Look where you keep your cleaning supplies and count how many different chemical cleaners you currently have. You probably have Windex for your mirrors and windows, Pledge for your furniture, an all purpose for your horizontal surfaces, a bathroom cleaner and probably bleach. What are these cleaners made from? Most likely the ingredient lists contains ten or more chemicals that you cannot even pronounce.
I hated cleaning products because for one thing they are expensive. Secondly, they often gave me headaches when I would use them. While on my "get chemicals out of my house and life" kick, I started looking for alternatives to all those bottles of chemical cleaners. My research led me to three simple ingredients: vinegar, lemons, and baking soda.
I currently have three bottles under my sink for cleaning. A bottle with half vinegar and half water, for windows, mirrors and my hardwood floors. A second bottle of vinegar infused with lemon peels that I use as an all purpose cleaner. I will often mix this all purpose with baking soda to clean sinks, toilets and tubs. Finally, I have a bottle of vinegar, lemon juice and a tiny bit of olive oil for furniture polish.
I love these cleaners and will include recipes for them down below. They work so wonderfully well and my house just smells clean and fresh not like chemicals. My husband would argue that the house smells like vinegar when I am cleaning, but I cannot smell it and it dissipates quickly :)
Another wonderful benefit is the cost. A gallon of vinegar goes a long way and costs a little over $2.00. We use the lemon peels from our fresh squeezed lemons that we use for homemade lemonade (I will post another blog on this soon!) A large bag of baking soda is less than $7 and lasts for nearly a year. So with a few simple, inexpensive ingredients you can rid your home of unnecessary, expensive chemical cleaners.
Maybe this all sounds too simple but I really have been cleaning this way for the last five years and I love it!
Recipes:
Windows, Mirros and Floors
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
Pour into spray bottle and shake. That's it and that's all!
All Purpose
Take squeezed lemons and place peels in a large glass containers. Fill container with distilled white vinegar and cover. Allow the mixture to set for at least 24 hours. Finally, strain the lemon infused vinegar into a spray bottle and it is ready to go.
Furniture Polish
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon EVO
Combine ingredients into a spray bottle and shake well before each use. Also be sure to test this one in an inconspicuous area to make sure it is compatible with your furniture finish before spraying in a visible area. I have never had any problems, but wouldn't want to be the source of ruined furniture!
Happy Cleaning!
_____________________________________________________________________________
1. Disinfect household surfaces. Countertops, door jams and knobs, light switches, and other highly used surfaces should be wiped down regularly to eliminate germs. You can use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water or a lemon infused vinegar solution. See my All Purpose Vinegar-Lemon Cleaner recipe below.
2. Make mirrors and windows sparkle. 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Traditional glass cleaners do not even compare to the streakless, sparkling shine that vinegar produces. I just put my solution in a spray bottle, spray on window or mirror and wipe with a an old t-shirt rag.
3. Polish chrome and stainless fixtures. I spray pure vinegar on all of our faucets and fixtures and wipe with a soft cloth. The result is fabulous. No streaks, just shine.
4. Shine up hardwood floors. 50/50 solution of vinegar and water sprayed on floor and wiped up for gleaming, clean floors.
5. Sanitize sinks, tubs and toilets. This works especially well if you sprinkle a little baking soda in first and then spray vinegar onto the surface. Scrub, rinse, and enjoy the results.
6. Clean the oven. Again sprinkle baking soda, spray vinegar, scrub, wipe clean with a warm wet washcloth.
7. Refresh your coffee pot. You know when your coffee gets a strange bitter taste? It's because your coffee pot needs a good cleaning. Fill the pot with full strength vinegar, run it through, and then follow twice with hot water. You will be amazed how much better your coffee tastes after doing this!
8. Wash your produce. Produce is covered with dirt, pesticides, and waxes. Before consuming fill your clean sink with cold water, add a cup of vinegar and soak produce for 5-10 minutes. Rinse produce and dry. You can eat it immediately or store it. For some reason this vinegar rinse also helps prolong the freshness of produce.
9. Extend the life of cut flowers. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar mixed with 3 tablespoons of sugar to the vase water to keep flowers looking beautiful.
10. Kill grass and weeds in sidewalk cracks. Simply spray full strength vinegar onto grass and weeds in the sidewalk and they will wither and die. (Don't spray weeds in your lawn or garden because it will kill grass and other plants around them!)
