Helpful Hints for Winter
*Ice-proof your windows w/vinegar! Frost on its way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water preventing it from freezing!
*Squeak-proof your wipers...with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.
*Prevent car doors from freezing shut...with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber!
*De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!
*Fog-proof your windshield /shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe it off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers!
*Keep your headlights clear w/car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights. Lasts 6 weeks.
*Ice-proof your windows w/vinegar! Frost on its way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water preventing it from freezing!
*Squeak-proof your wipers...with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.
*Prevent car doors from freezing shut...with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber!
*De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!
*Fog-proof your windshield /shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe it off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers!
*Keep your headlights clear w/car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights. Lasts 6 weeks.
Homemade Febreze
In a 32 oz Spray Bottle mix
*1/8 Cup of Your Favorite Fabric Softener
*2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
*Hot Tap Water - To Fill the Bottle to the Top
Shake it up in your Spray Bottle and you're ready to go and fight those Stinky Dog Odors!
*1/8 Cup of Your Favorite Fabric Softener
*2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
*Hot Tap Water - To Fill the Bottle to the Top
Shake it up in your Spray Bottle and you're ready to go and fight those Stinky Dog Odors!
Homemade Bleach Scrub
Mix 2 parts baking soda and1 part bleach (we used a tablespoon for our sink) and stirred. It should make a nice paste. We used a lot less bleach and it didn't run down the sink before we could scrub down the sides.
Carpet Freshener
*1 Box Baking Soda
*Favorite smell Essential Oil
*Shaker (ie a parmesan Container or similar container)
Empty the box of baking soda into a bowl and add 25 drops of oil. Mix really well with a fork. Put into a clean empty shaker jar and liberally shake on your carpet. Let stand for 30 min. Then vacuum your odors away!
Empty the box of baking soda into a bowl and add 25 drops of oil. Mix really well with a fork. Put into a clean empty shaker jar and liberally shake on your carpet. Let stand for 30 min. Then vacuum your odors away!
Reusable Dryer Sheets
What You Need:
What You Need:
*Strips of flannel (use fabric scraps on hand or you can use worn-out sheets or an old shirt)
*Scissors
*A medium-sized plastic container with lid (we re-purposed a cleaned-out sour cream container)
*A favorite brand of liquid fabric softener.
*Hot water
**Pre-wash your flannel and cut it into strips that are about 3x5" (just eyeball it - no one is going to sneak in your laundry room with ruler). At this point you can hem your edges or you can be lazy like us and just cut them with pinking shears.
**Put your strips into your container, making sure they all fit comfortably and the lid can go on.
**Mix up a solution of 4 parts liquid fabric softener and 10 parts hot water. Pour the solution over the strips of flannel in the container, secure the lid, and shake it up to make sure the strips soak up the solution. Let it sit for at least two days
**Mix up a solution of 4 parts liquid fabric softener and 10 parts hot water. Pour the solution over the strips of flannel in the container, secure the lid, and shake it up to make sure the strips soak up the solution. Let it sit for at least two days
**When you are ready to do some laundry, just pull out one strip, squeeze out the excess solution, and throw it in the dryer with your wet clothes like you normally would with a reg. dryer sheet! Used strips can be put back into the container with the solution and used again!
Natural Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner
*1/4 cup white vinegar
*1/4 cup lemon juice (reconstituted or strained fresh juice)
*1 cup of warm water
Mix ingredients and pour in a spray bottle. Shake before using.
For more green cleaning recipes check out naturemuseum.org under education.
Let's Make Some Magic!
Often the miracle product Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and others like it have made cleaning some of the toughest messes (like magic marker on the computer keyboard) a breeze. It really does work like magic! Is it possible to make a homemade version. After a little research we found that all these products are is melamine foam! Apparently, melamine foam is an open cell foam that, when mixed with water, acts like a super micro-fine sandpaper easily removing the toughest stains around your house!
We looked into purchasing some melamine foam from our local big box hardware store, but was told they don't carry it. Because melamine foam is used as a soundproofing material, we found you can find it at stores specializing in that area (we were also able to find it on Amazon.com!).
Who knew making a little magic would be so easy?
We looked into purchasing some melamine foam from our local big box hardware store, but was told they don't carry it. Because melamine foam is used as a soundproofing material, we found you can find it at stores specializing in that area (we were also able to find it on Amazon.com!).
Who knew making a little magic would be so easy?
Homemade Air Freshener What You Need:
*2 cups hot water
*1/8 cup baking soda (as we've mentioned before, baking soda is great for removing odors)
*1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled - even expired! - works fine too)
Dissolve your baking soda completely in the hot water. Then add your lemon juice. Be careful with this step, as adding the lemon juice can make it erupt like a grade school science project. Put your mixture into a spray bottle and get spraying!
