Money-Wise Mondays - Cleaning the house

Homemade cleaners are gentle on
our kids and the environment

   Keeping the house clean with three monkeys is a job for more than one tired, pregnant mom. It's also a job that nobody in our house wants to do, except for me. I really like to have things tidy and organized and I thrive in an environment that is well put together. If you ever have seen TV show Friends you would easily associate me with Monica Geller. In my days before kids I would spend one day a week, after work, cleaning our apartment top to bottom. Before we got married, Daddy and I lived in a 700 square foot apartment, and we were rarely home. That did not stop me from scrubbing everything every week. We didn't even eat at home that often as I worked shift work and we went out often. But you could never even find a speck of dust or dirt in our apartment, thanks to my 4 hour cleaning regime!
   Fast forward 10 years and my house sometimes looks like a bomb hit it. There is definitely nothing better to curing someone of obsessive cleaning than having kids. Not to say that having kids is an excuse not to do any housework, but in reality, cleaning a house where kids live is equivalent to washing your car before you take it 4x4ing in the mud.
Albert Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Well, cleaning with kids in the house is very insane.

With kids using bathtub I want it to
be extra clean

   I often look at moms with little kids who have picture perfect homes and wonder how they get that. I suspect one of few options: either they have a cleaning lady coming in twice a week, or they have live in grandparents who love to clean, or they never spend any time with their kids and only clean the house, or they have trained their kids to play with cleaning supplies and clean instead of playing with toys and puzzles. All jokes aside, though, I don't think that some magazines and movies do mothers any favours. They put unrealistic pressure on moms to have their homes look like it is a museum room instead of having moms concentrate on what is really important ..... growing  and raising kids.

Funky Monkey doing chores

   Unfortunately, houses don't clean themselves and eventually we have to clean them. The good news is that everyone in the household can help. Even the youngest of toddlers can help with simple chores, like picking up toys, or putting away shoes. Cleaning the table, or floor after food is another easy one for elementary-school aged kids. Funky Monkey has recently progressed to cleaning toilets and counters among other things and he is doing a stellar job at it. But what about the cleaning products? Most of the products on the market are full of dangerous chemicals that I would never want my kids exposed to. The good news is that the whole house can be cleaned with things from your kitchen, saving money and environment and providing safe alternative for kids to use. My go to products are:

• castile soap
• white vinegar
• baking soda (not baking powder)
• fine salt
• lemon

Some people add things like borax or rubbing alcohol to their "cleaning arsenal" but since I don't normally stock these, then I don't use them for cleaning.

There is no room for chemicals around
my teething kids.

   Another life saver is a good quality steamer, one for the floor and one for other hard surfaces. I own 2 steamers, one made by Hoover and a Bissell Steam Shot steamer, and Bionaire for the floors. I've had the Hoover one for almost 8 years and the Bissell one for close to 4 and I use them both very often. I've had the Bionaire one for almost 2 years and it was OK, but it broke recently, so we are in the market for a new one. What I like about the steam cleaners is that they do a great job of cleaning without the use of any chemicals. This means that there are no costs associated with their use except for the low energy they use and initial cost of the steamer. It is also great to know that there are no chemical residues left on surfaces, so I don't have to worry about my Monkeys touching something that has had chemicals on it. Another benefit is that they kill bacteria in some very hard to reach places, like the toilets or sinks. I do love my steamers and I am happy to report that Funky Monkey can use them under supervision now and he is very proud of it!
   But getting back to my cleaning products, how do I use them? Since I want all my kids involved in cleaning the house, having Girly Monkey and Little Monkey use a steamer is not feasible yet. But they can use some of my other cleaning products with great success. One of my favorite ways for them to clean the table is to spray it with my Kitchen and Table solution. I mix water and white vinegar in 1:1 ratio and add a drop of natural dishwashing liquid. I then pour it into a spray bottle. Now Monkeys can spray the dining-room table (our large, pine table) with the solution and give it a quick wipe. This solution is also great on wiping the kitchen counters, or cleaning around the toilet. Since I have little boys who do not always aim into the toilet, there is sometimes urine around the toilet. The vinegar in the solution neutralizes the urine and deodorize the area. I use it in between steam cleanings to keep the bathrooms clean.

Kids spend lots of time on the floor

   Another great product is my Scum and Mildew Scrubbing Solution. I mix baking soda with enough castile soap to make a paste, I use this to clean my tub, kitchen sinks, floor scuffs, corning ware oven dishes, tea and coffee stained cups, and anywhere else that requires a bit of scrubbing. I also use the same 2 ingredients for cleaning my toilets, except I don't mix them into a paste first. I just pour few drops of castile soap into my toilet and then sprinkle some baking soda inside and use a toilet brush to wash the inside of the toilet (outside of the toilet gets steamed). It works wonderfully well on hard water stains.
   To clean and deodorize my wood cutting board I use some fine salt and lemon juice made into a paste, I rub the paste into the cutting board for few minutes and then rinse it off. I then follow with some coconut oil to protect the cutting board, and that's it. My cutting board is ready to be used again. Lemon juice mixed with some coconut oil make a great wood polisher too. Just mix some melted coconut oil with a bit of lemon juice and rub into the wood furniture. Buff it out with a good microfiber cloth and your wood furniture will look great!
   Vinegar is also very good in the dishwasher as a rinse agent, and in the washing machine as a fabric softener. It neutralizes any soaps left over and helps dishes and clothes leave the machines without any residue.
   As you can see, house cleaning doesn't have to break the bank. Homemade cleaning solutions are cheaper and better to use around kids and by the kids. Nobody wants to clean the house here but at least when I finally make them do it I can be sure that the job will get done well without having to use some of the harsh chemicals out there. Plus I can save some money and the environment while we're all keeping the house cleaner.
   Now that you enjoyed my tips, here is a little clip of Monica Geller from Friends, or ......  what my life was like before I had kids.