Homemade Fall Home Air Freshener Oil

It's the first of September so I think it's ok that I'm ready to breakout most things fall since it's become rainy and cold the last few days. Homemade Fall Home Air Freshener Oil is a favorite in our house and a must have for fall. It smells warm and inviting almost like Citrus Orange Cinnamon Rolls with plenty of cinnamon, notes of ginger, cloves, and of course orange.

Fall Home Fragrance will  leave your company wondering what you have hidden in the oven with it's delicious smell. It is my signature house fragrance for fall! 

On that note I decided to try something new today and made a video!  You'll have to let me know what you think, I have a lot of work to perfect it but it's a pretty good start. Of course I still included printable instructions below the video. 

1

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner And How To Clean Smarter Not Harder

It's that time of year, the sunshine's out, birds are singing, and Colt's been working on cleaning up the patio so we can enjoy sometime outside! 

My secret weapons for cleaning our outdoor living space is my Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner, and Viva® Vantage® paper towels with it's scrubby texture like terry cloth. Viva® Vantage® holds up to the tough jobs like cloth and can even be rinsed a few times as needed without falling apart! 

My Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner is super easy to make. To a clean unused spray bottle add: 10 ounces White Vinegar, 6 drops Lemon Grass Essential Oil, 4 drops Orange Essential Oil, 2 Drops Liquid Dish Soap, and fill to the top with water. Gentle shake to combined.

We use this Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner just about everywhere in our house including the bathrooms, on glass, stainless steel, and tough stuck on jobs.

The easiest way to cut through tough built up grime is to spray the areas to be cleaned and allow 5 minutes for the cleaner to break up the dirt. We use this trick on anything with hard to remove built up grime like bathrooms, windows, glass, countertops, and outdoor living spaces. I find allowing the cleaner to do it's job is the most important step to working smarter, not harder.

Then we put the Viva® Vantage® paper towels and Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner to the ultimate dirty test on our patio furniture.  Viva® Vantage® cut through the dirt and grime with ease! 

It definitely was one of the dirtiest jobs around our house to test out the paper towels! 

Check out the shine on that glass with minimal effort! 

Then Colt decided to test it out on the stainless steel barbecue. Sure enough it with held the ultimate test leaving the stainless steel shiny and clean. The scrubby texture of Viva® Vantage® makes shining stainless easier then ever. 

Our outdoor living area is sparkling clean and ready for company! My two must have products for cleaning, no matter how tough the job! 

Viva® Towels recently paired up with Monica Potter and Boys & Girls Club to unleash clean for families in need! Check out their Facebook Video of the event! 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

3

How To Clean A Microwave 101

Last weekend one of the kids heated up soup in the microwave without placing a cover over the top.

As you can see the results were rather messy, on top of that it wasn't wiped up right away, and quickly became a dried on mess.

I don't know how many times I've asked the kids to please just place a paper towel over the top of the food so we don't have the issue, but every so often someone forgets.

Luckily it gave me the perfect excuse to share with you how I clean my microwave! 

0

How To Clean A Stained Stainless Steel Coffee Pot

I'm almost ashamed to admit just how bad the stain on the inside of our Stainless Steel Coffee Pot had become but I'm sure some of you have run into the same dilemma and wondered how to clean a stained stainless steel coffee pot.

The coffee oils have slowly cooked into a thick layer of build up that is seemingly impossible to removed no matter how much elbow grease you apply.

Even the regular run through the dishwasher didn't touch it.

But never fear my friends I'm sharing another one of my all time favorite Cleaning 101 tips: How To Clean A Stainless Steel Coffee Pot.

Best part is it takes very little effort and you should have both ingredients readily available.

With the holidays here I figure it's perfect time to clean the coffee pot before company arrives but easy enough to do once a week so you'll never encounter the embarrassment of a stained coffee pot again.

6

Top 10 Easy Cleaning Tips

My Top 10 Easy Cleaning Tips to make household clean up a little bit easier.

I recently tried out the Dirt Devil® 360° Reach™and fell in love with how light weight it is and all the accessories to make household cleaning so much easier! 

