Just Add Vinegar

Ok, you know how duct tape can fix anything? Well, vinegar can CLEAN anything. I mean ANYTHING. It's cheap, it's easy, and it WORKS!

When you think "domestic, cleaning goddess" you may think of many names, but my name is not one of them, nor do I think it ever will be. I love to cook and I do clean, but I wouldn't say I'm "good" at it (although I really don't know how one is "good" at cleaning. Clean is clean, right?). So, it probably won't surprise you to know that I had NO IDEA how many uses vinegar had to it. I knew it was used in cooking, although I was never really sure for what specifically, and I did know you could clean with it, but seriously people, you can clean everything with this stuff! I use it on counters, bathtubs, appliances, floors, my face(!!) and my new favorite.... laundry!

I actually got the idea from my hedgehog forum to use it in my laundry. People were trying to figure out how to get the urine and poop smell out of their hedgies fleece bedding and a lot of breeders suggested using vinegar. Since I already use vinegar to clean her cage and wheel I figured, why not give it a try on her bedding too! So, today I shook out her fleece blankets, put them in the washer, added my Homemade Laundry Detergent, and added some vinegar. No, I didn't measure it. I just splashed some in there and hoped I wouldn't ruin anything in the process (not a domestic goddess, remember?). I would estimate that I used somewhere between half a cup and a full cup, maybe a little more. When I got her blankets out of the dryer they smelled SO CLEAN! They didn't even smell like vinegar! I was AMAZED! I am now waiting for some towels to finish drying so I can smell them (well, that's a sentence you don't hear very often).

I also use regular distilled vinegar to clean counters, appliances, bathrooms, floors etc. I have never used it on mirrors or glass and haven't researched that either, so if you have used it for that let me know how it worked! I got a Rubbermaid spray bottle from Target, but it was expensive so I suggest going to the Dollar Store or something and I mix 1 parts vinegar to 3 parts water. I started out with a 1:1 ratio but the vinegar smell was SO intense that I could barely stand to clean with it so I watered it down a little more. I used the 1:1 ratio on our stainless steel refrigerator. The water dispenser had created gross white streaks down the front of the fridge, along with having crusted in the little drip pan thingy (technical lingo, I know, try to keep up). I had tried EVERYTHING to get it off but nothing even dented it, until I used the vinegar. I had to scrub a little bit but it DID work!

Another crazy use for vinegar is using it on your face! I've read to use apple cider vinegar after you wash your face to balance out the pH. Wearing make up and washing your face can either lower the acidity or increase the acidity (making it oily or dry) and the ACV helps balance everything out. I use 1 teaspoon of ACV and 3 teaspoons of water after I scrub my face with baking soda and water (great for removing black heads by the way). If you use straight ACV, without watering it down, it burns like the dickins and will probably make your face all red, so make sure you water it down. I've also read that ACV helps even out your complexion over time and reduce dark spots!

Here's a picture of my sweet little Prim that I took today. We were waiting for her bedding to finish drying!

Well that's it for this Southern Soapbox! What do y'all clean with your vinegar? Comment below!

Monthly Chores

Yesterday I mentioned that I had begun my Spring Cleaning. In that post I also mentioned that on Fridays I will be doing a monthly chore. Don't worry, I did realize at the time that I didn't tell y'all what those monthly chores. Honestly, it's because I didn't know yet. So I went online and Googled (because that's what everyone does when they don't know something) "monthly chores". There were lists and lists and more lists of all the stuff people do once a month to make sure their home looks immaculate. Lucky for me, I just want my house to look nice, not immaculate. So I found a list on ask.com or something like that along with this more detailed list. Now of course I won't do all of those things. For example, I don't have kids so I don't need to clean out their non-existent closets or toys. Also, I have no idea what a "larder" is so I guess I won't clean that either (yes, I know I could Google it but if I continue on the 'I don't know' thing then I won't have to clean it).

I will probably make a "monthly" chore chart at some point in time just so I can say that I did it but until then I will just pick a few of these to do every Friday and work my way through them. I'm not too worried about getting them all done every single month. I will be doing more than I do now and I am content with that.

Spring Cleaning

Happy Sunday y'all! For most of you it's spring but here in Texas we're on the verge of summer but I figured I would go ahead and start me "spring" cleaning despite the heat.

I stumbled across this blog on pinterest and was in total awe! I wanted everything she had mentioned and decided that I would start my own smaller version. I probably won't get all crazy and go nuts with organizing but I am going to declutter and make sure everything has a home and stays there.

I've started with making a schedule. I had posted before my cleaning schedule but I may tweek it a bit. The Wednesday "surface day" is terrible which means I never do it. So I've decided to divide every day into a room along with a few other little things. Here is what my schedule looks like now.

