Green Cleaning 2

Last time I wrote about cleaning was just before Christmas. It is now May and a spring clean is long overdue. Unfortunately this blog isn't really about some fantastic cleaning feat of mine, I am never going to be a domestic goddess - but this weekend I finally managed to take something off my to do list.

One of my pet hates is cleaning the oven. I just find that the most boring and annoying job on the cleaning list, and it always gets left far too long! This time was no exception: the fact is (and I really shouldn't be admitting to this) that until yesterday my oven still had a layer of grease in the bottom from the overflowing Christmas turkey. I know it is quite horrible, but because I am lucky enough to have 2 ovens the 'turkey oven' just kind of got decommissioned, as I could always think of other more important things to take care of. I realise I am not putting myself in a good light here, but I wanted to make the picture clear as to the state of the oven, when I finally got round to tackling it.

As I have more or less cleared the cleaning cupboard of chemicals I expected to have quite a job on my hands. Even after researching my options and choosing to go for the 'soak in bicarbonate of soda layer' option I wasn't fully convinced that sprinkling a layer of the white stuff, spraying it with water and then leaving it overnight was going to rid me of seriously burnt on Christmas dinner. Guess what, it actually did work! I am still amazed. OK, the oven is not 100% stain free, but there is definitely no more turkey grease in there.
Even better it wasn't particularly hard work and the real bonus was avoiding the headache from the intoxicating fumes of standard oven cleaner. Result!

So after this success I decided to have a good look in the new Green Cleaning book I have been given as a present. Fascinating reading - with a tub of bicarbonate of soda, a bottle of vinegar and a few lemons you can clean almost anything, not to mention get rid of weeds, take out splinters easily, remove unwanted perfume and lots of other things.
I found a couple of things I really wanted to try, but it isn't really season right now:
- Apparently it is easy to clean the grill on the BBQ with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar - must remember that after our next barbecue here in 'sunny' Scotland.
- Thankfully the really frosty season should be over for now, but when the winter returns, I will need to try this: spraying the car windscreen with a solution of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water should keep the windows ice and frost free.

What really grabbed my interest was the suggestions for killing weeds, it seems you can either pour vinegar on them or for patio/path areas you can sprinkle salt. After spending most of a day pulling weeds out of the garden I most definitely have to try that.
Or how about making your own fizzy drink like the Victorians with bicarbonate of soda - that sounds like fun.
I will let you know how I get on...

You might have noticed that most of the suggestions that caught my attention were the ones that didn't really involve cleaning! I think that sums up my attitude rather well, because although I obviously do clean the house, I just can't get exited about it. The fact is that however fascinating I think it is that basically any cleaning job in the house can be done without manufactured chemicals I am unlikely to try it out, because freshening up the grout whether with lemon juice or chemicals will never make it to the top of my priority list.

What I will do though is place my green cleaning book somewhere prominent as a reminder of how easy it can be (even the oven) and maybe one day I just might decide to freshen up the colour in the carpet using vinegar...