Green Cleaning For the Home...More Effective Than Chemicals!

I remember clearly an interaction I had with a lady, in line at the grocery store, even though it happened over six years ago.  I can still see the entire scene in my mind--it was that upsetting to me at the time.

It was late for me to be out shopping, maybe 7:30 in the evening, and Tim was watching the kids.  I was absolutely exhausted and overwhelmed, as I usually was at this stage in our lives, but we needed baby food so I went out.  I decided to buy in bulk because I wanted to avoid another night time shopping trip, and this particular store gave a 10% discount when you bought a whole flat of something.  I had a ton of organic baby jars on the counter, all single ingredient versions due to my daughter's extensive allergies.  The lady behind me started studying my purchases.  Then she couldn't help herself:..

"You know you can make your own baby food at home?"  she asked. 

I told her I did know that with a smile.

"It is super easy and so much healthier!" she continued. 

Now I gave her a nod and tried not to start crying in front of her.  I paid for my food and cried my way to the car.  Then I cried the whole way home. 

My kids, and their intense, unique needs due to illness, meant that I could not make one more thing from scratch.  Regardless of how easy it was or how healthy it was.  At this point, I had a twice monthly cleaning service and my mom helped me by making some of the more time intensive items we needed like wild duck, bone broth, and buffalo casserole.  I purchased my green cleaning supplies online and bought baby food in jars.  We used Seventh Generation disposable diapers and wipes.  I, myself, was eating far too much fast food as I drove the kids from doctor appt. to doctor appt. while devoting my energy toward my children's diets instead.  We were doing what we could do, based on what we knew, what we could afford, and what we had the time and energy to accomplish. 

But I still let myself feel guilty when I had interactions like the one above.  I wish I would have let it roll off my back.  Jarred, organic baby food was fine!  We were in a very intensive, exhausting season and we didn't have the ability to do everything "right".  So we just did the best we could at the time.

I write all that to say if you don't want to make your cleaners from scratch that is fine!  I am just offering what we have found to work at our house, is safe for the littles in the house, and saves us money.  There are, however, plenty of of non toxic, green cleaners that you can purchase easily at Walmart or Target.  Making your own cleaners might not make sense for you right now.

But if you want to...

Here is what we use:

Windows

My husband is very excited about this window cleaner recipe we found online.  I'm sorry I can't remember where it is from.  The key to the recipe is the corn starch which I've read it used by professional window washers.  You do have to rub it in a bit but the result is better than Windex!

You start with warm water, vinegar, corn starch, rubbing alcohol, and a spray bottle.  I use my old cleaner bottles, well washed, instead of buying new spray bottles.

Add one Tablespoon of corn starch to two cups of very warm water.  (I doubled the recipe in the pictures so that is why the measurements are different).

Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.  This is the most important step!

Add 1/4 cup of vinegar.

Add 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol.  I may try cheap vodka next time instead.

Stir and pour into a spray bottle.


All Purpose Cleaner 

I use this on counter tops, sinks, and any surfaces I need to clean.  This recipe was given to me by my friend, Melissa.  It was originally called a floor cleaner (the recipe was on a bottle she bought from Crate and Barrel) but we have both had success using it all over the house!

The ingredients to gather are dishwashing liquid, borax, and vinegar.

Add 1/2 tsp. of borax to two cups of very warm water.  Stir it until it is completely dissolved.  This is the most important step.

Add a splash of vinegar.

Add 1/2 tsp. of dishwashing liquid and stir.

Pour into a spray bottle.  So easy a child could make it:)

Floors

We have no carpet in our house.  Just a few wool area rugs and a few areas with Flor carpet tiles.  The rest of our house is tile or hardwood.  When people call the house and speak with me they often ask if I am in the bathroom or comment on how loud the kids are due to the echoing from lack of carpet.  I guess this should be embarrassing?  Anyway, our favorite method to clean our floors is to use the Shark Steam Mop.

First Tim vacuums the floors and then he uses the steam mop.  My lovely husband does our floors every week and it takes a couple of hours.  He is a BLESSING!!!  With only water, the floors feel soft and clean and are sanitized as well!  We love this mop!  We purchased it at Costco.

Toilets

This is very easy!  Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl.  Let it soak as long as you can and then scrub.  My friend, Melissa, has added fresh lemon juice to treat stubborn stains with success too.

I spray the rest of the toilet with the All Purpose Cleaner above and wipe down with a rag.  For a smelly bathroom (boy bathroom) I spray vinegar on the toilet's surface and the floor below to take care of any urine smell.  For a really bad toilet, I'd use a paste of baking soda and lemon juice along the caulking (the meeting place of the toilet base and the flooring).  This area seems to absorb smells and this will neutralize the smells.  I found this idea here.

Scrubbing Paste

The stain cleaner/ scrubbing paste my husband made here is great!  It needs to be made on the spot, however, as there is power in the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar.  When we've used it later, after it was stored, it is not as effective.

Another scrubbing paste I keep under the sink, is the following:

Add 1/2 cup of liquid laundry soap to a mixing bowl (I use whatever "green" soap is available at Costco.

Add 1/2 cups of baking soda (I used 1 1/2 cups) and mix until you get a frosting consistency as shown above.

Add 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil.  This serves as a natural disinfectant.  Mix again!

Pour into sealable tub and use when needed.  I found this recipe here at Keeper of the Home.  She has wonderful, natural living posts about food, gardening, and health care.


Disinfecting

Virginia Polytech. Institute found in their study that spraying from a  bottle of vinegar (white or apple cider) followed by spraying from a bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E.coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces.  This made it more effective than bleach!
Remember to keep the peroxide in the dark bottle to protect the peroxide--just add a nozzle to the top.


Wow, that was a long post!!  I am going to start experimenting with a stain fighter for clothes and will post about that if it is as effective as the Zout I continue to use.  I haven't found anything more effective than Zout yet and will continue to look until I do.  That is what is next for me regarding cleaners.

Next up for the blog is my husband's absolute favorite green thing I've made to date.  He keeps wanting me to sell it but I am going to give you the recipe and directions here...soon!


Moneysaver:  Use old spray bottles from store bought cleaners (well washed) to fill with your homemade ones.  I buy vinegar, baking soda, rubbing alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide at Costco.