some folks, i’m sure, get as enthused about housekeeping supplies as i (self-identified nerd) get about school supplies. i am not one of these people. quite the contrary, i have been known to get momentarily paralyzed when faced with what seems like a million choices for home cleaning stuff. i mean, in addition to your standard necessities they have dishwashing soap that smells like green apples; laundry detergent that smells like lavender and vanilla. (not to mention pre-treatments, stain-sticks-and-sprays, fabric softener, dryer sheets, and oxygen based color-safe bleach!) there are disposable dust mops and toilet brushes. entire lines of organic, chemical-free, coconut based plant cleansers that are supposed to be safe for your children, your pets, and our planet. there are still the standards our mothers and grandmothers used, like pine sol, murphy’s oil soap, bon ami and comet cleansers. not to mention the everyday toxic standbys like chlorine bleach, windex, ammonia, etc. etc. etc.

i will admit though – and i am SO not the type of woman to be getting all infomercial-ish about such things – to a certain rhapsodic episode when i opened up my first pack of microfiber cleansing cloths. there were three of these things, with three textures and purposes: one for general purpose, one for glass/mirrors, and one for stainless steel. i called myself doing a little casual swiping to test them out and found myself half an hour later having to leave the room to keep myself from laying my cheek against the dewy, petal-like surface of the vent/hood thing over my stove. it was serious. and made me realize that in housekeeping, as in all things, there is power in a good set of tools.

these cloths go a long way to getting things clean, so much so that cleaning supplies become almost optional, if not superfluous. but they came with a bunch of recipes for natural home cleaning recipes that i would like to share here, for the benefit of my fellow People Who Live In Houses and Don’t Like Filth. (that’s probably all of us). Enjoy!

General Cleaner: 2 Tb baking soda in 16oz warm water
Window Cleaner: 1 Tsp white vinegar in 16oz warm water
Disinfecting Cleaner: 10-20 Drops Tea Tree Oil in 16 oz warm water
Floor Cleaner: 1 Tsp liquid soap, 1/2 Tsp Borax, squeeze of lemon OR splash of vinegar. Spray floor with solution and mop as usual.

Anybody got a housekeeping secret they want to share? A cleaning technique or tool without which you can’t imagine you’d survive? Do share. :o)

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