by natalie Wise
Deep Wash:
• ½ cup baking soda
• ¼ cup vinegar
• 5 drops grapefruit seed extract, optional
• Castile soap
Sprinkle the interior of the lunch box with plenty of baking soda. Pour in the vinegar and add the grapefruit seed extract, if using. Use a clean toothbrush to get the seams and any extra dirty areas clean. Close the bag and zip it or snap it closed if you can, and give it a really good shake and swish. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Give it one more good swish. Rinse well.
Next, give the exterior a bath in a small basin by filling it with warm water and adding a few drops of castile soap. Swish well and submerge if you can. If you can’t submerge, spot clean with the mixture. Use a clean toothbrush on the exterior to work on any spots. Rinse thoroughly. Let dry on a clean towel, open if possible, with a few paper towels or a clean towel inside.
Wipes:
• ½ cup vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 5 drops grapefruit seed extract, optional
• 5–8 cotton rags cut into 6”x8” rectangles
Mix the ingredients together in a quart-size glass jar. Add the rags and shake to make sure the rags get saturated. When ready to clean, simply take a rag out, wring it of any excess liquid (letting it drip back into the container for future use), and wipe your lunch box clean. The used wipes can be washed and added to the liquid again, adding more of the solution as necessary.
BABY HAND, FACE, AND BOTTOM WIPES
Wipes get used by the thousands when raising kids. And that means a whole lot of chemicals and waste going into our landfills and waterways. There simply has to be a greener way to clean messy faces, sticky hands, and dirty bottoms without using toxic antibacterial chemicals that do more harm than good. You can use paper towels for this if you prefer instead of cloth rags; simply be sure to get a brand that is strong and sturdy enough to handle the liquid. Experiment with the amount of liquid to the brand of paper towel, and see what works.
• 2 cups distilled or boiled and cooled water
• ¼ cup pure aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoon castile soap
• Twenty 5x5-inch square cloths OR use half-size paper towels, folded in half and stacked
Mix ingredients well in a gallon jar with a resealable lid, stir to mix but not agitate the soap too much. Add your cloths or paper towels. Close the lid and turn upside down once or twice to saturate towels. To use, simply grab a towel, wring out excess liquid, and wipe hands, face, and body as needed. The towels can be machine washed and used again and again.
CRAYON AND MARKER REMOVAL 101
This should be one of the first classes they teach new parents, don’t you think? Somehow, these ubiquitous tools of childhood end up everywhere! And there’s no way to rid your life of them; if you have children, these will exist in your home. Not only do the items themselves find their way into briefcases and purses, kitchen drawers and toilets, but the marks also get everywhere, from walls to televisions and heirloom furniture to the leather couch. How do you erase these colorful but dreaded marks? Here’s a cheat sheet.
Crayon:
Canvas/cotton/clothing: Place a cotton rag on each side of the crayon stain and iron over the rag on the top of the item. Only use warm heat, not high. Then treat with stain remover (page 131).
Rugs/Carpets: Melted crayon can be a mess on rugs and carpets. But since it melted on, the best thing to do is to melt it off. Place a thin rag over the affected area and iron it with a warm (not hot) iron, gently rubbing. You’ll probably still have stained carpet fibers, but the majority of the wax should be gone.
Walls: Place a drop of lemon essential oil on a cotton swab and scrub the crayon off.
Leather: Make a paste of baking soda, water, and 1–2 drops lemon essential oil. Gently rub into the spot with a rag.
Plastic: Use the same paste as above for leather.
Glass: Place a drop of lemon essential oil on a cotton swab and scrub the crayon off.
Television (LED and glass screens; not plasma), laptop, and electronic screens: Use a 50/50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and water with gentle pressure and a soft lint-free cloth.
Skin: Castile soap and warm water should do the trick.
Marker/Highlighter/Permanent Marker:
Canvas/cotton/clothing: Dab hand sanitizer on the mark immediately if you have some handy. The alcohol in the hand sanitizer helps remove the stain. Try hair spray for the same reason; or, of course, dab on a little rubbing alcohol.
