Spring Cleaning: Bathroom

Yes, it's me in my ALL pink bathroom.
This was when I was 6 months preggers! 

Fully equipped with pink tub, pink sink, pink toilet, pink floor tiles going up to mid-height on walls, and a big wide wall mirror. There used to be a glass shelf above the toilet but it fell down. The medicine cabinet does have the same glass shelves inside of it. If you've got a house in St. Louis made in the 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s, then most likely you have an original all pink, brown, blue, sea foam green, or yellow bathroom! The "Mamie pink" phenomenon did not escape the old school buildings either. All throughout middle school and high school I saw the exact same pink tiles in the restroom. The sink in middle school wasn't a regular sink though, it was more like a huge round group fountain with foot peddles to pump the water out.

Any ways, now that I've went down memory lane...
Here's a green bathroom cleaner:

Lemon Juice and Vinegar: Got stains, mildew or streaks? Douse porcelain and tiles with lemon juice and vinegar. Let sit a few minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush. As always, you can use kosher salt with added elbow grease on toughies!

For Natural Disinfectant

Spring Cleaning: Kitchen

Photo: Steven Randazzo

I don't know about you, but I've definitely done my share of Spring cleaning over the past two weeks! Now I'm sharing some green DIY kitchen cleaners with you!

1. Baking Soda and Water: Reclaim counters by sprinkling with baking soda, then scrubbing with a damp cloth or sponge. If you have stains, knead the baking soda and water into a paste and let set for a while before you remove. This method also works great for stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, containers, refrigerators, oven tops and more.
2. Kosher Salt and Water: If you need a tougher abrasive sprinkle on kosher salt, and scrub with a wet cloth or sponge.
3. Natural Disinfectant: To knock out germs without strong products, mix 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. Spray or rub on countertops and other kitchen surfaces.

Arts & Crafts: Words On A String

photo: King Au

Here's a fun and simple St. Patrick's Day craft that can prevent you from getting pinched!

What you'll need:

• metal edged vellum gift tag (available at craft stores)
• green paint
• thin wire
• letter beads
• safety pin

Directions:

1. Paint the vellum gift tag green.
2. Punch a small hole on both ends of the tag.
3. String the letter beads onto the thin wire. Spelling out "Irish Today".
4. Carefully thread the stringed beads through the holes in the tag.
5. Attach the wire ends to a safety pin on the back of the tag, creating a brooch.

Easy, right?

DIY: Home Spa Treatment

Vanilla Coffee Exfoliating Scrub

What you need:

1/4 cup Vanilla-flavored Coffee, ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons almond oil
1 teaspoon orange peel, grated
1/2 cup unscented body lotion, like Aveeno or Lubriderm

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl or reusable jar.
2. Rub slowly onto skin in circular motions during your morning shower.

The coffee and sugar will exfoliate skin and the orange peel revitalizes at the same time. This makes for a nice and yummy smelling wake-up call and it didn't even leave me all jittery!

DIY: Liquid Hand Soap

Here's a fun way to use those skimpy leftover pieces of bar soap!

What You Need:

• A bar of soap (I use Dove unscented)
• A cheese grater
• A sauce pan or pot
• Water
• Empty soap dispensers
• Essential oil (optional)
• Soap coloring (optional)

Difficulty: Easy

Getting started:

1. Grate a bar of soap.
2. If you have a four ounce bar of soap, then you'll need to boil four cups of water. Just use one cup of water for every ounce of soap.
3. Turn off the heat, and add the soap. Stir to melt the soap. Continue stirring until the mixture is fully combined. At this point the mixture will be very liquidy.
4. Let mixture cool for at least 15 minutes. Stir again. The soap should be slightly thicker. Let cool for another several hours or overnight.
5. Stir to check the consistency. If it seems too liquidy, reheat and add more soap. If it seems too thick reheat and add more water.*
6. If desired, add a few drops of essential oil and coloring.
7. Pour soap into dispensers* and enjoy!

*Note: For a super-smooth consistency, run the finished soap through a blender before pouring into dispensers.

De-Tec-Tip

Around these parts we love monkey's, but we really love one in particular, SOCK MONKEY! The Nelson Knitting Mills of Rockford, Illinois, produced the first red heel socks. Crafters were turning the "De-Tec-Tip" socks into stuffed animals. In 1951, the company started putting sock monkey instructions with each pair of socks sold. The Fox River Mills, in Osage, Iowa, took over the Nelson Knitting Mills in 1992. However, they continued the tradition by enclosing instructions for sock elephants. Fox Rivers best seller to date are still the Rockford Red Heels. There's an array of animals, facial expressions, colors and sizes to choose from when making your own creation!


The best sock monkeys I've seen so far are from Etsy sellers, of course!

Etsy shop TerraceHill ,
which also sell vintage inspired aprons!

Personalized tattoo for sock monkey
Etsy shop sewwoman

DIY: Repairing A Zipper

There are generally two types of zippers: closed-end, and open-end.

Closed-end zippers: stay fastened on one end of this type of zipper, like on jeans, and bags.
Open-end zippers: both sides come completely apart on this type of zipper, like on sleeping bags and jackets.

If a zipper is beyond repair:

Replace it with a new one of the same length. You can buy a zipper in a matching color from your local fabric store. With a seam ripper, carefully remove the stitching holding the old zipper in place. As you work, notice how the old zipper was put in, and in what order the various lines of stitching were made. Some zippers may be put in with several lines of stitching. Remove the old zipper and pull out all loose thread ends. Following the directions on the zipper package, pin the new zipper into place, laying it face down onto the garments seam, and stitch it in the same way the old zipper was stitched. When using pins you have to be more precise and use caution. Use a a zipper foot on the sewing machine. A zipper foot is able to adjust so it is on the left or the right side of the sewing machine needle. You'll need to slide it to the side you need so there is no presser foot on the zipper teeth. Many zipper feet require you to loosen a screw to slide it from side to side. The biggest mistake you can make is not re-tightening that screw! You can make the final topstitching on the outside of the garment, by hand or by machine. For me, it's always better using the sewing machine!

Here's a couple of fabulously crafty websites:

RetroSewing
AND
Cut Out + Keep

DIY: Homemade Laundry Soap

There is something better than spending money on Tide? Yes! Making your own laundry detergent! Never thought I'd say that. Tide cleaning power is pretty excellent. Who wants to keep paying out of pocket for it at this moment? Not me.  I certainly do not want to go to the laundromat either.

So here are some ways to DIY:

Liquid Detergent

Recipe 1

2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (not washing soda)

• Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
• In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
• Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

Powdered Detergent
Recipe 2
12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

• Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
• Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

*Washing soda can be found at most grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc. It’s in the powdered laundry detergent area. A common name brand is Arm and Hammer. It will say washing soda.
My kid has really bad eczema so I doubt that I'll be using Ivory soap or any of those other heavily scented brands. Dove bar soap has a great unscented bar, which is pediatrician approved.

Liquid Detergent
Recipe 3
Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 Soap bar

• Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
• Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved. Top the pail up with more hot water.
• Use 1 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).



I'm sure you could take all the hard work out and find plenty of shops that sell laundry kits on Etsy, but then you wouldn't have your own experience of making detergent!

Etsy shop wyldcat

Local St. Louis, MO Etsy shop aBreathofFrenchair