Spring Cleaning Using Only One Tool

Surgery on my leg and ankle on St. Patrick’s Day left me trying to figure out how in the world to get my spring cleaning done.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Although my husband assures me life won’t end if I don’t do spring cleaning, I’m internally programmed to make sure it gets done.


After giving my worry over the challenge some thought, I realized I have one tool that can ensure all is well in Junie Moon world…

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

…my cell phone.

While I work on my Stash Mountain projects while sitting in my favorite chair with my leg propped up, my house, yard, and even my car were given a most excellent spring cleaning. All it involved was my making calls to the following professionals:

• Housecleaning company
• Heating/air conditioning maintenance (checkup and duct cleaning)
• Carpet cleaner
• Window washer
• Chimney sweep
• Landscape crew
• Car detailer

My cell phone was my creative solution to a problem and now I can relax and heal without the extra stress. My work here is done.

Knitting and Spring Cleaning Year ‘Round

My all-time favorite go-to knitting pattern is Hello Yarn’s Irish Hiking Scarf. I just adore making these. I’ve finished another of these scarves. This time it’s in charcoal-gray wool for my son-in-law Philip. He tried washing the last scarf I made him which resulted in reducing the scarf size to a perfect little scarf for a Ken doll—Barbie would be proud.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Poor Philip learned a hard lesson, but this time I explained about caring for wool scarves and how it doesn’t involve hot water and the washing machine. And at least he was honest in confessing his misdeed when asking me to knit him a new scarf.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

My little art quilt project is just about done and I hope to show it you tomorrow. Before I get back to work on it this morning, I need to do my house chores. Instead of my regular OCD Daily Housecleaning Schedule, I’m trying something new this year. I ordered the Spring Clean Year ‘Round kit, a cute little box of chore cards which organizes tasks so your house can be spring clean all year. I think it’s a smarter plan than the insane one I was using.

Resources

• Irish Hiking Scarf pattern
• My old (and insane) Daily Housecleaning Schedule
• Spring Clean Year ‘Round Kit

Spring Cleaning

Today is Day 2 of my three-day Spring Cleaning project. Normally I do it much earlier in the month but life had a different plan this year. Yesterday, Day 1, was for tidying, laundry, returning library books, and general preparations for today’s heavy-duty cleaning.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Window cleaning has been underway since 7:30 a.m., inside and out. I’m taking a small break and then scrubbing the entire house comes next. The carpets are the last thing I do and that’s for Day 3 of my annual cleaning for springtime which also includes pressure-cleaning the driveway and walkways. Everything is repeated in the fall, so this is a twice-a-year event.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

You can get a copy of all the natural cleaning recipes I use here and read about them on my post here.

When done, my reward will be a happy clean house as well as free time for reading your blogs and pursuing some of my crafty projects.

Knit a Reusable Swiffer Cover

The Swiffer concept itself is good, but the associated accessories like the disposable dry or wet-mop covers are too expensive and wasteful. I’ve been stocking a supply of reusable covers by knitting some with inexpensive cotton yarn.



I like projects that have a practical application. See below for links to knitting patterns.



Resources

• Birdy’s Knits
• Green Mountain Mama
• Hakucho
• Knittnfool
• Sheep of a Different Color

Daily Housecleaning Schedule

Since my creative endeavors aren’t ready for show-and-tell today, I thought sharing my daily housecleaning schedule might be helpful. I’m always curious as to how other people organize their daily cleaning chores and thought you might wonder as well.

The list looks daunting, but it’s really not that bad and takes me only a couple of hours to accomplish.

Just click on the picture to enlarge and print.

There are days I don’t feel like doing anything at all—so I don’t. Those times may stem from not feeling well, a craft project was too much fun to stop, or we’ve planned some outing for the day. Instead of worrying about it, I just pick up my cleaning routine the next day. My house won’t fall apart and the world will absolutely not come to an end.

Do you have a daily cleaning list? As always, I’m curious as to whether I need to adjust my own schedule.

Natural Cleaning Recipes Booklet

Yesterday was Earth Day and I completely forgot to post about it—how shameful of me.

