Monday, February 1, 2010

Spring Cleaning?

I gather from what I have read that the practice of "Spring Cleaning" came about because homes were heated with wood and/or coal and that made the house get quite dirty over the winter. We do heat with wood and things get pretty dusty, but the coal would be worse. We did use coal one winter a long time ago. We had a wood/coal stove in our dining room. It was "family night." I had set the table with white linen and all of our nicest things for a special meal. I was standing there and suddenly the stove said "poof!" and black soot settled all over our nice table. I stood there for a few moments, trying to decide how to react. The children were all looking at me. I said, calmly, "Well, I guess I'll have to start over." And that's what I did! That was the last winter we ever heated with coal, though.

I began Spring Cleaning today. All I got done was the bathroom. I cleaned everything in there. It looks and smells so nice now! I got inspired because I ran across some good homemade cleaner recipes on someone's blog. And of course now I can't remember which one, so forgive me, whoever it is. Please?

Bath Tub Scrub

1 cup Borax
1 cup baking soda

It worked wonderfully well!

Glass Cleaner

Take a spray bottle and fill it up to within about 1 inch of where the skinny part starts, with plain white vinegar. Add about 1 inch of rubbing alcohol. That's it! It is as good as or better than purchased glass cleaner. And the alcohol makes it evaporate nicely and also masks the smell of the vinegar.

All - Purpose Cleaner

To the glass cleaner, add 1 Tablespoon of Borax and shake it up well.

I used this for the walls, counters, floor and everything else.

I used the bath tub scrub in the toilet bowl.

And I used about a million (?) microfiber cloths before it was over.

Whew! I'm worn out. Maybe I should do the next room NEXT spring?? ;)

5 comments:

  1. My girls cleaned the whole main floor today too. Hannah wanted to put something that smelled nice in the mop water something floral she said. I got out some white magnolia essential oil and told her to put a capful in her water. Boy did it stink up the house. I can still smell it. I even smelled up the drain. Now I know what to do when I need to cover up a bad smell.
    take care.

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  2. All of my helpers got married and moved away! Maybe next time, use just a couple drops of the oil? What a nice idea! If I am recovered in the morning, I plan to tear into the kitchen. :-0 What am I thinking?

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  3. I made the all purpose cleaner today and it works great. I was too leery to put any fragrance in. Maybe cherry this time. lol and easy does it.

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  4. Yes. There's nothing like that first deep cleaning when you're inspired and ready to make a dent. Good for you for getting it done green too!

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