Pillow Talk

To bleach,

or not to bleach,

that is the question.

The answer? I hope you've got some suggestions for me.

Soooooo ... one of our pillow shams snuck into a load of reds.

And what do you guess happened? I now have a pink pillow sham.

I like pink.

But I now have an un-matching white comforter and used-to-match sham.

What to do?

I can't bleach it. First of all, we're "green."

Second, it would have ruined the design on the other side.

Any suggestions for getting the pink out?

Otherwise, I'm just going to throw the whole dang thing in with a load of reds and call it my pink-dye experiment.

At least then I'll have a matching set!

Ah well. Back to laundry. A day in the life of an innkeeper ...

--Rachelle

Posh Plush

Going "green" last year has solicited a lot of junk mail with various salesmen trying to promote their latest and greatest greenwashed project. Samples of trash bags that are made of "recycled" material at the bargain price of $4 a piece. Expensive energy converters that would take 10 years to pay for themselves ... but they save energy! I do admit, some samples have been pleasent surprises ... such as the soaps, lotions and shampoos. What girl doesn't like to receive bath and body stuff?

However, you'll never believe was was in my pile of junk mail today. Toilet paper. Yes, I said Toilet Paper. TP. Three little squares folded up nicely in a little plasic sample pouch. Seriously folks!?!? Do we Innkeepers really need to receive toilet paper samples in the mail? Is there some marketing guru out there that thinks this is an excellent idea? Are there really connoisseurs of plushness?

When I was in high school, the best use of tp was to decorate the outside of our dance teacher's house with it at 2:00 in the morning as a way to celebrate winning a competition. As I got older, it became a way to embarrass future brides at their shower by wrapping them up in tissue bridal gowns under the guise of a "contest."

Today's junk mail let curiosity get the best of me and so I Googled unusual uses for toilet paper. Surprisingly, I found a million different crafts for the actual toilet paper roll. Puppets, totem poles, cardboard candles, bowling pins, pretend binoculars, new years poppers, etc. I guess if you have children at home, crafts are the best way to reduce/reuse/recycle.

But what made me laugh the most was discovering some surveys on whether it is a better method to "crumple" or "fold." You can see it for yourself at MentalFloss.com.

Ha! What will they come up with next?!

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

Christopher's Inn -- All Purpose Cleaner Recipe

I've asked the Innkeepers to share with us their unique tips & tricks for keeping a clean house while saving time and money.

Here are two home-made cleaner recipes from Inez with Christopher's Inn. I can't wait to try these!

All Purpose Cleaner

Add the following ingredients
to a large spray bottle:

2 1/2 teaspoons liquid soap (Dr. Bronners, etc.)
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 cups of water


Glass Cleaner

Soak a cloth in a solution of 1 tablespoon of corn starch
dissolved in 1 quart of water.
This will make your windows and mirrors really sparkle!

Getting Ready for Fall

Here in Florida, we really don't have a noticeable change in the seasons. Trees and plants all still maintain their lush colors throughout the fall and winter. The only real difference we feel is the drop in humidity, the cooler evening temperatures and watching the storefronts change their displays to oranges and golds.

With September quickly approaching, here's a short list of things you can do to get ready so that you can spend less time stressing more time actually enjoying the season.

1) I'm not much of a cook, but I LOVE to bake. And Fall is my favorite season for donning an apron and oven mitt and pretending to be Betty Crocker. While it's not as fun as baking, now is a good time to clean out and organize your cupboards and inventory baking tools. Do you need anything new? Now's a good time to make that list and go shopping for it.

2) Stock your pantry. There are many common dry good that are sometimes hard to come by during the season, such as brown sugar, cinnamon, canned pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, etc. Start stocking up on these items as you do your regular grocery shopping. That way you'll be relaxed and prepared to have a fun day in the kitchen without having to run out to get something you forgot, or traveling from store to store unable to find it.

3) This may seem like a better suggestion for Summer or Spring, but here in Florida, Fall and Winter are the better outdoor seasons. I know it's a chore, but clean your grill and lawn furniture so that it's ready when you want to have a spontaneous backyard party. Get an extra pat on the back for going "green" and check out my eco-friendly cleaner recipe that's great for outdoor furniture and grills.

