Wipe Out! Make Your Own Cleaning Wipes

Who doesn't love commercial cleaning wipes?

They're wickedly convenient--but also wickedly expensive and often contain harsh chemicals.

The alternative: make your own refillable cleaning wipes!

Homemade cleaning wipes are easy to make, economical, and contain only those cleaning agents you select. Use them in the kitchen, the bathroom, or for cleaning windows.

Put homemade cleaning wipes to work for you in your organized home with our easy instructions and cleaning recipes.

Homemade Cleaning Wipes

Materials and Equipment Needed:

• cylindrical or tall square plastic food storage container, 10-cup capacity
• extra-large roll of paper towels
• cleaning agents of your choice (recipes follow)
• electric drill with 1/2-inch drill bit
• electric knife
• liquid measuring cups

Instructions:

In the garage or workshop area, place a small block of wood beneath the plastic food storage container lid. Use electric drill to drill a 1/2-inch diameter hole in the center of the container lid.

For best results, select an extra-large roll of good quality paper towels for this project. Less-expensive towels fray or shred when pulled through the holder; thicker quilted towels have greater cleaning strength and withstand more scrubbing. Even at $1.39 per roll, cost for homemade wipes will be less than 75 cents, not including the storage container.

Without removing the paper towel wrapper, use the electric knife to cut the paper towel roll into two shorter rolls. Be patient! It may take up to two minutes to cut through the towel roll and cardboard tube inside.

Remove the wrapper, and place one short paper towel roll inside plastic food storage container. Save the second roll for a refill later.

Using a liquid measuring cup, gently pour one of the following cleaning solution recipes over the top of the paper towel roll.

Place the lid on the plastic food storage container, and allow paper towels to absorb cleaning solution for 4 hours to overnight.

Open the food storage container. Gently pull the wet cardboard tube from the center of the paper towel roll and discard.

Carefully pull the end of the paper towels from the inside, where the cardboard roll had been. Thread the end of the towels through the hole in the lid, and replace the lid.

Pull gently on the exposed end to separate the cleaning wipe.

Homemade Cleaning Wipes Recipes

You will need between 2 and 4 cups of cleaning solution to fill your homemade cleaning wipes container, depending on the size and absorbency of the paper towel product selected. These cleaning recipes make about three cups of solution; increase or decrease amounts if needed.

General Surface Cleaning Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water

Disinfectant Cleaning:

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup pine cleaning solution such as Pine-Sol brand
• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cup water

Window and Glass Cleaning:

• 1/2 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Tips:

As you use the wipes, they will begin to dry out, so add more water and/or cleaning solution as necessary. Allow wipes to stand overnight before continuing to use them after adding more solution.

You may vary the strength of the cleaning solutions as necessary for your household, using more cleaning agents for a stronger wipe, less solution and more water for a milder product.

Source : organizedhome[dot]com

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Pantry Recipes for Homemade Cleaning Products

Taken a trip down the cleaning aisle at the supermarket lately?

If you believe the ad hype, you can't keep a clean house without loading your shopping cart with a different cleaner for each surface, floor and sink in the house.

Hogwash! Simple recipes using products from your pantry make effective household cleaning solutions.

An added plus: these natural products are more environmentally friendly than commercial alternatives.

Stock your cleaning tool tote with these homemade cleaning sprays and solutions to make short work of household grime--without harsh chemicals or irritating fumes.

Try these easy recipes to clean your organized home faster, better and cheaper.

White Vinegar

Mildly acidic white vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits from smooth surfaces, yet is gentle enough to use in solution to clean hardwood flooring.

White vinegar is a natural deodorizer, absorbing odors instead of covering them up. (And no, your bathroom won't smell like a salad! Any vinegar aroma disappears when dry.) With no coloring agents, white vinegar won't stain grout on tiled surfaces. Because it cuts detergent residue, white vinegar makes a great fabric softener substitute for families with sensitive skin.

Try these recipes to harness the cleaning power of white vinegar:

Homemade Spray Cleaner Recipe

Mix in a sprayer bottle:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water

In the kitchen, use vinegar-and-water spray to clean countertops, lightly soiled range surfaces and backsplash areas.

In the bathroom, use vinegar spray cleaner to clean countertops, floors, and exterior surfaces of the toilet.

For really tough bathroom surfaces such as shower walls, pump up the cleaning power by removing the sprayer element and heating the solution in the microwave until barely hot.

Spray shower walls with the warmed generously, allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse. The heat helps soften stubborn soap scum and loosens hard water deposits.

Undiluted White Vinegar

Undiluted white vinegar--straight from the jug--makes quick work of tougher cleaning problems involving hard water deposits or soap scum.

Use undiluted white vinegar to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. Before you begin, dump a bucket of water into the toilet to force water out of the bowl and allow access to the sides. Pour undiluted white vinegar around the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush to remove stains and odor. Use a pumice stone to remove any remaining hard water rings.

Clean shower heads that have been clogged with mineral deposits with undiluted white vinegar. Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar in a plastic food storage bag, and secure the bag to the shower head with a rubber band. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then rinse and buff the fixture to a shiny finish.

