Clean With Green Products

I never used to think about harmful chemicals being in my cleaning products. I mean duh, everyone knows not to ingest cleaning products (why would anyone do that anyhow) or let it get in your eyes, but I just blindly never questioned what exactly is in them. In fact, I used to think that the more like alcohol the cleaning product smelled, the better the cleaning product is. Needless to say, I’ve come a long way. Most cleaning products are full of chemicals and smell really, really bad. I mean does anyone else feel like they might pass out when cleaning with bleach? So now I just use all natural chemical free products and I just learned how to make my own at home.

My favorite products to use are 7th Generation. 7th Generation’s multi purpose cleaner is awesome! I use it on pretty much everything; cleaning counters, bathtubs, toilets and floors. It’s all natural and completely odorless. 7th Generations is a great company that makes everything from cleaners to biodegradable garbage bags to unbleached cotton tampons to laundry detergent. They also donate 10% of their profits to various non profit programs and do not conduct any sort of animal testing. You can also find 7th Generation coupons in this link http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons .  You’ll have to create a free account, but they have all sorts of special deals on there.  7th Generation is sold at Target, Stater Brothers, Longs, Whole Foods, and pretty much every other large chain.

I actually don’t mind cleaning too much and knowing that I’m not breathing in any harmful toxic fumes makes me want to clean even more.  Now, if I want the purest most natural cleaning products, I can make them myself.  Here are some ideas thanks to National Geographics Green Guide:

EIGHT ESSENTIALS
These eight items make up the basic ingredients for nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe.

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

Warning, Borax is a natural alternative to chemicals, but can be toxic when ingested, so keep it away from children and pets.

Don’t forget to pick up an empty spray bottle at the hardware store, and keep those old rags and used toothbrushes for wiping up and scrubbing.

WHOLE HOUSE

All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water

Mix in pail (or use smaller amounts in a spray bottle: 1/8 cup borax to 1 quart of hot water) dissolving the borax completely; wipe clean with rag.

Floors

Wood
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

Linoleum
1 cup white vinegar
2 gallons warm water

Mix in mop bucket, rinse afterwards.

Furniture Polish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Mix and apply with a clean rag to dust and polish. Reduce the olive oil if wood looks too oily.

Metal Polish

Copper and Brass
2 Tbsps salt
White vinegar

Add vinegar to salt until you’ve created a paste. Adding flour will reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a rag and rub clean.

Stainless Steel
Baking soda
White vinegar

Apply baking soda with a damp cloth, using the vinegar to eliminate spots.

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