Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Easy Outdoor Window Cleaner

So cleaning the house windows in the hot sun is no fun and usually time consuming. I have found that the chore just was not worth doing most of the year. I looked into the windex outdoor cleaning system but it was like many of the other cleaners just was expensive and full of chemicals. This was cheap, quick, and easy to make. I have included two sets of steps for single story and multi-story homes. Materials are slightly different but the ingredients are the same.

Ingredients




  • 2 cups of Water
  • 1/4 cup of White Vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of either castile soap or dish detergent (both work well)

For the single story.

Materials

  •  a spray bottle 
  • a swiffer sweeper mop (or similar style mop)
  • 2 microfiber cloths
  • Garden hose attached to a spigot (make sure you can reach all of the windows with it)




First mix all of the ingredients in the spray bottle. Then if you have screens on your windows make sure you take those off. Now put one cloth on the end of the swiffer sweeper (do not use the swiffer pads for this as they do not hold up well). Spray the first window with the hose to wet it. Then Spray the  mixture on the window. Now wipe or scrub the entire window with the mop. Now use the Garden hose to rinse the window. Take the wet cloth off the swiffer sweeper and put the dry one on it then use that to dry the window. Repeat till done with all of the windows. When you are finished with the windows put the screens back onto them.

For multi-story

Materials



First mix all of the ingredients in the bucket. Then if you have screens on your windows take those off. Now prepare the brush. Spray the first window to wet it with the hose. Then dip the brush in the bucket and scrub the entire window with the brush. Now use the hose to rinse the window and let them air dry. Repeat till all the windows have been washed. Finally put the screens back onto the windows.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Bathroom cleaner that is Fun to Watch

This is one of the easiest recipes to use for cleaning the bathroom and frankly fun to watch it work. My niece (age 3) and nephew (age 5) love watching this This helps with the Iron rings I get in my toilet from my hard water. It makes the bowl look disgusting. This can also be used to clean the sink, shower, and tub using the same steps.

materials

  • Spray bottle
  • brush or cloth for scrubbing
ingredients
  • Vinegar
  • baking soda
  • essential oils (optional)
First, fill the spray bottle with vinegar and essential oils (enough for your liking). Then spray the surface you want to clean with the mixture. Let it sit for about two minutes then (this is the fun part, seriously get your kids) lightly sprinkle baking soda on the area. Let it sit till it stops bubbling or fizzing. If you put it in the toilet bowl, use the brush to scrub the bowl then flush. If you put it on other surfaces use a cloth to wipe it off. Spray one last time to make sure you got all the baking soda dissolved.  Wipe again, and then you're done. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Liquid Laundry detergent

I have told you all that I make my cleaners to save money. Well, this one came about not to save money, but because I have an allergy to most store detergents including powders. I have found that this recipe alleviated that annoying, bumpy, itchy rash I perticularly got on my chest and thighs. It works well in my hard water combinded with my HE washer. It takes a bit of slaving over a hot stove, but the recipe is very simple. The recipe also is in bulk (yields 5 gal) and will last some time.
Materials
1 Ten Gallon Bucket with a lid
1 Large Pot
1 Cheese Grater (I used a food processor)
1 Large Mixing Utensil
2 - 3 Empty Laundry Detergent Containers (optional)
Ingrediants
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of  Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)
1 Bar of Fels Naptha soap (or 5.5 oz of Zote soap)
Water (enough to fill half the bucket)
1 tbsp of Essential Oil for scent (optional it smells good without it too)
Instructions
Heat 1 quart of water in the pot on the medium high till it is steaming. While doing that, grate the Fels-Naptha soap. Add the grated soap to the hot water. Stir until completely melted - about 10 minutes. There should be no clumps in the water. Be careful with the foamy bubbles.
Fill up  the 10 gallon bucket halfway with hot tap water. Pour in the melted soap mixture & give it a quick stir. Stir in the borax & washing soda till it is disolved. If you're using essential oil, now is the time to add it. You add in ½oz to 1oz, depending on how scented you want. Stir the contents again.
Snap on the lid, & let it sit for 24 hours to gel up. It will have the consistency of egg noodle soup - watery with glops of gel. If you would like a smoother consistency like the store-bought brands, you can use an immersion blender at this point to smooth it out.
AFTER 24 HOURS HAVE PASSED you can divide it up between the empty containers.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Slow Release Air Freshener made with Toys!!!

