microwave!

Easy Baking Soda Air Freshener

Easy Baking Soda Air Freshener

1/2 cup baking soda (per jar)

Essential oil of your preference (8-12 drops)

Mason jar (I love the 8 oz wide mouth Elite Collection for these!)

Scrapbook paper

Tapestry needle 

Scissors and pen

This is seriously so easy, no lie!  I have a few books of Amy Butler Scrapbook paper that I love to use for  random odds and ends type projects like this.  I've had them forever and no matter how much I have used them the pages never seem to get depleted, yay me!

All you do is grab some scrapbook paper and trace the lid part (not the ring part...basically not the one in the picture above!) onto it with a pen or marker.  Then just cut out your circle....are you still with me?  I told you this was easy!

Then grab your tapestry needle, it's one of those long needles similar to an embroidery needle (which would probably work just as well!).  It has a large eye as you can see in the picture above.  I like using these needles because they are much thicker than your average sewing needle, they pierce through the scrapbook paper with ease, are much easier to hold, and make a nice sized hole.

Then go to town punching the needle all over the scrapbook paper.  You are basically making a way for the pretty essential oil smells to waft throughout your home.

Then pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into the mason jar and add in 8-12 drops of essential oil of your choice.  Start off by adding less oil and if you find it's not strong enough to scent your room add in a bit more.  A bigger room will need more oil and a smaller room like a bathroom will use less.

Place the scrapbook paper inside the mason jar ring and tighten it onto the jar.  Gently shake up the baking soda/essential oil mixture and there you go...presto!  Easy Baking Soda Air Freshener!

You could make one for each room in your house in lots of pretty scents.  I personally like Lavender in the bedrooms and cinnamon in the bathrooms but anything goes with this fun project!

How To Clean Your Bathroom Like A Pro!

 another good tip!

How To Clean Your Bathroom Like A Pro!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Earlier this week I talked about my efforts to “throw in the {paper} towel” in 2012. It got a lot of people talking! I was surprised at how many people were already doing this…and had been for some time.
Denise from Ark was one of them and left some very interesting insights in the comments section. You should read them… after this of course. :-)
But the thing that made me sit up and take notice was her comment that she had cleaned houses for 20 years followed by her detailed “how-to” clean a bathroom quickly and efficiently, using only THREE paper towels! Sign me up!!

I was so impressed I asked her if she would mind if I shared her routine with all of you, and she was kind enough to agree. As I told her, I’ve never quite known how to go about EFFICIENTLY cleaning the whole bathroom at one time. I usually end up deep cleaning one area at a time because I don’t REGULARLY clean the whole thing.
I won’t even try to improve on what she wrote (not that it’s even possible…AMATEUR cleaner that I am)….except I am going to put it into list form for easy reference later. :-)
“How To Clean A Bathroom Like A Pro” by Denise in Ark….who, before beginning a well-deserved retirement, cleaned 15 to 20 bathrooms a week for 20 years!
Step 1. Swish the toilet with the toilet scrub brush, then prop the brush under the seat to drain. (Brilliant!)

Step 2. Spray the toilet (and brush) top to bottom with disinfectant. Let sit. (She doesn’t mention what kind of disinfectant…I personally use 1/2 water; 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle. Vinegar is a great natural AND CHEAP disinfectant and deodorizer.)

Step 3. Using the same disinfectant, spray the sinks, faucets and counters.
Step 4: Spray the mirror and use a wet (but not drippy!) microfiber cloth and wash the mirror well. Leave it wet while wiping and rinsing the sinks and counters. (This is like the 3rd time this week someone has told me about cleaning with microfiber cloths! Must look into this further.)

Step 5: Wring the rag out really well and wipe up the excess water. First from the mirror, then from the sink. At this point everything should be dry enough that a wad of about 3 of the cheapest possible paper towels will buff a shine on everything (starting with the mirror and working down.)

Step 6: Go back to the toilet. Use some toilet paper to wipe anything crusty, nasty or hairy (her words! not mine!) and drop it back in the bowl. Then use the same now-damp paper towels to wipe the toilet, starting at the tank lid and moving down from “cleanest” to dirtiest. Flush. Drop the towels in the trash can and set the toilet brush down on top of them to let it drain some more.
Step 7: By the time you finish washing the shower (repeat steps 4 and 5), the brush will be dry enough that it won’t leave disgusting drippy water in the brush holder. (According to Denise, she has YET to clean even the *cleanest* house and not find a disgusting toilet brush holder. GUILTY!)
And there you have it…
how to clean a bathroom like a pro!


I don’t know why…but for me it’s so helpful for someone to spell it out step-by-step like that. According to Denise, this technique goes so quickly that it’s what she does as regular daily housecleaning, which means that the bathroom doesn’t get counted on “housecleaning day” because it’s always in good shape.
One final tip from Denise: She keeps an old towel hanging in the bathroom to be used solely for wiping down the shower. When she gets out of the shower, she uses this towel to soak up most of the water and then grabs a hand towel to finish drying the walls. It takes about 30 seconds; dirt, minerals, and soap scum that might otherwise build up never get the chance, and the shower is never *not* clean. The towel then gets hung back up and used again until it’s time to wash a load of towels.
I’m tellin ya…this lady has got this whole thing dialed in! Thank you Denise! My family and bathroom thank you as well. :-)

ONE MORE….ONE GOOD THING…….

This was probably the tenth time I’d heard someone mention microfiber cloths for cleaning. Wait a minute….aren’t microfiber cloths for washing and drying your car?? Or wiping off your computer screen?

Not anymore!

I did a little research tonight…and you lucky readers are about the find out what all the hype is about!
Fabrics made with microfibers are exceptionally soft and hold their shape well. They clean and dust like magic. The miracle fibers pick up everything leaving your glass, mirrors, counter tops, furniture, etc., instantly clean and shiny! Microfiber towels can hold up to eight times their weight in water plus have an exceptional ability to absorb oils. (No wonder they are so popular for car maintenance!)
In many household cleaning applications (washing floors, furniture, etc.) microfiber cleaning fabrics can be used without detergents or cleaning solutions!