Cleaning the Non-Electric Way

The anti-viral medicine I am on for Shingles makes me foggy and unable to concentrate well. (The warning label on the pill bottle says not to drive - no problem! Being contagious, where would I go?) So it doesn't surprise me that while I was in the refrigerator looking for something, I accidentally dropped the box of baking soda that was in there to absorb odors. Of course it split open; all over the floor and a small rug I have in front of the refrigerator door.

I was too tired to pull out the vacuum and too sore to beat the rug outside with my rug beater. (You do have a rug beater, don't you? You can see mine here.) My Hokey rug sweeper came to the rescue!

First, I used a broom to sweep up the baking soda from the floor and then swept the rug. (Did you know you can get a lot of dirt off a rug just by sweeping it with a broom?) Then I took the rug outside to shake it. While this did the trick for 90% of the problem, I still had a spot in the middle of the rug where the box broke open.

A few swipes with my Hokey and the problem was solved!

While the Hokey was really designed to pick up crumbs and other small objects (not powders), I think it did a very good job on the baking soda. I am satisfied until I have the energy to either beat it clean or pull out my vacuum. 

I often use my Hokey to pick up dog hair, dirt as well as leaf & grass clippings brought in on wet paws, and crumbs that found their way to the floor after dinner. It is a very handy tool to have!

Do You 'Spring Clean' Your House?

Spring cleaning was necessary in our great-great-grandmother's day. The sources used to heat houses back then were oil, coal and wood. Burning these fuels coated everything in the house with smoke residue. Hence. the need to clean come spring. 

The easiest way to clean a room was to take everything out if it. Then, the women of the house would start by washing the ceiling, walls and floors. As the furnishing were brought back into the room, they were also cleaned. Winter rugs and drapes were cleaned, then stored. The lighter summer ones were brought out to freshen up the room and keep it cooler in anticipation of the summer heat.

In our lives today, we don't have many of the cleaning issues our ancestors had. The efficient ways we heat our homes today only require that we perform periodic dusting and vacuuming (that is if you HAVE a vacuum!) Yet, when I am asked if I 'spring clean' my house, I answer "Yes, I do!" I don't spring clean in the way I mentioned above, but I do perform cleaning chores that I don't normally do the rest of the year. 

Spring cleaning to me is yearly cleaning. It is all the chores that I do once a year. I tend to do them in spring (and summer) because that is the time I think about them. They are completely off the radar the rest of the year. So yes, I spring clean. For me, it starts with the spray washing of my house. That is scheduled to happen in a few weeks. (In the South, mold grows on everything. That includes the exterior of your house - both brick and siding. Spray washing with a soap/bleach mixture is a must every year. Otherwise, the exterior paint only lasts a few years.)

Then it is on to other annual chores, accomplished room by room. That strategy ensures that I am not overwhelmed (I do not hire cleaning help). It would also be possible to enlist the aid of the entire family and accomplish it all in one day.

 Spring cleaning chores in modern times would be things like:

• Washing the windows and blinds
• Cleaning the refrigerator coils (as well as behind/underneath the appliance)
• Replacing the filters in the furnace
• Dusting all 'top shelves' that require a ladder to reach.

I also include 'other' chores such as:

• Washing my dining room rug at the laundromat (It is too big & heavy to wash it at home by hand!)
• Dusting/cleaning Christmas items that I am going to put away for the rest of the year. (In the picture below, you can see a Christmas tin sitting above the kitchen cabinets - along with other decorations that live there permanently. When I dust up there, I will put the Christmas tin away.)

Between my garden, church and any work projects I take on, it doesn't leave a lot of time for 'spring cleaning'. Normally, my list of yearly cleaning chores take me all summer to accomplish. No matter, slow and steady wins the race!

Spring/yearly cleaning isn't just something our ancestors had to do. I believe yearly cleaning chores are necessary now too! Its even more important if some one in your house has asthma! In addition, your appliances will work more efficiently if they are cleaned yearly. That can save you lots of money!

It all helps in making what you have last longer - and that is living a frugal life!

Living For One Year Without A Vacuum Cleaner

No Vacuum? No Problem! - Final Update

For those of you who have been following my vacuum cleaning saga, March 2014 marked my one year anniversary of living without a vacuum. For those of you that haven't read my other posts on this topic, my vacuum cleaner broke in March 2013 and I wanted to see (for myself) how our great-great- grandmothers kept their houses clean without an electric vacuum cleaner.

Reading about how our ancestors performed their daily household chores is a lot different from living them! I have a much greater respect for electricity and the convenience it brings to us 24 hours a day. Still, I never, ever want to be dependent on electricity to live. I use it sparingly, and always with the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish the same task without it.

