Simple Pleasures: Cleaning Wipes

Since I travel for work about 50% of my life, I like my time at home to be as simple as possible.  I have already mentioned my simple laundry routine, but other cleaning chores could take up all of my time at home, leaving no time for quilting.  The horror!

Years and years ago, I ready Flylady's book (affiliate link*) and learned that a little cleaning done regularly can keep the house pretty clean.  I've adapted her system to work with my traveling life and cleaning wipes are my answer.

I use cleaning wipes to keep my sewing room clean as well as the rest of the house.  I can't breathe when I use harsh chemicals, so I make my own wipes.

I cut up old towels from my wedding shower (30+ years ago) and zig-zag stitched around them.  If none of your towels look like my old towels, I suppose you could buy cheap washcloths instead.  I cut them to the size of my Swiffer so that I can use these to mop my floor as well as wipe grimy surfaces.  I store the wipes in plastic containers and then cover them with this home-made cleaning solution.

2 C water

1 1/2 cups vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

1/2 cups super-cheap vodka**

1 splash of soap -- Dawn, Dr. Bronner's soap (affiliate link*), or Soap Nut cleaner (affiliate link*)

I keep a container of wipes in the kitchen, each bathroom, the laundry room, and the sewing room so that I can have them at hand whenever I need them.

When the tables on  my longarms get dusty, I grab a damp rag and wipe the dust off.  When my floor mats (affiliate link*) get dusty and grimy, I put a damp rag in my Swiffer and do a quick mopping.  This prevents the grime from the mats getting onto any fabric that might fall on it.

I use these same cleaners for the rest of the house.  Warning: this cleaner dries with streaks/spots, so I wipe surfaces down with a dry towel.

Whenever I'm in between steps of a sewing project, I grab a wipe and clean something quickly so that I can get back to quilting as soon as possible!

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*An affiliate link means that if you click on the link and buy the product I may, at no additional cost to you, receive a small commission to help keep this blog running.

**My vodka is in a Mason jar because the lid broke on the vodka bottle.  I promise that I didn't make my own hooch.