How I wash my makeup brushes...

Experts say we should wash our make up brushes once a week.  I have to admit I'm (very) bad about following their advice.  Instead I will wash them once... in awhile!
My brushes didn't look that bad so it didn't seem urgent to do it.  Since I hadn't cleaned them 'in awhile' I decided to do so this weekend.

Let's look at them before their bath...

Not too bad, right?

I usually wash them and rinse them individually, but this time I soaked them in soapy water to see the real dirt in them...

 WOW, that's pretty bad!

Then I washed them the way I usually do and rinse them under running water.  

(Note:  I always put brushes facing down so the bristles don't open up)

Then I pressed them with paper towel to get the excess of water and lie them down on a clean paper towel to air dry...

And here are my clean brushes!

Much, much better!!

I can now use them safely.  Not just makeup free, but also free of germs!

How often do you wash your brushes?  Do you have a favorite product you use? I personally like Brush Conditioning Shampoo from Bare Minerals. I know there are a lot of brush-shampoo out there, which one do you like?

Hope you have a great week!

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Marcela 

Disinfect your Sponges

Sponges are a great tool we all have in our kitchen.  Some people even like to have separate sponges for dishes and another one for surfaces (I think this is a great idea!).  But what happens when you just got a new sponge few days ago and starts smelling?  As great as they are to clean they might also get lots of bacteria so we need to disinfect them.

Wet your sponge and place it in your microwave for no longer than one minute (depending on how powerful your microwave is).  Then CAREFULLY take it out, it might be very hot!! and rinse.

    

Do you have a special way to disinfect your sponges?  Share your ideas with us!

Best,

Marcela

Cleaning tools

Hope you all are having a great week and enjoying the beautiful weather in NYC, just beautiful!

Cleaning with organic, non-toxic cleaning products is a MUST.  But sometimes we forget about the tools.  Are we using Earth friendly tools to clean our home?  Here are some tools I've found that DO work and are safe for our planet too!


Cleaning Products

This are my favorite ones!  They do the work and are SO concentrate that they last for ever, meaning less plastic.  Speaking of which, all plastic bottles in this kit are BPA free.



Bucket

This is called Eclipse Bucket and it's made from recycled plastic soda bottles.  Now that's really cool!


Lint roller
Great for getting dust from delicate areas such as lamp shades.

This on is from Casabella and it's also made from recycled plastic bottles!


Sponges

This sponges are just so pretty and they are 100% plant based and compostable!


Gloves

I use this Gloves and Sponge at home.  The gloves are made of natural latex and the sponge is made with soy based foam.  Both are biodegradable and wrap in recycled packaging. Love them!


Do you have a favorite earth friendly tool to clean your home?  We would love to hear from you!

Hope you have a great day!

Best,
Marcela

Everyday items you can use as household cleaners

So we've talked how the best way to clean is with Natural, Non-Toxic cleaning products.  So I thought it good be good to know about some other 'Natural' options you may have not thought of.  

Club Soda:  Great as a window cleaner.  So if you run out of your regular window cleaner head to your refrigerator and get some club soda and voila!



Baking Soda:  The uses of Baking Soda are endless!  I think we've mentioned this before but it's worth to talk about it again.  Baking Soda is a fabulous scruber. You can use it in your bathroom to scrub your shower, sink, etc.  But it also works great to wash your pots and pans, best part: It doesn't scratch! So your safe.



Seltzer Water:  Great to clean carpet spots.  Pour a little seltzer water on the spot (please follow "little") leave it for few minutes while it bubbles and then dry with a white-clean cloth. 



White Vinager:  Pour some white vinager on cutting boards and leave it for few minutes.  It will disinfect and you'll feel comfortable cleaning it without adding any chemicals!



Cooking oil:  Got squeaky door that's driving you crazy? Get some cooking oil from your kitchen, damp a little on a cloth, rub the hinge, open/close door few times and no more noise!



Do you use an everyday item as a household cleaner?  Share your tips with us!

Best,
Marcela

Cleaning... Bathrooms

Cleaning the bathroom is probably the least place we like to clean... I mean, it takes so much time, you don't want to deal with cleaning the toilet, etc.  Well, I have a little system that will leave your bathroom sparkling in just few steps.

First you need the right tools:  Bathroom cleaner, Baking Soda (or a natural version of Scrub Cream or Paste), Window Cleaner, 2 sponges, 1 Magic Eraser Sponge, some Paper Towel, Microfiber Cloth.

1. I start by spraying the bathroom cleaner AND baking soda on sink, bathtub and toilet.



2. Use one of the sponges and scrub sink and tub/shower. Use magic eraser sponge and water to get rid of soap scum of glass shower door. It will clean it without damaging the glass.
Use the other sponge to scrub toilet (you don't want to pass germs from toilet to the rest of your bathroom (eww!)
Note:  How will you know which is which!?  Cut one corner of one of sponges and leave that for toilet.



3. Rinse with clean water.

4. While that dries you can start cleaning inside medicine cabinet (Yes, that is something you need to do.  Believe me your guests WILL open it and look inside).



5. Start drying and make all faucets shine. Spray window cleaner to a microfiber cloth and dry and shine faucets, counter, shower wall and door, bathtub... Don't forget to clean around shampoo/conditioner bottles.  And finally dry toilet. Do it from top to bottom: water tank, cover, front, sides and behind.



And your good to go. Now enjoy a bathtub with sea salt, Ahhhh!

Images via: 1 BHG, 2 Scotch Bright, 3 Martha Stewart, 4 Pottery Barn

Do you have a system to clean your bathroom?  I'd love to know.  You can check my favorite cleaning products here.  If you have any questions about them email me.


Best,
Marcela