With earth day last week, and a bad economy, many people are turning to natural cleaners instead of the harsh bleach and fumes that can make you sick to your tummy. I have tried a few of the different "natural cleaners" and "plant based cleaners" out there and YUCK! I really dislike the smell of the arm and hammer naturals yellow stuff. SO here are some links and recipes to natural cleaners. Try them and let me know what you think, and please leave me any recipes you have that you want to share! (around here we just use water, and if we need something a bit more I use some vinegar and water in a bottle! Works fine for us!)
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
In the kitchen, use vinegar-and-water spray to clean countertops, lightly soiled range surfaces and backsplash areas.
In the bathroom, use vinegar spray cleaner to clean countertops, floors, and exterior surfaces of the toilet.
For really tough bathroom surfaces such as shower walls, pump up the cleaning power by removing the sprayer element and heating the solution in the microwave until barely hot. Spray shower walls with the warmed generously, allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse. The heat helps soften stubborn soap scum and loosens hard water deposits.
(http://organizedhome.com/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products)Organic cleaning recipes
Non-toxic home care
eco-cycle
You know, there really isnt much to say about this topic, except for the fact that this is one of the easiest, most money saving thing you can do! Vinager is less than $3 for over a gallon! That could last you MONTHS! As opposed to the $4 a bottle you will spend every 3-4 weeks on cleaning supplies! Along with unpaper towels, you can save yourself up to $100 a month! Just think about it and let me know what you do!
If you put a little vinegar in your rinse cycle in the washing machine it will take any bad odors out. Also I use vinegar with baking soda to foam up on TOUGH stuff. :)
ReplyDeletebut i'll stay i'm not a fan of the smell of vinegar either, apple cider vin. is a little more tolerable HA HA HA
oh and again vinegar and water in a spray bottle to spray off your fruits and veggies to help get those pesticides and waxy coat off.
ReplyDeleteHow well do those work against killing germs and viruses? Do they disinfect at all?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am concerned there isn't much hot soapy water can clean. and I have seen reports time after time that those cleaners don't do any better than hot soapy water.
ReplyDeleteDestiny- vinegar is a disinfectant. says so right on the bottle.
ReplyDeleteI use the vinegar.water solution to clean just about everything. It worked great during potty traiing, left no odor or stain on my couches or carpet.
I use baking soda to clean my tub though. mix BS with a bit of water to form a paste, and it gets all the grime off really easy.
I started making my own laundry soap too, (posted the recipe on my blog) and it super easy to make, and gets all the oily work stains off just fine. I no longer have to but any cleaning products from the store.
Saves money, and is safe to sue around children!
I use Mrs. Meyers! I love it! I use it for all my cleaning supplies and my laundry detergent!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't get much more organic/green,cheaper or safe than water. Save money and the Earth and be clean at the same time...yes! Get serious and add Bathroom Bidet Sprayers to all your bathrooms. Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com with these you won't even need toilet paper any more, just a towel to dry off! It's cheap and can be installed without a plumber; and runs off the same water line to your toilet. You'll probably pay for it in a few months of toilet paper savings. And after using one of these you won't know how you lasted all those years with wadded up handfuls of toilet paper. Now we're talking green and helping the environment without any pain.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth. I started making my own laundry detergent also and love it.
ReplyDeletegreat recipe. I made a similar concoction growing up to clean our windows & counters & such and now mix up a similar blend for my own home. And it's so much cheaper than store bought crap!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Josie. We've used vinegar and water since we got married 14+ years ago.
ReplyDeleteI use about a cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water...I find that you don't need as much as a 1:1 ratio.
For dirty outdoor windows, I add a tsp of dish washing soap to get the grime off.
When I wash the floors, I throw a splash of Real Lemon in to cover the smell. My floors are super-shiny.
To clean sinks, I pour a tbsp of baking soda on the surface then a splash of lemon juice over top. Smells good and makes a nice foaming cleanser. That works well for the tub, too.
At this point, I can't imagine bringing bleach or something like Mr. Clean back into my house...yuk.
Oh, one more thing: vinegar kills dandelions that sprout up in the cracks of your sidewalk...but it will kill the grass, too, so don't use it on your lawn.
ReplyDeleteOh, and all of the wasted bottles from those so-called "Green" cleaning solutions! What a waste!
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll stop now ROFL...
we started using vinegar to clean a few months ago and love it! so easy and gets everything clean. :)
ReplyDelete