How to Clean Your Home The Old-Fashioned Way

8.15.2015

There is a way to make your home sparkle like how our grandmas made our home sparkle when we were kids, by using five simple ingredients.

clean-your-home-the-old-fashioned-way

No kidding.  Five Ingredients.

Here they are.

(Knowledge of these five ingredients thanks to Michael De Jong in his book Clean: The Humble Art of Zen Cleansing)

#1:Baking Soda

  • For sparkling silver, line a porcelain sink with heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Load it with the silver you intend to polish, making certain that every item touches the foil liner.  Cover with boiling water and add a cup of baking soda.  The tarnish will jump from the silver to the foil in almost no time.  For any remaining traces of heavy tarnish, make a paste of water and baking soda and polish the surface until it shines.
  • Make a tile cleanser by mixing two cups of baking soda with a half cup of lukewarm water.  Brush the mixture into the grout and scrub.
  • Sprinkle baking soda onto your upholstered couch to deodorize it.  Let it stand for an hour, then vacuum.

#2:Lemon

  • Mix two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice to create furniture polish.  Just a few drops on a soft cloth will make your wooden furniture shine.  Buff the surface with a dry cloth to remove any excess oil.  Store your polish in a glass jar.
  • Remove ink stains on cloth by placing lemon juice directly onto the spot.  Allow it to sit overnight before laundering as usual.  Repeat if necessary.
  • Take rust off household tools and chrome by using salt and one tablespoon of lemon juice.  Make a paste and rub onto rusty area with a dry cloth.
  • Brighten white fabrics by soaking them in a pot of boiling water with a sliced lemon.

#3:  borax

  • Add one quarter cup of borax to two cups of water to make a bleach substitute.
  • Pour one quarter cup into your toilet bowl to help clean and deodorize it.  Swish the mixture with a brush and let it stand at least an hour or overnight.  Flush.

#4: Salt

  • Remove perspiration stains from clothing by presoaking the garment in salt water.
  • Soften new jeans by adding one half cup of salt to the wash along with your regular laundry detergent.
  • To get rid of coffee stains on the inside of a glass coffeepot, add four teaspoons of salt, one cup crushed ice and one tablespoon of water.  Gently swirl until clean, then rinse.

#5: Vinegar

  • Polish patent leather in cloth dampened with vinegar.  Wipe it on until shine is fully restored.
  • Use a solution of two tablespoons of white vinegar to one gallon of warm water in a spray bottle to clean mirrors, glass and windows.
  • To reduce odor from pet’s urine in your carpet, dilute a cup of vinegar with a cup of room-temperature water.  Apply and blot with a clean rug.My Life's Anik Aniks

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