Another great cleaning product.....hydrogen peroxide

I have been sharing a few of my cleaning tips. Check them out here and here.

I have recently discovered a great new cleaning product.....Hydrogen peroxide. Yes it is usually used to clean wounds but it makes a great cleaning product too! It is a great disinfectant.





Here is how I have been using hydrogen peroxide around the house.
- cleaning countertops and the bathroom sink
- cleaning mirrors....I cannot believe how streak free and clean it gets the mirrors!
- spraying down the toilet an wiping it clean...again it makes it sparkle!
- stain removal in the laundry...works similarly to oxygen bleach

Why do I love using hydrogen peroxide in my everyday cleaning?
- its inexpensive! As opposed to all the cleaners in the cleaning aisle that can be very expensive!
- it is scent-free and doesn't leave any strong scents or fumes
- it is safe to use around children and pets (did you know hydrogen peroxide breaks down into hydrogen and water an leaves no residues behind like commercial cleaning solutions)....why didn't I know this when my kids were babies?

I added a sprayer to my bottle. Please note that it needs to stay in its dark bottle...exposure to light causes it to break down.

Other uses of hydrogen peroxide in your cleaning....
- works great on all types of stains and is particularly good to remove blood stains
- tub and tile cleaning. It works great on mold and mildew in the bath and shower.
- disinfecting tooth brushes. Soak bristles in peroxide and then rinse well with water after.

Why don't you try it out in your cleaning regime?




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My take on the Rainbow cake.....thanks Pinterest!

This year I told my daughter she could pick out any cake she wanted for her birthday cake.  One day, while she was peeking over my shoulder while I was surfing around on Pinterest she spied the cake she wanted.  A  rainbow cake!

I thought it looked easy enough and was eager to try it out.  Here are some photos of our rainbow cake.  Thanks Pinterest!

If you want to follow me on Pinterest I am found here:

Bowls and cake pans all ready to go

Food colouring is added to the cake batter.....surprisingly it took more than I thought to get the proper colours

Food colouring all mixed into the cake batter

All ready to bake

Our rainbow birthday layer cake

The rainbow cake was such a hit that I decided to make another batch (using a little less colouring) and make rainbow cupcakes.

Rainbow cupcakes

My new cookie recipe!

I was recently going brought the cupboards (spring cleaning) and I came across some boxes of Smarties I had been saving to make cookies with.

I looked through my recipe books and couldn't seem to find a recipe I loved. So, I thought I would try to draft up my own recipe combining some of my favorites but changing it up a bit.

Here are the results. I even managed to sneak some whole wheat flour into these cookies. The addition of smarties makes for a yummy colorful cookie that the kids (and adults) would love.






Here is my recipe:

1/2 c butter or margarine
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c Smarties or other candies

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream margarine and brown sugar well. Add egg and vanilla.

Slowly add flour and baking soda.

Stir in candy reserving a few to add to the tops of the cookies.

Drop by small scoop onto cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Press a few candies into the top of cookies.

Bake approximately 12 - 14 minutes depending on your oven. Cool slightly on pan and transfer to racks to cool.

Enjoy!!




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All finished! The playhouse deck.

A little while ago I blogged about the deck that my husband and I built for the girls and their playhouse.

Today, we finally finished the railing.

I am so happy with how it turned out.  The kids can't wait to spend their summer playing outdoors in the playhouse.

Here it is:






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My afghan.....finally finished!

I love making things for others and rarely have the time to make something for myself.

This spring, I thought I would make an afghan for our bed. It took a while and ALOT of yarn but this week, I finally finished it.

Here it is! I love the texture of it and it is soooo warm and cuddly.








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The new playhouse!

When I was a little girl I always wanted a playhouse. Unfortunately, I never had one.

Now that I have my own girls, I wanted them to have a playhouse of their very own. So for the girls Easter present DH and I decided to get the girls a playhouse. We also decided to build a small deck for the playhouse. There are a few finishing touches left (like railing on the deck) but all in all the girls are very happy which means I am happy too!

I can't wait to see them enjoying this house all summer long.





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Spring cleaning tips....get that oven sparkling clean!

The oven.

One of the LAST things in my kitchen that I want to clean. Luckily, my oven has a self-cleaning feature. It beats the days of scrubbing the oven with those icky smelly chemicals but it's still a bit of a challenge. And it still smells so I have to be able to have the windows open when I do clean the oven.

The racks in my oven are not to be left in the oven during the self cleaning feature. So once they are removed they still need scrubbing and scrubbing to remove all of the grime on them.

I have found a little trick that helps to clean them without all that scrubbing. Various cleaning sites have mentioned this method so I thought I would give it a little whirl.

Here it is:

Line the bathtub with an old towel and place oven racks inside (the towel prevents the racks scratching the tub).

Fill bath with enough hot water (in my experience the hotter the better) to cover the racks.

Sprinkle the racks with powdered dishwasher detergent. Yes that's right, dishwasher detergent.

Now just walk away and let them soak. Easy!

I usually let them soak around 20 minutes or so and then I take a rag or sponge and wipe them off. The grease seems to just "melt" off the racks leaving them nice and shiny.

Rinse, let dry and put them back in your clean oven.

Hope this helps make cleaning the oven a little easier. Let me know how it works for you!

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