Homemade Outdoor Window Cleaner

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Shiny Windows! Air Dried without Streaks or Spots!

Its getting to be that time again...Spring Cleaning...I know you are so excited  ツ
I have been waiting since Fall to write this post, it was kind of pointless. Most people clean their windows outside in the spring or summer. We did ours in the Fall. I was so excited to see how shiny and streak free they were when they finally dried. I only took one or two pictures but I know we will be doing our windows again soon as we never got around to putting the Rain-X (Original )  on them, as it got cold outside, and they are dirty again on the west side since that is the side that gets splattered if it rains hard and the wind is blowing. Not only that, but we have to do the insides too! I have another recipe for the inside for a (near) future post.
We have constant nose art on a few of our windows from our two, 4 legged artists. They love watching over their domain out the windows ツ

Charlie peeking out the door♥

♥Ozzy looking out the front

Needless to say I was very impressed with this homemade window cleaner, I will definitely be using it again this Spring!!! I adapted my recipe from this one.  Once we wash them again, I will post more pictures. But for now....

What You Need:

5 gallon Bucket or a large bucket
4 oz. of Vinegar
4 Tablespoons of Alcohol
1/4 Cup of Ammonia
1/3 Cup of my Homemade Dishwasher Detergent (I don't add the dawn in this recipe)(you can use any dishwasher detergent)
2 Gallons of Hot Water
Car Wash Brush or long handled brush (we used the car wash brush, it worked really well!!)

Using a Spray Nozzle on your hose, spray window down with water.
Dip your brush in homemade window solution, scrub window, including the frame.
Rinse with the hose and let air dry.
If that isn't easy I don't know what is!

We are going to come back after they are dry and go over them with Rain - X Original. I don't know if your familiar but this stuff works great for your car windows/mirrors, so why not use it on the  house widows to?!! It will make it even easier to clean them the next time around!
I have also heard of people using it on their shower doors, after they have been cleaned.

Look at that reflection! Its almost like your inside, looking out. 

Yea!

At least one spring cleaning job will be easy.
Spring clean up of three acres is going to be a little harder...

Ps. If you try this, come back and leave a comment how it worked for you.. I love feedback!

Homemade Sanitizing Wipes

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I have been sick literally for over a month now, since just after Thanksgiving! And everyone is getting sick in the house, and I'm tired of it!!! So I did some research and saw a few different  recipes for "Homemade Clorox Wipes"  and they didn't even have Clorox in them LOL!
I saw some with vinegar, I saw some with actual Clorox though, and a few with different ingredients in them, but settled on this recipe. I didn't really like the idea of putting my bare hands on the actual Clorox ones because it seemed to me like it was a really strong solution to water ratio, no thanks. I felt this recipe with the Alcohol would work just fine for my purpose! I used paper towels because I really didn't have a whole lot of rags to use.
In hindsight I will use about 1/2 tablespoon of Dawn when adding the ammonia (makes it to sudsy) If you choose to omit the ammonia then use the two tablespoons of Dawn, or adjust it as you see fit otherwise 1/2 tablespoon should do the trick . But you can experiment to see what you like. :)

(optional) but I used it! 

Here is what you need:

1 Cup of Water
1/4 Cup of Alcohol
2 Tablespoons of Dawn dish soap (only use Dawn)
2 Tablespoons of Ammonia (optional)
Container to store them in

Mix Water, Alcohol, Dawn, and Ammonia (if your using ammonia)
I used the other half of my Viva paper towels from my Baby Wipes recipe
I unrolled about half of the roll and layered it accordion style (see picture below) I didn't tear them apart I left them together.

If you have rags you can use those if you want and just wash and reuse them!

Place your paper towels (or rags) in the container and pour mixture over the paper towels. I let them sit about 10 min., then flipped the whole stack over the other way, to make sure they were saturated completely.

I'm going to have to play with this recipe or maybe make a whole new one? (I know Alcohol doesn't kill everything!) We'll see... until then.... these will  have to do.

I labeled my container so it wouldn't be mistaken for the Baby Wipes...that would be bad! Although they are in two different looking containers, still, Ouch!  lol

Maybe I'll get better soon  (-’_'-) ....

Homemade Baby Wipes

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I've been making these since my kids were infants, my oldest is 19! They sure do save you some money in the long run! I used them for Everything, hand wiping, face wiping, and butt wiping. They came in handy in the car lots of times. I had a big ole Rubbermaid container that a half a roll of paper towels fit perfect in. I even had a wipe warmer, cause lets face it those suckers can be cold!
 My "recipe" is a little different that what I have  seen, I add a little alcohol to help preserve them longer (I don't seem to go through them as fast now days) and it never seemed to burn their little bottoms :)
**Just a note of caution, these baby wipes are NOT suppose to be flushed!! Especially if you have a septic system! Bounty Paper Towels (or any other  brand of paper towels for that matter) don't break down fast enough and it will clog your pipes, so please Don't flush!!!!...!


What you will need:
1. Measuring cup
2. Sharp Serrated Knife (long enough to cut through the paper towels)
3. Cutting Board
4. 3 or 4 Qt Container (round or square)
5. Roll of Bounty Paper Towels (some prefer select-a-size, but I like the  regular ones for these, but its your call which ones you would prefer)
6. 2 Tbls. Baby Shampoo or Baby Wash (generic is fine)
7. 2 Tbls. Baby Oil 
8. 1 Tbls. Alcohol  (optional)
9. 1 1/2 to 2 cups Water

Cut Paper towels in half.

Put one half of the paper towels in the container.

Mix the water, oil, shampoo, and alcohol in the measuring cup, and gently stir as to not make it bubble up to much.
Slowly pour on and all around the paper towel, make sure to get the cardboard part a little bit too. Don't worry about the cardboard it will come out easily once its wet.

Cover and let it sit about 5 minutes then flip the paper towels over and wait another 5 minutes. The card board should come out at this time. Pull the center paper towel out a little and your all set. :) 

If you need some for the diaper bag, take some out and put then in your travel size container, or simply put them in a Ziplock bag.

I still have my container from way back when, but I saw some containers at Walmart that would work, they are the "Mainstays Home" 4 Qt Square container, I'm thinking they were around 3.00 for a 2 pack.
I still use these, except they are "adult" wipes now, and I sure wish I still had the wipe warmer, our wipes live on the marble bathroom floor and they are Not! warm. ;)

Update! 9-27-12

I have tried the "Viva" brand paper towel on these wipes, its so much more like cloth! So soft!!
You may have to use just a little bit more water. I have made two batches and on the 1st one I had to add a little over 2 cups of water, on the 2nd batch it was good right at 2 cups. So just be aware that you may have to add a little more if they don't feel wet enough, or if some of the paper towels don't look wet.

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