This post took over one month to write. This is because I had to decide whether I was going to purchase a new vacuum or not. I spent a lot of time looking at vacuum cleaners, reading online reviews and going to stores to look at a few different models. I have decided I don't like any of the ones I saw and I am not going to purchase a new one. Most are made of plastic and cost too much money! 

Rather than purchasing a new one, I took the old broken one (it had spent the last year living in the garage) to see if I could have it fixed. Well, I wouldn't call it fixed but it now runs. It used to have two speeds, now it only has one that works. And, a good portion of the cord is covered in duct tape. It looks terrible, but I don't care.  It runs and I can now vacuum the wall-to-wall carpet in the bedrooms. (Although, I still don't plan to use it often. The area rugs will stay on my wall-to-wall carpet to protect it.) 

I also had a little hand held canister vacuum that came as a companion to the large upright vacuum. It was for the hardwood floors. It is beyond repair and finally went out in the trash. I am not going to replace it either.

Instead, I am going to continue cleaning the hardwood floors and area rugs the same way I have been doing it for the past year. Dust mops, brooms and a push carpet sweeper are the order of the day at my house! Over the past year, I have truly grown to love my Hoky Pr3000.

It really picks up Molly's hair on both the small carpets and the floors. It picks up small wet spots (melted ice on the kitchen floor) and heavier things like pennies too. I will also continue to beat my area rugs outside (in good weather). When I beat my rugs, they come out cleaner than they ever did using a vacuum! Try it yourself and see! I really didn't think they would be cleaner, but I am a true believer now. You will need a rug beater to accomplish this task. Much better results than using a stick. Mine decorates the wall when not in use.

I officially declare the no vacuum experiment a success!. I now know that you really don't need a vacuum cleaner to keep your house clean. It can be accomplished the old fashioned way and you can still live a modern life. No one entering my house can tell that I haven't had a working vacuum cleaner in a year!

I can not say enough good things about this carpet sweeper. Even if you have a vacuum, I believe this sweeper should be on the 'must have' list! It will save you from having to bring out the big vacuum for everyday clean up!

You can see the details of exactly how I kept the carpet and floors clean in these other posts:

• No Vacuum? No Problem! (So Far)
• No Vacuum? No Problem! (6 Month Update)
• No Vacuum? No Problem? (9 Month Update)

Making Laundry Soap

It occurred to me the other day that I have talked about making soap before, and given laundry soap recipes, but I never showed you how I make it!

I (slightly) changed my recipe about a month ago and thought this would be a great opportunity to show you what I do differently now. You can see my old laundry soap recipe in this post here. You can see how I make my own bar soap in this series of posts here.

What I decided to do is to increase the concentration levels of the soap. Kind of like what you see happening to the laundry detergent you can purchase in the stores. The bottles are getting smaller and the liquid is more concentrated. Of course, the idea is that you use less. If you find that you don't use less, then go back to the first link posted above and use that recipe. (It will be cheaper for you.) For people who like the highly concentrated liquid formula, today's recipe is for you.

Super Concentrated Laundry Soap
2 bars of soap
3 cups of Washing Soda
3 cups of Borax

Regardless of which recipe you want to use, this post is about how I make up the liquid soap. Here are the ingredients you need.

Just for the record, the bottle is empty. This is the bottle I am using to store the laundry soap. This bottle is about 4 years old and I continually reuse it. I really like the thick plastic bottles used to hold commercial laundry detergent. Ask your friends to save their empty bottles for you and soon you will have plenty! 

I start by heating some water in my soap making pot. The amount of water isn't important, add enough to dissolve the soap and powdered ingredients. The reason you heat the water is, hot water will help dissolve the bar soap quickly. I use an old vegetable peeler (now saved just for soap making) to cut thin slices.

Here is what they look like when I finished cutting them and drop them into the hot water. 

It isn't necessary to heat the water or cut the bar up if you don't want to. Instead, you can pour some water into a pot, drop the bar in it and let it soak overnight. The next morning, the soap should be soft enough to work with. (You may need to add some boiling water to get it to completely dissolve.)

Next, pour in the washing soda and borax. I usually add about 1 cup at a time and then stir until it is dissolved.  

When you have added all the ingredients, pour the concentrate into your detergent bottle.

Then, add additional water to fill the bottle.

Shake a bit and store.

If the liquid is still hot, I will go back and shake the bottle a few times until everything cools off. Shaking as it cools can help ensure the ingredients don't separate.

And there you have it! Your own homemade liquid laundry soap!

No Vacuum, No Problem!

9 Month Update

As many of you may know, my vacuum died about 9 months ago. I decided to go without one for one year to try to understand just how my great-great-grandmothers managed to keep their houses clean.

Although it has only been 9 months, I almost feel like I have never had a vacuum! I don't even miss it! All I can say is, it really is possible to have wall to wall carpet and not have a vacuum. I never would have believed it if I didn't experience it myself.

