Tuesday 4 - House & Home

Hello and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 hosted by Annie who writes a blog called Cottage by the Sea.

Today's these is home secrets for keeping house and person clean. Maybe we will learn a few tips from one another.

1.   What household tool or appliance do you rely on a lot?

Like most western households these days I have many household appliances. I use most of them on a regular basis but I rely on the washer and dryer and the vacuum cleaner the most. During heat waves I also rely on several fans because I have no air conditioning.

2.   Which laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dish detergent work best for you?

I've always used Palmolive for hand washing dishes because it was the sole dish detergent featured in television commercials back in the day. I still use it but now I also use Dawn.  Sometimes I also use Ivory.  I  interchange between these 3 with Dawn being the primary dish detergent I use.  I  also use several kinds of liquid laundry detergent: Purex, Arm & Hammer and  Freshex (1st and 3rd one are free of dyes and perfumes). To be honest, I have not researched to see how environmentally friendly any of these products but in a quick search I see there are concerns about both Palmolive and Dawn.  I'll need to investigate further but slowly I am moving toward using fewer chemically based products. When I had a front loading washing machine I made my own powdered laundry soap but now that I now I own a front loading HE washer, I buy liquid soap for such machines.  I don't use fabric softener but I do use fabric dryer sheets. I sometimes use wool dryer balls instead of fabric sheets and plain white vinegar in the rinse cycle to deodorize towels and linens.

3.   What soap do you like to use?   Where do you have soap in your home... bathroom, kitchen, shower?

I use liquid  castille soap which I use only for body soap in the shower, not for household cleaning.  Castille soap is made of plant oils — coconut, hemp, sunflower seed, jojoba and olive. I used to buy Dr. Bronner's brand but it is quite expensive. Now I buy exclusively at a place called Soap Dispensary where they sell oils, soaps and many products in whatever amount you want and they dispense everything into recyclable containers which you pay for on deposit. You get your deposit back when you take the container back for cleaning and reuse by another. I also use bar soap from time to time, primarily soap made with Shea Butter, Goat's milk or Olive Oil. I also use Ivory bar soap from time to time. I keep liquid hand soap in the bathroom, castille liquid soap in the shower, dish detergent in the kitchen and laundry detergent in the laundry closet.

4.   What is the secret to a clean home in your opinion?

The secret to a clean home is not to leave things undone each day. Everything needs to be picked up and put away or folded and put away or washed (like dishes). The other thing is to take care of "hot spots", places that accumulate clutter. For me it's my desk and dining table, for others it may be the kitchen counter and so on. A few minutes each day, or a set time each week, to tackle such things will go a long way to keep everything tidy.  Regular decluttering will also help. As I've aged I've faced various health challenges and taken on possessions of loved ones who passed on.  Now I have a huge job to get things to a cleaner, tidier state and in better working order. I've been working away for a long time already to get things in better order.  Slowly I'm getting there but it is a challenge.

Washing dishes is my least favourite chore but I like a clean sink.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Have a great week ahead.