My Friend Dawn

If you aren't friends with Dawn yet and want to downsize your selection of chemical ridden cleaning products you need to let her into your life! Of course I'm not referring to a mythical person who will show up at your house while you sleep and you'll wake up to spotless counters and clean floors.  Can't help you on that one but I can open your eyes to the beauty that is Original Blue Dawn dish soap.  Don't be scared to read on ... I like tips and tricks that work, are easy to fit into a busy life, and don't require me to break into the vacation fund. 

How we began . . .  It all started with a stain on my kid's cute, little monster covered outfit. I had been so overwhelmed trying to research and find a way to go natural and not jump on board the crazy train that I hadn't quite figured things out. I went to my old stand-by - the OxyClean Stain Stick - which worked as usual but with a sad, side effect. The next time the munchkin wore the outfit his skin got irritated and bright red right where I had used the stain remover. I lost the mom of the year award right then and there but it sent me on a quest for something equally as effective but without the sting. 

I hit up Pinterest and scoured my sister's boards. I figured if anyone had something it was probably her and lo and behold I struck gold. And so, allow me to present the most miraculous stain remover that will run you less than anything else on the shelves and takes less than 5 minutes to mix up. Can you say "win-win?"

All you need is blue Dawn, peroxide, and baking soda.  Three things that most people probably have around anyways. Mix 1 part Dawn to 2 parts peroxide and add in some baking soda to make a sort of paste. I usually do 1/2 cup of the Dawn and then 1 cup of peroxide. You can actually remove most stains with just the Dawn and peroxide and then reserve the creation of a paste for the REALLY brutal stains.  Even the set in ones like the gross looking yellow stain you'll get on your white shirts. Admit it . . . you know you have some of those. Try the paste and they'll be a distant memory! 

But that's not all! Don't worry as I'm not really planning to break into a sales pitch here but blue Dawn will work for more than just the dishes.  Here's a pretty good list of different uses and several will help you knock a few household cleaning products off your list. 

1. Saving wildlife: After an oil spill because grease goes away and the skin isn't harmed or irritated. Also, BONUS ... no phosphates and biodegradable!
2. BUBBLES: (for the kids) 1/2 cup of Dawn, 1/2 gallon of warm water, and a table spoon of glycerin which you can find at Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens .. you get the idea.
3. Greasy hair help: Like when your little monster, I mean angel, finds the Vaseline or baby lotion and gets a little crazy. Wash their hair with Dawn as you would shampoo. 
4. For the ladies with a penchant for hair product: Washing your hair once a month with Dawn in place of shampoo will remove all that buildup.
5. Bugs-Be-Gone: 1 drop of Dawn in a spray bottle of water and you can use on the leaves of your houseplants to keep the bugs away.
6. No More Windex: 3 drops of dawn in 1 gallon of water and pour into a spray bottle to give you that streak free shine on a windows and glass. 
7. FLEAS: Bathe your dogs or cats (if you dare mixing cats and water) in Dawn to kill fleas. 
8. Got Pain?: Fill a ziplock bag partially full with Dawn, freeze, and use as an ice pack. It thaws out more slowly than a standard ice pack and IF it does leak you aren't going to wonder what the heck just spilled out all over you or your furniture. 
9. Shower Power: Make a shower spray cleaner by filling a spray bottle halfway with white vinegar, heat in microwave, and fill the remainder of the way with Dawn. Shake it up, spray down the shower, WALK AWAY, and when you think about it later on ... Just rinse away. 
10. ANTS: A long time nemesis . . . spray down counters with Dawn and water solution and wipe off with a clean, dry cloth. Dawn is your friend and your pet's friend, and your kid's friend .. but not a friend of the ant. 
11. Liquid Plumber: Unclog toilets with 1 cup of Dawn allowed to sit for 15 minutes and chase with a bucket of hot water.
12. Multi-Purpose Cleaner: You might have already put 2 and 2 together by now but you can mix a few drops of Dawn with water in a spray bottle and use as your counter spray, for linoleum floors, baseboards, hard surfaces, etc. 
13. De-Icer: Friends coming over for New Years or Christmas? Or maybe you would prefer to not fall and break your neck coming in the house via the sidewalk? Whichever it is, 1 teaspoon of Dawn, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 gallon of hot water dumped on icy terrain and VOILA! 

Convinced that you need a new friend yet? Or maybe you just need to build on the relationship you have with the bottle of blue Dawn you might already have in the kitchen? Either way, what started with dishes grew to stains and suddenly I was intrigued.  I don't have a lot of time to mix up new cleaning products so the more versatile the product the more I love it and in this case, the $2-$3 I spend on a bottle goes a long way!  I usually buy the value pack so a bit pricer but I don't buy stain remover, glass cleaner, insect repellent, expensive hair repair products, bathroom cleaner, or multi-purpose sprays so I think what that means is .... I WIN!