5 Ways to Clean with Olive Oil

Delicious, rich and healthy olive oil. When you think of that gorgeous, green-tinted oil you likely think of whipping up some fresh vinaigrette - not cleaning with the stuff. But, olive oil is a useful cleaner for nearly every room in the house. Here are five of my favorite ways to use olive oil to clean your home:

1. Remove fingerprints and smudges from stainless steel. Just a tiny amount of olive oil (any type - light, extra virgin, etc.) on a soft cloth will buff out any fingerprints, smudges or marks on stainless steel. Just literally a few drops will do the trick. Don't use too much oil or you'll be left with an oily residue.
2. Polish wood. I like a combination of olive oil and a little squeeze of lemon to polish wooden furniture or surfaces - but even a wee bit of olive oil alone will give you a lovely, shiny clean wooden surface. Adding the lemon also  makes it smell wonderful.
3. Polish leather furniture. Whether it's leather chairs at the dining room table, or leather sofas or couches, a tiny bit of olive oil on a soft cloth will buff that surface up beautifully.
4. Add moisture to wooden utensils. Especially in dry climates, wooden utensils, spoons and wooden cutting boards need a little love and attention. Rub some olive oil into the wood and watch the wood soak it up like a thirsty little sponge!
5. Remove glue and other sticky stuff. A bit of olive oil left to sit on sticky residue (such as leftover goo from a price tag or sticker) will make it easy to gently scrape it off.

Those are my favorite uses - now, do you have a secret way to clean with olive oil? Share it in a comment!

Reader's Question - Cleaning Fingerprints off Stainless Steel Appliances

Ah yes, the fingerprint prone stainless steel appliance! They look chic in your kitchen, but those smudgy fingerprints really wreck that distinguished look you were going for. Do you relate to this email sent in by Bev?
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Hello,

I was wondering if you or your readers have any good tips for removing those pesky finger prints off of stainless steel appliances? Cleaning has become a nightmare since getting these new toys!

Thank you,

Bev

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Hey Bev,

I have a great solution for you that's not only effective, it's natural! (Oh, and did I mention cheap??) You probably already have this ingredient nestled in your pantry - olive oil! Just a tiny amount on a soft cloth or paper towel will work wonders at removing those fingerprint disasters that are smudging up your gorgeous appliances. Literally just a few drops is all you need.

Give it a go and let me know the results, okay?
Take care,
Christina

Washing Dishes - Getting out Tough Coffee and Tea Stains

I've recently found that even good dishwasher detergents don't always completely clean coffee and tea stains out of mugs and cups. If you also have a rather unappealing collection of stained mugs you'd like to get truly clean, here are a few tips to try:

1. Lemon and salt - Cut a fresh lemon in half and dunk in some regular table salt. Use this as a little natural scouring pad to get stains out. (This is also really useful on laundry stains, believe it or not!) Keep a few fresh lemons on hand anyway, for a variety of cleaning purposes.
2. Baking Soda - Dip a damp rag into a bit of baking soda and use this as your natural scouring powder for edging away those tough tea and coffee stains. It may take a little effort, but this can really do wonders for stained mugs.

A New Cleaning Recipe - Basic Baking Soda All-Purpose Spray with Essential Oils

Hello, and how is your Wednesday treating you? Here it's another beautiful sunny day - although (thankfully!) not as hot as it has been. It's perfect summertime weather, and I have my handy dandy glass of ice water always at hand.

Today I have a new and easy cleaning recipe for you to try. You already know that I'm a huge advocate of that orange box of baking soda. In fact, more than once I've recommended that we all buy mega size boxes of it at the warehouse store! (Or, perhaps we should all invest in baking soday shares, already!)

Anyway, today I have a simple new cleaning formula for you to make at home. This is a great all-purpose spray, and the idea was sent in by Jeannie. :) I just adjusted the recipe slightly. Enjoy, slobbos! And...personalize your cleaning spray with the essential oils I recommend at the end. And then label that bottle of cleaner as: "Igor's Super Powerful Natural Cleaner." Well, if your name happens to be Igor, that is...

Homemade Baking Soda Cleaning Spray
(Natural, organic, homemade cleaners)
3 tablespoons baking soda
About 1 quart of water

Optional Additions:

• 15-20 drops of essential oil: orange, lemon, lavender or tea tree essential oil

Mix the water and baking soda together in a clean spray bottle that has an adjustable mist setting. (I like using a harder, direct spray when cleaning floors, for instance, and a lighter spray when cleaning countertops, etc.) Don't use a spray bottle that has previously been used to contain harmful chemicals.