Rugs/carpets: Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth and blot the stain with a lot of pressure. Repeat until the stain lightens. As a last resort, if the spot is highly visible, you can cut out stained fibers, and, if the missing fibers are noticeable, try cutting some from an inconspicuous part of the carpet (such as the corner of a closet) and superglue them into the area.
Walls: Trace the line using a dry-erase marker. Then wipe off; the permanent marker should come off with the dry erase marker, too. You can also try hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol.
Leather: Rubbing alcohol or spray sunscreen. Spray onto the stain and wipe off with a terry cloth washcloth immediately.
Glass or Plastic: Write over the permanent marker with a dry-erase marker. Wipe off with a textured rag. Or use hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol. If that doesn’t work, resort to not-so-organic acetone nail polish remover (purchase a single-use nail polish remover pad at a drugstore); this will work in seconds.
Televisions (LED and glass screens; NOT plasma), laptop and electronic screens: Write over the mark with a dry-erase marker; wipe off. You can also use rubbing alcohol; be sure to wipe clean immediately.
Skin: Saturate a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and rub off as much of the ink as you can. Follow by saturating a cotton ball in olive oil and rubbing that in as well.
HIGH CHAIR WASH
High chairs get dirty after every single meal, so it’s important to have something on hand that can easily spray down the whole thing and get it spic and span before the next meal comes around and decimates it again. You might think you need antibacterial properties since your baby will likely be eating food directly from the surface. But antibacterial ingredients in over-the-counter cleaners are toxic and unnecessary. The natural antibacterial properties of vinegar, mixed with a good soap and water wash once a day, are just as effective and safer for your child. Some people like to add essential oils for a fresh scent, but I prefer to leave them out since food and baby mouths will inevitably be touching the surface.
After each meal:
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup distilled or boiled and cooled water
Mix well in a 16-ounce spray bottle. Give it a shake before use.
To Use: Spray liberally over all surfaces of the high chair. Let sit for 5 minutes. Wipe down well with a clean rag.
Nightly:
• 16 ounces distilled or boiled and cooled water
• 2 teaspoons castile soap
Mix in a 16-ounce spray bottle.
To Use: Spray liberally over all surfaces of the high chair. Use a warm, wet cloth to wipe down the entire high chair well. Use a clean wet cloth to wipe down and remove any remaining soap.
The home office is meant to be a clean, organized oasis from the chaos of the rest of the house so you can focus on work. But the home office still gets dirty and disorganized. Chances are, since you have this book in your hands, you don’t have a professional cleaner come in each night to tidy up like most office buildings do. Maybe you aren’t so lucky as to have a whole room or basement/attic space dedicated to your home office. Perhaps you just have an overflowing desk pushed against the corner of a bedroom or the living room. Seeing a mess does not inspire organization or workflow, so keeping the area, no matter how big it is, clean and tidy is important. Since the majority of cleaning work will fall on you, here’s your guide to everything you need to know.
The Process: Purge, Clean, Organi
ze
Paperwork will probably be your biggest purge foe in the home office. Get the shredder handy and be ruthless about shredding documents you no longer need. Not only do they take up physical space, they take up mental space as well, and you’ll need all of your mental space free to be able to work efficiently. Then, purge office supplies. Test every writing instrument. Chances are you have a handful of permanent markers that are out of ink, dry-erase markers that have dried out, and highlighters that are frayed from use. Toss these and start fresh. Purge the contents of any corkboards, and only keep pertinent information tacked up so you can start fresh with inspiration.
Clear out your desk drawer by drawer and purge expired medications, stale gum, dried-out rubber bands, bent paper clips, dried-up glue sticks, outdated white-out, random Post-it notes, and anything else that isn’t necessary.