Vinegar has many, many more uses, but this is a good start for everyday use around your home!
~All Purpose Vinegar-Lemon Cleaner~
Take squeezed lemons and place peels in a large glass containers. Fill container with distilled white vinegar and cover. Allow the mixture to set for at least 24 hours. Finally, strain the lemon infused vinegar into a spray bottle and it is ready to go.
About four years ago I stopped using the typical, chemical-laden brands that you find at the store and switched to a natural detergent. Initially, it was to avoid unnecessary chemicals however, we soon discovered that our sensitive skin preferred the natural, chemical free brands. While the natural brand worked well, it was very expensive. Unfortunately, my family generates a lot of laundry, especially in the winter with all of our layers. I wanted to try to come up with a more economical solution.
I love trying to make my own products whenever possible, so why not laundry detergent? I researched about a billion sites to see what the different ingredient options were and how to make a liquid detergent. The one problem I kept coming back to was the sheer amount of detergent people were making, 5 gallons at a time. It just seemed a little overwhelming to me, especially if the stuff didn't work.
I decided to combine a couple of recipes. One called for baking soda and not borax, one called for borax only. I decided to go half and half with baking soda and borax. Many recipes call for Zote or Fels-naptha bar soap. I looked into both of those, and while cheaper, they both had a strong scent. Instead, I chose Dr. Bonner's Baby Mild Pure Castile Soap, which is unscented and gentle for sensitive skin. The final two ingredients are washing soda and lavender essential oil for scent. The washing soda was tricky to find, I actually had to go to four stores! But I have a box now and that should allow me to make at least 12 gallons of laundry detergent!
Here is the recipe {please note the description of what each ingredient does to the side}:
2 cups boiling water
Directions:
Grate 1 cup of soap. (For me 1 cup of grated soap was about 2/3 of the bar.) Get your two cups of water boiling in a large enough pot to accommodate 1 1/2 gallons of liquid and then add grated soap. It will kind of clump together until it completely melts. I used a whisk to stir and that seemed to help with the smoothness. After the soap melts, allow it to cool a bit and then add the washing soda, baking soda and borax. Stir until well and completely mixed. Add the final gallon of water and mix well again. At this point I added 20 drops of lavender essential oil, because it is my favorite. I think I could have added more, because now I can barely smell it when I am doing laundry. I transferred my concoction from my huge pot, to a clean and empty vinegar jug. It remained very liquidy until fully cool and then became more gel like. If it becomes too thick you can always add a little more water and shake. I ended up probably adding four more cups of water because it became too thick. I use about 1/4 of a cup for a large load of laundry.
Imagine my delight upon removing that first load from the washer and finding the clothes clean and fresh smelling! No more store bought laundry detergent for this girl! It took less than 15 minutes to make this detergent and that was mainly for pictures! So, this turned out to be a quick, easy and successful project!
_________________________________________________________________________I hated cleaning products because for one thing they are expensive. Secondly, they often gave me headaches when I would use them. While on my "get chemicals out of my house and life" kick, I started looking for alternatives to all those bottles of chemical cleaners. My research led me to three simple ingredients: vinegar, lemons, and baking soda.
I currently have three bottles under my sink for cleaning. A bottle with half vinegar and half water, for windows, mirrors and my hardwood floors. A second bottle of vinegar infused with lemon peels that I use as an all purpose cleaner. I will often mix this all purpose with baking soda to clean sinks, toilets and tubs. Finally, I have a bottle of vinegar, lemon juice and a tiny bit of olive oil for furniture polish.
I love these cleaners and will include recipes for them down below. They work so wonderfully well and my house just smells clean and fresh not like chemicals. My husband would argue that the house smells like vinegar when I am cleaning, but I cannot smell it and it dissipates quickly :)
Another wonderful benefit is the cost. A gallon of vinegar goes a long way and costs a little over $2.00. We use the lemon peels from our fresh squeezed lemons that we use for homemade lemonade (I will post another blog on this soon!) A large bag of baking soda is less than $7 and lasts for nearly a year. So with a few simple, inexpensive ingredients you can rid your home of unnecessary, expensive chemical cleaners.
