25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar

Green & Clean: Spring Cleaning
for Body Mind Spirit Home


I am starting a Green & Clean Series (also known as Spring Cleaning for the Body, Self and Home) and I am so excited!

It's an overcast Tuesday in Colorado and I am feeling the perfect sense of peace and inspiration (dare I say excitement?) to begin my Spring Cleaning (yes, I am feeling excited over this - it's true!) I have already begun my morning with a wonderful 10-minute detox QiGong practice for the body... but I am getting ahead of myself.

Today I want to focus on green cleaning the home. Like many of us, I have been using green non-toxic products in my home for several years now, and my favorites include the Seventh Generation brand. The name reflects the company's belief that "what we do to the earth will be felt by the next 7 generations," and I especially love their lemongrass all-purpose cleaner that kills 99.9% of germs and bacterias naturally. (do I sound like a commercial?) My husband Eric hates the smell, but I love the strength and confidence of this natural product, espcially when I use it to clean the tubs and kitchen (areas where germs can thrive).

I do wonder sometimes however whether it's completely true that these and the other non-toxics are totally free to breathe (I like the Method brand also) because when cleaning with them I do still get a wiff of stickiness in my throat. But I guess that's "natural," and I do also love to work with other natural cleansers like baking soda and, well, vinegar!

My mother taught me years ago that vinegar is a wonderful - and according to her the "only" -way to clean tile floors. (I think all floors can take the vinegar except for hardwood... don't use vinegar there.) Mix a bucket of 3 parts water with 1 part vinegar and your floors will shine! Well, my mothers always have, 24/7 in fact. Mine never seem to look quite as meticulous, even directly after I clean, but I do have 2 whiley dogs and I do do my best. (One of my mother's homemaking gifts is surely a sparkling clean home. I did not inherit this talent. But I'm on a new roll today...)

OK. Back to the vinegar. I came across this article today in Yahoo-Shine on the wire on the many uses of vinegar to clean the home. I am actually looking forward to trying this in my sink drain/disposal and my toilets overnight (hey, why not). I have set an intention this year, also in accordance to my cleaning up my environmental sensitivity issues, to Spring clean and keep a clear and flowing home. (OK, I am in my mid-40s now, it does happen. In fact, an astologer told me in my 20s that as I got older, keeping my home would be more and more important to me, in a good way, and he was right. He said this was a Leo-thing.)

I am also experiencing a wonderful shift in my spiritual life and inner state which for me is including a transformation within the home as a reflection of mindful honor that I am developing with myself. Now I'm all for being human too. And I don't expect myself to be "perfect," but I am truly enjoying the shift that is happening within and it's hard for me to put it into words.

In any case, here goes: 25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar. I feel so passionately good about living green, and all things natural and pure for our Earth and World. And this one is super affordable too!


25 ways to clean with vinegar
by Emily Hsieh, Shine staff

The cleaning aisle at just about any grocery store is stocked with a dizzying array of options—and when it comes down to it, there are a lot of expensive, toxic, superfluous products crowding the market. Chances are, you already have one of the best, all-purpose cleaning agents in your pantry: white vinegar. As noted earlier, vinegar actually works as a great laundry booster, stripping away the chemical build-up that detergent leaves behind (and gets rid of clingy odors in the process). And beyond that, there are tons of other applications for the stuff around your home. Here, from vinegartips.com and frugalfun.com, 25 ideas for making the most of vinegar:

1. Deodorize the sink: Pour 1 cup baking soda, followed by 1 cup hot vinegar, down the drain. Let sit for at least 5 minutes, then rinse with hot water.

2. Deodorize the garbage disposal: Make ice cubes out of vinegar. Run the disposal with a few vinegar ice cubes and cold water.

3. Clean countertops: Wipe down surfaces with a rag dipped in vinegar.

4. Clean the fridge: Use a mixture of half water, half vinegar to wipe down the interior shelves and walls.

5. Remove soap build-up and odors from the dishwasher: Once a month, pour 1 cup of vinegar into an empty dishwasher and run the machine through its entire cycle.

6. Bust oven grease: If you’ve got grease spots on the oven door, pour some vinegar directly on the stains, let it sit for 15 minutes, and wipe away with a sponge.

7. To make old glassware sparkle: To get rid of the cloudy effect, wrap a vinegar-soaked towel around the glass and let it sit. Remove and rinse with hot water.

8. Get rid of lime deposits on your tea kettle: Fill the kettle with vinegar and let it boil. Allow it to cool, and rinse with water.