Still, winter cleaning is different than summer cleaning. Since winter arrived, I haven't been outside much to beat the rugs. It has been way too cold! I can't stand cold weather, so I make do by gently shaking the rugs on the floor. (The rugs on the wall to wall carpet are also gently shaken on the hardwood floor.) It does make just a bit more dust in the room I use to do this, but not enough to be a problem. What I have noticed is the rugs are not quite as clean as they were in the summer when I was beating them. They seem to gather dirt faster than they did in the summer. While I do notice it, it isn't a big enough issue to get me to go outside and beat them in the cold! I will continue this 'indoor cleaning' practice until the weather warms up!

This year, we have the additional problem of lots of heavy winter rain. All the rain brings mud into the house, so the rugs have mud on them as well as normal dirt. When mud is ground in, even vacuuming won't remove it, so I don't think my lack of a vacuum is contributing to this problem. My solution has been to wash the rugs more often than was needed during the summer. This is quite a bit of effort, (I am not thrilled with this chore) but it gets the rugs clean. I wait until I truly can't stand the rug any longer and then wash it. In the warmer weather, I was washing the rugs about every 3 months. Now, I am washing them monthly. The rugs at the entryways are washed more frequently than that.

To make this solution work, it is critical that you have washable rugs! Many of mine are from the big box stores. (The rest I made myself.) I like the fact that you can get rugs inexpensively at the big box stores! They have lots of colors and styles to match any decor.  If washing the rugs wears them out, I can easily replace them. (So far, so good on that point - my rugs are holding up well for now!)

I truly believe the key to not having a vacuum is a good broom. Don't skimp here! Purchase a really good one, the best you can afford. You will be glad that you did later! It will get a daily workout. Another 'must have' item is my carpet sweeper. I know I have said this in previous posts, but this journey/experiment would not be possible without my Hoky PR3000.

It will even lift the nap of the wall to wall carpeting! The strokes it leaves look just like a vacuum did it! My carpets look great! 

While I am managing well by washing the rugs more often to keep the mud out of the house, I will admit, all this rain has created one problem that needs special attention. Even though I wipe Molly's feet off when she comes inside, I have mud on the carpet in my master bedroom  (This is the only room with carpet that she enters frequently.)  I can tell because I have white carpet and now a large spot at the foot of the bed has a slightly red hue. I can even feel it when I walk on the carpet. I have two solutions to this problem and I think I will incorporate both. First, I am going to have to shampoo the carpet. I am not sure if I will rent a carpet cleaner or just use a mop with some Resolve cleaner. Once I do that, I will place an area rug over the 'problem' area to avoid this in the future. 

I expect I will have to rearrange all the rugs in the house to find a suitable match for the ones needed in the master bedroom. I want to avoid the purchase of any new rugs for this purpose, if at all possible. 

I will let you know how it all turns out at the next update! In the meantime, the experiment will continue!


I can not say enough good things about this carpet sweeper. Even if you have a vacuum, I believe this sweeper should be on the 'must have' list! It will save you from having to bring out the big vacuum for everyday clean up!

If you like this post, you may also like:

• No Vacuum? No Problem! (So Far)
• No Vacuum? No Problem! (6 Month Update)

Spend Just a Few Dollars and Never Clean Your Shower Again!

Well, almost never! I have been using this trick for about a year or so and it works great!  What is it? 

A squeegee! I am serious about how little you will need to clean your shower if you use one. The process is simple, the last person to take a shower in the morning uses the squeegee. At my house, that person is usually me. On occasion, it is my husband.  I will admit, he was not a fan of the idea when I started. However, over the course of the past year, he has seen how clean the shower stays when the squeegee is used on a daily basis. So he has started to squeegee too! (You may find it a bit harder to get the kids to use it on a regular basis.)

I can hear you saying now, "I don't have time to squeegee after every shower!" I understand. If you are late for work, the last thing you want to do is spend time squeegeeing. (Is that a word?) Since I have been doing this for slightly over a year now, I have a much better handle on exactly what it takes to keep the shower clean.

Let's start with a picture of my shower. It isn't huge, but it isn't small either. It can hold two people. It is 100% white tile with white grout. It hasn't been the easiest shower to keep clean these past 13 years.

When I first started, it took an extra ten minutes to squeegee the door, walls and floor. Way too long when I was in a hurry! However, I have since learned that the idea isn't to remove every drop of water, all you need to do is remove the majority of it. I timed myself this past week and it took 3 minutes from start to finish. Really! 

Large fast strokes work well. Your goal is to remove the soap residue and any standing water that may start mold growing. (Here in the south, mold grows on everything - inside the house and out. It is critical to remove any standing water in the shower to keep the mold at bay.) There isn't any need to wipe down the squeegee between strokes. If the squeegee is wet, it is no big deal. Remember, you are not looking to get every drop of water, just the big stuff.

