All Purpose Cleaner (From Rodale's Book of Practical Formulas)
2 cups rubbing alcohol (70% isoprophyl)
1 tablespoon mild dishwashing liquid (for handwashing dishes, NOT dishwasher
detergent-it contains bleach!)
1 tablespoon ammonia
2 quarts water
Stir all ingredients together in a bowl. Fill a CLEAN spray bottle (not recycled
one) with cleaner and store the rest tightly sealed in a large bottle. Use
with a cloth or sponge to clean the bathroom fixtures, kitchen fixtures,
appliances, chrome, plastic countertops, and painted surfaces. Rinse with
a clean cloth or sponge after cleaning.
Homemade Dust and Furniture Polish
I tried this one and it is not only easy, but cheap and very effective. No
more pledge for me! I have a lot of woodowork in my home, and was very excited
to find a cheaper polish!
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup lemon juice
Pour oil and lemon juice into a squirt bottle or jar. Stir to combine. To
use, dip dust cloth or rag into oil, blot the oil by folding the cloth together,
and then dust your furniture. Leaves a beautiful finish!
All purpose quick shiner
This shiner is mild and safe to use for all surfaces
1 ¼ cups white vinegar
1 ¼ cups water
22 ounce spray bottle
Pour vinegar and water into the spray bottle. Shake gently to combine. To
use, spray on
and wipe off.
All Purpose Window and Glass Cleaner
Vinegar cuts grease and leaves windows sparkling clean. Best of all, this
mixture is
absolutely safe. It's the best choice if you have young children in the house.
¼ cup white vinegar
1 quart of water
Pour vinegar and water into a bowl or container, or mix the ingredients in
a spray bottle. Clean windows directly with a sponge dipped in the bowl of
cleaner or spray on and wipe clean. I have heard that you can use newspaper
to clean windows quite well, I have always used old cloth diapers.
Sink Cleaner
Replace Comet and other abrasives with this homemade one. Combine baking
soda and salt (I am guessing in equal amounts) to scrub stainless steel.
Oven Cleaner
¼ cup ammonia
2 cups of warm water
Pour ammonia and warm water in a baking dish and leave in a warm oven overnight.
This will loosen the grime in the over, which you can then clean with an
ammonia-based cleaner or soap and water. You can also scour with baking soda.
Cleaning Silver
Don't buy one of those metal plates that you put in warm water to clean silver.
This is the same thing! I found this trick in "Make it Last" by Earl Proulx,
one of my favorite books on maintaining your home and possessions. I have
done this on some silver plated forks and spoons that I got very cheap at
a yardsale and they came out great! This trick works like magic and kids
love it.
Aluminum foil
Baking soda
Salt
Very hot water (can be boiling if you like)
Combine the above ingredients in a clean kitchen sink. Put your tarnished
silver and silver-plated items into the sink and let set for a few minutes.
Watch as the tarnish disappears from the silverware and reappears on the
foil. This is a natural chemical reaction, and a great way to teach the kids
some science!
Note: This trick works so well that it will clean out the nooks and
crannies that give some silverware the "aged" look, so you may only want
to do this occassionally. I had to include these formulas from Homemade Cleaners
because they were actually tested and compared against commercial brands.
We like that!
About the Author:
Kim Tilley is the mother of three boys, ages 8,5 and 1. She is also a tightwad at heart. Her interests include cooking, crafts, gardening, computers, and saving money! When not typing away at the computer, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something out of nothing!
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