No use crying over...

Yup, you got it, spilled milk. Grrr. And, I didn't cry (since they say there's no use), but I did growl.

Yesterday, I grabbed the milk (1/2 gallon because it was cheaper to buy two half-gallons than one gallon) to put it in the fridge and it attempted to commit suicide. It literally jumped out of my hands to meet it's doom on our new tile floors.


I was ready to kill it myself.

I know it's not a very big deal when milk spills. I know that, I really do. But, I had just mopped the floors two days before and I hadn't planned to do it again for another month or so! Okay, not really, but I definitely didn't plan to mop 2 days later.

When I say I "mop" my floors, what I mean is that I get down on my knees, use a small towel (also known as a washcloth, I suppose...), a spray bottle filled with a mixture of water and vinegar (1:1 ratio) and I clean the whole floor, one section at a time. It honestly doesn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes and the result is so, so much better than using a mop. I've been mopping that way for years.

However, yesterday, when I had to clean up the milk, I used the regular mop (because I was irritated and was rebelling against towel mopping two times in a week). And, now, every time I walk into the kitchen, I feel like the floor is dirty (even though I did my good mopping only a few days before) and I'm bothered all over again.

Also, when I clean up spilled milk (which I seem to do on a regular basis around here), I like to put the towel directly into the washing machine so the milk doesn't spoil and get stinky. But, I had just washed a load of towels so I didn't have enough for a full load to wash the towel. Grrr.

So, the moral of the story is. Don't do laundry until you have at least one towel soiled from spilled milk and don't mop until you're actually cleaning up a big mess. Or something like that.

Oh, yeah, and those dishes in the dishwasher that got sprayed with milk? Yeah, they were clean.

Grrr.

Busy as a Bee...

Well, since I'm not going to IKEA, I decided I'm in the mood to clean! I love cleaning on Monday and having the house clean all week! Not just picked up, but deep cleaned. So, here's my list for today:

change hamster cage
clean kitchen
wipe counters
wash dishes/start dishwasher
put clean, dry dishes away
clean top of stove
dust/wipe down baker's rack
clear/wipe down table
sweep
mop
clean bathrooms
bathtub
stand up shower
sinks
toilets
baseboards
vacume
mop
dust ceiling fans throughout house
dust everything else throughout house after ceiling fans shower the world with dust
change sheets (on at least Slade's and my bed, maybe the boys'...)
vacume throughout house because of the huge amount of dust that comes off the ceiling fans and everything else...
take cushions off couches and vacume couches
laundry

The bold stuff is what I've already accomplished this morning. I just turn up the radio and lock the door (anyone else worry that someone might come in while you're up to your elbows in suds cleaning the bathtub or something?!) and go at it. Okay, so there it is. Can I do it? We'll see...

I just vacumed up a bee...

I just vacumed up a bee.
I didn't mean to do it.
He surprised me at the window
And I hadn't time to shoo it.

He buzzed at me defensively;
Well, that made me defensive, too.
If a bee buzzed at you while cleaning,
Tell me, what would you do?

So, I waited patiently,
he never saw it coming!
But, now he's in the canister
And I can hear him humming...

It's true. I was vacuming around the boys' window, with the window open and a bee must've squeezed in by the screen and I must've surprised it because it didn't fly away. It hesitated and flew slowly around, defensively. I've never seen a defensive bee, but I'm telling you, this one was defensive. Well, it's not my fault he tried to get into our house. I couldn't close the screen all the way from the inside and I was afraid he'd get mad and come after me, so I did the first thing that I thought of. I vacumed him up. Then I got chills thinking about him getting out of the canister of the vacume and haunting me. Yuck. So, in a minute, I'll go empty the canister and close up the bag as quickly as I can!

Today I am spring cleaning. I didn't intend to spring clean, just to deep clean and air out the house now that everyone is well. But, once I got started, I thought of all the other things I could do and... well, now I'm in the cleaning mode. So, far, I've only finished Slade's and my room. I vacumed the blinds (whew, that took about 45 minutes and my arms were so tired--might make that once a decade, instead of each spring) and took down the curtains to wash, dry and iron... Hmmm... I wonder if that one will get finished... Then I dusted everything and vacumed the baseboards and the carpet. I changed our sheets and put everything that Slade needs to go through and organize on the bed so that it looks nice everywhere else. I don't know if he'll get to his stuff tonight (he has a midterm to take online), but at least it looks good. :-)

Then I changed the boys' sheets. Whew, that is a workout! I decided to save their blinds for next spring or whenever the cleaning bug hits again. They aren't as dusty as ours because we have our fan on more often than they do.

