Good Morning, Sunday and Vinegar!

Sunday is reserved for church in my mind. It’s been that way my whole life. I look forward to seeing our friends and family, watching Biceps beat the heck out of the drums and spend time learning more about God.

Our church is growing rapidly and now has six services. Biceps drums in each service, so we are there most of the day. (But, we do take a tiny nap break in the middle.)

However, today Biceps is on duty and we only have the one car. Pictured above is my second favorite thing to do on a Sunday, but alas…it is not what I will be doing today.

My house needs a good scrubbing and I am the one to do it. I keep trying to convince the cats to start wearing dishcloth booties on their paws to help out, but they won’t have anything to do with that nonsense.

Today, I will be knee deep in vinegar, water, tea tree oil and sweat. But, I will be listening to praise and worship music and singing along.

So, it’s almost like I’m in church….with a little vinegar on the side. Happy Sunday!

Because I don’t want to….

This is what I should be doing this weekend.

I cannot remember the last time I’ve washed our car which is found underneath a layer of dust and bright purple bird poop splotches. The neighborhood birds have been eating some form of black berries which seem to pass through them at lightening speed and they are using our car for target practice. Thanks, birds.

The tea, coffee, flour and sugar tins on my counters are sporting a mess of water spots, food tidbits, and fingerprints. But hey, who cares?

The rugs have a fine layer of white cat fur resting atop of them. But if you shut the door to the living and dining room, you don’t know that it’s there. Job done.

And then there’s all of this that I could do but haven’t.

Instead, anytime Biceps puts his studying material down even for just a second, I want to be there to offer him this. I’m such a doer, a get-it-doner, that it’s hard for me to ignore all of the chores that should be done. But, they’ll be there tomorrow and Biceps will be back at the fire department. I’ll still have the laundry, but not the lips of my beloved.

I hope that’s ok with anyone that visits my house this weekend. If not, come back later.

Homemade Household Green Cleaners

Along with my more than month long challenge to rid my house of pricey and nasty cleaners, I wanted to share with you some easy recipes for around the house cleaners.

I’ve shared with you so far my Recipe for Facial Moisturizer , DIY Organic Dishwasher Detergent, Cheap, Organic Face Wash and my Easy Homemade Laundry Soap.

I am concocting my own household replacements with little more than what I have on hand or what I can find at the organic market.

But the replacements must meet or exceed three important expectations for this frugal gal:
1. It must be easy to replace-no beakers or science lab experiments. Thank you.
2. It must be just as good or better than the current product I’m using and,
3. It must cost the same or less than the current product I’m using.

photo source unknown

If the product I create passes the final test-me using it for over two plus weeks to make sure it does its job-then I’ll be sharing it with you. I will break down the cost for you, provide you the recipe and give you my honest opinion of the final product.

For household cleansers, I have a theory: If I can eat it, then I can clean with it.

This theory doesn’t work all that well when I come to vacuums…

If you have hair on your head like I have hair on my head, you need this recipe.

Green Drain Cleaner:
1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup White Vinegar
Boiling Water
Pour Baking Soda down the drain. Add white vinegar and cover the drain, if possible. Let set for 5 minutes. Pour the boiling water down the drain.

We are dusty people. We like to leave the doors open for fresh air, but then regret it when we wipe our fingers along the coffee table, leaving a stripe behind. You win some, you loose some.
This recipe has restored life to most of our vintage finds, too!

Green Furniture Polish and Cleaner:
3 Cups Olive Oil
1 Cup White Vinegar
Mix together in a jar and pour onto a soft cloth. Remix every so often by shaking the jar again.

If you restore old homes, or parts of old homes, this recipe is a must. I have removed years of gross crap off of fixtures, fireplaces and doorknobs.

Green Brass Cleaner:
Lemon Juice
Baking Soda
Make a paste the consistency of toothpaste. Rub onto brass with a soft cloth. Rinse with water and dry.

Lime and gunk will magically disappear. I use this on all of my faucets and chrome baking tins.

Green Chrome and Stainless Steel Cleanser:
1 Cup Vinegar
1/2 Cup Water
Mix in a recycled spray bottle. Spray solution on the chrome/stainless steel and let sit for a minute. Wipe off with damp sponge and dry with a soft cloth.

I know we don’t like to talk about toilets. Or their bowls. Or the funk that grows inside. But, you gotta clean it. Why not do it green style?

Green Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Sprinkle baking soda into toilet bowl. Add vinegar. Scrub ‘er down with a toilet brush.

That’s mainly everything I use around these har parts. Let me know if you have recipes for cleansers. I would love to try them out, too!

Linking up to this and other parties:
The Thrifty Home

Gross Things-Volume 1

For those of you who think I might keep a perfect house-it is now time for me to inform you that you are sadly mistaken. Over the next few days, I am going to get really real about what goes on in the Potholes and Pantyhose homestead.
Today, I am about to show you something that is rather embarrassing.

We have two very wonderful, but very furry kitties. I love the fur on their bodies. I don’t love it all over everything in my house. It’s gross.
But since they do super cute things like this, they are easily forgiven and doted over.

 

Change the scene to my sleeping habits. In typical girl fashion, I sleep under two extra blankets to Bicep’s one. Today was the day to wash aforementioned blankets.
I pulled what you see pictured here from my lint trap after blanket number one went through the dryer.

 

This is from one blanket. This is not built up over time. I clean out the lint trap with each load-I am totally anal about this.

 

This is disgusting. This is what I’ve been sleeping under.

 

This is pure fur.
The cats have managed to make a blanket for themselves out of their own fur.
It’s almost beautifully poetic, except that it is completely gross.

I almost didn’t show you this, for fear of judgement. But, it’s just too amazing though to keep to myself. I hope you enjoyed today’s “Gross Things-Volume 1”.

Don’t worry-there will be more Gross Things very soon.