Add one cup of undiluted white vinegar to the laundry rinse cycle instead of commercial fabric softener. White vinegar softens clothes and cuts detergent residue--a plus for family members with sensitive skin.

Baking Soda

Baking soda's mild abrasive action and natural deodorizing properties make it a powerful replacement for harsh commercial scouring powders. Put baking soda to work in your organized home.

Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge to tackle grimy bathtub rings, scour vanities, or remove food deposits from the kitchen sink.

For tougher grime, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the tub or sink, and allow to stand for 10 to 20 minutes.

Dirt, soap scum and deposits soften and are easier to remove.

Slow-running drains? Keep bathroom drains running freely by pouring 1/2 to 3/4 cup baking soda into the drain, and dribbling just enough hot water to wash the solution down.

Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then flush thoroughly with hot water. The deodorizing effect is an added bonus! [Do not use this method on blocked drains.]

Source : organizedhome[dot]com

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Kids and Chores: Chilling The Chore Wars

When it comes to kids and housework, the blasted terrain is familiar: a dirty house, balky children, and frazzled, frustrated parents.

Tired parents try it all, from chore charts to screaming fits.Canny children engage in housework sabotage, selective hearing or childish irresponsibility to duck assignments.

The noise levels--and stress levels--rise along with the stacks of dishes.

How to negotiate a peace on the issue of children and chores?

Try these family-tested strategies to calm the conflict and gain the goal.

The Buck(et) Stops Here

We have met the enemy, and it is us! Lingering ambivalence about our family's life and our own choices can keep us from successfully gaining kid cooperation where household chores are concerned.

Perhaps we grew up in a home heavy with sex-role stereotypes but have chosen a different viewpoint. Maybe we work, and feel a lingering guilt. Some of us may still harbor childish resentment against our own parents, and feel uneasy about "making" children do household chores.

Whatever the reason, an ambivalent mindset can sabotage attempts to enlist children in the fight. Too often, we announce a new regime of household chores in a moment of anger and frustration. Elaborate chore charts are made and ignored after the third day. Family meetings are held which settle nothing more than another layer of dust on the television.

This time, resolve to succeed. The place to start is with our own thinking. Housework is an inevitable part of life. Just as we prepare our children for their adult lives by sending them to school, so we need to prepare them to manage and maintain a home. Housework is an integral part of life for everyone, man, woman, and child. In today's busy families, there's no excuse for anybody to shirk their portion of the necessary work.

A parent who knows this truth in his or her bones has a huge advantage. No more peaks-and-valleys cycles of "You will help with the chores!" followed by a relapse into "Ehhh, why bother? It's easier to do it myself!" Calm, determined parents who view household work as just another life skill are inoculated against childish manipulation and evasion. Motivated by parental love and responsibility, you'll go farther than fits-and-starts efforts fired by anger and frustration.

Start Small

The easiest way to secure your children's assistance with housework is to train them to it from the time they are small. A one-year-old will giggle if handed a clean diaper to dust the legs of the furniture.

Preschoolers enjoy being with parents, working with parents. Nothing can be so much fun as washing a car with a five-year-old! (A pause for a tear-in-eye here, remembering my five-year-old younger son staggering from the garage with the car-wash bucket and supplies, and announcing, proudly, "Mommy, we're the Clean-Up Chappies!")

Problem is, these little ones' efforts don't yet have the power to be of great help. In truth, you'll probably have to follow behind that one-year-old with his diaper duster, removing the specks of dirt he's rearranged.

Even when you match the chore to the child, the early years require some extra work from you.

Listen up, parents of tiny children: just do it! You have two tasks during these years.

The short-term goal is to get the house clean; the more important duty is to teach your children to work. Focus on the first task to the exclusion of the second, and you're going to have "They think I'm the maid!" days, weeks, years in your future. An investment in your child's learning now will reap abundant fruit in just a few years. Neglect this job, and you're walking into a lion's den once little ones are little no longer.

Source : organizedhome[dot]com

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Swing into Spring: Five Easy Ways to Welcome Warm Weather

Blooming bulbs and Spring breezes signal that warmer weather is on the way.

Sure, many of us will do an all-out session of Spring cleaning, but even small, simple jobs can bring the season's freshness inside.

Shake the winter doldrums out of your organized home with these five easy ideas to swing into Spring.

Let the Light Shine: Wash the Windows!

Sunny days look brighter through clean windows, so tackle the grime that winter storms have left behind on interior and exterior windows now. Whether you're an advocate of the diluted-vinegar-and newspapers approach, or prefer to wield a squeegee like the pros do, choose a bright, still day to clean exterior windows.

Freed from their dark winter coats, clean windows spill sunshine inside, raising everyone's mood!

Catch the Breeze: Open Windows on a Warm Day

Cold weather brings shut windows and tightly-closed doors--which can create a build-up of stale odors in any home. When you live with them, your nose learns to ignore them, but nothing whispers "Spring is here!" like a freshly-aired house.

Solution: let breezes blow! Air out the house one sunny afternoon to bring Spring's freshness inside. Opening doors and windows to catch a breeze will chase away old cooking smells and any stale or musty odors that have built up during the winter months.