However, Meggiecat and I have been collaborating and now offer something that continues the Earth Day commemoration.


Source: Meggiecat; text added by me

We’ve created a small booklet with some basic recipes to make your own green cleaning products at home. There are hundreds of such to be found online, in books and magazines, and passed around via word of mouth. These particular recipes are those I use myself.



Where to find the bentonite clay used in some of the recipes? You can find it at herbal stores like New Life Health Center, Sunflower Market, places that offer organic foods and herbal concoctions. Make sure to ask for a jar of Indian Healing Clay, a very fine powder used in facials and things.



We are providing the recipes in two PDF versions via Lauren Stephens' Free PDF Hosting and PDF Sharing (you may want to check this out for your own blog use). My other resource was being recalcitrant this morning, so I found a new host.

One is a regular PDF version that you can print and put into a notebook. The other is a booklet paginated such that you print and assemble it just like a regular book. The latter would be good if you want to include it in a gift set such as a basket of cleaning products you’ve made with the recipes, or maybe a little gift of essential oils and things.

We used a free publishing tool resource discovered by Meggiecat which worked great with this little project. Check this out for your own booklet needs.

Both versions include printable labels for the recipes as well as two blank labels.

• Regular version

Booklet version

Silverware Keepers

I’m working on my china cabinet today. Everything is coming out and then the cabinet itself will be cleaned along with all my china and crystal.

Once everything is sparkling, I’m going to work on the silverware drawer. It has a padded lining but I’ll add a layer of treated silvercloth purchased years ago from Martha Stewart in her pre-jail days when she had her online store.



My husband’s mother entrusted me with her family sterling silver flatware when we were married. The pattern is Durgin (now Gorham) Fairfax. It’s getting a good polishing today.



Last Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law and I found a vintage embroidered linen and flannel tablespoon keeper at an antique store in Fort Walton Beach, FL. Now that I’m spring cleaning my china cabinet, I’ve brought this find out.



A little mending and a gentle wash makes it functional again.



In preparation for storing my newly polished flatware in the drawer, I started sewing additional silverware keepers yesterday afternoon. The instructions are another one of those freebies I found at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics a few weeks ago at which time I also purchased dark-green treated silvercloth (they have it in brown, too).



The exterior fabric is from the home deco section at Jo-Ann’s and is leftover from one of my Amy Butler In Stitches Sew-along project last year (here’s the link to that photo).

I think I’ll sort out my napkin ring collection next since this is also stored in my china cabinet.

Happy Driving!

I began spring cleaning before I got sick and have been somewhat waylaid from my mission. My little projects lately are probably boring as heck to you but they are all I can handle right now. I do have some big things in the works but they’re slow going. All this coughing has left me with some torn ligaments and stuff in my chest that hurts like the devil. So bear with me as I do small endeavors that at least make me feel I’m being somewhat productive. I can’t stand being lazy.

My car is part of my spring cleaning tasks and I’m learning about things I can do to maintain it. Y’all probably figured a lot of this stuff out years ago but I’m slow to catch up. My car is a 10-year-old Honda CRV—nothing fancy, but it’s paid for and I want it to last a few more years.



I’m pretty good at getting the oil changed and keeping it relatively clean but some things were starting to look bad like the spare tire cover on the back that was falling apart. I checked with the dealer and found out a replacement would cost me both arms and one of my legs. A search of eBay netted me a brand new Honda tire cover that fits my spare—and at a much more reasonable cost. I so love eBay!

After my car wash and detailing adventure yesterday, I stopped by the Honda dealer and picked up a small bottle of touch-up paint. For $9, I fixed the scratches and dings that have developed over time. You use it just like nail polish (it has a little brush inside). I wish I’d known about this years ago…ah well.

The car wash folks used a horrid freshener in the car that had me coughing all the way home—like I needed any help from them. So I left the windows down last night and made myself a new bottle of “A Happy Place To Be” aromatherapy spray for my car.



