OK, so maybe cleaning poop out of the bathtub isn't considered by OSHA to be true hazmat clean up, but I think that's partially because being a mom isn't considered an "occupation". We aren't paid a wage that can be taxed by the government, so even though we deal with a variety of bodily fluids on a daily basis that might make a caregiver or even a nurse wrinkle their nose and even though we deal with every hazardous material that comes out of or is anywhere in the vicinity of our children, there are no hazmat classes out there to help us.
That's just fine. I mean, I don't really want the government imposing regulations regarding the proper way to fish poop out of the tub or the appropriate rag to use to soak up an improperly contained urination. We can deal with our hazardous materials all on our own. But I still think a little recognition would be nice -- some kind of certification, a medal, a ribbon, a piece of paper to hang on the wall saying that we are the official go to person for any hazardous or bodily materials that anyone in our household might come in contact with. Yes, we are the unofficial experts, but I think it would be nice to make it official. Not that it would make the messes any less frequent, but who knows? It just might change the attitude of the one mom clean up crew. . .
Of course, I may just be preoccupied with this because it is 11:30 am here, which means we have been up for maybe 2.5 hours, and already I have cleaned up no less than 3 pees, 1 bathtub poop, and a noseful of snot that needed constant maintenance. There have been tears, spit up, spit out, none of which were mine. Yet. And when I'm done cleaning up all that, I get to clean the bathroom -- again -- because there are 2 baths worth of water on the floor -- 1 pre-poop and 1 post-poop.
Oh, they joys of motherhood. . . So tell me, have you earned your hazmat certification today? How?
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Working Smarter
As a P.S. to my last post, I'd like to add that the easiest way to work smarter, not harder is to encourage your kids to help. My kids hate to clean, but they love to help. So if I make it more about helping me than about cleaning up, they are more willing and (dare I say it) happy to help clean. And its much easier on me, with my bulging 21 week pregnant gut to ask one of my beautiful, helpful daughters to pick something up off the floor for me than to bend down and pick it up myself. And its better for them, too. Its teaching them that they are a important member of the family and they can contribute to our family, too.
They don't always want to help. Sometimes they are hungry or tired or sad or angry and then I don't push them to help anyways, I give them a little space and ask them to help again later. Fortunately, I have 2 who are old enough to help (almost 3 and almost 6 years old) so usually at least one of them is ready and willing. And when one helps, the other usually wants to whether they are feeling particularly helpful or happy or not. Because they don't want to feel left out.
Also, there are some things that need to be done immediately and some things that can wait. If you concentrate on the stuff that needs to be done immediately and put off the things that can wait until the kiddos are asleep or otherwise occupied, that makes life easier, too. Things that need to be done immediately might be things that the kids can help with, safety issues (spilled water, toys where people will step on them and get hurt, small toys that need to be picked up so the baby doesn't put them in her mouth, etc), and things that it will benefit you to do now as opposed to later. Like wiping off the baby's high chair tray when she's done eating instead of leaving it until she's hungry again and whatever she's spilled has had time to sit and dry. Or rinsing off dishes when you're done eating so that when you have the time to put them in the dishwasher, they won't have gunk dried on that will muck up the workings of the dishwasher or require you to scrub them before sticking them in the dishwasher.
I'm not saying "don't put off until tomorrow what you could get done today" isn't still good advice, but think about what you're doing. Think about what you're prioritizing. Sure, you could sweep your floor 5 times a day (once after each meal and snack) OR you could spend time with your kiddos during the day, clean up anything bigger than crumbs by hand (or get your kids to help) and sweep at naptime, once the kiddos are in bed for the night or first thing in the morning. Think about your schedule.
I'm sure there is a time when the children are sleeping or otherwise occupied when you would be able to get some stuff done. Its not always easy to find that time. And sometimes that means putting off doing your own thing or having your own downtime. But for me, having a peaceful day with my children is like a whole day of downtime and its worth a whole lot more than a whole day of downtime. When it comes down to it, I would much rather spend the day with my kids than at a spa wondering what they are doing. . .
