My birthday* is later this month, and if 17-year-old me had known that 37-year-old me would be A) blogging and B) blogging about white distilled vinegar, 17-year-old me would have first rolled her eyes, as she was an eye-rolling-professional.
And then she would have hopped in her Honda Accord hatchback and done something incredibly reckless to try and change the course of fate.
Here’s the thing, you snotty brat of a teenager: 37-year-old you, while frequently surprised by her life, is happy.
And what made her ridiculously happy over the weekend was distilled white vinegar.
Wait! Come back, readers! I want to share my newfound love of vinegar with you. Oh, man, there you go.
For those of you who are sticking around (and really, I both thank you and question you – this is a post about vinegar), just a note about 17-year-old me: she, like all 17 year olds, was full of ideas. She totally knew who she was, and what her life would be.
And honestly? That’s the way it should be. There’s absolutely no good argument for knowing the ending ahead of time.
One of the many, many things the 17 year old dreamer and all her ideas never considered was future household cleaning needs. I think on some level I always knew I would marry and have children, even though for a lot of years I denied this to myself and to anyone who would listen. But even once I admitted my desire for domestication, I kind of assumed someone else would clean my house.
Why I assumed this, I have no idea. I didn’t grow up with a housekeeper (my mother would argue that I did have a housekeeper, and her name was Mom). I guess I just assumed that along with married, I would also be rich and fabulous. Two out of three ain’t bad.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have had housekeepers off and on in my adult life. No, we’re not rich by reality TV standards, but we are abundantly blessed and have at times hired outside help. These days, though, I am the housekeeper. She is me, and I am her.
I do have a staff, though. Two kind of short, useless ones, and one tall, helpful one who tackles my weekly (ha – DAILY) honey-do lists with a joy in his heart from which we could all benefit. Thank goodness for Mark and his willingness to help with the chores. I could do it all myself (shhh! Do not tell Mark.), but I would run myself ragged and I wouldn’t have time for anything else.
Regular readers know this, but new people, here’s the 411: I’m too particular for my own good, and while I do let things get way out of control sometimes, for the most part I’m a neat freak. I like things clean. And tidy. It’s the cross I bear. (Cue the eye roll from the 17 year old.)
So. My point. Vinegar.
I’ve used it before for specialized tasks, like descaling our Keurig coffee maker (I love that thing, by the way). And I’ve heard tale of vinegar’s many other uses before. Up until now, though, I’ve always spent money on a barrage of household cleaners. After switching to green and natural cleaners a few years ago, my housekeeping expenses went way up. That stuff is not cheap.
Not any more. I’m a convert. A Vinegar Convert. I found this site when I was looking for some tips on cleaning my cabinets (yep, that’s what I did on Saturday and it was deeply satisfying): Vinegar Tips. Turns out that this stuff is good for way more than just pickling things.
After wiping down my cabinets, I decided to give vinegar a try in a few more places, including my stainless appliances. It is a miracle worker, I tell you. Stainless steel appliances, while pretty, are madness-inducing for people like me who live with people like my children. The appliances are forever covered in grimy fingerprints and slobber. My 19-month-old puts his mouth on everything. When he was about 10 months old, he would regulary Kiss the Baby in The Oven.
Smoooch! I love that baby in the oven!
Now that he’s older, he still puts his face right on the oven to look in (even if I’m only using the top oven, he likes for me to turn on the light so he can look in the bottom oven – I don’t question it if it keeps him busy for a couple minutes). Both of my kids regularly open the refrigerator and freezer for no other reason than to just look in there. It’s maddening, I tell you. And the obsesssion with the dishwasher… I can’t even go there right now because I’ll get too frustrated.
So I spend a lot of time wiping down my appliances, but am never completely happy with the outcome. Until now. Some warm water and a splash of vinegar changed my life. The glass on my oven was covered in grime (read: slobber and greasy finger prints). It’s all gone. And not a single streak. My other appliances have not been this shiny ever. I don’t think they looked this good on day one. Seriously.
Granted, the perfection only lasted until the children woke up from their naps. And yet, even with them putting their hands and faces all over the kitchen, the appliances seem to repel some of their advances now. A smudge and a fingerprint here and there, sure. But in general, everything still looks amazing.
Vinegar, you had me at hello. Or something. Next up, I’m going to tackle the windows in the playroom. They look like we have a large, slobbery dog. But we don’t. Nope. Just a small, slobbery toddler.
