Stainless Steel Still Gets Stained, Oddly Enough: Stainless Steel Still Gets Stained, Oddly EnoughFor some reason this weekend I was struck by the urge to get my pans SHINY again.  Not the inside of the pans - those are perfectly clean - but the outsides.  My pans hang in the kitchen, so the dreary griminess is very visible to myself and any visitors!  I spent a lot of time researching solutions, and I had some successes and some failures.  

Problem: Hard water stains on EVERYTHING.  My house has a well system, and our ground water is pretty darned hard, even after it's been run through the water softener.  I get white mineral deposits anywhere that water is allowed to dry.


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We had a rather unpleasant surprise this week when I came down with an unexpected allergy attack. It was so bad that it was nearly flu-like, complete with drippy nose, watery eyes and aching everywhere. I couldn’t even breath with my nose, which is always the pits (even with those nose strips—they feel so weird when you wear them).

It seems the air conditioner in our bedroom—which is not connected with the rest of the house, which has central air—started to leak. We didn’t even use it much, but apparently we used it enough to foster some lovely mold on our wall and even a bit in the carpet.

It’s stinky, it’s wrecking havoc on my allergies…and it’s unfamiliar territory. So how do we go about getting rid of this mold?

I did some asking around and some researching, and I’m sharing the ones I’ve found and been advised here.

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When you buy cleaning products, no matter what kind they are, you spend anywhere from $3 to $10 bucks per product. If you clean daily or weekly, which is preferable, you can expect to spend several hundred dollars on cleaning products annually. The more environmentally friendly products, which also happen to be the best smelling, almost always cost more because of the high quality natural ingredients. Guess what? There is a way to get the great smell, the clean surface, and the dead germs all while actually enjoying the process of cleaning, by spending alot less money. Consider purchasing these few items today and enjoy cleaning your home with non-toxic, all natural products that not only do the job and smell exquisite; they do it all for a fraction of the cost of store bought products and last a whole lot longer.

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For those of you who are still stuck on cleaning for hours a day, who can’t get passed the details or who constantly give your own homes the white glove treatment, I have two words for you: Fly Lady!

Yes, you can actually fly around your house—no sweat!—and control your clutter in just 15 minutes a day! Who needs Clean Sweep when you’ve got the Fly Lady at your fingertips?

The Fly Lady is the self-help guru of the uber-cleaned, the cleanliness challenged, and the simply overwhelmed home manager. She will help you keep your home clean and managed without going insane—or spending a ridiculous amount of time on it.

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Like many women—and some men—I am a compulsive, maniacal list-maker. I make lists for Christmas gifts, weekly and daily to-do lists, wish lists, lists of books to read, movies to see and music to check out… if it can be listed, I have probably listed it somewhere or another.

Making a list for your cleaning chores each month can be a great way to get the job done. Once you have something crossed off, refuse to do it again unless you have the time to do so or something insane happens—a post softball celebration stupor in which everyone forgets to remove their cleats, perhaps?

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This Saturday, August 8, marks an activity that most of us have participated in at some point or another in our lives. Whether you’ve gone to a garage (or yard) sale, held one yourself, or even visited a rummage sale or flea market, you know the joys of either finding that one perfect, piece of someone else’s junk that is the treasure you are seeking—or getting rid of the crap that’s collecting dust in your attic.

Since it is Garage Sale Day, why not hold—or at least plan—your own? It’s a perfect excuse to finally get rid of all the clutter in your home while still making a profit. It may not be enough for a Vegas vacation, but it’ll probably cover upcoming school supplies costs, at least.

Here are some tips for holding your own garage (or yard) sale:

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LemonsWhen life gives you lemons, use them to clean! Lemons and lemon juice can be a great natural cleaner to use around your home. The clean, fresh scent is great for a nice pick me up feel around your home and using lemons provides a safe, non-toxic way to clean that will not harm your pets or your children and they add a natural antibacterial property that is safe for you and the environment unlike some of the harsher chemicals.

Here are but a few of the great ways that you can use lemons to clean around your house:

Have Dingy and Dirty Silver and Copper that you Want to Clean? Lemon juice works great for a safe and non-toxic way to shine them right up, just wash the lemon juice off and be sure to dry the items immediately.

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Homemade cleaners are definitely the way to go these days. Not only are they cheaper, they’re also generally more environmentally-friendly. Since you know all of the ingredients that go into your creations, you also shouldn’t have any worries about possible allergic reactions.

You have the added benefit of choosing only materials that are safe on both your body as well as the earth, as well avoiding the purchase of additional packaging materials.

Assemble the following ingredients:

1 cup of pure soap, finely chopped or grated

Half a cup of salt

Half a cup of baking soda

Half a cup of washing soda

Half a cup of borax

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Several years ago I moved from a 1,200 square foot apartment to the 400 square foot cabin in the woods where I live now.  I soon found that I essentially had three households' worth of stuff crammed into my single home.  And sadly, I was not alone.

I have become a decluttering fiend in the time since then - and even so, I have to confess that I have a long way to go.  At the very least, decluttering is an ongoing battle that can never be won.  I mean, until you die.  And you're lucky, and you go to a place where there is no clutter, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.


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Could you live with just 100 things?

Think about it. Between the microwave and a few outfits, a reusable mug and your car, you’re pretty much set, right? But what about your significant other’s things—and your children’s things?

Americans generally have the monopoly on buying and hoarding. Some call it “gross consumerism;” others call it “my precious” a thousand times over. With closets, storage containers, under-the-bed boxes and attics and basements full of crap that we rarely ever use—if at all—we’re all like that creepy garbage lady on Labyrinth (“Here you go, make yourself up!”), even if just a little. We even make contraptions to shrink our storage bags so we can store even more stuff—and we pay storage facilities to do it for us!

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