Chemical Free Cleaning

I think I have fallen in love with white vinegar!  I decided the other day that I wanted to experiment with some DIY natural cleaning products.  So I did a little research and found that white vinegar was an ingredient most commonly referred to.

Here are a few things that I have played around so far.

• Laminate floor cleaner (used it to spot mop and was quite pleased....looking forward to the full floor mop up)
• Kitchen counter cleaner (not for marble!!!)
• Air freshener
• Dog ear cleaning solution (afterward the dogs kept sniffing each others ears which was cracking me up)
• Stainless Steel sink cleaner
• Gnat trapper (worked better than I expected)

I found this site which, as it is aptly titled, has a TON uses for white vinegar!!!

Here are a few fun things I found out while researching.
1. When a recipe calls for alcohol it can be rubbing or drinking like vodka.
2. Lemon is a great ingredient to add it is a fresh smell, degreaser, and whitener.

So I bought a spray bottle at Walmart to mix up my first solution of white vinegar, water, and lemon.

So there you have it.  My potion a la clean!  I have to admit though there is a part of me that has been so {fooled/tricked/taught/reliant} on the harsh chemical cleaners that I don't feel like things are clean and sanitary unless they smell like chemicals, have a label on the bottle shouting antibacterial.  I might need to make a label for my bottle... or become a chemist. hmm.  I mean seriously sometimes I just want to swab the counter after I wipe it down and look under the microscope to see how clean it is.  Needless to say the complete transition to chemical free or perhaps more likely chemical-less in my house will be a slow process as I retrain my brain but I think I'll get there one day.

Next solution to try is white vinegar and baking soda for a good scrub down for the bathroom tub.  oh boy.

Photo a Day Challenge

Well I've tried it once before but to no avail but I am trying again this month to follow a photo a day challenge. Each day already has a pre-assigned topic for you to shoot. I am joining The Idea Room in this challenge and it is really fun because you post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag (# symbol for those who don't know) and then you can look in the category of all the other people's photos who are also participating. I think it is really neat to see how people interpret the topics differently. Also it's neat because several people (my sis and cousin) are also participating so it's like a little daily interaction that we probably wouldn't necessarily have otherwise. So this being the 6th, it's day six of the challenge and so far I have posted a photo every day.

Here is the challenge list and my photos for each day so far.