Cleaning Your Wood Floor

Searching, searching, searching...for a good way to clean wood floors. After 4 years of carpet in our home, my husband took out the carpet and installed wood floors due to ~~my not so subtle hints about~~ my carpet "phobia" issues. The wood floor was not a problem because my husband and son-in-law are both carpenters, however this also means that my options for cleaning the wood floors are limited. No machines, no excess water, no fancy equipment, nothing with pads and liquids squirting out the ends, I did try a chemically infused mop type device a few times (icky!!), so the search went on and on.
And being true to what I already knew was the best way to clean my floors, just as in the "old days" and keeping it simple, we ended up with a hands and knees approach (thankfully most of the time my husband or daughter do this for me). In the beginning we used vinegar and water, it works pretty well but it is now my second choice.

I found the ultimate product! You may already know that my sister and I love Dr. Bronner's products, well let me tell you about Sal Suds. It's the best! It is my first choice for the wood floors, counter tops, laundry, fruits, veggies, windows and more!! For the wood floors, I mix 1-2 Tablespoons of Sal Suds per 4 gallons of warm water. Don't use more! No streaks and a beautiful finish on the floor. For an added touch or for a quick clean-up, I use this recipe from Lisa Bronner's web site. Here is the link to her web site and a very helpful Sal Suds Cheat Sheet.

Wood Floor Spray:
2 tsp olive oil
20 drops essential oil, I used lemon
1/4 cup white vinegar
Mix the above ingredients in a large spray bottle then fill rest of spray bottle with water, then spray on your clean wood floor and use a microfiber or cotton cloth to shine. Shake the mixture each time before using it.

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk an...

Grilled Orange Roughy

My favorite food choices are often related to family memories, so I wanted to share one of our favorite grilled fish recipes. Our Dad used to take us fishing and we grew up eating the fish we caught ourselves. Then came the time when we had to start buying fish, I searched for types of fish that didn't taste too "fishy". It's hard to accomplish that in the Midwest, we don't always have many choices. We were introduced to orange roughy during a trip to San Diego where my great-uncle treated us to some of the most wonderful seafood we had ever eaten at an establishment called Anthony's. It was the first time we had eaten orange roughy and it was white, flaky and not too fishy tasting. After a few experiments, this is my favorite method to prepare it at home. Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers! Ingredients: 4 orange roughy fillets 1/4 c fresh cilantro, I use a small handful * if you are not a cilantro fan use fresh dill, about 1/4 c chopped 2 tsp garlic powder o...

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar...

Natural Homemade Living

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