9. Remove stains in coffee cups: Create a paste using of equal parts vinegar and salt (or in lieu of salt, baking soda) and scrub gently before rinsing.

10. Treat Tupperware stains (and stinkiness): Wipe the containers with a vinegar-saturated cloth.

11. Remove stains on aluminum pots: Boil 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water.

12. Deter ant infestations: Spray outside doorways and windowsills, and anywhere you see a trail of critters.

13. Clean can openers: Scrub the wheel of your can opener with vinegar using an old toothbrush.

14. Remove stickers or labels: Cover the sticker with a vinegar-soaked cloth. Let it sit overnight—it should slide right off by morning.

15. Shine porcelain sinks: A bit of vinegar and a good scrub should leave them sparkling.

16. Clean grout: Pour on some vinegar, let it hang out for a few minutes, and buff with an old toothbrush.

17. Clean the shower door: Spray them down with vinegar pre-shower, or post (after you’ve squeegeed the glass) to remove hard water deposits.

18. Clean a grimy showerhead: To get rid of scum, fill a Ziploc with ½ a cup of baking soda and 1 cup vinegar and tie it around the showerhead. Let it sit for an hour, until the bubbling has stopped. Remove the bag and run the shower.

19. Make a toilet sparkle: Pour in a cup or two of vinegar and let it sit there overnight before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

20. Polish linoleum floors: Add 1 cup of vinegar for every gallon of water you use to wash the floor.

21. Clean paintbrushes: Soak paintbrushes for an hour before simmering them on the stove to remove hardened paint. Drain and rinse.

22. Clean grills: Spray vinegar on a ball of tin foil, then use it to give the grate a firm scrub.

23. Disinfect wood cutting boards: Wipe down wood boards with a wash of vinegar.

24. Clean the microwave: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water and ½ cup vinegar. Heat it on full power for 3-4 minutes until it comes to a boil. Keep the door closed for a few minutes longer to let the steam fill the microwave, loosening the grime. Remove the bowl (carefully!) and wipe down interior walls with a sponge.

25. Polish patent leather accessories: Give them a rub with a vinegar-soaked cloth. Buff with a dry cloth.

Art of Surrender Series Pt. IV - Conclusion & Celebration

I have to report that since I began this series a mere 18 days ago - and did the practice myself - my husband found his dream job, I got a responsive email from my mother (a rare but welcomed occurrence), AND ... we just sold our old house in New Mexico (signed the contract today)!! We are feeling truly excited and blessed. and we are Celebrating!!

I am feeling humbly grateful for these great events. Thank you Spirit for your love and your magic :)

I have also learned and deepened my own surrender practice, what works for me, and re-kindled a feeling of being Divinely connected to our benevolent Source.

Thank you god/goddess - All That Is

love joy and namaste... and thank you also to our wonderful realtor, Richard.

Feeling many waves of gratitude :)

addendum:

and really, I am feeling so humbled and in awe in writing this. truely. I only set out to learn and practice surrender, not "wanting" nor expecting anything other than peace.

Are these happenings coincidence? divine timing that came through all at once? I cannot say. But I can say this,practicing surrender to me means "turning it over to God." period. and without expectations. Just turning over the worry, the guilt, the shame, the "whatever it is." The feelings we don't want to have but do.

I found myself singing the surrender song, my own version of it, like a shaman singing into a golden lake of light. and you know what, it brings me peace. and connection. and back again to Source.

I have not felt this connected to Source in a very very long time. And you know what, it is hard to speak of because it is so deep and dear. But I wanted to share. Because that is part of the journey too.

Art of Surrender Pt III - Power of Prayer

"When was the last time you let go of the notion that you're in control of your life and prayed? Even if you only have the slightest sense that a higher power is at work in the world, that little leap of faith just might give you the perspective you've been searching for."

- Elizabeth Lesser

Yesterday I was contemplating taking that leap of faith. I didn't realzie then that what I meant, and surely, what my inner guide was prompting, was taking a leap into Faith.

Today I came across this quote which was follwed by the following article on prayer. This is something I am paying attention to today. The first part of the article focused on some background about the author. But what I saw hidden there was a brief message on seeing the gifts in our early-life circumstances. Hidden in a rather lengthy narrative about the author, this is what stood out to me:

"I grew up in an atheist family. While my parents were raised in religious homes—my father in a kosher Jewish house, my mother in a devout Christian Science one—as adults they renounced their adherence to organized religion. They raised their daughters in a religion-free zone.

But I was born spiritual. I longed to belong to some sort of tradition. I used to sneak away from home on Sundays and go to Catholic Mass with my best friend's family. While I had no education in prayer, I prayed all the time. I prayed over dead birds in our suburban neighborhood; I bought gospel music records; I hung a photo of JFK in my bedroom after he was assassinated and prayed to him. My sisters thought I was nuts.

I once heard an Irish writer say that "an essential element in the life of a writer is to have been an outsider in childhood, to have been given the gift of not belonging." This man's gift had been a father whose job kept the family moving from one town to another. This made him an acute observer of people, and, he said, a better writer."

It reminded me that we have chosen our challenges to bring out something in our souls and soul path.

What followed then was a wonderful discourse on the meaning of prayer as seen by author Elizabeth Lesser. Sometimes when I work to take resonsibility for my path I lose the ability to Trust in a Higher Power. But knowing too that that Higher Power is within me helps me to re-connect again to the greater knowing that can come from within.Prayer will be a part of my surrender practice this week. Or as I like to call it, my practice of letting go, and of experiencing a freer emotional perspective as I work on my deeper issues. Here is the body of the article I mentioned from Elizabeth Lesser.

What It Really Means to Pray

One of my favorite forms of prayer is singing. Sister Alice Martin teaches gospel singing at Omega Institute, the conference and retreat center I co-founded. I have taken her workshops because, for me, singing Christian gospel music is like diving into an ocean of bliss. Sister Alice is an electrifying singer, songwriter and gospel choir leader. When she walks into a room, you sit up a little straighter. When she directs a group of people singing, you never take your eyes off of her. During her workshops, in between leading the group in song, Sister Alice talks about prayer. "Prayer is about being hopeful," she says. "It is not a phone call to God's hotline. It's not about waiting around for an answer you like, especially since sometimes the answer you're going to get is no!"

My favorite advice about prayer from Sister Alice is this: "If you are going to pray, then don't worry. And if you are going to worry, then don't bother praying. You can't be doing both." When I stop and listen closely to what's going on inside my head, I often hear the buzz of worry, like the drone of bees in a wall. That's when I remember Sister Alice's words of wisdom. What would I rather being doing, I ask myself, worrying or praying? I usually choose praying. It's a lot more fun than worrying.

To pray is to let go of your belief that you are in control of your life and to give it over to something more inclusive than your own point of view. It requires a leap of faith. Even if you have only the slightest sense that a higher power is at work in the world, you can still pray. You can name that gossamer belief "God" or not. You can pray to God, or you can pray to your own larger perspective—the part of you that trusts in the meaningfulness of life. I sometimes use Einstein's idea about solving problems when I pray. He said, "No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it." My favorite prayer these days is, "Please show me a bigger perspective, a new consciousness."

Sometimes I pray using other peoples' words. Sometimes I pray in silence. Sometimes prayer feels to me like the last resort, an act of throwing up my hands and saying, "You take over now!" Sometimes it feels like a cry of hunger or thirst. Rumi says: "Don't look for water. Be thirsty." Prayer is allowing oneself to be thirsty; it is a longing for something we just cannot seem to find. The Sufis say that our longing for God is God's longing for us. In this way, prayer is like a conversation between friends separated across time and space.

One of the reasons I love prayer is because it is an antidote to guilt and blame. If we are unhappy with the way we have acted or have been treated, instead of stewing in self-recrimination on the one hand, or harboring ill will toward someone else on the other, prayer gives us a way out of the circle of guilt and blame. We bring our painful feelings out into the open and say, "I have done wrong" or "I have been wronged." And then we ask for a vaster view—one that contains within it all the forgiveness we need in order to move forward.

The power of prayer to overcome guilt

Sister Wendy, a marvelous Catholic nun best known to the world from her books and television shows on art criticism, says this about prayer: "I don't think being human has any place for guilt. Contrition, yes. Guilt, no. Contrition means you tell God you are sorry and you're not going to do it again and you start off afresh. All the damage you've done to yourself, put right. Guilt means you go on and on belaboring and having emotions and beating your breast and being ego-fixated. Guilt is a trap. People love guilt because they feel if they suffer enough guilt, they'll make up for what they've done. Whereas, in fact, they're just sitting in a puddle and splashing. Contrition, you move forward. It's over. You are willing to forgo the pleasures of guilt."

