Once upon a time, like on Sunday, Eric and I went on a cleaning spree in preparation for a barbecue and visit with friends from Arizona. I mean, why else would you clean your house? We divided and conquered, and if I can get all sappy for a minute, props to my darling husband for taking care of all of Skilly’s things in the laundry room (and then cleaning it. It’s sparkling) so I didn’t have to. I’m more emotionally stable this week, now that the shock has worn off, so it’s on my list to call that aforementioned assisted living center and see if they can use his opened dry cat food. I’m less concerned about his canned food — we just got him a 32 pack of his favorite gravy-style flavors and he finished only three — because the center is also a collection point for a local cat shelter, and since those are unopened, I’m assuming they will be in high demand.
(And also, you guys, thank you for the good thoughts and well wishes and comments and those you just sent out into the universe for Skilly and our family. I know I keep saying this, but this community is seriously the best. We so appreciated it.)
It turns out toothbrushes are stupid tools to clean kitchen floors. Good to know.
Anyway, sorry, that’s not what I want to concentrate on today. I was hoping for a cheerful post, and while I’m not convinced this actually fits that bill, it DID make me incredibly happy, so you know what? Win.
And what, exactly, was responsible for said happiness?
I mopped my floor.
With vinegar and water.
And it was amazing.
On my zero waste Pinterest board (it’s still on my list to make a community-wide board for all of us to pin to, but, being 43, I need to get Abby or Johanna to do it for me), I have all manner of cleaning tutorials saved. My kitchen floor is tile — FYI, that sounds like a better idea than it is. You drop something, it’s broken — and I knew I had pinned a vinegar and water mopping solution. My homemade concoctions usually involve dish soap and water, and that ends up being a soapy, messy pain in the … well, you know.
But of course I couldn’t find that pin. And then it occurred to me that we’re just talking about adding vinegar to some water. I mean, what could happen?
So that’s what I did. I added a good glug of white vinegar before remembering that I made some lemon vinegar as an experiment on my alternative-composting day a while back, so I added a splash of that.
My tiny, yet very clean, kitchen floor. Oh, that circular crack to the right? Eric dropped a carboy of cleaning solution a few years ago when he was still homebrewing. Shattered. Upside: My floor had never been so clean.
I can’t say the lemon vinegar made it smell any better, but I’m used to cleaning with vinegar anyway, so whatever. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Armed with this magic solution, an old toothbrush and a rag, I got down on my hands and knees and started to scrub my floor. This would be a good time to mention that my kitchen is fairly tiny, and I find it just easier to clean it by hand rather than using a mop. Plus you have to store and deal with a mop.
Boring.
Here’s what I noticed: There was no sticky soap residue left on my floor. I didn’t have to go over the same spot again and again to get up both the dirt and the soap. It dried quickly. It looks great. And the chore was finished in no time.
Success!
So I’m exceeding pleased with myself is what I’m saying.
Next up: I have a different kind of a meat counter encounter tale to tell.
Your posts are always so fun to read. Yeah, I just moved into a new apartment with tiles in the kitchen which I totally loved – and then learned it the hard way in the first weeks – if you drop something, it’s broken. Will try cleaning it with vinegar. I’m just trying to massively reduce my waste, too, so the topic on this blog this year is just my thing. Thanks!
And sorry for your loss of skilly
The other day a jar of lovingly prepared black beans slipped out of my hands, and I just knew before it even hit the ground that this was NOT going to end well. And it didn’t. I like that tile wears so well and it’s easy to clean, but wow, there’s some trauma involved when things drop.
Thank you — I appreciate the kind thought regarding Skilly and am glad you’re enjoying this year’s topic!
I have not tried using vinegar and water to clean floors (nor have I properly cleaned the whole floor in a while), but it sounds like it’s worth a shot, based on your results. I used to clean with vinegar more until something I thought was metal turned out to be plastic and the vinegar stripped the metallic finish off the plastic. Ah well. That wasn’t the vinegar’s fault.
If you do try it, tell me how it goes — I always wonder when I recommend something if it works for other people.
And you bring up a good point — you guys, check to make sure if you do use vinegar that it’s not going to strip your floor!