They don't always want to help. Sometimes they are hungry or tired or sad or angry and then I don't push them to help anyways, I give them a little space and ask them to help again later. Fortunately, I have 2 who are old enough to help (almost 3 and almost 6 years old) so usually at least one of them is ready and willing. And when one helps, the other usually wants to whether they are feeling particularly helpful or happy or not. Because they don't want to feel left out.
Also, there are some things that need to be done immediately and some things that can wait. If you concentrate on the stuff that needs to be done immediately and put off the things that can wait until the kiddos are asleep or otherwise occupied, that makes life easier, too. Things that need to be done immediately might be things that the kids can help with, safety issues (spilled water, toys where people will step on them and get hurt, small toys that need to be picked up so the baby doesn't put them in her mouth, etc), and things that it will benefit you to do now as opposed to later. Like wiping off the baby's high chair tray when she's done eating instead of leaving it until she's hungry again and whatever she's spilled has had time to sit and dry. Or rinsing off dishes when you're done eating so that when you have the time to put them in the dishwasher, they won't have gunk dried on that will muck up the workings of the dishwasher or require you to scrub them before sticking them in the dishwasher.
I'm not saying "don't put off until tomorrow what you could get done today" isn't still good advice, but think about what you're doing. Think about what you're prioritizing. Sure, you could sweep your floor 5 times a day (once after each meal and snack) OR you could spend time with your kiddos during the day, clean up anything bigger than crumbs by hand (or get your kids to help) and sweep at naptime, once the kiddos are in bed for the night or first thing in the morning. Think about your schedule.
I'm sure there is a time when the children are sleeping or otherwise occupied when you would be able to get some stuff done. Its not always easy to find that time. And sometimes that means putting off doing your own thing or having your own downtime. But for me, having a peaceful day with my children is like a whole day of downtime and its worth a whole lot more than a whole day of downtime. When it comes down to it, I would much rather spend the day with my kids than at a spa wondering what they are doing. . .
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Well, I'm not sure where this concept originated from or what it originally referred to, but its a great concept and one that I intend to apply it to the insurmountable job of cleaning my house.
To me, working smarter not harder means not fighting your environment. You can spend all day sweeping your floor over and over while your 1 year old throws food on it over and over or you can pick up the large pieces of food that she is in danger of putting in her mouth from the floor and save the crumb clean up until the end of the night when your children are sleeping. You can fight with your children all day long and eventually get them to pick up their toys so that they don't have to hear you say it one more time or you can periodically ask them to pick up their toys while you prepare meals and snacks for them and if they don't do it, you can do it later. You can clean your kitchen in the morning, when your kids are clammoring for their breakfast or you can clean the kitchen at night and have it ready to make breakfast first thing in the morning.
Yes, I want to instill responsibility in my children and I would like to teach them to clean up after themselves, but at the same time I have to remember that they are children, we all have bad days and it is more important to me to create a peaceful environment for us all than to fight with and nag my children until they grudgingly do what I ask them to.
If you came to my house tomorrow morning, you might ask me how I get my house so clean with 3 kids running around and I would say "I don't." You would look around you and say, "but its clean" and I would say "yes, but I did not do it with my kids running around. I did it when they were snuggled up, all warm in their beds, fast asleep and I plan on doing the same thing every night."
This might not be the best way for everyone to work smarter, not harder, but I think it will work for me. After all, I am naturally nocturnal, which is only made worse by pregnancy insomnia, and I want a clean house, but not at the expense of my sanity. So by cleaning at night, I am not missing out on sleep because I wouldn't be asleep at this time anyways, I am providing a clean environment for my kids and I am also maintaining a pleasant, calm mood in my household.
To me, working smarter not harder means not fighting your environment. You can spend all day sweeping your floor over and over while your 1 year old throws food on it over and over or you can pick up the large pieces of food that she is in danger of putting in her mouth from the floor and save the crumb clean up until the end of the night when your children are sleeping. You can fight with your children all day long and eventually get them to pick up their toys so that they don't have to hear you say it one more time or you can periodically ask them to pick up their toys while you prepare meals and snacks for them and if they don't do it, you can do it later. You can clean your kitchen in the morning, when your kids are clammoring for their breakfast or you can clean the kitchen at night and have it ready to make breakfast first thing in the morning.
