Spring Cleaning or Cleaning Out Your Wallet?

When I first bought my swiffer mop, it was a love at first application! What is not to love—it is always ready when you are. This sort of a commitment any mother can appreciate. What else is there standing by ready to be used as soon as need arrives? No fuss, no mess, nothing but squeaky-clean floors!

Few years later, when I had my last child I thought of reconsidering this magic wand. You see, being the youngest out of three siblings my baby son literary grew up on the floor. While I was tending my choirs around the house he would keep himself busy with toys on the floor and thus secure from any falls—you can’t fall lower then the floor. It was the safest place. Or was it?

Ever mobile crawling baby would venture far beyond his place mat and explore the housescape around him. Sometimes he would come across little flecks of food that he would vacuum adamantly, other times he would encounter even smaller specks that he wouldn’t even aware of—the chemicals, which he’d slobber up with an ever curious mouth of his.

Yes, the chemicals that were left by my wonderful loyal helper. I had to stop using the solution at once. I still had some pads left that I was trying to use dry or with a home made all purpose cleaning solution, a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and water and few drops of essential oils. It seemed I had a perfect solution!

However, being a mom I learned to be conscious about my budget. Moping floors with disposable pads seemed as ludicrous as cleaning with dollar bills. Another lesson taught by motherhood is a respect for environment. The three RRR—reuse, reduce, recycle—and my own interpretation—regard, respect, responsibility—had been my mantra for the past 5 years. I could not buy these pads any longer. Plus, for the same reasons I stopped using paper towels, replacing them with cloth rags and microfiber clothe, both machine washable, for dusting and cleaning surfaces.

And there I was with a useless carcass of a swiffer mop in a utility closet and messy floors around. There is no substitute for getting down on your knees to clean the floors, not even other mops out there, which scared me tremendously because of anti propaganda of bacteria that it carries, but who's got time to mop this way every day? I had to find something that would be easy to use, ready any time and reusable.

One day, I was shopping on etsy.com and came across these wonderful replacement covers and it clicked!

Now I am going to make my own by cutting up old jersey t-shirts into strips and using it as yarn to crochet the cover. You can also use machine washable microfiber cloths; just sew the edges so it can easily slip onto your mop.

As I mentioned earlier, you can make your own all-purpose cleaning solution. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar, say 1 cup to 1 cup and add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. I like eucalyptus for its smell but sometimes use lavender. A small bottle lasts pretty long, too.

Easy to make, easy to use, easy for your wallet and easy on the environment!

"And a peel for the wolf!"//"А для волка--кожура!"

Here's a Russian cartoon about animals sharing an orange. Everyone got a piece of it. Everyone, except the Wolf. Animals believed they tricked wolf leaving him only an orange peel. Little did the animals know--orange peel is a treasure itself!

As much as I love to eat oranges, I really don't mind ending up with orange peel. Like everything else natural, this fruit has far more uses then just being squeezed into a glass for breakfast and could be used in its entirety. So, if life gives you nothing but an orange peel, here what you can do with it:

• Orange peel has high content of essential oil, which is highly flammable. So dried orange peel can be used for starting a fire or kindling for your fireplace;
• I found out on the web, cats don't like orange smell. If you put orange peel next to your house plants, your feline won't chew on it;
• My friend, who is lucky to have a blender inside her kitchen sink, purposely throws and pulverizes the orange peel in it to get rid of bad odors;
• I don't have the pulverizer so I just scrub sink with orange peel;
• For the same purpose--freshness--you can use orange peel to deodorize trash cans by placing the peel on the bottom of the can before lining it with bag. It can also ward off the insects during summer months;
• If you rub oil on your skin, you can prevent mosquito bites during summer as well;
• You can add the orange peel to home made potpourri--it's white pith is super absorbent and will absorb bad odors and humidity from the air;
• Because of it's absorbent qualities, you can also use the peel in closets to soak up musty smell--put it in a cloth bag first; same bag can be used in a car as a air freshener;
• It could be used in cooking, of course. With a microplane zester, peel the top layer of the orange peel--the one that does not have white pith--and use this zest in dessert or savory dishes alike to add a distinct orange flavor;
• You can also use the whole peel to make "succades"--candied orange peel (recipe will follow, start collecting the peel);
• If you're a drinker, you can infuse vodka and other hard liquor with orange peel, too;
• If you're not a drinker--make some tea with dried orange peel by steeping a tablespoon of it in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes.

One thing to remember: the oranges are sprayed treated with special wax for import. Use a vegetable brush to scrub oranges even if you buy organic varieties.

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Помните этот мультик? Животные думали, что надурили волка, оставив ему только апельсиновую кожуру. Глупые животные не знали, что кожура сама является сокровищем!

Я люблю кушать апельсины, но не возражу, елси мне только кожура достанется. Как всё созданное природой, апельсин не только хорош для сока к завтраку а тоже может быть использовать целиком, включая его кожуру. Так что, если жизнь вам посылает только апельсиновую кожуру, то не огорчайтесь, а используйте её:

• Из за высокого содержания в ней эфирного масла, которое легко воспламеняемо, кожуру апельсина можно использовать в качестве разжигателя или в качестве щепок для камина;
• Я узнала из интернета, что кошки не любят запах апельсина. Если положить шкорки около домашних цветков, которые объедает ваша мурка, она к ним больше не подойдёт;
• Моя подруга, которой посчастливилось иметь раковину с блендером, использует апельсиновую кожуру для того, чтобы избавиться от плохого запаха;
• У меня, к сожалению такого приспособления нет, поэтому я натираю кухонную раковину шкорками для запаха;
• Так же для запаха и свежести шкорки можно положить на дно мусорного ведра перед тем как застелить его целофаном. Запах апельсина поможет отогнать мелких насекомых, так как они не любят цитрусовые ароматы;
• Есил потереть масляной стороной шкорки о кожу, можно даже избежать комаринных укусов летом;
• Можно добавить апельсиновую кожуру к вашему пот пурри домашнего приготовления--белая мякоть шкорки обладает "всасывающими" свойствами и поглатит пдлохой запах и влажность из воздуха;
• По этой же причине можно набить шкорками мешочек их грубой материи--холста, например--и поместить его в шкаф, чтобы избавиться от затхлого запаха, или же держать в салоне автомобиля в качестве освежителя.
• Конечно же кожуру можно использовать в кулинарии. Специальной тёркой снимите цедру (это верхний слой)--не задев белую мякоть--и используйте цедру в приготовлении сладких или пикантных блюд для придания специфичного апельсинового запаха и вкуса;
• Можно также использовать всю кожуру полностью для изготовления цукатов (рецепт будет по позже, а пока собирайте шкорку);
• Если вы пьёте алкоголь, то можете сделать настой из шкорок с водкой или другим крепким алкогольным напитком;
• А если вы трезвенник, сделайте чай из сухих апельсиновых корок заварив столовую ложку на стакан кипятка в течении 5 минут.

Главный момент: аппельсины опрыскивают и натирают специальным воском для перевозки. Даже если вы покупаете экологически чистые апельсины, всё равно хорошо промойте их с помошью овощной щёточки.