Monday:
Unload dishwasher in the morning
Vacuum all rooms (hall, bedrooms, living rooms, etc)
Clean living room
Clean Laundry room
Wipe down counters & stove at night
Load dishwasher at night

Tuesday:
Unload dishwasher in the morning
Laundry day
Clean entry way
Clean "Library"
Clean Dining room
Wipe down counters & stove at night
Load dishwasher

Wednesday:
Unload dishwasher in the morning
Clean kitchen and bfast nook
Clean bathrooms
Take our trash from all rooms
Vacuum all rooms
Load dishwasher at night

Thursday:
Unload dishwasher in the morning
Laundry day
Clean bedrooms (even the guest room)
Wipe down counters & stove at night
Load dishwasher at night

Friday:
Unload dishwasher in the morning
Vacuum all rooms
Monthly chore
Errands day
Wipe down counters & stove at night
Load dishwasher at night

Make your schedule work for you! You may not have to run the dishwasher every single day. I have two dogs and a cat so I have to vacuum three times a week, you may not need to. The point of a cleaning schedule is for it to work for you and your family. Also, don't be afraid to change it.

My next "quest" was to decide how I wanted to keep up with my schedule. A lot of people like to make big calendars to hang out in the open so they see it every day. Personally, I'll walk right past it and never give it a second glance after I've hung it. Instead, I used a calendar app on my phone. I look at my phone all the time so I see my little list on my phone every time I look at my phone but just in case I miss it I have a back up plan!

First of all, notice that this is not my normal schedule. We may have family coming in town Tuesday (yay!) so I am trying to get everything clean before they get here. Anywho...

Every night before I go to bed I will write my cleaning to do list out on my bathroom mirror (I use a regular dry erase marker and to wipe it off I just use a piece of toilet paper). Every time I go to the bathroom during the day I see my To Do list and hopefully I will be able to check things off as I go through out the day. By the end of the night everything on my list should be checked off. If it's not, I just add it to the next days list. I like to be able to see things being checked off a list so this will hopefully be helpful.

Well that's my Southern Soapbox! Tomorrow I will be organizing my laundry room. Wish me luck!

Catch up!

Sorry I was MIA this past week. I know today is supposed to be "5 Things" day but other than my aunt's birthday party, this weekend was pretty boring. So instead I'll tell you what's been up, but first... I had said that I would tell y'all about my 2 Valentine's days!

Valentine's Day #1:

On Monday, the day before Valentine's Day, I decided to surprise Ryan with one of his favorite meals. I went over to his apartment and made roast, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls YUM! He was surprised and happy :D. THEENN we went to see The Vow, which by the way, is a cute movie! That was our Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day #2:

Last year we started a tradition. Ryan, Juan and I took the dogs up to the park and ate Chicken Express in the parking lot, then went for a walk with the dogs. That was our Valentine's Day. So, this year we continued the tradition. We didn't go to the park, and we added an extra guest but it was fun. Ryan, Juan, Brett and I all ate Chicken Express at Ryan's apartment and then watched Underworld Awakening (not nearly as good as the first three movies, but whatever). I had three Valentines and we all had fun.

Now, onto what kept me away last week. One word. Cleaning. I made up a cleaning schedule and was so busy last week starting it that I didn't get time to come on here.

If you're curious as to what my cleaning schedule is... you're in luck! I'm going to tell you!

Monday
Vacuum main rooms (not bedrooms)
Laundry day (I hate laundry)
Tidy house (never leave a room empty handed)

Tuesday
Clean bathrooms (toilets, mirrors, bathtub/shower, wash rugs/shower curtain, floors etc)

Wednesday
Wipe down all surfaces (counters, microwave, stove, fridge, tables, end tables, banister, doors, ceiling fans etc)
Vacuum/Sweep/Mop all floors (including bedrooms)
Clean liter box
Take out trash (our garbage man comes Thursday)

Thursday
Laundry catch up day/clean Laundry room
Clean out/organize something (a drawer, a closet, car etc)

Friday
Vacuum main rooms (not bedrooms)
Tidy house (never leave a room empty handed)
Pick up outside (backyard, trash etc)

I also do dishes ever day, of course. Every morning I unload the dishwasher and every night I load and run it. I also wipe down the stove top every night after supper to make sure there isn't any food stuck on it.

Doing a little bit every day helps keeping my house tidy. That way if someone decides to come over, I don't have to rush and clean up, it's already done! I'm not going to lie, the first week is time consuming, especially dusting day but once you start doing it it gets easier and doesn't take as much time.

