Citrus-Scented Vinegar Spray

Cleaning products may not be the most expensive item in the house, but if there's a less expensive way of doing something, I'm all for trying it!  The use of vinegar for cleaning is certainly frugal and effective, plus it's natural and non-toxic.

I keep a spray bottle of half vinegar, half water on my window sill in the kitchen to wipe down the table and counter tops after use and use the same spray on fruit and vegetables as a quick produce wash.  I use distilled/white vinegar to descale the coffee maker and to clean and freshen the dishwasher every 2 months or so; however, it has been a while since I used vinegar to clean the bathrooms.

A month or so ago I was reading one of my favourite house keeping websites, One Good Thing by Jillee, which discussed making scented vinegar to clean with.  I loved this idea and the pictures on this website are so fantastic!  (I will learn how to take the same quality of pictures some day.)  

Simply fill a jar with leftover lemon or orange peels... I actually used clementine peels... fill with distilled/white vinegar and wait 1-2 weeks for the oils from the peels to be released into the vinegar.  Jillee recommends heating the vinegar which expedites the rate of this process, so I'll have to try this next time.  I poured the scented vinegar through a sieve into a jug, then poured it into the spray bottle. I did not dilute the vinegar with water as I wanted to maximize its germ-killing power for cleaning the bathrooms. 

Does vinegar actually kill germs? According to everything I read online, the answer is yes. According to this very interesting and informative article, the simple act of scrubbing effectively kills bacteria.  Add to it vinegar and hot soapy water and you have a germ-killing powerhouse in your hands. 

I use a microfiber cloth to clean with, which also picks up bacteria within its fibers.  The toilet bowl I scrub with a worn dish sponge, then discard it after use. 

Perhaps you're concerned your house will smell of pungent vinegar after using vinegar to clean with.  The scent does last about a half hour, but my girls didn't mention it, nor did my husband notice it when he came home from work a little while later, so it probably wasn't too bad.  I, however, noticed how very clean my bathrooms looked and am very pleased to say that I will continue to use vinegar - scented or not - to clean with.

The True Cost of Stuff

My family and I returned earlier this week from our wonderful annual trip "home" to Ohio.  We spent lots of time together and with our extended family, visited fun places, ate some really yummy American food and helped my mom and step-dad prepare for their move in a few day's time.  This house move preparation mostly took place in the evenings; instead of enjoying time with my husband, reading or going for an evening walk, I posted Barbie toys and New Kids on the Block memorabilia... I was head-over-heals for Joey... to different selling sites and sorted through boxes of papers from my school days. Fun! (Not.)

My mom and step-dad have graciously stored what seems like every toy and school report from my childhood for almost 14 years - the time I've been living in Europe.  This means many, many, many boxes containing My Little Pony toys, Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and clothing, love notes and poems (yes! poems!) from a high school boyfriend, report cards from elementary school through high school and school music programs among many, many other things.  Do you get the picture?  All of this stuff has been taking up space in my parents' garage, basement and closets for all this time.  I'm even more amazed to think that the toys from my early childhood have also been moved to other houses at least 3 times before this.

The decals weren't ever put on the toy!  

I vaguely remember playing with this toy but we never made ice cream in the ice cream maker.

Here's the thing though.  These things could have been played with then sold, given away or thrown away a long time ago.  But they weren't.  Why?  A big reason is that I have a tendency to form an emotional attachment to things, not really use or play with it and just simply leave them on a shelf or squirrel them away.  Of those Barbie toys, I think I played with... exactly... NONE of them.  Nope.  The decals weren't even put on toys!  So my parents (or Santa) paid for them, they were put somewhere in our house, then moved many times, then stored for many years...

.... until a month ago when I promised my mom and my step-dad that they would never have to move my unnecessary things ever again... and this meant committing my evenings to figuring out what to do with stuff.  To make a long story short(er), I tried to sell this stuff on eBay, different Facebook selling pages, letgo and Shpock.  Oh, the toys, not the love poems ;o)  Those I put in the recycling bin.  Some of the items did sell, but for far less than I was hoping.

Was it worth it?  Was the $100ish that I earned from selling all of those toys, spending all of those evenings with the stuff instead of with my family, storing those forgotten things year after year and moving them from house to house numerous times worth it?  I think you know the answer: No.  Oh, yeah, and this isn't the first holiday/vacation I've sorted through boxes of "keepsakes" from my childhood during the time in Ohio, either.

The emotional stress of having too much stuff is draining and being surrounded by unwanted stuff is imprisoning.  The cost of stuff isn't just what  is printed on the price tag; add to it the effort it might take to maintain and keep that item and the emotional strain that item places on you, too.

I want to encourage you to simply pause a few seconds before you buy something and ask yourself whether you really love what you're about to buy, will consume it in the near future, use it on a regular basis or add real value to your life. If the answer is "no" to any of these points, simply put that item back on the shelf and walk away. It'll be ok. More than likely, you'll forget about it or simply reflect on how proud you are of yourself for not buying yet another "thing", and as a result, save money and save yourself from future emotional torture.  

I've promised to take a new approach to the stuff in my own house.  I'm still a "squirrel" at heart, but I promise to strive to, little by little, either use, sell, donate or recycle unwanted things in my house - and believe me, there's plenty!

Hooked

I love using free things to organize, like shoe boxes and jam jars, but have you realized how awesome and totally useful clip hangers are?  "But where can I get these free, totally awesome and useful clip hangers, Lauren?" Answer: on shoes and boots that don't come in boxes!  So, I'm not suggesting you take these clips without permission (i.e. stealing), but if the next pair of shoes you buy comes on a clip hanger, ask politely to keep the hanger.

Soooo many letters come home with my daughter from school, and somehow, we are supposed to keep track of all of these papers in an organised fashion. I've come up with an almost free way: use a clip hanger to keep the papers together.

Now, the reason that it's an almost-free solution is that I use a Command Strip wire hook (that I bought!) hung on the inside of a kitchen cabinet next to important school dates and the school lunch menu.  Everything's in one place!  Nice and tidy... and inexpensive.

Another way I've used a clip hanger is to hang up my rubber gloves on the inside on my cleaning cabinet with the help of another Command Strip wire hook. This way they aren't just laying folded on top of the shelf somewhere.  They have a home... again, nice and tidy.