Vinegar

I must spend hundreds of dollars a year on cleaning products. Bottles and bottles of bleach cleaner, shower cleaner, carpet-fresh, windex and so on. And then I'm always worried about making sure the babies aren't around the toxic fumes that I'm filling our house with. So I decide to take the plunge and try a tip I'd heard about but never had the guts to try: white distilled vinegar. Dollar Store spray bottle, $1.50 bottle of vinegar, some water, and we're good to go.

I'm a big believer in "go big or go home". So I chose a gargantuan task for my little spray bottle of vinegar : the bathroom. Sticky, slimy toddler hands mixed with a husband who always seems to leave hair, toothpaste, shaving cream everywhere. I had no faith that anything but bleach and windex would get the bathroom the spanking clean that I was looking for. Boy, was I mistaken. My mirrors were shining, heck, everything was shining. And after a little googling(is this officially a word yet?) I also found that vinegar would kill mold, bacteria, and germs. Hallelujah, I think I ran out and called my mother immediately. I am simply amazed. It does everything. I can clean mirrors, the stove, counters, floors, the shower all with this one economical, environmentally safe product. The one down side I'm looking to fix is the smell that lingers for awhile. But, hey, are the lingering fumes of bleach any better? I can't wait to try new uses for my new best cleaning friend vinegar. I think tomorrow I'll try cleaning the microwave by boiling vinegar and water inside of it (courtesy of VinegarTips.com). Until then, it's bedtime for this tired lady.