Susiej

Almost as if I’m going through a mid-life crisis, I’m turning my back on those traditional  patterned big rugs I’ve had scattered under my furniture and tables

and I’m going for something more serene. The bold, colorful patterns are a great way to hide juice, wine, and graham cracker spills, which was why I was originally attracted to them.Yet, the rugs are almost threadbare, and I was at  a crossroads. Now, I’m suddenly ready for a clean, simpler look. In fact, I’m ready to trade in my traditional colonial for a Brady-Bunch style house. (Almost like a mid-life crisis). So, instead of the house, I’m starting with the rugs.

Shags, it turns out, also hide the spills. And shags are everywhere.

The one I found is extremely soft, and can  even take a hit of bleach without hurting the fibers. I was lucky enough to find a very large remnant at a carpet warehouse. I had everything cut and bound to these dimensions (in feet).

• 6.6 x 6.6
• 5 x 8
• 4×6
• 10.6 by 10

The cost, because I bought a remnant, was cheap, way below $500 for all of these rugs. And they are plush and soft!

The best part is, now we find Elf happily making snow angels inside. Here’s my best shot.

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I’m frustrated with cleaning products that claim to be safe and environmentally-friendly, yet I still can’t pronounce the ingredients listed on the label. So much for clean and green.

Probably best to stick with the standards: vinegar, baking soda and borax. Baking soda and Borax are amazing cleansers. Baking soda actually suffocates mold so that it can’t live. And vinegar, by itself, is great for killing germs. But, to give these home made cleaners an extra punch, I always refer back to my sound and true essential oils, like tea tree oil, thyme, eucalyptus and fir tree oil — they kill mold, bacteria and are great disinfectants. The lingering scent is very nice, and gives the aura that you’ve actually cleaned something! In the past, I’ve added lavender oil, but there’s some concern that lavender oil may not be great to use around men, after all. And since, I have five men here, I’m not touching the lavender for now.

Making this soft scrub, really, took no time at all. And I made a big batch, so that I can use it for awhile.

You’ll need a squirt bottle — like an empty shampoo bottle, or a dishwashing liquid bottle to store the soft scrub — so that you can squirt the stuff out.

If you’re so inclined, here’s how to make your own soft scrub:

• Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup borax, or baking soda, (or half of both) into a large bowl.
• Add 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar (if you’re using baking soda, this will fizz…. so let it get it out of its system and settle down before you go on. You may have to add the vinegar slowly to keep this from bubbling over.)
• Once the fizzies are gone, use a funnel to pour this into the empty squirt bottle.
• Next add 20-30 drops of tea tree, orange, lemon or eucylyptis oils. (Or a combination of these oils)
• Add liquid soap until you get the consistency of soft scrub. I like to use a very natural soap — like Dr. Bronner’s or liquid castile soap. These soaps are made from plant-based sources, and do not leave a film, the way something like Dawn does.

The borax and baking soda are non abrasive, so this is safe to use in your sink, tub and stainless steel cooktop.

You’ll need to shake the bottle before each use.

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Ants, and most insects, cannot stand the smell of mint.  I found a recipe for using tea to clean wood floors in my 1950 household craft book (the tannic acid in tea creates a beautiful shine and color for hardwood floors.) So I combined the two to make a wood floor cleaner that repels insects.

Here’s the recipe:

• Steep 6 peppermint tea bags into a quart of water.
• Add one-quarter cup of white vinegar.
• Add 10 drops of tea tree oil as a disinfectant.
• Store in a spray bottle, and spritz your mop and clean.

This mixture, because of the vinegar and the essential oils, will keep for a long time, under your sink.

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And, how I found my favorite Vacuum Cleaner.

I’ve have spent the last 10 days culling vacuum cleaner reviews on the Internet; and it has not been an easy task to separate the fluff from the hard-core vacuum cleaner reviews. Here, I’ll share the results of my days of research in hopes it may help you when you begin your quest for the ultimate vacuum cleaner. With four boys in the house, my dream of a clean house is always a work in progress. I work hard cleaning; I expect my tools to work just as hard as I do. My 10-year-old Miele Canister is ready to retire to the lake, it’s still working fine and I’m in the market for a new vacuum cleaner — this time, an upright.

I have hardwood floors, and my house is three stories tall, with a finished basement. I have steered clear of the Dyson and Miele uprights, precisely because they are too heavy to lug around the flights of stairs, and the Dyson isn’t low enough to slide under our five beds to suck out all the dust bunnies. I have friends that have Dysons and love them. But, my new vacuum had to have a lot of sucking power, but was also be light enough to lug up and down the stairs.

For guidance, I shut down the computer to “test drive” a few vacuum cleaners. I went to several of the traditional specialty vacuum cleaner stores, the kind that sells commercial vacuums, right along the high priced consumer ones. There, I found the Dysons all lined up in the window, and a bowl of white baking soda to use for demonstrations, sat right on the counter.

