Clean House

It's fall here in Argentina and we are about to enter the dry season. Also, where we live, they burn the sugar cane fields to prepare for the new crop. Needless to say, this creates a smoke filled environment with a lot of dust. I think there is more dust here anyway for some reason. I remember when we lived in Brooklyn, I'd use the swiffer a few times a week and have someone clean about twice a month. It's a totally different story here. Most of the floors are tile, so I have to sweep at least once a day, sometimes more to keep up with all the dust and dirt.

Now that I'm primarily a stay-at-home mom, I've had a bit of time on my hands (when the kids are napping of course) to explore different options to make cleaning easy, less expensive etc...I definitely need help, but on the days that I don't, I want a quick and easy regimen. I've been exploring some environmentally friendly, have what I have on hand cleaners and odor removers.

Hotandhealthymom

Air and Fabric Refreshers

I love the smell of incense, so I always burn some during the day. Nag Champa is my favorite. I also love Febreze, unfortunately, I haven't found it here. Recently I stumbled upon a recipe to make your own. You can find it here. Basically, it's a mixture of fabric softener, baking soda and water. Seriously, if you have baking soda, vinegar and rubbing alcohol in your pantry, you might as well be McGyver.

The other issue we have is that I think a mouse had died in our wall...eeeeeek!!! The smell drives me nuts. I've found all of these natural remedies which will help mask the smell until the lil thing dies completely. These things you probably already have in your home will help absorb the odor and combat the smell. Vinegar: place cups of it near the offending odor and the vinegar will neutralize it. The same thing goes for boiling a pot of water with sliced lemons in it. Also, place bricks of charcoal around the house and where the odor is strongest to help absorb the odor. The kind you use for a barbecue will do. And of course, incense, to put you in a zen mood and absorb the odor until the little sucker has fully decomposed.

WikiHow

General Cleaner

Vinegar is perfect for cleaning every day surfaces, unfortunately, the smell isn't so appealing. Make your own citrus cleaner with vinegar and citrus peels of your choice (Orange, lemon, gratefruit). Take a look here for the instructions. If you don't mind the smell, just use 1 part vinegar and 9 parts water.

Glass Cleaner

For sparkling windows, just add 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap and 2 cups water. This also works great on mirrors and any shiny surfaces.

Wood Cleaner/Polish

Our poor dining table has taken a beating, cup rings and it's just lost the luster and beautiful tone it used to have. Mostly because I just hadn't had time to do anything about it and I couldn't find Murphy's Oil Soap. So I found a recipe to make my own here. Just mix 2 cups olive oil with a cup of lemon juice (I also added a bit of vinegar). I applied with a cloth, let it sit for a bit and then worked it in a little more, enough so that my hands weren't oily to the touch. I also used this on my chairs and any wicker/rattan furniture we had. It really brought everything back to life. I even used it for all of my decorative wood bowls and objects.

Please feel free to share if you have some DIY cleaners.

Happy Cleaning!

Posted in: Casa & Color, Live, Organize