Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Natural Home Cleaners

Did you know that you can make your own cleaning solutions at home? It's non-toxic, it's nicer to the environment, it's better for your lungs, it's WAY cheaper, and it's REALLY easy. I know all those Clorox commercials make it seem as though if you don't use their products you and your children will die from the flu germs that are crawling over every surface of your home. But lemme just tell you... they're liars. It's just marketing. Do not be afraid, you do not need to bleach every square in of your home. Its just not necessary. Instead try these:

All Purpose Cleaner : Mix 3 parts white vinegar, 1 part water, and a few drops of tea tree oil (a natural antibacterial) together and you're good to go.
Baked on Crusties: Sprinkle on baking soda and scour off the mess.
Drain Cleaner/Dislodge-er: a plunger
Garbage Disposal Freshener: Grind up some citrus rind, or a bunch of ice cubes.
Glass Cleaner: Soap and warm water or you can use 1 part white vinegar to 8 parts water in a spray bottle.
Mildew/Soapscum Remover: Spray your all purpose cleaner and sprinkle with baking soda.
Oven Cleaner: Make a paste out of baking soda by mixing it with water. Use it to scrub off crusties.
Room Freshener: Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of your favorite essential oil (I like Lemon or Lavender oil.)
Toilet Cleaner: Combine 1 part baking soda and 4 parts white vinegar and let sit before scrubbing.
Sticker Goo Remover: Sponge the area with white vinegar, wait a few minutes, and wipe it off.
Wood Polish: Add a few drops of lemon oil to about a 1/2 cup of water. Spray on a cloth and wipe wood.

So as you can see, all you really need to clean your entire house is white vinegar, baking soda, a couple essential oils, and some bottles. Pretty sweet, eh? I'll admit that I do keep a stash of traditional stuff like bleach for certain projects (ie getting rid of the fruit flies that decided to move into my kitchen sink drain.) But I do try to use them sparingly.

If you have other recipes for home cleaning products, please share!

3 comments:

jenn said...

Awesome, I am so glad you posted this- I hate cleaning my house because I either get a headache or smell bleach inside my nose for a week afterwards! Now I hope I can handle this stuff- it sounds nice to clean with all natural stuff, but I can't stand the smell of vinegar. Maybe I will get used to it though... either way, thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

Your craftiness inspires me to be more crafty! Last night I worked on a craft. A little voice in my head said, "You don't want to do that. It requires work." But then I said, "Katy's a go-getter, and I can be a go-getter too!" So I nailed bottlecaps onto a couple legs of my table and am going to finish it tomorrow!

Handmade and Homespun said...

Good Job Ms. Petey! The beauty of being crafty is the great sense of accomplishment you get. I know you've been working on that table for a long time. Can't wait to see it!