Moring Living on Martha Stewart Living Radio

Maybe I'm crazy but I love talking about cleaning, no matter how early it is.Yesterday I got up really early to talk about green cleaning with Betsy Karetnick from Martha Stewart Living Radio's Morning Living Show. It was like finding my long lost sister! Betsy likes to talk "cleaning" too! Our plan was to talk about spring cleaning and how to get started. I recommended making a list - and as Betsy said - make sure it's on paper so you can CROSS things off it! Nothing feels better than crossing things off a list.  To start off your cleaning I think you should start with your windows. I gave Betsy one of my green cleaning recipes from my book.

Here is the glass and mirror cleaner:

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 corn starch

2 liter bottle of club soda

You mix the corn starch in the club soda until it dissolves then add the white vinegar and put it into a spray bottle.

We also talked about using my favorite "tool" which is the Blue Cloth. This is a special microfiber cloth made especially for glass and windows.  All you do is wet it with water and wring it out really well and just wipe the window. You don't have to dry it - it will dry on it's own with no streaks, smears or lint. Betsy agreed that this sounded even easier than using the DIY recipe. I said that if you like to spray and wipe, just use a bottle of water and dry the window with this cloth. You will save time and money (no paper towels) with this one simple cloth.

Lastly we talked about how to clean the floors. I told Betsy about my system for cleaning floors without a bucket. Instead I use a microfiber mop and a few covers. Just wet the covers in the sink using hot water and wring them out so they are damp. Then just put a small amount of your floor cleaner in a spray bottle and add lots of water. It will be the same concentration as if it's in a bucket. Spray the floor with the cleaner and go over it with the microfiber mop. Replace the cover when you feel like it's full of dirt. Don't rinse out the cover, just place it in your washing machine and get a new clean mop cover from the sink. This prevents cross contamination! And your not spreading dirty water on your floor.

We wrapped up our 20 minutes by talking about how satisfying it is to look around see what you've accomplished. Cleaning can be fun - when you have the right tools - and someone you can share it with - right "sista"!