.If you don’t know me I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I am a freak about a clean house. Very, and I mean very rarely can you ever come to my house and it not be clean, vacuumed and everything put in it’s place. I think it’s funny but some of my ex-girlfriends find it hard to believe that I would break up with them over their messiness. A little soda can left on the counter, I guess waiting for the soda can fairy to swoop down and throw it away. Annoys the sh** out of me.
This is my favorite…used make up sponges left on the counter in a little pile when the garbage is directly below them. You can literally bump the counter and they would fall in. I don’t think I’m that bad I just get annoyed at laziness. Despite my cleanliness fetish I wanted to let you in on some tips I stole from a favorite blog of mine called The Style Page at http://thestylepage.blogspot.com
I know what you’re thinking, “what the hell is ROCCO doing reading The “Style” Page”? Don’t go hurting yourself by thinking too much. I read the blog because it’s great. Also I get fabulous tips like the ones I’m going to share with you. So shut up and take the information and use it to keep home a “Green” Friendly and clean house.
Tips from Rachel Lane
Some personal tips from Rachel Lane of Barcelona Bath & Body (via her email list) on eco-friendly housecleaning that are worth passing on:
~ Sweet Orange Essential Oil is an awesome adhesive remover. My husband gave it the ultimate test recently by using it on a soft cloth to remove the residue from all the dealership stickers he’d taken off his new car. Passed with flying colors!
~ Hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle has taken the place of bleach sprays for kitchen surfaces. I even clean my cutting boards with it before running them through the dishwasher.
~ Vinegar is my glass, surface and faucet cleaner of choice. It works well in the dishwasher additive reservoir to leave your glasses sparkling. It also makes a great tile floor cleaner that leaves no sticky residue behind to attract dirt. My husband hates the smell, so I just finish up with a spritz of Room Refresh!
~ Baking soda and salt Take the place of scouring powder. For example, if there’s still discoloration on my cutting board after I use hydrogen peroxide on it, I use baking soda and salt to scour out any remaining residue food may have left behind. Then I put it in the dishwasher and give it a final spritz of hydrogen peroxide.
~ Water in a spray bottle and a soft rag have taken the place of aerosol dusting sprays and dusting wipes. Let’s face it. Dry dusting doesn’t work! But spritzing a soft rag with a little water works well and is safe to breathe.
~ Bonus Tip! Conventional wisdom tells us to sort laundry first by color, then by soil level. Washing heavily soiled items with lightly soiled items causes unwanted soil transfer. I save my rags for a separate load from my regular laundry. When my husband comes in from mowing the yard, I take the dirty yard work laundry and toss it in the wash with my rags to make a fuller load. This would also work great for sports uniforms or work uniforms if you happen to have those in your household.
Elbow Grease
I like Bon Ami scouring powder, as it’s not chlorinated. Vinegar and salt is also great for removing tarnish from pots and pans, but you need “elbow grease.”
I know you’ll be scratching your head with this one for a while but please don’t pull a “Rainman” on me. Definitely…definitely…he’s a wack job…definitely!
clean house