DIY Disinfectant Spray

Image from Craft Gawker.

Looking for a refreshing and simple disinfectant spray? We’ve got a great recipe for an all natural disinfectant spray that is perfect for cleaning up your counter tops and bathroom surfaces.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of hot water
• 10 drops of thyme essential oil
• 1/4 cup borax

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a plastic bottle shake well.
2. To disinfect, spray on a surface and wipe clean with a damp cloth.

You could swap out thyme for another essential oil like tea tree depending on your preferences. What is your favorite essential oil scent?

Wishing You A Perfectly Imperfect Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our readers, customers, friends, and family out there! Thank you for tuning in to read our tips for getting your home in top shape year round and during the holidays. We wanted to take the opportunity to encourage you to be “light” today. The day can be slow-paced and easy-going, or it can be jam-packed with gift opening, visiting 3 different households, eating 3 different dinners, and general chaos. The dog may get into a gift, your house might not be clean, the pie might get a little burnt, someone may not react to your gift the way you intended, or you may have gotten pink fuzzy bunny pajamas. We are encouraging you to let it go, and embrace the imperfection that is the holidays. We strive so hard to be perfect and have the perfect meal and give the perfect gift. But the holidays are never completely perfect, and we think that is okay. As long as you remember to smile, laugh, and love those around you, the imperfections really can be perfect! Merry Christmas from Perfect Shine Housekeeping!

What holiday disasters have you had, and were you able to laugh it off?

Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets Part II: The Products

A while back we shared some tips for taking control of kitchen cabinet clutter. Today we wanted to share some products and tutorials for all you DIYers to organize and optimize kitchen cabinet space.

DIY Tutorial for Making Pull Out Kitchen Cabinet Shelves

This tutorial by Ron Hazelton shows you step by step how to make your own pull out cabinet shelves to help you optimize precious cabinet space!

Bamboo Expandable Shelf

Lipper International Bamboo Expandable Step Shelf Organizer – $23.33 from Amazon

Great bamboo option for organizing upper cabinets or shelves!

Rubbermaid Vertical Slide Out Lid & Pan Organizer

Rubbermaid Vertical Lid & Pan Organizer – $29.96 at Amazon

This organizer is pretty reasonably priced on Amazon, normally $56, you can pick one up for around $30!

Copco Bakeware Organizer

Copco Adjustable Bakeware Organizer – $13.37 at Amazon

Get all your bakeware in order with this affordable organization option1

Cabinet Door Lid Rack 

Cabinet Door Lid Rack – $13.95 from Amazon

Great for optimizing wasted space in cabinets. Just make sure to measure so you can close your doors before ordering and installing one!

Simplehuman Wide Pullout Cabinet Organizer

This organizer is a little pricier, but Simplehuman makes quality goods!

White Elfa Mesh Easy Glider Drawer

White elfa Mesh Easy Glider – $29.99 to $37.99 at The Container Store

A more affordable option, you can get the elfa organizers in a variety of sizes to fit your kitchen’s unique needs!

Bamboo Roll-Out Cabinet Drawers

Bamboo Roll-Out Cabinet Drawers – $54-$69 at The Container Store

Bamboo is very durable, and can be more sustainably harvested than other woods. A great eco-friendly option!

Simplehuman Bamboo Cabinet Organizer

Simplehuman 13″ Bamboo Cabinet Organizer – $79.95 from Amazon

Another great bamboo option, but a little pricier!

What are your favorite kitchen organization products?

 

3 DIY Laundry Helpers

We love sharing recipes and tips to get your house in tip top shape without breaking the bank. Today we’ve got three tutorials to share with you to help you do laundry like a pro while saving money!

Homemade Color Catchers – this sweet tutorial comes from One Good Thing by Jillee! All you need is some scrap white fabric or old towels, soda ash (washing soda) and water. No need to spend money on Shout Color Catchers ever again!

All Natural Homemade “Febreeze” Fabric Refresher – We love the smell of fresh linens and clothes, but we don’t love chemicals. All you need is baking soda, water, and essential oils! Check out this great recipe from Ecomomical!

