Just recently, our family has gone to making our own cleaners.  The first reason was that the little girls love to help clean, but I was always afraid that they would get the chemicals in their eyes, or on their fingers and then in their mouths.  The second reason was the cost factor.  This is my favorite all purpose cleaner.  I have gotten several great homemade recipes from Crystal at Family Homestead, but this is my favorite All Purpose cleaner:

1/2 tsp borax

1/2 tsp washing soda

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 tsp vegetable oil based liquid soap (I've been using Murphy's oil soap)

2 cups hot tap water

Mix it all together in a spray bottle.

It's the lemon juice smell that I like and the Murphy's soap actually makes my skin feel softer if I get it on my hands.  I usually mix up 2 or 3 batches in an old milk jug (CAREFULLY LABELED!) and store in the laundry room. 

That's what Works for Me this week!  Check out more great tips at Rocks in my Dryer.

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Monday:  Change and launder all the sheets and towels. (that's a lot of sheets/towels!)  Unload the dishwasher.  The girls vacuum and load the dishwasher after meals.

Tuesday:  The kitchen gets the attention today with a full wipe down of the counters, microwave, sink and island.  Dust the dining room and vacuum the entire house.  Another several loads of laundry.  The girls dust their rooms, sweep the front porch and collect all the garbage from in the house.

Wednesday:  The kitchen still gets my attention today with a scrubbing of the appliances.  The refrigerator sighs a big "thank you" because it is cleaned and wiped down today.   More laundry today; it's the little girls clothes.  More vacuuming (we have an American Eskimo that sheds a new dog each day).  The living room gets dusted thoroughly.

Thursday:  Today is ironing day!  Wipe down the washing machine and dryer, sweep and mop the laundry room.  More laundry; this time it is for the baby and more towels (for some reason in the south, the towels take on a funny smell after a couple of days?).  The girls load the dishwasher, clean the baseboards and windex the windows throughout the house.

Friday:  My bathroom gets a top-to-bottom cleaning and the room gets straightened.  The girls do their laundry throughout the weekend.  A dusting of the ceiling fans and of course more vacuuming.  The spare bathroom and older girls bathroom gets a complete cleaning.  Toothpaste droppings are always an issue!

All of this doesn't include the constant straightening up that we do throughout the week and the sweeping and hand mopping of the kitchen/dining room floor over the weekend.  It's amazing how many piles can be created in one week.  This schedule allows for the house to be attentively cleaned once a week.  It makes for a more presentable house if we have unexpected guests.  The girls are also learning the value of appreciating a clean house and what it takes to keep it that way.  This plan helps us to know what needs to be done so that we don't wander aimlessly around and so that a little gets done each day, rather than having to do it all on one day.

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