Since I'm feeling crummy today and have no motivation to clean, I thought that I would at least post about cleaning. That makes my lack of productivity less bad, right? Right?
Anyhow..we avoid commercial cleaning products for two reasons. First of all, because we want to avoid the toxic chemicals that are in those commercial cleansers. Secondly, it's cheaper to simply make your own. So, here are my homemade cleanser recipes:
Wood Cleanser
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
Place in spray bottle and label, "Furniture Polish." I use this on all of our wood furniture, including the nice antique stuff. Sometimes I spray it directly on the wood and other times I spray on a rag and then apply to the wood. I also use this on my kitchen's wood floor after I've mopped. It gives a nice shine to the wood.
Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
Place in spray bottle and label, "Glass Cleaner." I use this on all mirrors, windows, computer and tv screens.
Toilet cleaning
For the toilet, I simply sprinkle some baking soda in the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush. Then flush. Then I clean the exterior of the toilet using undiluted white vinegar in a spray bottle.
Tub/Sink Cleaning
I sprinkle some baking soda in the sink/tub and scrub with a scrub brush. The countertops around the sinks can be cleaned with the undiluted vinegar.
Mopping
I simply fill my kitchen sink with super-hot water and then pour some white vinegar in. I'm not even sure of the measurement...about three "glugs" from the gallon jug of vinegar. It doesn't have to be exact.
I like keeping things simple and this type of cleaning doesn't require any special purchases on my part. I can simply use what's on hand in my home. Also, I don't have to worry about the kids helping me clean and being exposed to toxins. I know that many may worry about germs and such in our home since we don't use commercial disinfectants or bleach, but our family has been blessed with good health. We are very rarely ever sick, so this type of cleaning can't be doing too bad of a job!
If you try any of these recipes, let me know what you think. Also, if you have a good homemade, non-toxic cleaning technique that you love, please share it with me.
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That's exactly how I mop my floors -hot water and vinegar. I also use peroxide around my fixtures. It bubbles up and cleans out all that gunk. Not sure if it's real toxic, but since we use it as a straight gargle when we have sore throats, I wouldn't think it's too toxic.
ReplyDeleteHmmm..never heard about the peroxide before. I'll have to try it out now. Thanks for sharing, Rhyah!
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to convince my wife to go Greener with the products we use around the house. Gonna send her a link to this blog today
ReplyDeleteOttar
Thanks Ottar, you sure are good at increasing my blog traffic!
ReplyDeleteI make my own all purpose cleaner and laundry soap as well as bar soap, but I'd like to know what would clean as good as good ol' comet on the white porcelin kitchen sink.
ReplyDeleteMarcee, at the house we lived in before this one, I had a white sink (I guess it was porcelain?) that would get scratched up anytime a pot would be scooted around in it. The only way I found to clean it was by scrubbing with baking soda and then pouring a bit of bleach in it to get the last of the scratches out. The sink looked great as long as it was newly clean, but otherwise it was a pain! Fortunately, our house now has a stainless sink so I no longer have that problem. Maybe another reader has an alternative solution that works.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I've found that works on our porcelain sink (which is usually a beige color because of all the scratches) besides bleach or an abrasive cleaner is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I no longer use cleaners in my bathtubs because of this little magic sponge thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas!
ReplyDelete