Mrs. Clean
Hi friends! How was your day? Hope it’s been lovely <3
{Bella already owns the place}
I spent a majority of my day cleaning the things the cleaner neglected yesterday, which was pretty much everything 😉 The good news is that I LOVE to clean and the even better news was that I took your advice and called Living Social (it was an LS deal, not Groupon), just to let them know the eco-friendly maid service was less-than-stellar and they issued me a full refund. I <3 awesome customer service.
Stopped at Target to get some supplies:
(Cute blue flower cleaning gloves, too)
Tip: SO much household cleaning can be done with 3 things: 1) baking soda, 2) vinegar and 3) non-toxic dish soap (I really like the Method brand from Target- the lavender one smells lovely). Dish soap and warm water can clean pretty much anything (like nasty floorboards), vinegar mixed with water is awesome for removing water stains/corrosion from sinks, soap build-up, carpet stains and window cleaner, and a paste out of baking soda and water will get a ton of stains out (perfect for grout or if your sink has a funky looking stain in it, baking soda paste is the answer. It will make it look brand new and shiny again- just use a brush to clean it with the paste, rinse and dry off).
A lot of attention was paid to the floorboards, which I’m pretty sure haven’t been cleaned many times in their life.
Much better:
I cleaned every floorboard in the entire casa, the staircase, bathrooms and wiped down the shelves in the closet that were looking pretty gnarly. It finally feels good to unpack, now that we won’t be unpacking into a dirty place!
While I was Mrs. Cleaning away, my nana was hard at work unpacking the kitchen stuff.
She did cookbooks, pots and pans, BBQ tools, and kept me company all day… amazing.
Mid-cleaning snackage was an organic applesauce + handful of gluten-free pretzels.
I still hadn’t picked up groceries, so lunch was the same as yesterday:
Hummus, goat cheese and veggies on GF bread from Renee’s Organic Oven
My sandwich lurve.
Just got back from a quick gym sesh and am about to make some food for the Pilot and myself 🙂
Enjoy your night and I’ll see ya in the morning!
xoxo
Gina
Something to talk about: What’s your favorite unofficial workout? For me, cleaning is second to shopping 😉 Any natural cleaning recipes/suggestions?
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Borax is also an excellent eco friendly cleaner. It’s so funny that you posted this because I just had my first all natural cleaning day today as well. I have a new found love for vinegar. It’s really amazing! I also make my own laundry detergent.
http://blakebakes.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-laundry-detergent.html
My fave unofficial workout is a good booty shake on the dance floor. 🙂 I may be past college age, but I’m a 21-year-old at heart. 🙂 There’s something about dancing in a club that gets me every time–I can do it for hours!
My dad has always told me when I’m out of bathroom cleaner to just use orange juice. It totally works. It even got that gross red ring that shows up around the plug in my sink.
Salt is a great mild abrasive agent for scrubbing. I do not sell this stuff, but my babies daycare uses it and my friend swtiched all her cleaning products to this stuff when she developed some allergies.
https://www.melaleuca.com/Default.aspx
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE Melaleuca products! Sol u mel (sp?) is amaaaazing!!
Hey Gina, I am so impressed by how fast you are unpacking the house! Probably all related to your excitement levels 🙂
My other favourite unofficial workout is gardening, all the fresh air and sun is just too good, plus you get a sense of achievement from the end result. It’s the best
Glad you got your money back! Slow-moving hourly workers are so incredibly frustrating! At least now you know your house is clean. 🙂 That’s one benefit to doing it yourself. As far as natural cleaning, I am pretty loyal to Shaklee’s Get Clean line. I actually got this super stubborn stain off my countertop today with Scour Off, a product I know Kath has written about on her blog too. I’m a big fan of their 50 year history of environmental work, so I’d rather spend money there than with companies like Clorox, etc. that have new “green” lines. I do use baking soda for some things, as well.
Hope the rest of the move goes well! Looks like you’re making some good progress already. 😀
I recently discovered Norwex products that my mom sells. They are completely chemical free cleaning products and work amazingly well. Their microfiber cloths got baked on food stains off my cabinet that had been there for at least 2 years because I couldn’t get them off with any other products. Plus the ease of use makes cleaning super fast! Good luck unpacking the rest of the house!
