Green is Clean - Household Cleaning Products

I recently decided that we were going to start taking small steps to get unnecessary and harmful chemicals out of our home.

This is a pretty daunting task because so many of the everyday products we use have chemicals in them that are harmful to us and unnecessary since there are natural alternatives that can do the job just as well if not better and for a fraction of the price.

Danny thinks I am turning into a hippie and rolls his eyes at some of the stuff I come up with, but if I can make our home a safer place for us, our pets and our future children then I am for sure going to try it!

To get this party started I purchased the book The Naturally Clean Home.

This book gives some great recipes for all sorts of cleaning products for all around the house. It also helped me realize that you use the same basic ingredients in almost all types of natural cleaners you make so the cost is really minimal.

I am making my own cleaners as I run out my normal store bought ones (I am way too cheap to throw away cleaning products that are only half used up). So far I have made glass cleaner, an all purpose cleaner that I use on my counter tops and I cleaned my toilets with Borax. To make these cleaners I had to purchase the following:



1. Distilled White Vinegar (2 gallons from Sam's for $3.17
2. Dr. Bronner's Liquid Soap (16 oz at Whole Foods for $6.99)
3. Hydrogen Peroxide (32 oz at Target for $.99)
4. Tea Tree Oil (2 oz at Whole Foods for $11.59)
5. Lavender Essential Oil (1 oz at Whole Foods for $11.59)

6. Borax (4 lb box at Target for $2.99)

The most expensive components are the essential oils but those will last you a really long time. As a bonus you can put Tea Tree Oil directly on pimples to help clear them up so you have a 2 in 1 product!

I re-use the plastic spray bottles from my old cleaners, add my ingredients, give it a shake and I am ready to clean!

So far, I have really loved the way these products are cleaning my casa and don't miss my old cleaners one bit.

I still need to switch out the dusting spray, the foaming bubbles bathtub cleaner, the carpet/upholstery spot cleaner, the hardwood floor cleaner and the Febreeze. I think I will have the hardest time changing out my bathtub cleaner because that stuff is amazing and makes that dreaded task quick and easy with minimal scrubbing involved. However, when I used it this weekend I immediately started sneezing and I could feel by lungs burning so I know it needs to go!



Our next green endeavor is composting which was surprisingly easy to get Danny on board with. We just started this little project yesterday but hopefully I will have some good updates on our progress soon!