Saturday, January 4, 2014

I see the sun! AKA: Living in the PNW is a good reason NOT to clean your windows.

Oh the sun!  We don't see the sun quite nearly as much as we should in the Pacific Northwest during the winter.  Now I know why.  It helps us from seeing how disgusting our windows are. 
 
I'm sitting in bed, sick with whatever I picked up at the ER with my youngest, longing to be in the glorious sun light with the beautiful, healthy people.  Then I notice something.  "What is that all over my windows?"  Hand prints, streaks, & film.  Yuck.
 
I had to clean it.  It was mocking me.  Mocking me.  I went to the cabinet, no glass cleaner.  Gasp.  I went to the pantry, NADA.  A choice word or two went through my mind.  I started this "No Spend January" group, so I knew I could not run out to the store to get a bottle.  Enter Google.  I found a great recipe, actually a couple from CrunchyBetty.com.  I like this one the best.  It doesn't leave a film on the windows.  BUT, you should spray & wipe the windows at least twice to make sure you get all the dirt off and wipe all the liquid off the windows otherwise there WILL BE streaks.  It also helps to use newspaper too.  The black & white pages not the colored pages.  It leaves no particles  on the glass like paper towels do.
 
 
Mix: 1/2C of rubbing alcohol, 1/2C water & 1 Tbsp vinegar.  I sterilized my water by boiling it.  The recipe won't fill up the entire bottle, but you can double or triple the batch.  Yes, I reused the old Windex bottle with my new environmentally friendly cleaner.  The batch I made probably cost me about .50.  Try it out.  I'm sure you are going to love it. 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Homemade & Cheap Dishwasher Soap

New year, new ways for me to save!  I joined a group called Living Well Spending Less & January is a "No Spending Month".  And guess what I just ran out of in my stockpile?  Dishwasher soap.  ACK!
 
I couldn't spend unless it was a need.  This is a need, but I remembered I had posted sometime ago about homemade dishwasher soap. I haven't used the recipe because I had enough premade soap in my pantry.  I read the reviews on line & couldn't justify buying it.  I made some & love it.  So I ended up making 192 loads of dishwasher soap for $3.25 in less than 2 minutes!  That comes out to $0.017 a load.  I use equal amounts of Borax & Washing Soda.  I can get 8 cups total into a half gallon canning jar.  I use 2 tsp. for each wash. It seems like I do at least a load of dishes a day, especially when the kids are out of school.  This will last me until June or July.  I figured I save at least $17 + my time.  Easy & natural ~ can't bet that!