Cleaning is next. Chances are your home office has carpet, which will need a refresh or deep cleaning. If you’re moving all of the furniture out anyway, it’s best to do a deep clean with a steamer (see steamer instructions on page 106). Clean the baseboards and walls, fans, blinds, and windows. Clean bookshelves and your desk, all of your electronics, and anything else you choose to put back in the office space. Dust accumulates quickly in any room with electronics, so I also suggest opening the windows if possible to let in some fresh air. Clean your electronics frequently to prevent this dust from accumulating.
Organization is key to keeping a home office tidy. Make sure you have all of the necessary equipment that a normal office would supply you to keep your space organized, such as In/Out boxes, letter holders, vertical wall file holders, a filing cabinet, whiteboards, corkboards, receipt stake, and anything else that will make your job easier. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the basics if you’re trying to put together a home office for a certain aesthetic quality or on a budget. Keep all extra offices supplies out of sight, and group, such as all packing supplies in one bin and all desk supplies (paper clips, tape, pens) in another. Get a letter sorter tray to keep different types of paper and envelopes organized and hang it by the printer.
A simple bookshelf is your best organizational tool in any room, but especially in a home office. It can hold plants, binders, books, boxes, trinkets, samples, and supplies. Fill the bottom shelves with shipping mailers and a bin for tape and labels; the next level up has all of your process/procedure binders, and the next up has product samples for customers to handle. The top level can be decorative, used to display awards, business cards, plants and anything that you need at-hand.
SHINE UP YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN
Computer screens, especially with the touch-screen technology we have today, get fingerprints, food splatters, and dust that we don’t notice until the light hits it just right. Most computer screens can be cleaned with simple water. If that doesn’t do the trick, add some vinegar to the mixture.
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup distilled or boiled and thoroughly cooled water
It’s important to start with a computer screen that is cool, so power off and unplug your computer or laptop before cleaning. Mix the white vinegar and water together in a small bowl, and using a lightly textured cloth, clean the screen in a left-to-right, top-to-bottom motion, being sure to get the edges well. For any tougher spots, a gentle circular motion may help loosen grime. Let the screen dry completely before plugging in or turning on the computer.
KEEP DUST BUNNIES OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER/LAPTOP/MOUSE
The computer itself, including the keyboard and mouse, is likely just as dirty, if not dirtier, than your screen was, so why not clean both while you’re at it? Don’t spend money on compressed air, which also contains toxic chemicals. We’ll add a little alcohol to this mixture to really get some of the keyboard and mouse germs gone, and if there’s a texture to your computer facing, it will get into those crevices nicely, too. If you’ve already made the computer screen cleaning mixture, simply add the 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and proceed to clean the rest of the computer.
• ¼ cup vinegar
• ¼ cup distilled or boiled and cooled water
• 2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol
Mix well in a small bowl. Again, only clean your computer or laptop when it is cool and unplugged.
Exterior of computer: Dip the edge of a clean rag in the mixture and clean well. If your computer surface has a grain to it, wipe with the grain.
Keyboard: Unplug or turn off your keyboard if necessary. Let it cool completely before proceeding. Some keyboards you can easily pop the letters off to clean it more thoroughly, but unless you are sure you’ll be able to get them back on easily, I recommend leaving them on. A straightened-out paper clip can be inserted around the base of each letter to get any lint buildup free. Then use a cotton swab dipped in cleaning solution to get around, between, and behind each key. Clean the rest of the keyboard with a rag dipped in cleaning solution. Let dry thoroughly before using.
Mouse: This mixture works for touchpads built into laptops and external handheld mouses. Be sure to unplug or turn off any external mouses and let them cool before cleaning. Use the paper clip and cotton swab dipped in the solution method to clean your mouse. Let dry thoroughly before using.
