I've been reading a blog called These days in French life. She has decided to have a slow year. Reusing, bartering, making her own of almost every thing and anything she can. She hasn't shopped for the last few months at all between the stuff she had and what she was able to barter or grow. It has got me thinking......
My sister uses vinegar on her nice tile floors to clean them. Just vinegar and water. I saw how much a gallon of regular white vinegar was the other day. Only $1.99 at the commissary. How much money have I spent on cleaning products?? How much could I save if I just used vinegar and water?? So, I've decided to go for it. I will use what I already have before I start. I don't have much as we just moved. But as soon as it is gone, we are using vinegar. I have a hard time with smells of things, and vinegar can put me over the edge. Neither of our bathrooms have windows, but they do have fans. So, the fans will be going, and I'm going to get some essential oils and put a few drops in with my water and vinegar to help me clean. So, if you come over, the bathroom might smell like peppermint. Or whatever other smell that I like. Doing this will cost me less, is better for our environment, and the end result will still be the same. Clean floors and a clean bathroom and kitchen. It will probably take me a while, if ever, to get to the point of making my own laundry soap or toothpaste. Never been that kind of a girl. But we'll see. Never say never.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
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3 comments:
I think you can add essential oils to vinegar to make it smell better, and thankfully the smell evaporates. I've used it as a daily shower cleaner/mildew preventer, and it works as well as or better than the tilex kind.
It's naturally antibacterial, and I've been considering using it to clean the insides of the toilets with, but the recipe I heard was 1 cup of vinegar per toilet. Even at 1.99 a gallon, that's pricier than comet. I may experiment with using less than that amount and seeing what my results are.
Baking Soda is another good cleaner that is really cheap. I use it to clean my stove top. It doesn't scratch, but it rubs away cooked on gunk.
Let me know how it goes for you!
My wife was just trying to convince me yesterday to buy non-chemical cleaners (I always complain about the fumes), so it's interesting that you wrote about this. Maybe we'll have to try what you're trying.
I've been using vinegar cleanser for a while and it works great. I add some essential oils, a dash of baking soda and that's it.
I've made my own laundry soap using scraps of my handmade soap - melted down and mixed with water and washing soda. You can also use grated Fels Naptha (which is available in most grocery stores). I find it works really well in soft water, but not great in hard, which we have. So I went back to buying commercial detergent. I still make my own stain sticks though. :)
And you're going to think I'm psycho, but I brush my teeth with soap. It works so well and I can't stand the taste of toothpaste now.
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