It is Monday morning. My house looks and smells pretty decent. I didn’t spend a great deal of time cleaning, but like most people the weekend is the time I catch up on housework. This makes Monday the day that my house looks the best. Come Friday though…  different story!

The one thing that is really hard to keep accomplished is the fresh smell. On the weekends the windows can get thrown open and there is air circulating through the house. Not so all week, so it starts to feel and smell stale. Keeping the house clean does help with this, but there are other things we can do during the week to help with that just cleaned smell.

Many people associate that just cleaned smell as one of citrus. Thanks to the cleaning product line with their artificial aromas, but you can get that lemony fresh smell naturally too. I have been known to dab a few drops of lemon or other citrus essential oil on a cotton ball and leave it around the house to diffuse. This makes the house smell good. Really, you may have to try this one to believe it!

You can also try a linen spray. Before you even reach for one in the cleaning aisle there are ways to make your own, without all those harsh chemicals. You may have to make a trip to the liquor store, but it is well worth it. You can google for a recipe, but a very simple one is this -

equal amounts of distilled water and vodka (<- grain alcohol with no smell)

favorite essential oils

spray bottle

Mix up the water and vodka. Add as much or as little of the essential oils as you like. Place in spray bottle and have at it. It is easy and it helps your house smell nice, naturally.If you are going to spray it on something test in a small area first. Some essential oils may react to delicate fabrics.

Many people use Lavender or Chamomile essential oil and spray their pillows for a good nights sleep. Yes, this is the same stuff you see in stores for bigger price tags.

If you use a fan, window, box or ceiling fan, you can spray this right on the blades. I have also been known to spray a bit on the AC filter.

Enjoy a fresh smelling house all week long!

I know, I know… My house has been sadly neglected for this past week while I did my paper for school. I really need to get on the ball and get it clean. And smelling better. There is this odor of onions coming from the kitchen that I just can’t seem to get rid of.

My solution?

Take out the garbage cans and wash them thoroughly and then let them sit out there after I spray them down with a good dose of vinegar. I will rinse them out and bring them in and the onion smell will be gone. Yeah!

Works for the laundry too. I use white dish cloths. They are the easiest to keep clean and you don’t have to worry about the pretty designs fading away. I also know when they have turned into nothing but rags I can go and grab some more of the same things. But after sitting in the sink overnight they have a tendency to get a bit stinky. You can throw them in to the washer with vinegar and they come out smelling great and nice and white! It helps keep brights bright and whites white. Who can argue with that?

It helps to keep my coffee pot clean to. Just run a cycle of vinegar and water through and then a couple cycles of just water to rinse. Will get rid of all that buildup of minerals that has a tendency to collect.

What do you do with your vinegar? Leave a comment with your suggestions, would love to hear them!

If you watch TV then you have been subjected to countless commercials on cleaning products. You know the drill. This one does this, this one does that.

The question is, do we really need all that junk? Really?

The last two moves we have really tried to cut down on the chemicals under our sink. We have made a good size dent in it, but we still have a few need items. Like SOS pads. Can’t live without those.

So… what are we using instead? A lot of the time we use good old fashioned vinegar. You would be amazed at what it cleans!

The first use was laundry. It cuts down on the amount of laundry detergent you need to use. It gets any funky smells out of your laundry as well. It also has the knack of making your whites whiter and your brights brighter.

I also started using it in the kitchen as well.  If you notice your coffee pot is not working optimum add vinegar to water and run it through a cycle. Then run fresh water through a few times and it will work like new.  This also works in your dishwasher. Run a cycle empty and add 1 cup of vinegar instead of detergent. Make ice cubes of vinegar and run them through the garbage disposal to defunk it.

Vinegar helps keep the bathroom clean as well. It gets rid of hard water stains on shower doors and on fixtures. It can clean glass to a shine as well as those fixtures. Spray it in the toilet and then scrub to get rid of stains and deodorize.

These are just of few uses for vinegar that we use in our house.

What are your favorite ways to clean with vinegar?