We have finally said goodbye to almost all of our commercialized cleansers! Over the last year we have tried to go through our mini stock pile of commercialized cleansers. I wish I could say that this move was to save money or to help the environment, but it was because of my mother's hair! She has short naturally curly hair that every morning she sprays water on it with a squirt bottle. Well, Monk in all of his lock picking ways got into the cleaning supply cupboard and thought that it would be a wonderful idea to imitate Grandma. Not so great to have these around my mini-humans and their idle handles.
I have been on a quest to find the most natural ways of housecleaning that if they ever did ingest something it would be perfectly harmless and that the poison control people wouldn't know us on a first name basis. Turns out that all the natural cleansers on the market are not so non-toxically natural. What's the point then? Toxic is not natural and those natural prices sent me even further on my quest.
So as it would be, I had everything in house to clean our house naturally. All you really need is vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and peroxide. And no, not all together. As it is, vinegar, baking soda and peroxide are all have anti-microbial properties and vinegar and peroxide are antiseptics. The lemon juice is just for fragrance and stain fighting! Duh who knew lemon juice just wasn't for mixed drinks and sun bleached locks!
I finally have it figured out. What combo to use for the walls & baseboards, kitchen counters and sink, toilets & floors, appliances and the other grossness that comes along with house cleaning. Pinterest has helped a lot with trial and error of some stuff, but when you can just turn to ONE bottle to clean most everything in your house HELLO genius! Yeah, I know that's the way my grandma used to clean but hey it saves us plenty and my kids probably won't like the taste of vinegar!
Some of the ways we use it...
1 c. Vinegar to 1 qt water warmed before use in spray bottle
-cleans & sanitizes the sinks, counters, toilets, shower doors, windows & carpet stains
-put it in a bowl in the the microwave for 6-7 minutes then wipe the gook of your microwave
- use it to clean your floors too, just double it in the bucket
1/4 c. baking soda, 1 tsp dawn, & 1/4 c peroxide added to the laundry is a great bleach that makes whites whiter and is safe on colors
sprinkle baking soda on a glass cook top and cover with a hot soapy rag for 15 minutes...goodbye stuck on's
sprinkle container filled with baking soda and a few drops of lemon juice make a great carpet refresher
vinegar on pet stains...goodbye when you blot them up and they won't go back there!
1/2 c baking soda 1/2 c. peroxide in the carpet cleaner instead of fluid, wash then vacuum up
1/2 c. baking soda, 1 tsp of lemon juice works great on tub and other stains as a paste
Now all we have to do is just buy some stock in Heinz for all of the vinegar I use and some in Arm & Hammer for the baking soda!
I have been on a quest to find the most natural ways of housecleaning that if they ever did ingest something it would be perfectly harmless and that the poison control people wouldn't know us on a first name basis. Turns out that all the natural cleansers on the market are not so non-toxically natural. What's the point then? Toxic is not natural and those natural prices sent me even further on my quest.
So as it would be, I had everything in house to clean our house naturally. All you really need is vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and peroxide. And no, not all together. As it is, vinegar, baking soda and peroxide are all have anti-microbial properties and vinegar and peroxide are antiseptics. The lemon juice is just for fragrance and stain fighting! Duh who knew lemon juice just wasn't for mixed drinks and sun bleached locks!
I finally have it figured out. What combo to use for the walls & baseboards, kitchen counters and sink, toilets & floors, appliances and the other grossness that comes along with house cleaning. Pinterest has helped a lot with trial and error of some stuff, but when you can just turn to ONE bottle to clean most everything in your house HELLO genius! Yeah, I know that's the way my grandma used to clean but hey it saves us plenty and my kids probably won't like the taste of vinegar!
Some of the ways we use it...
1 c. Vinegar to 1 qt water warmed before use in spray bottle
-cleans & sanitizes the sinks, counters, toilets, shower doors, windows & carpet stains
-put it in a bowl in the the microwave for 6-7 minutes then wipe the gook of your microwave
- use it to clean your floors too, just double it in the bucket
1/4 c. baking soda, 1 tsp dawn, & 1/4 c peroxide added to the laundry is a great bleach that makes whites whiter and is safe on colors
sprinkle baking soda on a glass cook top and cover with a hot soapy rag for 15 minutes...goodbye stuck on's
sprinkle container filled with baking soda and a few drops of lemon juice make a great carpet refresher
vinegar on pet stains...goodbye when you blot them up and they won't go back there!
1/2 c baking soda 1/2 c. peroxide in the carpet cleaner instead of fluid, wash then vacuum up
1/2 c. baking soda, 1 tsp of lemon juice works great on tub and other stains as a paste
Now all we have to do is just buy some stock in Heinz for all of the vinegar I use and some in Arm & Hammer for the baking soda!
Great tips. I'd like add to anyone who might scoff at the smell of vinegar that it is completely gone once it dries. Also, pour straight vinegar into your rinse aid dispenser in your dish washer and say goodbye to Jet Dry!
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