Lorraine's Cleaning Tips

Freezing Herbs

lorraine — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:23:34 +0000

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.

THE BIG “DO NOT”

lorraine — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:22:33 +0000

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.

Removing Burn Smell for Microwave

lorraine — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:11:57 +0000

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.

Toliet

lorraine — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:09:11 +0000

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.

Washing Machine Detergent

lorraine — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:12:29 +0000

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.

Multipurpose Cleaners

lorraine — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:49:48 +0000

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.

The Color White

lorraine — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:11:51 +0000

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.

Grout

admin — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:40:54 +0000

Because grout is porous it soaks up soapy water and when it dries the soap stays. Over months this can build up to a waxy layer. Try using a wax stripper or heavy-duty cleaner plus a grout brush. When you get the grout clean rinse it with fresh water and dry it. Now that you have it clean lets help keep it that way by using a masonry sealer so that it wont absorb the soapy water again. Now any build up will be on the surface and easier to clean.

For mildewed grout in tubs or showers, use a grout brush with a 1:5 solution of chlorine bleach and water. Never use bleach in combination with any ammonia-based product and be sure the area is well ventilated. When you’ve finished cleaning, rinse the area well to remove all traces of bleach.

Clean colored grout with a heavy-duty cleaner and a grout brush, but don’t use bleach because this may remove the color from the grout. Be sure never to use a bleaching solution on colored grout. A masonry sealer can be applied to clean, colored grout to ward off future stains.

Give it Away !!!

lorraine — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:39:26 +0000

I try to go through my closets and drawers every six months to one year. If I havn’t used an item for a period of one year, donate it to your local charity. Of course, if you know you are going to use it on an annual basis this is not rule. My mother keeps everything and now can’t park in the garage, of course this is from a different time era (depression era.) Decluttering your life is extremely freeing and helps free up so much of your time.

By the way, if you donate, make a list of the items and even take a picture. You can take everything off your income taxes.

Lemon Cubes

lorraine — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:51:38 +0000

I have orange and lemon trees in my backyard. The problem is that I get so many lemons I can never use that much juice at one time. I have found that if you squeeze the juice and let the juice settle to the bottom of a pitcher you can freeze the concentrated juice in ice trays. Once the cubes are frozen, place the cubes in double ziplock bags. Then, whenever you need fresh lemon juice you can just pull lemon cubes out of the freezer bag.