Yes, I want to instill responsibility in my children and I would like to teach them to clean up after themselves, but at the same time I have to remember that they are children, we all have bad days and it is more important to me to create a peaceful environment for us all than to fight with and nag my children until they grudgingly do what I ask them to.
If you came to my house tomorrow morning, you might ask me how I get my house so clean with 3 kids running around and I would say "I don't." You would look around you and say, "but its clean" and I would say "yes, but I did not do it with my kids running around. I did it when they were snuggled up, all warm in their beds, fast asleep and I plan on doing the same thing every night."
This might not be the best way for everyone to work smarter, not harder, but I think it will work for me. After all, I am naturally nocturnal, which is only made worse by pregnancy insomnia, and I want a clean house, but not at the expense of my sanity. So by cleaning at night, I am not missing out on sleep because I wouldn't be asleep at this time anyways, I am providing a clean environment for my kids and I am also maintaining a pleasant, calm mood in my household.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Got MY BNC Order In. . . Did You Get Yours?
I finally decided what to order. I ordered 4 miracleans (and got one free for a total of 5), 1 minty window wash, 2 citrus toilet sprays, 3 hardwood floor cleaners and a spray air deodorizer.
If anyone's interested in ordering, the coop is open for orders until 4/22 and it has reached the highest discount level of 30% off retail plus a free miraclean ($8 retail value). So get those orders in before the coop closes. It'll probably be another 6 months before the next coop.
If anyone's interested in ordering, the coop is open for orders until 4/22 and it has reached the highest discount level of 30% off retail plus a free miraclean ($8 retail value). So get those orders in before the coop closes. It'll probably be another 6 months before the next coop.
Monday, April 12, 2010
BNC Coop Is Opened!!!!
I have been impatiently waiting for the BNC coop to open on Diaper Swappers. I love Bare Naked Cleaners. They are chemical free, safe to use around your kids and best of all, you get to pick your own scents. Picking your own scents is way cool in my book, but I never would have bought them if they weren't chemical free and green. The cleaners come as concentrates that are mailed to you in tiny plastic packages about 2 inches by 3 inches. You buy your own 32 ounce spray bottles (one for each cleaner) pour in the concentrate, fill to 32 ounces and reuse them when you run out, so you're only throwing away the teeny plastic bags the concentrates come sealed in (unless of course a bottle malfunctions or your dog eats it), which is a lot better for the environment than buying cleaners at Walmart in a spray bottle that you'll use once and throw away.
Jen, the wahm behind BNC, hosts co-ops on diaperswappers.com twice a year and the coops are so popular that they always reach their maximum discount level, which this time means that everyone who orders through the diaperswappers coop will get 30% off their total order and 1 free miraclean concentrate (used to make 32 ounces of cleaner).
I try to order enough to last me until the next coop. So far, I've ordered from 2 coops and I have yet to order enough to last until the next coop. Unfortunately, I also did not keep track of how much I ordered, so I have no idea how much I should order this time. Well, actually, I was able to find the old threads, so I know what I ordered last time and the time before, but I don't know when I ran out or what I had to order in between, so I'm still not sure what to order this time.
Last time she had a coop it was in October 2009 and I ordered 2 miracleans, 1 citrus toilet spray, 1 minty window wash, 1 spray disinfectant and 2 hardwood floor cleaners. I also got a free miraclean. The time before, the coop was held in June and I ordered 1 spray disinfectant, 1 heavy duty degreaser, 1 citric toilet spray, 1 minty window wash, 1 spray air deodorizer and got a free miraclean. I also ordered a wahm sample pack that I got some hardwood floor cleaner in and fell in love with that. I know I had to buy at least 1 hardwood floor cleaner between coops, but I don't remember what I got in the sample pack. And I don't know how much of each I had leftover when I ordered from the second coop.
