Cleaning....

I am not a fan of cleaning... I like a clean house but I don't like to get it there :)
In my quest to save money and clean using natural cleaners rather then the chemicals that we can all buy so easy I started hunting Pinterest and other online sources to find ways that don't take forever.
I found a great pin about making your own orange cleaner (orange peels and vinegar, let sit for several weeks to months) I am making a batch right now, it has been about 2 weeks and the vinegar is just starting to turn orange so I am going to let it go another 2-3 weeks. I hope to use it in the kitchen as an alternative to bleach based cleaners :) I love the smells of orange, apple and/or cinnamon in the kitchen. More on that when I get to try it out.
This place I have tile in the bathroom (floor and shower) I noticed when moving in that the floor grout was about 4 -5 shades darker in the walkways then on the edges. I knew that I needed to clean but I have never had to clean grout (my tile experience has been with well sealed grout and that was just mop as needed). To Pinterest I went, I found several ways but the one that seemed to me to be the best was this one http://aprrilsopinion.blogspot.com/2012/06/amazing-grout-cleaner.html I mixed up a batch and went to work, I let it sit as noted and scrubbed with an old toothbrush, it worked great but took a long time (45 min). So I only did about 1/4 of the small floor... I then went back a few days later to do more and just after applying the cleaner I got called away (to the door) and it sat for about 30-45 min rather then 15 min. the extra time did wonders! I cleaned the next section in about 10 min! so I then knew how to use it, so when I did the shower I applied the cleaner with the thought to leave it sit longer and it worked, the shower took longer to scrub but that it due to the smaller tiles. I found that the grout was 2 colors in the shower (before that section just looked a little worse) I am guessing that section had been taken out to fix the plumbing, and rather then finding the white grout, the leftover grout from the floor was used (med grey/tan ish).

My next project is the cupboards and doors...they are dark brown and showing age. I have found a great trick... Shoe polish! if you can find one that is close in color it does wonders.

Bathroom 1/2 done

This shows just how good the polish covers (and it adds shine) I think that it took 10 years off the bathroom,  it does not last forever but is a great way to cover little issues (great for renters!!!) I am getting ready to go over the bathroom again as the first coat was absorbed by the wood, but it is still way better than it was, the wood was rough and the finish was peeling off, now the peeling has stopped and the rough is much better (I hope that a 2nd coat will totally fix that) it also helped the doors but I had to mix a latex pain to cover some large patches (I used craft paint mixed with water then blended it well into the grain so that it did not show as much) it came out a little dark but I think that is better then the almost white marks. (it is hard to get a picture that shows it)

I am trying to find a way to remove paint from them (the little white dots in the picture) but every method I try removes the finish on the wood... I have sanded (using a small piece of sandpaper), scraped (using a thin piece of metal) and my all time favorite rubbing alcohol... the rubbing alcohol worked the best but still removed a little of what I need to keep. I also have a lot of paint to remove and that method takes a LONG time and lots of q-tips. I love this place but the people who painted it last did not know how to use a sprayer...= little dots of paint on everything!

Up next : what ever I find of interest... maybe sewing stuff...