Hobbits don't do well in the heat

This weekend was so incredibly warm, humid and all of those not-so-pleasant things, well that is if you're Garry and I. See, my husband looks very much like a tall-ish hobbit, or a leprechaun, take your pick. But for someone that is barrel chested and furry, hot weather is not so fun. 

Not to mention that I don't particularly care for hot and humid weather. I sweat a lot. I mean a LOT. It's kind of gross even though I know it's entirely functional and natural. I don't mind sweating when I'm actually doing something, but I don't want to be sweating just because I exist. 

Yesterday the heat got particularly bad so we installed our AC units in our living room and bedroom. Our poor little Auron was not handling the heat very well either. When I put him to bed he was panting pretty hard so we installed our AC unit in the bedroom at 10 p.m. last night. We all slept much better once that kicked in. 

We didn't get much accomplished over the weekend as it was just so hot. Well, I did manage to clean the house aside from our bedroom and the kitchen (which hopefully I'll get to tonight). In that process I burned my toes with the steam mop. Let me tell you - that REALLY hurts! Steam mops are wonderful things, but it's best to do that when you're actually paying attention instead of mindlessly daydreaming about artwork for your guest room. 

I even managed to clean up some of the baseboard (as it's looking a little rough) and I'm very thankful for the magic eraser sponges. If you haven't used them, they are the best thing ever. I removed so much grossness (which I'm embarrassed to admit was there in the first place) with just one of those damp sponges. They clean walls, wood, just about anything that you need something very slightly abrasive for. I like that the abrasiveness comes from baking soda and nothing crazy chemical-y. 

We try really hard to use products/cleaning methods that are environmentally friendly, however sometimes they just don't work. I bought a dish detergent (can't remember the brand) that was organic, environmentally friendly or whatever and that stuff just did not work. You pretty much have to "wash your dishes" before washing them in the dishwasher and to boot it was supposed to be efficient enough to only have to use a little bit, we ended up having to use twice the recommended amount to get our dishes "almost" clean. Augh. So it's back to our old detergent for now until I can find something that will actually work. 

Otherwise, some of the other methods we use have been really helpful: 

• Steam mop (except when I burn my toes!). They clean the floors with a very hot steam which lifts all of the grime and dirt (and paint splatters) off of your floor. The pads are washable and all you need to clean your floors is some tap water. They clean our floors really well, however once in a while we do have to polish them. 
• Microfiber cloths. These help eliminate the need for paper towels. We still keep them on hand for the really gross stuff, but for the most part (for dusting, windows, kitchen/table tops) we use the cloths. It has cut down on our paper towel use considerably and you can just throw them in the wash. I'm planning on picking up a few extra cloths to have on hand as sometimes they get pretty dirty before I get to the next room. (Or maybe I should just be better about cleaning so that doesn't happen?) 
• Method brand cleaners. These products are environmentally friendly and they actually work really well. I usually get them at Target as they have the best stock. They're a little pricier than some cleaners, but fairly inexpensive compared to some other environmentally friendly cleaners out there. You only need a wee bit so the stuff lasts a good long time. I may have to stock up twice a year (but then again, maybe that's an indicator that I should clean more).