Money saving tip and another great use for…

I am a nurturer by nature. Being able to help people or make them happy makes my day a little brighter. So, when I recently “discovered” something, I wanted to share it. This may not be the world’s biggest or most important revelation, but I believe it’s noteworthy.

Some lessons come to us in an instant. Others come in increments, one bit of information at a time. If we are lucky, sometimes we can take those bits of accumulated knowledge and piece them together into a tangible concept. Six years ago, we moved into a house that had been built in 1965. The kitchen counter tops were ugly. I got the bright idea of tiling them until we could decide what we really wanted to do with the kitchen. At first they were pretty. then the grout started to get dingy. We eventually had someone come in and re-grout them. Well, guess what happened. That’s right, they started getting dingy again. I hate using harsh chemicals, especially in the kitchen. And most grout cleaners are harsh. That’s where taking bits and making them into a whole comes in.

I love cleaning with vinegar. From soaking fruits & vegetables to mopping floors, vinegar does the job. Recently we had to have our bathroom tile redone and the expert told me that vinegar was one of the best things to keep tile & grout clean. That made sense to me. So that information was stored. The second bit was that most products, whether they are chemical or not, need time to work. The third source was from someone who was really trying to sell a product.

People are always trying to get us to buy the next miracle product. I have fallen prey to a lot of this wonderful “stuff” in the past. Don’t get me wrong. There are some great products out there, but not everything lives up to it’s praises. Because of this, I have become pretty skeptical. So, when someone wanted us to try a certain company’s microfiber clothes, I didn’t jump up and shout “Eureka!” Let’s face it, there are tons of microfiber clothes out there. Then, I walked into my kitchen and looked at my counter tops. They had become somewhat of an embarrassment to me. Then I started connecting the dots.

In a bowl, I mixed half water, half vinegar. I then dipped a brush into the mixture and started spreading the mixture over the tiles, making sure all the grout was covered. Then I went on to another project. Periodically I came back & reapplied some vinegar water, lightly scrubbing the grout. After about an hour, I dampened the microfiber cloth and started cleaning the grout. I would be lying if I said the grout looked new, but, the difference was amazing. I was so proud of how sparklely clean everything looked. So, you can bet your sweet bippy that once a week I will be cleaning the counter tops with vinegar. I hope this little bit of information about vinegar will make your day just a little bit sweeter.

Penny Berger
Guest Blogger