Now, the question is: "How often do I clean the shower if I squeegee it every day?" Well, on average, I clean the floor of the shower every 4 to 6 weeks. If for some reason we go through a period where the shower doesn't get squeegeed every day, then it is closer to every 3 weeks. No one in the house has had any athlete's foot or other fungus problems. The walls of the shower have been cleaned with soap twice this year. That's it: twice! The soap I use to clean the shower is a combination of Dawn dishwashing soap and vinegar. You can see that recipe here.

I officially declare my experiment a success! There is no way I will ever be without a squeegee again!

No Vacuum? No Problem!

6 Month Update

As many of you may know, my vacuum died about 6 months ago. I decided to go without one for one year to try to understand just how my great-great-grandmothers managed to keep their houses clean.

I am pleased to say that I have not felt deprived. I really don't miss the vacuum. At times it does get exasperating. There are times I do think, "It would be so easy to just run the vacuum over this and be done with it." Fortunately, those times are rare! 

Beating the rugs does take extra time I could be doing something else. However, I like beating my rugs. They get super clean that way! I believe I get more of Molly's hair off the rugs when I beat them, as compared to using the vacuum. Now to be honest, my 6 months of no vacuuming have been during the warm, summer months. I may feel differently beating the rugs outside in the winter. I will let you know when the time comes!

I really think the reason I don't miss the vacuum has been my Hoky PR3000. Daily, I am amazed at how well it works - on both the carpet and the floors! It even works on my rag rugs!

Although I really love the Hoky, I will admit I give my broom and dust mop a workout as well. And let me also say that it is possible to use a broom on carpet! I do it all the time and it works! At the end of my year without a vacuum, I may find that I really am not keeping the wall-to-wall carpet clean at all. Thankfully, Molly doesn't spend a lot of time in the rooms with carpet so we are managing quite well for now. I haven't seen an increase in her allergies since the vacuum broke. That is my main concern. Plus, the carpets and rugs look and feel clean (to my feet). No one who comes over to my house can tell that I don't have a vacuum! (Well, my neighbors can because they see me outside beating the rugs.)

I will say that the key to not having a vacuum is daily sweeping. When I was canning all the apples, I didn't always sweep daily. It does matter! It takes significantly longer to clean the floors if you don't do it daily!

So for now, my experiment will continue! I will post more updates at the 9 month mark!

If you like this post, you may also like:

• No Vacuum? No Problem! (So Far)
• No Vacuum? No Problem! (9 Month Update)

No Vacuum? No Problem! (So Far)

As many of you may know, I do not have a vacuum. It broke about three months ago. Since I never used it very often anyway, I made it a goal to go one year without purchasing a new one. I want to see if I can do it. My great-great-grandmothers didn't have a vacuum. I want to experience what they experienced as they tried to keep their houses clean. In my three months without a vacuum cleaner, I have learned a few lessons:

• Sweeping the floors/carpets becomes a daily chore. I sweep the entire house once daily, usually in the mornings. During the day, I spot sweep areas that I am working in. On the days when the house is full of people and activity, I swear the broom and carpet sweeper are glued to my hands. I didn't like doing this when I first started. Now, I find it only takes a few minutes to sweep in the mornings and spot sweeping only takes a few seconds. I adapted and it doesn't bother me at all now. 
• Hand in hand with item #1 above, adjust your attitude on what a dirty floor looks like. I used to hate seeing dust bunnies on my floors. I would stop whatever I was doing to pick them up. (My husband tells me cleanliness is a compulsive behavior for me.) Not any more! Since I am sweeping every morning anyway, I know if I see a dust bunny during the day, it will be picked up in less than 24 hours as part of routine cleaning, so I leave it there! At first this was difficult to do. Having a busy schedule these past three months helped a lot. I didn't have time to focus on the dirt. Now, I may experience a few moments of stress as I walk by the dirt and dust, but I leave it there for the next mornings cleaning.
• My Hoky carpet sweeper is wonderful! It picks up small wet spills as well as dirt, dust and hair. It even picks up heavier items like pennies that sometimes fall out of my husband's pockets! I researched many different types of sweepers and read all the customer reviews I could find before I bought this one!  I love it!! The Hoky works on both floors and carpets.

• Beating the throw rugs is fun!  Really! It is a great way to remove any frustrations or stress you may have. Just throw over a chair, fence or clothesline, and whack away! Beating the rugs weekly and using the Hokey daily keeps them clean. When done weekly, it doesn't take more than a few minutes per rug.

• Throw rugs on the carpet help to keep it clean. Putting throw rugs on the high traffic areas of your carpet do a great job of keeping them clean. If they won't stay put, use a little carpet tape.

