Vinegar Friday -- Fall's almost here. Are your closets musty?

Image by George GrimmHowell

TGIVF!! It's the last Vinegar Friday of the summer. How did that happen? If you're like me, it seems like you blinked and summer was gone. While fall is my favorite season, I must admit, I'm not ready to let go of summer quite yet (although I could do without temps in the high 80s/low 90s). I mean, we had plans for the summer. And we fulfilled very few of them. Anyone with me on this one?

Even vinegar couldn't make the summer months stick around a bit longer.

And then there's that whole, "Christmas is just around the corner." Shut up. The thoughts of going from the lazy, hazy days of summer to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season makes me want to cry. The passage of time seems to be quickening its pace and I don't like it. Not one bit.

But even vinegar can't make time slow down.

Maybe it's my age. The big 6-0 isn't that far into the future. How did that happen?? Life is fleeting. It seems as we get older, it speeds up even more. That is, until you near the triple digits. For the elderly, it seems to drag on with days lasting for what seems an eternity.

And vinegar won't help fill the hours.

Yes, I believe in vinegar as my go-to product for many things in life. But it simply doesn't have much effect on time. I looked up "cleaning clocks with vinegar" so I could stick to the theme of this post, but I didn't have any luck. Other than cleaning the glass face of clocks and watches, it doesn't seem that clock repair people reach for vinegar when they're cleaning the intricate parts of a timepiece.

So, I had to come up with a different vinegar tip for September. With the upcoming fall season, many of us will be switching our wardrobes from warm weather clothing to sweaters and boots. It's time to open up the storage chests or extra closets (it's something you actually have after the kids move out) and making the switch. Which makes September the perfect time of year to freshen closets! 

Image by Ha'anala 76

First, you'll need to empty out the closet. Why not sort through your clothing and pull out some pieces that are dated, no longer fit, or simply have outlived their usefulness in your wardrobe? Grab a box or bag for your donation pile and start filling it up.

Once the closet is empty, wash down the interior surfaces (walls and ceiling and floor, if it's not carpeted). You'll want to use a 50/50 mix of distilled white vinegar and hot water. Dampen your cloth and wipe away all the dust, dirt, and musty smells. If the closet floor is carpeted, sprinkle some baking soda on the rug before you start washing the walls and then vacuum it up when it's time to start hanging up the clothes. **You will want to wait a while before doing so, as you don't want to put anything into the closet before it is completely dry.**

That's my fall cleaning tip for this month's Vinegar Friday. For more vinegar tips, pick up a copy of my book, Green Grandma's Vinegar Fridays, available on Amazon.com.

Keeping it green and clean with vinegar,