Archive for the ‘Green Cleaning Tips’ Category
Simple Spring Cleaning Tips For About a Buck!
April 11th, 2009
Thanks for checking back! Over the next little bit, we’ll focus on spring cleaning and de–cluttering tips. This is a critical time of the year to get your place refreshed. The best part is, these tasks take between 5-10 minutes of actual work! Sure, spring cleaning is inevitable but often greeted with a frown. Here are some great tips to help you clean up your space and go easy on the coin purse at the same time!
All of these tips are cheap, easy and a great way to freshen up for spring!
Cruddy Cabinets Are So Last Season
Do you find that items, crumbs and other unwanted particles roll around in your bathroom and kitchen cupboards? What about if something spills on the shelf? People notice these things you know. All of a sudden your friends don’t want to come over anymore. It can be a real disaster. Easy solution! After the cupboards have had a thorough cleaning (removing all items, cleaning the surface), line the shelf with a piece of rubber shelf liner (available in a roll from the Dollar Store). You can cut the liner to your specification then promptly replace all items. Finally,, your stuff stays put, your cupboards stay clean, and your liners do the dirty work. You can either change these or clean them every few months. Now you will be eager to show off your spring cleaned cupboards.
The Uncleanly Coffee Experience
If your coffee has been tasting a little less latte and a little more mucky, there is a solution (and no, it’s not running out to Starbucks). Coffee makers and mugs need a spring cleaning too! Easy and cheap, this solution will have you charging $1.75 for a grande in no time – and you’ll make your entire cleaning investment back in the price of half that cup. Simply pour plain white vinegar into your coffee maker (non-diluted) and run through a brew cycle. Dump the vinegar down the drain and rinse the carafe. The next step is to get the drinking vessel just as clean. If your mugs are stained from extreme coffee or tea exposure, we have the perfect solution for you. Rub a slice of lemon on the stained ceramic, toss salt over the lemon juice, and rub stains with the lemon slice. Rinse, dry and admire. Sounds more like a tequila shot, but it’s really a quick and useful cleaning tip. Maybe those Mexicans were on to something…Anyway, now you have cleaned, deodorized, and maintained your coffee maker, shined your mugs to a sparkle and can now proudly brew a delectable morning cup.
Pet Peripherals Need TLC Too
If you are wondering why your cat’s litter box absolutely reeks despite the fact that you have changed the litter as per stated box instructions and fresh spring air is abound, you are in a pretty obvious funk (no pun intended…wait, yes it was). You have to pay special attention to the litter box and this goes above and beyond changing the litter. Easy to do and cheaper than your cat’s lunch, this solution will make your place smell fantastic and your cat ever so grateful. Empty the litter from the box and pour about half an inch of vinegar into the box. Powder this with about a half cup (or eyeball it) of baking soda and allow the mixture to bubble. Fill the container about 2/3 full with water and stir the mixture. Let this soak for several hours, then drain the liquid and scrub it out. Finally, wash with hot soapy water and dry. Before you place litter back in the box, pour about ¼ inch of baking soda on the bottom of the container. Not only have you created a cleaner smelling place, you have done so without placing anything unnatural in your cat’s box. Now just pass your cat the daily news and leave it to its business.
The Benefits of Vinegar: Deodorize in a Snap
April 11th, 2009
Vinegar works very well for removing odors. When cleaning something out (for example, a garbage pail—see the baking soda trick from a few weeks back), wash it with vinegar as opposed to anything else. It will remove any foul smells and neutralize the material. Following that, keep it fresh by using the baking soda trick.
Another thing I love about vinegar is that it can remove cooking odors if you simmer it in a separate pot while you’re cooking. What I do is designate the far burner for the pot with vinegar. I place about a cup of vinegar in the pot, simmer on medium, and voilà! The smell of broccoli and salmon is gone!
And for those looking for an extremely low maintenance trick, simply leave about ½ a cup of vinegar in a small bowl to deodorize while cooking or if there is a smoker in the house.
Melissa
Neat Tricks with Vinegar
April 11th, 2009
You will surely run out of vinegar by the time you have had the chance to use all of these tricks, so stock up on the large containers! Here are some little tricks using vinegar for everyday use around the house. We have found them to be quite useful!
Ants can be warded off if vinegar is sprayed in the infested areas.
The same also goes for cats: simply spray vinegar in places where you want your cat to stay away from and vinegar will deflect your feline friend from that area!
Next is an amazing stain remover trick; this works for teapots, laminate counters, mugs, china, and sinks. Sprinkle salt over the stain and then spray the affected area with vinegar. Let this mixture sit and then use a soft cloth to agitate. The stains will magically disappear! It’s quite exciting to watch stubborn stains go away with simple, eco-friendly ingredients.
Happy cleaning!
Melissa
Natural Kitchen: Watch What You Wipe With
April 11th, 2009
Sponges and cloths are playgrounds for nasty kitchen bacteria. Bacteria goes everywhere because we spread it about while cooking, cleaning, and preparing meals. Just think of how many times you touch and use that dish towel while preparing a dish such as roast chicken!
The concept of paper towels is what we want to go with—frequent disposal (or laundering) of the cloths. Paper towels are ingenious yet wasteful, so here is the environmentally friendly way to keep things clean.
Have a stack of 7 dishtowels and use one a day. (Think: those socks with the days of the week embroidered on them.) At the end of the day, toss the dishtowel in a separate basket along with your other cleaning rags and launder it at week’s end.
For cleaning counters, we recommend getting cleaning cloths (available at grocery stores; they’re a cross between a dish towel and a face cloth). For those who get incredibly excited about cloths, try microfibre cleaning cloths. Clean what you like during the day, but pitch it in that laundry basket before you hit the sack.
You may find that a good microfibre cloth will eliminate the need for a sponge (clearly because you are already using the great pot cleaning techniques I discussed in the vinegar and baking soda blogs). If you do require a sponge, clean it by soaking it well in water (get all soap out first) and then microwaving for 2-3 minutes to kill most germs and spores. The inside of the microwave will be damp and steamy, at which point you can wipe it clean with a dry cloth. What a great way to multi task!
Melissa
Natural Kitchen: How to Keep Your Kitchen Smelling Fresh
April 11th, 2009
I love cooking, but after broiling a beautiful piece of salmon, steaming some tasty broccoli, or roasting a delightful bulb of garlic, I have no interest in the odors coexisting with me. I’ve come across some excellent tricks to reduce and neutralize kitchen odors.
For starters, decaying food is a huge problem! Examine your fridge and remove old foods at once. Wipe the bottom of the fridge regularly to remove stains and odors.
While cooking, use the exhaust fan; it removes the grease from the air, which helps to reduce odors and also prevents you from inhaling the stuff.
You can also boil vinegar to remove odors. See the previous vinegar blogs for more detail.
I came across the coolest trick a while back, and use it whenever necessary. You have to try this to believe it! Broccoli is amazing, but we all know how it smells when being cooked. Simply take a slice of bread and place it in the pot on top of the broccoli, then close the pot and let it steam. The bread acts as a natural sponge, absorbing the odor from the broccoli!
I have a lampe berger, which is a catalytic alcohol- and oil-burning lamp; I use it to burn “crème brulée” to deodorize. A lampe berger is incredibly effective at neutralizing odors and leaving a beautiful scent in your home, without the chemical effects of scented candles and air fresheners.
Finally, you can investigate air purifiers which can be helpful, too.
Melissa
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