• Swiffer dry sweeping cloths are expensive. Too expensive to buy if you are using them daily. I can go through three or four in one morning! That includes turning it over and using the other side! Now, I use old socks that have lost their mate. I have a stack of them. (Where do those other socks go anyway?) All but the smallest socks slide over the Swiffer broom and work beautifully. Then, just toss in the wash.

• Before electricity, animals were kept outside for a reason! It is quite difficult to keep up with the hair and dust pets make. To help keep the house clean, I could make Molly stay outside. However, if I did that I would deprive myself of the constant companionship and love she gives me. (She never leaves my side.) Besides, how can you say "No, you can't come back in." to this face.

At the three month point, I am happy with my results. The floors are clean (generally), Molly's allergies haven't flared up and now that I have adjusted to it, I don't think it takes that much time out of my day to go non-electric.

I will post another update at the six month mark!


If you liked this post, you may also like:

• No Vacuum? No Problem! (6 Month Update)
• No Vacuum? No Problem! (9 Month Update)

Homemade Laundry Detergent Boosters

I love OxiClean. I use it every time I wash clothes. I have been buying it on sale and stocking up so I always have it.  Well, lately it hasn't been on sale and I am noticing the price keeps going up. (Is it just me or is the price of everything going up faster and faster?) Well, I finally put my foot down and said "No more!" I will no longer purchase OxiClean. I am going to have to use something else or make my own. 

That started my search for a homemade version. I have read about a few and decided to try the ones that sounded like they would work. I really wanted to use regular household items so I don't have to purchase any new ingredients and store a year's worth of something else. I have all these ingredients listed below in my food storage program now. 

Let me also add that I don't use commercial laundry detergent. I make my own. You can too! Here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Detergent
1 bar Fels Napa soap, grated (I use my own homemade soap. You can see that recipe as part of the series Make Your Own Soap. Here is the link to Part I: Make Your Own Soap, Part I   . The recipe for the laundry soap is listed in Part IV.
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax

I melt the soap in a few cups of boiling water and then add the washing soda and borax so it will dissolve. Place it all in an old liquid detergent laundry bottle and add warm water.  Use the biggest bottle/tub you can find. I use one of the super big bottles that sits on its side and has the spout.  If you don't have one of these, divide the concentrated recipe up among a couple of bottles, then add water. This makes a nice gel that dissolves well when you add the clothes.

Back to the stain removers, here's my research, results and comments:

Homemade OxiClean Recipe #1 (Overall Detergent Booster):
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup washing soda

Results:
I read that this recipe works best if the clothes are left to soak for a few hours. I decided to try it both ways: soaking and non-soaking. I used 2 loads of white clothes so I could compare to see if the soaking did any good. I only soaked for 30 minutes. The non-soaked clothes came out good, similar to when I add a scoop of OxiClean. The soaked clothes came out very bright! All I can say is WOW! I am impressed. I really didn't expect 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide in a full tub of water to do it, but it did! I also did a cost comparison on an ounce for ounce basis and the liquid hydrogen peroxide with washing soda is much, much cheaper than OxiClean. 

I also want to mention that I have, and use on occasion, Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing. This stuff has been around since 1883. It works great if you have a stain on whites that is set and won't come out. (Hanging the item in the sun to dry will also help to remove a set stain.) I don't use the bluing that often. My bottle is a few years old and I haven't even used half of it yet. I did not use it in the test washes.

Homemade OxiClean Recipe #2 (Pre-Treat Specific Stains):
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vinegar

Results:
I use OxiClean gel to pre-treat oily stains on our clothes. I get lots of them on the t-shirts I wear around the house.  (Teaspoons of fish oil are part of Molly's daily diet for her allergies and I usually end up squirting some on my shirts.) To make sure I was doing what I considered a 'fair' test, I treated one shirt with OxiClean gel, one shirt with Resolve spray and three shirts with the lemon/vinegar combo. Then I washed them together in the same load. These were fresh stains, I actually squirted the oil on the shirts so I could test this. I let the stain sit about 5 minutes. It took about 5 minutes to pull a new bottle of vinegar out of the storage closet, then I made the lemon/vinegar mix. So I guess all the stains sat about 10 minutes total before treating. I did not try this with 'old oil' stains because I didn't have any dirty t-shirts that were stained waiting to go into the wash. All the shirts came out clean.  All of them! I rubbed the lemon/vinegar mix in a bit. I didn't use any other laundry booster, nor did I use a scoop of OxiClean powder. Just my homemade detergent and the pre-treated clothes. This is another surprise for me. I honestly didn't expect the oily stains to come out.  I will no longer purchase OxiClean gel nor Resolve Pre-Treat! You can't find a cheaper stain fighter than lemon juice and vinegar! 

I am very pleased with my results. And thrilled that I found a cheaper way to get my clothes clean!

