Green Cleaning

Environmental toxins are a huge contributor (or rather, detractor) of our health.  They cause all manner of issues including depletion of nutrients, overworking specific systems of the body, altering the balance of our hormones and biochemistry, and sometimes very obvious breathing and skin reactions.  Of course you can’t eliminate all the chemicals you’re exposed to.  Impossible.  But why not reduce the load against your body as much as possible wherever it’s within your control?

Cleaning products are HUGE for this.  And the good news?  It will save you money.

Honestly and truly, you need VERY FEW ingredients.  When I starting using natural cleaning products I used nothing more than white vinegar (or lemon juice), baking soda and water.  Floors got washed with hot water and a touch of white vinegar.  The mineral deposits from the hard water on my glass shower doors were demolished with a spray bottle of straight white vinegar or lemon juice that was allowed to sit for a few minutes.  Anything that needed to be sanitized got a touch of white vinegar and anything that really needed a scrub got some baking soda.  If I was out of vinegar, I substituted lemon juice.  Appliances, counter tops, toilets, floors… everything.  When I wanted it to smell pretty, I added some essential oils.

Time wore on and I expanded to replacing other products.  Laundry detergent was replaced with soap nuts (although when I moved and they got lost, I did have to turn to Ecos brand laundry detergent).  I used the Whitmor Dryer Balls but I was uncomfortable with them being plastic and what those might give off under the heat of the dryer.  Plus, they didn’t really hold up well.  I moved to EveryDay Willow Organic Wool Dryer Balls.

Dishwasher detergent was the final frontier.  A 50-50 mix of Borax and baking soda (or washing soda) with white vinegar in the rinse agent container.

Cleaning the garbage disposal means throwing a few eigths of a cut up lemon down through it.

Now, I also use Young Living’s Thieves oil to scent things because 1) it kills all manner of horrible things; and 2) it smells nice–especially during the winter (it has a cinnamon-y scent).  Plus, I use Thieves for so many things that I generally have it in the house.  I HAVE actually bought the cleaner just because they use a surfactant that disperses the oil better and therefore the oil doesn’t float to the top of the liquid–making it a lot easier for me to clean with.

There are a LOT of natural ways to attack cleaning your home without using chemicals.  Honestly and truly, it’s extremely rare for us to need chemicals in our house.  I honestly can’t think of one I haven’t been able to replace.  Oh, wait–Downy Wrinkle Release.  But honestly, I haven’t tried (we almost never have need for it, so it’s chronically slipping my mind).  And I DO resort to products that aren’t home made for some things… usually urine.  Dog, kids… whatever.  For that, I turn to Biokleen’s Bac-Out, but I used to use Nature’s Miracle or Totally Toddler (the latter was better on food stains than on urine).

If you’re looking for something specific, feel free to post your plight here and I will respond.  Or SHARE!