I love Vinegar!

When I first started getting into the whole frugal and eco living idea, I found articles on some of my favorite blogs that have to do with cleaning. There's lots out there, even on places like MSN. I grew up, like probably most of you, with products. Hey, products aren't all bad. But, I never washed a floor without lysol or pine fresh growing up. So, I thought it would be fun to try out something different.

Enter vinegar. I love it! There are lots of uses for apple cider vinegar and tons for white vinegar (just look at this site with 1001 uses for white vinegar). I mostly use vinegar in three ways: as a fabric softener, as a deodorizer, and as a general cleaner. Since vinegar is a renewable resource (just look up how to make it), I am even more of a fan. I buy mine in bulk instead of making it, because I just haven't really had a chance/success yet. I'll let you know if it ever works for me!

Fabric Softener - I put a 1/2 C in during the rinse cycle or 1 C in at the beginning of a cycle (if I'm going to be busy or out of the house). Since I typically hang my clothes to dry, I absolutely notice a difference when I use vinegar. My jeans used to come out like stiff dry newspaper; like, they were crunchy feeling. After I started using the vinegar, they're normal, and our clothes never feel stiff. You do not smell the vinegar; it's very diluted anyway, and then also dries itself out, even in the dryer. Love it!

Deodorizer - So, when there's a particularly foul stench and I don't have a fresh lemon (which is most of the time; cut fresh lemon peel is an amazing deodorizer), I put out a little custard bowl with some vinegar. Sometimes I put in a drop of peppermint oil or lavender oil, but that's optional. Once I had a friend who was pregnant coming over so I put out custard cups with vinegar, dried mint leaves and fresh cut ginger all over the house. She said it was the first time she'd come to a house and not felt nauseated by smells.

General cleaner - I keep a spray bottle of a solution of 1 part vinegar: 8 parts water at all times. I adore this! I use it to spray and wipe my counters, tables, stair railing, bathroom sinks... almost everything. I even use it to wash my floor. I just spray and wipe a bit at a time. If something won't come up, I give it a few sprays, wait 3 minutes, and go back and it wipes right up. For cleaning really bad stove scum, tile grout, toilet bowls, or clearing out a clogged drain, I use full strength vinegar with a little baking soda. (I hear non-aluminum is better; I prefer non-aluminum baking soda 'cause there's no metallic smell.) Since baking soda is a non-renewable resource, I recommend using it sparingly. I let vinegar do the heavy lifting.

So, I really really really like vinegar. It's really inexpensive. It's non-toxic. I can wipe the kitchen table or counters and if my kids put food on it right after, I know they're not going to be poisoned. And there's almost no smell. As opposed to product cleaners... I can barely tolerate the smell of those anymore; they give me a headache. Which means they probably aren't that good for us. I only use products for two reasons: I have some that I might as well use up and there are a very few things that products do head and shoulders better on certain messes. (Example, goo-gone is way better at sticker mess than vinegar.)

Warning: Do not put vinegar water (unless extremely diluted) in your garden! It holds onto nitrogen and kills plants. You can put it on grass growing in sidewalk cracks, though.