Homemade General All-Purpose Cleaner

It is quite simple to create an All-Purpose homemade cleaner. Just mix 1 part water and 1 part distilled white vinegar into a spray bottle. This cleaner works great on counter tops, glass, mirrors and toilets. The acidic properties of vinegar make it a mild disinfectant, great for cleaning after cooking. Because this cleaner is acidic, NEVER use it on Granite.

Cleaning the Window of a Wood Fireplace or Stove

I finally got around to having our first fire of the winter. The first thing I do each year is clean all of the ashes out the fire place and make sure the chimney, flue and fire place are all in good working order. I always do this before the first fire, and this year has been fairly hectic so it has taken longer than usual. The thing I noticed this year was that the fire place doors were filthy. The last fire we had last year must have been pretty smoky because the glass doors were almost opaque. In my thirst for cleaning knowledge I tried three different cleaning methods to find out which one worked the best. Here are my results:

• Dryer Sheet - I had this listed in my notebook as working on glass candle jars. I have a really nice glass oil lamp I have used this on before with success, so I tried it on the fireplace doors. Needless to say, the grime was too tough for the dryer sheet and it just ripped apart.



• My Homemade Brick Fireplace Cleaner - This worked pretty well but, the way the doors fold it was pretty hard to get a brush into the tight areas. It also made a pretty big mess because the doors are vertical the water just runs down them onto the hearth.



• The Magic Eraser - This was the best of the three. It got into the hard to reach places and didn't take too much physical effort.

The Magic Eraser won this challenge. Luckily I have started to find these fairly cheaply. The dollar store had a package of two with half sponge half Magic Eraser for $1 and Target had a package of 4 all Erasers for $2. If you haven't tried the Magic Eraser, pick one up at the store. They really are magic.

Homemade Eyeglass Cleaner

Keeping your glasses clean is very important.  Dirty glasses can lead to stronger prescriptions as the dirt will make you eyes work harder to focus. My toddler son wears glasses and he gets them very dirty every day.  We probably clean his glasses at least three times a day.  He just hasn't figured out how not to touch the lenses.

We use a lot of eyeglass cleaner so I worked on making the Ultimate Homemade Eyeglass Cleaning Solution.  It is very simple to make and works great. It is safe for most coatings and very inexpensive to make. Make a mixture of 3 parts rubbing alcohol and 1 part water. Add a few drops of mild liquid dish soap. Mix well and put into a spray bottle. Spray both sides of the lens and rub clean with a clean, soft cloth. I find that a good microfiber cloth works the best.  Be careful to never use paper towels or else you can scratch your lenses.  Rinsing the glasses under the faucet first to quickly wash away excess dirt will also aid in keeping scratches away.