Maybe this all sounds too simple but I really have been cleaning this way for the last five years and I love it!
Recipes:
Windows, Mirros and Floors
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
Pour into spray bottle and shake. That's it and that's all!
All Purpose
Take squeezed lemons and place peels in a large glass containers. Fill container with distilled white vinegar and cover. Allow the mixture to set for at least 24 hours. Finally, strain the lemon infused vinegar into a spray bottle and it is ready to go.
Furniture Polish
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon EVO
Combine ingredients into a spray bottle and shake well before each use. Also be sure to test this one in an inconspicuous area to make sure it is compatible with your furniture finish before spraying in a visible area. I have never had any problems, but wouldn't want to be the source of ruined furniture!
Happy Cleaning!
_____________________________________________________________________________
10 Fabulous Uses for Vinegar
I LOVE vinegar. It has so many incredible uses, it's natural, it disinfects and it's inexpensive. What is not to love? One bottle of vinegar can truly replace a number of household cleaning products. Here is a list of my favorite vinegar uses...
1. Disinfect household surfaces. Countertops, door jams and knobs, light switches, and other highly used surfaces should be wiped down regularly to eliminate germs. You can use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water or a lemon infused vinegar solution. See my All Purpose Vinegar-Lemon Cleaner recipe below.
2. Make mirrors and windows sparkle. 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Traditional glass cleaners do not even compare to the streakless, sparkling shine that vinegar produces. I just put my solution in a spray bottle, spray on window or mirror and wipe with a an old t-shirt rag.
3. Polish chrome and stainless fixtures. I spray pure vinegar on all of our faucets and fixtures and wipe with a soft cloth. The result is fabulous. No streaks, just shine.
4. Shine up hardwood floors. 50/50 solution of vinegar and water sprayed on floor and wiped up for gleaming, clean floors.
5. Sanitize sinks, tubs and toilets. This works especially well if you sprinkle a little baking soda in first and then spray vinegar onto the surface. Scrub, rinse, and enjoy the results.
6. Clean the oven. Again sprinkle baking soda, spray vinegar, scrub, wipe clean with a warm wet washcloth.
7. Refresh your coffee pot. You know when your coffee gets a strange bitter taste? It's because your coffee pot needs a good cleaning. Fill the pot with full strength vinegar, run it through, and then follow twice with hot water. You will be amazed how much better your coffee tastes after doing this!
8. Wash your produce. Produce is covered with dirt, pesticides, and waxes. Before consuming fill your clean sink with cold water, add a cup of vinegar and soak produce for 5-10 minutes. Rinse produce and dry. You can eat it immediately or store it. For some reason this vinegar rinse also helps prolong the freshness of produce.
9. Extend the life of cut flowers. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar mixed with 3 tablespoons of sugar to the vase water to keep flowers looking beautiful.
10. Kill grass and weeds in sidewalk cracks. Simply spray full strength vinegar onto grass and weeds in the sidewalk and they will wither and die. (Don't spray weeds in your lawn or garden because it will kill grass and other plants around them!)
Vinegar has many, many more uses, but this is a good start for everyday use around your home!
If you have other uses for vinegar I would love to hear them. Share in the comments section below :)
~All Purpose Vinegar-Lemon Cleaner~
Take squeezed lemons and place peels in a large glass containers. Fill container with distilled white vinegar and cover. Allow the mixture to set for at least 24 hours. Finally, strain the lemon infused vinegar into a spray bottle and it is ready to go.
________________________________________________________________________
DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent
This week is all about laundry. Love it or hate it, it has to be done. Unless of course you enjoy wearing stinky, dirty clothes. I didn't think so. Let's learn how to make some liquid laundry detergent...
About four years ago I stopped using the typical, chemical-laden brands that you find at the store and switched to a natural detergent. Initially, it was to avoid unnecessary chemicals however, we soon discovered that our sensitive skin preferred the natural, chemical free brands. While the natural brand worked well, it was very expensive. Unfortunately, my family generates a lot of laundry, especially in the winter with all of our layers. I wanted to try to come up with a more economical solution.
I love trying to make my own products whenever possible, so why not laundry detergent? I researched about a billion sites to see what the different ingredient options were and how to make a liquid detergent. The one problem I kept coming back to was the sheer amount of detergent people were making, 5 gallons at a time. It just seemed a little overwhelming to me, especially if the stuff didn't work.
