Fall cleaning follies

Not to mislead anyone; I very seldom do "fall cleaning" as such.  But I've done a bit recently and thought I would share some tips and links for homemade cleaning products and solutions.  Since my eldercare load has lightened up just a bit, I find myself noticing things around the house more and actually can find a few minutes to deal with them.

The one thing I've done this fall that could be considered traditional "fall cleaning" is to wash my living room windows inside and out, vacuuming out and washing the window sills and washing and replacing the window valances.  It feels great to have that task accomplished.

Several times a year I like to wash the fabric "bins" from the laundry sorter that lives in the upstairs bathroom.  Strange as it seems, the outsides get dusty.  I just completed that job today and the laundry sorter looks so much better!

Another task I tackled back in September was cleaning two louvered doors that we have -- one to a coat closet and one to a baking closet.  The louvers were absolutely filled with dust.  It didn't show unless one happened to have the door open when the sun was shining in that area.  I've cleaned these louvered doors before with a vacuum cleaner and crevice tool, and then wiped them down with a dust rag.  But that never lasted long.  This time I decided to search online for a better way.  I found it, too!

A ruler with an old sock fastened around it.  Who would have thought?

 I ran this homemade cleaning implement through every louver until all the visible dust was gone.

Stiff scrub brush

Castile soap

 Then I added some castile soap to hot water and used the stiff scrub brush to scrub down all the louvers.  I then went over it all with a dry rag. 

Wow!  Are these doors clean!

That was a satisfactory project done.  Although I know it'll only have to be done again, next time I know just what to do!

I enjoy using homemade cleaners and household products and am always looking for ways to clean more safely and effectively without a lot of chemicals.  So I want to share a few links to formulas I've tried.

I've blogged about Tub and Shower Magic before-- that magical mixture of Dawn dish soap and hot white vinegar.

Tub and Shower Magic

It really does work wonders on soap scum and I find I only need to use it once a month if I use a daily shower cleaner every day.  Tilex Daily Shower is the only thing I've found that works for our hard water and soap scum.

Trying a homemade daily shower spray has been on my list for eons.  I finally got around to making one.  I found the formula here: Essential Oil Cleaning Recipes.  Sadly, this just didn't work as well as I hoped, but I am keeping it on hand in case I run out of Tilex.  On this same site is a recipe for a soap scum buster bar which sounds really nifty.  I hope to try that eventually.  And I've recently seen a couple of other homemade shower cleaners which look worth a try.

I've also tried this Lemon Soft Scrub

Photo from Mom4Real

and it works very well on my bathroom sinks. I have pretty much found that any of the formulas from Mom4Real are great, and if you go to one of these links you will be able to access all of the homemade cleaners that Jess has developed.

Another project I've been wanting to make is this Homemade fruit and veggie wash, also from Jess.

Photo from Mom4Real

It works great!  I had at one time tried a different recipe for this type of product and I just didn't feel confident that it was working as well as it should.  This one is much better!

Lastly, I want to share a couple of laundry products that I've tried.  These are both from Mom4Real as well. This idea for scented dryer balls works very well.  I use only one tennis ball and it is fine.

Photo from Mom4Real

And on a related note is this Homemade fabric softener.  I usually just spray the tennis balls with a small amount of this rather than using the essential oils.

I usually just use white vinegar in my laundry (in addition to soap, of course) and that usually serves quite well as a fabric softener.  But for loads that seem prone to clinging, or for really stiff items like work jeans, I will add the dryer ball.

Several years ago I used to make my own laundry soap, but did quit that. 

It was quite a chore and the soap was just no match for my hubby's very dirty logging clothes.

Hope you've found some ideas you can use for your own fall cleaning or for everyday tasks like laundry!