Skip to main content

Ten great homemade Green Cleaning solutions

We just switched the very last of our not-so-clean cleaning products (the wet swiffer's hardwood floor spray with water, vinegar and lemon essential oil), and it prompted me to share this. These solutions have been used for centuries until the last fifty years, and they do a better job, keep our lungs, minds, and skin happy and healthy, and well, are just plain cheaper!  Make the switch...

Here are "The Basic Ten" products you can use to clean just about anything, courtesy of GreenAmerica.org:
1) White vinegar: An antifungal that also kills germs and bacteria.
2) Baking soda: Eliminates odors and works as a gentle scouring powder.
3) Borax: The common name for the natural mineral compound sodium borate, eliminates odors, removes dirt, and acts as an antifungal and possible disinfectant. Use with care around children and pets, as it can be toxic if swallowed.
4) Hydrogen peroxide (3% concentration): A great nontoxic bleach and stain remover, as well as a proven disinfectant.
5) Club soda (fresh): A stain remover and polisher.
6) Lemon juice: A pleasant-smelling nontoxic bleach, grease-cutter, and stain remover.
7) Liquid castile soap: An all-purpose cleaner, grease-cutter, and disinfectant. “Castile” means the soap is vegetable-based, not animal-fat-based.
8) Corn meal: Great at picking up carpet spills.
9) Olive oil: Makes a wonderful furniture polish.
10) Pure essential oils: Adding all-natural, organic essential oils to your cleaning concoctions can add wonderful scents to your housekeeping endeavors. Some—such as lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils—also may have antibacterial, antifungal, or insect-repelling properties.

Make the switch for spring cleaning and your home, pets, kids and body will thank you!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free for Psoriasis

Recently I've been putting my researching brain cells to work on studying the Gluten Free way of life. Since the age of 14 I have had psoriasis, and recently it's been showing signs of progression to psoriatic arthritis, a progression that occurs in about 20-40% of the cases (studies are still incomplete, although the reverse is 80% of PA patients have had psoriasis, so the two are definitely linked). I've been tested for allergies in the 1980s (none), and I'm a pretty natural consumer as well, so I don't use body products with harmful ingredients like parabens or sulfates. Herbal and homeopathic remedies and dead sea salts have all helped reduce my inflammations, but have never eliminated the disorder completely. I was vegetarian for 7 years in the 1990s, and that never cleared up my psoriasis either. Because of its progression I've started researching the diet and how it relates to the disorder, and stumbled upon several articles and studies that now link...

My switch to all natural Henna - Part 3

I am not exaggerating when I say I have been loving the switch to all natural Henna, and I have eagerly awaiting the next round with Teresa - the trooper that she is for going through this with me! Since October's posts [in case you missed Part 2 or Part 1 ], purchase, and treatment, I have had tons of comments on the color and health of my hair... Henna has - no question - improved the overall body and hydration of the hair strands and health of my scalp as well as giving it a more natural color tone than I've had since I started coloring it red 4 years ago. After the first dye, I went back to the girls at Mountain Hair Studio here in Steamboat and had them give me a once-over. While it didn't totally blend the full length of my hair (Teresa cut off about 3-4" of the dead ends, but the bottom 5-6" of my sternum-length hair still had darker, merlot colored ends), there were no "hot roots," and the tone looked more natural, continuing to settle f...

DIY Baby Sling

1st Disclaimer: This isn't my idea. But it's a great one for a baby gift in hard economic times nonetheless, that is if you've got the crafty DIY gene like I inherited from mom! The link above is to the initial pattern I found online for a baby sling from KarmaBaby, but I'm here to make that process a little more easy on you. I had to enlist SuperMom for translation, so I'll take the liberty in assuming you won't quite understand KarmaBaby's pattern either... Let's get crackin'! You'll need: two yards of fabric of a slightly stretchy/giving cotton blend (she suggests 90% cotton/10% lycra, but my all-cotton worked fine). sewing machine and thread, this pattern's so easy a hand-held sewer will work, but don't translate that to "sew this by hand", that won't be quick or easy. Handhelds are just that, a small version of a sewing machine you hold in your hand. measuring tape sharp scissors 2nd Disclaimer: My images are with wh...