I second the norwex! I have this cleaning cloth that is supposed to be antibacterial even though it is completely chemical free and an amazing glass cleaning cloth. I can clean pretty much any surface with hot water and the cloth shines my mirrors perfectly with just good old H2O. 🙂
Haha, new houses can be Gnarly. Our apartment was NAST when we first moved in. I love Dr. Bronners! Have you ever tried it? I love to walk everywhere, hidden work out just to get to where I want to be!
Sooo glad you ended up calling!!
I can’t wait to see how the house turns out after you get unpacked and settled. I think I will take your advice and start cleaning with some Method soap and vinegar or baking soda. My apartment has been smelling less than stellar lately (even though I can’t figure out why), so maybe that will help, haha.
i actually also love Method brand from Target. I actually met the guy behind the scents of method! he did the scent for Manny Pacquiao (the boxer). Good for you for getting your clean on!
Haha, Bella is so funny- that is HER house. 😉 That’s so nice of your nana to come help you!
Gillette Lemon Lime shaving cream is perfect for pet stains. Bloat with a paper towel to get as much moisture out as you can. Spray with shaving cream and use a rag to rub it all in and Voila. Stain gone, smell gone and animal will not go there again. It even takes out grease stains from the the mechanic brother-in-law. I love the picture of Bella, queen of the house. I guess she needs no adapting time. She must love it!
yay vinegar!! I need to buy some more!!
Bella is too cute !
I just have to say that Bella’s expression in that photo is so hilarious and human-like. So happy for you guys for getting into your new house 🙂
aah, bella is such a cutie pie! your cleaning skills are immense, lol! 😉 i’m seriously so impressed by the floorboards…they looks so shiny and new! nice job! your nana is an angel for helping you unpack and keeping you company, what a friend! <3 so cool that you got a refund too…yay! my favourite non-official exercise is walking the woofs, and health food store/clothes/magazine and book store shopping! so fun! 😀 xyx
I can’t believe that after moving, cleaning, and being pregnant, you still managed to hit up the gym. You go girl!
My non gym workout…well, carrying groceries up a few flights of stairs and not taking the elevator from the parking garage and then going back down and repeating gets my cardio going 🙂
I’m glad you got your refund! It’s a shame when you think you’re getting yourself a deal, but you really end up dissatisfied 🙁
My favorite unofficial workout is taking salsa dance classes 😉
Thanks for the inspiration I needed to clean today! 🙂 My fav unofficial workout is the old “walk and read.” I go out on a (carless) path and read blogs on my blackberry while slowly strolling along. Its much better than sitting in my house reading on a computer!
that’s awesome that you got your refund on the *cleaning service.* thanks for the reminder that it never hurts to (politely) ask!
i swear by white vinegar, too. and while i won’t say i LOVE cleaning, i DO like to clean when things are noticeably dirty (like your floorboards) as opposed to just tidying up a bit. it’s very satisfying when you can see your efforts made a real difference! glad you’re making such great progress, already!
Sounds like you’re making great progress! My fave non workout is walking and playing with my puppy!
I love cleaning also! My boyfriend and I just moved into a smaller place last weekend which means that I have less space to clean. 🙁 I guess that should be a good thing right? I find myself re-cleaning things A LOT. 🙂 I clean, he cooks…. kinda works out perfectly.
I am a big fan of cleaning with vinegar + water and baking soda + water!
I do like cleaning as a form of “exercise” — but also dancing is a good one too!
The people who lived in my house before me did a lot of deep frying. After I moved in, I had to use a wallpaper scraper to clean the tops of the kitchen cabinets, and ended up with a grease-turd as big as my fist. NASTINESS!!!!
Good luck with the unpacking! Once your kitchen is set up, everything else will be easy. BTW your countertops are gorgeous!
I don’t where you get all your energy from, but you rock! I just recently moved and it took me foreveeeeer to get my new place scrubbed down and clean.
i’m impressed! we still haven’t spring cleaned our house and it’s – ahem – JULY. woops!
i love cleaning as a non-official workout, too! 🙂 and it’s so satisfying to see everything all shiny and sparkly again!
i love the posts about the new house – i can’t wait to see how you decorate.
I bought some empty spray bottles and a bottle of Dr. Bronners- with that plus vinegar, baking soda and peroxide you can mix up any cleaners you need. Just google natural homemade cleaner recipes
So glad you got the refund. I actually enjoy cleaning as well. I always feel so good afterward!