So as I stated in my last post, moving and renovating has given me a few new ideas. When we first moved to this house it stunk of cat pee. Yeah EEEEWWWW!!! We cleaned the grout with bleach and a lot of elbow grease, but the stench was still there and now added with bleach smells. Any suggestions to add to this freshener are welcome. Until I find an effective recipe for getting the smell out of grout I have needed to use air fresheners. I love using the fragrance spheres like the ones that Yankee Candle has, but they are so expensive and full of chemicals. After some trial and error I have found a extremely easy recipe that is cheap and the materials are reusable. Better yet one of them is found in the toy isle at many stores like Walmart. That's right. I said the toy isle. Specifically usually found in the girls toy isle. The toy I am talking about is Orbeez. This one is very fun to watch when you put the liquid in the jar, and in the end is very pretty looking. That being said I do feel the need to say the next thing as I know many of you use chemical free cleaners because of young ones.

WARNING: Orbeez is a CHOKING HAZARD. Although the liquid used in this recipe is safe for young ones, swallowing Orbeez can cause Choking, Serious Injury, and even lead to DEATH. DO NOT KEEP IN REACH OF CHILDREN.

Now lets get started.

Materials

  • Mason Jar with a lid (I used an 16 oz jar)
  • Bowl 
  • Spoon
  • Hammer
  • Phillips Screw Driver
  • 2 packets of Orbeez (I only used red for this one)
Ingrediants
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 tsp Essential oils 
First you will need to make holes in the lid of the mason jar. Leave the lid on the jar. Put the end of the screw driver onto the lid, and use the hammer to hit the handle so it will punch a hole in the top. do this repeatedly till you get a desired number of holes in the top. you will want about a 1/4 inch between each of them to maintain structural integrity of the lid. Unscrew the lid and set it aside with the jar.

Use the bowl and spoon to mix the water and essential oils.

Pour both packets of Orbeez into the mason jar. Now pour the liquid mixture from your bowl into the jar with the Orbeez. Now here is the fun part. Wait a few minutes and they will be fully grown to almost 300 times their original size.

When they are dried up you can make a new liquid mixture and just pour it right in. Here is a picture of my finished product.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

I am Back/ Aquarium and Equipment Cleaner

I know I have not posted in awhile. I have been very busy with more hours at work, moving and home renovations. Moving has given me many ideas which I will post about later, especially moving and organization strategies. Anyway back to the article for today.

There are not a lot of chemical free cleaners for aquariums that help to disinfect anything in the tank such as the filter or the decorations. A normal 25% water change is what most of us tank owners do and it can be frustrating. If you have to do a full tank change it is really a pain in the rear. I have made a recipe that can be used for a FULL TANK CHANGE. Do not do this with a partial as it will kill your fish when mixed into their water. I have made it to best suit a 10 gallon tank but is easily increased or decreased to fit your needs.

Materials

  • A measuring cup
  • two clean rags 
  • old toothbrush
  • a bowl
  • container large enough to put your fish in
  • Dishwasher (if you have one)
  •  sink.
Ingredients
  • 1tbsp vinegar 
  • 1tbsp vodka
  • 2 cups water
  • Old tank water (enough to put in fish container while you clean)
  • new tank water (enough to fill tank)

First if you have recently done the dishes in your dishwasher, start a rinse cycle only. This will get rid of any soap residue before using it for cleaning the decorations. Fill a container with water from the fish tank. Take out the fish and put them into that container and set them aside. with the exception of real plants and gravel, take out decorations, and all equipment out of the fish tank. Put the non plant decorations inside the top rack of the dishwasher and put the fake plants in the silverware container. Close it and set it to the normal wash cycle. Rinse aid is fine just DO NOT USE SOAP.  If you do not have a dishwasher you can wash them by hand with the filters later.

While the dishwasher is running, drain the tank. Now mix the vinegar, vodka and one cup of water in a bowl. Dip a clean rag into the mixture and wipe the inside of the tank. Take a old toothbrush and use it to scrub the corners of the tank. Get one cup of plain water and another rag. repeat the same steps you did with the mixture. now dump the plain water on the gravel, especially around any real plants to rinse the mixture  off the surface then drain that. You may need to fill the tank till water covers the gravel and drain it to get a thorough rinse of the gravel. Allow it to dry while you do the next steps.

For the filters (and decorations if you don't have a dishwasher) take them apart as instructed by the manufacturer and was all the non electrical parts in the sink, again DO NOT USE SOAP. Then set them up with new filters as per manufacturer instructions.