*Not fishing for gifts. I swear. Email me if you want my address. Ha. Really, really kidding.
I wonder…
:: What’s your favorite cleaning tip?
:: When you were 17 did you have a slightly different picture of the future in your head?
Lapsed homemaker. Looking to hire a full-time housekeeper who will work for the sheer joy of a job well done and free coffee. Interested parties, DM please. 
I love vinegar! I use it to clean nearly everything in the house.
My 17 year old self would have turned tail and run screaming in the other direction if she’d known what her 32 year old self would be like! I’m glad that I didn’t know because I love my life!
I love the way vinegar cleans too, but it’s the smell that I hate!
I’ve been using lavender oil mixed with water in a spray bottle. It’s good for just wiping the counters down when they’re not super dirty and lavender is a natural disinfectant!
I’m also slowly becoming a vinegar convert…especially after seeing how well it cleaned my son’s humidifier. Haven’t yet tried it on stainless steel appliances…perhaps that will be on this week’s list of cleaning activities. Yeah, my 17 yo self didn’t expect this either 🙂
Hmmm. I’m still not sure how this vinegar thing works, so can you come over to my house with a bottle and a rag and give me a demonstration? I’ll just lie on the couch and take notes.
That picture is priceless!
And 17 year old me would’ve said, “Wait. Not only are you READING a blog about vinegar, but you’re legitimately getting excited about a blog about vinegar?!” 17yo me would’ve also steadfastly proclaimed, “I’d rather be dead than driving a minivan.” 17yo me and I wouldn’t get along very well.
When vinegar and baking soda don’t do the trick, I use the Magic Eraser. There was a lot of bad press about it causing burns, but it’s been largely found untrue (through Snopes). But in general, it’s not a good idea to rub an abrasive on your child’s skin. 😛
But yeah, that stuff has done wonders on our bathtubs.
First, at 17 there was no picture of the future in my head (although someone really should have tried to jam one in there for me.)
Another miracle worker is Hydrogen peroxide – cleans, kills germs, and sometimes bleach – cheap and does the same.
May God Bless and keep you and yours this day
You mean I don’t have to buy those stupid stainless steel wipes anymore? Sold!
I don’t have a favorite cleaning tip. Right now my living room is covered in mega bloks and puzzle pieces and I’m ignoring lunch cleanup so I can relax for a bit while the kids nap. Oh it’ll get done, but not right now!
Really? Vinegar?? Just the regular old kind? Admittedly, I’m a horrible housecleaner and look for cleaning supplies that spell it out for me.
So, how do I mix it? Could I damage anything if I use too much? Seriously I want to try it, thanks for the tip!
The only thing I’m fanatic about are the floors…ugh I hate crumbs and dirty floors, so yeah, I’m pretty much sweeping or vacuuming all day long. Fun.
My 17 year old self would have read this and said “Dude, you can’t waste good vinegar when there are awesome greasy fries to be had with said condiment” and then my 17 year old self would have laughed at the word condiment. Ok I still laugh at the word condiment.
A post like this is for the anal Craigs of the world…
I immediately thought that 17-year-old me would be horrified by 26-year-old domestic me, but the more I thought about it, the more I changed my tune.
At 17, I lived in Austin, went to UT studying child development, and wanted to be a writer, or a happy SAHM. Now I’m a nanny, writer AND a SAHM (well, kind of) and I have the daughter 17-year-old me couldn’t have even dreamed of.
Funny how life works out.
“Green” cleaning products are expensive. I’ve been using them for almost 9 years. But I also still love my Oxiclean…gets everything out. When I was 17 I thought I was going to be a successful (read: the BOSS) executive in an amazing company…totally bringing home the bacon!!! Kids were not in my future; I screamed “women can do anything men can do”!!! I still think that, but I keep it to myself, mostly.
I have tried vinegar and it doesn’t clean as well as Crunchy Betty promised me it would. Hmph.
Funny! Nice to meet you tonight at NXNW.
I can’t stand the smell of vinegar so I’m out! But you are right, it is cheap!
I actually market for a company that makes green cleaning stuff so I use that. Their products are inexpensive and really good. I was NOT green at all before that, the job pushed me into it!
And yes, the picture I had of myself at 17 for where I am now are just a little different. But surprisingly, a lot of what I expected is true. A mom, some kids, a house, a husband. It’s the details that are different…
Do you think this would work on shower doors??? I’m totally going to try it in a few minutes. That door is awful!
Wait. I’m a little confused. You’re 37 years old? Not possible.