Well that's my Southern Soapbox. Let me know what you think about my cleaning schedule, and if you have one of your own or have suggestions, let me know!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

I'm so excited to be sharing this with y'all! My mom, my sister and I made homemade dishwasher detergent (and laundry detergent, for that "recipe" click here) today! We just ran the dishwasher with it! I got this recipe from Being creative to keep my sanity!

So here's what you need!

1 Box Borax (4lbs 12oz or 76oz)(2.15kg) found in the detergent isle

1 Box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (55oz or 3lbs 7oz) found in the detergent isle

1/4 cup of Citric Acid (we had to get this at Sprouts) **NOTE: the recipe from the other blog says you can use 24 packages of unsweetened lemonade drink mix BUT it does stain your dishwasher and she suggests to use citric acid instead, so we did. I just thought I would let you know that you don't HAVE to use the Citric Acid, but we did.**

3 cups of Epsom Salt found in the pharmacy section

Lemi Shine rinse aid (this recipe does not work well without it) you can find Lemi Shine in the dishwasher detergent isle or you can use vinegar as a rinse aid. If your dishes are coming out with spots (which I HATE) then you need to use a rinse aide. 

Step One (and only):

             Mix the Borax, Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, salt and citric acid together in a large bowl and mix it all up! After you're finished mixing, put it in a container of your choice. We used a $5 container from Walmart and the whole batch fit inside perfectly AND *bonus* there's a little pouring spout (which I think is cute.. but I'm weird)! The soap will get hard spots over time, so far, there hasn't been a way around that. We did put 3 marshmallows on the top to help absorb moisture, so maybe that will help? We shall see!

To use:

          Put 1 tablespoon of detergent along with some Lemi Shine (follow the directions on the bottle to get the correct amount) and run your dishwasher! Enjoy your clean dishes!

In total this costs about $12 to make and with only using 1tbs for every use it's going to last a while! Yay for saving money! (If you want to check out how to make your own Laundry Detergent click here!

That's my Southern Soapbox (haha.. soap...)!

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Today has been a VERY productive day! I woke up this morning (at 10:30.. that's not the productive part) and went to run errands with Maegan and my mom. We ran to Walmart to get stuff to make our own Laundry Detergent (and for the dishwasher detergent click here!!). We got the idea from Being Creative to Keep My Sanity. She has instructions but I also took pictures of the process, so if you want to go over there and check it out that's great, but I will also post the instructions, with pictures!

How long does a container of $10 laundry soap last? It seems to disappear SO fast! With this homemade soap, a little goes a LONG way! You only use 1 tablespoon per load, it costs $20 to make and it lasts about 9 {NINE} MONTHS!!! Talk about saving money!

So here is what you need!

 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent isle

2 small containers of oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

(this is optional)

(You can also use Zote soap, it is found at Home Depot)

You should be able to find all of this at your grocery store. We got ours at Walmart, and bought another batch at Kroger (not sure about Target).

Oh, also, you want to get a cheese grater or a food processor and a cutting board.

This detergent is fairly mild smelling, it is not over powering. If you love a strong scent you may have to add a fabric softener to each load but I, personally, LOVE the smell! I want to figure out how to use the naphtha for a potpourri haha.

Step One:

            Grate three bars of Fels-naptha soap. Just like you would cheese. I found it a bit difficult to use the cheese grater because once the soap got small my fingers started to get dangerously close to the grater. The other blog also suggests using a food processor, but we didn't try that (if you do, let me know how it turns out).   I think the grated soap looks really pretty and it smells WONDERFUL!

**Don't worry the Fels-naptha will dissolve in your washer even if you only use cold water like we do.**

Step Two:

            Dump everything else in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a trash bag! We got our bin at Walmart. Mix everything up (at this point your house should smell amazing, as should you!). After you've mixed everything up just choose a little container that you want to store it in. We used a glass jar, like the ones you put cookies in, and keep in above the washing machine. I used my new label maker to label everything, but will hopefully get something prettier for the jar.

Seriously, the most "difficult" part of this soap was grating the little bars. It's so much cheaper and is a lot stronger than regular soap.

*Use at your own risk*

If you have questions just let me know, but you might want to check out the other ladies blog too. I'll copy and paste some questions that she answered below.

-This detergent is safe for HE washers and should be added to the barrel instead of the dispencer.
 -This detergent is safe to use on cloth diapers and sensative skin.
-It does not have a strong scent, you can add laundry crystals to the batch to add fragrance.
-Some of my followers have used other bar soap instead of Zote or Fels-Naptha. I have personally not tried it but from the feed back I get it sounds like any bar will work.

Again, I got this from Being creative to keep my sanity, so check her out too!

That's my Southern Soapbox (soap.. haha get it?.. Lame joke, sorry) I will also be posting directions for homemade dishwasher detergent! Stay tuned!