Naturally Knocked Up » Cleaning

Cleaning Day

donielle — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:49:27 +0000

Last week I was seriously debating whether or not to hire some outside cleaning help. Not because my house is horribly dirty or that we live like those on the hoarders show, but because I always seem to be behind.

It’s always yesterday’s laundry waiting to be folded.

The vacuum sitting out from 3 days ago.

Dust on the dressers from……who knows when.

Dishes from the last meal sitting on the table.

You get the idea.

I’ve also been feeling very run down as I’ve had a lot of commitments lately along with my normal daily routine. Last week I started to come down with mastitis again, which I realized last year is more of a systematic thing for me than anything else. Instead of getting a cold – I get mastitis. I was able to catch it before it got to bad, and with healing foods and homeopathy, kept it at bay. Though I didn’t slow down much as work needed to be done.

Then my little one came down with a fever. So all day yesterday we laid on the couch together, napping on and off. My dear husband cooked all of our meals and took care of the normal household chores so I could just sit and snuggle her.

And the break was good for me.

It made me realize that even when I do rest, I’m constantly busy. Busy folding laundry, busy online, and busy reading and researching. It also got me thinking how my home in it’s current state leaves me with a sense of anxiety and a constant feeling of being behind. So not only can an unclean house be toxic for the fact that different chemicals and toxins rest in dust, it’s toxic for our emotional state.

Which brings me to today.

Cleaning Day.

I’m putting aside other obligations today and focusing on my home. To help restore the feeling of being at rest, to make it a pleasant place to be. I’ve got my homemade cleaners ready to go and the baby is currently asleep. My goal is to have my home picked up before my husband comes home from work and it won’t be an easy task! There’s laundry to do, bread to make, every room needs to be vacuumed and dusted, and the floors need to be mopped.

Do you ever let your duties at home get away from you? How do you go about bringing it back into balance?

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Using Vinegar as a Rinse Agent

donielle — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:46:00 +0000

We have hard water at our house. In turn we have to use a rinse agent in the dishwasher. But, then again, who doesn’t? Otherwise you risk the possibility of getting goopey oatmeal stuck to everything in there.

And personally, I always bought the more expensive kind of commercial rinse agent offered(since I used to be a plastic junkie and all, and I wanted those containers dry). Now, I use vinegar. I love it. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and have rarely had to rewash a dish because of gunk. And if I do, it’s only that one dish, as the gunk did not spread to everything else. I’m sold!

Here’s how to replace vinegar with your old rinse agent:

Use up all of the commercial rinse agent in your dishwasher first.

Unscrew the cap inside your washer and fill with vinegar all the way up to the full line.

Screw cap back in.

Close washer and run! Then just keep refilling with vinegar.

Vinegar works just as good, if not better, than commercial agents. You get:

Clear glasses with no spots.

Dry dishes (even plastic. well, most of the time. sometimes a dish or 2 is damp)

Cleaner dishes. Seriously, my dishes have actually looked cleaner!

Plus, you’re not using any harsh chemicals that get stuck to your dishes and then get transferred to your food. And this is probably one of the cheapest/frugal things I’ve done in order to try and keep my home chemical free! A few ounces of vinegar literally costs just pennies on the dollar.

Crunchy Tuesday : Healthy Cleaning

donielle — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:21:00 +0000

Prior to a few weeks ago my only uses for ever needing baking soda were for baking or in junior high when I used it for making those fabulous volcanoes. Now it’s part of my regular cleaning regimen. It has more uses than I ever thought imaginable and it helps me keep those harsh chemicals out of my home. It’s really a super easy way to ‘go green’ and save lots of money in the process!

10 uses for Baking Soda

Sprinkle in the bottom of greasy or dirty pans, spray on a few squirts of vinegar and apply a little elbow grease. Safe for scrubbing all sorts of pans

Use to clean your showers and sinks. Sprinkle in and scrub away! Can also use a bit of vinegar for those extra tough spots.

Deodorizes those diaper pails.

Also deodorizes cloth diapers when you add 1/2 cup to the rinse cycle.

Also deodorizes carpets after stinky messes. Let the carpet dry, sprinkle in and let set for a few minutes. Vacuum away.

You can also use it to clean toys and baby equipment. Just put a bit on a wet sponge and wipe everything down. Rinse it off with another damp towel or put it in the sink and rinse.

You can give stuffed animals a dry bath by sprinkling with baking soda, let set for 15 minutes and brush off.

Use it to put out fires on the stove top. (of course use your head – if it’s to bad call 911)

You can even use it to clean off fruits and veggies. Sprinkle on , wipe, and rinse.

A half a cup mixed into warm water makes a great floor cleaner.

The only one I haven’t tried is for the cloth diapers since I don’t have any But everything else works great. Sometimes it takes just a bit more elbow grease, but is so worth it when you think about all the chemicals you’re keeping out of your home and out of the air you breath. There are a ton more tips on Arm and Hammer’s site if you’re looking for a few more uses. And if you do a lot of sprinkling they do sell shakers for them, or you can always use an empty Parmesan cheese container.

Best part about cleaning this way……it’s super cheap!

Disinfecting the kitchen

donielle — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:21:00 +0000

I recently read this book. It has some great ideas on cleaning and housekeeping in general. Since today is “clean the kitchen day” it makes sense to share a great, healthy cleaning tip for disinfecting your kitchen and food items. (I also went online and did a search to make sure her idea wasn’t all hooey – so check here as well.

I get pretty weirded out about spraying harsh chemicals in the same place I prepare the food we eat, so this is great! Go out and buy some regular old vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and 2 spray bottles. (the bottle for the peroxide has to be opaque-not see through) Spray one, then the other on anything from the counter to fruit and veggies, and wipe clean. The smell disappears, but I think I’ll at least rinse my fruit off again.

Works on everything and is safe to use. I’ll be going over all my counters and table, the highchair and even my refrigerator shelves.