I apologize for not posting yesterday. I was feeling overwhelmed by life, and I suffer from depression. Writing my blog was just one more thing that, by not doing, made me feel bad.
Switching to natural face cleaner was really no biggie. I was out of my usual stuff, and I replaced it with something natural. And this stuff is nice - smooth, gentle, and has a faint smell to it that reminds me of the stuff they use on my face at the salon when I have a facial. Speaking of that facial, I had it on Tuesday, and I was due. I have one every 12 weeks, so 4 times a year. I think the salon would like to see me more often, but frankly, I can't afford the cost or the time. Every time I have one, I am told that my pores are clogged and my skin is dry and if I would just start using their overpriced salon products, my skin would be so much happier. But this time, when I told them that I was only interested in natural products for my skin, they had nothing to sell me. Refreshing, and disturbing.
I care about my skin, really I do. I'm a redhead, so I stay out of the sun, use sunblock often and I try to muster the motivation to moisturize. But I ride a motorcycle, out in the wind. I fret over freckles. I drink copious amounts of water. Skin cancer runs in my family. It seems like taking care of my skin/hair body, is a full time job. Why is it that to do anything well, it is like a full time job? Does anyone else ever feel as overwhelmed as I do? Why is good enough never good enough?
Enough with the rant. Today, no more Swiffer products. It doesn't take any kind of smarts to see that all these disposable (not recyclable) cleaning pads and dusters are not eco-friendly. And really, you mop with that pad, wiping the dirt all over your floor, and your floor isn't much cleaner at the end. Dusting isn't a problem. I'll just use some cloths. My mother uses soft cotton cloths that were once burp cloths for babies. But mopping the floor is going to be a challenge. I have a combination of ceramic tile, marble tile and laminate flooring. I also have three cats and a boyfriend. And I'm a neat freak.
So, I'm in need of some how to clean my floors suggestions. And just as soon as I get done with this very last Swiffer pad, I'm putting the mop and the remaining cleaning solution up on Freecycle.
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10 comments:
I hear you about the full time job- I have type II diabetes and it is like pulling teeth to find sugar free products. As far as your swiffer goes Fake Plastic Fish has a place to go online to buy cloth swiffer pads. As for me, I use a vacuum with a hard floor attachment.
Once I ran out of the swifter starter pack I just switched to putting rags on the swiffer. A dry rag works great for sweeping and you can use a rag with a green cleaner or with a simple water-vinegar mix for cleaning. When I'm done, the rags get tossed in the rag bag for the next laundry cycle.
Don't put the mop on freecyle! We use the sweeper pole and tuck a washcloth into the tabs on top where you are supposed to tuck in the cloth. All you do is spray a little bit of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or your choice of natural cleanser on the floor and scrub it clean. No waste!
I have a different kind of mop. The Swiffer pads attach with velcro to the bottom of the mop.
I attach a microfiber cloth with clips to my swiffer, I think I have the same type as you. It works great and I can just take the cloth off and wash it after use. The microfiber kinda clings to the velcro parts but not good enough to be able to mop like that so with the excess I pull the two ends up and use a clip to secure them, saftey pin would work too.
Ok, the microfiber idea would work. Do you think I could refill the bottle with a water vinegar solution once the Swiffer liquid runs out? And what would the proportions be?
Micro fiber is definitely the way to go and a vinegar solution works very well in those mops. if you sew, fold the cloth to make pockets that can be slipped onto the mop, maybe with a velcro tab to hold it.
When I had an all-natural cleaning service, I used warm water w/ about a cup of white vinegar and a drop of dish detergent for the floors. I used it for all the types of floors you have, too.
Also, you can use the vacuum for dusting, and it works quite well.
We use a Vileda (sp?) brand mop with a replaceable sponge attachment. It's pretty solid with metal construction, and it seems to do a good job. But if you've got the swiffer base, you should be able to mod it to use cloth pads!
There's an adorable pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting for a knitted cloth swiffer pad. It's really cute and it looks pretty easy (if you or someone you know is a knitter).
Penguin, excuse my ignorance, but what is a swiffer? Is it the same as some kind of mop and bucket type arrangement?
Gav
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