Rely On Less

There is so much out there to make our lives "convenient" and so many companies that make you think you need this or that product to save you time. They're usually wrong. Life was simpler in the 50's! I'm going to help you go through your home and retro-fit it to make it not only more 50's, but less cumbersome and more healthy!

You DO NOT NEED a separate cleaner for every item in your home. If you look where you keep your cleaning supplies and you've got separate ones for tile, stainless steel, wood, toilets, sinks, counters, glass, concrete, grout, marble, bathtubs, rust, soap scum and appliances, you've been duped by the marketing that major companies hope to get you with.

Let me fill you in on something. Those chemicals you're spraying everywhere in your home that you think are cleaning, disinfecting and killing germs? They're toxic. Many of them are carcinogens and you don't need them. If you have white vinegar, olive oil, baking soda and lemon, you can make a cleaner for just about everything in your home.

Throw out your glass cleaner (probably made with ammonia) and replace it with white vinegar & water in a spray bottle. Your windows will be spotless. That same bottle of white vinegar & water can clean just about every non-porous surface in your home.

You can make your own wood polish with lemons, vinegar and/or olive oil.

To wash your floors, you really only need water, but if you wanted to disinfect in the process, you can put some lemon juice or vinegar in that too.

I've read that baking soda mixed with 3% Peroxide (just enough to form a paste) is an excellent grout cleaner. It's said to leave it on for 30 minutes and then come and wipe it off.

I'm a big fan of Brillo (or any steel wool cleaner). It's probably just as easy to get steel wool pads and put a more holistic soap on them, but the point is: they clean everything! As long as you're not working on something delicate (like china), steel wool does the job. I personally use it on my bathtub and the tiles around the tub. Nothing has ever gotten the soap scum and dirt off with less effort. The tub and tiles are left so smooth, it's unreal. I've used it on the sink, toilet, windows (not the glass). Be careful on painted wood, though -- test a spot first.

Oh, and that computer screen you think is clean? Do this. Go get a paper towel (right now - I'll wait) and wet it (fully wet). Then wring it out. Come back to the monitor and just wipe the screen. Keep wiping until the paper towel is clean. Then, sit back and be amazed at your computer screen's brightness. You're welcome. Now, go throw out whatever screen cleaner you bought. Or at least, don't buy it again.

So, try all that out for a change and see what works. When we see shows from the 50's, we see a very bare cleaning cabinet. When Mom is cleaning, she always has a reusable rag (no need to waste paper) and a glass bottle of something with no label. Mom always knew best :)