Spring Cleaning Its almost time !!!

I don't know about you but I have already started my Spring cleaning.  This is one of my all time favorite home made cleaners.   Its easy to make and very low in cost.  It not only cleans it kills Germs too.  I love it because you don't have to switch cleaners.  It doesn't streak so you can use it on windows and mirrors.  I even mop with it.  I buy those white shop rags in the auto dept at Walmart and use them on my swiffer they are great and you can just throw them in the wash and bleach them white again.  Check out our other home made cleaners they are under the Frugal Home Care Tips.  ~ Ethel

All Purpose Cleaner

I have this cleaner that I have been making for years...and I love love love it!!! I use it to clean my bathrooms every single day, mirror, shower, tub, sink, toilet.  It cleans it all.  I use it to clean my windows, counters, floors, sink, stove, ect.  It truly is all purpose, and it costs pennies to make.
Here is what you need:

1 - 32 oz. spray bottle

1 tsp. dish soap

1 TBSP. ammonia (I'm using lemon.)

1 TBSP. lemon juice

2 TBSP. vinegar (I'm using orange.)

1/3 cup rubbing alcohol

Using a funnel, begin by adding the dish soap into the empty spray bottle.  Follow that with the lemon juice, vinegar and ammonia.  These are your cleaning agents.

Next, pour in your rubbing alcohol. This helps the cleaner to be streak free. It also gives it some extra germ killing power.

Fill your bottle the rest of the way with cold tap water, slap on the spray top and give your bottle a little shake.  Then grab a towel and go to town cleaning.  Just beware, the first time you make this, you should give yourself plenty of extra time to clean.  You are going to go from room to room spraying and wiping everything in sight, just to see how awesome it cleans ;)

I always mix mine in batches of 3. One to keep in each bathroom and one for the kitchen

Tip of the Day ~ Clover is Important

 Does you yard seem to be plagued with large patches of clover?  Well, don't run out and get a herbicide to take care of it. Instead, embrace it. Here is why.

These little guys love clover.  The use it to make clover honey, which is one of the yummiest delicacies in all of the earth.  Right now, honey bees are really struggling.  Their populations have been hit by many hardships and beekeepers are having a hard time keeping them alive these days.  They need all  the help they can get from us.  We can help by keeping the blossoms that they love in our yard and gardens.  Bees are attracted to blue, white and yellow flowers especially.  And, it helps to not spray you plants with pesticide. Instead attract beneficial insects or physically remove pests from your plants.    Many honey bees are killed when an apple tree is sprayed.

If you help the bees out, they will help you out.  They are excellent pollinators in your yard and gardens.  In fact, some plants will not fruit without the help of a pollinator.

Tip of the Day ~ Clean Your Garbage Disposal

Don't throw away those orange peels after you strain them out of your orange vinegar!

Run them, a few at a time through your garbage disposal.  Be sure to run cold water the whole time, just as you would normally.  The rinds will scrub your blades, and the citrus and vinegar still left in them will help to cut any grease or dirt away.

Tip of the Day - Let your kids garden

Give your kids an area where they can do their own gardening.  This year, my kids are growing sunflower houses.  Christina has been keeping hers completely weed-free.  Jack has just been trimming his weeds down with the garden tools.  Both are loving the project and learning a lot.

Tip of the Day - Lard Soap

A bar of lard soap is great for rubbing into stains before laundering clothing.  It is an all natural and very potent cleanser that is easy on delicate skin.

Tip of the Day - Nasturtiums

Plant nasturtiums in your veggie garden to help lure the insect pests away from your crops.  You can also harvest the leaves and flowers for a nice peppery addition to a garden salad.

Tip of the Day - Cucumbers

Cucumbers can be grown down on the ground, or staked up on a trellis.  I like to stake mine up for easier harvesting.

Tip of the Day - Fooled You Peppers

If you love jalapenos but can't handle the heat, there is a wonderful little pepper that is a jalapeno with no heat.  The name of it is Fooled You.  I get mine a the greenhouse in Jamesport, MO.  I love to make jalapeno poppers to gobble up with the kids.

Tip of the Day - Stain Lifters

I have 4 favorite stain lifters for my dirty laundry.

They are cheap, easy to use and always in my pantry or laundry room.

1. Vinegar- I pour this straight onto grass stains.  I also use it in place of fabric softener. I pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar into my fabric softener dispenser.  It leaves my clothes soft and fresh. Plus, it kills any germs that the laundry soap may have left behind, and rinses away any left behind soap.

2. Rubbing Alcohol - Squirt this onto ink stains and it then toss it into the wash.  

3. Hydrogen Peroxide - I most commonly use this on urine or sweat stains, as well as berry or sauce stains.  I spray the stain, let it sit a few minutes before tossing it into the wash.

4. Fels Naptha or Homemade Lard Soap- This is best for oily or grungy dirt stains.  Just moisten the stain and rub the bar of soap into the stain, then launder as usual.

Tip of the Day~Never Work Wet Soil!

When your soil is wet like this, don't work it.  Don't weed. Don't dig. Don't plant. Don't till.
Don't walk around on it.  Working wet soil, especially if it has a high clay content, makes for hard soil. Hard soil.  Think blacktop, concrete, rocks.  Hard soil.
Just take a moment and thank the Father for the rain and go back inside and bake something, or read a book or look over Mom's comp. list.  Maybe you can work in your soil tomorrow if it dries out a bit.

