Another Cleaning Tip - What is up with me?!?!?

So, I have another cleaning tip that has changed my life. Ok, not really changed my life. But it has saved me A LOT of money on new clothing for one certain little toddler who shall remain nameless.

If you're a mom (or quite frankly, even if you're not), you have probably seen those articles of clothing completely ruined by grease stains. On Carter's clothes, they appear as dark spots all over the shirt (usually darker clothes) and they are SO annoying. Once they are dried, the stain is set and essentially, the shirt is ruined.

Except...IT'S NOT!

(source)

I was seriously getting annoyed at how many shirts he was ruining simply because he is a messy little toddler, so I once again hit the internet for some tips. One brilliant woman suggested Dawn dish soap - after all, it is meant to "cut grease" right?

Well, I took some of the worst shirts that have been ruined and dry-set in Carter's closet, put the plain, blue Dawn dish detergent on the spots, rubbed it in, and let it sit overnight (or up to a few days even).

I washed them all and I kid you not, every single spot is gone. EVEN ON SHIRTS THAT HAVE HAD SET-IN STAINS FOR WEEKS.

I am a firm believer and am so pumped to get back several articles of clothing that I had declared ruined.

I had two coupons for $1 off Dawn and they were coincidentally marked down to $1 at our CVS a few weeks ago, so I have two containers of stain-fighting madness at my fingertips at no cost.

YA-HOO! Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!

Homemade Clorox Anywhere Spray

If you're like me (or you have a messy toddler), you are probably familiar with Clorox Anywhere spray. I've been using this pretty much since the day it came out and absolutely love it. It has the cleaning power of Clorox but is gentle enough to go around babies, pets, food, etc.

(source)

We go through this stuff like it's water - which, ironically enough, it pretty much is (it's like 97% water or something crazy like that!). At $3.29 a pop, we were dropping quite a bit on this stuff. AND THEN. A light bulb went off and I was like um, hello Danielle?? Chances are you can make this for way less. I did about .2 seconds of research and found an organic chemist's recipe for the stuff.

It's highly scientific so get out your calculator.

Take the empty 22-oz. bottle of Clorox Anywhere (or any 22 oz. bottle). Add 1/4 teaspoon of clorox, and fill 'er up the rest of the way with water.

SERIOUSLY.

I am in love. And richer. ONE QUARTER OF A TEASPOON!?!? It is seriously pretty much free, since I got the entire HUGE thing of Clorox for only $1 and it will take me a LOOOONG time to go through that 1/4 teaspoon at a time. It works exactly the same, smells exactly the same, and doesn't take color out of materials - I tested it on a blue cloth. It's meant for hard surfaces though, so I wouldn't spray it on material anyway, but I had to do my test.

Anyway, that's my money saving tip for today. I am shocked. And in awe. And pumped I found the recipe online and will never have to buy the stuff again. (No offense, Clorox).