LOVE method brand items.. and super glad you got a refund!
While I don’t do it anymore since I’ve moved out of the parent’s house.. I used to love cutting the grass.. definitely an unofficial work out!
My favorite unofficial workout is helping people move – that’s a killer!
LEMONS! 😀
If life hands you lemons, use them to CLEAN! 😀 I use them everywhere, from disinfecting my cutting board, stains in clothes, to heating them up and rubbing them all around my kitchen and bathroom and after letting it sit for a few hours it smells so wonderful! After letting it sit I always have to wipe up the residue with just a wet rag to get the sticky out but it’s fabulous and eco friendly for sure.
I LOVE this!!! I’m going to tell all my friends- “When life gives you lemons, CLEAN!” 🙂
euuugh that floorboard is nasty! Good for you for cleaning it all up, but that sucks that they did a bad job! At least you got your refund 🙂 I think I would pick shopping over cleaning…but I think I sweat more when I clean my entire apartment!
I do like cleaning my house as a workout, plus a clean house lifts my spirits. However, there are time I wish I could take a waterhose, spray down everything and have the dust bunnies go down a gigantic drain in the middle of my house.
Enjoy the new home!
hey gina — method isn’t that great. check out http://www.gimmethegoodstuff.org/dish-soap/
i use castile for lots of things now which works great.
Mmm that sandwich looks delish!!!!
I definitely consider cleaning an unofficial workout, especially big tasks like scrubbing out the shower and vacuuming. Also, laundry, especially when I haven’t done it in awhile (oops) – hauling that basket full of laundry and usually a 10 pound cat (they love laundry baskets) up and down two flights of stairs is a fantastic workout!
I absolutely hate cleaning – but shopping (especially at an outdoor outlet) is an awesome “workout” in my world!
I’m like you with cleaning- I can clean almost anything with vinegar, baking soda, and good old soap ‘n water.
Another trick I learned is to throw in some lemon essential oil (but spot test for delicate surfaces first, and don’t use on wood). It smells great, disinfects, and many common house pests apparently don’t like the smell so they’ll stay away- or so I’ve been told 😉 Lavender is good for disinfecting and smelling pretty too.
Plus, for DIY febreeze: a 50/50 mixture of cheap vodka and water with 10-12 drops of lavender essential oil. The vodka get any stank out and the lavender makes it smell pretty.
loved the tips on the cleaning supplies!
i love cleaning w/ b.s. and vinegar! such a natural and inexpensive product!
We must be on the same page! I scrubbed all my floorboards yesterday and did a full de-funk of the house + some organizing. It felt great and I was thinking to myself that it totally counted as an unofficial workout 🙂
Doesn’t cleaning a place from top to bottom feel so refreshing? A lot of work but so worth it.
PS-I have the same cucina sign 🙂
A paste made with baking soda is great for getting burnt food off of pots/pans/cookie sheets etc. Just mix up the paste and put it on the burnt mess and let it dry, the burnt mess will scrub off easily. Trust me I know from experience, lol.
for whatever reason i love cleaning too, especially when i am moving into a new place, its just way more exciting, and unpacking and setting everything up to look like a home. Loooove it.
I am a fan of tidying and organizing but NOT cleaning. I just recently purchased a condo and I’m not looking forward to cleaning it before moving in and cleaning my apartment when I move out.
This is the best natural cleaner that I use for EVERYTHING: http://www.youngliving.com/thieves/natural-household-cleaners
Does walking on the beach count as a workout? ; )
I’m still amazed at your energy!! But it is a must do to really clean your new place thoroughly before you unpack all of your stuff! We moved almost 2 years ago and our new place was a brand new place and was filthy! We didn’t have any choice but to spend days cleaning instead of unpacking! We love the Amway product lines! They work well and smell great! But my go-to when I am out is vinegar! For almost anything! A microfiber mop and some water and vinegar and my floors are done in no time!
Can’t wait to see your UNPACKED pictures!
I do one part water to one part white vinegar for a great, streak free glass cleaner.
Also, I just blogged about an awesome GREEN, CHEMICAL FREE alternative to dryer sheets–I think they’re right up your alley–check it out!
dancing at weddings or around my house are my favorite forms of “non-exercise” exercise. Its especially fun to dance with little neices and nephews. Kids think any dance move that is big and silly is the best!
I can’t believe that is yall’s view!