Sucess!!

Okay so I have a bunch of crap going on in my personal life today but I thought that I would focus on the success's of today. As you can see, I have changed my background again, I though that a edgy valentines day theme would be nice. Also I have two new layouts on my new hobby, yay! Char, you'll have to give me your opinion on this one since all I normally get is a grunted, "looks good" from my husband. AND I have a new series of painting ideas!!! now I just need to make them a reality. But on to the reason for my post, Green Cleaning.

I have been experimenting with green cleaning for a while and read tips in a lot of different places. Now for the most part, I'm not huge on putting a lot of extra effort into things (especially cleaning) and I don't like the idea of spending a whole lot of extra money on well, anything, but here are a few easy, cheap tricks that I found that actually SAVE me money!

Microwave - Now I hate cleaning the microwave. So much so that I rarely bother and the last time that it came time to clean it, we got a new one instead (to be honest the top was all bent because someone dropped something on it during a move and it kinda needed to be replaced anyways). But if you have ever left off cleaning your microwave and it's all gunky then you know that it is hard as hell to clean. The last time that I did this, it took me over an hour and my arm hurt forever after all the scrubbing. That time I used the normal household cleaners. This time it took me about 15 minutes total and only about 7 of that was actual work. What you do is fill a bowl about halfway with hot water from the tap and add about a quarter cup of lemon juice (honestly, I just squirted a bunch in so I have no idea how much to put in) then you microwave it for at least 3 minutes, (I did 5 cause it was really bad) and then let it sit for about 2 minutes. Then it's just a simple wipe with a cloth in warm water and everything just wipes right off. I was amazed at how easy this was!

Tub, sink, etc - Anything that you use the powdered bleach on, you can use baking soda on with equal success. The only issue I have with this is that it takes a bit of rinsing to get it all off but it is non abrasive and it won't hurt your hands if your like me and can't be bothered to wear gloves.

Hard water stains - At least, I think this is what they are called. But you know those rare times that your husband gets you flowers? So you put them in a vase and fill it with water but as the water evaporates it leaves marks that are pretty hard to get off. That's what I'm talking about. Anyways, to get rid of it with out using that TV product, whatever it's called, just use a bit of vinegar and hot water. Mix it together, (again, I just squirted so I have no idea how much!) and let it sit for a bit then just wipe it out, seriously it takes all the gunkies off and it makes it sparkle.

Windows, mirrors, etc - So during my pregnancies, I was extremely cautious about using anything I wasn't supposed to and Windex was on the list of "Can't use its" but my husband sucks at cleaning, or rather, just can't be bothered. So I found out, if you mix vinegar in hot water in a Windex bottle and then just squeegee it off, voila, instant clean mirror!

So yeah, I just thought that today, rather then cry and be all upset over the personal junk, I would do my little part to make the world better and share these ideas. Like I said, they're easy and they do work, they help the environment and best of all, they actually save money! Who can't use more of that?