After an hour or so, close windows and doors, then tackle surfaces with an electrostatic cleaning cloth to capture any dust or pollen that's settled out in the breeze. Run the vacuum cleaner to remove dust from floors--and enjoy the Springtime freshness!

Blooming Wonder: Bring the Season Inside

Even if the budget won't stretch to regular purchases of cut flowers, Spring's blooming make it easy to spark up a home with fresh blossoms.

Cut small branches from a flowering tree, or gather ready-to-bloom daffodils and tulips from the garden.

Even an inexpensive bundle of cut flowers from the supermarket cooler can bring a welcome breath of Spring indoors.

Displayed simply, in a tall water glass, vase or mason jar, they'll add a splash of Spring color and fragrance to your home.

Fresh Start: Clean Out the Refrigerator

The arrival of a new season is a good signal to clean out stored food in refrigerator and pantry. As farmers' markets and roadside stands open to offer fresh food for the new season, create a good home by cleaning out the remains of winter.

Make a quick check of expiration dates of food stored in refrigerator or pantry, and toss expired foodstuffs.

Look sharp for the last survivors of holiday gift baskets! If you haven't eaten the smoked salmon spread or served the Texas Hot Chili Mix by now, donate these treats to the food bank, so they're enjoyed by others.

Give vegetable storage areas special attention. Bearded carrots, limp celery and shriveled onions can be tossed into a crockery slow-cooker overnight to make vegetable stock--or consign these items to the compost bin. Be ready to store Spring's bounty in a clean and roomy vegetable crisper!

Cull the Cuddly: Wind Down the Winter Warmers

Fall brings no greater pleasure than pulling out fleecy sweats, flannel pajamas and warm blankets--but by season's end, these cuddly favorites are frequently worse for wear.

As warm weather approaches, take a hard look at the family's cold-weather bedding and favorite winter warmers. Separate out the stained sweats, pilled flannel sheets and shrunken loungewear for recycling or donation.

As you return winter bedding and clothing to closet storage areas, make a quick list of any needed replacements.

Look alert! End-of-season clearance sales make it easy AND cheap to replace worn-out linens and faded clothes.

Ready to swing into Spring? Welcome the season from your organized home!

Source : organizedhome[dot]com

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Clean Sweep? The Case Against Spring Cleaning

Spring blows in with warm wind and the promise of ... spring cleaning?

With the coming of spring, even the most casual home managers feel an inexplicable urge to move furniture, clean windows and vacuum baseboards to welcome the return of sunshine and warmer weather.

But is spring cleaning really necessary?

Certainly, there's a lot to be said for the notion of spring cleaning. It's a good time of year to rout out the dirt, dust and disorder that's crept into the home since the holiday season. By doing a thorough clean once a year, no area of the home gets too far removed from the results earned by energetic mops, vacuums and cleaning cloths. Longer days bring a new burst of energy for many of us, and using that bonus to deep-clean our homes seems like a good match for rising springtime spirits.

Then there's another point of view: that spring cleaning is unnecessary in an organized modern home.

The Case Against Spring Cleaning

Historic reasons for a traditional spring clean are no longer a factor in the vast majority of today's homes. When homes were heated with wood, coal or coal oil furnaces, the winter heating season brought a build-up of soot and ash on walls, furniture and fabrics. Spring cleaning marked the end of the heating season, when the entire house was aired and scrubbed clean of the dim, smoky film given off by older heat sources.

But with today's heating technology, this rationale no longer applies. Today's central or forced air furnaces, disposable air filters, and air filtration systems prevent a build-up of soot or film--and knock the props out from under the idea of a top-to-bottom spring clean.

Modern lives, too, no longer possess the rhythm and pace required to sustain an old-fashioned cleaning marathon. Today's working moms or active mothers of young children don't have the ability to clear two weeks of other commitments to engage in a full-time, full-bore spring cleaning session.

The notion of turning the house upside down each spring for a thorough cleaning seems as quaint as grandmother's house dresses to today's busy home managers--and it's certain that most of us no longer enjoy grandmother's access to paid household help, either.

Then there's the inevitable backlash! By the time modern families finish a whole-house deep-clean, we're apt to be so exhausted and alienated from our mops and buckets that we allow cleaning to slide--often for months to a year afterward! Instead of a reasonably clean house all the year long, spring-cleaners sometimes slip into peaks and valleys of clean versus dirty.

Finally, there are valid maintenance reasons NOT to defer deep cleaning to a single, yearly session.

Carpeting lasts longest if maintained by frequent vacuuming and regular cleaning, which prevents deposit of abrasive grit deep within the fibers.

Deferring needed carpet cleaning until spring causes unnecessary wear and works against the goal of a clean house.

Similarly, windows which are washed on a regular schedule won't develop the scale build-up requiring special treatment in a once-a-year cleaning session.

Exhaustion. Lack of time. No more seasonal need. The goal of better home maintenance EVERY day. All these factors weigh in against the idea of a good old-fashioned spring cleaning session.

Source : organizedhome[dot]com

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