Old Style Book - Can You Help?

innovate

You are so right, kittie - old-style for the sake of old-style is daft. Buying all the latest and greatest 'cleans-whilst-you-sleep-spray-on-no-wipe-just-£1.99 stinks-your-house-out-and-takes-your-skin-off' is even dafter, especially since with half of those wonder cleaners you pay for all the advertising and fancy packaging the manufacturers have to do to catch customers.

Finding the balance between what used to work in the olden days [I was young then, too ;-)] and what technological advances have added since, without compromising the environment we all [have to] live in, is what I would call good old-style. Hope the old-style book will be along those lines.

kiwichick

zar wrote:

If anyone has any better ideas for getting pet hair out it'd be great to hear them!

When I was nannying I had to remove the dog hair from the nursery floor (would have been easier not to have let the damn dog in in the first place but oh well)

Anyway, grab yourself a bowl of warm water, a pair of marigolds and get down on your hands and knees. Put marigolds on and put your hands in the water, take out and shake of excess then rub your hands in one direction on the carpet. If you pull towards you with your fingertips pressed frimly into the carpet its best. The hair will lift out and roll into sausage shapes for easy removal.

HTH,
Al.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Remember Jack and Jill and Jack having his head mended with vinegar and brown paper? Vinegar is excellent for external application to any human or animal part that's inflamed - soothes and cools but I need to mention it stinks the house out!

And........ Strange But True!!!!!!! I lived in Cumbria for many years in a house with slate floors, I hadn't a clue how to clean them so they looked their best and was told to clean them with warm soapy water and then use milk as a polish, nice and gentle with a good buff, don't put it in a bucket and mop with it! Worked a treat as it really brings out the beauty of slate and lets it breathe.
Slate floors are very OS but many people are having them installed in kitchens and conservatories now. I used green top milk, don't think skimmed would work as well!

zar

Edinburghlass wrote:

Interesting point, off topic of course, but what is your concept of Old Style?

My concept of "old style" is that it refers to "old-fashioned" thriftiness, not necessarily using old cleaning techniques. Its about not spending money thoughtlessly on convenience foods or cleaning products (though you may want to sometimes when appropriate!). The welcome thread seems to fit in with this idea! So I hope I'm not too far off the mark. :xmassmile
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=56929

zar

I don't have a microfibre cloth, though it sounds like I should get some.

I do use some cloths that my DH's Gran crocheted for us all around the house. They are great - hold the right amount of water, wash well and because there are ridges from the way they are made they are abrasive enough to help clean things. I guess they are truly OLD style because when we went to the Ryedale folk museum they had some in one of the old kitchens saying how people used to make/use them! :snow_laug

I should really learn how to crochet so I can replace them myself one day!

squiggles

Isnt bicarb soda used for cleaning,not sure what though but i did buy some because i read it on the board somewhere.:)

Gingham_Ribbon

In my experience, old style is also about cutting down on wasted time doing things that could be done quicker, or need not be done at all. As we might make our own bread and that takes longer than shoving a loaf in the supermarket trolley, so cutting down time spent on other things is prudent.

Someone recommended to me on here a while back that I try waiting a while after vaccing or sweeping the floor before I dusted. It has halved the amount of dusting I need to do. The hoover and brush kicked up dust and it settled on the surfaces I'd just done. Now I never dust BEFORE doing the floors and I wait at least a couple of hours. It's made a big difference.

Oh, and I use a cloth sprayed with a weak solution of water/vinegar to dust with and the free newspaper and a vinegar solution on the windows, mirrors and tv screen.

Edinburghlass_2

squiggles wrote:

Isnt bicarb soda used for cleaning,not sure what though but i did buy some because i read it on the board somewhere.:)

I do that too... :xmassmile

Lillibet_2

Use pegs to hold the corners of the duvet in the duvet cover while shaking it into place/changing the linen

Bicarb down plug holes to freshen, add lemon juice if sink/bath is blocked. More ecnomical if you use up the bicarb thats been freshening the fridge rather than just throwing it out when replacing.

Rub lemon juice across the top of radiators to freshen rooms nicely in winter & across window frames to keep flies out in summer (or get one of thoese lemon scented plants...geraniums????)


Use cheap regular toothpaste to clean minor scratches off of glass/kitchen counters.

Combine cheap regular toothpaste & a dab of regular bicarb for whitening toothpaste (a million times cheaper than arm & hamme r& recommended by my thrifty dentist)

I don't go as far as turning sheets when the get worn, I just cut them up with pinking shears so that they don't fray & use as cleanin gcloths/tea towels etc (not a microfibre cloth in sight;))

Got a million more but Spuds' teething & if I don't go to him the neighbours will be calling the NSPCC! Anyone got any remedies for that???


HTH

moggins

Clean stains on carpets by soaking with a solution of warm water and biological washing powder. Cover with a white towel and then walk on it until most of the water is abosorbed.

You'll be amazed at how much dirt turns up on the back of the towel.