So part of what this post is about is announcing the coop. I know I've blogged about Bare Naked Cleaners from time to time and I thought a few of you guys might want to try out these items at a discount. The coop opened today and closes 4/22/2010, so if you're interested in ordering, get your orders in by the 22nd.
The other part of what this post is about is me keeping track of how much I started out with this time, how much I order in the coop, when I run out of products, which I run out of and and how much of what products I have to order before the next coop opens that way I will have a better understanding of how much to order in the next coop or at least have an idea of where to start when thinking of what to buy next time. Its not fun to feel like I'm floundering and don't know what I use in a given period of time. Its actually pretty embarrassing.
So right now, not including what I have mixed in my spray bottles, these are the concentrates I have stored under my kitchen sink:
2 sample sized concentrates of liquid bootie wash (each make 8 ounces of wipe solution)
1 sample size of foaming hand soap concentrate (which makes 8 ounces of foaming hand soap)
1 sample of heavy duty degreaser concentrate (nakes 8 ounces of cleaner)
1 full sized heavy duty degreaser concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 hardwood floor cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 mint window wash cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 citrus toilet spray cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
2 miraclean concentrates (each makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 disinfectant concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
I haven't decided what I'm ordering yet. I got samples of everything in the wahm sample pack I ordered, so I've figured out that the products I really use and enjoy and need to keep on hand are miraclean, citrus toilet spray, mint window wash, and hardwood floor cleaner, so that's what I'll be ordering this time. I'm ordering 3 miracleans (and likely getting 1 free), 3 hardwood floor cleaners, 2 mint window washes, and 2 citrus toilet sprays. My favorite scents are the essential oil scents because they are all natural as opposed to the fragrance oils and my favorite essential oil scents are rose and pink grapefruit, although I am thinking about trying the citrus blend that is a blend of orange and grapefruit. I think its new, I don't remember it being an option before so I may try one of my cleaners as citrus blend but the rest will be rose or pink grapefruit.
So that's my plan. It may change before the coop closes, but I'll probably blog about it again before it closes. Happy cleaning!!
Jen, the wahm behind BNC, hosts co-ops on diaperswappers.com twice a year and the coops are so popular that they always reach their maximum discount level, which this time means that everyone who orders through the diaperswappers coop will get 30% off their total order and 1 free miraclean concentrate (used to make 32 ounces of cleaner).
I try to order enough to last me until the next coop. So far, I've ordered from 2 coops and I have yet to order enough to last until the next coop. Unfortunately, I also did not keep track of how much I ordered, so I have no idea how much I should order this time. Well, actually, I was able to find the old threads, so I know what I ordered last time and the time before, but I don't know when I ran out or what I had to order in between, so I'm still not sure what to order this time.
Last time she had a coop it was in October 2009 and I ordered 2 miracleans, 1 citrus toilet spray, 1 minty window wash, 1 spray disinfectant and 2 hardwood floor cleaners. I also got a free miraclean. The time before, the coop was held in June and I ordered 1 spray disinfectant, 1 heavy duty degreaser, 1 citric toilet spray, 1 minty window wash, 1 spray air deodorizer and got a free miraclean. I also ordered a wahm sample pack that I got some hardwood floor cleaner in and fell in love with that. I know I had to buy at least 1 hardwood floor cleaner between coops, but I don't remember what I got in the sample pack. And I don't know how much of each I had leftover when I ordered from the second coop.
So part of what this post is about is announcing the coop. I know I've blogged about Bare Naked Cleaners from time to time and I thought a few of you guys might want to try out these items at a discount. The coop opened today and closes 4/22/2010, so if you're interested in ordering, get your orders in by the 22nd.
The other part of what this post is about is me keeping track of how much I started out with this time, how much I order in the coop, when I run out of products, which I run out of and and how much of what products I have to order before the next coop opens that way I will have a better understanding of how much to order in the next coop or at least have an idea of where to start when thinking of what to buy next time. Its not fun to feel like I'm floundering and don't know what I use in a given period of time. Its actually pretty embarrassing.
