Cleaning is not so fun

When I was college I used to love cleaning.  My roommate would come into our room and ask which class I had a test in because my method of procrastination was to clean.  I also made a little bit of money cleaning a few people's homes because I enjoyed doing it.  Then I graduated and had a whole house to clean.  I did not enjoy that so much. 

Obviously cleaning is something we have to do, but I just don't enjoy putting elbow grease into anything, as evidenced by my earlier post on not liking dishes I would rather just put it off.  Now I'm trying to make my own cleaning products to help clean better without the elbow grease or the fumes.  This is the research that I've put together to create my own cleaning products.

Homemade Dusting Spray

1 cup white vinegar with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

All Purpose Cleaner

• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1/4 gallon (1 liter) hot water
• a few drops of essential oil (optional)

 Daily Shower Spray

• 1/3 cup rubbing alcohol
• 1/3 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 2 squirts Dr. Bronner's
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• few drops tea tree oil
• few drops essential oil (optional)

I really like Dr. Bronner's and so I use it for a lot of things.  I have an old dish soap bottle that foams and so I put a few squirts of Dr. Bronner's and fill the rest with water.  I use this to clean my my dishes.  I also use Dr. Bronner's diluted in a spray bottle to do some cleaning.  

I also use vinegar for a lot of things.  I add it in the dishwasher as a rinse agent to prevent buildup from forming on my dishes.  I use it with my laundry in place of a fabric softener.  The best thing about vinegar- it has antibacterial properties AND you can buy a gallon for under $2. 

We also have almost eliminated paper products.  I say almost because I have quite a bit of paper napkins and I'm not going to just throw them away, so we're using them up.  I also just recently found a hidden roll of paper towel that Munchkie's Daddy had because he just couldn't handle the thought of paper free cleaning.  I read Simple Mom's article about a paperless kitchen a while ago and wanted to try it out.  She said the key is to make sure there are rags handy.  For us there had to be rags handy and a laundry basket handy.  I keep rags of different textures and sizes for all different kinds of cleaning in a bucket on the counter, under the paper towel holder, so that it is easily accessible for spills or cleanups.  I then have the laundry basket sitting out that is just for dirty rags and towels so they can go right into the basket.  I wash all of the rags every couple days on the sanitary cycle of our washing machine. 

We've now been doing this for several months and it's been working out really well.  Between our homemade cleaners and rags we have eliminated several different expenses while helping the environment out a little bit.  This doesn't really mean that I enjoy cleaning any more, but at least I can be a little creative while I'm doing it.  Just a few more ways I can be green, economical and of course, clean.