Lorraine’s Cleaning Tips

When I am making something special like my favorite spagetti sauce or home made salsa, I buy fresh herbs.  The only problem is that you only may use half of the herb, what do you do with the rest of it?  I put it in a plastic bag and freeze the extra.  You should date the bag and use it within 6 months.  It stays green and is just as fresh as if you just purchased it.  I have frozen cilantro, parsley, dill and rosemary.  It works for me.    

Never mix cleaning solutions.  For instance, bleach and amonia are deadly.  People have died when mixing these two chemicals.  Always check on the back of the bottle for danger warnings.  Also, make sure that you have plenty of ventaletion when using any cleaning products. 

Better yet, go “Green.”  Using vinegar, baking soda and a wide range of environment safe cleaning products on the market today just makes sense.  They work as well if not better that harsh cleaners and are safer.

If you do burn something in the microwave oven, immediatly take the burned food out.  Soak a small towel in water (make sure it is throughly soaked) and put in microwave on high for 3 minutes.  After it has steamed, wipe out inside of oven with a clean papertowel.  If the smell is still apparent, take the juice of one lemon in a small cup cup of water and steam again for 3 minutes.  Put a cup of diluted vinegar (in a bowl with water) in the microwave and steam for an additional 3 minutes. If the smell persists, continue the lemon and vinegar for several days.  You can set a box of baking soda in the mirowave overnight, just make sure that you take the box of baking soda out before turning the oven on.

 I put this to the test.  I was staying at my sister house when my husband burned a microwave pizza so badly I could smell it in the shower. across the house.  We applied this treatment and the smell really vanished.   

 Believe me, I was afraid that I was going to have to buy my sister a new microwave oven.  The next time I visited my sisters home, I made a beeline straight for the microwave, and guess what, no smell at all. 

To get the toliet clean and deoderized, pour 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup baking soda in bowl.  Scrub with toliet brush and let sit for a few minutes, then flush.  This solution is “Green” and really does the job.

My favorite washing maching detergent is the Arm and Hammer Essentials concentrate.  The ingredients are:  Baking soda, coconut based surfactants, natural water softner and water.  This detergent is biodegradable plant based soap, no dyes, no phosphates or bleaches, no petroleum based cleaners and safe for septic systems.  It does a great job cleaning clothes and can be used for other cleaning projects such as bathrooms.

Just a caution, I do not use the plant based cleaners on floors.  It tends to make them very slippery.

There are two really good multipurpose “Green” cleaners on the market now.  My favorite is Cedarwood and Sage Multi-Purpose Cleaner at Trader Joe’s.  It has a great scent and you can use it on everything including windows.  I use it as an everyday cleaner all around my home.  The ingredients are: water, cedarwood and clary sage essential oils, grain alcohol, natural surfactants and color.   

 If you need a cleaner that can tackle the tougher jobs I recommend Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner by Clorox.  It can clean about anything and it is a great on grease and just about anything else.  The ingredients are: Coconut-based cleaning agents, corn based ethanol, filtered water, fragrance with essential lemon oil.

 Both are made up of essential oils.  The Clorox product contains plant and mineral based ingredients.  I do feel however that the Trader Joe’s Cedarwood & Sage is the “Greener” of the two.

The Clorox product states that it is not tested on animals.  So in other words, their other products are tested on animals?  Just thinking about these companies testing cleaning products on innocent animals is a crime.  Poor little animals induring horrible pain so we can have  sparkeling homes.  Please clean as green as possible.     

I do not use the plant based soap cleaners on floors.  It makes them very slippery.

Even though you may paint the rooms in your home different colors, you may want to use the same white for trim, molding and doors througout.  It is easy to find the green paint can in the garage that you painted the kitchen but which “white” did you use? 

If you use the same white paint throughout it will look uniform and you can do touch-ups in a hurry without any guess work. 

 I always use Ralph Lauren bright white.  Whether it is gloss or matt, it is much easier to match.