I've been looking for something easier to maneuver then our traditional vacuum to get under the entertainment cabinet, sofa and beds without having to move furniture and the Dirt Devil 360° Reach not only does that but more.

Please make sure to checkout the bottom of the post for my Top 10 Easy Cleaning Tips to save time!

2

Homemade All Natural Inexpensive Weed Killer

Our yards been over run by weeds this year, so I decided to make Homemade All Natural Weed Killer thats super inexpensive.

I usually buy the all natural weed killer at the local home improvement store because of the kids, and dogs, but it is so expensive.

Vinegar on the other hand is very inexpensive, and works even better then the fancy all natural weed killer I had been buying.

We picked up 2 gallons of vinegar at Costco for under $4.00 and it worked wonderfully when mixed with salt, and a little dish soap.

Under $5.00 bucks total for something that is completely safe for my kids, and pets, that kills weeds is a good thing in my book! 

In a clean pump sprayer that hasn't had any chemicals added mix 1/3 cup Salt or 2 ounces Orange Oil, 1 teaspoon All Natural  Liquid Dish Soap.

Tip: If your wanting to grow other things where you are spraying this mixture use orange oil instead of salt according to a reader on Facebook the salt will make it hard for other plants to grow in the soil.

Pour in 1 gallon of White Vinegar and use a long paint stir stick and mix until combined. 

Alternately if your strong like Colt you can just shake it until well combined.

Make sure the salt on the bottom becomes dissolved.

Weeds are best sprayed on a warm day when their is no rain for 24 hours.

The picture on the right was 12 hours after the weeds were sprayed.

Looks like it worked to me! 

Now at least I have the weeds under control until Colt has time to pull them.

All Natural Inexpensive Weed Killer

yield: 1 GallonAuthor: Serena Bakes Simply From Scratchprint recipe

Homemade Inexpensive Weed Killer

Homemade All-Natural Inexpensive Weed Killer

prep time: 5 MINScook time: total time: 5 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup Salt or 2 ounces Orange Oil
• 1 teaspoon All Natural Dish Soap
• 1 Gallon Plain White Vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add all ingredients to a clean pump spray that hasn't been used for chemicals and mix or shake until salt is dissolved. The salt provide long term weed control but seedlings and delicate plants might have a hard time growing in the soil after spraying with salt. If you will be planting in the area you are spraying orange oil is a better alternative.
2. Spray weeds on a warm day when no rain is expected for 24 hours.

https://www.serenabakessimplyfromscratch.com/2014/05/homemade-all-natural-inexpensive-weed.html

© 2014 Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch

Created using The Recipes Generator

7

Tuesday Tips How To Store Tall Boots

I love my tall boots but I really hate when they become creased at the ankle from flopping over in the closet.

Ugh..So frustrating!

Never fear my friends!

This is so easy you won't believe it.

Today I bring you one of my favorite life hacks how to store tall boots without boot inserts because who ever remembers to buy tall boot inserts when your at the store?

Not this girl I fail miserably even though I can't stand to see them creased so I usually end up storing my boots in their box on their sides but this is the perfect solution for storing boots.

I almost forgot it's also a great way to save your favorite magazines you aren't ready to part with.

Grab all those old magazines you have laying around and roll them up into a long tube and place into your tall boots make sure the tube goes all the way down to the heel.

Yep that's it! How easy was that.

Look how nice and straight my boots stay now preventing premature creasing.

I leave the magazines in the boots when I store them in their box over the summer to help retain shape.

My Frye's have a thin ankle so I needed to unzip my boots before adding the rolled up magazine and then zip them. 

The magazines will expand to fill the boot and hold them straight.

Check out these other favorite Tips and Tricks:

How To Clean Hood Vent Filter.

How To Remove Ink Or Sharpie.

How To Clean A Cast Iron Pan.

8

How To Clean A Greasy Hood Vent Filter Cleaning

How to clean a greasy hood vent filter with a few simple ingredients.

Eww..Gross... This was so gross hiding under my microwave hood vent... It was beyond time I share with you my trick on How to Clean A Greasy Hood Vent Filter.

By the time we're done this baby will be shiny new again! I promise and no I haven't been drinking...