So right now, not including what I have mixed in my spray bottles, these are the concentrates I have stored under my kitchen sink:
2 sample sized concentrates of liquid bootie wash (each make 8 ounces of wipe solution)
1 sample size of foaming hand soap concentrate (which makes 8 ounces of foaming hand soap)
1 sample of heavy duty degreaser concentrate (nakes 8 ounces of cleaner)
1 full sized heavy duty degreaser concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 hardwood floor cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 mint window wash cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 citrus toilet spray cleaner concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
2 miraclean concentrates (each makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
1 disinfectant concentrate (makes 32 ounces of cleaner)
I haven't decided what I'm ordering yet. I got samples of everything in the wahm sample pack I ordered, so I've figured out that the products I really use and enjoy and need to keep on hand are miraclean, citrus toilet spray, mint window wash, and hardwood floor cleaner, so that's what I'll be ordering this time. I'm ordering 3 miracleans (and likely getting 1 free), 3 hardwood floor cleaners, 2 mint window washes, and 2 citrus toilet sprays. My favorite scents are the essential oil scents because they are all natural as opposed to the fragrance oils and my favorite essential oil scents are rose and pink grapefruit, although I am thinking about trying the citrus blend that is a blend of orange and grapefruit. I think its new, I don't remember it being an option before so I may try one of my cleaners as citrus blend but the rest will be rose or pink grapefruit.
So that's my plan. It may change before the coop closes, but I'll probably blog about it again before it closes. Happy cleaning!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Homemade Scour Powder
I got a sample of BNC's scour powder about a year ago and finally took the time to use it. My stove was getting pretty raunchy (*blush*) and that crossed the line for me. I had to clean my kitchen. So I decided to start out with the stove. I sprinkled the scour powder over the whole stovetop and then I paused for a minute and realised I wasn't quite sure what to do next.
The last time I used any type of scouring powder was in high school when my mom asked me to clean the bathroom with AJAX/Comet. I sprinkled it in the toilet bowl, in the sink and in the tub then scrubbed and rinsed. I never could stand the smell of AJAX or Comet, so I would do it as rapidly as I possibly could so I wouldn't have to smell it anymore. Once I moved out, I never touched it again, opting instead to use liquid cleaners.
Well, the liquid cleaners just weren't cutting it for the top of the stove, so I broke out the scour powder. I sprinkled it on the stove and then looked up online how to use it. Not only did I find how to use it, I also found simple recipes for making it. The recipes call for salt, borax and baking soda. You can do either 1 part of each or 1 part of borax, 1 part baking soda and 1/2 part salt. I probably won't use it very often since I still prefer liquid cleaners, and I prefer to clean messes as they are made to having to resort to using scour powder. As a result, I will choose to make the scour powder as needed rather than keeping it on hand. If you want to keep some ready made, though, just make sure you store it in an air-tight container as the baking soda will clump when exposed to air.
Another tip -- to make sure you have rinsed all of the solution off the surface, spray with a white vinegar solution. If there is any scour powder left on the surface you just cleaned, it will foam up and you'll know where you need to rinse a little more.
The last time I used any type of scouring powder was in high school when my mom asked me to clean the bathroom with AJAX/Comet. I sprinkled it in the toilet bowl, in the sink and in the tub then scrubbed and rinsed. I never could stand the smell of AJAX or Comet, so I would do it as rapidly as I possibly could so I wouldn't have to smell it anymore. Once I moved out, I never touched it again, opting instead to use liquid cleaners.
Well, the liquid cleaners just weren't cutting it for the top of the stove, so I broke out the scour powder. I sprinkled it on the stove and then looked up online how to use it. Not only did I find how to use it, I also found simple recipes for making it. The recipes call for salt, borax and baking soda. You can do either 1 part of each or 1 part of borax, 1 part baking soda and 1/2 part salt. I probably won't use it very often since I still prefer liquid cleaners, and I prefer to clean messes as they are made to having to resort to using scour powder. As a result, I will choose to make the scour powder as needed rather than keeping it on hand. If you want to keep some ready made, though, just make sure you store it in an air-tight container as the baking soda will clump when exposed to air.