4) Get ready for the fresh cooler air ... have your windows cleaned! I know, I know, another boring chore. But you'll be thankful during our first spell of cool weather when you can pop open hour home's windows and not get your fingers blackened with screen dust and dirt. If it is something that you're not up to doing yourself, then hire a professional window cleaner. We did and it was surprisingly affordable! If you must do it yourself, one piece of advise they gave me was to use a q-tip to get into the corners of the window track.

5) Okay, on to something more fun. Shopping! It's never too early to start for the holidays. Create a 'gift trunk' and start collecting things now to make your holiday season a little less stressful without having to search for that perfect gift. With the economy feeling a little tighter this year, it will seem less overwhelming both in time and money spent to start now. It is 16 weeks until Christmas. If you bought one gift a week from now until then, you could use that extra time having fun and drinking wine at holiday parties rather than late-night-last-minute gift shopping. Check out the Craft Fair in Mount Dora coming up in October for some unique gift items and a fun festival to boot!


What is something you enjoy doing to get ready for the season? Let us know and comment below!

Eco-Friendly Cleaners

It scrubs. It deodorizes. It's non-toxic. It's cheap.

Need I say more?

I'm talking about the wonder-all cleaners ... baking soda & vinegar.

It's really easy to clean green, and here are two simple recipes I use to make my own cleaners at home.

Baking Soda Scrub
Mix the following in a plastic bowl:
1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1 Cup of Water

Can be used for ... scrubbing outdoor grills, lawn furniture, bath tubs, sinks, bath fixtures. After I clean my kitchen sink, I usually pour a little more baking soda and then a cup of vinegar down the drain. It bubbles up like a 3rd grade volcano science project and gently cleans out and deodorizes your drain.

Vinegar Surface Cleaner
Use a funnel to add the following to
a 32 oz. spray bottle and shake before use:
1 Cup of Vinegar
3 Cups Water

20 Drops of Lemon Oil

Can be used for ... getting rid of soap scum, cleaning mirrors, windows, glass, chrome bath fixtures, and anything else you would want to shine up. The scent of vinegar dissipates while the lemon kind of lingers. Since the ingredients are edible, it's safe to use on dining surfaces. The great benefit to mirrors is vinegar will not cause the same corrosion that ammonia based cleaners will.

These two simple recipes show you how easy it is to clean "green" for less than $5 total, plus the added fun of a science/chemistry craft project in your kitchen.

Lemon Window Cleaner Recipe

There are about a 1000 uses for vinegar, and this happens to be one of my favorites when it comes to cleaning. The "blue stuff" just doesn't cut it when it comes to windows, and this is a great non-toxic, environmentally friendly alternative. Plus it's easy and fun to make.

Lemon Window Cleaner Recipe
Large Plastic Spray Bottle
2 Cups Distilled White Vinegar
2 Cups Filtered Water
40 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
(You could use lemon extract, but
the Essential Oil is a much higher concentrate)

Shake. Spray. Swipe.

I also use this same solution for cleaning bathroom fixtures (showerheads, faucets, anything chrome) as it really dissolves soap and that white hard water build up.

Using a microfiber cloth will keep you from leaving bits of lint behind. Voila. No streaks. Vinegar evaporates. Fresh lemon scent lingers. Now that's clean!

--Rachelle

Housekeeping 101

The grit, the grime, the goopedy goo ... Innkeepers probably know best all the tricks that Martha Stewart wont dare tell you about keeping a house clean and in order. We're going to venture to share all of our tips, tricks and unusual uses for regular household items in our Housekeeping 101 Series including recipes to make your own homemade cleaners, how to green things up with eco-friendly tips and timeless solutions you may have forgotten about.

Some examples include ...

... a million different uses for the handiest household ingredient: vinegar

... unusual ways to remove wine from a table cloth (I know one person that in a pinch at a party will use white out. Yes, I said white out.)

... 10 different uses for lint roller, other than lint

And a myriad of other helpful ways to save you time cleaning so that you can spend more time sipping wine with friends.