Lemon Vinegar Cleaning Spray

So I have seen lots of blog posts and articles about homemade natural household cleaning sprays made of vinegar. First of all, I hate cleaning the house but I most certainly hate the chemical-y smell that lingers when I have to use spray Windex or Lysol.

I read somewhere that one of the common ways we ingest pollutants and harmful chemicals is from overspray onto food prep surfaces, onto food itself, or into the air that we breathe.

I've decided to see if the citrus infused vinegar mixture works as a safer alternate to commercial cleaning products. The concept is that the strong vinegar smell is a bit tough to take, so adding citrus peels helps tame that stench a little bit. The citrus oils then add their own nice smell, and provides some cleaning horsepower as well.

I scored some of these great Improved GEM Jars, made in Canada, at my local thrift. They have an aluminum collar with a glass lid! Embossed! For 25¢ each! I think this is the perfect vessel for a little citrus vinegar project.

I just peeled two lemons, a mandarin orange, and a large navel orange, then poured vinegar over them. The whole mixture is steeping in the fridge, where it will stay for a couple of weeks before I strain it. Then you simply pour into a spray bottle for window cleaning, and wiping down greasy or dirty surfaces. I hope it smells nice and cleans well - has anyone out there tried this before?

Arc France Mason Jar with Label

I found this lovely old Triomphe bail top jar by Arc, made in France. It was priced at a quarter by the lovely volunteers at a hospital thrift that I popped in to.

It still has the original label! It sort of pained me to scrub it off, but at least I can share some photos with you.

The wire clasp is a little rusty and the gasket was stiff and cracked.

However, it just so happens to be the perfect container for my homemade sourdough starter! Since the wild yeast culture needs air circulation, I removed the gasket and have the perfect container!

Linking up to Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Aqua Ball Jar and Foley Measuring Spoons

So I went out to my local Salvation Army, and picked up a nice aqua Ball mason jar, a set of nesting Foley measuring spoons... and a $35 parking ticket! Rats.

I really don't need any more mason jars, but caved and bought this one because it has the loop on the capital B, meaning it's quite an old one, according to a dating chart I saw. It's also in really good condition.

I simply cannot resist stainless steel vintage measuring spoons. This one was priced at 99 cents and was tucked away behind a bunch of mixing bowls and pots.

I previously found a nice double-ended nesting set of Foley spoons for 50 cents at my local church sale, and I had a couple people email me with offers to buy them. I eventually sold them to someone who had a sentimental attachment to them.

I'm linking up for the first time to Nifty Thrifty at A Living Space and at Thrift Share Monday!

Vintage Ball Mason Jars!

I had never found antique Ball jars during my earlier thrift adventures, but I am happy to report that I collected three of them over the past couple of weeks! Ball jars were produced between 1888 and 1961, so it is a real treat to find these in such good shape.

My first discovery was at a new-to-me thrift store I happened to pass by with my sister. The little charity shop located in Ladner had a large box full of mason jars, and I grabbed the one Ball Jar for 50¢. My non-thrifting sister was shocked to see on our way out that someone had purchased the rest of the box! Close call...

The next two were waiting for me just the other day at my local thrift store that's about 8 blocks from my house. They usually have some neat glass pieces, but nothing like these beautiful old mason jars. One of them even had its original zinc lid ring.

All jars of a certain size are priced the same, so I paid 35¢ each for my loot. Can you believe that used Miracle Whip jars were selling for the same price??

I learned that some mason jars were coloured to better preserve the nutrition and flavour of canned goods. It was thought that blocking the light would slow the foods from breaking down. Clever!

One of my jars has a light blue tint, and another has a brownish hue. It's the dark colours that are most valuable to collectors, so mine are on the ordinary side. It's perfectly fine with me though, I love how the volume markings are on the side of the jar, making them practical and nice to look at!

If you're interested in checking out the beautiful Super Le Parfait vintage jars I found in the past, please check out my post here!

Linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday and Her Library Adventures' Flea Market Finds!

Le Parfait Super Mason Jars Made in France

I was out thrifting with a friend when we came upon a mass of vintage mason wire clamp mason jars! When I say mass, I mean that there were about a dozen jars, embossed with "Le Parfait Super" in a beautiful raised script on the glass.

The jars are made in France, and their volume was written in metric on the base of the jars. They could have been used for canning preserves, as the rubber gasket would be boiled, the contents closed in, and then heated to create a vacuum seal.

Because there were so many, including a couple of Arc France jars, we had our pick of the litter and scrounged around looking for those with the best gaskets and wire clamps. I learned that these are called bail tops, or lightning closures. They are an extremely effective and easy way to tightly close up a jar!

Even the hinged tops of the jars were beautiful, with their scripted print. Parfait is French for "perfect", so I suppose these are the perfect super jars!

I just love their shape, with their bulbous bottoms. Le Parfait actually still makes jars for canning and general uses, but I don't think the modern ones are as nice as these! =)  It is helpful to know that there are replacement gaskets available. An interesting fact is that the orange gaskets are trademarked by the company since it made consumers recognize these as Le Parfait jars.

I'm still pinching myself about this, but this thrift store has low prices and was still holding a half price sale. I got both of these beauties for 55¢. I know this post is a bit picture-heavy, but I just had to share!

Linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday!

UPDATE: I have finally found some vintage Ball mason jars - if you are interested, check them out here!