**As this has no preservatives in it, try to use it up within a week or so**
**As this has no preservatives in it, try to use it up within a week or so**
Wrinkle Release Spray What you need:
*1/3 cup liquid fabric softener (we bought the cheapest we could find)
*1/3 cup white vinegar
*1/3 cup water
Mix your three ingredients and pour them into a spray bottle. Then take your wrinkled garment, place it on a hanger, spray it thoroughly (though not soaking), and give it a shake. The wrinkles will be gone in a matter of seconds! It is seriously like magic!!
Cleaning with Baking Soda
27 uses of baking soda.
Here are some of our favorites:
*Use a paste of baking soda and water to remove burnt on foods from pots and your stove. Let it sit for 15-20 min. and it should come off easily.
*Use baking soda as a scouring powder. Just sprinkle on your damp cloth to clean counter tops, sinks, cabinets, appliances and tile. It won't scratch!!
*Pour a 1/4 cup of baking soda in your drains weekly to keep them flowing freely in the kitchen and bath. Rinse through with hot water.
*Baking soda is great at removing odors. Sprinkle it in any stinky spot: garbage cans, diaper pails and litter boxes!
*Sprinkle baking soda on your carpets and let stand for at least 15 min. then vacuum up for fresh smelling carpets.
*Use baking soda in your laundry. Add a 1/2 cup to your bleach loads to boost the whitening power. Add to your regular loads for added freshness and cleaning.
*Use a mixture of 1/4 cup baking soda to 1 quart water for cleaning plastic toys, lawn furniture and kiddie pools. Rinse with water.
*You can even use baking soda occasionally on a wet toothbrush to clean and whiten your teeth (not the best tasting toothpaste).
Give baking soda a try. We have been so amazed at this old fashioned cleaning product.
Wood Polish
The Recipe
Simply mix equal parts white vinegar with olive oil (we like to use light oil) in a small spray bottle. Shake well before using. Spray a small amount on furniture and wipe with a clean dry towel. A little goes a long way!
Simply mix equal parts white vinegar with olive oil (we like to use light oil) in a small spray bottle. Shake well before using. Spray a small amount on furniture and wipe with a clean dry towel. A little goes a long way!
Mix 1/8 of a cup of bleach with 4 cups of water in an empty spray bottle.
This won't keep indefinitely, as bleach will quickly lose its disinfecting properties. As you can see for the "recipe", this is super-cheap to make - way cheaper than the commercial brands. And it works great!
This won't keep indefinitely, as bleach will quickly lose its disinfecting properties. As you can see for the "recipe", this is super-cheap to make - way cheaper than the commercial brands. And it works great!
Laundry Soap
What you need:
1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha or 1 bar of Ivory soap, grated
½ cup washing soda (found in the laundry aisle in most stores - Arm & Hammer makes it)
½ cup borax powder (also in the laundry aisle - look for "20 Mule Team" brand)
A small bucket, about 2 gallon size
*Put the grated soap in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.
*Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.
*Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir.
*Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel (it's a little like magic!). You use ½ cup per load. This soap does not foam, so don't be surprised when you first use it.
All Purpose Cleaning Spray
www.mrscleannw.com.
1/2 t washing soda
2 t borax
1/2 t liquid dish soap
2 cups hot water
Simply mix ingredients in an empty spray bottle and get cleaning!
1/2 t washing soda
2 t borax
1/2 t liquid dish soap
2 cups hot water
Simply mix ingredients in an empty spray bottle and get cleaning!
Dishwasher Detergent
If you are like us, you wash more dishes than you care to think about. Even with the help of the dishwasher it can still be a monstrous task. And with it comes the cost of buying all that detergent - it can really add up! So we were inspired to find a recipe for our own, homemade dishwasher detergent that would cut the cost to a minimum while still getting the job done. There were quite a few recipes that we found, but this one (from www.stretcher.com) seems to work great - at a fraction of the cost of commercial brands!
Mix together equal parts Borax and Baking Soda in an empty canister. Pour vinegar into the rinse agent dispenser in your dishwasher. This is important because the Borax definitely needs some extra help getting rinsed off, and vinegar is a super-cheap and effective way to do it! Scoop 1 Tbsp. into each side of your dishwasher's soap dispenser. Run your machine as you normally would!
Mix together equal parts Borax and Baking Soda in an empty canister. Pour vinegar into the rinse agent dispenser in your dishwasher. This is important because the Borax definitely needs some extra help getting rinsed off, and vinegar is a super-cheap and effective way to do it! Scoop 1 Tbsp. into each side of your dishwasher's soap dispenser. Run your machine as you normally would!
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