2/14/2009

just lovin' it


bleeding hearts, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I'm not feeling particularly festive today, but I just realized that I wore a bright red top today not even thinking about it being a good v-day color (though, in my book, every day should be a red-worthy day). Also wearing my "Journey" necklace (yay!)

Though I am sometimes loathe to admit it, I really love it when my house is clean. I don't like saying that because there's something sort of shallow and petty about that (why? I don't know). Anyways, the family has pitched in this morning to do some deep cleaning jobs that have gone unattended for far too long, which makes me feel very good. Also, we 'decluttered' a large bag of kids' clothes/shoes and goodies to a friend whose children will love them.

I just finished cleaning our stove and oven, using only baking soda paste. I love that it's far simpler to use than the toxic chemicals I used to use on my oven--the ones that would make us all choke and wheeze, and my eyes would burn as I cleaned. Yuck!

One question for you all: we now use diluted vinegar for cleaning all of our surfaces, but because I don't really care for the smell of vinegar, do you have any ideas on adding a bit of citrus or herbal scent to the cleaning solution? Would essential oils work or would they leave a residue? Should I just add a few lavender wands from my garden, or would they go all yuck in a spray bottle with vinegar-water?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You might as well try the lavender--what have you got to lose? A few cents' worth of vinegar? I would not put them in until they're fully dry, though. Maybe snip and let dry for a few days first?

Unknown said...

Why not put the lavender in some rubbing alcohol for a while, then add the rubbing alcohol to the vinegar. Ted and I use a vinegar/alcohol mix for our cleaning.

Hmm, thinking about it, you could do that with lemon peel too, or just about any flower/herb.

sarah k. said...

I've made all-purpose cleaning solution (from a recipe on some green magazine site) using vinegar, borax or baking soda, and a few drops of lavender essential oil. I also love it with grapefruit oil. From what I remember off the top of my head, the ones with antiseptic qualities are lavender (lavare=wash), grapefruit (or other citrus), and tea tree oil.

I read a how-to recently on making linen refreshers using a small spray bottle filled with water and a small amount of lavender oil, spritzed over sheets or blankets. It helps ward off moths, as well as smelling heavenly.

galen dara said...

hmmm, no good suggestions on cleaning with vinegar, but good luck with that.

I wore my journey girl necklace too! yay!

Anonymous said...

I use vinegar too, but I also use in a spray bottle a few drops of blue Dawn (original formula)lavendar,or sweet orange, or lemon oil and water.Especially like the lavendar mixture to clean my bathroom floor.