For about 10 years, before she passed away, I use to go over to her house every Wednesday after work and she would cook me supper and afterwards we would chat or, being elderly and alone, she would have me help her with some chores she could no longer do. One evening we were cleaning the picture window in her dining room and I asked her where the Windex was. To which she proudly informed me:
"I have never bought Windex in my life. I always just use rubbing alcohol. It cleans the glass and doesn't streak."
Aunt Julie had one of the cleanest homes I have ever been in. You know how on sunny afternoons you can see dust dancing in the sun beams? Well, at Julie's there were sunbeams, but no dancing dust... THAT'S how clean it was.
She would often give me pointers and tips on how she had kept her home clean through the decades - some I used and some, like the rubbing alcohol trick, were tucked away in my head. Figuring a little old fashion cleaning couldn't hurt and would save me from going out, I went to the linen closet, grabbed the rubbing alcohol and a rag (made from re-purposed old t-shirts), and went to cleaning the bathroom mirror. Shiny, happy, streak-free perfection. Once again, my great aunt did not steer me wrong – rubbing alcohol makes a FANTASTIC and INEXPENSIVE glass cleaner.
When you think about it, our depression era relatives were really better then we are at re-purposing and reusing materials around the house – rag rugs, scrap quilts, empty containers for left overs, button boxes – you name and they probably didn't waste it. They cleaned with natural things like lemons and vinegar and while I won't be making my own starch like she did, I am really excited to try out some of her other household words of wisdom and reporting back!