And, so far, that's all I've accomplished and it's taken me 2 stinkin' hours. Of course, I did get that great little poem written, so I guess that's worth the wasted time, right?! Oh, well.

It feels good to clean out and air out this germy house!

Some Cleaning Tips

I got this in an e-mail from Mary Hunt (well, not to me, personally, but I'm on her mailing list *grin*)

ALL-PURPOSE FLOOR CLEANER. Mix 1 to 2 cups white vinegar (depending how tough the situation) in a bucket of very hot water. Apply with a mop to any type of floor, including hardwood. No need to rinse, but you will want to wring out the mop often and remove as much liquid as possible to speed the drying time.

CLEANER FOR PAINTED CABINETS. Make a solution of 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 cup ammonia, 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1 gallon of warm water. Press a hot, damp cloth against grease deposits on painted kitchen cabinets until they soften. Wash cabinets with a sponge and this solution. Rinse off with a clean sponge and water. Wipe cabinets completely dry.

WINDOW, GLASS AND MIRROR CLEANER. Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch into 2 quarts of very warm water. Fill a spray bottle. Rub mixture on window using a soft cloth. Follow with a clean, dry cloth to dry and shine the windows. They will sparkle for days!

CARPET FRESHENER AND DEODORIZER. Sprinkle the carpet liberally with baking soda. Allow to sit overnight. Vacuum thoroughly in the morning. Your carpet will be fresh and sweet smelling with no overpowering “perfumey” smell. Hint: Start with an empty vacuum bag or receptacle because it’s going to fill up fast.

WALLS. Combine in a large spray bottle: 1 tablespoon borax (20 Mule Team Borax is one brand that you will find in the laundry aisle), 3/8 cup white vinegar and 1 quart of very hot water. Use this to clean just about anything around the house, including walls and woodwork.

BLINDS, METHOD 1. Take down aluminum, metal or faux wood blinds and lay them on the concrete driveway. Spray them with a product used to remove car oil spots from the driveway (products such as Greased Lightening or GP Degreaser, available in auto or hardware stores). After a few minutes, use a paintbrush to scrub the blinds and then use the hose to wash everything off. Once dry, they will be beautiful.

BLINDS, METHOD 2. Fill the bathtub with hot water and add a cup of automatic dishwasher detergent (like Cascade powder or a Cascade gel-pak with Dawn). Lay the entire set of blinds into the bath and allow it soak for a while. Dunk it up and down in the water a few times and rinse. If the blinds are unusually dirty and grimy you may need to scrub the slats with a soft brush. Allow to dry outdoors before rehanging. Your blinds will look like new.

TUB AND TILE CLEANER. Fill a spray bottle 1/4 full with original Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid and add white vinegar to fill the bottle. Shake bottle to mix. Spray on tub and shower floors and walls. Allow to sit for up to one hour if you have a great deal of soap and scum build-up. Scrub as necessary, then rinse well. Be prepared to be amazed.

I really need to try the blinds tips. Reading this made me in the mood for Spring Cleaning! Sorta...

I love baking soda

A week or so ago, Randall was playing with a pen that has the Cars character, Mater, on the top. It's one of those pens where you click the top to get the pen out. He was "drawing" circles on the couch with the pen. He thought the pen was still in, but he wasn't paying attention, because sometimes he would hold Mater while he "drew" and he ended up drawing in pen on my couches!!

When I noticed, I screamed. Not an "AAAAAAAAH!" kinda scream, but a "Randall, what are you doing?! You were writing on the couch! You don't write on the couch!" kinda scream. That might even be word for word what I screamed. I was furious. It had already been a frustrating morning with Russ whining and complaining about having to wear a button up (polo) shirt and his socks were bothering his feet and life, in general, just didn't suit him and such. I walked away from dealing with that to see ink circles on my couch and I just started crying.

Slade came in and just held me while I mumbled and vented into his shoulder. Randall was also crying, so I picked him up and cried with him. It was really pretty pitiful.

After I calmed down, I reminded Randall that he was not supposed to be playing with pens. (After our coloring on Mommy's brand new Bible episode, he was banned from using pens until college.) But, I made sure to also remind him that although I was very upset about the ink on our couch, I still loved Randall more than I cared about the couch. I told him that people are more important than things (I almost had to grit my teeth to get that out with the frustration I was feeling) and that he can never do anything that will cause me to stop loving him.

He stopped crying and I took a deep breath and did what any good mom would do... I googled "ink stain couch".

There are many remedies for removing ink from different fabrics and materials, but I was a little nervous to use many of them. Alcohol? Hand sanitizer? Yikes!

