Cleaning, some accountability for me...

I find that putting stuff up on my blog is more for me than anyone else. I link to friend's and families blogs through my own so I come here quite often even if I don't post much. But one way to keep myself on track is to post it here, that way I see it often. So I have my menu plan under control now, so I'm on to cleaning. During the school year I have a pretty good system in place. I get up a half an hour early and try to be ready to go at the same time as I send Justen and Garrison out the door, half an hour before I have to go. That gives me 30 min. to clean, organize, do laundry and dishes each day. I have to be really focused during that time to get it all done in time but it works for me. During the summer I have more time so you'd think that would mean I'd clean more, but instead I loose focus and clean less. Even though I only work part time in the summer, this summer I also started my Masters so that is taking up extra time. So I've decided to keep things on track, and keep my stress level down I have to keep on a schedule during the summer too. I figured it's more than just me that could use this help so I"m posting it here. If you see some way for me to stream line more and be more organized I'd love the tips! The only way I get everything in life done is to be super organized. So here's my cleaning schedule:
Everyday:
*Run Roomba (every other day in the kitchen/living room/hall, off days in other areas) -Roomba works amazingly well and helps me keep my sanity with all the dirt Justen and the dogs track in.
*1 Load of Laundry Daily, this includes Wash, hang dry, fold and put way
*Dishes kept up on (thanks to a college roommate I learned to put them straight in the dishwasher instead of letting them pile up in the sink. It now drives me nuts to have dishes in the sink. Justen is starting to get the hang of it, it only took him 7 years)
*Garrison's Toys away (he does this every night before bed)

Weekly:
Mon: Kitchen
Tues: Downstairs (we spend so little time down here I don't devote much to cleaning it, if every room gets hit once a month I'm happy)
Wed.: Living Room/ Dust
Thurs: Bedrooms
Fri: Bathrooms (these two rooms get cleaned next to each other so I can do one load of laundry for sheets and towels)
Sat: Deep Vacuum and mop (deep vacuum is with the dyson, roomba does maintenance during the week)

I've had several folks ask about my homemade cleaning recipes. About two years ago I started noticing that I was having more migraines and asthma attacks then I'd ever had. I was also totally out of energy all the time. I especially noticed that anytime I cleaned the bathroom I was wiped out for the rest of the day, I'd actually clean it at night so I could go to bed because that is all I could do once I was done. We decided to start cutting out commercial cleaners to see if it helped (about the same time we switched to cloth diapers for Garrison). It worked wonders, my migraines are less, my muscle spasms are better, and I breathe much easier. I still have some left over cleaners in the house but don't use them a lot, and when I do I always regret it. I have found that I can use most of the Method line of cleaners (less harsh chemicals but hard to find and quite expensive), and a lot of Eco friendly cleaners are fine, but not all. The clorox greenworks ones and the nature something(by lysol) are just as bad as any. I've found I can clean about anything in my house with a few simple ingredients. I feel a lot better about what I'm putting in my septic tank too. I have found a lot of essential oils don't bother me like commercial smells do so I use them for fragrance, but I still have to be careful. A lot of people use lavender oil in cleaners but it makes me sick so I don't use it. You don't have to fragrance them, I just have the oils on hand for my soap making so I use them. Here are some of my favorite recipes for cleaners:

*Redi-Wipes- Clorox Redi-wipes were a major cleaning crutch of mine. I went through 4-6 big sams club canisters a month. I really hate rinsing and reusing rags, I"m not sure why it just bothers me. But I found a great, cheap alternative. I cut up a huge stack of old T-shirts into 6X6 squares (no hemming required). I keep them in an old huggies container in the window sill. I keep a bottle of Multi-surface cleaner next to them. I have single use wipes ready to go all the time. I throw them in the laundry hamper in the kitchen along with my un-paper towels and wash them once a week with my whites. I have over a hundred of them to get me through until wash day.

*Multi Surface cleaner/disinfectant (Use my old method brand spray bottles, they have lasted forever)
In an old spray bottle fill up about 1/4 way with vinegar, put in about 5 drops of soap, a few drops of Tea Tree Oil, and fill the rest of the way with water. I hate the smell of Tea Tree so I cover it up with Mint Oil.

*Window Cleaner, Streak Free, Spray on wipe off with crumpled newspaper, buff to a shine (although right now I'm using a bottle of Method Minty Glass cleaner that I love)
1 1/2 c. vinegar
2 c. Water
1 T. Cornstarch

*Scratch Free Scouring Powder
1 c. Borax
1 c. Baking soda
Fragrance oil of choice. Mix. I put it in a canning jar and punch holes in the lid to use it like a can of comet.

