Boxes and Loo Cleaner

Boyo and I have just moved into a little unit on the weekend. There are boxes just about everywhere! Our internet and phone line are still down. Apparently there’s a line fault that they have to find and sort out so I will probably have to head back to my parents to work out my study requirements for the week and post this entry. We spent ages yesterday rearranging the lounge furniture, sitting on it and discussing, then rearranging it again in an attempt to make the space work better. It will probably be rearranged again today. We are accumulating a rather large pile of empty boxes in the conservatory which will at some stage have to go out for recycling. There is one box we think we will keep though, a large washing machine box that looks just made for Munchkin to play ‘house’ or ‘fort’ or any number of cool games in. Last night we purchased a small electric lawnmower too, for our little patch of grass.

The kitchen is probably about the most organised room in the house. There is food, for starters. I spent around 4 ½ hours shopping on Saturday so we now have all the spices I thought I’d possibly be using, flours for breadmaking (now, where is the breadmaker?!), dried lentils and beans, and so forth…none of it in jars just yet, but hey, we will eat. The freezer is stocked with meat too. It is out in the garage, there not being room in the kitchen area. I must say that something in me feels VERY satisfied when I know there’s plenty of food in the house. I believe I have located all my small kitchen appliances, so they are all in various cupboards. And we bought some dishwash liquid, a dishrack, cloths and scrubbing brush so have even been doing our dishes!

There’s still plenty left to do though. The spare room/office is still to be set up. There are 2 rows of boxes decorating the garage, waiting to be unpacked. Unpacked into what, I’m not quite sure yet. Need to get some cupboards and bookshelves only where will we put them?

Yesterday I did one very important little job. I made loo cleaner. This is where I rave madly about the great benefits of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). How cheap it is ($3/kg at Bin Inn bulk foods). How environmentally friendly (well, it’s a food so what do you expect). How versatile (if I had only baking soda in my house, I could likely clean every single thing I needed to). How nice on the hands (they feel nice and soft). How it cleans and brightens (kind of like a cream cleaner like Jiff only without the chemicals). How it absorbs odours (seriously, it does). And how hypoallergenic (no silly artificial fragrances). Baking soda is simply amazing! It is the secret agent of the kitchen cupboards. During the day, it lives a normal life as the occasional rising agent for baking. But at night, when we are all sound asleep, baking soda slips out, puts on its black balaclava and trench coat, and gets to work! Seriously, it has so many uses there have been books written solely about baking soda.

But anyway, you get the general idea. If you want to clean something, try Googling baking soda. Or check out http://www.simplesavings.com.au/ for loads of hints and tricks including, but not limited to baking soda’s myriad of uses.

As for loo cleaner, I can get you set up with that in about 5 minutes flat. Get some baking soda. I used 3 cups. Put it in a metal (not plastic) bowl or pot and use a metal spoon to squish the big lumps out of it. Add some essential oil of your choice. This is not a necessary step, but it does make the bathroom smell a whole lot nicer. I used 10 drops of lavender, 10 of mandarin and 10 of lemon, but you can use whatever you like (tea tree, rose, etc, etc, etc). Stir and squish it all some more to mix the oils in well. If you happened to use plastic utensils for this project, you will be able to smell and taste the essential oil for months as it gets absorbed into the plastic.

Pour the finished product into a container of your choice. The one shown here was going to be recycled and even has its own scoop. My mum (a recent convert to baking soda loo cleaner) has a pretty glass jar with clip top lid, and a little metal spoon for hers. Label it so that people know it is not a poison nor for eating indiscriminately. Wa-lah! You now have loo cleaner. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Our loo cleaner stays right beside the loo. Whenever it is a bit smelly in there, someone just sprinkles a teaspoon or so of the cleaner around the toilet bowl and leaves it to sit. When we go to give the loo a proper clean, we sprinkle and scrub. That’s it. Having discovered this cleaner has revolutionised my bathroom. We no longer have a smelly room, and I no longer feel compelled to buy silly fragrance sprays that just end up making me sneeze. As a bonus, the loo is both cleaner and whiter than ever before. And if I need a nice smelling cleaner anywhere else in the house, I know I can always raid the bathroom! So 10 minutes spent in the kitchen has left me feeling so much more in charge of my home this week. Everything else is going to take awhile longer to sort out, but for now, I'm happy that we have loo cleaner.

Thanks for coming by today. I hope you have a nice week.
Photos are coming...just as soon as I get the camera cable out of a box to download them!
Amy