Here are some other laundry ideas I found while researching.  I haven't tried these yet:

• Sponging stains with peroxide will remove many simple stains. Peroxide will not injure wool or silk and is not dangerous to use. It may affect the color of the material so test on the fabric first.
• To remove coffee stains, mix the yolk of an egg with a little warm water. Rub on the stain with a sponge. For stains that have been set in, add a few drops of rubbing alcohol to the egg and water.
• To remove candle wax, apply ice to the wax so it freezes (you can also put the item outside in a dry area in the winter). Chip off all the frozen wax you can. Lay brown paper over the wax and press with a medium hot iron. Move the paper as it absorbs the wax. Take care not to redeposit the wax in another area of the fabric. Continue as long as any wax shows up on the brown paper.
• Perspiration stains are removed with a mix of vinegar and baking soda. Apply the vinegar, then sprinkle the baking soda on. While it is fizzing, scrub in gently with a brush.
• Grass stains will dissolve with an application of rubbing alcohol.
• For extra-dirty work clothes, add a cup of ammonia to the wash (do NOT add ammonia to any wash water that has bleach in it).
• Vinegar and water will remove salt stains from shoes and boots.

What an easy way to go frugal!

April 2013 Update: I have discovered that the spot remover of lemon juice and vinegar is not as effective on old 'set in' grease stains as it is on fresh stains. I have been doing some more experimenting. I have found the lemon juice and vinegar stain remover is more effective when the item is washed in very hot water, when you use fresh lemon juice, and when allowed to soak into to the clothes overnight. Still, I am somewhat frustrated with it's performance. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The search for a frugal stain remover continues...

Make Your Own Vinegar

Making vinegar was one of my goals for this year and I finally did it! Making vinegar was super easy, but I did learn some lessons for the next time I make it. Here is how I did it.

In my research into making vinegar, I read that you can use any sweet fruit like grapes, plumbs or even peaches. I used the standard apple. Back at the end of September, I purchased two bushels of apples to make apples juice and apple butter. You can read the post on how I made apple juice and apple butter here. I used the apple discards from making juice to make the vinegar.  Here is a picture of some of my apple discards from last September.

The next step to making vinegar is to gather all the discards and place in a crock. I had so many that I used a five gallon bucket. The instructions said I had said to to cover all the discards with water. For me, that meant filling the five gallon bucket almost to the top to ensure everything was submerged in the water. Then I stirred it a bit with a stick and added a teaspoon of yeast. This is a picture of mine.

Since I used all the discards, it ended up looking more like applesauce. If you use just apple cores or apple peels, it may not have such an 'applesauce like' texture. My research indicates that you can use any part of the apple. Next, I covered it to keep out dust, bugs and such. I used cheesecloth.

Since I don't have a basement, I placed this in my laundry room. I put it under an open window during the month of October to help gather the 'good' wild yeast. I stirred it once a day for the first 3 weeks to incorporate some air into the mixture.  After the first 3 weeks, I started to get Mother of Vinegar forming on the top.

When Mother of Vinegar starts to form, you are supposed to stop stirring and let it sit.  The total time I let mine sit still and ferment was five additional weeks; mid October to end of November.  Then, I strained it to remove all the leftover apple pieces.

At this point, I pasteurized it so it would be stable and store well. I heated it to 160 degrees and left it at this temperature for five minutes.

When it cooled, I poured it into storable jugs.  I used old vinegar bottles from the store.

Wow! Homemade vinegar!

A few lessons I learned when making my first batch of vinegar:

• The entire process took eight weeks. I started at the end of September and finished at the end of November.
• I never intended to use this vinegar for food recipes. My orange five gallon bucket is not made of food safe plastic. This vinegar is suitable for cleaning the bathrooms. Next time I make vinegar, I will use a food grade plastic bucket.
• Since I started with a non food grade bucket, I also used my soapmaking pot to pasteurize the vinegar. My soapmaking pot is not used for anything but soapmaking. I never put food in the soapmaking pot for safety purposes. I also stirred the vinegar with my soapmaking spoons and used my soapmaking thermometers to check the temperature when I was pasteurizing it. The glass pouring container and funnel are only used for soapmaking as well.
• The teaspoon of yeast I added at the beginning of the process was bread yeast. The instructions said to use wine yeast for edible vinegar.  While I do have some wine yeast, mine is old and probably dead. I didn't even try it. (You can use wine yeast to make your own soda and that was the intended purpose of mine.) I am going to purchase some additional packets of wine yeast and use that next time. Then, I will use the Mother of Vinegar formed on the next batch to make additional batches after that. My intent is to have vinegar that is safe to consume.
• I started the process with five gallons of water but that isn't what the final yield was. When I checked the bucket in mid November, the total volume shrunk to about 4 gallons. By the time I strained out all of the left over apple pieces, my final yield was 2 1/2 gallons.
• Making vinegar is smelly. Vinegar doesn't really have a pleasant smell anyway and when you are making it the smell is compounded. During the two months mine was fermenting, we closed the door to the laundry room to keep the smell contained. It didn't necessarily smell bad at first. It started out with a fruity smell then switched to a vinegar smell.  Then a beer smell. At the end of the process, my husband said it smelled more like dirty socks then anything else.  I would describe it as a white vinegar smell that was slightly off. This off smell was probably because I used bread yeast and not wine yeast. I don't want you to think the entire house smelled. It didn't. I never noticed the smell until I went to do the laundry. When I walked into the laundry room, I could smell it at first but then I didn't noticed it anymore. My laundry room is next to the kitchen. When standing in the kitchen, you couldn't smell anything.
• There are many, many different ways to make vinegar. Now that I have made my first batch, I may try to make some apple cider first and then try to turn that into vinegar. (The process is different from what I described above but it is fit for consumption.) I may also try making some vinegar with grapes next summer (depending on how many grapes I get off my vines!)
• Lots and lots of apples are needed for a basic vinegar recipe. We planted two new apple trees in our back yard last month to make the process completely self-sustaining.