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is best known as the medical doctor who brought death and dying out of the closet in American culture. She created a curriculum for medical students and sat with hundreds of dying people. Her faith in prayer is legendary. She says, "You will not grow if you sit in a beautiful flower garden, but you will grow if you are sick, if you are in pain, if you experience losses, and if you do not put your head in the sand, but take the pain as a gift to you with a very, very specific purpose." The only thing we can really ask for when we pray is the ability to trust in that greater purpose. We pray to have our hearts opened and our purpose revealed. We pray for gratitude when our life is good and for faith when it is not so good. We pray to trust that our pain is a gift with "a very, very specific purpose."

Vaclev Havel, the former Czech president said something that expresses for me the true meaning of prayer. "It is not the conviction that something will turn out well," Havel says, "but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out." We will know if our prayers are working when we are blessed with that kind of certainty. The fruit of prayer is a growing faith that life is an eternal adventure and that we are explorers, always changing, always learning, always open to what we will find beyond the horizon.

I love this: - from Sister Alice: "If you are going to pray, then don't worry. And if you are going to worry, then don't bother praying. You can't be doing both." Wishing you bundles of blessings and lots of love.

Art of Surrender Series - Part I

I am beginning a series on the Art of Surrender. And I'm so excited!

This practice has become a focus in my warrior training and it is an exciting, sometimes nerve-wracking, always potential-filled roller-coaster experience. And in those moments when "It" happens, ahhh... there are no words to describe it.

Today's article comes from a wonderful writer named Robert Adams.

"The Art of Surrender" according to R. Adams

Surrender. And you are amazed by what you have heard. You begin to do just that. While you are at work. While you are washing the dishes, while you are watching TV, you always remember to surrender. And one day the inner teacher pulls your mind inward to the Source and you Awaken. You become liberated. You become your Self. Then you are Free.

There is nothing in this world or anywhere else that can affect you or cause harm to come to you unless you believe it. The growth of the world is made up of mental beliefs. Everything that you behold is a projection of your mind, and because it keeps changing constantly, you cannot say, "This is reality." For instance, your body is not the same as it was 10 years ago, or 20 years ago or when you were first conceived. How can you therefore say that your body is real?

On Impermanence

The world isn't the same as it was twenty years ago, everything has changed. Then how can you possibly say the world is real? Most of us are afraid to get into that subject...for we begin to feel that nothing is permanent, and this brings fear. If nothing is permanent, then who am I really? What am I? Where did I come from? What is the source of myself? These questions can only be answered by you.Something Beautiful

There is something more beautiful, more grand, more wonderful, than you could ever imagine, that exists within you, which is the substratum of all existence. Yet in order to feel this joy, this bliss, in order to find total freedom from life's so-called burdens, you have to dig for yourself. You have to give up something. You can't stay the way you are, with the same disposition. the same values, the same preconceived ideas, the same concepts and be free. You cannot do this. You have to do an about face and totally give up all your ideas about what life is, totally surrender your ego, your mind, your body.

Just Being is enough. Not being this, not being that. Just Being. The Secret to Peace of mind is to not identify with anything other than your True Self.

To whom do you surrender this? To your Self .... the only burden you have ever had is your mind. There is no other burden. See if you can stop your mind for a few seconds and see how peaceful you are. When there are no thoughts there are no fears, no worries. There's no anxieties, no desires, no wants, no greed, no hurt, no enemies. It is the mind, the thoughts that cause these things to come to us. We actually create these conditions. We create our own reality. Think of the kind of life you are living today, your possessions, your friends. your loved ones, your employment. Do these things come to you through luck or chance? Of course not. You have created all things yourself, for you have believed in the false self, you have imagined you are a human being who has to go through experiences. You have been brainwashed since you were little to believe the things you believe today.

(Note: Transcript 32: " The love you share with others in this life is eternal." )

Go Within

So, if you really want freedom, liberation, you do not go searching for this. It is nowhere to be found. For it already exists within yourself. You are already That. So where can you go searching for it? Who can give it to you? If you want water, you turn on the tap. You do not look at the tap and scream and cry, "I want water." You turn on the tap and you have water. Yet when you were a little kid, you did not how to turn on the tap.Therefore, if you wanted a drink, you would cry and make a fuss, and your mom or dad would open the tap and give you a drink. So, can you drink from the spring of eternal life which is your reality? You have to turn on the tap. You have to turn yourself inside out. Can you imagine how you would look turned inside out? It wouldn't be a pretty sight.