I usually keep a bottle of this in the car for when I feel a bit of road rage coming on. I spray a bit and start singing “I’m a happy girl” so I won’t cuss too much or perform rude gestures for drivers who do idiotic things.

Here’s the recipe (found online years ago):

“A Happy Place To Be” Spray

Add to 2 ounces of purified water in spray bottle:

• 20 drops of spearmint essential oil
• 10 drops of bergamot essential oil
• 10 drops of lemon essential oil

Shake well and spray.

I also needed a new keychain so I made one last night using the easy tutorial at Creative Little Daisy.



Spring cleaning on my car is now done and it is ready for adventures. My husband insists I keep a safety kit and a fleece blanket in the back, and he got me a road assistance membership through AARP (don’t laugh, but we’re that old!). In the event of an emergency, I’m organized.

Happy Driving!

Car Spring Cleaning

Today I’ve decided to get my car detailed as part of my spring cleaning. It’s also the time of year when my annual Arizona car registration has just been renewed and our new car insurance cards have arrived.


I’ve been keeping these papers in an old vinyl folder that has pretty much begun to fall apart. So I sewed a new one using the same pattern as the coupon organizer I made. Scraps of fabric from my stash along with a piece of fabric that Sarah at Sassy Priscilla sent me in February worked great for this morning’s project.



I just discovered that the back of our telephone book has lots of discount coupons for all sorts of things, including things like car washes and oil changes. Now my new car organizer can hold those coupons, too.

The Dreaded Cabinets

Lest you think my life is devoted only to one crafting adventure after another, I do actually clean my house. It makes me absolutely crazy to try to think and create in the midst of chaos. It’s disruptive to my notion of serenity.

I’ve been tackling cabinets, purging unrelentingly, cleaning, and then reorganizing. Questions I ask myself during the process are as follows. When did I last use this? Do I really need it? Why in the world do I save stuff like this?



On one side of the cabinet under my kitchen sink are general cleaning products. Little turntables bought at Target make it easy to grab what I require. I stick scrub brushes in a simple jar.

The other side contains products for washing dishes (both by hand and machine). There are not many cleaning products you actually need, and I make them all myself.



The master bath has his-and-hers bathroom sinks with cabinets underneath. Except for a very few products, I make my own toiletries and try to package them prettily (on left). See how nice and neat my cabinet looks?



Now look at the dreadful mess in my husband’s cabinet. I try to be respectful about his things, but this is driving me nuts. I’m tackling it next.

There are more cabinets to be done, but now you know I don’t just merrily sew and craft all day long. Do you have cabinets you dread opening?

A Scrumptious Day

Today I am washing curtains and linen napkins. Crystal at Fairiebees has been posting a little scrumptious tip each day which reminds me to cherish each moment, including doing laundry.


Source: Florida Educational Technology Clearinghouse

After washing everything using my homemade lavender laundry detergent, I’m using a trick found in the March 1994 issue of Victoria magazine. Pour an herbal infusion of lavender into the last rinse cycle. An infusion is essentially a strong tea.

After my laundry chores, my intent is to sit quietly for a bit and enjoy a cup of tea using yet another idea from Victoria magazine (February 1990), a recipe for Lover’s Tea.

I modified a recipe card I bought at The Vintage Workshop. Right-click on each picture to enlarge and print—I use cardstock for printing my recipe cards.

Here is the tea recipe.



And here are the serving instructions.

Blessings Friday

Many blessings were received this week. I am so spoiled that I’m going to have my name legally changed to Princess.

Gifts from Kelli



Kelli sent me a wonderful package. She sewed an adorable little patchwork bag for me and included a yummy raspberry chocolate bar, sweet little rub-on transfers to play with, and a cute stationery kit. And all because I loaned her a book—next I’m loaning her my car! Thank you, Kelli!

Gifts from Kristie



Kristie gifted me with these gorgeous Halloween towels when she came over to work with me on the Our Prayers for the World flag banner this past Sunday—they are the cutest things in the world! She also brought me two little gold seashells and a mermaid charm--does she know me or what? Thank you, Kristie!