I decided to combine a couple of recipes. One called for baking soda and not borax, one called for borax only. I decided to go half and half with baking soda and borax. Many recipes call for Zote or Fels-naptha bar soap. I looked into both of those, and while cheaper, they both had a strong scent. Instead, I chose Dr. Bonner's Baby Mild Pure Castile Soap, which is unscented and gentle for sensitive skin. The final two ingredients are washing soda and lavender essential oil for scent. The washing soda was tricky to find, I actually had to go to four stores! But I have a box now and that should allow me to make at least 12 gallons of laundry detergent!
Here is the recipe {please note the description of what each ingredient does to the side}:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup grated pure castile bar soap (I like Dr. Bonner's baby mild) - cleans dirt and grease
1 cup washing soda - pulls out grease and oil, softens water
1/2 cup borax - deodorizes, whitens, disinfects
1/2 cup baking soda - deodorizes, softens water
1 additional gallon of water
Your favorite scent of essential oil - 20 drops more or less depending upon preference
Directions:
Grate 1 cup of soap. (For me 1 cup of grated soap was about 2/3 of the bar.) Get your two cups of water boiling in a large enough pot to accommodate 1 1/2 gallons of liquid and then add grated soap. It will kind of clump together until it completely melts. I used a whisk to stir and that seemed to help with the smoothness. After the soap melts, allow it to cool a bit and then add the washing soda, baking soda and borax. Stir until well and completely mixed. Add the final gallon of water and mix well again. At this point I added 20 drops of lavender essential oil, because it is my favorite. I think I could have added more, because now I can barely smell it when I am doing laundry. I transferred my concoction from my huge pot, to a clean and empty vinegar jug. It remained very liquidy until fully cool and then became more gel like. If it becomes too thick you can always add a little more water and shake. I ended up probably adding four more cups of water because it became too thick. I use about 1/4 of a cup for a large load of laundry.
Imagine my delight upon removing that first load from the washer and finding the clothes clean and fresh smelling! No more store bought laundry detergent for this girl! It took less than 15 minutes to make this detergent and that was mainly for pictures! So, this turned out to be a quick, easy and successful project!
Just for fun here is the break down of costs =
Washing Soda 1/12 of the $4.87 box = $.41
Baking Soda 1/108 of the $19.97 bag = $.18
Borax 1/32 of the $3.99 box = $.12
Castile Soap 2/3 of the $3.75 bar = $2.48
One gallon of liquid laundry soap = $3.19 WOW!!!
I hope you will give making your own laundry detergent a try! It's easy and very affordable!
If you have a recipe that you love, please share it in the comments below :)
Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheet Alternatives
I promised this week would be all about laundry! If you haven't read about how to make your own DIY liquid laundry detergent, check out the post here: DIY Liquid Laundry Detergent
Today we will delve into some alternatives to fabric softener and dryer sheets!
Commercial fabric softeners and dryer sheets leave clothes soft, scented and static free. They also leave behind a chemical residue that can irritate sensitive skin and cause headaches among other things.
I prefer a natural option to both. While there are many choices out there, I certainly have my favorites.
For fabric softener, I just use 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar. Vinegar removes soap residue, softens and brightens clothing and linens. Clothes never smell like vinegar after they are dry. Personally, I can't smell it when they are fresh out of the washer. So that should not be a deterrent in the use of vinegar as your softener. I just pour the vinegar right into my washer's softener dispenser. If your washer doesn't have a dispenser, you can put it in a downy ball which will dispense during the rinse cycle.
Instead of dryer sheets, I use 100% pure wool felted yarn dryer balls. I purchased 2 skeins of 100% pure wool yarn and rolled them into six balls the size of small oranges. I tucked the end of the yarn in and around several times using a yarn needle to be sure that that it was firmly secured.
The next step is to place the balls in an old sock, knot the sock at the top and wash with a load of clothes. Remove the balls and dry. At this point you can add a drop or two of essential oil for scent. I left our unscented.
They are now ready to replace your dryer sheets. For a large load of clothes I use all six balls. Just toss them in the dryer with your load and they will help clothes come out soft, fluffy and static free!
Natural, Healthy, Chemical-Free Laundry!
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