I can't believe I let it get so bad.

I use borax because it doesn't have a strong smell and it's a natural product (which doesn't mean it's safe to eat, you definitely should keep it locked up like all cleaning supplies, and I use gloves while cleaning with it).

55

Cast Iron Pan Cleaning 101

I gave away a cast iron skillet awhile back and I've been meaning to have a little cast iron cleaning session 101. 

I remember when we first became married we had a cast iron skillet and at the time I felt everything needed to be soaped to be clean. I truly struggled for a long time with the thought of not soaping a pan and how could it ever be clean.  That pan is long gone and I swore I would never use a cast iron pan again. I mean after I totally destroyed the pan I just couldn't understand why anyone would want to own a cast iron pan. Everything stuck and I never could seem to get it clean!

Fast forward to about a year ago when we decided a cast iron skillet was the way to go for camping. I really didn't want to lug around my all clad to the camp ground and after doing a little research decided cast iron was the way to go but I would have to conquer my obsessive compulsive disorder with the soap. It was baby steps to begin with. 

Then one day I gave in and accepted the fact soap would ruin my new pan I was not going there again! 

Now I use my cast iron more then my all clad dependent on what I am cooking and it has a home in the oven.

8

Ink Or Sharpie Removal

Easy tips to safely remove Ink or Sharpie.

Do you see what I see?  My youngest decided to graffiti by leather couch!

He is one lucky boy I new the trick to remove the ink..

The funniest part of the whole thing is he still can't tell me why he had the urge to write his name with pen on the couch. I have removed ink and sharpie from leather, carpet, clothing, and laminent using this easy method.

I know now my kids sound like trouble, but they really aren't. I can't tell you how many times sharpie has leaked through a project onto clothing or a pens broke!

Just make sure to test a hidden area first because it could remove some color.

13

How to Clean A Porcelain Sink

This is my dirty sink! Yuck! I know gross! I usually wouldn't advertise my dirty sink on my blog, but how else could I show you my favorite way to clean it?

I don't understand cleaning dishes, scrubbing floors or for a matter of fact washing my kids or my own body with petroleum, it makes no sense to me. So I try to limit exposure as much as possible.

I try to use more natural things around the house to clean with and thought maybe here and there I would share my little tips.

5

Around the house lately

This room seems like it was a long work in progress.

We still have a lot of work to do, aka paint the base molding, doors, and finish moving in the last of my super stars stuff. But I decided it was time to post the post instead of waiting any longer.

The colors of the room where inspired from the bed spread my daughter had found last spring, and she knew she would like some kind of stars on the wall. We worked together to choose colors and the chandelier.

My hunka hunka burn'n love did the custom painting on the wall. He is such an incredible artist! He also constructed the bed from scratch creating his own design, simply amazing! Then Mr. HOT construction man went on to paint the boys room into a Seahawks room.

He's just so HOT, with all his skills! On another note, I have been up since 2:45 am this morning so if my post seems a little of we can blame the lack of sleep.

 This is a picture of  the boy's room when the switch happened! Not very masculine.

 I'm sure every boys crazy about the pink computer area! If you where a boy wouldn't you want a pink and purple room?

 The beginning stages of my husband assembling the bed! Let me tell you I was thinking he was crazy at this point, when he convinced me he could make a bed with nothing other then wood, a drawing he made and some tools.

 A picture of the foot board.

 OK now you have me on the same page.. Maybe you where right I was wrong! I can throw in the towel. Especially for a hot construction man!

 Then he went on to remove the pink and purple from the larger of the two rooms so the boys have there Seahawks room back!

 Working on the hash marks on the wall!

 He is so creative! The picture to the right is where we are now! He is still going to paint the Seahawks emblem and a few other murals on the wall! I can't wait to see his finished product! He had painted an awesome muril on the ground at a school in West Seattle a few years ago for Kaboom and received a compliment from Marcus Trufant, who was at the event! I will have to add the pictures one of these days!

 A few more picture of the super star room. I just love it! I wish I my room had been like this!

 Oh and can't forget Lil Belle belle and Buddie! Crazy dogs! The kids must have been ignoring them today!