White's Whiter Please

I am my mother's daughter. This means I am required to keep all things clean. Don't tell my mother, but I sometimes struggle with this. Lately, I'm not into cleaning anything. 

My mother was referred to as the "White Tornado." She could get out any stain. People actually use to bring her projects, neighbors, friends, relatives, and mostly her kids. Every individual came with a cry for help! You had to be careful though. Once my sister gave her a shirt with some foreign spot on it and my mother got the spot out alright, but there was an unsightly hole where the spot use to be. My mother was persistent!

I use to follow all of her recipe's for making white's whiter. Those recipes included Mrs. Stewarts Blueing, various detergents, even boiling and freezing the item. Mom would be proud of me if she could read this post.

A friend of mine posted a new recipe for getting whites whiter. Well, being my mother's child, I had to try it. Looks like times have changed and newer, better methods for whiting are appearing for us baby boomers.

Here Ya go! Pearl would be proud!

Soak your white in this mixture for at least an hour.
Soak in HOT HOT HOT water (This is where my mother would boil the water. I agree. Nothing like scalding hot water to clean with.)
1 C. bleach. My mom would use Clorox!
1 C. laundry detergent. I used tide.
1 C. granulated dishwasher soap. 
1 C. Borax. (My mother used Borax for everything under the sun!)
After soaking, wash and dry as normal. My mother would dry it out on the line. Dryers just yellow things she would say.

There you have it. Now when your whites are looking a little dingy, brighten them up!

My mother will look down on you with pride!

Don't Forget The Vinegar

The other day I was on Facebook. One of my friends asked if vinegar was really a good cleaner. Oh my! When I read that question, wild horses couldn't hold me back. I went off like a rocket scientist and quickly answered her post on how I love vinegar!

I use Vinegar all the time and for so many different things. I keep some under every sink in the house and I have a bottle in the laundry room, I keep it in the garage. As far as I'm concerned, vinegar is a little wonder product.

Now, May is officially National Vinegar Month. It's true, mark your calendars! I'm not waiting till May however, to brag about it. I'm going to brag about it right now in the blessed month of March. Come May, you'll thank me.

First of all, let me start by putting in a plug for "Windex with Vinegar!"

I use Windex with Vinegar to clean everything. EVERYTHING! Walls, doors, baseboards, counter tops, you name it. The only thing I don't use Windex with Vinegar on, are my windows and mirrors. You can use it on those things, but it streaks more than I like. I have a bottle in every room practically and I go through this product more than any other product I buy, even milk! Ok, maybe not milk, but almost.

Here's a few vinegar tips I've collected:

Cleaning drains: Pour 1/2 cup baking soda in the drain, followed by 1/2 cup vinegar; the mixture will foam as it cleans and deodorizes. Use every few weeks to keep drains clean.

Mildew on plastic shower curtains: Put the shower curtain in the washing machine with light-colored towels; add 1 cup white vinegar to the detergent and wash.

Soap scum on shower: Spray on vinegar, scrub and rinse.

Toilet hard-water rings: Shut off water at the tank and flush to remove as much water as possible. Spray vinegar on the ring, sprinkle in borax and scrub with drywall sandpaper.

Shower head deposits: Pour white vinegar into a plastic bag, tape to the shower head and leave overnight. Brush the shower head to remove remaining deposits.

Softening laundry: Fill dispenser with 1/4 cup white vinegar to soften laundry without leaving odors.

Cleaning vinyl floors: Add 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot water for spotless floors.

Cleaning windows: Mix 50 percent white vinegar with 50 percent water in a spray bottle. Spray glass surfaces and wipe dry.

Neutralize pet odors: Mix 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water. Pour on stained areas and blot; never rub to remove stains and odors.

Greasy dishes: Mix 2 tablespoons white vinegar to liquid dish soap to boost its cleaning power.

Ice-proof your windows...with vinegar! Frost on it's way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water---preventing water from freezing! *


Laundry:
Prevent lint from clinging to clothes by adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash cycle.

To remove soap residue that makes black clothes look dull use white distilled vinegar in your final rinse.

Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.

Some stains on clothing and linens can be soaked out using equal parts milk and white distilled vinegar.

Before washing a mustard stain, dab with white distilled vinegar.

Attack spaghetti, barbecue, or ketchup stains with a white distilled vinegar and water solution.

Remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.

We're Talkin Dirty Here

Have you ever noticed how it becomes more and more difficult to slide your hangers along your closet rod. It's like dragging metal along a chalk board. Yikes!

I learned this little secret working at a clothing store. I was amazed when I came home and tried it out on my own closet rods.

Now some of you are probably thinking who in the world has time to clean their closet rods, right? Just try this - indulge me. When it's time to clean your closet out, take a couple of extra minutes at the end of the whole process and shine the rods with your wax paper. You'll be amazed.

Take a square piece of wax paper, bunch it up, and rub it back and forth along your rod several times, kind of like you were shinning your favorite pair of Sunday shoes. Now slide those hangers along the rod and see how easy they glide. I must be deranged because I get a real high out of this. Love it!