CLEAN AIR CACTI (AND OTHER PLANTS THAT ENJOY TOXINS)
Small offices are actually more dangerous than large offices, believe it or not. Small offices have less circulation, and likely have carpets and lower ceilings that absorb and harbor air pollution from electronics. Yes, electronics put out air pollution. Electromagnetic wave pollution, in particular, along with formaldehyde off-gassing from cheap office furniture and other chemicals that printers and monitors expel, such as Xylene and Toluene. But we can protect ourselves at least somewhat from this harmful pollutant by using plants that absorb and clean the polluted air.
Any and all cacti: Cacti are great to place right near your computer because they are one of the best plants to detoxify your air. Cacti are ideal office plants because not only do they purify the air, they thrive when neglected over the weekend or during a busy stretch.
Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’): One of the top chemical-cleaning plants available, a Boston fern is excellent if you feel your office has a lot of electronic pollution or smells (off-gassing chemicals) from ink and toner. But a Boston fern takes a bit more care than some on the list here, so only purchase this one if you are willing to commit to its care.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum): This is another easy-to-grow plant that thrives in an office environment. The spider plant is great at ridding the air around you of formaldehyde and xylene, and will keep creating “babies,” or shoots, that you can grow in separate containers.
Any aloe plant: Not only will having an aloe plant on your desk be useful if you get a burn (simply break off a leaf and apply the gel to the burn), it is also one of the best air-cleaning plants you can get. Aloe absorbs and purifies formaldehyde like a champ.
Rubber plant (Ficus elastica) or a Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis) plant: These fun plants are easy to care for and will tolerate low sunlight levels (important in an office setting). They also soak up formaldehyde like it’s their job. And they happen to look cool and modern. Be careful with Janet Craigs, though, if there are any pets in your home office, as these are toxic to dogs and cats.
Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii): A more pet-friendly office plant is a bamboo palm. Chances are you’ve received one of these as a gift, or will, so pop it on your desk. These grow well in low light, but will grow exponentially taller if exposed to sunlight, so keep this in mind. It will absorb formaldehyde, bezene, and trichloroethylene.
CONTROL CORD CLUTTER
Cords are a breeding ground for messes, crumbs, tripping, and dirt. Yep, they always seem to end up tangled and untidy. But when you work in a home office, the burden is on you to keep them clean and safe. While you’re tackling the tangle of cords, consider getting a smart power strip that doesn’t send any power to machines
that are turned off. It’s a simple way to save money and energy.
UNTANGLE AND UNPLUG ALL CORDS BEFORE CLEANING THEM.
First, vacuum the area where the cords are, as they always seem to have dust bunnies, tissues, torn paper bits, and dried plant leaves among them.
Then, mix up a small dish of warm water with a drop of castile soap. Use a rag dipped lightly into the mixture to slide along cords. Be sure to get into the middle groove of cords. Do not clean the metal prongs with any water at all; only wipe with a dry cloth.
Extra Tip: Use recycled plastic bread ties (the flat kind that slip on), to label cords. Write in permanent marker on each tab, or use different colored ones, to know which cord at the power strip belongs to which machine on the desk.
WATER BOTTLE SOAK FOR WATER BOTTLES AND COFFEE CUPS/TO-GO MUGS
Office water bottles, coffee cups, and to-go mugs see a lot of abuse day after day, with only a quick swish in the sink here and there to keep them going. That’s just gross, especially if you add creamer or sugar to your coffee; you’re simply asking for a moldy situation. Don’t forget to keep the coffee maker itself clean: See page 42 for instructions on how to clean standard and single-serve coffee makers.
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 teaspoon castile soap
• Cold water
• Hot water
Bring all of your office water bottles, coffee cups, and to-go mugs to the sink and place them in a basin. Fill the basin with 2 cups of white vinegar and enough cold water to completely cover the items. Let them soak for 1 hour. Then use a clean toothbrush and a cotton swab if necessary to thoroughly scrub the tops of to-go mugs, a place where crud just loves to accumulate. Dump out the vinegar water. Add 1 cup of baking soda to the basin, and fill with very hot water and 1 teaspoon castile soap. Give everything a thorough scrubbing. Let dry completely.
