The Naptime Ninja + Natural Cleaning Solutions

You can go ahead and call me the Naptime Ninja ... well 70% of the time, anyway.  Now that Keziah is sleeping pretty decently, I don't feel the need to take a cat nap while she has her (3-hour!) nap.  When I lay her in her crib, the clock starts tickin' and boy, does it tick quickly!  That's the time that I am able to get everything done without feeling like I'm neglecting her.  Today, for example, I did my normal floor routine: sweep, vacuum, mop ... and when I say mop, I mean the good, old school hands and knees kind of cleaning.  I've given up on the steam mop, the swiffer, the traditional mop.  There's only one way to do it for me.  I get so tired of seeing Keziah's white socks turn brown after hanging out on the floors for 20 minutes.  And not to mention the germs and dirt (and dog hair!) that is all over her knees and hands.
After cleaning the floors, I cleaned the kitchen (fridge, de-odorized the garbage disposal), the doors on the first level of our house, the baseboards, the sliding door track, organized all of Keziah's toys, and did loads and loads of laundry.  And that was all within the 2-hour nap she took (I got jipped today).

I thought that some of you mamas might appreciate if I shared a few, good ol' natural home cleaners that I swear by.  I get so nervous thinking about Keziah getting into lysol, bleach, etc., or even her crawling on the floors after being cleaned with harsh chemicals.  I've tried it all.  Trust me.  I am insane when it comes to getting and keeping my floors clean.  We've got hardwood and tile and this stuff works amazingly on both surfaces.  Plus, you've already got these ingredients in your home, I am sure of it!  Here's what you do for sparkly clean, chemical-free floors: Fill a 2-gallon bucket with hot water + 1/4 cup white vinegar + 1/4 cup baking soda + 1 tbsp of dish soap + a few drops of an essential oil for a nice scent (I used lavender).  Scrub away!  Your floors will sparkle!  I'll usually pour the bucket out and start over once switching rooms because I want to make sure I'm not transferring dirt all around.  :)

Now, for an all-around cleaner, I've got you covered there, too!  I'm talking shower, toilet, counters, stove, and everything in between!  Here's what you'll do for that: 1 part vinegar + 1 part dish soap + a few drops of essential oil > you'll want to heat it in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds just to get the vinegar and dish soap all warmed up and lovin' on each other + shake it all up and store it in a spray bottle.  You'll never have to warm it again because the two will not separate.  They're madly in love at this point.
You can just spray, let is settle in for a couple minutes and scrub.  All of your grime, mold, residue is gone.  :)

And last but not least, I know I'm not the only one that is disgusted by a stinky garbage disposal and somehow, I can promise mine is smellier than yours.  I don't de-odorize mine as often as I should.  I just complain to my Husband that it's broken!  It has to be!  There's no way that this thing is supposed to smell this bad! When I was pregnant, I literally gagged every time I had to wash the dishes.  I have learned to breathe through my nose since then ... it's a habit that I can't break, but one I'm sure is good for me!  Sidenote: I only clean with unscented dish soap now because I've become scarred by one bad batch of dishes + Gain-scented dish soap. or pomegranate-scented.  or citrus-scented.  You get the point.  I've ruined it for all scents ever created.  I just have to use unscented now.  Plus, it's not like your plates and silverware actually smell good in the end, right? ;)  To help out with the stanky, stank, pour 1/2 cup baking soda + 1/2 cup vinegar + yup, you guessed it, a few drop of essential oil into the garbage disposal drain and let it sit for one hour.  Then drown that puppy out with hot water for a minute or two with the disposal running.

Happy cleaning, mamas!! :)