Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall is in the air here in the South.  Now, I know that if you wait a couple of days the weather will change but this morning waking up to 54 degrees feels fabulous.  It is time to enjoy the pumpkin patches, the lovely weather and the children in costumes trick or treating!  Enjoy your fall!

These super homemade cleaning  ingredients are given by:  http://arealhousewifeandmommy.blogspot.com

  OXICLEAN:

• 1 part baking soda 
• 1 part hydrogen peroxide
• 2 parts water

Mix it all in a container to spot treat or just add straight to laundry if presoaking. (I've tried it on a couple things and it works AMAZING!) You just have to shake it before you use each time.

  I am BIG into couponing, and while I think  I am a master at finding great deals, laundry supply deals are very hard to find. I just happened to find a recipe to make my own laundry soap, fabric softener, and stain remover that no coupon, sale, or ANYTHING can beat...and I couldn't be more excited! (And of course I did use coupons to get the items needed)

LAUNDRY SOAP:

• Borax
• washing soda
• natural bar soap ( I used fels-naptha, but ivory and zote work too)
• essence oil if desired (I did not use)
• five 1 gallon containers

  

I like EASY directions (no need to elaborate on simple things) Grate the soap bar in a pot, add 4 cups water and cook on low until the soap dissolves. Then add 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda, stir until dissolved and then divided equally among five 1 gallon containers. Fill the rest of the way with water and overnight it will thicken. Use 1/4 cup per load like normal laundry detergent.

I like this one better than the powdered version because I know the soap is disolved in every load.

How-to-clean-cooked-on-gunk-from-stove

Another great idea from:  http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2012/04/how-to-clean-cooked-on-gunk-from-stove.html
Lets get this out of the way first: Yes, you should just clean up the messes on your stove top before they dry and cook and turn into greasy mystery gunk of unknown vintage.  Of course you should do that.  But you don't.  Or at least I don't. Not every time.

I had tried virtually everything to remove the little cooked on spots around the edges of my stove burners, and everything seemed to help a little, but nothing really worked well.

 Until I discovered hydrogen peroxide and baking soda!

Mix some baking soda in a small bowl with enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste.  Use a scrubby sponge and the gunk comes off surprisingly easily!  I recommend wearing rubber gloves, especially if you have sensitive skin.

There were a few stubborn spots, but they are hidden by the edges of the burner drip pans.

Ah.  So much better.  I love simple and thrifty solutions like this!

Oh...and on a somewhat unrelated note...Did you know that the top of your stove probably lifts up for easy cleaning? 
I was cleaning my stove once after a giant oatmeal overflow and lifted the stove top to clean under it and blew my husband's mind.  Apparently, he had no idea that most stove tops lifts up like a car hood for easy cleaning. And just in case he isn't the only person who didn't already know that, I decided to snap a picture and share it with all of you! 

The stove top will be hinged at the back and have posts to keep it from falling.  Once you've removed your elements and drip pans just gently pull up on the front of the stove top and it should lift right up, allowing you to wipe up any spills or bits of food that have fallen down there.

If it doesn't open, don't force it...your stove may not have this feature!  And as always, use caution when cleaning any household appliances.

5 Things That Make A House Look Cleaner Than It Is

This tip is taken from:  http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2011/01/5-things-that-make-house-look-cleaner.html

1. Smell.  It doesn't matter how clean your house really is, if it smells bad it doesn't feel clean.  The fact is, however, that a few kids, a hardworking husband and a pet or two can sure do their part to make sure your house smells more like a public bus terminal than an inviting haven.  My favorite tip to keep my house smelling fresh even when it isn't?  Spray the entry mat with fabric refresher spray so that when guests wipe their shoes they will kick up a pleasant smell!

2.  The Floors.  Clean floors go a long way to making your house look, feel, and even smell clean.  So go ahead and mop them.  Daily.  Stop laughing, I'm serious.  There are days that I fail to do this, but I always regret it later when I get a slimy wet cheerio stuck to my sock.

3.  Empty the Garbage.  An empty white trash bag in the bathroom garbage can turn an ordinary bathroom into a hotel-like luxury spa.  Well, not quite....but almost!

4.  De-cluttering.  Any ten year-old can tell you that all you need to do to make a room look satisfactorily clean is to shove everything you own under the bed.  Even a very clean house feels messy when there is stuff everywhere.  I'm not really suggesting that you shove everything under the bed, but do try packing away half of you pretty little decorative doo-dads and see if your house shines just a little bit more.   I'm certain it will.

5. Light. Don't fall for the urban legend that says dimming your lights hides the mess.  It doesn't.  Dark houses look dirty.  Open the shades and turn on some lights.  Your home will thank you.

Homemade Carpet Powder

This article is from:  http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2011/07/homemade-carpet-powder.html#.

Carpet powder is one product that I can't do without.  Even though it is a reasonable price, I buy so much of it that it works out to be pretty expensive.  Plus, it doesn't always work as well as I like.  

Homemade carpet powder to the rescue!!  It's cheap & it has not met an odor that it doesn't take care of.  


All you need is baking soda & orange essential oil.  You can use other essential oils if you like, but I like the orange. 


It is also nice to have an empty Parmesan cheese container, or some other shaker.

Mix the baking soda & several drops of the orange essential oil together in a bowl using a whisk.  Then, spoon the mixture into your shaker.  

Sprinkle onto your carpets - let it sit for about 15 minutes, then vacuum up.  

Simple, thrifty, & works like a charm.

Another Fabric Softner

DIY – Homemade Fabric Softener – $.01/Load!

March 17, 2012 By Amber

Items you will need:
(2) cups of hair conditioner
(3) cups of distilled white vinegar
(6) cups boiling water
(1) Mixing utensil
(1) Bucket/Pail/Pot
(1) Empty Bottle (I used an old clean bleach container)
First of all, you will notice in my picture I only have a 12oz bottle of conditioner! Well, I am terrible at math! Not to worry, I had extra bottles so I grabbed a ½ cup out of another bottle!
Many of the recipes you will see out there say cold water is fine, I on the other hand prefer to have the water hot because it helps break down the condtioner, meaning less stirring for me!
STEP 1. Pour the 6 cups of boiling in water into the pail
STEP 2. Add the condtioner
STEP 3. Add the vinegar
STEP 4. Start stirring

This whole process took me about 4 minutes! My favorite part …. I get to make the scent myself, not pick one off the shelf, and with the million different scents of condtioner out there, a million different scents to be had!
I did go out an buy the vinegar for $1.82 at Walmart, used  a third of the bottle ($.60) and conditioner I had on hand ($.48)
For a grand total of $1.08! This is a 96 oz bottle that I filled, and according to Snuggle, 96 oz = 96 loads! This makes it $.01 per load!

use sponges let them soak in the softner and as needed pull them out ring it out to about almost dripping throw it in and put it back in the jug when the dryer is done !! works well with us !

Alvin Corn Glass Cleaner

This recipe was collected from:  http://www.crunchybetty.com/battle-of-the-homemade-glass-cleaners.  Love this gal's humor and approach to these things!

 
This is what I like to call:  Alvin Corn Glass Cleaner
Which, of course, stands for alcohol, vinegar, and cornstarch. I’m good at naming things, right? Any expectant mothers want some ideas?
Okay. So this stuff, it makes your mirrors look like they were just born. Fresh from the mirror womb. Seriously. I haven’t met a Windex or Glass Plus that could produce this kind of streak-free, clean and clear shine.
If I could somehow make my hand as big as my wall, and fashion a band around the mirror, it could double as an engagement ring.
Like a diamond.
Here’s the recipe:

Alvin Corn Homemade Glass Cleaner

• 1/4 c. rubbing alcohol
• 1/4 c. white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 c. warm water

Combine everything in a spray bottle, and shake well. Shake well before using, too, as the cornstarch might settle at the bottom (and subsequently plug the spray mechanism if it’s not mixed in well).
Judgment: It’s the best. It wins. We’ve covered this. But let’s look at one more VERY important thing: Cost.
This is all approximate (and I’m erring on the side of expensiveness, so it’s probably less than this), but I think we can agree that I’m probably close on my estimations:
1/4 c. vinegar = $0.20
1/4 c. rubbing alcohol = $0.25
1 Tbsp cornstarch = $0.03
2 c. water = virtually free, except for the water bill part, so let’s say $0.000001
Grand Total: $0.48
For an entire bottle of glass cleaner.
Not to mention, it’s completely nontoxic, you can simply reuse your old glass cleaner bottle over and over and over again (or you could paint a bottle, like I did mine, because it’s tres chic), and you’re not spraying nasty things all up in the air for your kids, spouses, and pets to breathe.
Go you!
Go Alvin Corn!
Yay!