Another tip -- to make sure you have rinsed all of the solution off the surface, spray with a white vinegar solution. If there is any scour powder left on the surface you just cleaned, it will foam up and you'll know where you need to rinse a little more.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Adventures in Cleaning -- Bathrooms
I'm happy to report that despite the stomach bug that is bugging my girls and myself, I did manage to clean both bathrooms today. Unfortunately, Joey decided to wash the dog right after I cleaned the bathroom. Instead of thinking "yay, clean dog" all I could think was "not in my clean bathroom" LOL. Fortunately, the bathroom is still clean. All that's left in my deep cleaning adventure is the laundry, living room, kitchen, playroom and garage. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. Wish me luck :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Adventures in Cleaning
I finally ran out of my BNC Miraclean. Again. Its my favorite cleaner (especially the rose EO scented one) so I use it all the time. But I ran out. Again. The coop is supposed to open any day now, so I guess I'll have to fend for myself in the meantime. I really wish I could remember how much I ordered last time. . . but this time, when I order, I'll post my order here so I can remember in 6 months what I ordered and figure out from there how much more I need to order.
Remembering my last experience making my own cleaning solution, I decided to experiment first this time, to make sure all the ingredients would play nicely together before I combined them in a spray bottle. Just so everyone knows, washing soda foams up when combined with vinegar and foams again each time its jostled just like baking soda does, so IMO its a bad idea to mix the 2 in a bottle of cleaning solution. Borax did fine, though -- no foaming at all -- so for this bottle of cleaning solution, I mixed some TTO, a bit of original Dawn dish soap (so that the TTO would play nicely with the water instead of just hanging out on top), 2 tbsp of borax, filled to 12 ounces with hot water, shook to combine then added 20 ounces of white vinegar. It seems to work fine. . . Everything I clean with it seems to get cleaner while my rag or sponge gets dirtier, which is the general idea of cleaning. . . Only problem I can see is it doesn't quite smell like roses. LOL. Not even close.
Today, I started my massive house cleaning project. I started upstairs and soon realised 2 things:
First, I will have to wait to wipe down the walls as I am out of magic erasers. I know, I know, not the greenest cleaning product and really I hate it as it shreds while I'm cleaning and I just think that's gross. I have to wipe the wall down with a wet rag when I'm done wiping it down with the magic eraser. But I have 3 kids -- 5.5, 2.5 and 1 -- and I just haven't found anything "green" that removes coloring from the wall like the magic eraser, so until I do. . .
And second, I will have to wait until I have cleaned out the garage and bought the new shelving units before I declutter and organize. Oh, I can place them back in their current places for now, but I was really planning on figuring out a more efficient way to organize our home and I can't do that until I have a staging area for the stuff that is being decluttered. It just takes up too much room to allow me to shuffle stuff and try out different organizational systems now.
I imagine being an Army wife will require me to stop being such a pack rat as we won't be able to take all of our stuff with us everywhere we go. And really, its not practical to keep everything that has sentimental value but isn't being used. Do I really need every picture Addy has ever drawn? How is that going to enrich our lives now? She doesn't even know I have them all, so its not like it makes her feel valued or special. I don't even know why I can't seem to throw them away. . . Just me being a silly sentimental mom, I guess. And that's just one example.
I am planning on having several garage sales while Joey is at basic to reduce the amount of stuff we have. It will make things much easier for us since he only has 2 days at home between basic and AIT. Not a lot of time to pack up a household. But I'm digressing.
