Cleaning

Body: 

Ok who would think I would find out about cleaning here?
I just have to say that in the book there are recommendations for natural ways of cleaning and by gosh they work!!

I tried the vinegar today on some chrome...our water is extremely hard--I think chewable if you had a death wish and wanted to drink it..so I had places that were just simply turned brown and the vinegar cleaned it!! I was so excited!!
You know I don't get it. I have used every chemical on the shelves to try and clean that area just a bit and it was impossible even with the elbow grease I used today and yet the vinegar was like a miracle. I am so excited. I am getting the lemon juice and I am trying the baking soda and I only wish I had more time so I could do this all day for the next week.
I bought the Sal Suds and I just LOVE that product. It smells so good and it doesn't hurt my hands and I didn't sneeze or feel sick later and stuffed up and I am soooo grateful. I am going to get a pumice stone and I can't wait to see what happens then!!!
I must sound like a nut but you know I feel so GOOD! I feel like I really cleaned today!! I used the vinegar and water with the drop of soap for my windows and glass and they are sooo clean.

I just ordered the cook book and I cannot wait to have it. I am running out of my limited ideas since I am so new to eating healthy. I won't even confess what I used to feed my family...UGH!

I am just so grateful for this new way of looking at everything and it is so much fun. I feel like a 20 year old who just got her first apartment!

Anyhow ladies if you haven't tried those things go for it!
Thanks a lot Christine for all the ideas!!

Thank you so much for this Therese! You describe just how I still feel decades after understanding how deeply rewarding natural living can be. And there's no end to it! My next project is going to be dyeing and spinning cotton and wool.

I've been meaning to challenge Grandma Joy a bit about white vinegar. Is there really anything alive in it to trigger allergies, or is it just pure ascetic acid? I do wear gloves when I clean with it...but it remains my major cleaning substance.

Life is so beautiful and I loved your comment the other day about how topsy turvy everything is...all we can do it put back together our own little corner of the planet.

:-) Christine

Hi Christine,

Re: the allergy to vinegar. My experience was 10 years spent being at the allergist a few years ago after my bouts with making bread (and being taken to the ER) and eating the copper carrots. What I learned from the allergist then was about my mold and mildew allergies which also related to vinegar, yeasts, yeast extracts, mushrooms, and even the mold growing on the ground in my garden(which would make my hands swell to twice their size, plus I have terrible times living in humid areas where mold is in the air. He said they were all of the same fungus family which is why I reacted to all those things. Later, after another intestinal problem I had, an internist established again that I was definitely allergic to mushrooms and all it's family extensions. Back then, the list of ingredients on vinegar included the words "yeast extracts" - I don't think it's there now. (Another reason we need the "truth in labeling law").

I did recently buy balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar to try in some new (raw salad) recipes - because no yeast was listed on the labels--- but I still had the same reactions as before! All wines and vinegars do have some sort of mold in them (else wine wouldn't ferment) so to really clear up what I meant about the vinegar in the other posts is: if one has allergies to anything in the mold families - it would be wise to avoid consuming or using it without protection. I think anyone who doesn't have a problem with it should be able to go ahead and use it. I am totally amazed at the many people who are using it for health reasons and drinking it - it's great if it works for them. I've just had to learn to stay away from it and so does one of my sons, because he too, has the same allergy to vinegars, molds, etc.

For years before those incidents, I used vinegar and water to clean my windows and also used a combination of vinegar, baking soda, and water to clear out clogged drains.

I don't have a bottle of white vinegar so I can't check it's label. Anyway, hope this clarifies what I meant.

I'm going to try the lemon juice for cleaning the kitchen counters.

:-) Grandma Joy

Gosh...do I adore them.
That is interesting Grandma Joy...another item to file away in my brain for future reference!
My husband has suffered from allergies in the past--he seems fine now so I will pay attention to how he is now that I am using vinegar.
I don't have allergy problems as far as I know and hopefully eating better I will keep in that condition!