Keeping it inexpensively clean . . .

I did my house cleaning today but wanted that 'fresh, newly-clean' smell to last a bit longer. Someone recommended putting a few drops of lavender oil in a small spray bottle of water and giving a light spray along the baseboards, on the mattresses (before making the bed), and the dark, dusty corners that only get de-dusting every couple of weeks. It works! Although it doesn't reek LAVENDER, there is a fresh smell in the house.

Another suggestion to keep the musty smell from your vacuum cleaner is to put a cotton ball with a few drops of your favorite scented oil or cologne in the bag. Every time you vacuum, it leaves a light fragrance in the air.

We save a lot on cleaning products, too. I keep a large, spray bottle of ammonia on the kitchen counter and use that to wipe down the table, clean the top of the stove, and clean up greasy messes. The ammonia seems to pull the cooking smells out of the air, too.

I used to rely on bleach for a lot of cleaning tasks but my husband recently read that the chemicals in bleach are hard on your lungs and breathing especially with young children in the house. Just about any cleaning job can be done just as well with hot, soapy water and a clean rinse. He even read that this method is just as good and safer than bleach for removing signs of mold in your house.

It's all about attitude . . .

Three HairsAuthor Unknown

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head....

"YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

The last quote sets the record straight . . .!

"In the United States there is more space where nobody is than where anybody is. That is what makes America what it is."
-- Gertrude Stein

"The one function TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were."
-- David Brinkley

"Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."
-- Oscar Wilde

"I've gone into hundreds of [fortune-teller's parlors], and have been told thousands of things, but nobody ever told me I was a policewoman getting ready to arrest her."
-- New York City detective

What makes waking up so worthwhile . .

The enjoyment of life would be instantly gone if you removed the possibility of doing something.

- Chauncey Depew