The Choice

Most of us believe that if you hear the right word, that if you awaken through the Grace of a Sage, you will be free. This is true in some cases. But these people that you have read about in the holy books who were touched by the Grace of a Sage, these people have done their homework, prior to his happening. You have to want it yourself, and when you want it badly enough, something will happen to you. When you desire liberation more than anything else in life, you have begun to give up your stuff.

credits:
Visit The Robert Adams Infinity Institute of Compassionate Living.
Link to entry on Current Teacher's page
The previous article by The Robert Adams Infinity Institute of Compassionate Living.

Freedom Eagle

Hubby & I were at the colorado "beach" yesterday w/our dogs. We were having a pretty awesome discussion about the new cycle coming in 2012 and we saw a bald eagle flying overhead! It was the 1st time I have seen an eagle soaring freely! He had a beautiful stark white head & tail and everything. :) It was amazing. It took both our breaths away.

The Joy of Living in the Moment - Where the ordinary is extraordinary

It seems the older I get the more I appreciate the extraordinary in the ordinary. Not that I didn't appreciate it before. But there is something deeper and simpler happening with my day-to-day joys. I think it is also in accordance with the earth changes and shifts, and returning to all things simpler and appreciated.

Yesterday my hubby and I were eating veggie burgers (well, I was, he had a regular - but with some very yummy toppings, cranberries, brie and carrot slivers. Mine, a homemade veggie delite of rice, beans and whatever else (delicious) made into a fab-burger, and stacked with julliened roast red peppers (tons), sprouts, onions (I love being married, you can eat onions anytime) and divine balsamic dressing. We shared a side of sweet potato fries that was served with some crazy good roast-veggie-alioli. It was veggie heaven!) We were at a local (wonderful) eatery when news came on the tube of a Tsunami watch in Hawaii and the earthquakes happening off the coast of Chile.

First, and of course, I wanted to cry. As I always do when humanity shares an event like this. I also felt simultaneously glad to be in a public and social space when the news came, b/c it felt like being connected to our human family, and being a-part-of instead of apart-from, as we all sat in concern and focus together. You could feel the love and common bond in the room. Secondly, I also felt a warm need to get home to our doggie-dogs, to cuddle and feel so grateful simply for our togetherness in these shifting & sometimes challenging times.

But later, while taking our dogs for a walk, my hubby made a joke and I felt so happy to laugh. In that moment, I was somehow reminded that even as life and indeed the planet experiences its challenges, there is a bigger picture, and part of keeping the balance and our Way is to also honor our spirit and joy. Every day. No matter what else is going on. It's a part of being balanced and whole. And it is so important too.

It felt good to feel good. And to stay connected to that side of Self too. The common bond and the detached awareness. It's both. But the joy felt really good.

Then I came across this post by a blogger named Sasha. She didn't add her last name, but it was so uplifting I wanted to share it here as well. A wonderful and simple account of living in the present. And it seemed to go with the theme I've been feeling today of appreciating the extraordinary of the ordinary. In any case, I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing her writing today too.

The Joy of Living in the Moment
by Sasha's Tea Room Blog
I recently discovered quite by accident, and much to my delight, the true feeling of living in the moment. I guess I would describe it as a zen type feeling, a state of content and awareness of this feeling with the absence of any other thought. There is no past, there is no future. You are experiencing the joy of being in the experience of now. When we dwell on the past it keeps us from experiencing this day just as looking forward to another day to come robs us of now. ... It's not the parties, the trips, the shopping sprees that bring the joy. Rather it's the cat sleeping beside you as you type away on your computer, gazing at the sky looking for the shooting star, feeding wildlife, cooking a savory meal, relaxing in a warm bath..... The ordinary. It really is extraordinary.

Thanks to Sasha for the graceful reminder. I was just feeling it too!

The Comfort of an Unmade Bed

Comfort Food for the Soul: The Unmade Bed

On Saturday I made the bed up fresh. New sheets. Fresh from the dryer and sooo wonderful. In fact, all of the bedding was fresh and delightful.

By Sunday it was cloudy and gray. Waking up in those fresh sheets on a cloudy day felt irresistable.

I sometimes make it a practice not to make the bed. If for no other reason than to break my habit of feeling like I have to. But on this Sunday, I left that bed unmade with such joy for the comfort it gave me the entire day.

Each time I walked into that room, that wonderful room with the unmade bed, that cozy, cushy bed with the freshly made sheets, my cloudy Sunday felt like such a comforting treat. Home. Love. Easy. Comforting.

And later that night, I couldn't wait to climb back between the sheets of that warm and inviting cozy unmade bed.