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. 

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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.

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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! 

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Holiday Gift Basket Ideas

Sometimes it's hard to know what to get someone for the holidays but I always find gift baskets an easy versatile gift that can be individualized for any one.

Holiday Gift Baskets are always fun to receive and give whether it's for Mom, a best friend, coworker or neighbor I think everyone loves a basket filled with goodies! 

Holiday Gift Baskets are easy to adapt for teenagers, men, and women.

I made this basket with a women in mind however men will enjoy the GODIVA Chocolate Gift Box and DIY Lavender Rosemary Mineral Bath for achy muscles as much as anyone else.

The DIY Cinnamon Wrapped Candle can be swapped out with a grooming kit or old fashioned shave kit for something a little more masculine. 

For teenage girls you might add lip gloss, a set of knee high socks or an eye mask.

I also always include a Christmas Ornament when I give a gift at the holidays! 

This year we are doing wooden chalk gift tags that double as an ornament or can be reused later.

I always love receiving ornaments and think it's so nostalgic as I remember each year where they came from and the story behind them.

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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.

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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.

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Homemade Yogurt

Who knew Homemade Yogurt is so very easy to make, and a great way to save some money! 

Homemade Yogurt is super easy to make, you know exactly what's in it and it tastes a lot and I mean a lot better then what I've been buying at the store all these years, and I don't buy the cheap yogurt just for the record.

My friend Sonja over at Practical Stewardship had a wonderful recipe on her blog for Crock-Pot Yogurt and I decided to give it a try!  Delicious Sonja! Thank you so much!

It's definitely worth the time to make Homemade Yogurt the recipe is actually incredibly easy to make.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Garden Update!

I walked out and discovered a gold mine in my garden! It sure has taken off and I have been picking salads every other night! I can't wait until the broccoli comes in! The poor pea's on the other hand just won't grow!

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