But, I figured the mix of baking soda and water sounded harmless enough. So, I got an old toothbrush and mixed about 1 t of baking soda with about 1 to 2 T of water. I just used the wet, runny mixture and gently scrubbed it on the ink stain. It worked! If I had been in a normal state of mind, I would have taken before and after pictures, but I was a little... irritated... and taking pictures was not exactly high on my list.

But, it worked and completely removed the ink! I couldn't believe it. I was thinking I would need this complex mixture of weird ingredients, but it was just baking soda and water.

Whew. So, now you know why I love baking soda.

Homemade Laundry Detergent and Fels Naptha Soap

A few weeks ago, I made my own laundry detergent using the recipe Jen posted on her blog. I love it! It smells wonderful and it gets the clothes super clean. Well, not super clean as in better than my store-bought detergent, but super clean, as in just as super clean. And, it takes up so little space!

Here are the recipes Jen posted:

Liquid Detergent

1 bar of soap
1/2 cup Borax
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
5 gallon bucket
(opt.) old laundry detergent container

Grate bar of soap and melt it in boiling water. Put that in a 5-gallon bucket and add Borax and washing soda (which I found at Kroger's, but not at Wal-Mart). Then fill it up to 5 gallons. Stir it with something long (Jen used a broken light saber stick) and let it gel overnight. You can pour it into an old laundry detergent and have the convenience of a spigot or keep it in the bucket, covered.

Makes 5 gallons of soap and you only have to use a cup per load, which equals 80 loads. Some people use less, and say it still works great. Kate did the math and says it’s 16 weeks’ worth of detergent if you average 5 loads per week. It cost around 2.00 or less to make too.

Here's the recipe I used for Powdered Detergent:

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated (comes out to about 2 cups) (I shredded mine because I wasn't paying attention and since I shred cheese, I just shredded the soap, too--it still works just fine)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup OxyClean

Mix it all together into a bumpy, granular mix. It might not look evenly mixed, but it will still work just fine.

Use 1T for a light load and 2T for a large or dirty load.

I found Nels Naptha soap and Washing Soda at Kroger's and Borax in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart.

Fabric Softener

1 gal white vinegar
25-30 drops essential oil - optional

Use 1/4 c in the rinse cycle. The vinegar clears the last bit of soap remaining on all your clothes and reduces static.

I've used just vinegar without the essential oil and it works great, too, and doesn't leave your clothes smelling like vinegar. I don't usually use fabric softener, but if you do, this is a great recipe. You can also pour about 1/4 cup of vinegar into a load that has sat for a little while and smells a little sour. Just do the rinse cycle again.

Here are some other great uses for the Fels Naptha soap:

Clean the shower and tub. Got soap scum and hard water build-up? Rub a non-abrasive scouring sponge with a wet bar of Fels-Naptha and start cleaning. The first time will require a little extra work but it will be a breeze after that.

Clean paint brushes. To clean a paint brush, rinse it well with either water or paint thinner. Now simply drag the wet brush through a lathered bar of Fels-Naptha and work it in with your gloved fingers. Rinse well with warm water. The brush will stay soft and supple for the next use.

Zap aphids. Dissolve three tablespoons grated Fels-Naptha soap in one gallon of hot water. Mix well and let cool. Spray as needed on infested areas.

Laundry stains. Fels-Naptha soap is a fantastic stain remover and works especially well on oil-based stains. Just rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels-Naptha soap. Let it sit for awhile and launder as usual.

Baby stains. You know what they are and from whence they came. And they can be difficult to remove. Fels-Naptha will make quick work of every kind of baby stain on bibs and diapers.

Chocolate smudges. Rub the stain with Fels-Naptha soap and let the item sit in your filled washer into which you have added 20 Mule Team Borax. After 30 minutes, launder as usual.

Bye-bye makeup stains. To remove makeup from clothing and face cloths, wet the stain, rub the end of the Fels-Naptha bar into the stain until it begins to foam and launder as usual. It may take a repeat washing to completely remove the stain.

Clean white canvas shoes. Work the Fels-Naptha soap into a lather and use a soft brush to work soap into the canvas. Launder as usual without chlorine bleach.

Poison ivy relief. If you are exposed to poison ivy and you have a reaction, wash the area with Fels-Naptha to remove any resin, then rinse well. Fels-Naptha helps dry up the rash as well. Fels-Naptha is not a body soap and should be used with caution to treat poison ivy. Thoroughly wash all of your exposed clothing in hot water and grated Fels-Naptha (about 1/16th of the bar). This will effectively remove the poison ivy resin and prevent further outbreaks.

Bug bites. Washing the area with Fels-Naptha can greatly reduce the itching and discomfort from bug bites.