Today, I cleaned the upstairs bedrooms. I wiped down the furniture with my new cleaning solution, I vaccuumed the floors and washed the linens. Joey did clothes and we put a bunch of them up. I even vaccuumed their stuffed animals. The girls are cleaning up their playroom now (that's their responsibility, although as part of this deep cleaning I will clean it, too) and their sheet protectors are in the wash, so we are going to have dinner and then enjoy some family time. Daddy is going to teach us farkle and then we are going to watch a movie while their sheet protectors are drying and sheets are washing and drying. See y'all later :)
Remembering my last experience making my own cleaning solution, I decided to experiment first this time, to make sure all the ingredients would play nicely together before I combined them in a spray bottle. Just so everyone knows, washing soda foams up when combined with vinegar and foams again each time its jostled just like baking soda does, so IMO its a bad idea to mix the 2 in a bottle of cleaning solution. Borax did fine, though -- no foaming at all -- so for this bottle of cleaning solution, I mixed some TTO, a bit of original Dawn dish soap (so that the TTO would play nicely with the water instead of just hanging out on top), 2 tbsp of borax, filled to 12 ounces with hot water, shook to combine then added 20 ounces of white vinegar. It seems to work fine. . . Everything I clean with it seems to get cleaner while my rag or sponge gets dirtier, which is the general idea of cleaning. . . Only problem I can see is it doesn't quite smell like roses. LOL. Not even close.
Today, I started my massive house cleaning project. I started upstairs and soon realised 2 things:
First, I will have to wait to wipe down the walls as I am out of magic erasers. I know, I know, not the greenest cleaning product and really I hate it as it shreds while I'm cleaning and I just think that's gross. I have to wipe the wall down with a wet rag when I'm done wiping it down with the magic eraser. But I have 3 kids -- 5.5, 2.5 and 1 -- and I just haven't found anything "green" that removes coloring from the wall like the magic eraser, so until I do. . .
And second, I will have to wait until I have cleaned out the garage and bought the new shelving units before I declutter and organize. Oh, I can place them back in their current places for now, but I was really planning on figuring out a more efficient way to organize our home and I can't do that until I have a staging area for the stuff that is being decluttered. It just takes up too much room to allow me to shuffle stuff and try out different organizational systems now.
I imagine being an Army wife will require me to stop being such a pack rat as we won't be able to take all of our stuff with us everywhere we go. And really, its not practical to keep everything that has sentimental value but isn't being used. Do I really need every picture Addy has ever drawn? How is that going to enrich our lives now? She doesn't even know I have them all, so its not like it makes her feel valued or special. I don't even know why I can't seem to throw them away. . . Just me being a silly sentimental mom, I guess. And that's just one example.
I am planning on having several garage sales while Joey is at basic to reduce the amount of stuff we have. It will make things much easier for us since he only has 2 days at home between basic and AIT. Not a lot of time to pack up a household. But I'm digressing.
Today, I cleaned the upstairs bedrooms. I wiped down the furniture with my new cleaning solution, I vaccuumed the floors and washed the linens. Joey did clothes and we put a bunch of them up. I even vaccuumed their stuffed animals. The girls are cleaning up their playroom now (that's their responsibility, although as part of this deep cleaning I will clean it, too) and their sheet protectors are in the wash, so we are going to have dinner and then enjoy some family time. Daddy is going to teach us farkle and then we are going to watch a movie while their sheet protectors are drying and sheets are washing and drying. See y'all later :)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Adventures in thriftiness -- cleaning solutions
For the past 6 months, I've been using Bare Naked Cleaners products to clean my house and I love them. I use them every time I clean. I use (and love) the miraclean, citrus toilet spray, minty window wash, hardwood floor cleaner, and disinfectant. I love the fact that they are made from all natural products, are non toxic and I get to pick their scent. Since I love all natural products, I choose to get mine scented with essential oils instead of fragrance oils, but she offers both. So not only do I not have to deal with nasty chemical smells, but I get to pick what I do smell. I might be too excited about this, but since I do most of the cleaning and can't stand the smell of AJAX or bleach, even when I'm not pregnant, its a big deal to me. Plus, she does co-ops on Diaper Swappers twice a year, so I'm able to get the custom scented cleaners that I love at a discount. You can't get much better than that in my book!
Still, I'm always ISO a way to be more self-sufficient or to save a few bucks. She doesn't offer dishwashing detergent, so I use 1/2 borax and 1/2 washing soda as dishwashing detergent and I use white vinegar in place of jet-dry. And I'm always running out. I try to estimate how much of each cleaner I will need for the next 6 months, but I forget how much I used the past 6 months or I use more just because it smells so darn good and I always run out at the most inopportune times. The last time I ran out, it was a week before I was to have a joint birthday party for Addy and Evie (they were born a week less than 3 years apart). Talk about bad timing!
