{Whistle} while you Work.

Well, it happened. 

 

The dreaded thing came to pass and last night, I was hit hard by this nasty flu bug that is travelling through our house. That’s the thing about families – they share everything, even their germs. Oh, just so lovely. 

But after a night and morning of weakness, nausea and vomiting (we’ll leave out the awful details), I feel much better and am only left with a weak stomach. Only daddy and Lacey left to get the flu. 

 

 

{Oops. I totally fell asleep blogging this … I am so exhausted!!! I’m back now … hah!}

 

One thing I always find after the flu is I want to scrub everything in the house down. The doorknobs. The counters. The floors. The toilets (oh, let’s not even go there). Wash the sheets and boil all the germs off the towels.

So to my pleasant surprise, my dear BFF, Leanne, brought me over my Valentine’s Gift early – she had whipped together a homemade, all natural cleaning kit for me! Leanne is the kind of friend who just “gets me”. We are two peas in a pod. We’re sisters from anotha’ motha’. We think so much alike, it’s crazy. We’re also both on a homemade, homegrown kick right now. So this is right up our alley!

 

And I absolutely LOVE cleaning. I am addicted to. In fact, when I was in high school, I cleaned houses for a job – I loved it THAT much. Crazy, eh? I’m no good at organizing or keeping schedules or keeping plants alive (wish I could though!) …. but I do love a good clean!

 

And of course, guess what colour the whole kit was? (Sorry, are you getting sick of me yet?) 

 

Yup. PINK. 

cleana

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I was so inspired by this little basket of cleaning goodies, I spent the afternoon scrubbing down the house … and I absolutely love that’s it’s all natural and homemade products! First off all, it’s cheaper than regular cleaning products and second of all, it’s better for me and the kids (and the environment). I’ve used baking soda and vinegar in the past but never consistently and now, I’m pretty sure they’ll be my staple cleaners. Plus, they are just too cute!!!

Wow, you can really tell I’m a mom, eh? I get all excited about cleaning products and actually do a blog post about them …. go figure. 

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So what’s in the Baskets of Wonderful Cleaning Goodies:

 

A pink scrub brush, dustpan and mini broom, two pink cloths, foam scrubber,  gloves and two brush scrubbers … also …

 

1 – spray bottle of all purpose cleaner – can be used on most hard surfaces as a general cleaner 

What’s in the bottle?
Two cups of water and two tablespoons of dishwashing detergent – that’s it! 

1 – bottle of glass and window cleaner – can be used also on most hardwood floors

What’s in the bottle? Equal parts vinegar and equal parts water – awesome!

1 – jar of baking soda (oh gosh, I love this) – can be used anywhere! Mix three parts baking soda with warm water to create a gentle, scratch-free cleaner that is abrasive enough to get out most stains. 

 

All the recipes/combinations are from the Martha Stewart website, found here.

 

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Of course, the two younger Ls helped me clean today. A perfect way to keep them entertained and to teach them how to help out around the house, as well! 

(Yes, Lucia’s hair has grown into a mullet style … the joys of fine hair in toddler-hood.)

 

 

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Happy Cleaning!

 

P.S. Don’t forget to enter for this week’s giveaway, posted below! 🙂

February 14, 2010 - 5:23 pm

Rose I do luv cleaning…..can’t wait until my 2 1/2 year old can help out more! Will have to make a pink basket 4 her 2!

February 12, 2010 - 8:47 pm

Rachel Manuel OMG leanne I need one!! You are so awesome! Pink rocks!

February 12, 2010 - 8:00 pm

Monique I love to clean too!! People think I am weird! Cute cleaning basket!!

February 12, 2010 - 3:42 pm

Cathy Bray I am so Jealous! We are renovating our house (for almost a year) and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I MISS cleaning !! Tired of sawdust, tripping over piles of wood, climbing over tablesaws etc. Can’t wait to have it finished so I can wash, polish, hang the pictures and put flowers on the window sills again…..sigh.

February 12, 2010 - 12:58 pm

Ursula I love your blog and your photography and this blog entry inspired me to leave a comment to say that I only use vinegar and water for all my cleaning except for the toilet (!)… I think if I buy a new toilet some day I will be able to give up my chemical toilet cleaner when it hasn’t been used by who-knows-who!!!

Anyway, just wanted to mention that a great additive to the vinegar and water is a few drops of tea tree oil which is antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial. And, you can also add a couple of drops of LEMON essential oil so that it has that nice fresh scent!!! Or pine or lavender or whatever scent you enjoy!!!

February 12, 2010 - 7:52 am

Jen What a great friend..Happy cleaning. But does that stuff get rid of the flu germs?:)

February 11, 2010 - 10:30 pm

Tara Exciting to hear about other people who are passionate about keeping our kids safe and helping the environment too. Esp when it comes to cleaning products. Have you tried Seventh Generation products? I’m a bit bias, but I LOVE their stuff!

February 11, 2010 - 10:03 pm

karen Your photo’s totally catch her pregnancy radiance!! Its the glow that is the best!!!! Also, I love that cleaning kit Leanne made up for you!!! awesome!!! Gillian, can you please send me your handmade laundry soap recipe. I can’t keep up anymore!!!

February 11, 2010 - 9:48 pm

Leanne Button I used my stuff today too!!! i was sooooo inspired to clean my house today with the sunshining through!! Just as a side note, D colored on my sink with a ink pen, I used a little baking soda on a sponge and voila..it came clean!! Nice to know that everything is safe for even the kids to clean!!
Glad you enjoyed your Vday present!!

February 11, 2010 - 8:55 pm

Sonya Love the natural stuff. I’ve been ‘natural’ for a couple years now and love it. What an awesome gift idea Leanne!

February 11, 2010 - 8:47 pm

Mom I’m so glad you blogged about this. I didn’t get to see this gift last night! Leanne is a real sweetie, that’s for sure. I love those cleaning products and had actually told Steph about them today. We already had gone to the MS website! So anyways, I love that the girls are learning to clean. 🙂 xo