I love my Homemade Citrus Enzyme!

While pregnant with Evey, Momon and I grew quite concerned with the synthetic cleaning materials we use at home. Around 4 months into the pregnancy, Momon banned me from doing most of the cleaning, not because I am physically incapable, but because he felt Mr. Muscle, Cif, Greenex and all other products were too harsh for me.

Fortunately, finding a substitute natural cleaner is so easy. Recipes for homemade cleaners are actually all over the internet, waiting to be discovered! I came across the product called homemade citrus enzyme cleaner. The original post I followed is from "The Happy Homemaker".

Momon and I have been using the citrus enzyme since September 2011 and are fully satisfied with it's cleaning powers. It's so easy to produce and we love how we are using simple fruit peels that we get for free from the neighborhood fruit stand. I have completed over 20 batches! We no longer buy synthetic cleaning products, translating to savings for our humble household budget.

Here's how you can make your own:

CITRUS ENZYME CLEANER

Ingredients:
- 300 grams fruit peels
This can be dalandan, lemon, pomelo peels. We use pineapple peels because these are always available in the market. It also smells nicer once fermented.

- 100 grams sugar
Brown or white is fine.

- 1 liter water

- 1 teaspoon yeast

Materials:
- 2-liter wide-mouth bottle
- strainer
- funnel

Method:

Left: Freshly mixed cleaner

Right: After two weeks of fermentation

• Combine all the ingredients in a 2-liter wide-mouth bottle. Shake to mix thoroughly.
• Leave the cap slightly open. 
• Shake every once in a while. Remember to close the cap first.
• Ferment for 2 weeks. 
• Harvest by draining the liquid from the sludge. Use a funnel to store in your re-used PET bottles.

Harvested enzyme should be clear.

 We use the enzyme cleaner the following ways:

• GENERAL CLEANER (1 part enzyme, 10 parts water) - for wiping of surfaces, no need to rinse
• STAIN REMOVER (pure)
• FLOOR CLEANER (1 part enzyme, 10 or 15 parts water) - for wiping of floors, no need to rinse
• DISHWASHING LIQUID (pure, add squirts of dishwashing liquid for suds)
• BATHROOM CLEANER (1 cup enzyme, 1/2 cup liquid cleaner, 5 cups water) - spray and leave on surfaces first before scrubbing
• CLASS/MIRROR/STOVE CLEANER (1 part enzyme, 3 parts water) - great for those oily surfaces on your stove
• SINK and DRAIN BLOCKAGE CLEARER - use blended sludge of enzyme and leave overnight

Some additions, optional:

• 1 cup of white distilled vinger for every 1 liter enzyme for more cleaning power
• 1 cup orange/lemon-infused vinegar for a nicer scent. To make this, simply put peels on vinegar and leave for 2 weeks.

Enjoy cleaning!

Our Bedroom

I believe that each one of us needs a bedroom that will serve as our sanctuary at the end of each day--a place to wash away our worries and spend quite hours with our loved ones. Here's ours.

***

The color scheme we chose for the bedroom was inspired by the yogurt shop, White Hat. 

We love how going upstairs to our loft always gives a feeling of calm and relaxation. Vincent said that this is the intended effect of using colors on different sections of a room without formal walls or partitions--a different feeling evoked by a simple change in color.

Almost all who visited our home say that the colors on the second floor have a calming and relaxing effect. One even commented that our bedroom, with all the lights, looked like a mall display. Kilig naman ako!

The bed frame, side table and mattress are from made to order by Mandaue Foam. 

We add color through our bed sheets. This one below is my favorite, obviously.

 

I got the embroidered side table covers from my trips to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
The picture frame is from Cebu and the lamp is from SM Home World.

There's Evey's 4D ultrasound photo. :-)

Across from the bed is my small office/dresser. Momon and I got this set (table, chair, foot rest and mirror) at a Japan surplus store along Quezon Avenue. It fit perfectly in our small loft.

 

 Momon and I love our bedroom. Hope you like it too.:-)

Our Kitchen

Another furnishing post! 

Here's our humble kitchen where I whip up all the recipes I post here. :-) I love our kitchen, or should I say, MY kitchen. Talagang in-own ko na!

Almost all the things I listed in our wedding gift registry were for kitchen items, and almost all the stuff I shop for now are for the kitchen and for cooking! Yes, you can say I'm a bit obsessed.

Here we have the essential kitchen triangle (gas range, refrigerator and sink), as prescribed by Martha Stewart. The sizes of the counter, ref and range were all exactly measured to fit the space from the start of the construction.

We went to about 8 studies of the color scheme here, some had reds, blues, etc. But my non-negotiable was a white countertop (it just looks yellow because of the light). Eventually, we chose a creamy brown tile backsplash and the light brown cabinets followed.

The 4-burner gas range/oven and hood are my most priced equipment in the house. :-) Bought it December 2010, even if the house was not yet finished at that time. Vincent's workers had to carry it through the stairs all the way to the 6th floor, God bless them!

Notice we don't have a rice cooker out on the counter? Sitting on its place instead are my cute color-coded chopping boards!

Now that you've seen my workspace, back to more recipes. :-)

Our Living Room

So, as promised here are more furnishing entries!

This is also sort of a review for our furniture provider, Mandaue Foam.

Tada! Here's our living area. Still a work in progress.

We got the couch from Mandaue Foam Furniture Store. The design is from their product catalog, called Savannah, but the size was made to fit the space we have. We wanted an L-shaped couch since the beginning and we're very happy we did.