Add the essential oils, if you plan on using them. I like adding essential oils to some of my homemade cleaners. Why? Because, they not only smell heavenly, but they also add powerful CLEANING PUNCH to the cleaner. Read on, and find out how essential oils work to keep your home cleaner and healthier. :)

For instance:

• Lemon Essential Oil - Ahh, that sweet citrusy smell of lemon! Does anything compare to it? It'll wake you up as you clean...plus, the lemon oil works as a natural disinfectant, so it works great on any surface that you want to disinfect in a healthy way. Another fantastic idea is to dilute some lemon EO and spray over your freshly cleaned bed linens. Smells divine!
• Lavender Essential Oil - This is another all-time favorite of me, the Happy Slob! Lavender is another one of nature's helpful disinfectants. And that soothing smell just makes me relax and want to crawl up and read a good book. Urm...after I clean, of course! (You can also use a few drops of pure, undiluted lavender oil on your kitchen sponge and use it as a super disinfectant. Add a healthy sprinkling of baking soda or a bit of table salt to the sponge too, to give it some scrubby power.)
• Orange Essential Oil - The sweetest smelling essential oil, in my humble opinion, orange oil remains one of my favorites. Adding this to the above baking soda spray makes it a powerful degreaser. Gorgeous! Your greasy stove won't know what hit it!
• Tea Tree Oil - All behold the power of tea tree oil! Add 25 drops to the above mix and create another natural disinfectant spray (with no scary chemicals, thank you very much.) Another bonus? You can use the exact same recipe for an odor neutralizing spray in the bathroom, or anywhere else you need a good old-fashioned air freshener.

THE HAPPY SLOB'S FAVORITE ESSENTIAL OIL PICKS

Look no farther! If you want to stock up on some of these lovely, natural cleaning oils, these are some of the best essential oil bargains I've found online for you. Enjoy! And make sure to get a few bottles for your Happy Slob cleaning pals, too.

5 Ways to Naturally Deodorize and Freshen Your Home - New Article Posted

Just for all of my Happy Slob Housecleaning readers, I've just written a new article on how to freshen and deodorize your home -- naturally! Take a look: http://www.happyslob.com/homefresh.html

This is also in response to a few questions about this very subject - how to get your home smelling great naturally. Hope this helps all of you.

Cleaning Windows (and Car Windows in Particular) - Cleaning Tips

Hey everyone,

Here's a great email I received from a lovely lady named Margaret a little while ago.


"Hi Christina.... Can you please tell me what is best -- & NOT harmful -- to clean the inside of car windows. I always end up with a streaky mess when I use "Glass Plus" with paper towels. (Doesn't do too good a job on the outside either!!)
Great site..............Thanks mucho !!!!"

Well, Margaret, since you said: "Thanks mucho!" I just had to reply. :) I love quirky sayings, but hey, at least I admit it!

A fantastic new product that I think is the BOMB when it comes to cleaning windows (both home windows and auto windows) is the e-Cloth. We just got these in at the kitchen shop where I work, and they're specifically made for cleaning windows. What makes it especially loveable? You need NO extra chemicals! These wonderful little soft cloths are micro fiber cloths, and so just a spritzing of water and you're good to go.

Unlike regular cleaning cloths, I find that these e-Cloths leave absolutely NO lint, and they leave the windows clean and sparkling. They're also a handy little size, so pick up a few and store at least one in your car's dashboard for emergency cleaning sessions on the go. And, with no cleaning chemicals to tote around, it's really perfect for in the car.

Let me know how this works for you, Margaret! :) I really hope I was able to help solve your cleaning dilemma.

Take care,

Christina - the ORIGINAL Happy Slob Housecleaner

P.S. Do YOU have a cleaning dilemma you'd like me to solve? I'll give it a go! Just email me your questions to christina@happyslob.com and I'll answer back as quickly as I can. :)

Would I Forget YOU? I'm Back!

Hey everyone,

I needed a bit of a break from the blogging scene, so I took off a bit of time to sort out what direction I want to go in with the blog and site, etc, etc, etc. But here I am, back and ready to (gently) nudge you in the right direction with your domestic duties. (Duties? oooh, we sort of hate that word, don't we?)

I'm working on a fresh newsletter for this week, so please keep your eyes peeled for that too.

For today, I just posted a favorite new toilet cleaning idea - and as we Happy slobs love - it is as EASY AS CAN HUMANLY BE! I posted it over at: The Easy way to clean inside your toilet - ALMOST Hands-Free!.

Enjoy! As much as a person CAN enjoy cleaning the toilet, that is...