DIY Antibacterial Kitchen Counter Cleaner

So I ran out of Lysol Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner which I use on my kitchen counter tops.  I decided to use what I have on hand and this is the formula I decided to try.
The miracle product as in many cleaning supplies is vinegar.  But don't rule out peroxide or bleach.  I just chose vinegar (despite its bad smell) because it doesn't bleach things out like the prior mentioned.  So here's my simple recipe and it doesn't smell too strong since it's diluted and has a citrus scented dish soap.

Antibacterial Kitchen Counter Cleaner

• empty (reuse old bottle) spray bottle
• fill bottle 1/2 of vinegar
• fill bottle 1/2 of water
• 1T scented dishsoap

Other kitchen hints~ 

For cleaning microwaves, just pour a little lemon juice into a bowl of water and microwave it for a few minutes.  This will deoderize and help wipe down grim in microwave. 

Finally, if your sink is clogged or smelly, try pouring 1/4 cup of that old baking soda that needs replaced for freshing your refrig or freezer (write date on so you know how old it is, I save mine 6 months) down the sink, then add 1 cup of vinegar and cover the drain tightly.  It will bubble up and freshen drain and help drain better.

Window Film for Privacy and Dog Smudges

We have a patio door that opens into our main living room.  It is so frustrating because whenever the neighbors come down their driveway their headlights shine right into our living room.  Also I could see all the smears from not cleaning it good enough.  Well, I got over this.  But then we got a new dog and she smudges it with her big nose and big slobbers.  She is a american bull dog/ st. benard mix.  She is way more slobbier than our previous border collie/ sheperd mix.  I was going to attempt some diy window film but felt I was not artistic or patient enough.  So I found this one on Amazon with a bamboo print that goes pretty well with our decor.  With help from the husband, who has applied tint to many a car window we got it done pretty easily.  I have to say, even though we opted to do only one window, since the other is always blocked by our bamboo shades, it looks pretty good.  Even though Daisy will have to peak behind the bamboo to see the outside cats or anyone approaching the front door, it's a great choice. 

This is our previous dog looking at the cats from our patio door.  you can imagine the doggie nose prints!

This is the door minus the grid and with our new bamboo window film

Halloween Ideas

Spongebob haypants. I made this for grandsons at Halloween. I'm really not into the spooky stuff anymore but saw this idea at Amish Acres. http://www.amishacres.com/ I have a friend that graciously gave me two bails of hay. I then had my son stacked them on top of one another. If you have something to hold them together, like placing dollrods between them, this may prevent a tip over...mine actually stayed upright for quite some time. The mouth, shirt, tie and pants were painted on using cheap spray paint for about $1 at dollar store. I used two wiffle balls painted with blue eyes and secured with some wire to twine that wraps around hay. Also I used a plastic banana stuck into the hay for a nose. For the arms and legs I had a broken rake and a broken broom stick that I spray painted yellow. Added some gloves secured by rubberbands and some black boots. Or if you want to get complicated you can make some boots out of paper mache. My teenage son was the heavy lifter of the hay! And the grandboys got to help and they thought it was cool!

Here are my painted pumpkins from one year with a cat following two mice.

Our little mummy.  Tore an old bed sheet into long strips and wrapped away. 

Another simple idea.  Use black sweats and paint a skeleton on the body with glow in dark paint from craft aisle.  Then buy the mask and the skeleton gloves.  He is no longer this little, neither are my other two children.  I miss those years!  Treasure them.