If I need to get burnt on food out of a pot and that mix doesn't work I add a little salt and that scrubs anything out.

*Drain Cleaner- I sometimes get slow drains. Draino is bad for your pipes, horrible for the septic system (and the environment if your on city sewer) and the fumes are horrible. I put some baking soda down the drain, about a cup or so, then chase it with white vinegar. Let it sit and work a few min. Then follow it up with some boiling water. Works great.

*Dish disposal deodorizer- Grind a little ice, lemon peels, and baking soda in it. It sharpens the blades adn keeps it fresh.

*Dishsoap- I really haven't had a problem with dish soap, I use plain old dawn and it gives me no problems, some of the highly fragranced ones do though so I stick with dawn. But I did play around with homemade automatic dish detergent just for fun. And when I can't find any really cheap or free with coupons I do make my own because it's cheaper. This recipe is a combination of ones I found on other sites and works well in our hard well water. I do have to use a rinse aid or our water puts tons of minerals on our dishes. Again if I find it cheap I use jet dry if not I use vinegar in the rinse aid compartment. We used to not notice the hard water so bad in our old white dishwasher, but the stainless interior on our new one get gunky really easy, and the dishes show the minerals worse. I think it might be because it's one of those high efficiency ones. None of the dish stuff seems to give me problems, but again I had to try cutting it out to see if there was a difference for me, there wasn't on this one.

*Auto Dish Detergent-
Some websites claim that you can use one T baking soda and one T borax in place of dish detergent. If you have soft water maybe you can. But my dishwasher did not tolerate that. So after much searching, this is what I came up with for a recipe:
1 c. borax
1 c. baking soda
2 T. salt (salt is abrasive so I would try without it first and only use if needed)
2 T. Citric Acid (again more expensive try with out first or use a couple packets of lemon kool aid with no sweetener added to get the citric acid)
2 t. - 2 T. liquid dish soap ( I use a little more with hard water you can use less with soft)
Mix together thoroughly so there are no clumps of soap and use 1-2 T. per load. If fragrance is important to you you can add a couple drops of citrus oil


Laundry-Laundry soap is a mix for me. As long as I use something with out fragrance I'm fine. Once in a while though I have to use tide. If you saw some of the laundry Justen brings me you'd know why. (think towels covered in sheep afterbirth and coveralls from lambing and spring chores.) Sometimes I use store bought sometimes I use homemade it depends on how much time I have and what kind of sales I've found. These are my two favorite recipes both are from the Duggars website.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at walmart). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine
1 soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: You can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote(my preferred) bars, you can use fels naphsa but I find it fades my darks. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.

- Sometimes I use unscented downy as a fabric softener sometimes I just use plain old white Vinegar, sometimes I use nothing it depends.

Stains- I use spray and wash sometimes, but mostly just oxyclean. If it's really stubborn I oxy-vin. Make a solution of oxyclean and water in the sink, add garment and pour a little vinegar on top. Let soak (if you think baking soda and vinegar is fun to watch, try this!)

I try to hang most of my laundry to dry, it saves on power use, and I have a hard time using power to run the dryer and using extra power to use the A/C to compensate for the dryer. It just seems like paying twice. The sun is free, and if we all conserved a little energy that is one small step in the right direction. I do use the dryer on whites though, all those tiny little cloths to hang up would be too much.

Mopping
For mopping we bought a Bissell Steam Mop. It works great and mops with no chemicals. I love it! You can just use plain vinegar in mop water as well, but I really hate the smell of vinegar and while I cover it up with oil other places I didn't want to on my whole floor so this works really well for us.

Carpet Cleaner- I have a Bissell Pro Heat carpet cleaner I really like. Fill the soap compartment with white vinegar. In the hot water part put a couple of scoops of oxyclean and a small squirt of dawn (think 5 drops or so), with the hot water. It works great and doesn't leave a soapy residue that attracts dirt like the normal soap does.

There are so many good things about homemade cleaners. They are cheap, work well, great for the environment, and easier on us. I can get a gallon of Vinegar at Winco for $2, and huge boxes of baking soda for $1.50. I only use a few drops of oils and you don't even need those. Hope this helps someone, it's also a nice reference for me in case I forget one of these. I know there are others I use and as I remember them I'll try and add them.