Fabric Design

Much of your decisions on this aspect will be dictated by the available fabric with Mandaue Foam. Yes, there are a lot and it can be quite confusing to choose, but we you have to be careful and have it marry to your existing color scheme. 

I think it's key to manage your expectations about the fabrics on the onset. We all have that perfect fabric design we've been dreaming of for our space. But you can't have it if it's not on their swatches. You can search elsewhere, yes, like Shell Canvas and other fabric stores. But most of them are too expensive; and Manduae Foam only takes off a P150/meter deduction on your total tab. The other fabrics are usually P1,000/meter. So, obviously it's not a very good option to buy fabric outside--unless you have lots of money!

I got quite frustrated as we were choosing the fabrics. There were some swatches in the catalog that were actually no longer available. Imagine the frustration when after leafing through so many fabrics, getting that triumphant moment, and you find out it's no longer available? Argh. I told them they should fix their catalog to prevent customers from getting frustrated. 

For our couch, we decided to have a two-toned design. We chose a mid-brown color for the base so it's easy to match with other fabrics. Then, the seat and pillows just mirrored each others' colors. 

The fabrics for the seats and pillows are replaceable, of course. We plan to have replacements of these done after a few months. This gives us an opportunity to have a new design element in our home just by simply changing the seat cover colors, design, etc. And not to mention we have to wash the covers too, right?

Delivery

Ordering from Mandaue Foam is easy enough after you get past the slightly frustrating part of choosing your fabrics. Different payment schemes are available too. Now comes the waiting game for the delivery. 

For couches, they promise to deliver 3-4 weeks after your order has been placed. Tip: Give them a call 5 days before your promised delivery date so they are reminded of your order, and you are one of the first on the list for the delivery time on the specific date you agreed on. For us, they delivered on time, no problem.

BUT, they delivered the wrong item.

Welcome to Momon and Ros'!

Hey guys, just want to share with you our new home!

It's a bi-level condo unit in Quezon City, located near the very active streets of Tomas Morato and Quezon Avenue.

The turnover was a bare unit. The interiors were designed and constructed by our best friend Architect Vincent! The ideas were a consolidated effort between Momon, myself, Vincent, Rhea and Ben. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping us get our own home!

So here are some before and after photos, chronicling the construction from December to February. 

We moved in around mid-April with help from so many friends, so of course, the house doesn't look like this anymore. Watch out for more entries about our evolving home in the coming weeks. More stories on furnishing, decorating and so many other stuff soon! :-)

LIVING AREA



KITCHEN
This is my favorite space!


 




There is a weird tint to the photo above. It's not supposed to be this color. :-)
Anyway, there was a major debate about the backsplash tiles, which I lost 4-1!

The gas range and the ref were still not in place at this point. But if you can imagine with me, the ref is on the left and the gas range is on the right, just below the range hood.

DINING AREA
So, I guess from this photo you can start to see the position of the spaces relative to each other.

STAIRS
Look! There's our kitchen with much better light!
Vincent also included some mirrors. To make the space feel bigger, as it obviously needs.

 

BEDROOM AREA

We decided not to close the 2nd floor but open it like a loft.

We painted it light blue, a bit inspired by the interiors of White Hat. The paint meeting was conducted there with some yummy yogurt.

 

CLOSET

Loving the color scheme here!

 

SERVICE AREA

This is the space just right outside the bathroom, sort of like an extended bathroom. For other unit owners, maybe this is where they have their washing machine, etc.

Notice my pretty floor tiles?

  

BATHROOM

And here is the bathroom! It's quite difficult to take a photo of the space since it's not so big.
But I love how it feels open with the blue and dark brown tiles.

  

Needless to say, we love our home! Come by and visit!

Adjusting to Chores

Each week, I devote one day to cleaning our small studio apartment in Cubao.

Major tasks include scrubbing the bathroom, washing the delicates (sometimes including Momon's sweaty gym clothes), cleaning the stove and dining table, fixing the laundry, ironing Momon's office clothes, and mopping the floor. Of course tasks like cooking, sweeping the floor and washing the dishes are done daily.

Just to clarify, I am not complaining, I'm just enumerating all my new chores--chores I've acquired since becoming a married woman.

See, I lived in a house where there was always a helper. When I wake up in the morning, rice is always ready. If you need something cooked, it will be ready in a moment. When you're done eating, you just put your plate on the sink. My only participation in this whole process is the actual eating.

Now, just having lunch takes a bit of effort.
On days I don't go to the office, I am alone in the house. When I cook rice in the morning, some of it is bound to be left over. Problem is, I hate cold rice (bahaw). So I have to get a pan to reheat it and clean the pan along with the other things I used for my meal.

For the first time I was able to identify with a commercial so precisely directed towards housewives/married ladies. It's a commercial for Joy liquid dishwashing soap promising less damage to your hands, giving you a chance to call yourself "Kamay-Dalaga". After seeing that commercial, I asked Momon to buy me a pair of gloves.

Please don't get me wrong, I have been trained by my parents to do all these tasks. I know how to go to the market, cook, clean, iron, etc. I actually really do, I just don't do them often. So, I guess I'm still adjusting.

But I don't feel sad or abused, instead I feel challenged. Each time I feel tired, I'd just go back to how good it feels when the house is clean, to how everything makes Momon comfortable. My goal is for Momon to come home to a restful and relaxing place, without need to worry what's for dinner or if his clothes for the next day are ready--the same way I felt when I was in my old house.

So, anyway... this is getting lengthy. I almost forgot that today is actually my cleaning day. Off to mop the floor and iron the clothes!

In return, he brings me ice cream. Hahaha!