Merry Meet everyone!
My favorite room freshner/body mist for the summer is a simple one. Fill a small spray bottle with water and add 4-8 drops of peppermint oil. It makes the room smell very fresh and on a hot day it is wonderfully cooling!

That room spray sounds like a great idea! I don't like commercial air freshners as they seem to go down my throat and make me cough - :p

Does anyone have a good carpet cleaning recipe? I've been using vinegar and water for small spots, but I have a large spot near the patio door and I don't know if vinegar and water is going to do the trick......

Here is a good site if anyone is interested. They carry green living products. I am not affiliated with them in anyway other than the fact that I found some of their stuff at a local store that promotes green living and natural foods and I have been using it to clean with instead of chemical cleaners.

www.seventhgeneration.com

What a great idea...........in fact I am surprised with all the natural cleaners I can use..........thanks a lot.....

Does anyone have the recipe for window cleaner that uses liquid fabric softner and corn starch?

I need to try that peppermint spray! and yes, seventh generation is a wonderful company

Well, I am 2 years late for this thread, but I only clean green and have the trick for carpets. You see I have two Scotties who will pee on my floor when they're mad at me for putting them off the bed or couch, or whatever. Temperamental little beasties! Aaaanyway...

Caldera soap is wonderful for cleaning carpets. I mean a-maz-ing. I've used several combinations they have, but the Green Tea Patchouli really seems to work best. First I mix a pretty strong 1 part soap to 6 parts hot water, and put that on the stain. This stuff is really concentrated, and lasts me a long time. After that sits for a bit I blot it up and use my carpet cleaner. I use a lighter solution for the machine. Just a spalsh of soap in the well and fill to the line with hot water. After I've cleaned the carpets I go over them again for a rinse with plain hot water. That keeps them from looking dirty again so fast. My carpet is 10 years old, and shows absolutely no evidence that we even have pets.

It sounds like a lot of work, but I really don't have to do this very often. Also, I've found the real trick to a clean carpet is to vacuum & use your machines very slowly, so the suction really has a fair chance to grab the little dirt.

Lemon-Bomb Your Microwave
 

In my neighborhood there are tons of lemon trees so we are always thinking of new things to do with them!

If you slice up a lemon and put it in a casserole dish of water and microwave on "high" for 5 minutes (or until boiling....) then set the timer for an additional 5 resting minutes, when you open the door all the crusty stuff your kids keep ignoring will come right off, along with the stale micro-smell.

Then you can use the cooled-down water to wipe down the outside of the micro & the countertops, fridge etc.

Then you can rub some lemon slices on your sink to make it whiter....then put the cooked lemons down the garbage disposal to freshen it up.

I have allergies to most cleaners, so I use vinegar and baking soda to clean almost everything. Did you know you can clean drains with baking soda and vinegar? Works better than chemical treatments.