I hope this post gives you some confidence to try your hand at making your own vinegar! A little bit of research and some simple tools and you can be on your way!

Cleaning Your House With Just Water

Is it possible to clean your home with just water and keep it germ free?  According to the company Norwex it is. I was introduced to this company early this summer when I was invited to a party (like a Tupperware party).  This is a global company with independent consultants all over the world. It specializes in products to help you clean your home without harsh chemical cleaners. To that end, they sell cleaning cloths (and other things) that clean and eliminate germs with just water.

I was way too busy with work to attend the party, but my friend left me a catalog and told me what the most popular items were. After looking through the catalog, I decided to order a few things.  Here is a list of what I ordered.  The links below are to the product descriptions in English for the United States.

• Dryer Balls:These are placed in the dryer with the laundry.  They help to lift and soften the laundry and also help to eliminate static cling without dryer sheets of fabric softener.  Here is a link to what they look like: Dryer Balls
• Three Microfiber Cloths:  These cloths clean without any chemical cleaner product of any kind. Here is the page that shows what I bought: Microfiber Cloths
• Window Cloth: This works on windows, mirrors, faucets or anything else that shines.
• Enviro Cloth: My friend told me that the consultant at the party put chicken juice on the counter and then did some kind of test for germs to show that they were present. Then, the consultant used the enviro cloth (I believe it was damp with water)  to wipe up the chicken juice. She tested for germs again after cleaning with the enviro cloth and no germs were present.
• Large Enviro Cloth: My goal for purchasing this one was to make sure I didn't have to wash the cloths every day after using them.  I wanted one extra.

After using these products all summer long, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on using them and how they work. I'll start with my most favorite purchase: the dryer balls!  These things are great! They separate the clothes while drying and leave the clothes really soft!  Now, I only use the dryer on a seasonal basis.  In the summer, clothes don't dry quickly here in the south without using the dryer. (Because of restrictions, I can't put my clothes outside on a clothes line.) In the winter, I use drying racks in the house and only use the dryer for items that must be dried quickly. Under those circumstances, the dryer balls work great! One of their best features are little spikes to help lift the clothes and dry them faster. I've never seen the spikes on the dryer balls you can purchase in the big box stores.

I also like the enviro cloths. They do clean well with just water. I use them on the kitchen counters, kitchen and dining room tables as well as the bathroom counters and faucets (I haven't use them on the toilet yet). The window cloth really does get mirrors and windows clean. The cloths are easy to use and easy to clean.  I am impressed with the company and the products I purchased.

Really, the only downfall I can see about these products is their price.  I applaud the company's goal of cleaning chemical free, but I don't think this is the most frugal way to do it. So, I have decided to save the enviro cloths for special cleaning projects and not use them in my day to day cleaning.  This way I can make them last longer and I won't have to replace them as quickly.

If cleaning your home without harsh chemicals is something you are striving for, checkout this company. You may just find something that could help you move away from using chemical cleaning products.  You can also read some of my previous posts on how to clean your home with vinegar and baking soda here.  Using vinegar and baking soda to clean your home will help you eliminate harsh chemical cleaners and save you money too!

Full Disclosure:  I don't get any compensation from this company.  I am just a customer.  My consultant told me everything I bought has a warranty so Norwex guarantees their products will not fall apart on you!

Five More Uses for Vinegar

As I have mentioned before, I use vinegar to clean just about everything.  Even so, sometimes you have to add elbow grease to get things really clean. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I tested a new way to use vinegar for cleaning.  It worked really well and no scrubbing!  This one is first on today’s list.

1. Heat 1 cup of vinegar in the microwave for 1 minute.  Pour into a spray bottle.  Add 1 cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid.  Shake to mix well.  Spray your shower and/or tub.  Let sit for at least two hours.  The more soap scum and hard water spots you have, the longer you should let it sit.  You can even let it sit overnight if necessary. Wipe down with a wet sponge and rinse.  That’s it!  Soap build up, dirt, grime, EVERYTHING disappears.  You are left with a clean shine.  It even smells pleasant – not like vinegar at all.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest.  I modified it a bit for half the tub to see if it made a difference.  First, I turned on the water to wet down everything.  Then, I sprinkled baking soda on half the tub. Then I sprayed the entire tub.  The half with the baking soda fizzled and foamed up and stayed put a bit better (good if using on vertical surfaces).  Go easy with the spray.  If you use a lot, it will take a long time to rinse because of the bubbles made by Dawn. On Pinterest, it specifically stated to use the blue Dawn, so that is what I did. It worked so well, I tried it on my grout.  My bathrooms are white.  White everything - to include the grout.  So as you can guess, it is really hard to keep the grout clean.  No more!  This mix did a great job on the grout as well.  I sprayed it on and after letting it sit for 2 hours, I lightly scrubbed with a stiff brush and then wiped it up with a damp sponge.  I will no longer use any harsh chemicals to clean my grout!
2. My kitchen sink gets dirty, really dirty.  In addition to normal household chores, I use my sink sprayer to water plants. I also repot small plants in my sink. As a result, I wash my sink a lot.  Long ago and far away I used to use an abrasive powder cleanser with bleach.  Then I switched to my own dishwashing soap.  Now, I use vinegar.  Here’s how it works. Wet the sink and lightly sprinkle baking soda over the entire surface.  Pour about ¼ cup vinegar in the sink and let it foam.  Use a scrub sponge to lightly scrub and/or wipe out the sink. Then rinse.  I have been amazed that this seems to actually repel the dirt.  My sink stays cleaner, brighter and shiner longer and it is easier to wipe clean in between the vinegar cleanings.
3. When washing fresh produce, add vinegar to the rinse water and you will remove any tiny bugs you may not be able to see.  This works great for garden vegetables such as carrots, green beans, squash, or broccoli.
4. Wipe down your cutting boards with vinegar before washing them. It cuts down on grease and makes them easier to clean. Use it full strength, then wash as usual.
5. Here is an idea women may find helpful! Nail polish will go on smoother and stay on longer if you wipe your nails down with vinegar. Saturate a cotton ball with vinegar and wipe each nail. Let dry. Then apply your favorite nail polish.

A word of warning when using vinegar with baking soda (or any other ingredient that makes it foam).  It is perfectly fine to use these ingredients together when in an open container, sink or bathtub.  Do not try to put foaming vinegar in a closed container.  It will not stay closed for long and you will have a big mess on your hands!

Vinegar is such a useful and natural product.  I love to find creative ways to use it.  If you have a creative use for vinegar, let me know.  I will include it in the next ‘Five More Uses for Vinegar” post!

How to Save $1,000 a Year (On Average) on Home Maintenance Costs

Do you own your home?  How often do you have to think about painting it?  Here in the south, we have to paint about every seven years.  It doesn’t matter what kind of paint is used.  15 year or 20 year paint, doesn’t matter.  At most a paint job lasts about seven years.  The main reason the paint won’t last here is mold.  Our air is so humid that mold grows on everything. Everything!  Mold can completely destroy a paint job, making it necessary to paint again and again.  The owners of a house in my neighborhood have painted their house twice in the time they have owned it.  And that doesn’t count when the builder painted it.  I moved into this neighborhood before that house was built. 

I have lived in my house for 11 ½ years. How many times have I painted my house? Zero. Why not? Pressure washing. I have my house pressure washed each year in the spring.  I have used the same company each year.  B & M Pressure Washing.

B & M Pressure Washing is owned by Bryant Holloway.  Bryant serves the Tampa metro area, Orlando metro area, Miami metro area and the Atlanta metro area. It doesn’t take him more than 1 ½ hours to wash my house.  The key is he uses bleach.  A note of warning, water your landscaping well the night before you have your house washed with bleach.  The bleach can burn tender or young plants.  I water my landscaping two nights in a row before Bryant is scheduled to pressure wash.  Rarely, have I had any landscaping damage from the bleach.

Now full disclosure here, I have spot painted sections of my house.  If the caulk breaks around the windows or trim, it needs to be replaced and then repainted. Also, the houses in my neighborhood have wood trim.  Wood trim doesn’t do well in high humidity.  It rots.  So, I have had to replace some wood trim with new composite pieces.  They are caulked in and then painted.  Still, the most I have spent on house maintenance dealing with paint is about $2,000 total over the life of the house. It is really just a couple of hundred dollars each year. And that includes the fee I pay Bryant every year.  It seems like a no brainer to me.

Planning to paint your house in a few years?  Pressure wash it every year and I bet you can skip that painting and save yourself the money!