Image from The AH-HA Moments.

 

Natural Homemade Fabric Softener Recipes – This post from Mother Nature Network has 3 great recipes for DIY fabric softener free of harsh chemicals—great for keeping your clothes and linens soft!

Photo by Andreja Donko.

Which is your favorite laundry recipe? We are kind of in love with DIY color catchers!

DIY: Another Recipe for Soft Scrub

Several months ago we shared a recipe for making your own natural soft scrub, but today we wanted to share an alternative recipe for soft scrub just in case you find yourself without ingredients in our first recipe (we don’t always have pure aspirin on hand…).

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup castile soap (for bathrooms we love Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint or Citrus scents)
• 5 drops of tea tree oil
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
• 1 old shampoo or squeeze bottle

Directions:

1. Combine the baking soda and castile soap in the old (but clean) shampoo bottle or a new sealable squeeze bottle.
2. Add the water and tea tree oil, place the lid on the bottle and shake to combine.
3. Lastly add the vinegar, stir or shake to combine into a smooth creamy paste.
4. Squeeze your new soft scrub onto a sponge and use to clean your tub, floors, or toilet.

To use the soft scrub on your toilet simply squeeze some in the bowl and use a toilet brush to scrub away dirt. The tea tree oil helps to kill and prevent bacteria! Rejoice in the simplicity of cleaning your bathroom without chemicals!

Do you have a cleaning job you want advice on how to clean in the most green way? If so comment us with your questions and we will do the research!

DIY Potpourri: Keep Your House Smelling Fresh Year Round!

With Fall fast approaching we are excited about all the scents of the season. We came across a recipe for creating your own Fall potpourri, so we decided to share it (and a few others for each of the seasons)! Simply click on the title or the picture to go to the original tutorial!

DIY: Autumn in a Jar

This sweet little tutorial comes from Fancy House Road, and as they suggests would make a great gift!

DIY: Autumn in a Jar by Fancy House Road

DIY: Winter Pine Potpourri

Brianne DiSylvester wrote this recipe for Organic Authority.

DIY Pine Potpourri by Brianne DiSylvester for Organic Authority

DIY “Yearning for Spring” Potpourri

This potpourri will have you as the title suggests yearning for Spring! The tutorial comes from Gail’s Garden at Heartsease Cottage.

DIY Yearning for Spring Potpourri by Gail’s Garden at Heartsease Cottage, Photo from Dangerous Creation

Citrus Summer Potpourri

The citrus aromas of this potpourri are great for summer! Recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens!

Citrus Summer Potpourri by Better Homes & Gardens, Image from 2andaHalf

Do you have a favorite recipe for potpourri to share? If so, comment us with it!

Clean Your Car Inside & Out With Homemade Cleaners: Part II

Car Interior (Photo credit: themarina)

Continuing with our car care series we have some recipes to share for getting the interior of your car clean safely and affordably!

Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner Recipe

Ingredients:

• White vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Small container
• Toothbrush/small scrub brush

Directions:

Mix white vinegar and baking soda together in the small container to form a paste. Test a small hidden spot to check for color fastness. Work the paste into carpet and upholstery stains with a toothbrush or similar soft bristle brush. Allow the paste to dry. Then vacuum up the residue. Tough stains may require multiple applications.

All Purpose Interior Cleaning Spray Recipe

Ingredients:

• White vinegar
• Water
• A spray bottle
• A cleaning rag

Directions:

Mix together equal parts white vinegar and water. Then, spray it on any vinyl, plastic, wood, or leather surfaces in your car that need cleaning. Allow it to soak in. Then, wipe dry with a clean rag. If you are using this to clean leather interiors, test it out on a non-visible patch before applying to the entire surface.

Interior Protectant Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• A spray bottle or bowl
• 2 lint-free cleaning rags

Directions: 

Mix the olive oil and lemon juice in a spray bottle or bowl. Then, wipe a small amount of the protectant into the dashboard and any other plastic or vinyl surfaces using a clean lint-free rag. Finish by wiping off the excess protectant off with another cleaning rag. Avoid getting the protectant on glass.

