Rub-a-dub-dub . . .

My life in Auckland has been pretty nomadic. I moved from Fairview Lane in Papatoetoe to the Railway Campus, to the Wellesley Students Apartment, to the Forte Apartments, within just the first 6 months in the city. The nomadic lifestyle back then was purely driven by financial motives. The previous 6 months have also seen us moving in and out of 3 apartments, but this time it's entirely driven by life uncertainties.


A few good things of having a nomadic lifestyle. Number one, I manage to become less of a serial hoarder. Because I moved a lot, I am forced to frequently pack and unpack, and by doing so, allow me to either give away or throw away things and items I don't see the use of keeping/hoarding/owning. Number two, I don't develop a clinging culture, when I go everywhere with the same people and don't expose myself to other social challenges. Number three, and the point of writing this entry, is the arduous and often times expensive cleaning regime. Every time I moved, I MUST scoured, cleaned, cleansed and sterilized the apartment to the satisfaction of the agent/property manager. This is not implying that I ONLY do it upon moving out. Keeping the apartment continuously cleaned is also a challenge.


In my previous life, I bought bleach, multi-purpose cleaning agents (like Mr. Muscle), and other cleaning agents (oven cleaner, mold remover), and was amazed by the amount of options available, each catered to the types of dirt and functions.  The current apartment that we are in was in an extremely FILTHY condition. Unacceptably filthy. Spots on the carpet, oily scums on the cooktop and mold and mildew living in the fridge. Dusty floors, shelves, windows and wall edges. But we knew it was a nice-sized apartment for us. So we came to the dirt war at the apartment armed with 4 different cleaning agents: 1 Mr Muscle multipurpose cleaner, 1 Janola toilet cleaning bleach, 1 Jif, and 1 Fabreeze (fabric deodorizer and odour remover). Halfway through the dirt war, we ran out of cleaning agents. So we retreated for the day, and I spent the entire night googling homemade cleaning agents. Lo and behold, I can find cheap, SAFE, non-toxic and equally effective cleaning agents in my kitchen box (At that time, we were still nomadic, so I had all my baking and cooking stuffs in 1 box).


Here are the essential home made cleaning agents straight from your kitchen shelf.

VINEGAR. I bought a huge bottle of vinegar (well, that's the only size they were sold in) about 2 years ago to make potato salad. I have never used it since then. Vinegar is a natural, non-toxic cleaner, deodorizer and degreaser. Vinegar kills mold, bacteria and germs. It can be used as a window cleaner, and oil degreaser for your exhaust fan grids, inside oven, and counter tops. Vinegar also works as a stain remover to remove coffee/tea stains from cups, mugs and kettles. I make my own all-purpose cleaner adding one part water and one part vinegar. The smell is strong, but it dissipates within a few hours, and more importantly it leaves your counter top smelling and feeling fresh. Adding essential tea tree oil to the water and vinegar solution can lessen the strong vinegar smell. I also use vinegar and water solution to scrub floor tiles. Vinegar can also be used as a fabric softener (I have yet to experiment with this). Cost is between NZD 1.50.

BAKING SODA. Apart from being an ingredient in your cake, baking soda is a mild abrasive agent and odour neutralizer, great for cleaning water-based scums e.g., soap scums and toilet grimes. Half a cup of baking soda and water just enough to frost it up makes a safe and effective scouring powder. For better results, leave the powder on the surface for 20 minutes before (easily) scouring the dirt and grimes. Cost between 99 cent to NZD1.20

TEA TREE ESSENTIAL OIL. A bit expensive! but very effective on fighting molds and mildews. Simply mix 2 teaspoon of tea tree oil with a 2 cups of water to make a solution for those tough moldy areas (shower areas, shower curtains etc).The smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but the smell dissipates in a few minutes. Cost for 10ml = NZD 6.50.








The above three ingredients are what I use at my home. Browse here http://www.care2.com/ for more green living tips. Happy trying!