Tip of the Day ~ Turn up your cuffs!

When wearing rubber gloves to protect your hands, turn the cuffs up to protect your forearms and elbows.  Should you raise your hand, the liquid you are working with will pool in the cuff instead of running down your arm.

Tip of the Day~Garden Ties

 The best way to tie up any of your plants to a steak or trellis is using strips of nylon stockings, pantyhose, tights, whatever you want to call them.  The thin stretchy material provides a firm hold, tight knot and doesn't cut into the plant.  One pair of stockings makes many ties.  So, go through your drawer and grab that pair with the little snag and go tie up your tomatoes!

Don't have any of your own stockings?  Ask your Grandma.

Or buy a cheap pair at your local second hand store.

Tip of the Day~Harvesting Lettuce

If your's isn't ready already, then soon it will be time to harvest lettuce.  The very first time I planted lettuce, I thought pulling the entire plant was the way it was harvested.  Don't make the same mistake I did.  Grab a pair of scissors and snip your lettuce leaves about 1 inch above the ground.  It is a quick, easy and clean way to harvest.  More lettuce leaves will grow up from the little chopped plants.

Tip of the Day~When onions go to seed

Can you see the round little seed pods on the tips of these onion greens?  

These onions have gone to seed.  They have stopped growing.  If left in the garden, they would bloom, and probably be pretty, but they would lose their value in the kitchen.  I had tried to move these onions, they didn't appreciate it and quickly went to seed.  That's okay though, they made wonderful green onions.  For green onions, just snip off the seed head, roots, and peel away any brown onion paper.  Rinse your onions, dry them off a bit and then store them in the fridge.  These are great on tacos, in sandwiches, toasted on top of garlic or herb bread.  If you harvest more than you can eat, you can also chop them and store them in a baggie in the freezer.

Tip of the Day

What to do with all those newspapers after I have finished clipping my coupons?  Well, there are several ways to recycle newspaper, besides using them for packaging breakables and washing windows.  I use mine in my compost pile.  It is used just like you would use dead leaves as a brown compost.  Just shred it up and throw it in.  Make sure only to use the black and white pages, colored inks may contain heavy metals or other toxic materials and should not be used.

 Remember to use green along with the brown compost so that it can break down properly.  Your green compost is the kitchen waste like vegetable and fruit waste, coffee grounds, grass clippings, garden waste.  Your Brown is the dead leaves, paper, wood ash, saw dust, pine needles, straw, vegetable stalks.  ~ Ethel

A Good Way to Use Old Oranges

Do you sometimes have an orange leftover in the fruit bowl, and it gets a little hard so no one will eat it?  Well, this happens with almost every bag of oranges I buy. I think my kids get tired of them or something. Well, I have found a solution!

Slice the oranges or cut them in half and put them out for the birds.  I hung mine across a shepherd's hook.  I have an oriole that has been coming every day and pecking at my oranges.

Sometimes he even brings his lady with him!

Reduce the Number of Bugs in Your Yard! ~ Tip of the Day!

Looking for a natural, safe and amusing way to reduce the number of bugs in your yard?  Well, invite the birds over! Setting out bird feeders encourages our feathered friends to dine over at your place.  You won't only attract seed eaters alone, in fact many birds eat both seeds and bugs.  You will notice many of the birds eating down on the ground. They are not only eating seed that has spilled out of the feeder, but they eat bugs too.  Even the smallest visitors, the hummingbirds eat bugs.  So, don't forget to leave some nectar out for them!
While your bugs are being eaten, you will also get quite a bit of entertainment!
If you are brave enough, and your city ordinance allows it, you could also employ some domestic birds to help you out.

These birds come with a promise of fresh eggs, but they are not quite as inexpensive as their wild cousins.

Tip of the Day- Cheaper Greek Yogurt

I do love the texture of Greek yogurt, but I don't love how much more expensive it is than regular yogurt. Did you know that Greek yogurt is made by straining the whey off of regular yogurt, creating that thick creaminess.  You can do that at home very easily.

All you need is yogurt, a bowl, strainer and a thin towel, cheesecloth or coffee filter (for a small strainer).

Put the strainer in the bowl, the cloth in the strainer and the yogurt in the cloth.  Then pop it into the fridge until it has reached the desired thickness and you have Greek yogurt.  A cheesecloth or coffee filter will produce results quicker than a thin towel.
If you let all of the whey strain out, they you have a product called yogurt cheese, which can be used in place of cream cheese.  It is amazing spread on a whole wheat English muffin!

Tip of the Day - Always Wash Your Melons!

Before you cut a melon, always give it a good scrub under running water.  Melons have lots of nooks and crannies for bacteria to hide. When you cut into an unwashed melon your knife can pick up that bacteria and spread it into the flesh of the fruit, which will then be eaten.  Yuk!

When you're done peeling the rinds off, be sure and toss them into your compost pile!

All*You Magazine

Got my All*You Magazines today If you don't have a Subscription of this Magazine it is so worth getting one. You can pick them up at Walmart at the check out but its so much cheaper to get a subscription. I get mine from the girl scouts. They are actually selling them right now. I just recieved a letter from my granddaughter wanting me to buy. Look up a local girlscout. They are packed full of coupons and savings. ~ Ethel