 

Do you have any recipes for cleaning car interiors to share? We’d love to hear from you.

Natural DIY Leather Furniture Cleaner

Leather furniture is an investment in your home that requires special care and maintenance. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend loads of money on toxic leather cleaners and conditioners. We’ve got some recipes that will help you maintain your investment without breaking the bank!

Cleaner/Conditioner

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup linseed/flaxseed oil or olive oil
• 1/8 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients in a small glass bottle (like these cute blue ones).
2. Before applying, shake the bottle to mix the ingredients well.
3. Using a soft cloth wipe the cleaner/conditioner onto your furniture, buff, and wipe off!

Removing Mold/Mildew

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients into a spray bottle and mix well.
2. Spray the mixture onto the leather surface.
3. Wipe off the spray with a lint-free white cloth. Allow the surface to dry.

Stain & Spot Removal

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients in a bowl to form a paste.
2. Use a clean, soft, and lint-free white cloth to work the paste into the stain.
3. For tough stains apply the paste again and allow to sit for several hours, then wipe clean.

Do you have any advice or tips for caring for leather furniture?

Product Review: Method Bathroom Cleaner

This week we are reviewing Method’s Bathroom Cleaner that comes in a delicious eucalyptus mint scent. Cleaning bathrooms is not generally enjoyable, but this spray helps to take some of the pain away! Method designed the cleaner for tub/tile use but we’ve also cleaned the toilet and bathroom floor with it—fewer products saves time and money! To clean your tub simply spray the cleaner on, then let it sit for a few minutes. After it has had some time to work its magic, wipe away the soap scum and mildew with a paper towel or with a reusable one like Skoy Cloths. Method’s Bathroom Cleaner really does reduce the amount of elbow grease required for scrubbing a tub or shower. But if your tub is in need of seriously deep cleaning we recommend using a DIY scrub to help tackle the mess (see recipe here).

So Method’s Bathroom Cleaner works great on any tiled or porcelain surface (meaning your tub, shower, floors, and commode) that needs a mild to moderate cleaning. It smells amazing, leaving you in a more pleasant mood to enjoy your clean bathroom. Oh and it’s relatively affordable at $4.99 a bottle. We give it a solid thumbs-up!

Have you used Method’s Bathroom Cleaner before? What did you think of it? Do you have any products you want us to test out?

Tidy-Up Your Kitchen in 15 Minutes

We stumbled upon a blog, One Good Thing by Jillee, that shared step by step directions for cleaning up your kitchen, and we approve. This is an efficient way to get your kitchen tidy in between bigger DIY or professional cleanings.

1. Gather all your supplies which includes: trash can, basket, dish soap, towels, sponges, all purpose spray, broom/mop/swiffer/vacuum. Our little nugget to add to this tutorial is to create a cleaning basket/kit (use the basket to gather out of place items) and keep it under your sink for future use.
2. Fill up your sink with hot soapy water. For a DIY soap recipe click here.
3. Scrape off all dishes into the compost bin, garbage disposal, or trash can.
4. Place all your dishes that need soaking into the hot soapy water.
5. While your dishes soak, gather all the trash on your counters, cupboards, and floors. Focus only on trash for the time being.
6. Gather all the items that do not belong in the kitchen and place them into a basket. Have someone else that is helping you clean put the items away in their proper places, but do not do this yourself (at least right now).
7. Put away all the kitchen items that are out of place. Now is the time to put away all the things like spices, utensils, napkins, etc. that belong in the kitchen, but don’t bother organizing/rearranging.
8. Load the dishwasher or wash the dishes by hand. Obviously it will take a little more time to tidy up if you are doing the dishes by hand, but if your helper is done putting away household items, have them dry while you wash to save time!
9. Wipe down your countertops, appliances, and sinks using an all purpose spray (like our recipe here)—but remember this isn’t a deep clean so don’t focus on scrubbing out cabinets, the microwave, etc.
10. Sweep, mop, or vacuum your floors.
11. Take out the garbage.
12. Smile and breathe because your kitchen is tidy in just 15 minutes!

What is the average time you spend cleaning your kitchen?