A few of my tips

I like to read about other people's tips as you can always glean and synthesize something useful.

Here's a sample of my personal tips based on the fact that I'm actually selectively lazy by nature (of course everything is relative as I have been told I am not lazy) and having a sense of safety is always a good thing in my book.

Tips for lazy and safety conscious people:

• I tend to park in parking lots where the median is located (if any).  This way, I don't have to worry about a car backing out and not seeing me, AND especially Sophie.  The median is great, you don't have to worry about wayward traffic, just a few scattered carts.

• To clean artificial plants, I spray them off with water either with the sprayer from the sink or with an outside hose for larger plants.  Allow plants to air dry in the sun.  It's swift and efficient.

• When I use aluminum foil, I like to layer parchment paper on top to prevent contact with food.  Aluminum like fluoride is everywhere.  So I try to minimize the exposure with aluminum as much as possible.

• Lemon essential oil is great for stubborn stains, gummy, scuff marks, removing mineral build-up, etc.  It's really a "good thing" if you want to avoid cumulative exposure to toxic chemicals found in common commercial products; I find that lemon essential oil actually does a better job and smells a lot better too :o)

Spring Showers and Flowers

Finally....Spring is here where we live.

I had two sisters (NOT members from a religious order) come in today to clean my house.  First time ever!  All I can say is I could easily get used to that....like once a month!!  They told me for a basic cleaning, not a deep cleaning, it would take 3 hours to clean 80% of the house.  That's a total of 6 hours between the two.  No kidding, that isn't a bunch of hooey they were giving me; it usually takes me a good 2 days to clean our house.....a necessary nuisance totally not fun :-(

Late this afternoon, we got a much needed rainstorm.  The smell of fresh rain is so exhilarating.  Because we live in a desert climate, it doesn't rain often....for that reason I took a picture of it.  Everything looked so crisp and vibrant; unfortunately, the picture doesn't show the vividness as much as I had hoped. 

I love this time of the year; I have some of the windows open in the house and the cool mountain breeze is not only refreshing (at times a bit nippy) from an olfactory sense BUT a refreshing change to the cuts in our utility expenditure.  I looked at our gas statement today and it was  $20.49 :o)

This Old Grout

After trying out several grout sealants, and always being disappointed, I finally found a product that is just TOO GOOD to not share.  I found out about it almost 5 years ago when we lived in Mesa, AZ.  

If you hate house cleaning as much as I do, but yet like to have a clean and spotless house, then this product will help reduce the amount of time spent on cleaning anywhere you have tiles.  

It is a color seal that not only colors your grout giving it a contiguous and uniform appearance, but seals it for 15 years.  Once it's applied, using a toothbrush, all you have to do to maintain your floor for example, is use warm water.  Having a 5 year old, 2 big dogs and a man in the house, I've already discovered that it's quite impervious to grape juice, pomegranate juice, grease, mud, oil, dirt, etc.  And even if you have an area of high traffic, this sealant is so easy to use, just reapply and everything looks good as new.  I once had to reapply to an area where Sophie decided to copy me and use the permanent markers to color the grout ;o/  The color seal hides everything.  

This product is really amazing and does an outstanding job of transforming the look of old and dingy looking grout back to new again; unfortunately you can not find it in home improvement stores.  It has to be ordered on-line www.thisoldgrout.com.  Or you can call them in Chandler, AZ at 1-866-OLD-GROUT.  You might also be lucky to find this product at a tile retail store, however, I was not that successful here in SLC, besides most tile stores were not even aware of this product.

We've been in our house in Utah for almost 3 years and the grout still looks great.

As noted on the bottle:

• Makes old grout look new
  
• Preserves new grout color
  
• Seals and coats against stains
  
• Changes grout to any color
  
• Long lasting, fast drying
  
• Easy to apply
  
• Environmentally friendly
  

Acid Water Uses

The other day, I read on Twitter from our former pool guy in Mesa.... "I figured it all out!  People need to adjust the pH in their bodies just like you need to adjust the pH in a pool before "treating" it!"   He's absolutely right.  If you don't maintain a certain pH with a pool, you will have problems.  Same goes for your body.  

As I've already mentioned in a previous post, alkaline water is very good for you.  Most people tend to be acidic and so the ionized water aids in removing the residue acid waste from your organs and other body tissues contributing to weight gain and other diseases.  

While acidic (ion) water has it's uses, it is definitely NOT recommended for internal consumption, especially with all the acidic foods we eat.  

For home use, acidic water is great as a cleaning and disinfecting agent.  I keep a bottle of ion water in my pantry for easy access to clean practically everything, from our windows to our kitchen cupboards to the bathrooms.  In lieu of fabric softeners, you can use the acidic water to soften your clothes.

It's also beneficial if you have a bug bite or a sore throat.  With acidic water, you can further use it for your hair.  It will make your hair soft when used as a rinse after shampooing.  

There are actually a lot of other uses, but my ionizer machine does not go below a pH of 4.0.  If you have a machine that goes below 4.0, acidic water has a remarkably strong disinfecting and antibacterial effect.  It kills all known germs and bacteria on contact even those pesky little ants, noseeums, mosquitoes, etc.

You see it's not all about alkaline water, acidic water has it's well-intended purpose....JUST DON'T DRINK IT.  Coke for instance has a pH of 2.5...highly acidic!  That's why coke does a great job of cleaning toilets.  If you're like my hubby who drinks coke occasionally, at least squirt some lemon or lime in it to slightly offset the acidity.  Lemons, limes and other sour citric fruits are commonly believed to be acidic, however it becomes highly alkaline when consumed.  

A Drop or Two will Do

For the most part, my darling, sweet Sophie is a well-behaved child and is really concerned in being a "good girl" all the time.  But once in awhile, she becomes willful and likes to do things she knows better.   Today, I noticed she colored on the table and chair with my permanent markers.  If they were her markers, I can just easily wipe it off with a wet washcloth and be done with it.  As the name implies, the permanent markers are well, "permanent" as one might conclude.  However, my "magic" potion to eliminate anything requiring elbow grease, is my lemon essential oil.

That stuff is truly amazing.  I use it for scuff marks, greasy stains, permanent marks, sticky surfaces, clean toilets, etc.  Just a couple of drops on a wet washcloth and like magic, it fades away, leaving a nice lemony scent without the harmful chemicals.  

Lemon essential oil is my secret household weapon when it comes to cleaning stubborn stains.