DIY cleaning wipes

I'm a little on the OCD side. (That might be understated, but I know people worse than me, so I'm good.) Even when I was working full time, I still liked to have my house spotless and make dinner at home. Anyone who has tried to work full time, keep a clean home, a well groomed and clean dog, good food on the table and a healthy marriage knows that it's a lot to juggle. I remember a friend once asked me, "What do you do on Sundays while The Accountant plays video games?" My answer, "I clean." She was less than thrilled with the answer, hoping that I would give some magical solution to a spotless home that allowed me to sit around and eat bonbons, perhaps. I wish there was one. I haven't exactly found one yet, and I don't know what a bonbon is in English. In Mexico they're Marshmallows, but I doubt that is what one sits around dreaming about in English. What I have found, however, are some helpful ways to keep things clean.

When we moved to the States and I started working full time, I discovered this magical new product, "Clorox Wipes." I used them for quite a while, because they allowed me to quickly clean my bathroom. Then I discovered that they leave everything smudgy, and looked for something else. Somewhere along the line, like every good hippie mom (I'm not a hipster, I'm afraid. I think I'm too old for that.) I started looking for natural products that would clean well while being safer for my family.

I had read a study years ago while living in Mexico on the benefits of cleaning with Vinegar. I tried it for a while, since it was cheaper than "real" cleaning products, but The Accountant didn't care for the smell. I don't have a very sensitive nose, so I couldn't really tell the difference. I knew it didn't leave my house smelling like flowers, but I didn't smell vinegar either. The Accountant's power nose could. So I quit.

Now, back in the US, I kept finding vinegar as a cleaner. It seems that almost everything can be cleaned with some combination of vinegar, baking soda, dawn dish soap, or peroxide. First I would bring a small tub of vinegar to the bathroom to clean with. The Accountant said the bathroom smelled like Chinese food, since it uses a lot of vinegar. Since he is not opposed to General Tso's bathroom, I continued to clean with vinegar. Having to retrieve it from the kitchen was inconvenient, however.  I started keeping a spray bottle of vinegar in my bathroom, handy for mirrors, sinks, toilet, etc. The problem was that a spray bottle is unpredictable. It seemed to spray too much on the mirror, not enough on the toilet. I was back to square one.

When my daughter was born, it was all I could do to keep things wiped down. Anyone who has children will understand. It does get better, but it's hard at first! I reverted to the chemical cleaning wipes. I know, I can almost hear your *gasp* and "booooo." Please, keep reading. I promise, it gets better. You see, while I was using the dreaded chemicals one day, I thought, "If only I could make vinegar wipes, it would be so much easier..." And then the light bulb came on.

It's pretty easy to make your own cleaning wipes. I'd seen people use paper towels for wipes, but I wasn't convinced that they'd hold up. So I used coffee filters. They work wonders. Coffee filters have long been used for cleaning windows, polishing, etc. They don't leave fuzz, and they don't tear when wet since they are designed to get wet.

The "recipe" is pretty simple. Find yourself a container. You can save and wash out a wipes container, use a Tupperware, or get real fancy and use a mason jar. I opted for this re-purposed wipes container. It's a little annoying because of the piece of plastic that is supposed to catch the next wipe in line for use. Since my coffee filter wipes aren't in a roll, there is no way to pull the next one into the plastic doo-dad. Regardless of the minor inconvenience, it gets the job done.

Open up your container. Place the dry coffee filters inside. Add your cleaning liquid. I used about 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water so the smell isn't as strong. Leave them sit at least 24 hours so they soak up all that natural cleaning goodness. Voila! Ready to get your sink or toilet sparkly!

I also keep a smaller stack of dry coffee filters on hand in the bathroom, because these wipes will be saturated. You can wring some of the liquid back into the container if you prefer. I don't like streaks, but I love to know that everything got good and soaked with my cleaner, so I run a dry filter over any remaining streaks once I'm done.
When you run out of wipes, throw some more filters into your container. You can reuse any remaining cleaner.

The summary:
1 container big enough to hold a stack of coffee filters
Stack of Coffee filters.
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water

Put all the ingredients in the container. Let sit 24 hours. You now have DIY cleaning wipes for use on windows, bathroom, kitchen, or whatever other surface you clean with vinegar.