When the dishwasher is finished with the last rinse cycle go ahead and open it up. You do not need to dry them. Set them up in the tank however you like. Fill the tank up but leave enough room to put the entire container of water your fish are currently in into the tank.

You will need to re-acclimate the fish. Put the fish container into the water and let it sit in the new water for 15 minutes. Pour half of it into the tank and then refill it with the new tank water. Let it sit for 15 more minutes.  Now put your fish back into the tank and pour the container into it. I know that sounds weird but the old water has good bacteria in it that will keep your fish healthy.

Now you are done.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Carpet refresher.

Ever have those times where your carpet is more dirty than usual but too clean to waste effort on using a shampooer? I definitely had that feeling this week since my roomba had not been scheduled to go off very regularly lately. I do not own a stick or upright vacuum right now because a decent one is very expensive. I got lucky I found my roomba brand new at an estate sale for $40. It does pretty well for its size and my one bedroom apartment. Anyway this post is not about my vacuum. I decided to try a carpet refresher a year ago, but the ones at the store are expensive for what I need. I found this recipe which is super easy and cheap to make. This usually helps repel bugs from the house especially if you use the oils or rosemary. I use this weekly and it leaves my house smelling awesome and clean when its all said and done, even if all I did was this to clean my apartment that week.

Materials

  • 16 oz mason jar with lid
  • large phillips screw driver
  • hammer
  • mixer
  • mixing bowl
  • measuring cup
ingredients
  • washing soda
  • baking soda
  • borax
  • essential oils (optional or can substitute for ground rosemary leaves)

to make

First  take the mason jar and lid and tightly close it onto the jar. Then take the screw driver and the hammer and punch holes into the lid. I made five of them in the top. Next pour  one cup of washing soda, baking soda, and borax into the mixer with one teaspoon of essential oils or one sprig of ground rosemary. mix till the powder looks consistent and the oils are evenly spread.If you can add the oils slowly after you have started the mixer. Open the mason jar and pour the mixture into it then close the lid.

To use

Vacuum your entire carpet first to get any large and loose debris out of the way. Aiming the jar at a downward angle lightly shake it back and forth covering entire carpeted area with the powder.  Let it site for anywhere between 30 minutes to eight hours (I did thirty minutes today but I usually do eight hours) depending on how bad your situation is. While waiting you may want to dust your house as this does make a sort of  powdery dust on some things at times. Vacuum it all up and you're done.

All Purpose Cleaner (First Post!!!!)

Yay first post!!

I figured I would start this blog with a cleaner we all use. All purpose cleaners. This one is easy to change up or mess up and not need to freak out over or increase the amount of all your other ingredients. It is okay. This one works really well on kitchen grease as well as a counter cleaner except for granite, it does streak on that. I find it works great just about everywhere else too including wood and floor spot cleaner.



                 BEFORE                                                                                                 AFTER

What you'll need

Materials:
  • 8 oz. spray bottle
  • Funnel (Optional)
  • One table spoon
  • One teaspoon (2 teaspoons = .5 tablespoons)
Ingredients
  • 1.5 tablespoons of Vodka
  • 1.5 tablespoons of Castile Soap
  • 1 teaspoon of essential oils (Optional, I use Peppermint)
  • Water 
Use the funnel to pour the first three ingredients into the spray bottle. Then slowly pour water into the bottle so as not to agitate the soap too much. Put the lid on the bottle and shake it up to mix it all together. Shake it before use each time you get it out to use the cleaner.

About me and the Blog

Hello everyone,

My name is Emily. I am a Costco marketing representative for Ecowater Systems and a proud military wife. I can be very quiet yet very boisterous with my thoughts. I started making homemade cleaners as a way to save money so I could afford going to college, and boy has it worked. The recipes I post on here are ones I have personally tried and liked. Most of the cleaners cost less than $1 when made. The basic supplies you will need for these are mainly spray bottles, a large bucket, and a large metal pot. There are a few basic ingredients you will need to buy for most of these recipes: Baking Soda, Vodka (or rubbing alcohol, but vodka is cheaper per oz), Distilled Vinegar, and Borax. I personally buy all of these ingredients in bulk so that I have them ready when needed, and believe me I go through it all fast. I will try to post at least once a week with a new recipe or organization solution that will help save time and money, but again I am a military wife and have a very busy life.