Cleaning with Vinegar

I like to use natural cleaners whenever possible.  A lot of the store-bought cleaners have something in them that sets off our asthma and sometimes even gives me migraines.  One of my favorite all -purpose cleaners is white vinegar.


In my house I use white vinegar to clean countertops, mop tile floors, disinfect trash cans, clean the microwave, wash windows, and deodorize the dishwasher when it gets to smelling funky.  I used to use it to deodorize the garbage disposal and it worked just fine, but then I found these little lemon scented balls made especially for the garbage disposal and I just loved the way they smell, so that's what I use for that now.


Here is a website that has many more uses for white vinegar.  Let me know if you have a use for it that I've missed.  

Homemade Air Fresheners

Everyone likes having a nice, fresh smelling home.  But, let's be real.  Sometimes things just stink.  One solution is to spray a commercial air freshener into the air.  While that might work for some people, it doesn't work for me or for many who live in my house.

The best way to freshen your house is to clean it up.  Open some windows, empty all the trashes, and keep the laundry clean.  Run cut up lemon slices through your garbage disposal.  Make sure you clean out the bottom of your dishwasher.  Sometimes,  if you don't pre-rinse your dishes, food particles can get caught in the bottom of your dishwasher and they can start to smell bad.

To make non-toxic air fresheners, you can use household items.  One idea is to dip cotton balls into vanilla extract and leave them out to freshen the air.  Lemon extract, orange extract, almond, peppermint, etc all work well, too.  You can also simmer cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peels, and other things like that in a small pot on the stove.   Just don't forget it's there!  Fresh flowers also lend a nice scent to your home.  Roses are particularly aromatic.  Rose oil can be mixed with water and sprayed into the room.  Any kind of oil you like can be used in this way.

This is just scratching the surface of the many ways you can make your home smell good.  There are countless other ways, too.  One of my favorites is to bake something delicious (like cinnamon rolls).  Another good one is to burn a scented candle.  Just be careful with this, because some of the highly scented ones can cause allergy or asthma attacks.

Cleaning Schedule

I try to keep a cleaning schedule.  It doesn't always happen.  Life tends to get in the way, but that's a good thing!  The main reason I even attempt a schedule is to keep from falling too far behind in any one area.  For instance, I know that if I waited to wash laundry until we couldn't find any clean clothes, that would be a real inconvenience not to mention a major stressor.  I feel the same way about the other chores.  I am more content, more creative, and more at peace when the house is kept up.

Monday---wash and fold laundry, dust, vacuum upstairs and downstairs, declutter as I go

Tuesday---change sheets (we all have queen size beds, so that makes keeping up with the sheets much easier), clean bookshelves, go to the library

Wednesday---clean bathrooms, deep clean kitchen, vacuum downstairs, mop tile floors, shine wood floors

Thursday---wash and fold laundry, dust, clean refrigerators, plan menu for next week

Friday---grocery shop, yard work, ironing

Saturday---clean bathrooms, clean porch, bake bread for next week, vacuum downstairs

Sunday---rest and sometimes bake goodies

Homemade Cleaners

A few of us in our family have breathing problems when we use commercial cleaners.  I love a clean house, but an asthma attack is too high a price to pay.  So, through trial and error, I have discovered a few more natural things that work for us.

For all the tile surfaces we use white vinegar.  Sometimes I just pour it on the kitchen floor and spray the floor with water from the sink and start mopping.

For the bathroom surfaces I have been know to use white vinegar, but I really like the Method spray in cucumber melon scent.  I use bleach in the toilets.  I know it's not as non-toxic as vinegar, but it just smells so clean to me.

I like lemon oil for dusting.  It barely has a scent and it makes everything look beautiful.

For the wood floors, I use white vinegar and follow it up with a very light coat of orange oil.  Not so much to make it slippery; just enough to make it shine and take away any footprints.

For carpet stains, I use just plain old soapy water.  I have read that rubbing alcohol will take out stains but I haven't tried it yet.  I really need to though.

For glass cleaner, I mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and water, then add a tablespoon of white vinegar.  I works just as well as the expensive stuff you can buy in the store.

For rings around the tub of sink, I use baking soda as an abrasive.  Baking soda or salt also work well when you have a burned pan.  Just pour the stuff on, leave it overnight, and the next morning the pan will clean up easier.

For baseboards, I use soapy water and a scrub brush.  I usually just dust my walls when needed, but if they do need washed I use soapy water.

For laundry soap, I mix a shredded bar of soap with borax and washing soda.  I use a tablespoon for each load and if the clothes are really dirty, I will add a scoop of oxyclean.  If I'm lazy and don't want to make laundry soap, I can use All free and clear without a problem.

That's all I can think of at the moment.  There might be more, but my mind's gone blank.  Tomorrow I will try to post my weekly cleaning schedule.

Freezer Organization

I have needed to clean and organize my freezers for quite some time. When I bought my big upright freezer, I was looking at the price tag and missed out on a very important fact. It was not frost free. This means it gets full of ice and regularly needs to be defrosted. This is not a fun job.

But, hunting season is here and if the guys get an animal, I am going to need some freezer space. So, I bit the bullet and started cleaning and organizing. It took half a day and I couldn't have done it without my kids help.

My organization tip for the week is this: when you freeze meat (or whatever) use labeled bins to separate your food. For instance, I have one bin for ground beef, ground turkey, meatballs, etc. I have another bin for chicken, one for breakfast meats, and one for fish. The purpose for this is to keep the kinds of food separated so that you know exactly what you have and how much you have of it. Never again will I think I have plenty of hamburger for dinner, only to find I have none.

I wish I had thought to take a before picture but I didn't. So, here are the after pictures.