So the other day, I was reading a thread on Diaper Swappers about recipes for homemade cleaners that other people have made themselves and liked and I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. Rather than just pick one all purpose cleaning recipe solution to try, I decided to take all the ingredients for all of the all purpose cleaning solution recipes that I had on hand and mix them together. BIG MISTAKE.
My solution was 1 tbsp borax, 1 tbsp washing soda, 1 tbsp baking soda all dissolved into hot water, poured into a 32 ounce spray bottle that was then filled with white vinegar. Those of you who made volcanos for your elementary school science fairs know what happened next. That's right, massive spewage. Not only massive initial spewage, but secondary spewage whenever I jostled the bottle at all, and I forgot to close the sprayer nozzel all the way that night, so while I was sleeping most of the solution fizzled out of the bottle on to the floor. It was a big mess. Needless to say, I will not mix baking soda and vinegar in a squirt bottle again. . .
Next time, I am going to try 1 tbsp borax and 1 tbsp washing soda dissolved into hot water, poured into the spray bottle then filled with vinegar. As vinegar is naturally antibacterial and baking soda is a great stain remover, I think its more important to include vinegar in an all purpose cleaner than to include baking soda. I can always use baking soda as a scour powder if I happen to get a stain on the counter.
I am by no means a pro and until I am able to make my own all natural cleaners that smell like roses, I will still be buying cleaners from BNC whenever they have a coop. This is just something I've been playing with lately as a backup. I don't want to have to buy cleaners at the store when I run out. I'd rather figure out a functional cleaner recipe just in case I need it than have to fall back on whatever I can find at Walmart. . .
Still, I'm always ISO a way to be more self-sufficient or to save a few bucks. She doesn't offer dishwashing detergent, so I use 1/2 borax and 1/2 washing soda as dishwashing detergent and I use white vinegar in place of jet-dry. And I'm always running out. I try to estimate how much of each cleaner I will need for the next 6 months, but I forget how much I used the past 6 months or I use more just because it smells so darn good and I always run out at the most inopportune times. The last time I ran out, it was a week before I was to have a joint birthday party for Addy and Evie (they were born a week less than 3 years apart). Talk about bad timing!
So the other day, I was reading a thread on Diaper Swappers about recipes for homemade cleaners that other people have made themselves and liked and I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. Rather than just pick one all purpose cleaning recipe solution to try, I decided to take all the ingredients for all of the all purpose cleaning solution recipes that I had on hand and mix them together. BIG MISTAKE.
My solution was 1 tbsp borax, 1 tbsp washing soda, 1 tbsp baking soda all dissolved into hot water, poured into a 32 ounce spray bottle that was then filled with white vinegar. Those of you who made volcanos for your elementary school science fairs know what happened next. That's right, massive spewage. Not only massive initial spewage, but secondary spewage whenever I jostled the bottle at all, and I forgot to close the sprayer nozzel all the way that night, so while I was sleeping most of the solution fizzled out of the bottle on to the floor. It was a big mess. Needless to say, I will not mix baking soda and vinegar in a squirt bottle again. . .
Next time, I am going to try 1 tbsp borax and 1 tbsp washing soda dissolved into hot water, poured into the spray bottle then filled with vinegar. As vinegar is naturally antibacterial and baking soda is a great stain remover, I think its more important to include vinegar in an all purpose cleaner than to include baking soda. I can always use baking soda as a scour powder if I happen to get a stain on the counter.
I am by no means a pro and until I am able to make my own all natural cleaners that smell like roses, I will still be buying cleaners from BNC whenever they have a coop. This is just something I've been playing with lately as a backup. I don't want to have to buy cleaners at the store when I run out. I'd rather figure out a functional cleaner recipe just in case I need it than have to fall back on whatever I can find at Walmart. . .
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