A Taste of Spring Cleaning

Things have been rather chaotic around the house the past few weeks. We are in the middle of constructing a surprise (don't worry, I'll tell you all about it later!). And of course with the warmer weather comes the annual Spring Cleaning! If you're like me, I like to spend as little time as possible cleaning and prefer to start small. Here's a great way to start your spring cleaning and all it requires is doing a load of wash.

How To De-Stink Your Towels

Wash your towels on the hot cycle and add 1 cup of vinegar. Don't use detergent or anything else, just vinegar and hot water. This always does the trick for me, but if you still notice any lingering smells rewash them with hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. That's it. Simple right? Just remember to be careful about mixing colors with hot water. The colors may bleed so just wash them separately or with like colors. Afterwards, I always prefer to dry my towels with the Febreeze Bounce dryer sheets and they always smell wicked clean and fresh!

Jewelry Cleaner

I know this isn't a food recipe, but it's still a good "recipe" to have on hand!

NEVER BUY JEWELLERY CLEANER AGAIN!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon dish detergent
1 cup water
1 piece aluminum foil

Directions:
1. Heat water in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes.
2. Cut a piece of aluminum foil that roughly covers the bottom of a small bowl (like a cereal bowl).
3. Pour hot water into bowl. Place salt, soda, and dish-washing liquid into bowl. Place jewelry on top of foil and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse jewelry in cool water and dry jewelry completely with soft cloth. Discard solution after use and make a new batch next time.
4. According to wire-sculpture.com, "this works well for gold-filled, brass, German (nickel) silver, and sterling silver. I have even cleaned jewelry with freshwater pearls, shell cameos and mother of pearl with no problem.".