I watched the salesman pour the baking soda onto the floor, and then run the Dyson over the dust. I watched the dust swirl into the Dyson canister with gleeful satisfaction. The powder was gone… or so I thought. Next, he pulled out the SEBO Felix Premium Classic Upright Vacuum Cleaner w/ Electic Power Head, made by a German company called Sebo. He ran the Felix right over the same spot where the Dyson had just been, and white dust jumped right off the floor and into the Sebo. How could I sleep at night knowing I had left all this dirt on the floor? Plus, the Sebo Felix was the same price as the Dyson. “Wrap up one Sebo to go,” I said.

• The Sebo weighs only 12 pounds, making it easy to move up and down the stairs, and easy for the boys to use.
• The cord is 35 feet long, so I can plug in the vacuum on one floor, go all the way up the next floor without having to stop and pull the plug and put it in again to go to the next floor.
• For the blinds and the cobwebs, the Fleix has a telescopic handle, (the boys call it their light saber) and the power pack can be removed to clean the stairs, and the inside of the car.
• The neck turns and swivels, does a flat-to-the-floor profile – does the limbo under the beds!
• Hardwood floors are tough to get clean with an upright; the Sebo Felix is really a canister, with all the suction power hardwood floors need, that is attached to a convient upright handle.
• The filtration is hospital-grade.
• This is the vacuum of choice at The White House, and Buckingham Palace.

Just to be sure I wasn’t dreaming, I had to run home and look up the Sebo Reviews on Amazon.com, and happily found satisfied users.

This vacuum is beyond my wildest dreams…

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The creamy white reminds me of vanilla ice cream.

I’m so glad we chose this creamy white, the Sherwin Williams classic, Dover white, rather than the stark shabby chic white, (although I do love that look). I’m more pleased that we choose to splash the enitre space with this color, and avoided the whole “one baby blue wall” thing.

The bookcase was left and abandonned here with the lattice in the garage. It was too shabby to send to GoodWill. But before we ditched it, a few nails, some scrubbing, primer and a top coat of Dover White brought this into an extermely functional piece of furniture.

Just before we started this project, I was on my way out to visit the antique stores, hoping I would score some kind of bookcase to hold my cookbooks, as well as mine and the boy’s reading material.

Now, I think that Bass looks right at home. Now, it has that appropriately lived-in look.

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Whether they are plug-in, gels, sprays or solids, air fresheners are loaded with harmful chemicals and bring the health risks that we associate with second-hand smoke. The chemicals reach our noses, and enter our body systems and wreck havoc. We assume that because the product is readily available, and carries a nice picture of natural flowers permeating a room, that the product is safe. They are not.

The chemical byproducts included in these air fresheners include benzene and formaldehyde, and phthalates. These can aggravate asthma, and are linked to developmental problems in babies and cancer in laboratory animals.

Why isn’t the consumer informed about these risks? Fortunately, there is a petition to have the products regulated by the government. Warning labels would be a nice addition.

Until then, you can have some fun creating your own healthy alternatives to air fresheners. These natural aromatherapy air fresheners are not only free from harmful chemicals, but can kill germs, help you breathe better, and create a more relaxed and comfortable environment. For centuries, people have used essential oils for their healing benefits, and this is just one more way to get the good stuff into your system. Nevertheless, they smell good too.

Once you have the basics down, vodka, distilled water, essential oils, you’ll be able to experiment and mix your own combinations of oils, based on your mood, or health issues. For example, eucalyptus would be a great scent to use if you have a cold or allergies, while cinnamon would be great in a house plagued with the flu. The oils help clear the germs out of the air. Plus, they give you the feeling of doing something, when there is nothing you can do.

What you’ll need is a virgin spray bottle — one that has not been used for chemicals before.

The following recipe makes a bit more than four cups of spray, so make sure your bottle can hold more than four cups, so that you’ll be able to shake the bottle without everything spilling out.

Here’s the basic formula for making a natural air freshener from essential oils:

Method
Mix the essential oils with the vodka, and then add the water. Once the mixture is made, let it sit for a couple of days, to test the strength of the scent. The scent will get stronger as it sits. Shake well every time you use it.

Here are some combinations to try

Citrusy

• 12 drops lime
• 14 drops bergamot
• 4 drops ylang ylang
• 2 drops rose

Good Mood

• 1-teaspoon jasmine oil
• ½-teaspoon bergamot oil

Natural Scent

• 1 teaspoon lavender oil
• ½ teaspoon sandalwood oil

home Comfort

• 1 teaspoon vanilla oil
• 2 drops ginger oil

Clean and Fresh

• 15 drops Lavender
• 10 drops Orange
• 10 drops Lemon
• 10 drops Grapefruit
• 6 drops Lime
• 3 drops Nutmeg

Remember, shake well!

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