Showing posts with label Green is Clean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green is Clean. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2012

Natural Shower Cleaner

Almost one year ago I wrote this post on making my own cleaning products. I am happy to report that a year later I still using my homemade cleaning products and loving them!

In my original post I mentioned that I still needed to change out the hardwood floor cleaner, febreeze, dusting spray and shower cleaner. I stopped using the febreeze all together so that isn't an issue anymore, I got a Shark steam mop to clean the floors so I was able to get rid of the hardwood floor cleaner, the Pledge dusting spray is apparently 99% natural so I have not gotten around to changing that out but this weekend I finally got around to tackling the shower cleaner issue. I loved my kaboom. It was like magic but we finally ran out and it was time to make the switch.

I was looking around on Pinterest to see what I could find for a natural shower cleaner and came across a pin that linked here. This is my kind of cleaning recipe! Only two ingredients (white vinegar and dawn dish soap), and it worked! I just sprayed it on, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped  it away!

This is such an easy recipe if you are just getting into making your own cleaning products. You may love it so much that you decide to change out all your cleaning products!

Happy cleaning!

Monday, July 25, 2011

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:

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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!

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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!