I love looking at recipes on Pinterest. Sure, it's great to be able to access all these wonderful quilt photos...but for me the lure of Pinterest is in the food. I'm such a sucker. Mmmm. Just LOOK at the food. The photos! I sit there and pin ideas for future meals, everything looks so pretty and so healthy to make for my family.
It's very tempting.
And now and then I actually make something from my file. For example "BEST Crockpot Beef with Broccoli Ever''. OMG it was the worst fail to come out of my kitchen since I tried to make moussaka for a boyfriend who had just returned from a trip to Greece. Many many years ago. But the beef w/ broccoli? Oh, wow. Nasty. [Way too much soy sauce, and the beef cooks away to nothing. Waste of good sesame seeds, at best.] here
But that doesn't stop me from looking. Which brings us to another issue--Spring Cleaning. And here on Pinterest was a lovey recipe for a ''green'' / safe/ healthy / frugal household cleaner. Cinnamon Orange Cleanser
The idea looked so pretty. Like Mrs Meyer's Christmas cleanser.
And I had all the makings. Even a big jar of white vinegar leftover from last fall's pickling efforts.
I had an orange. And a jar of cinnamon sticks from my stock of potpourri makings.
I got out a big glass pickle jar from my stash of useful glassware and filled it with the good things, anticipating a lovely fresh spring cleaning product.
The jar marinated on a dark shelf for a few weeks as directed. I decanted it into one of my not-so-green-so-I reuse them Mrs Meyers spray bottles. I sprayed the kitchen counter, high hopes in hand...
Ugh. It smelled like I wiped down the counters with an old bottle of Good Seasons salad dressing. The vinegar reeked. [No surprise, I hate the smell of cheap vinegar] It was was disgusting. What was I thinking? [in defense of the original blogger who posted the recipe, she does say it smells awful. But I was dazzled by the photos. Again.]
And how could this possibly be a frugal way to to clean? The jug of vinegar cost a couple bucks, the orange was at least 99 cents, the cinnamon?---not free anyway. A nice fresh bottle of Mrs Meyers costs 3.99. I think I ll stick with her products, and my beloved Clorox.
I've used both lemon verbena and radish Mrs Meyers scents--and now she has green apple! oooooo! And sunflower! What do sunflowers smell like, you ask? Dirt and green foliage, sap and pollen? Nope, the site says citrus and melon. I'm gonna look for that for summer. Basil sounds lovely too, doesn't it? And Parsley. A far better way to spend a few dollars, I think.
As for the Pinterest cleaner--do you think I could use it to wash my windows? Or will the cinnamon and orange sweetness draw ants and other bugs? Maybe it will make a nice drain refresher instead?
Wasted time, wasted money But kinda fun.
Now where did I leave my Clorox Clean-up?
[my Pinterest food file is here ]
PS I had to add my chocolate bunny for Easter and spring. He's just so cute! And faux.
lizzy
gone to the beach
PS neither Pinterest or Mrs Meyers in any way asked for my opinion. Products pix are from Mrs Meyers website.
.jpg)
Clorox Clean-Up user here, too. And Simple Green for non-bleachy things.
ReplyDeleteI've never known a Mo in real life, but I can tell I'd be kissing his forehead every minute. He looks sort of worried. Or I'm projecting. LOL.
You know that "all babies are cute" thing? Not so for the baby Japanese White-Eyes. Without a doubt, those are two of the ugliest little creatures of all time. Their heads are as big as "part" of my little fingernail. Their beaks are as big as part of the white part of my little fingernail. Their necks look like juice box straws. They don't make a sound while they're failing around at mom and dad. I think they look like miniature dinosaur babies.
I swear mom and dad were looking at them like, "Knock it off you just ate."
Wish you could see them. I can't get close enough for a pic with my phone. I don't want to scare anyone.
Hunter
Maybe we like Clorox bec we live by the ocean The mildew battle? Tho I also like the smell and bright white
ReplyDeletePoor baby birds! Hilarious. Cool you could see them so well
Mo is laughing inside!
I'm not a big pinterest fan for the very reasons you shared. If you want to get a good laugh, google, "Pinterest fails".
ReplyDeleteI'd take the smell of vinegar over bleach any day! Not a bleach fan here except for the occasional bad stain on whites, and then only if peroxide won't get it out.
ReplyDeleteThere's another cleaner 'recipe' you could use your orangey vinegar in: 2 tablespoons each vinegar and baking soda in 2 cups warm water, and 6 drops of tea tree oil. (From a British show with two 'cleaning mavens'). I'd sub 1/2 cup of peroxide for part of the water. It should be antibacterial either way and it wouldn't smell as vinegary.
We're expecting some spring thunderstorms with maybe hail this evening. Oh, joy. My poor car doesn't have a garage slot!
Way to try something new though??? I've been doing the vinegar-Dawn dish soap mixture a lot these days. I'm not totally crazy about the smell, but it's growing on me. I just try to associate it with my stuff being clean and disinfected. Can't beat bleach for making my tile kitchen counters feel clean and fresh though :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, good for you for giving it a go.
Ugh, I clicked onto your Pinterest food file. That was probably a mistake...the marble cake looks great. Have you made that yet?
Yay, the boardwalk is down!!! That's a nice sight.
Happy weekend!
Kel
Hi Kel! I started to ask: what s the Dawn & vinegar thing? But No. I just can t do vinegar, I can t clean with a food product, it messes up y little mind.
DeleteI didn t make the marble cake. Only the lemon blueberry pound cake, one of my fake versions, using a mix, so it was good. And the weird potatoes that were sliced then stuffed with cheese etc...they re a Fail,lol. What a mess. The cheese burns way before the potao cooks. Obviously, but who knew?