Glass Half Full and Squeaky Clean

When I was a young pup, my mom made her own window and glass cleaner, among other (almost every) things.

As soon as I was old enough to realize that the blue liquid advertised on television was the "correct" thing to use for glass, I grumbled as I washed windows. Who makes their own cleaner? That's just weird, right? It was to me and my "everyone else's lives are beautiful and perfect just like t.v., and if we only had store-bought glass cleaner (and white bread...), mine would be, too" way of thinking. I was convinced that homemade = inferior.

I swore that when I had my own house to keep, it would be nothing but the best, most expensive cleaning supplies for me! None of this two-bit, makes-your-life-boring-and-keeps-you-all-repressed homemade crap.

No, Ma'am. I had things to prove!

It took me 11 years of dissatisfied washing, and countless bottles of every brand of glass cleaner on the market to finally break down and call my mom for her recipe.

I whipped it up and washed my mirrors. Then I washed them again the next day. And the next. I was hooked. I kept directing my husband's attention to the mirrors and exclaiming things like, "Look at that!" and "Holy Moly, that's clean!"

I mean, they were cleaner than they had ever been. No streaks, no residue.

Just pure, unadulterated, boring old clean.

I felt sheepish. And thrilled. Enough more thrilled than sheepish to swear allegiance to home-concocted glass cleaner forever more.

And so, I present to you today, the glass cleaner that dreams are made of:

(and, again, I always just make enough for my bottlesworth (1 quart), so I have revised the recipe to reflect that)

In a large (at least 1 quart) measuring cup, mix the following:
1/2 C. rubbing alcohol
1 TB. ammonia
1/2 TB. liquid dish soap (Joy is supposedly the best to use)
Enough water to make 1 quart

Pour the solution into your spray bottle (again, it must be a heavy duty one, or it will stop working after a while), and clean like the cleaning lady you always aspired to be!

Also, the Friday Reader Recipes theme is SANDWICHES. Got that? SANDWICHES.


(No peanut butter and jelly or processed lunch meat allowed)


p.s. Today is pi day (3.14 - I know it's kinda nerdy, but who doesn't love an excuse to eat pie?), so if you find a healthy pie recipe to make for your family, let me know!

p.p.s. Last Saturday when Ty was cleaning his car, he noticed for the first time the corrections I had made to the Great Value Glass Cleaner bottle that I have been using for my homemade cleaner for the last 3 years. He asked (as he chuckled), "Did you do that completely for your own benefit?" And I replied, "Yep." Because I believe in doing little things for my own benefit. My own benefit is a worthy cause.

(Also, knowing me, I would otherwise forget that it was homemade and that I had ever made my own cleaning solution)

Adventures in Cleaning and A Warning

(Pretend there's a really cute picture here of me smiling, full manicure, wearing a crisp spring gingham dress and apron, cleaning. Concentrate now, I know that's a difficult image to conjure)

Last week I started a new cleaning regimen. Why? Because my cleaning ambitions have lately shrunken down to a size practically imperceptible to the naked eye. I have far too many cleaning years ahead of me to give up now. I'd like to save the giving up for a more appropriate time, like when I'm 80. Or 40.

So, I thought a little change in my strategy would do me good. You see, I rebel against schedules of any sort. Rebel, I tell ya. It's a disease or something. And it keeps me from being organized, and lately it's been cramping my get-everything(or at least anything)-done style.

After cutting (gnashing?) my teeth on a very timid attempt to follow a menu plan (with success!), I decided I would take the next step and try a cleaning schedule. So, I found a couple on Pinterest, and went with the one most unlike my current one.

(I was going to do a link here, but I can't find it. Suffice to say it is strict, it is every day, and it is a lot of work)

I fell off the wagon a few times last week, but I enjoyed putting on my pink rubber gloves and looking at the schedule magnet-stuck to my back door, and dreaming of what would happen if I adhered to it's stringent laws. It was great. Almost as great as that run-on (and on) sentence.

This week I plan to carry it out a little better. Except for Thursday and Friday, because my kids are off school, and so we must play. Also, today and tomorrow are looking to be full to the rafters with craziness. So, that leaves Wednesday. Which is a half day of school for my kids, so I guess maybe we could team-up, doubling the cleaning power. Or I could just leave them with a list of chores and get the heck out of here...hmmm.

And now, a very important public service announcement/warning:

DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY IDEA YOU SEE ON PINTEREST IS A GOOD ONE!

I'm speaking from experience. I will now, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, debunk the following Pinterest myth:

Recycling your citrus rinds by soaking them in a bottle of vinegar to be used for a fresh-scented cleansing agent later doesn't work. If used to mop all the tile in your house, it will produce a floor so sticky, you will have to mop it five more times with Mr. Clean. Which will cause you to not have time to go on a date with your husband. Which will cause you to be grumpy and ready to strangle Pinterest with your bare hands.

And, for my piece de resistance, I will share the recipe for my most favorite homemade all-purpose cleaning spray. Guaranteed not to make your tile/counter tops/sinks/toilets sticky. Ready? Get a pencil. Or turn on your printer and get ready to copy this sucker.

Here it goes:
(this is enough to fill a spray bottle - buy a heavy-duty one or use an old, rinsed-out 409 - or similar - bottle)
1 TB. Borax (If you don't have any, get some. What are you waiting for? Don't you know you can't make slimy sludge play stuff without it? Buy it in the laundry aisle.)
3 TB. White Vinegar
2 C. Warm Water
1 TB. Dish Soap
1 Drop Essential Oil (doesn't have to be food-grade, just any cheap ess. oil is fine. My personal favorite is peppermint, but this last time I had a bunch of old imitation lemon extract that I was going to throw out, so I dumped that in, and wow! It smells good!)

Put it in a spray bottle and shake it up (I actually put it in a big bowl and whisk it to make sure the borax dissolves - plus, I'm always needlessly afraid I won't have room for all of it in my spray bottle).

If you tune in again on Wednesday, I just might share my top-secret, 502%-better-than-Windex, homemade window and glass cleaner recipe. See you then!