The hazards of having a dog and cream carpet

I love my dogs, I really do.  Look at how cute they are:

But when I find little "presents" that the little one leaves me, it makes it hard to acknowledge the cuteness.  So when you find an "accident" (aren't the euphemisms pet owner's use crazy?) and are out of whatever really expensive enzyme cleaner you usually use, try this inexpensive and very effective method.

Supplies needed:

• Two spray bottles
• One filled with water and about a tablespoon of dish soap
• One filled with 1/2 and 1/2 white vinegar and water, with about two tablespoons of lemon juice
• Paper towels

Dab up any liquid you can (or pick up solids, whatever your mess is).  Spray generously with the vinegar mixture.  Rub in lightly then soak up with towels.  Then spray with soapy water, rub vigorously, then dab up.  Allow to dry.

We have cream carpet all through the house (I still don't understand why rentals do that), and before we started this method, we had a terrible time getting up any stains.  There are still some lingering randomly.  But since we started this method, you can't tell.  Works like a charm and is much cheaper than what you could buy at the store, and you also have less chemicals to worry about.

Indian Tex-Mex (Is that a thing?)

I've been trying to add more variety to my cooking repertoire lately, much to my husband's chagrin.  Some times they turn out good, others bad.  This one turned out good, although my husband and I both agree it's an occasional dish.  Maybe when we're feeling really international.

It's based on a subscription recipe card that I inherited from my mom.  I know for a fact she only used a handful of them.  Most of them are very strange, but this one turned out pretty good, with a couple of tweaks.

It's called Nasi Goreng, but we call it Indian Tex-Mex.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat (we use lean ground beef, but it's up to you)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large apple
• 1 large tomato
• 2 small tomatillos (these look like green tomatoes, they have a papery husk on them.  Make sure to remove the husk and wash well)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbs curry powder (as hot or mild as you'd like)
• Cooked rice (we use brown for the extra texture)

Steps:

• Brown the ground meat, add garlic.
• While browning, chop the vegetables and add them as you go.  I usually put them in in this order: onions, bell pepper, apple, tomatillos, tomato.
• Add curry powder and cook until vegetables are tender. (As slow as I chop, that's usually only about 5-10 minutes after I finish)
• Serve over hot rice

It's a pretty easy dish.  I added the tomatillos for their tartness.  It counteracts the apple and the sweet curry taste without drowning them out completely.  It could look fancy if plated correctly.  Let me know what you think!

Let it Flow!

I live in an area notorious for hard water.  While at my house, it's not that bad, I can still see the effects of it.  One of the biggest problems was my shower head.  It's a standard issue, but half of the holes were completely clogged, or barely issuing out a spray.

I had used some commercial products, to little avail.  They helped a little.  I found the following idea on http://www.doityourself.com/stry/makecleansupply.  (At the time of posting, the site was down.  Hopefully it will return soon)

Recipe:
I put a sandwich bag filled with enough vinegar to cover the holes and tied it around my shower head.  Then I let it soak overnight and flushed it with water the next morning.

Effectiveness:
I think it worked pretty well!  It seemed to have unclogged the shower head completely. It worked as well as the commercial products, but didn't blow them out of the water.

Pros:

• Cheap, as always
• Set and forget style of cleaning

Cons:

• Awkward to set up

I'd recommend this to anyone, as long as they have a stepladder and a spotter! More and more, I'm astonished by how much vinegar does!

Wow! That looks fancy!

I'm not sure if this really falls under the realm of review, or just a shameless plug.  Either way, I'd like to introduce you to a great website that I've used a ton in my professional and personal life:

http://www.scrapvillage.com/

The site is created, obviously, for scrapbookers in mind.  It has a great section for layouts and products.  However, the section I've used is the font section.

They have the coolest fonts!  And they're free!!!

I don't know how they collect their fonts, or who creates them, but if you want something in font form, they have it.

Need a specialized font for your newsletter about spreading germs?  Check out the G category for "Germs."  It's a great, creepy crawlie font, where the letters have eyes and teeth.  That'll make the kids wash their hands!

One of my personal favorites is in the C category, Catholic School Girls.  It's that bubbly, flirty handwriting I always wish I had, but never mastered.

The W-X category is a huge cache of recognizable scripts.  They have the Walt Disney script, Willy Wonka's font, and two different Wild West Themes.

Whether you are spicing up a form or creating invitations, this is your one stop shop for creative and unique fonts.  I can guarantee that someone will ask you where you got your cool fonts.

Linoleum Woes

My second try at a green cleaner was for my linoleum floors.  We live in a rental house cursed with faux stone linoleum.  It looks nice and all, but I believe in every inch of my being that it leads to people mopping less often, especially if you live in a rental house.

This recipe is meant for a traditional mop and bucket, so it takes a little more effort than a Swiffer, etc., but it seems to do a better job for me.

Recipe:

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Murphy's Oil Soap (Made with vegetable detergents, advertised at 98% natural)
• 2 gallons hot water (or enough to fill up your bucket)

Effectiveness:
It worked pretty well.  I have to say, it worked about the same as any floor cleaner I've used.  When you mix it together, it does turn a milky color, so it's easy to see when you need to change your water.  It doesn't leave a "clean" perfume afterward, but that may be a plus for you if you're sensitive to perfumes.  I did notice I had to go over the mud tracks a my dogs leave a couple of times to really get it clean, but I think that has more to do with the amount of dirt than anything else.

Pros:

• Very cheap.  It cost roughly 15 cents to fill my bucket.  You couldn't even tell I had used any of the Murphy's Oil Soap.
• No heavy perfume smell
• Easy to tell when to change the water
• No stickiness after cleaning, no need to rinse

Cons:

• No heavy perfume smell (if you like that sort of thing)
• Not a very heavy duty cleaner, more for everyday

On the whole, I think I will continue to use this recipe.  It worked as much as any commercial cleaner does, but is a lot cheaper.  I'm still shocked to see what a big part vinegar has in green cleaning.  It's apparently the main ingredient in everything!

No More Bloody Cuticles Ever!

I've come to a recent realization: If a cleaning product makes my cuticles bleed, it can't be that good for me. Now, I will admit I have more sensitive skin than most, but I can't be the only one.  So after this epiphany, I decided to jump on the green bandwagon.

Yup, I'm joining the Gore Force.

However, after searching for popular brands online, I noticed one thing.  Green is not nice for the Green in the bank.  Even if a product is Green, it is still marketed, process, and packaged.  All of those steps cost money.

So, I searched some more and found a solution: creating my own cleaning products.  I'm going to be trying out several in the coming weeks and telling you how it went.

First on the list:

Glass cleaner

Recipe:

• Equal parts water and white vinegar
• About a tablespoon of lemon juice
• Mix in a spray bottle

Effectiveness:
It worked!  Great!  It even cleaned about 90% of the hard water stains on my shower door without scrubbing (I did, however let it sit for a few minutes).  Easily some of the cleanest mirrors I've probably ever had.  I was worried about a lingering vinegar smell, but it seemed to dissipate after it dried.

Pros:

• Very, very cheap (about five cents to fill my small spray bottle)
• Very effective, without a chemical smell
• No bleeding fingers :-)

Cons:

• Can be hampered by the dirtiness of your mirror. I had a mud splattered mirror that took several cleanings to perfect. Long story.
• Your hands will smell a little like vinegar after, but washes off quickly

Overall, I'm never buying Windex...um...glass cleaner again.  This is way too cheap and easy to not use.  I've also heard that using crumpled newspaper works great instead of a rag or paper towels.  Haven't tried it, but if you have, let us know how it went!