More natural house cleaning...

Thanks to Hulu Plus, I have a slight obsession with an Aussie show called "Lush House" (you can watch full episodes here).  I swear the host, Shannon Lush, is a flippin' genius.  Who knew you could disinfect with lavender oil?  ...or tea tree oil?  I didn't, so I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you didn't either.  I really want to check out all of Shannon Lush's books now!

I also discovered an amazing resource for family friendly, eco-friendly and budget-friendly cleaning.  Howtocleanthings.com helped me seriously decrease the nastiness of a rust stain in my kitchen sink (which was left by a metal thing that the people who lived here before us used to protect the bottom of the sink)....  I think that, with another treatment or two, it should be completely gone soon!

So, here are a few things that I've tested personally and learned really do work!:

• Lemon oil works wonders.  It not only smells good, it keeps bugs away and can work as a deterrent for cats who like to make nasties on the floor (I'm lookin' at *you*, Fluffy!)
• Clove oil makes my house smell like I just baked Christmas ham and it acts as a mold inhibitor!  Taking Miss Lush's mold spray one step further, I've made an after shower spray for our bathrooms that's easy and non-toxic, so the kids can spray the shower down when they're done!
• Fill a spray bottle halfway with white vinegar, add two or three drops of clove oil and top it off with water.  Give it a shake before you spray it!  Easy peasy.
• Cream of tartar can not only be used for baking delicious goodies, but it can also be used to clean aluminum and rust (as I mentioned earlier)

Do you make any of you own natural cleaners or do you have any "weird" cleaning tricks?

My April inspiration...

And the winner is (drum roll, please)...

MAKE PIEROGI!

Yay!  I can't wait to try this one!

Last month's goal was "make moussaka" ...which I later learned that I had misspelled.  I mean to write musaka, which is the version that my fiance grew up on.  Moussaka is the Greek variety, which is pretty different.  Since my fiance's birthday was April 1st, I ended up completing my March goal a day late.  Oh, well.  If you want to know how I made it, you can find my recipe here.

Even though I was late with that specific goal, I did an extra one last month that should make up for my tardiness, right?  ::wink, wink::

Yum.

I poached an egg!  Well, about 7 of them actually.  For some strange reason, the idea of poached eggs always weirded me out.  Making them and eating them.  This is part of why I set that goal for myself.  and the result?  Ah-friggin-mazing!  I *love* them!  Check out this video if you want to learn how to do something that's so insanely easy and delicious that I have no idea why I had such an odd aversion: