Whte Vinegar and Peroxide

Hey, Good Morning,

Did you all enjoy St. Pat's yesterday? We spent most of the day in Cedar Rapids, doing some stock-up shopping (you know the paper products and such). We hit the Super Wally, Menards and Hy-Vee for things that we need. In the middle of the day we headed down town to see the St. Pat's Parade. Lot's of green and lots of kids. I heard talk that there were quite a few playing hooky since school was in session yesterday. Den, our household parade fan, was kind of disappointed that there were no bands but lots of radio stations had big vehicles with sound on board and there were no horses.

Den parked the car near the Wicker Hill Tea Room and of course, I had to go see what it was like and pick up a menu. Their gift shop is large and offers some really nice things. The Tea Room had no reservations so it was closed for the day. I did walk through the dining room and in a lot of ways it is kind of like Betty's. Betty's is one large room where Wicker Hill is a series of small rooms. Wicker Hill's menu isn't as extensive as Betty's and the prices are about 20% higher.

You know things have been kind of tight for many of us since this recession thing started and we have been watching as our retirement funds fade to about half what they were a year ago and a third of what they were the year before. It is scary for many of us. I know that Den and I have been living off of our minimum wage part-time jobs and what we made on the sale of our home in Chandler three years ago. That is getting very thin and we are still in our early 60's. Den could claim Social Security this year as he will be 62 but I have another year before I hit that mile stone.

Health care is costly if you are on your own and you tend to try really hard not to use it as any use will likely raise the rates for next year. Our boys and girls in Washington are looking hard at universal health care but they are also looking hard at taxing our health care benefits, which kind of smacks of giving something to you with one hand and snatching it away with the other.

I have been given a couple of economic tips that are quite a bit less expensive than some of the cleaners that you buy these days. I thought that I would share two of them with you today. So this one isn't about food prep but about saving some green on your cleaning needs. If you have some ideas, please, share them, we are all in the same boat and could use any wee bit of help we can get.

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White Vinegar vs. fabric softener

Pam from Cedar Rapids gave me this tip last fall and I have been doing it every since.

1 C. white vinegar (doesn't have to be Hines or some other name brand, just generic or store brand works fine) to a full load of wash in place of the fabric softener. I use drier balls (got them at Wally-World for about $5. a pair)in the drier as well. I use soaps that have no perfumes or as few additives as possible. You will find that your towels are still soft and more absorbent.

WHY? Well, over the years my sensitive Irish skin has become more so. I avoid the sun and use sun screen when I can't. The laundry soaps and fabric softener were making me itch where they laid against my skin and especially where my bra's bottom band constricted or my underwear elastic bound. My sister has had to double wash (second wash in just water alone) her clothing for years due to the additives in the detergents even using the "Free" products.

White vinegar has many uses in the home and the following are just a few

Clean your grill grates (wrap the grill grates with paper towels. Put into a large plastic trash bag and pour white vinegar over the paper towel wrapped grates. Tightly close the bag and set in the sun for 4 hours. You should find that the cooked on grease and guck comes off easily with a garden hose at this point. Throw the bag of wet, soiled paper towels, in the trash. This works for your oven racks as well. In fact that is how we used to do the deed when we were clearing military housing years and years (let's not go there) ago.

White vinegar makes a great degreaser in your kitchen as well as a deodorizer. I leave a custard cup full of white vinegar on the back of my sink. It help eliminate cooking odors and I can dip a paper towel in it to clean off the cooking film from my ceramic cook top and the rest of my stove, appliances and counter tops.

A small amount of white vinegar in warm water is the way to mop your wood floors as well as your tile ones. Probably good for all of the other types as well.

White vinegar has, for years, been used to clean windows and mirrors together with a crumpled up news paper.

It is the acid content in the vinegar that does the trick. I bet you folks have even more uses. I know I try to keep 2 gallons of the stuff in the house at all times.

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Liz, from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa sent this one on Peroxide. I wonder if my dentist likes this mouth wash idea???

Peroxide vs. Bleach This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana (a doctor's wife), and I want to share it with you. She was over recently for coffee and smelled the bleach I was using to clean my toilet and countertops. This is what she told me: "I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little ole bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at an drug store. What does bleach cost? My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide. "Have you ever smelled bleach in a doctor's office? NO!!! Why? Because it smells, and it is not healthy! Ask the nurses who work in the doctor's offices, and ask them if they use bleach at home. They are wiser and know better! "Did you also know bleach was invented in the late 40's? It's chlorine, folks! And it was used to kill our troops. "Peroxide was invented during WWI. It was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals. Please think about this: 1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe.) No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash! 2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs. 3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters. 4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria. 5. I had fungus on my feet for years until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry. 6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine but was healed by soaking in peroxide. 7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will. 8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue. 9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly. 10. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections. 11. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary. 12. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors. There is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this. "I could go on and on... It is a little brown bottle no home should be without! "With prices of most necessities rising, I'm glad there's a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner!" This information really woke me up. I hope you gain something from it, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.


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Well, that is about all I have for this time. I hope that you all have a great day and hope to hear from you really soon.

God Bless and Hugs To All,
Linda