Victoria Magazine

My issue of the new Victoria magazine arrived yesterday—the premier issue in the magazine’s reincarnation. I am so thrilled!

You Make Me Smile Award



The fabulous Joni of Yummers! has awarded me the You Make Me Smile Award. The first award received by my blog—I’m so tickled. Check out Joni’s cool blog and you’ll smile, too.

She also tagged me. Since I recently posted two other tags about me, I will do this next week.

Today’s Cleaning Recipe

Today ends my Blog Action Day week-long project to share natural cleaning recipes from my files. My final recipe was deliberately chosen as a tongue-in-cheek observation that despite our worry that the world is going down the toilet, we can do something positive to clean it up.



I found this recipe by Sandy Maine at The Herb Companion.



You’ll wonder about the sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (SLS) ingredient. This is a chemical powder often used in bath bombs and to replace soap for those with soap sensitization.

Resources

For more recipes and information about the bad chemicals in commercial products as well as the good ingredients we can use, Natural Health Hut Clinic, Educational Center and Organic Herb Farm is a great resource.

SLS powder: check your local herbal store for this. You can also Google for a supplier but here is one source.

Thank you for being part of my little world and have a wonderful weekend!

Halloween Wine and Natural Cleaning Recipes

This is so weird—adding cleaning recipes to a Halloween post. But I promised to continue my Blog Action Day offerings for the whole week. First up is Halloween.

How to Play Sommelier at Halloween

Wine gives me a headache after even just a tiny glass of it, so I don’t drink it. I only buy it for gifts. So, with all my questionable experience, here’s how I play sommelier when selecting wines at Halloween.

I go to the store and look for a bottle that has a plain black label around the cork (which must be real and not the screw-on variety) and the bottle glass is black in color. I don’t care what the paper label looks like ‘cause I’m just going to soak that bad boy off as soon as I get home and make my own label.

That’s it—simple, huh?

Sommeliers everywhere are now cowering in their wine cellars and whimpering uncontrollably over my atrocious behavior. We will pretend their moans are part of the Halloween ambiance.

This is a picture of some of my Halloween Merlot gifts. I modified Martha Stewart’s wine bottle label clipart from October 2000 to add our names on the label.

Ah, you want a link to her Halloween wine labels, don’t you? Okay, click here.

Wine always makes a nice hostess gift so this is one of my favorites to give during Halloween season. I cannot go empty-handed anywhere as it doesn’t feel right to me. So far, no one has complained about my wine choices.

Today’s Natural Cleaning Recipes

You only make what you’re going to use for this recipe.

I’m providing two recipes today, so here’s the second one.

I do a quick swipe with a broom and feather duster before scrubbing my windows to get off any extraneous dust and dirt.

The old adage about recycling black-and-white newspaper sheets to clean and shine your windows really does work. I use rubber gloves when cleaning in general but especially for scrubbing windows because the ink on the newspaper will get all over your hands.

Good Witch or Bad Witch?

Some things work, some don’t. On a recent shopping expedition to Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, I found two Halloween projects on the shelves I thought I’d try.



An iron-on decal and a fabric patch piece looked fun and easy. This also meant buying a white t-shirt and black hat with which to experiment.



The Witch with the Broken Broom

I started with the t-shirt. You iron the witch decal onto your item which transfers this plastic-kind of graphic.

This effort turned into a mess. Not only did the graphic not adhere well, it melted and smeared in some places—I’m sure I did something wrong. Whatever the reason, this witch isn’t flying anywhere so I’m calling her a bad witch.



Bat Hat

Here’s the hat project. You simply iron on the little fabric patch and you’re done--somewhat. It worked pretty well except a couple of places along the patch edge wouldn’t adhere. No problem, a simple stitch around the edge fixed that.



I probably won’t buy these pre-made gizmos again. I’d rather make my own stuff using my computer and printable fabric. But it was fun and I learned from the experiment.

Today's Natural Cleaning Recipe



I hope that the cleaning recipes I’m sharing so far demonstrate the truly simple ways you can make your own natural products at home. None are hard to make.



I found the shaker jar at a garage sale.