More Lemon Magic

L is for Lemon Lime, originally uploaded by terriseesthings.

I happily volunteered to wash some white baptismal clothes, but was dismayed when they were delivered to me for laundering with brown stains in several places. I pretreated with a commercial stain remover spray and laundered the clothes, then, when that was not completely successful, repeated the process. The stains were only about half gone by this point.

Assuming that the stains were from rust from the zippers in the items, I searched online and found this tip guide. Following the advice there, I then doused the stains in pure lemon juice and let that soak for 15 minutes and washed the clothes again. The stains disappeared.

I love the Internet. And I love those lemons.

A thank you to terriseesthings for sharing this beautiful photo on flickr.

Lemony Fresh

Today I saw a clip from the British television show How Clean is Your House which included a tip about cleaning a toilet bowl.  The nice lady suggested using a paste of borax and lemon juice.  I tried it.  It worked.  You might like to try it, too.

(Remember that borax, while a completely natural substance, mined directly out of the earth, is still potentially dangerous.  Wear gloves while you use it, and keep it away from little children.)

A thank you to {platinum} for sharing this photo on flickr.

I'm Wishing for a Clothesline. How about you?

A thank you to Lulu at Home for sharing this photo on flickr. Click here to see more of her nostalgic photographs.

Letting the Air Freely Dry the Laundry

A thank you to "meaghan" for sharing this photo on flickr.

I recently bought one of these and I love it. It has eleven drying racks and what works well for me is to wash nine or ten large items plus some assorted socks and washcloths every day (except Sunday). The damp laundry sits overnight on the rack next to my electric dryer. The next morning I do a new load of wash. When it is done washing, I remove the previous day's laundry from the rack and put it into the dryer to tumble on the lowest heat setting during the few minutes it takes me to put the new load of wet laundry onto the rack. This little bit of dryer time softens the laundry items and dries up any dampness still in them.


A nice side-effect of this method is that I have only a dozen or so things to put away each day, and that works very nicely for me. I'm looking forward to seeing the dip in energy usage in our next electric bill, as electric clothes dryers are one of the biggest consumers of electricity in a home.

Love for People, Love for Earth

macro water drop
Originally uploaded by Hypergurl

I'm so excited at my recent discovery of the GoodGuide website.

"Increasingly, you want to know about the impacts of the products you buy. On your health. On the environment. On society. But unless you’ve got a Ph.D, it is almost impossible to find out the impacts of the products you buy. Until now...

GoodGuide provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home."

If you are intrigued by the quote I lifted from there, now you can go and see for yourself.

A thank you to Hypergurl for sharing this photo on flickr.

Borax: To Be Used with Care

danger!
Originally uploaded by although

Even though I don't suppose that any of you have been eating borax out of a box with a spoon, I think that some cautions are in order, since I have recommended its use. See this article here. While both baking soda and borax are natural products, borax poses some real dangers and must be handled with care. Here is the danger fact sheet from a distributor.


A thank you to scpgt for sharing this photo of an abandoned borax mine on flickr.

Saving Bottles

pretty bottles
Originally uploaded by K'vitsh

If you like to save pretty bottles, but have trouble with a sticky residue remaining on them after you soak their labels off, you can pour a few drops of cooking oil on the sticky places. Smear the oil into the glue with your finger, then wipe it off with a dry cloth.

Magic.

A thank you to K'vitsh for sharing this photograph on flickr.

What a Mesh!

The Answer's - Some Lemons!
Originally uploaded by canonsnapper

All of those plastic mesh bags that encase your holidays fruits and hams can be put to use.

(1) Use a bag as-is to put your hosiery into while laundering. If you tie the top tightly the bag will go through the washer and the dryer without mishap.

(2) Tie a bag into several knots to make a scrubber for dirty dishes. When you acquire another bag, you can drop the tiny scrubber into it and tie knots into the new one for a larger scrubber.

(3) Wear a bag on your head to entertain the children.

A thank you to canonsnapper for sharing this photograph on flickr.

Dishwashing for Pennies

Dishwasher
Originally uploaded by yesterday

I tried this recipe found online, and my dishes came out sparkling and squeaky clean.

Mix equal parts of baking soda and borax.

Pour the mixture into the "pre-wash" cup of the dishwasher.
(Leave the "main wash" cup empty.)

Fill the "rinse aid" receptacle with white vinegar.

Run the dishwasher as usual.

Nice, right?

A thank you to randomdepth for sharing this photo on flickr.